Boston Red Sox: Third base position is still up for grabs

The Boston Red Sox have received dismal production from their third basemen this season, leaving the position up for grabs heading toward the postseason.

Only nine games remain in the 2016 regular season and the Boston Red Sox still don’t know who their starting third basemen is.

Travis Shaw wrestled the position away from veteran Pablo Sandoval in spring training, proving right out of the gate that manager John Farrell wasn’t going to let the size of a player’s contract dictate playing time. Players needed to earn it with their performance, which is what Shaw did this past spring.

With a hot start to the season, combined with Sandoval’s season-ending surgery, the starting third base role appeared to be Shaw’s to lose.

And lose it he did. A second half fade relegated Shaw to a platoon role after the Red Sox acquired utility infielder Aaron Hill in a mid-season trade. The plan was to have Shaw start primarily against right-handed pitchers, while Hill would get the start against lefties.

The plan hasn’t worked. Shaw is hitting .209 with a .663 OPS in the second half, while Hill has been similarly disappointing with a .219 average and .563 OPS.

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Perhaps those numbers would look better if Farrell actually managed to stick to the right/left platoon on a consistent basis. Hill has performed quite well against left-handed pitching, hitting .298 over 57 at-bats. If he were locked into a role where he could exclusively be used against southpaws he would be fine. The problem is that he’s received slightly more playing time against right-handed pitchers, against whom he has collected a mere nine hits in 60 at-bats for a putrid .150 average since joining the Red Sox.

The manager’s head-scratching lineup decisions have been a factor, but third base production has been an issue for the Red Sox for most of the season. Red Sox third basemen are last in the league with a .702 OPS and 13th with a .249 average this season.

Boston is on the verge of clinching a playoff spot, but Farrell is still looking for someone to step up and claim the third base job.

"“We’re looking for production at third base to continue to climb,” Farrell told reporters, per the Providence Journal’s Brian MacPherson. “Guys are here that have done it. It’s a spot that can be further grabbed. We don’t ever want to just hand a spot just because you hit righthanded or lefthanded.”"

Third base is an open competition and Farrell is challenging his players to step up. Shaw and Hill both remain very much in the mix, but if they can’t get the job done then someone else will be given the opportunity.

For about a minute or so in early September it looked like top prospect Yoan Moncada would be the one to finally secure the role – a move that would be reminiscent of when a young Xander Bogaerts pushed aside a struggling Will Middlebrooks to take over at third base in the 2013 postseason. Farrell went as far to proclaim Moncada as his new starting third basemen after the young phenom started his career by reaching base four times in his first 11 plate appearances. Then opposing pitchers caught on that Moncada remains baffled by big league caliber breaking balls. He struck out in eight straight appearances and has been glued to the bench ever since.

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Moncada’s arrival was a wake up call for Shaw, sparking a brief resurgence that began the day that Moncada was called up. Shaw went 6-for-13 with a pair of home runs and eight RBI in the first four games he appeared in to start the month of September. The challenge of a highly touted prospect coming to steal his job seemed to be the spark Shaw needed, but it quickly fizzled out around the same time Moncada found his way to the bench. Shaw is three for his last 25 at the plate, leaving Farrell to seek other options as the Red Sox roll toward October.

Shaw is slumping again, Hill can only be trusted against lefties and Moncada clearly needs a full spring of facing major league caliber pitchers to get him back on track. Boston is running thin on productive options.

Farrell hinted that Brock Holt is a potential solution, pointing out the value of his defensive versatility. He has been in a bit of a slump himself this month amid sporadic playing time, but he filled in at shortstop Thursday night while Bogaerts was given a breather and responded with two hits. If he starts showing some consistency at the plate, Holt is a candidate to take over the hot corner.

It’s hard to fathom how a Red Sox team with the best offense in baseball has received such little production from a position typically reserved for a big bat. Look around their own division and you’ll see stars like Josh Donaldson, Manny Machado and Evan Longoria manning the position, yet the Red Sox can’t find anyone to hold on to it. In Boston, the hot corner has become the lukewarm corner.

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These final nine games will serve as an audition for those vying for playing time at third base. All of them have proven themselves to be at least serviceable defensively, so it will take one of them getting hot with the bat to earn their spot in the starting lineup when the playoff begin.

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