Mookie Betts likely will begin the season as the Boston Red Sox’s leadoff hitter.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora revealed such Thursday night on WEEI, comparing Betts’ potential impact atop Boston’s order to the success George Springer had while batting first for the Houston Astros during their 2017 World Series run.
“I think we can be explosive,” Cora, who spent last season as Houston’s bench coach, said, per WEEI.com. “I come from a place where we want to put pressure on the pitcher right away. You look at the athletes we have, Mookie Betts will be kind of like our George Springer. From pitch one, we’re going to try and make the opposition grind and execute, and that’s not easy to do.
“I feel Mookie is athletic enough, he has extra-base power and he can be aggressive enough in the strike zone to put a good swing on right away and make the game 1-0 or have a man on second with no outs.”
Betts obviously is no stranger to the role. The Red Sox right fielder spent most of his time as Boston’s leadoff hitter in 2015 and 2016 before batting first in 81 games last season. He also batted second (14 games), third (40 games) and fourth (18 games) in 2017.
Betts, who began last season batting third, served almost exclusively as the team’s leadoff hitter in the middle of the year. He hit .266 with 16 home runs, 56 RBIs and an .815 OPS in 390 plate appearances out of the leadoff spot in 2017, a season in which his offensive production dipped a bit following a second-place finish in American League MVP voting in 2016.
The rest of the Red Sox’s lineup remains unclear, largely because there’s a chance Boston could add a bat to the middle of its order this offseason. But Andrew Benintendi likely will slot into the No. 2 hole behind Betts to open the season, according to Cora, especially with Dustin Pedroia expected to be sidelined until May while recovering from knee surgery.
“One thing I told (Pedroia) is, we want him to be healthy. That’s the most important thing,” Cora said, per WEEI.com. “Whenever he gets healthy, he might or might not be at the top of the lineup, depending on what we have. I think Andrew Benintendi is another guy, as a left-hander, he gives you that right-lefty order up there, and he can put another good swing and it can be 2-0 right away or 1-0 with a man on second. I like that. I like to put pressure right away. I saw how that worked.”
The Red Sox’s offense regressed last season, its first without David Ortiz. Signing or trading for a power hitter could help in 2018, but Boston also needs its internal options, like Betts, to produce at a high level in order for the club to contend for a World Series title.
