The trade that brought Eduardo Nunez to the Red Sox largely flew under the radar outside of Boston and San Francisco where he previously played. Despite his career year at the plate, Nunez was more or less an “underwhelming” player as many analysts described. He’d only been worth 1.1 career fWAR upon arrival, and while he had the ability to play nearly every position, he had never excelled defensively either. It’s hard to blame the media for overlooking his acquisition.
Nunez was also never supposed to occupy a starting role in Boston. He was meant to help fill the season-long void at third, but in a supplementary role to 20-year-old Rafael Devers.