Boston Red Sox: 3 offseason missteps that have contributed to lost season
Boston Red Sox offseason misstep No. 2: Trading Hunter Renfroe
This move was heavily criticized the moment it was made, and the 2022 season hasn’t made it look much better. Chaim Bloom made the egregious decision to trade one of his best hitters from the 2021 season in Hunter Renfroe to the Milwaukee Brewers in return for Jackie Bradley Jr. and a pair of prospects. It was arguably one of the worst moves of the entire MLB offseason.
Renfroe has had a solid season for the Brewers (.241 BA, 22 HR, 50 RBI, .798 OPS) operating as their starting right fielder. For a guy who spent the first five seasons of his career running hot or cold, Renfroe finally appears to have found some consistency in his game over the past few seasons.
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Of course, we all know what happened with Bradley this season. He was horrible for the second straight season at the plate (.210 BA, 3 HR, 29 RBI, .578 OPS) and ended playing his way out of the lineup, and then eventually off the team. It seemed like a poorly calculated move at the time, and 2022 proved it to be an even bigger mistake than initially anticipated.
The two prospects picked up in the deal aren’t exactly anything to write home about either. Alex Binelas is Boston’s 25th overall prospect, but he’s hitting a paltry .139 in Double-A with the Portland Sea Dogs. David Hamilton isn’t even among the Sox top 30 prospects, and he’s not doing much better, hitting .225 with the Sea Dogs.
Bloom tried to sell high on Renfroe, but ended up getting nothing in return for him. There’s a pretty decent chance Binelas and Hamilton won’t pan out, and Bradley was absolutely miserable at the plate this season. Having Renfroe and his powerful bat in the outfield certainly would have helped this season, but instead he’s helping the Brewers in their playoff race.