The Red Sox announced Monday that infielder/outfielder Yairo Munoz has cleared waivers and been assigned outright to Triple-A Pawtucket.
Still just 25 years of age, Munoz joined the Red Sox back in March after a bizarre scene that reportedly saw him leave the Cardinals and fly home to the Dominican Republic without informing the club. The Cards responded by releasing Munoz, who apparently had been frustrated with the organization over playing time, amid other reasons.
Munoz had an impressive debut effort in 2018, batting .276/.350/.413 in 329 plate appearances while spending time at every defensive position on the field other than first base and catcher. His bat took a step back in 2019, and his playing time, accordingly, waned.
This past season, Munoz again hit well in a limited sample with the Red Sox. He came to the plate just 45 times but hit .333/.333/.511 with a homer, five doubles and a pair of stolen bases. Boston used him exclusively as a corner outfielder this season, although it’s easy to imagine that if he makes his way back onto the 40-man roster, he could be utilized all over the infield as well.
With the outright of Munoz, the Red Sox now have a pair of 40-man vacancies leading up to this week’s Rule 5 Draft.
kinda surprised no one claimed him
So now that the Red Sox outrighted Munoz, does this mean that he will fly home without telling them?
Agree totally. Shocked the team would risk it as he showed (me anyway) that he can play and potentially be a valuable piece. Might be the timing. Sometimes you can predict other teams’ moves and perhaps they saw an opportunity to stash him now.
Loooe – Agreed! Not very many teams have 40- man spots open considering the Rule 5 roster set just took place, so slipping him through was probably pretty apparent. The RS brass probably promised him that he would be added back after Chavis/Arroyo loser gets traded….and the bench spot is reopened.
Yep. How much value does Chavis actually have? Weird how I’m devaluing him so quickly yet he reminds me of Middlebrooks who is still only 32. At least he met and married Jenny Dell. Is Guerin Austin available?
promised him that he would be added back
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Probably 100% correct. I wondered for a minute why he’d accept the assignment, but he was probably told he was the frontrunner for the #4 OF/UIF.
Munoz answers so many questions:
Who is the fourth outfielder? (and he is the right handed compliment to Beni and Verdugo)
Is the utility infielder able to play good defensive 3B, SS, and 2B (Munoz yes, Chavis no).
Can he hit consistently enough? (Munoz yes, Chavis no).
Chavis has 2 options remaining, but sending him down would appear to erode his value even more. Better to trade him between now and the end of spring training. Then once Chavis has been traded and the roster settles out, the Red Sox can call up Munoz without the need to send him down and risk loosing him.
Middlebrooks was never the same after the broken wrist. I wonder how much that contributed to his down fall???
Of course, recall that pedroias 40 man spot will open up once they reach some resolution whether it’s yet another swap to the 60-day IL or some buyout…
Everyone keeps bringing up this idea of a buyout, really funny. There is no such thing, it has never happened and will never happen because the MLBPA would grieve the living hell out of it.
He retires, he gets paid like normal, or they EXTEND him. Those are the only options.
DFA……still owe him the money, but it opens the spot on the 40-man
Chavis was great for a couple months but then the league found the hole in his swing and he’s never been able to fill it. His only real value is that he’s cheap. He’s a RH utility player who can’t play SS or 3B and is a below-average fielder everywhere else. Great guy by all accounts, tho.
Not if the Section 10 guys have anything to say about it lol
Royals love guys like this if they shut up.
Everyone likes guys like Munoz if they shut up. The problem with Munoz is he doesn’t
Really surprised nobody took him. He was way more impressive than arroyo.
Thing is, right now no one has vacancies on their 40 man because of the Rule 5 coming up.
BoSox – Munoz was way more impressive than Chavis as well both on offense and defense
I agree, but now we have both, and another open slot.
Gotta open up some roster spots for the Rule V draft and the inevitable dumpster diving by Mr Bloom.
Disagree
Arroyo, Munoz and the big disappointment Chavis. Arroyo can hit for power. Munoz can get there but his 0 walks and free swinging need better control. Do or die year for Chavis. The strikeouts are just too much. Where was his power this past year
Why dont we hear about players when they reach waivers not when they clear waivers
The waiver process (who’s on waivers, who’s claimed, who is not) is confidential, with teams gaining little to no benefit of leaking who’s on waivers until each player’s time on the waiver wire has ended.
I suspect most of what we hear is leaked after the fact, and often by player reps and/or front offices that may want to signal the availability of certain players.
Thank you agentx for explaining that, But how do the teams know who is on waivers
Confidental to public, share between teams (thru MLB) so that they can put a claim in.
Thank You very much Dennyd
Surprised that he cleared waivers but glad that he did so the Sox can keep him. Honestly I feel like he should be given a chance at 2B (unless the sign/trade for someone more established) as I think his bat is as good if not better than Arroyo and seems more consistent than Chavis. Plus he’s still only 25 years old and controllable for several more years so if he were to establish himself as a viable regular/semi-regular the Sox could keep him around for cheap for the foreseeable future.
More like Yai-no Mu-no-z.
Can someone please wake Al Avila up?
Bosox, Im with you! Give this guy 2nd base, until he proves he can’t handle it. Way more positive energy than at least 20% of the players on Boston’s 40 man!
