Following the Trevor Story injury on Tuesday, should the Boston Red Sox pursue a short-term replacement to hold it down in the middle infield?
With several options left on the table, both in free agency and the trade market, longtime sports journalist Peter Gammons proposed an interesting trade target for the Red Sox. And while this would require Boston’s front office to call the Arizona Diamondbacks, the middle infielder already has previous ties to the Red Sox.
Nick Ahmed, a Massachusetts native, will enter the final year of his contract with the Diamondbacks in 2023. The UConn product, who played a career-low 17 games last season, played alongside Red Sox hitting coach Peter Fatse during his freshman season in college.
However, there is some concern attached to Ahmed. Like Story, Ahmed also underwent surgery last season to repair his right shoulder and that doesn’t make for an ideal candidate when weighing replacement options.
If the Red Sox do elect to pursue Ahmed, he’d certainly serve as a strong choice from a defensive perspective. Ahmed hasn’t registered a fielding percentage below .963 throughout his nine-year career in the big leagues. During his longest campaign (155 games) in 2019, he made just 13 errors in 632 chances.
On the other hand, Ahmed has struggled in the batter’s box. During his last full season in 2021, he batted .221/.280/.339 with five home runs, 30 doubles and 38 RBIs. Ahmed also drew 34 walks and struck out 104 times, which was the fourth most on the Diamondbacks that year.
In 816 career games, Ahmed has never played at Fenway Park.
