The Red Sox made yet another addition to their roster on January 24th. They sent lefty reliever Josh Taylor to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for infielder Adalberto Mondesí and a player to be named later. Univision’s Mike Rodriguez first reported that the two teams were nearing a deal. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com was the first to report the details once the deal was done.
Mondesí has had a bit of a challenging career. He’s dealt with various injuries in almost every season of his career. This has come after making a historic post-season debut in game three of the 2015 World Series against the Mets. MLBTradeRumors.com details his injury history:
“Dating back to the 2018 season, Mondesí has appeared in only 40% of the Royals’ possible games, missing time due to a right shoulder impingement, a groin strain, a pair of left shoulder subluxations, a left hamstring strain, an oblique strain and, most recently, a torn ACL that wiped out his 2022 season. Both the left shoulder injury and ACL tear required surgery.”
Royals, Red Sox Swap Adalberto Mondesi For Josh Taylor by Steve Adams
Mondesí Upside
Despite his struggle with injuries, Mondesí brings a ton of upside potential. He also brings some much-needed depth to a rather thin Red Sox infield. Mondesí has experience at three infield positions: shortstop, second base, and third base. He’s ranked in the 98th percentile for sprint speed in the MLB.
He’s also a plus defender, as evidenced by his 11 outs above average in 2019. This placed him in the top 10 of MLB shortstops, as well as his arm strength rating, which looks promising.
In addition to his defensive capabilities, Mondesí adds much-needed power to the lineup. Despite his limited plate appearances due to injuries, Mondesí has a career 38 home runs, 157 RBIs, and a .244 batting average. It remains to be seen if he will be ready for opening day, but Mondesí brings a ton of potential upside. He adds depth and athleticism to a team that was desperately lacking both last year.
Feature photo by Peter Aiken-USA TODAY Sports