Mitch Moreland to Boston on one year deal

Mitch Moreland has signed a one year deal with the Boston Red Sox, per multiple reports. The deal has been variously reported as $5 million and $5.5 million, so I would wager it is for a $5 million base with plate appearance incentives.

Moreland’s departure is not surprising, although at $5 million, you’d have thought the Rangers would have fought harder to keep him. However, Moreland put up just a .233/.298/.422 slash line last year, and for most of his career, has been roughly a half- to one-win per year player. With Joey Gallo in AAA and Ryan Rua and Jurickson Profar looking at playing time, the Rangers apparently decided they’d rather devote their resources to center field and starting pitching.

Jon Daniels has consistently said that the Rangers would most likely address first base internally, so Moreland departing isn’t a surprise. Still, I think this ended up being less than what we thought he would command.