Luke Voit doesn’t fit the 2023 Red Sox
I will start off by saying this, I don’t understand the fascination Red Sox fans have with Luke Voit. The former Yankees slugger is still a free agent and is looking for a home for the upcoming season.
On paper the Red Sox look like they could benefit from an additional power bat in the lineup. Does Voit make sense for the Red Sox as currently constituted?
The immediate answer for me is no. While Voit would be an upgrade over Bobby Dalbec, there is still no guarantee Dalbec will make the roster out of spring training. Boston would be better suited letting him get regular at-bats with Triple-A Worcester.
The 31-year-old Voit hit .226 with 44 extra-base hits including 22 home runs, 69 RBIs last season between his time with the Padres and Nationals. Voit has a career 28.5% strikeout rate, .342 on-base percentage, 123 wRC+ and .818 OPS.
On the surface Voit is an upgrade over Dalbec at the plate. However, in order to understand whether or not Voit fits the Red Sox roster, we must look at the roster globally.
Voit is a first baseman and designated hitter, he does not provide any positional versatility beyond that. The Red Sox have Triston Casas who will be their primary first baseman and Justin Turner will be the designated hitter. Turner also can play first base and third base in the event Casas or Rafael Devers needs a day off during the season.
There are no regular at-bats available for Voit if he were to sign with the Red Sox.
Voit has the potential to put the ball into the seats, the slugger did lead the pandemic-shortened 2020 season with 22 homers. A team like the Tampa Bay Rays could be a fit for Voit, the Rays are always looking for low risk, high reward type players for their lineup, as an example.
In 2022, Voit was largely healthy, making one trip to the injured list in late April for a biceps tendon injury. He returned to the Padres lineup just over two weeks later.
Voit has had some injury history in his past, in 2019 he dealt with a sports hernia. In 2021 he dealt with a right oblique strain and left knee inflammation. The left knee inflammation injury resulted in two injured list stints.
Voit doesn’t make sense for the Red Sox, he would provide power, his barrel rate was in the 94th percentile among qualified hitters. Defensively, he’s below average and can’t play elsewhere on the diamond. Boston has other options they can utilize on their roster outside of Voit. I never understood the fascination Red Sox fans had with Voit and it looks like the other clubs in the league feel the same way.
Follow Chris on Twitter @ChrisHenrique
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