On Tuesday night, the Red Sox confirmed that they will be bringing first baseman, Mitch Moreland, back on a one-year deal, guaranteeing the veteran $3 million.
The full details of the contract were reported by Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, highlighting a 2021 team option. Moreland will have a base salary of $2.5 million in 2020, with a $3 million option the following season. If the team elects not to utilize their option, they can buy the 34-year-old out for $500,000.
Free-agent 1B Mitch Moreland signs one-year, $3M deal with #RedSox, source tells The Athletic. Salary of $2.5M in 2020 with $3M club option or $500,000K buyout for ‘21.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 28, 2020
Moreland’s battled injuries during his time with the Red Sox, putting a hindrance on his production. In 2019 alone, he suffered from a back and quad injury which limited him to 91 games.
The left-handed bat has spent three years in Boston after signing with the team prior to the 2017 season on what was a one-year deal.
During his time with the Red Sox, he’s hit for an accumulative .247 BA, with a .326 OBP, .782 OPS and 56 HR in 1,210 AB.
Moreland had spent the first seven seasons of his career with the Texas Rangers before ultimately leaving in free agency.
One of his most notable moments in a Boston Red Sox uniform came in game four of the 2018 World Series in Los Angeles as the team was trying to crawl its way back from a four-run deficit. Coming in to pinch-hit, Moreland added three runs onto the board with–as the caption of the video below illustrates–a moonshot that hasn’t landed yet.
Mitch Moreland coming back to Boston is a great reminder that this home run from the World Series hasn’t landed yet pic.twitter.com/PVDLU4R8a2
— Steve Perrault (@Steve_Perrault) January 28, 2020
In 2019, Moreland put together a batting average of .252 with an OBP of .328, and an OPS of .835 with 19 bombs.
With the signing, their 2020 estimated payroll now sits at $233.27 million, according to Red Sox Payroll on Twitter.
