Red Sox complete trade with Royals by adding infielder

The Red Sox have added another infielder, officially completing a trade with the Kansas City Royals that brought Adalberto Mondesi to Boston.

As the team announced in a recent press release, the Red Sox have acquired minor league infielder Ángel Pierre from the Royals to close the book on the trade. The Sox were originally granted a player to be named later along with Mondesi, as part of the deal that sent reliever Josh Taylor to Kansas City in January.

• Pierre, a native of San Pedro de Macoris in the Dominican Republic, is a former international free agent who signed with the Royals in 2022. He had a strong showing in his first professional season, playing for KC Stewart in the Dominican Summer League.

  The 19-year-old batted .300 with a .974 OPS in 33 games, and hit two home runs while driving in 19 runs.

  Pierre has been a versatile infielder early in his career. He played 26 games at third base, six at shortstop, and one at second base. He figures to be a long way away from playing in the major leagues at age 19, if he ever plays well enough to rise to that level.

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  SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – APRIL 23: Adalberto Mondesi #27 of the Kansas City Royals at bat against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park on April 23, 2022 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

• This trade, of course, was mainly about Mondesi, a veteran of 358 career major league games, all with the Royals.

  The Red Sox had a pressing need at shortstop in the wake of Xander Bogaerts’ departure in free agency, followed by Trevor Story’s UCL surgery that is expected to sideline him indefinitely. The Red Sox’ off-season improvements in the bullpen also made Taylor more expendable.

  Story’s status as far as returning in 2023, for now, is up in the air. So, expect a lot of Mondesi at shortstop for the Red Sox, in the meantime.

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