Red Sox Shortstop Outlook: Xander Bogaerts Looking To Silence Doubters

Xander Bogaerts The Boston Red Sox’s shortstop situation turned into a mess this season.

Xander Bogaerts started at shortstop, shifted to third base and then started at short again after the Red Sox traded Stephen Drew to the New York Yankees at the Major League Baseball non-waiver trade deadline. Essentially, the Red Sox are back to square one as they enter a crucial offseason.

Bogaerts only has 174 games of major league experience between the regular season and playoffs. The 22-year-old still is adapting to life in the bigs. The Red Sox surely need him to produce in 2015, though, as Boston’s offense was brutal for much of 2014.

2014 at a glance
For months, water cooler chatter centered on Drew and whether the Red Sox would re-sign the veteran shortstop or roll with a left side of the infield comprised of Bogaerts and Will Middlebrooks. The Red Sox initially took the former path but soon veered down the latter road after Middlebrooks suffered an injury.

Signing Drew made sense — it would have made sense last offseason and it made sense in May. The Red Sox were relying on young players with unproven track records and bringing back Drew was a way to safeguard against potential struggles. Or so the Red Sox thought.

The move proved ugly. Drew stunk, Bogaerts seemed thrown off by his position change and Middlebrooks never gained any traction amid a horrendous season. In the end, the best decision the Red Sox made with regards to the left side of the infield was shipping Drew to the Bronx so he could continue to stink there instead.

Bogaerts started strong, sputtered and finished strong in 2014. He ended the year batting .240 with 12 homers, 46 RBIs and a .660 OPS in 144 games — 99 games at short.

Whose job to lose?
Bogaerts.

Sure, he went through growing pains. And OK, there’s a chance he might never evolve into a superstar. But there’s no denying Bogaerts has the potential to become a special hitter. A rollercoaster 2014 season didn’t — and shouldn’t — do anything to lessen the Red Sox’s confidence in the former top prospect.

Bogaerts is entering an important year in which he’ll be trying to silence doubters. Fortunately for the Red Sox, he showed promise down the stretch this season, hitting .313 (30-for-96) with four homers and 16 RBIs in 24 September games.

Notable prospects
Deven Marrero, 24
Marrero is polished in the field. He’s a work in progress offensively.

Marrero was named the Red Sox’s Minor League Defensive Player of the Year in 2014. He showed some improvement at the plate, hitting .291 with a .371 on-base percentage in 68 games with Double-A Portland, but also struggled in the second half with Triple-A Pawtucket.

Marrero will start 2015 with Pawtucket. He could find his way to Boston at some point if something goes awry in the infield.

Tzu-Wei Lin, 20
Lin is an excellent defender, which typically is enough to garner at least some attention at the position. He’ll likely start the season with High-A Salem and will need to show more offensively before the next step becomes an option.

Michael Chavis, 19
Even Chavis knows a position change could be in the cards. The 2014 first-round pick recently said he thinks he looks more like a third baseman, which makes sense given his thick frame and big time power.

Projecting Chavis’ future is nearly impossible at this point. He’s still too raw. But a season at Single-A could give the Red Sox a better indication of what they have waiting in the wings.

Top three free agents
Hanley Ramirez
Ramirez has been inconsistent throughout his career. He’s a dynamic, All-Star caliber player when all is right, though. The Red Sox could consider signing Ramirez this offseason to play third base — he’s friends with David Ortiz, after all — but he’ll likely command a hefty sum of cash.

Ramirez hit .283 with 13 homers, 71 RBIs, 14 stolen bases and an .817 OPS in 128 games with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2014.

Jed Lowrie
Lowrie, like Ramirez, has experience at both shortstop and third base, making him an option for Boston. He also started out in the Red Sox organization.

Lowrie only hit .249 with six homers, 50 RBIs and a .676 OPS in 136 games with the Oakland Athletics this season, but the 30-year-old switch-hitter has a productive track record.

Stephen Drew
Drew was one of the least productive players in baseball this season. He hit .162 in 85 games split between Boston and New York.

The 31-year-old still is a good defender and could bounce back in 2015, especially since he likely won’t sit out the first two months.

2015 prediction
Bogaerts will break out in 2015.

Bogaerts’ late-season surge provided a glimpse of what he’s capable of offensively. His plate discipline, his ability to use all fields and the poise with which he operated were similar to what he showed during the 2013 World Series, when Bogaerts looked primed to become a star sooner rather than later.