Following a short tenure with the Boston Red Sox, Eric Hosmer is now reportedly drawing interest from teams.
According to the New York Post’s Jon Heyman, the 33-year-old first baseman is “on the radar” for the Baltimore Orioles and Chicago Cubs.
Hosmer was traded to the Red Sox from the San Diego Padres in August along with two other minor league players (Max Ferguson and Corey Rosier) and cash considerations for minor-league pitcher Jay Groome.
The veteran quickly slotted into the Red Sox lineup at first base. But less than a month later, he was placed on the injured list with low back inflammation. He was reactivated on Oct. 3, and finished his time in Boston having played in 14 games, batting .244 without a home run.
Hosmer was designated for assignment on Dec. 16 to make room for newly acquired reliever Wyatt Mills and released by the Red Sox just six days later.
Prior to being released, the Red Sox looked to trade Hosmer, but did not garner any interest. Boston wanted to avoid stringing the first baseman along after being prepared to move on with highly touted prospect Triston Casas as first base.
Casas filled in for Hosmer and performed well, dropping the veteran down the depth chart. The Red Sox made it clear that Casas is expected to retain that starting position heading into the 2023 season.
“Our roster isn’t complete yet, but as we build our club, we feel it’s important to give Triston a clear lane, and that carrying two left-handed hitting first basemen would leave us short in other areas,” Bloom said earlier this month. “Given that, it’s important to do right by Eric and give him time to find his next opportunity. We knew when we first got him that this day would come at some point, and wanted to make sure we treated him right.”
Hosmer began his career with the Kansas City Royals from 2011-2017 before signing an eight-year, $144 million contract with the San Diego Padres in Feb. 2018. While he was expected to be included in the trade to the Washington Nationals for Juan Soto, Hosmer exercised his no-trade clause and remained with the Padres before being traded to the Red Sox.