Raimel Tapia: Will He Positively Impact Red Sox?
Raimel Tapia has made the team. Jarren Duran is being sent down and a corresponding 40-man roster move will need to be made. Chaim Bloom has made a lot of low cost gambles during his time as head honcho with the Red Sox. Tapia will get his chance to become the next Rob Refsnyder.
Tapia, 29 slashed .265/.292/.380 with the Blue Jays last season. The problem is he comes with next to no power. The former Rockies outfielder has never hit more than nine homers in a season which came back in 2015 with Colorado.
It’s a totally remade Red Sox outfield. Alex Verdugo, Kike Hernandez, and Masatake Yoshida is expected to primarily hold down the fort. With the Trevor Story injury, Kike could shift to shortstop in the interim and open up a hole for Adam Duvall. In theory, Tapia is a good sidekick for Duvall on days the two play. Duvall has the power but doesn’t hit for average. Tapia is frankly the exact opposite.
Keeping Duran on the roster is just a no-go at this point. Based on performance last year, Duran should never take the field for the Red Sox again. Combine that with the Spring Training performance of Tapia makes this decision a no-brainer. Spring Training isn’t the best indicator for everything but it sure as hell matters for a guy fighting to make a roster. Tapia hit .326 with two homers, five RBIs and a .988 OPS in 17 games.
Raimel Tapia deserves to make the team and will be given every opportunity to show he belongs at the MLB level. The only problem is Bloom will need these gambles to pay off or we’re looking at another lost season in Boston. Tapia will certainly be a player to watch. Worst-case scenario, he can’t be worse than Duran or JBJ from a year ago, right?
When you’re looking at ways to improve a last place team from a year ago, improving on the dreadful numbers from JBJ and Duran certainly goes a long way.
