Red Sox real MVP

Who is the Red Sox real MVP?

Which player is an absolute must for the team’s success? David Ortiz certainly provides the power with 35 home runs, 104 RBI and a slash of .263/.355/.517 during 2014. Ortiz was the linchpin of a less than stellar Red Sox offense.

Dustin Pedroia is a former MVP of not only the team, but the league. A dynamo in the field with another Gold Glove and still able to display, despite numerous injuries, sting with the bat. Pedroia also provides all the intangibles that ring positive.

Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez both signed extensive contracts and are recognized as among the best in the game. Ramirez is a career .300 hitter with punch and Sandoval a career .294 hitter with three rings. Great contributions are expected from both.

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Now take the view of a general manager regarding MVP. If you are on the outside looking in just who would you want? If you have the ability to choose one player off the Boston 40 man roster just who would you select? Someone to build a team around and not fill an immediate hole. This is long term and not short term.

With my GM hat (pointed) on my head I would ignore those already mentioned. I would also exclude all the pitching staff. Not a one makes visions of “ace” dance around in my psyche. Same applies with the rest of the roster who will be doing duty in Pawtucket. Forget Henry Owens or Brian Johnson. A budding Clayton Kershaw is not in the Boston system.

Return to positional players. I would be looking young, with promise and as close to being a star down the road as possible. A player you could build around for eight to ten years. A potential franchise icon.

Rusney Castillo would be a respectable choice since you don’t hand out 72.5M contracts to just anyone. Castillo had a very presentable ten game introduction to Boston hitting .333 with a flash of power and speed. An excellent glove is tossed in and you have a potential five tool player. The possibility of (gasp) a franchise player.

Mookie Betts you have to admire. Rapid rise in the farm system and dazzle’s at every stop. Handed a glove and turned into the outfield where he performs rather well. Speed, versatility, some nice extra base punch and plate patience. Betts slashed .291/.368/.444 in his 52 games with the Red Sox in 2014. Betts is already an established fan favorite.

Forget about Betts and Castillo. I would love to have them, but no. However, being a Bettsophile, I hope by June he’s the one.

Xander Bogaerts would be my pick. A disappointment, but not a bitter one, in 2014. A middle of the season flame out where he did nothing. An RISP number that was beyond awful and some balls in the infield that became an adventure.

What I do see is .313 in September with four home runs and 16 RBI. I also see an average that was at .304 in early June. I also look at the ripe old age of 22 and playing a key position. Now the approach.

Bogaerts came into camp this spring ready to do some serious work. Coming in early in great shape and working on his defensive game as much as possible. Bogaerts appears to have that quality to put a bad game or even a bad month into the past and concentrate on the present.

As a GM for another team it would be Bogaerts as my selection. I’d toss him at short and let him play. Some companies are too big to fail and some player are too good to fail and that is Bogaerts.

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