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When Kyle Schwarber was traded to the Boston Red Sox at Major League Baseball’s trade deadline, there were several questions about where he’d fit on the team.
The Red Sox really weren’t in the market for an outfield or offensive help. They wanted to try him at first base — a position he never played — because of the struggling Bobby Dalbec.
Who could have guessed, though, just how perfect Schwarber would be for this lineup.
“I’m not sure you can really speak about what Kyle Schwarber has added in terms of the positivity and the presence in the clubhouse and the clutch performance,” Red Sox president and CEO Sam Kennedy said during his appearance on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” on Thursday.
Schwarber has come in clutch several times for Boston and has helped the team make a postseason run and get to the American League Championship Series against the Houston Astros. And even though fans weren’t all that happy with the moves Boston was making at the deadline, Kennedy was getting text messages hyping up the Schwarber move.
But could anyone have predicted just how perfect he would have fit in?
“No, he’s just perfect. He fits like a glove, his approach the way he carries himself, the way he handles himself in the clubhouse, his calm presence, his clutch performance,” Kennedy said on WEEI. “I can’t tell you the number of texts I’ve got from his former general manager Theo Epstein who drafted him out of Indiana. His biggest fan, was just so excited while we were getting somewhat crushed at the trade deadline, (we had) lots of reminders from around the baseball industry about what an incredible addition Kyle would be, and obviously, that’s proven to be the case. He’s been just a huge addition to this 2021 club.”
Schwarber will be an unrestricted free agent after the 2022 season, and with how much he’s added to the Red Sox in a short amount of time, it’s fair to wonder whether Boston wants to look into keeping him long-term.
“Yeah I mean he’s a guy that fits like a glove, you’d love to see him around here for a long, long time,” Kennedy said. “So we’ll obviously get into that at the appropriate time. He’s been an incredible addition, hats of to Chaim (Bloom) and the baseball ops for bringing him on board.”
For the time being, Schwarber and the rest of the Red Sox look to punch their ticket to the World Series. The ALCS begins at Minute Maid Park at 8:07 p.m. ET on Friday.
The post Sam Kennedy Gushes About Addition Of Kyle Schwarber To Red Sox appeared first on NESN.com.