Red Sox Announce Signing of OF Hunter Renfroe

New Boston Red Sox OF Hunter Renfroe (via @RedSox Twitter)

Written by Johnny Maffei

The Boston Red Sox announced they signed free agent OF Hunter Renfroe

The #RedSox today signed outfielder Hunter Renfroe to a one-year contract for the 2021 season. pic.twitter.com/9eRDQduQHY

— Red Sox (@RedSox) December 14, 2020

Renfroe spent 2020 with the Tampa Bay Rays after the AL Champions traded for him last winter from the San Diego Padres.  The Padres drafted him out of Mississippi State in 2013, but only because he turned down the Red Sox after they drafted him in 2010 out of high school.

The new Red Sox OF jokingly told the media "it only took 10 years" to sign him. 

Renfroe has acknowledged Boston's 2020 struggles and mentioned how it took "everyone" to have "the worst years of their career" for a team like the Red Sox to be in last place.

Happy to have you, @Hunter_Renfroe! pic.twitter.com/1tOCKwlpdX

— Red Sox (@RedSox) December 15, 2020

Let's get to the breakdown.  First of all, Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom spent a vast majority of his career in the Rays front office, who acquired Renfroe just around a year ago.  Bloom obviously shares a lot of the same views as his old stomping grounds, which is good because the Rays have had a much better decade than most people think.

Here's a few bullets of the Rays' resume I crunched before the World Series:

• 2020 is their 3rd consecutive 90+ win season
• Seven 90+ win seasons the last 11 years
• Eight 90+ win seasons the last 13 years (since changing from Devil Rays to Rays in 2008)

Certainly something Boston can build off of.

The Red Sox like Renfroe for a few reasons, one is because he's cheap.  It's reported that he signed a 1-year/$3.1M deal.  The other reasons must be similar to why the Rays liked him:  before 2020 he had three straight 25+ HR seasons, including 33 long balls for the Padres in 2019. 

Even though he only hit .174 during Tampa Bay's World Series bid, he had 2 HR and 7 RBI over 23 AB in October.

Here's another reason Bloom wants him at Fenway:

Renfroe has a .573 slugging percentage, .912 OPS, 36 homers, 24 doubles and two triples in 495 career plate appearances against left-handed pitchers. https://t.co/ECWUanG2RT

— Christopher Smith (@SmittyOnMLB) December 14, 2020

With Jackie Bradley Jr. taking up $10M of the payroll last year, Renfroe can just maintain his .486 Slug% and .776 OPS to be more valuable.

Eck likes him, too.

Can’t wait for Renfroe to do this on the regular next season for the #RedSox pic.twitter.com/VgQyelrIpN

— Red Sox Podcast to be Named Later (@RedSoxPod_BSS) December 15, 2020

Be careful if you're taking the Pike during a home game.

Stay tuned for all Red Sox offseason moves!