Unheralded Offseason Signing Makes Red Sox Look Smart, White Sox Look Stupid

Sox Talk with Will Middlebrooks is a recurring content series on NESN.com. Middlebrooks, a former Red Sox player and current NESN analyst, gives his insight and opinion on pertinent Red Sox storylines throughout the season. You can read the latest stories from the series here.

The Chicago White Sox are in need of good baseball players. Well, they let one get away for nothing back in January.

And that sure did benefit the Boston Red Sox.

Chicago designated for assignment utility man Romy Gonzalez this past offseason and the Red Sox quickly scooped him up off waivers. Signing Gonzalez proved to be a shrewd move by the Red Sox front office with the under-the-radar pick up contributing in multiple ways for Boston, which has been plagued by a litany of injures.

So, did the Red Sox see something Chicago didn’t and were just smart for making the move? Or was a ball club that finally snapped a 21-game losing streak last week and owned a downright ugly 29-91 record heading into Tuesday just stupid for letting Gonzalez go?

“I think both can be correct, right?” former Red Sox third baseman Will Middlebrooks told NESN.com. “You’re telling me this guy wasn’t good enough to play for your team? I don’t know how that didn’t work for them, but I’m glad we got him.”

Gonzalez will never be confused with Aaron Judge, but the 27-year-old has filled in nicely when called upon. He brought with him to the Red Sox strong versatility as he has played four infield positions in 53 games this season while also being able to play the outfield in a pinch.

Gonzalez has held his own in the batter’s box, too, while showcasing a little bit of pop. He is batting .272 with a career-high four home runs and 18 RBIs to go along with seven stolen bases. Two of Gonzalez’s homers came last week against the Kansas City Royals, including crushing a 452-foot shot in a pinch-hit situation.

The White Sox sure could use that in their lineup right now. Gonzalez is not incredibly flashy and he alone won’t drive fans to the ballpark, but he is the type of gritty and reliable player that winning teams need across a 162-game regular season.

“He’s a good player. He’s a perfect Alex Cora-type player,” Middlebrooks said. “Yes, he played at University of Miami, which helps when Alex Cora (a Miami product) is looking at a guy and thinking if he likes him or not. But he’s a swiss-army knife. He can plug him in, he’s going to give you average defense anywhere. He’s a good teammate. And he’s hitting lefties really well, which this team needs.”