Questionable Red Sox Lineups? Alex Cora Explains Approach

The Boston Red Sox have a pair of young hitters who mashed the baseball throughout July.

So, why aren’t they consistently finding their way into the lineup?

That is the question Red Sox manager Alex Cora has been asked quite often as of late, as Boston has continued to play the matchups when it comes to left-handed bats Jarren Duran and Triston Casas. Though they both entered Sunday’s matchup with the San Francisco Giants batting over .350 with an OPS over 1.100 in July, Duran and Casas started the game on the bench.

It’s a puzzling trend for some, but Cora has done his best to explain the method behind his madness.

“I think everybody’s gonna be part of this,” Cora said Sunday, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive. “The advantage (the Giants) have right now is that we don’t know where they’re going to go. They have a lefty that can go multiple innings and a few righties. … If we have to go to Jarren and Casas at one point, we’ll do it.”

“(Rafael Devers) didn’t play against lefties in 2018.”

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Red Sox manager Alex Cora

Is his lineup starting to make more sense?

San Francisco chose to go with an opener Sunday, as left-handed reliever Scott Alexander took the hill in the first inning. That prompted Cora to go with Rob Refsnyder and Justin Turner (both right-handed batters) to take those spots in the lineup. Boston’s skipper had good reasoning, as Alexander only allows lefties to hit .156 off him, while Duran and Casas have only made 16% of their collective plate appearances against left-handed pitchers this season.

In short, they don’t play against lefties and aren’t going to start any time soon.

“(Rafael Devers) didn’t play against lefties in 2018,” Cora said when asked about future plans for Duran and Casas, per Ian Browne of MLB.com.

Though there is little doubt the Red Sox have been at their best with Duran and Casas contributing, Boston isn’t going to set them up to fail. Duran has batted .300 against lefties in 2023, but his OPS drops by more than 100 points and his strikeout percentage increases. Casas doesn’t fair better, batting .192 and seeing his OPS drop by nearly 150 points.

It’s the Red Sox’s way of taking the cautious approach, attempting to ensure future success for a pair of young contributors.