The Boston Red Sox were one of several teams that reportedly got involved in the market for recently signed utility player Brandon Drury.
Ultimately, Drury shipped his talents to Los Angeles after he agreed to a two-year deal with the Angels Tuesday. However, according to Sam Blum and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Red Sox were “in the mix” to land Drury before his age 30 season.
“The Red Sox, (Arizona) Diamondbacks and (Miami) Marlins were in the fix for Drury, who could’ve signed with one of those clubs for more money with a one-year opt-out, a source said,” per The Athletic. “But Drury’s connection with (Phil) Nevin (Angels third-base coach) proved pivotal.”
Nevin formerly served as Drury’s Triple-A manager with the Reno Aces.
Drury is fresh off his most impressive big-league campaign. With the Cincinnati Reds and San Diego Padres last season, he hit .263/.320/.492 with 28 home runs, 31 doubles and 87 RBIs — all career highs. Yet, Drury did further justice to his stock value by displaying his versatility on the defensive side. He made multiple appearances in all infield positions plus a few reps in the outfield.
The veteran also recorded now lower than a 92% fielding percentage among each of the five positions he played last season.
With the ability to have provided players such as Trevor Story, Triston Casas, Rafael Devers or anyone in Boston’s outfield a day off, there’s no question why the Red Sox were interested.