FORT MYERS, Fla. — According to FanRag Sports, the Red Sox have agreed to a one-year deal with infielder Eduardo Núñez, pending a physical.
That’s not a small matter, given the knee injury that robbed Núñez of the final month of the regular season and the postseason last year. MLB.com first reported that the sides were close. [...]
FORT MYERS, Fla. — According to FanRag Sports, the Red Sox have agreed to a one-year deal with infielder Eduardo Núñez, pending a physical.
That’s not a small matter, given the knee injury that robbed Núñez of the final month of the regular season and the postseason last year. MLB.com first reported that the sides were close.
Núñez, whom Boston acquired from San Francisco last July, would give the Sox insurance at a time when Dustin Pedroia is expected to miss the first several weeks of the season at second base. He’s also capable of playing shortstop and third base.
At the same time, his value derived almost entirely from his bat. Núñez had arguably the best stretch of his career after being traded to the Sox, hitting .321 with eight homers in 38 games.
Pedroia underwent offseason knee surgery that could keep him out through Memorial Day — and even then the Red Sox will have to be cautious with his playing time. Throughout the winter, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski has expressed confidence in the club’s internal options to replace Pedroia on a temporary basis, mentioning Marco Hernandez most prominently.
Hernandez has his own injury concerns, though, as he missed the final four months last year after shoulder surgery. He’s scheduled to be behind the other infielders at the start of spring training, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he started the regular season either on the disabled list or in Triple-A.
Brock Holt and Deven Marrero offer alternative possibilities at second. Neither has the upside of Núñez.
While Núñez has always made sense for Boston, the Sox didn’t seem to make a lot of sense for him at the start of the offseason. Coming off such a hot streak at season’s end, he appeared to be in position to sign a multi-year contract to start full-time somewhere. The stagnant free-agent market, however, has changed the calculation across baseball, and Núñez has not had as robust a market as expected.