The Boston Red Sox are going to feel the loss of Brock Holt on and off the field.
The utilityman has agreed to sign with the Milwaukee Brewers, according to multiple reports Monday night. It’s an unsurprising move given the Red Sox’s offseason transactions, and Holt certainly isn’t on the same level of, say, Mookie Betts. But losing a player like Holt, with his lineup versatility and leadership capability, won’t be easy to replace.
“Great guy. Everybody liked him,” Red Sox interim manager Ron Roenicke remarked Tuesday in his daily press conference at spring training “He was vocal, which I think is important on teams to have some guys that are vocal.”
On the field, Holt’s ability to play just about every position kept him around even when he was slumping. The majority of his time in 2019 came as a starter, but he once again proved to be a fine pinch hitter, hitting .417 with a 1.079 OPS in games he didn’t start in 2019.
“I thought he was a fantastic hitter,” Roenicke continued. “I think this guy can really hit. He’s coming in there facing the best relievers in the game, the nastiest stuff and he’s coming in there in the eighth, ninth inning trying to do some big things against them. That’s without a doubt the hardest job in baseball. There are very few I can tell you that are good at it, and Brock was good at it.”
Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom has spent a good chunk of his first offseason addressing the depth or lack thereof on the current roster. Players like Jonathan Arauz and Jose Peraza likely will be looked to fill the void left by Holt, as will current roster players like Tzu-Wei Lin.
