The Boston Red Sox flew off-season a little below the radar of public attention. Nevertheless, they are once again one of the favourites for the new MLB season. However, they face a personnel problem that could become costly in several ways.
Ever since the National League MVP Giancarlo Stanton was signed up, all the world of baseball seems to be talking only about the New York Yankees. They are the AL East Champions,”as Yankee General Manager Brian Cashman put it aptly:” They had the title in the division last year. I don’t know if they’re gonna raise a flag for this, but they’re the AL East Champions – we’re not.”
In fact, the Red Sox have been AL East Champions for two years, having won the divisional title in 2016. So more respect is in order for the Massachusetts team.
In this off-season they seldom surprised, but didn’t need them because of the foundation their squad already had. Many expected Infielder Eduardo Nunez to be retrieved. Similarly, the commitment of J. D. D. Martinez was actually a matter of course from the very beginning, especially since Martinez seemed to have no serious rival except for Boston.
Only the continued employment of First Baseman Mitch Moreland caused a little frowning. In his first season in Boston in 2017 he played offensively slightly below average (99 OPS+) in 149 games. Quite a few had expected a big solution like Eric Hosmer. But after the early conclusion with Moreland before Christmas, however, it was quickly no longer an issue. In view of the luxury tax situation of the Red Sox, however, this was not surprising, as they will now clearly exceed the 197 million dollar limit for the season with an extrapolated payroll of 237 million.
Moreland’s engagement, coupled with Martinez’s arrival, also creates an interesting constellation for the Red Sox. The lineup is full of stars whose places are almost carved in stone. Especially at the first base and the Designated Hitter this causes a traffic jam. Because apart from Moreland and Martinez, Hanley Ramirez must also be taken into account.
Ramirez, whose positional flexibility has become extremely manageable over the years, can only be used these days as DH and forcibly First Baseman. And he’s making $22 million this year.
But is that enough to get a starting job for the Red Sox? Yes, do you believe manager Alex Cora, who answered the question about his number 3 hitter in the lineup like this:”Was it now? Hanley Ramirez:” Inevitably this means that he also plays at the first base, because there is no other place in the lineup.
It is completely clear that Mookie Betts lead-off and Andrew Benintendi beats to two. Cleanup takes over Martinez and this as DH, because the outfield is equipped with the two named and center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. high quality – especially as far as defence is concerned.
So there’s only one base left for Ramirez. And this is probably only because you don’t necessarily want to have $22 million in salary on the bank. If you look at his last season, his striking performance – mainly as DH due to health reasons – was rather manageable. An OPS+ of 95 suggests that he was even worse off the bat than Moreland!
) Nunez starts the season instead of regular second baseman Dustin Pedroia, who will probably miss the opening day due to knee surgery.
However, there is hope in Boston for the fact that Ramirez played a really good season as a full-time first baseman in 2016 with 30 home runs and 111 RBI and an OPS+ of 126. But he was already defensively on the road at that time: He scored a value of -5 Defensive Runs Saved. For comparison: Moreland had 10 Defensive Runs Saved in 2017 – the second most First Basemen after Joey Votto (Reds).
If you take it all together, Ramirez came up with 2.7 Wins Above Replacement in 2016. Moreland 2017 but only at 0.9. This in turn explains why there is a preference to start Ramirez as First Baseman. However, it is at least questionable whether he will still reach this level of 2016 two years later. He has spent the winter working on his fitness and since then has been living according to the “TB12 Method”, the rigorous diet that quarterback Tom Brady of the New England Patriots lives so successfully.
The scenario is aggravated by the fact that Ramirez has an option in his contract running until the end of 2018, which will take effect as soon as he reaches at least 1050 Plate Appearances in the years 2017 and 2018. It now only needs 497 to cover a guaranteed 22 million dollars in 2019. But is that what you want?
In 2019 Ramirez will be 35 years old and in today’s world this is not an age that guarantees sustained top performance. The opposite is more the case. It is therefore not unlikely that the Red Sox will find creative ways to limit their playing time.
A platoon with right-handed Ramirez and left-handed Moreland would be a possibility, especially if you want to keep Ramirez happy. Direct benching, on the other hand, would probably be more difficult to cope with. Ramirez himself recently said:”It’s good for a manager to have confidence in you. “That’ll make you work harder and get better on the record.”
However, if Boston manages to master this delicate issue with some elegance, the outlook for 2018 is positive. The powerful rotation around Chris Sale and David Price returns and in Bullpen Closer Craig Kimbrel is once again waiting for the enemy hitter as the ultimate boss.
A further attack and a long October run are therefore more than possible – if the team succeeds in remaining focused and avoiding the homemade potential problem areas.
This article was published without prior view by the Major League Baseball.