The Red Sox Give Up On Raimel Tapia
Another one of the Chaim Bloom roster fringe gambles has failed. I’m not sure if failed is the right word, the Red Sox have just given up on this player. The Raimel Tapia experiment that we talked about before the season has concluded. The Red Sox have DFA’d the veteran outfielder after activating Christian Arroyo to the active roster.
The team was the first to report the news of the transaction:
The #RedSox today made the following roster moves: pic.twitter.com/u1VddJUnPq
— Red Sox (@RedSox) June 5, 2023
Tapia, 29, appeared in 39 games with the Red Sox and tallied 97 plate appearances batting .264/.333/.368 with a homer, four doubles, a triple, and six stolen bases (in seven attempts). Tapia spent most of his big league career in Colorado but was non-tendered by the Blue Jays last winter and signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox. Tapia made the big league team out of Spring Training but now Boston has cut ties.
Tapia is an average defender but can man out three spots out there. With this time of the year given injuries, I’d assume someone picks him up via trade or waiver claim. Given the success of Masataka Yoshida and Jarren Duran, there was just no room on the roster for Tapia. Rob Refsnyder was also given a very cheap contract extension. That’s not even including Alex Verdugo who should be a first time All-Star this year.
Tapia still has value as a 4th outfielder. I firmly believe that. He makes good contact and ranks in the 89th percentile in sprint speed. Teams needing a veteran outfield bat should look into Tapia. He’s signed for just $2 million this season too.
