Royals ship oft-hurt IF Adalberto Mondesi to Boston Red Sox for another relief pitcher
Kansas City Royals shortstop Adalberto Mondesi, the once-promising prospect whose career has been ravaged by injuries, is headed to the Boston Red Sox.
In return, the Royals will receive left-handed reliever Josh Taylor, who has appeared in 121 games over three seasons in Boston. Taylor didn’t pitch last season because of injuries.
Mondesi became the first player to make his major-league debut in the World Series in 2015. A year earlier, he was named baseball’s third-best prospect by Baseball America.
It’s been a big week for Royals trades out of town. On Monday, the club dealt center fielder Michael A. Taylor to the Minnesota Twins.
Mondesi has played in the majors in every season since 2016. But largely because of injuries, his career high for games played in any one season is 102, in 2019. Notably, that was also the season in which he tied for the American League lead in triples.
In the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Mondesi led the AL in stolen bases, with 24. That year he played in 59 of the Royals’ 60 games.
Last season, Mondesi appeared in 15 games before tearing the ACL in one of his knees.
Taylor, the reliever the Royals are receiving in exchange for Mondesi (and no relation to Michael A. Taylor), made his major-league debut in 2019, appearing in 52 games. He went 2-2 with 62 strikeouts in 47 1/3 innings.
Taylor’s 2021 season was almost identical: 60 strikeouts in 47 2/3 innings over 61 appearances. He picked up his first big-league save that season.
This story was originally published January 24, 2023 at 12:02 PM.