Eric Hosmer Is A Perfect Fit With The Red Sox
Two things can be true: We’re not mad about the trade. We’re mad that it came four months too late. As I’ve been angrily saying all year, keeping Kyle Schwarber was imperative and if you weren’t going to pay him, a major league replacement needed to be on the roster right away. Chaim Bloom eventually got it right but a little too late. Eric Hosmer will prove to be a perfect fit with the Red Sox.
Regardless of what happens the rest of the season, Hosmer is a MASSIVE upgrade over Franchy Cordero. That really isn’t hard to do. Hosmer can catch a fly ball which automatically makes him an upgrade over Franchy.
The Red Sox have gotten anemic production at first base and frankly is the number one reason they’re not in a playoff spot today. I went over that in my Red Sox trade deadline primer. Hosmer isn’t the same old guy from Kansas City. However, he’s high end defender and can post an average that’s higher than his weight. Given what the Sox were trotting out at first base, Hosmer almost deserves a statue.
Hosmer is a better fit in Boston beyond the fact that anything is an upgrade over what the Sox were doing. Hosmer is a perfect mentor for Triston Casas. Both Hosmer and Casas attended American Heritage in Florida and the two know each other well. Hosmer is going to take care of our monster Casas. The thing about baseball that nobody will tell you is that having guys like that in the clubhouse for your younger players to rely on is something that can’t put a price tag on it.
Some guys are just built for Fenway Park. Hosmer is one of them. The new Sox first baseman is a lifetime .354 hitter in his new home ballpark. Lefties that can really take advantage of that Green Monster in left field are always going to feast.
“Every left-handed hitter, they feel like they’re going good when they can drive the ball to center or left-center field,” Hosmer said. “Fenway Park definitely gives you a little more incentive to do that. Excited to get there. I know in my days with Kansas City, I used to enjoy playing there on a road a lot. Going to be excited to have that as my home stadium. I know we’ve got a couple games here before we get there but really excited to get there and play in front of the fans.”
The change of scenery to Boston will do wonders for Hosmer. Making contact has never been the issue. It’s making contact that doesn’t result in a ground ball. One of the biggest advantages Boston has going for them right now is that JD Martinez is truly an alien with the video stuff. He will get him fixed don’t you worry. Hosmer is hitting 57% of his balls on the ground which is way too high of a number.
It’s too early to call this yet but Sox fans have to be encouraged with the way Hosmer is already lifting the ball in his early Sox tenure.
The best part of all? The Padres are paying for him. No, I’m being serious. Hosmer will make league minimum money from Boston while San Diego pays for the rest. The Sox are getting Hosmer for basically free in each of the next three upcoming seasons.
I truly think this will work. Regardless, at minimum, it’s significantly better than what they had. The connections run too deep here for this to not work. Even his wife used to work for NESN which is the broadcast provider for Sox games. Happy wife, happy life.
Red Sox fans have every right to be upset with the way Chaim Bloom is running this baseball team. He got the Eric Hosmer trade right. In fairness to the Bloom haters, it only happened because he had a no-trade clause and only accepted a deal to Boston. Nevertheless, this Hosmer deal will turn into a win on the Bloom scorecard.
