1:00pm : Cron will make a base salary of $2MM if on the roster and could unlock another $500K via incentives, per . 10:05am : The Red Sox and first baseman are in agreement on a minor league deal, per Chris Cotillo of Ma sLive ( ). The client of Moye Sports A sociates will presumably receive an invite to major league camp. It was yesterday that the Sox were looking to bring in a veteran to compete for a bench spot, with Cron floated as once such po sibility. The 34-year-old has served as a potent bat in the big leagues for many years but is coming a frustrating 2023 season. He began the year with the Rockies for the second season of a he signed late in 2021. But he made multiple trips to the injured list last year due to i sues with his back. He was traded to the Angels midseason and only got into 71 games on the year between the two clubs. He still showed a bit of pop with his 12 home runs but only walked in 6.1% of his plate appearances. His .248/.295/.434 batting line translated to a wRC+ of 82. Cron doesnt really steal bases, just 10 in his career, and can only play first base. His glovework has generally been solid in his career, as he Mason Lohrei Jersey has 12 Defensive Runs Saved and 13 Outs Above Average. But its still a position where the offensive expectations are high, making last seasons struggles stand out. The Sox will be hoping for a bounceback to his previous form. He came into last year with 175 career home runs and a slash line of .261/.322/.474, which leads to a wRC+ of 111. He had a really strong run from 2018 to 2022, hitting between 25 and 30 home runs in each full season of that stretch, though a knee sprain limited him to just 13 games in the shortened 2020 campaign. If his contract is selected, he likely wouldnt be looking at an everyday role in Boston. The club has as its regular first baseman and will likely use the designated hitter slot to rotate in various defensively-limited players like and . But they do have a number of left-handed hitters who project for either full-time or part-time roles, including Devers, Yoshida, Casas, , and . Cron has pretty even splits in his career, having hit .266/.324/.489 against lefties for a 113 wRC+ and .257/.318/.463 against righties for a wRC+ of 107. But he could nonethele s help the Sox shield some of those lefties from tough southpaw pitchers, either by serving as a pinch hitter late in games or taking a few starts. He will first have to crack a spot on the roster. The clubs bench will have McGuire as the backup catcher while should be present as a reserve outfielder, as he has over five years of service time and cannot be optioned to the minors. That leaves two spots for depth infielders, with , , , and already on the 40-man roster. Reyes is the only one of that group without options, so the Sox could theoretically run with a bench of McGuire, Refsnyder, Reyes and Cron while sending the rest of those infielders to the minors in order to preserve depth. The club would need to open a 40-man roster spot but could easily do so by transferring to the 60-day IL, since hes rehabbing from Tommy John surgery and wont be back until the trade deadline at the earliest. Theres no real risk in signing Cron to a minor league deal to get a close-up look for a few weeks, a se sing his health and current form. If he were to crack the roster, perhaps a part-time role would help him stay healthy and effective throughout the campaign. Charlie Coyle Jersey