Can Jorge Alfaro Make An Impact On The Red Sox?
The Red Sox somehow aren’t a contender yet have a packed 40-man roster. It’s something we have been over given the recent DFA’s of Jeter Downs, Darwinzon Hernandez, and Connor Seabold. Boston also got three players plucked from the Rule 5 Draft too including first overall pick Thad Ward. It’s the position that dead brain Chaim Bloom has put them in. Not aggressive enough to land real stars, only cars about hoarding depth. The Tampa Bay Red Sox are bargain hunting but this next deal is fascinating. Jorge Alfaro has agreed to a minor league deal with Boston.
Chris Cotillo of Mass Live was the first to report the news:
“Alfaro’s deal comes with a $2 million base salary if he makes the major league roster and opt-outs on June 1 and July 1, according to a source. On those dates, if he’s in Triple-A and believes he can get a major league opportunity elsewhere, he can choose to enter free agency.”
Alfaro, 29, is an intriguing addition for the Red Sox. The former Phillies, Marlins, and Padres catcher serves as a third backstop in Boston. Reese McGuire was a big surprise for the Sox in the second half of the season. Connor Wong has also earned his place on the roster. Alfaro can also play a bit of outfield and could serve as the left fielder during home games with the Monster. That is if his bat is hot enough for that to make sense.
The metrics for Alfaro are all positive. Alfaro ranked in the 97th percentile in exit velocity and the 96th percentile among all catchers in pop time a year ago. The framing numbers have been better in prior seasons and Alfaro does have some wheels on him. He can run a little.
So far the most notable thing that Alfaro is known for is his inclusion in the JT Realmuto trade. Alfaro is a career .256 hitter with 47 homers and 194 RBIs. The power numbers have been underwhelming (.701 OPS in 478 games). Prior to that, Alfaro was included in the Cole Hamels trade that sent him to Texas. Somehow Philadelphia did pretty well on both occasions.
Time will tell if the Alfaro gamble works out. Was all of this worth trading Christian Vazquez over? The pressure is on and some of these spare parts are going to have to actually make an impact if Bloom hopes to retain his job.
