Trade Deadline Smash or Pass: Luis Rengifo
Can a bat-first infielder help our troubled defense?
Welcome to Smash or Pass, Trade Deadline edition! In this series, we’ll discuss players who might be available at the trade deadline, whether they’d be a good fit for the Red Sox, and what it would take to get them. Next up, a bat-first infielder.
Who is he and where does he come from?
He’s 27-year-old Luis Rengifo. He came up with the Mariners as an international free agent, though he’s spent his whole major league career with the Angels. He has one year of team control remaining after this season.
Is he available?
Probably. There is no reason for the Angels not to sell at the deadline (except…Arte Moreno), and his name has been floated with regards to talks with several teams.
What position does he play?
Rengifo is a third baseman for the Angels though he has the versatility to play all over the infield and sometimes right or left field.
He’s a switch-hitter and that’s of interest for a team like ourselves, looking for right-handed hitting.
Is he any good?
He was in the All-Star Game conversation until he went on the IL in early July. At that time, his batting average was sixth in all of baseball. Who was just ahead of him? Oh yes, Shohei Ohtani. That’s the company he’s been keeping this season. He’s also fast enough to steal 22 bases.
On offense, here are some stats:
- Slash line: .308/.350/.433
- 6 HR, 29 RBI
- His strikeout rate is 92nd percentile, considered “great” by Baseball Savant
In 209 at-bats against righties, his line is .292/.336/.407. He hits extremely well against lefties, though in a smaller sample size: in 50 AB, his slash line is .380/.415/.540. In an interesting sort of flip-flop, he’s hit five home runs against righties, compared to just one against lefties.
There are two reasons I led with offense. One is that Craig Breslow has stated the Red Sox will actively look to improve the team with pitching and right-handed hitters. As a switch hitter, Rengifo can be considered to fit the search parameters. The second reason is that there isn’t much to say about his defense; Rengifo is what we might call bat-first.
Baseball Savant grades him as well below average in OAA, with -7. That’s third percentile.
He is newly returned from the IL (July 23) after missing about three weeks with inflammation in his wrist, an injury that wasn’t seen as serious.
In-Person Scouting Report
You already know that there’s very little I won’t do in pursuit of a story and it just so happens that the Angels were in town to play the Mariners on July 24.
If I mentioned that it was also Salmon Run T-shirt Day at T-Mobile Park, you’ll understand that the temptation of merch, as well as the love of a good story, were too much for me to resist.
Here’s what I know: this is an incomplete scouting report.
Listen gang, I had to collect my Salmon Run T-shirt, then Humpy and King Salmon visited my section and pandemonium ensued.
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Then some feral child upended garlic fries all over me (and my new T-shirt!) by running parentless through the stands…I am still picking pieces of garlic out of my skin, hair, from underneath my shirt, in my bag and pockets—and will be for a long time.
In-person scouting is hard, folks.
Anyway, Rengifo played third base on Wednesday for the Angels. In the first inning, he ground into a forceout which resulted in the runner being thrown out at second. The Mariners tried for a double play but Rengifo really hurried to first and made it with room to spare. Great hustle move. He was officially 0-4 on the night, but this counts for something.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Mariners had loaded the bases and a ground ball was sharply hit over to third. Rengifo grabbed it with his glove, keeping his hand, arm, and upper body steady—glove and ball locked together in mid-air—while allowing his entire lower body to pivot around and toward the bag, using his own momentum to turn, rise to his feet, step on the bag, then fire home for the double play. It could’ve cost at least two runs. It was pretty incredible, not least because he kind of turned himself into a fulcrum there to nail the play.
Would he be a good fit for the 2024 Red Sox?
He’s a switch hitter, and we know that Craig Breslow has publicly committed to searching for right-handed bats. He’s good at getting on base, he doesn’t strike out often, and he’s good at stealing bases. He has just as many SB (22) as Jarren Duran, and he’s just missed three weeks (no disrespect to Jarren Duran).
If there’s a way he doesn’t fit the Sox, it would be on defense, and that is a season-long concern of mine. The Sox are still leading the majors in errors, with 74. We simply can’t compete at the highest level with this continued rate of errors. If I were Breslow, I would look for pitching and defense to rectify this massive hole in our roster.
I have one other concern and it’s a character issue. An arrest warrant was issued for Rengifo several years ago in his home country of Venezuela (he was in the US at the time), and his father, sister, and lawyer were brought into custody. The charge was forging divorce documents and using those forgeries to illegally transfer marital property to Rengifo’s sister. Some people don’t care about this stuff, but I do, so I’m noting it here.
Overall, I’d call Rengifo a pretty good fit.
What would he cost?
Rengifo is under contract for one more season. In my Smash or Pass last week, I considered trying to get a pitcher and defender at the same time. That’s what the good folks at Fansided have proposed as well, with Rengifo and Carlos Estevez for three Sox prospects. Their analysis is intriguing, and I’m not opposed to this. Certainly that would take approximately two minor league pitchers, and a position player. If this is a deal for Rengifo alone, what about Yoeilin Cespedes (SS/2B, promoted to Salem but hasn’t played there due to broken hand) and Elmer Rodriguez (RHP promoted to Greenville on July 23)?
Smash or Pass?
In my own personal campaign to improve the Sox defense, I considered Rengifo earlier as a possible defensive solution, but came up with a Pass due to his defensive shortcomings.
However, although Breslow and I are in some disagreement about what the team needs—he says right-handed bat and I say Why not a good defender who also is a righty?—there is somewhere where we can both be happy, I think, and Rengifo could be it. If he can get on base and steal enough to make up for his defensive shortcomings…well, okay. It’s true that I liked what I saw on Wednesday on both offense and defense. If I’m Craig Breslow, I’ll Smash.
