Isiah Kiner-Falefa is set to join the Sox on a one-year deal.
The Boston Red Sox have come to terms with versatile utility player Isiah Kiner-Falefa, as reported by Jeff Passan of ESPN.
We knew that the Red Sox were looking at right-handed hitting infielders and right-handed hitting outfielders, and it seems as if "IKF" can help serve both roles.
About Kiner-Falefa
Now 30 years old, Kiner-Falefa is an eight-year veteran of the Texas Rangers, New York Yankees, Toronto Blue Jays and Pittsburgh Pirates.
He won a Gold Glove with the Rangers in the COVID-shortened 2020 season and can play all over the diamond.
A career .262 hitter, he has 36 home runs and 100 stolen bases. He has four seasons of double-digit steals and he has double-digit doubles in each season he's played in, outside of the COVID season.
He helped the Blue Jays get to the World Series in 2025 and came this close to scoring the game winning run in Game 7 against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
How he'll fit with the Red Sox
He's likely to be a chess piece for manager Alex Cora to deploy in various matchup-based situations.
Last season alone, he appeared in 95 games at shortstop, 32 at third base and 13 at second base. Over the course of his career, he's appeared in 450 games at shortstop, 234 at third base, 90 at second, 73 at catcher, 42 in center field, 37 left field and seven in right field.
He can platoon with Marcelo Mayer at third base against lefties. He can serve as a DH against lefties, or he could get some time in the outfield against lefties, giving Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu or Roman Anthony a day off.
He hit .227 with a .536 OPS against lefties in 2025, but he's a .251 hitter against lefties for his career with a .643 OPS.
Need to know
--The Red Sox got two more confirmations for the World Baseball Classic on Wednesday, as Masataka Yoshida will play for Japan and Nate Eaton will play for Great Britain. They join Duran (Mexico), Abreu (Venezuela) and Rafaela (Netherlands) as WBC participants. The official rosters come out Thursday night.
--With Kiner-Falefa on the roster, there's a definite impact on the bench situation for Boston. We'll cover that more in depth in a piece on Thursday morning.
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