Every team in baseball is getting back to work after the World Series.
The first item on the agenda for most clubs was deciding on options for certain players facing free agency.
For the Boston Red Sox, this includes two role players in 2022 that were very important at one point: Rob Refsnyder and Tommy Pham.
One will remain with the Sox, while the other is about to test the free agent waters.
“The #RedSox yesterday agreed to terms with OF Rob Refsnyder on a one-year contract for the 2023 season, thus avoiding salary arbitration. In addition, the mutual option between the #RedSox and OF Tommy Pham was declined by both parties. Pham is now a free agent,” the team tweeted.
The #RedSox yesterday agreed to terms with OF Rob Refsnyder on a one-year contract for the 2023 season, thus avoiding salary arbitration.
In addition, the mutual option between the #RedSox and OF Tommy Pham was declined by both parties. Pham is now a free agent.
— Red Sox (@RedSox) November 10, 2022
Refsnyder, 31, played 57 games for the Red Sox, and they were very, very impressive.
He hit .307/.384/.497 with six home runs in 177 plate appearances.
Refsnyder Was Surprisingly Good In Boston
His 146 wRC+ is proof of his excellent performance at the plate: the league average wRC+ is 100.
Of course, the sample size is not the biggest, but Refsnyder will get the chance to prove himself again in 2023.
His line was somewhat aided by an abnormally high BABIP (batting average on balls in play), though: it was .394.
He did finish with a solid Wins Above Replacement (WAR) output, at 1.3.
Pham came via trade before the deadline, and despite a good start of his Red Sox tenure, he struggled when all was said and done.
He slashed .234/.298/.374 with six homers in 235 trips to the plate.
His 87 wRC+ indicates he was 13 percent below the league average offensively.
He will now enter the market to find another team that will give him a job as a fourth or fifth outfielder.
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