Munoz ought to go play in Japan or Korea, play everyday in the middle of the lineup and put up huge numbers and come back and sign bigger deal. He can obviously play but perhaps has a label of having a poor attitude so some eye popping numbers and a year away might be good enough for some teams to forget.
Honestly that’s a great idea for him. He’d crush it given a chance
Nice move. Bloom gambled that no one would add him to their 40-man at this point, snuck him into the minors, and opened up another spot on the 40.
If I were a wagering man, I’d be willing to wager that some of the teams with real farms, like the LAD or SDP, will be looking for a team with open 40-man slots, and trading their superior prospect for our inferior prospect, if for no other reason than that they cannot keep him, and we can.
Joe Brady – your point is exactly how the Red Sox got Potts, Rosario, Seabold, and Wong !!!! The Red Sox were able to add the players before the Rule 5 deadline and the Padres and Dodgers did not have the room instead taking mlb veterans for the stretch run in 2020, and they trading players they felt would get taken from them.
The Phillies wanted Workman and Hembree, and they were at the end on Pivetta. Seabold again was Rule 5 eligible (and looks like the second best starting pitcher prospect in the RS system).
I love the return Bloom got on the deadline moves he made. Bloom made the most of a very, very bad situation that he walked into last year.
Getting Pivetta and Seabold for Workman and Hembree was a terrific move for sure.
I don’t disagree this “MAY” turn out to be a good trade but let’s not anoint Seabold and Pivetta as saviours “JUST YET” Hembree stinks and Workman underachieved in Philly so there is no risk in this trade
The fact that two starters are still with the Red Sox in Pivetta and Seabold, to eat some innings cheaply, regardless of how they do, is at least a win over the terrible performance of Workman and Hembree.
That is true although Workman was actually good for the Sox. It is all about eating innings CHEAPLY for Henry these days
Wong was part of the Mookie trade, bruh.
So what. Wong was the 3rd ranked catcher in the LA system prior to the Mookie trade. Johhny Bench he ain’t !!
Oh that Mr Bloom is a GENIUS !!
Better than paying Sandoval $95,000,000, H Ramirez $88,000,000, Allen Craig $38,000,000, Carl Crawford $143,000,000 and agreeing to pay the Dodgers $48,000,000 for David Price to go away.
Everyone want Springer, Bauer,…, but the back end of those contracts rarely turns out well. Just ask the Yankees how Ellsbury and A-Rod’s contracts went. I am tired of long term free agent contracts for big names. There is nothing free about free agent contracts except the pain in the as* when they go wrong…..thank goodness for the Dodgers for the rest button…
It was Bloom who agreed to pay for half of Price.
Still a good deal, tho.
Verdugo is going to be an All-Star at least once in the next 5 years and Downs has that kind of ceiling.
Verdugo will be in more than one AS game. Jury still out of Downs
Let AV stay healthy and produce before putting him on multiple all star rosters. Same thing was said about Benny after 17.
I don’t want Bauer or Springer either but nor do I want pitchers found off the scrapheap either. Some of those guys the Sox ran out there last year were beyond pathetic and had no business wearing an MLB uniform. Many of them were so bad some RS fans were actually high on Ryan Weber. That is how bad it was.
Randy – agreed. Most of the pitchers the Red Sox used last year were not only bad mlb pitchers, but bad minor league pitchers as well…or way past the point of being “prospects”.
Kickham, Godley, Leyer, Covey, Triggs, Stock, Osich were all DFAed or traded. It is telling that the Red Sox did not see them worth keeping.
Springs is still on the 40-man (surprisingly), and they kept Hall after clearing waivers. IMO they should have been with the group that was sent packing…
The silver lining is that no fans had to pay to be in the stands to watch such an awful team, although the Red Sox did win 8 of their last 13 games and watching Houck and Pivetta was fun.
Weber was dumped too I believe. Houk was impressive but I will wait to see on Pivetta.
Worcester?
Yep.
At some point baseball writers are going to have to stop reflexively saying “Triple-A Pawtucket.”
Blue Jays should consider dropping Fisher for Munoz. I’m certain Munoz knows how to open and close a glove.
Archie Bradley
is in the same class as Josh Hader & if The Boston Red Sox don’t sign Archie Bradley IMMEDIATELY Bloom is a complete & utter moron.. Bradley is 1-A when it comes to relievers.. He’s so young that they can sign Archie to a 4 year deal with an option & he’d be worth every single penny of that 5 year deal.. Archie Bradley will solidify our bullpen for those next 5 year’s I guarantee it.. SIGN HIM BLOOM !!!
Duly noted, Mrs. Bradley…
Archie Bradley is good but he’s no where near the category of Hader. If he was, every team would have signed him immediately. Or better yet, Cincinnati would have been able to trade him prior to the non-tender deadline.
I hope he’s that good. I hope he makes the HOF. I actually have his autograph on my Reno Aces jersey, along with about 30 other guys from the mid-teens teams. Pretty sure I have Nick Ahmed, Chris Owings, maybe Jake Lamb too.
Archie Bradley’s 6 years of mlb stats look good, but I would guess he has no options remaining and would need to stay on the 25-man roster or risk being taken.
Last year Bloom announced 3 signings on the same day. There may be deals done that the RS have not announced as they do not want to show there hand in consideration of other trades….