Another potential Red Sox target came off the board Wednesday with the Miami Marlins reportedly coming to terms with free agent infielder Jean Segura.
However, if the Fish feel they have a logjam on the infield now, the Red Sox could ultimately be the ones to benefit — depsite missing out on the former Phillies infielder.
Miami, according to reports, locked up Segura with a two-year deal worth $17 million, a pact that also reportedly has an option for a third season. Segura largely played second base at the end of his Philadelphia tenure, and it’s expected he’ll play there in Miami, too. The plan, it seems, is to move Jazz Chisholm to shortstop, giving the Marlins a pretty exciting middle of the infield.
The odd man out here could be Miguel Rojas, who can play all over the infield but has been Miami’s primary shortstop for the last four seasons.
The Red Sox, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, checked in with the Marlins about Rojas’ availability earlier this month. Rosenthal made it sound like Miami’s preference was to keep Rojas, though Rosenthal also said their plans could change if they signed someone like Elvis Andrus. Whether that line of thinking is still applicable after signing Segura is unknown, and it’s possible Miami keeps Rojas to bolster its defense.
But it certainly would make sense for the Red Sox to circle back. Rojas is one of the best defensive shortstops in the sport. Rojas ranked 12th among all players at any positon last season in defensive runs saved, and only Houston’s Jeremy Pena was better at shortstop. If Boston did swing a trade, Rojas could allow Trevor Story to stay at second base. Concerns about Story’s arm strength linger as he seems like the most likely option — at this point — to play shortstop after Xander Bogaerts signed with San Diego.
The 34-year-old Rojas certainly wouldn’t do much to boost the Boston offense. He hit just .236 last season with a meager .605 OPS. That he was still good for 2.5 wins above replacement, however, speaks to his elite defensive value, and he’s a bargain with one year at $5 million left on his contract. The Marlins, of course, know that, and Rosenthal mentioned “they almost certainly would require a major-league-ready player in return.”
If that doesn’t work for Chaim Bloom, or if the plan is to keep Chisholm and Rojas as the middle infield and move Segura to third, the Red Sox could pivot to Joey Wendle. Just last week, The Athletic’s Chad Jennings mentioned Wendle’s name has surfaced in Red Sox trade talks. Wendle represents a slightly different route from Rojas, as he’s not an everyday shortstop, but his positional versatility makes him an attractive depth piece.
Wendle is certainly better offensively, and his 12 defensive runs saved in 2022 had him in the top 40 among all position players despite playing just over 763 innings. Bloom is certainly familiar with him, too, as they overlapped in Bloom’s final season with Tampa Bay where Wendle was an All-Star in 2021.
Signing Segura sure seems like it should leave Miami open to trading either Wendle or Rojas, and it wouldn’t be surprising at all to see the Red Sox get involved if and when that happens.
