Red Sox need Deven Marrero’s defense – not his bat
By Rick McNair
The Boston Red Sox have plugged the defensive hole at third base thanks to Deven Marrero. Has Marrero earned a roster spot?
An old adage applies to the recent two home run and five RBI outburst by Boston Red Sox third baseman Deven Marrero: “ Even a blind squirrel occasionally finds a nut.”
Marrero has now gone past the prospect stage of his career and is slipping into the status of a 4A player – that combination of a Triple-A lifer with the occasional wandering onto an MLB roster.
Marrero did his pre-professional tutelage at the noted baseball factory known as Arizona State. One nugget of interest that appears is Marrero’s descending batting average at Arizona State from .397 as a freshman to .284 in his last collegiate season. Despite that, Marrero became a first-round pick by Boston and was welcomed into the professional ranks with a $2 Million bonus.
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Getting a car stuck on ice or in a mud hole is frustrating as the tires just spin around like a carousel accomplishing nothing except getting you buried deeper into a situation where a tow truck is needed. That about summarizes Marrero’s career. As with his Arizona State career, it appears each year in the professional ranks saw his average drop. In 2016 Marrero hit just .198 and this season .194.
When you can’t hit the survival depended on two factors – one Marrero excels at and the other he does not. Let’s take a look at the latter or what is known as “the little things.” The most notable little thing is just giving you up to move a runner along for a scoring opportunity – a standard job description for a weak hitter at the bottom of the lineup.
Marrero is just not a gifted bunter. Watching Marrero at Pawtucket and in Boston that portion of his game is lacking. With Marrero’s above-average speed it should be an integral part. It is not. In his brief MLB career Marrero had a lone sacrifice. This season Marrero has made two attempts at getting a hit via a bunt and accomplished it just once.
Marrero is generally in the category of “easy out” at the bottom of the batting order. The strikeout totals at the MLB level are excessive as one-third of Marrero’s at-bats result in creating a well-worn path to the dugout after being blown away. Marrero is not a recreation of the fabled “Walking Man” Eddie Yost – a career .254 hitter who led the league in walks six times. The rest of the metrics show Marrero is not on the path to hit .300 or possibly .200.
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So much for trashing Marrero’s batting, but then comes the factor at which Marrero excels and that is his glove work. The Red Sox needed – desperately needed – someone at third base who could do two basic fielding skills – catch the ball and throw the ball. Marrero has accomplished just that. Even the early and ridiculously small sample for fielding shows a plus and any Red Sox fan can attest to the positive with an eyeball test.
Does Marrero have an MLB future?
Last year I wrote an article about how Marrero could follow a similar path as Marco Scutaro, who suddenly put it all together at 28-years-old. Maybe at 26-years-old Marrero has turned a corner? What I do know is despite Marrero’s lack of ability with the bat he deserves a place on the Red Sox 25-man roster.
Defense is important in late innings and the image of Pablo Sandoval in the eighth or ninth inning at third makes Xanax a distinct possibility. The even better news is Marrero is a very gifted shortstop who can chip in at that position if needed. The same applies to second base.
There is the possibility – slim as it may be – that Marrero’s home run outburst is a career changing event. Will it spark a surge in confidence that could result in it a springboard to a solid career? From my view I hope so.