We’ll be seeing a whole bunch of Raimel Tapia next season, as the outfielder announced on his personal Instagram account on Wednesday night that he’s signed with the Boston Red Sox.
Toronto acquired Tapia in a trade with the Colorado Rockies in exchange for Randal Grichuk, a deal that was designed to make the Blue Jays slightly less right-handed.
Tapia slashed a .265/.292/.380 line over 433 plate appearances with the Blue Jays, which represented a pretty substantial downgrade from the .339 on-base percentage he had put up over his previous two seasons with the Rockies. The biggest issue with Tapia was that he didn’t make contact as much as you’d like for a slap hitter with great wheels, as he struck out 81 times while only walking 16 times.
MLB Trade Rumours projected that Tapia would earn $5.2 million this winter in his third and final go-around as an arbitration-eligible player, so the Blue Jays ultimately decided not to tender him an offer.
It’s fitting that the Red Sox were ultimately the team to sign Tapia in free agency because he absolutely dominated at Fenway Park last season. He went 9-for-30 with two homers, 12 RBIs and a .900 OPS in six games in Boston last season, highlighted by this hilarious inside-the-park grand slam…
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