The Boston Red Sox look like a different team compared to the way they played in the first half of the season.
That was as apparent as it’s been all season after Saturday night’s 10-1 loss to the Texas Rangers, which manager Alex Cora called embarrassing and unacceptable. The offense was an issue, as was pitching, but more glaring was the Red Sox’s fielding (five errors and two unearned runs).
The defensive effort against the lowly Rangers offense brought a subliminal dilemma to light, correlating with tweaks and trials to player positions.
The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier on Sunday wrote about some factors that have played into the Red Sox’s 15-19 record since the All-Star break, and how the void at first base has caused other defensive dominos to fall.
Kiké Hernández served as Boston’s center fielder through most of the regular season. As he’s been used in the infield since the promotion of Jarren Duran from Triple-A Worcester, the infield has suffered. Not to mention, utility infielder Christian Arroyo has made three trips to the 10-day injured list, further messing up Boston’s rhythm.
“Across multiple publicly available metrics (Defensive Runs Saved, UZR, Outs Above Average), Hernández was an elite center fielder in the first half,” Speier wrote. “His primary replacement in center since the All-Star break, Jarren Duran, has graded as average (OAA) to below average (DRS, UZR).
“At second, Christian Arroyo graded as average (OAA) to above average (DRS, UZR) in the first half. Hernández — the team’s primary second baseman since the All-Star break — has graded as significantly below average across metrics.”
That plausibly has had an impact on Boston’s difficulty turning double plays. The Red Sox turned 77 in the first half, the second-most in MLB to that point in the season. Since the break, as they’ve tinkered more at dirst base, they’ve turned just 16.
“In recent days, in order to accommodate the addition of Kyle Schwarber to the lineup, the Red Sox have used Martinez as a corner outfielder,” Speier wrote. “Whereas the first half alignment of Hernández in center and Alex Verdugo and Hunter Renfroe in the corners excelled, the trio of Martinez, Renfroe, and either Verdugo or Duran in center has been a recipe for a lot of balls in play finding the lawn. In six days since Martinez went to the outfield, the Sox have allowed a .377 average on balls in play.”
Despite the more than three-week skid, Boston still is tied for the final American League playoff spot thanks to the Oakland Athletics’ loss Sunday.
But the Red Sox are running out of time to turn things around.
