The Red Sox aren’t adding Mike Trout, but they are reeling in the man responsible for scouting and signing him in the 2009 draft.
The Red Sox, according to a major league source, have hired Greg Morhardt as their Canadian scout. In 2009, Morhardt spearheaded the Angels’ scouting efforts with Trout (the son of his former minor league teammate, Jeff Trout) out of Melville, N.J.
Morhardt, as Buster Olney once wrote, identified Trout as having the potential to become the next Mickey Mantle. The Angels tabbed the future two-time MVP with the No. 25 pick.
Morhardt spent several years as an area scout and national crosschecker for the Angels before joining the Braves as a Northeast area scout with special assignment responsibilities after the 2014 season.
Morhardt replaces Adam Stern, the former Sox outfielder who is stepping away from scouting after five years.
Kinsler signs with Padres
Second baseman Ian Kinsler has agreed to a two-year, $8 million deal with the San Diego Padres, according to multiple reports.
The Red Sox acquired the 36-year-old Kinsler at the trade deadline this year, sending two Triple A relievers (righthander Ty Buttrey and lefthander Williams Jerez) to the Angels in return.
Kinsler, who won his second Gold Glove, appeared in 37 regular-season games for the Red Sox, slashing .242/.294/.311 with one home run and 16 RBIs. In the postseason, he hit .206/.229/.294 with three RBIs, 14 strikeouts, and a walk.
Over his 13-year career, Kinsler has hit .271 with 248 homers and 887 RBIs, and has been named to four All-Star teams.
Spreading the joy
After presenting Sox fans with the gift of another World Series in October, Mookie Betts is once again in the giving mood during the holiday season.
The 26-year-old American League Most Valuable Player gave new bikes to a group of children in Nashville earlier this week. For Betts, bikes have a special significance.
“You always remember your first bike,” Betts said, who grew up in Tennessee.
The gifting took place at the Donelson-Hermitage YMCA.
“It’s amazing just to know that you’re making somebody happy in some way,” Betts said. “I just know that to see kids smiling and enjoying it makes me happy.
“I’m fortunate to be where I am and [I] just definitely want to spread the blessings.”
A night in London
The Red Sox and Yankees will open Major League Baseball’s first series in Britain with a night game, followed the next day with an afternoon game.
The June 29 game at London’s Olympic Stadium will start at 6:10 p.m. local time (1:10 p.m. EDT) on Fox, with the following day’s game set for 3:10 p.m. (10:10 a.m. EDT) on ESPN.
Boston will be considered the home team in both games, which will be played at the home of the Premier League club West Ham.
Minor leaguers suspended
Cardinals first-round draft pick Griffin Roberts was suspended 50 games without pay after testing positive for a drug of abuse, MLB announced Friday.
Roberts, a righthanded reliever, was selected 43rd overall from Wake Forest this year. This was Roberts’s second violation for a drug of abuse.
Four other minor leaguers were also suspended without pay for 50 games for a second violation, including Sox righthander Francisco Lopez-Soto, a reliever who turns 22 on Tuesday
Lopez-Soto has a 4.82 ERA in 40 games since being selected in the 25th round of the 2016 draft. He finished last season with Single A Lowell.
Also suspended were Yankees pitcher Alex Mauricio, Reds catcher Hunter Oliver, and Athletics pitcher Dallas Woolfolk. Lopez-Soto and Mauricio were banned for drugs of abuse, and Oliver and Woolfolk tested positive for the stimulant Amphetamine.
Peter Abraham, Rachel Bowers, Hayden Bird, and the Associated Press contributed to this report. Alex Speier can be reached at alex.speier@globe.com. Follow him on twitter at @alexspeier.