The Red Sox were hardly finished celebrating their 13-inning walkoff win over the Phillies when Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski secured his big trade deadline addition: Veteran second baseman Ian Kinsler.
Acquired from the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in exchange for minor-league pitchers Ty Buttrey and Williams Jerez, the 36-year-old Kinsler comes to the Red Sox with a .239 average, 13 homers, 32 RBIs, and a .710 OPS on the year.
A four-time All-Star (his last nod to the midsummer classic came in 2014), the experienced Kinsler’s best days are obviously behind him, but he does arrive to Boston riding a hot July (.320 average and .860 OPS) and with the expectation of being the club’s full-time second baseman. This is something the club absolutely needed given the unlikelihood of a Dustin Pedroia return, as well as their other injuries on the roster (Rafael Devers’ injury put the team down a third baseman, and badly).
Speaking with the media, Dombrowski seemed to put extra stock in Kinsler’s reputation as one of the game’s go-to talents.
Dombrowski on Kinlser: "He's a championship, a winning-type player. He does everything he possibly can. He does the little things. He's a gamer."
— Chris Mason (@ByChrisMason) July 31, 2018
David Price, a teammate of Kinsler’s during their time together in Detroit, also raved about Kinsler’s competitive nature.
Bringing that intensity to Boston. ???? pic.twitter.com/eBfms904gF
— Boston Red Sox (@RedSox) July 31, 2018
Kinsler has a .291 average and .400 on-base percentage in 37 career playoff games.