Red Sox Get Rival Scout's Evaluation Of 1st Baseman Acquired From Angels

The Boston Red Sox made a fairly low-stakes trade on Thursday that they hope pays at least minimal dividends.

Seeking to infuse some depth at the first base position three weeks after the season-ending injury to starter Triston Casas, the Red Sox acquired Ryan Noda, who was in Triple-A with the Los Angeles Angels organization, for cash considerations.

Because Noda was hitting .148 in Triple-A Salt Lake City, it's not as though anyone expects him to contribute in Boston right away. He'll head to Worcester, where he hopes to showcase some of the talents that led to his surprisingly good major league rookie season with the Oakland Athletics in 2023.

What can the Red Sox realistically expect to get from Noda? One rival evaluator may have some of the answers.

In an article published Thursday, MassLive's Sean McAdam and Chris Cotillo cited a National League scout who has seen Noda throughout his career and spoke about some of his shortcomings, seemingly to temper any Red Sox fans' excitement.

“Big swing-and-miss guy vs. good pitching, with power vs right-handers with average stuff. Allergic to off-speed, changeups and elevated fastballs on the top of the zone and out of the zone,” the scout said. “Will draw walks which pad his on-base percentage. Must match up vs righties and middle to back-end (bullpen) guys.

“Actually OK filling outfield & first base both. Arm is below average but good hands and reaction at first base. Near average baserunner and improved at first base. Overall, had some success in the past. Taking aim at the wall (Green Monster) could help him. Good guy on the club, works hard at it. Strikeout rates haunt him, plus left-handed pitchers.

Noda, 29, had a .770 OPS and 118 OPS+ in 128 games for the Athletics in 2023. He definitely struck out a lot, though, and his K-rate dropping from 34 percent to 33 percent in 2024 didn't make up for the major dip in all other areas (.465 OPS in 36 games at the big-league level).

The Red Sox got surprising contributions from Dominic Smith last year, so while this is hardly the same situation, maybe there's a chance they can get the best version of Noda if he ever comes up to the big-league club.