Who will patrol center field for the Boston Red Sox in 2021?
Although the team has plenty of time to answer the question, general manager Brian O’Halloran revealed to Sirius XM MLB Network Radio on Thursday Red Sox brass considers Alex Verdugo the “most natural” fit among their current group of outfielders to be their everyday center fielder.
Verdugo played 31 games a right fielder, 22 as a left fielder and one as a center fielder in 2020. While O’Halloran believes Verdugo can play center field comfortably, the Red Sox won’t rule out other options, including re-signing free agent center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr.
“The door is definitely not closed on adding to the mix,” O’Halloran said of Boston’s group of outfielders. “And that could certainly be a traditional center fielder that has experience like a guy like Jackie Bradley Jr. We’ve said that Jackie remains on our radar and so definitely nothing is foreclosed there.”
“… It’s mid-December, so things can change. We can add to that mix. I think the feeling is Alex would be the most natural of the group we have to move over if this is where we ended up (roster-wise). But we’re not foreclosing anything. We’ll wait and see how the rest of the offseason goes.”
The Red Sox signed outfielder Hunter Renfroe this week, and MLB executives reportedly believe the Red Sox are far from finished making moves.
Whether Boston is scouring the market for a center fielder remains to be seen. O’Halloran repeated Thursday that Bradley “definitely” remains on the Red Sox’s radar, but his backing of Verdugo suggests the team would be content to deploy a player who has little big-league experience at that position.
