The Red Sox have reached out to Hiroki Kuroda

By Craig CalcaterraNov 8, 2012, 5:00 PM EDT
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For those of you keeping track, it’s the first full week of the offseason and already the Red Sox have been linked to approximately 79% of all known baseball players, living and dead. Indeed, in the last 24 hours we’ve heard about them and Anibal Sanchez, Mike Napoli, Adam LaRoche, Shin-Soo Choo, Justin Masterson, Justin Upton.  So what’s one more?

 

Kuroda is definitely an interesting free agent, as he has preferred to do one-year deals and has contemplated returning to Japan in the past.  The Dodgers would definitely want him back. So too would the Yankees.  And the Red Sox have both cash and a need.

Red Sox considering using Mookie Betts at second base when World Series is in L.A.

Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images
By Bill BaerOct 21, 2018, 6:51 PM EDT
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Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald reports that the Red Sox are considering using Mookie Betts at second base when the Dodgers host Game 3, 4, and 5 of the World Series in Los Angeles. That would allow J.D. Martinez to remain in the lineup as an outfielder, since the DH rule would not be in effect.

Betts, 26, has played a bit of second base in the big leagues. He played 122 innings there in his rookie season in 2014 and played another six innings there on August 3 this year against the Yankees. Betts also entered Boston’s minor league system as a middle infielder, so it’s not like the Red Sox are asking someone completely unqualified to handle the position. Given what else we know about Mookie Betts, such as the fact he can solve a Rubik’s cube in less than two minutes and he has bowled a 300 in the Professional Bowlers Association, he is basically good at anything he decides to do.

That being said, Betts was noticeably not very productive at the plate during the ALCS against the Astros. He hit just .217 with no home runs in 25 plate appearances. The Red Sox are certainly hoping he heats up against the Dodgers.