Clubs around the MLB are putting the finishing touches on their rosters with Opening Day 2025 quickly approaching on Thursday. The Boston Red Sox made some last-minute roster moves in the last few days, which include parting ways with struggling reliever Adam Ottavino and making the difficult choice of sending top prospect Marcelo Mayer down to Triple-A.
The Red Sox aren't the only team making surprise cuts, though. In fact, one player's surprising release offers Boston the opportunity to add another dangerous bat to manager Alex Cora's lineup.
Red Sox Must Sign IF Brandon Drury After White Sox Release
On Sunday, the Chicago White Sox announced that they've released infielder Brandon Drury. The 32-year-old veteran, who signed a minor-league contract with the White Sox last month, fractured his thumb in spring training last week and will be forced to miss the start of the new season, regardless of where he signs.
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) March 23, 2025
The Red Sox roster is brimming with talent ahead of the 2025 season. Having said that, there's always room for a player of Drury's caliber in Cora's plans, even if he's set to miss the start of the year.
Drury is a 10-year MLB veteran who's played innings throughout the infield, as well as the left and right sides of the outfield, across his 867 regular-season appearances. Although his performances can sometimes be unpredictable, he's more than proven himself by racking up 109 home runs, 375 RBIs, and 188 walks with a .245/.296/.421 slash line across over 2,900 at-bats.
He's also someone whom Red Sox fans are familiar with, having spent time in the AL East as a member of the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays from 2018 to 2020.
Drury's breakout performance came during the 2022 campaign, splitting time between the Cincinnati Reds and San Diego Padres. The Grants Pass, OR native dazzled both fanbases as he set career highs in HRs (28), RBIs (87), OPS (.813), and WAR (2.7) en route to his first-ever Silver Slugger award.
Impressed by that performance, the Los Angeles Angels inked Drury to a two-year, $17 million contract in the following offseason.
Although the versatile infielder capitalized on his momentum with 26 HRs and 83 RBIs while slashing .262/.306/.497 in Year 1 of his deal, that wasn't the case in Year 2. He only batted .169 with a .469 OPS across 97 games last season, as he also tallied just four HRs and 15 RBIs throughout the injury-riddled year.
Having said that, Drury proved that he's still an effective offensive threat during his run with the White Sox in spring training. The 6-foot-2 slugger batted .410 across 39 ABS with Chicago, resulting in seven doubles, three homers, and 11 RBIs, also drawing a pair of walks while fighting his way to a 1.2690 OPS.
Brandon Drury with his 2nd HR of the day, scoring Amaya (BB), and Tauchman (1B). White Sox up 6-2. pic.twitter.com/17ftOykJhL
— FutureSox (@FutureSox) March 14, 2025
Even if the Red Sox's roster is loaded, Drury is the type of player who can put the group over the top. His bat could be useful in pinch-hitting situations or as the designated hitter if Rafael Devers is traded. Drury has also played nearly 2,600 MLB innings at second base, making him the perfect veteran fill-in if Boston sends Kristian Campbell to the minors.
At the end of the day, signing Drury to a contract would be a low-risk, high-reward move for the Red Sox, who are heading into Opening Day with the eighth-best 2025 World Series odds (+2000) on DraftKings Sportsbook.
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