Red Sox bench will be critical to their success this season
While the Red Sox will have a strong starting lineup this season, their bench will be needed more than ever if they want to go from last-to-first again.
Although the Boston Red Sox have a strong and balanced starting lineup heading into Spring Training, and one in which they can rely on to position them to go from last-to-first in the AL East next season, the importance of their bench this year cannot be overstated.
The Red Sox opening day starters project to be Blake Swihart at catcher; Hanley Ramirez, Dustin Pedroia, Xander Bogaerts and Pablo Sandoval in the infield; Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley, Jr. and Rusney Castillo in the outfield; and David Ortiz as the designated hitter. Here is how many games each appeared in last year:
Bogaerts (156)
Ortiz (146)
Betts (145)
Sandoval (126)
Ramirez (105)
Pedroia (93)
Swihart (84)
Castillo (80)
Bradley (74)
As you can see, only one-third of the 2016 lineup played in a number of games the Red Sox will want from their starters in 2016. With Sandoval, Ramirez, Pedroia and Castillo, there are injury concerns, although all appear at full health right now. With Betts, Swihart, Bradley and Castillo, there is the lack of a track record to rely on in terms of playing 140-150 games in a season. With Ortiz, he is going to be playing the 2016 season at 40-years-old.
Therefore, the importance of the Red Sox bench this year cannot be overstated. In all likelihood, one or more of them will be called upon to step in for a starter over a long period of time. So, did Dave Dombrowski and the Red Sox do a good job building the bench this offseason?
Let’s take a look at their bench:
Next: Chris Young
The Red Sox signed Young to a two-year, $13 million dollar deal this offseason. Although he was signed as the team’s fourth outfielder behind Betts, Bradley and Castillo, fans should expect to see a lot of him and a lot of that has to do with the uncertainty surrounding Bradley and Castillo.
Young appeared in 140 games for the Yankees last season, batting .252 with 14 HRs and 42 RBIs. In fact, he has hit double-digit HRs in nine straight seasons. In addition to being insurance in case of an injury to one of the starting outfielders, and this is another reason why he is ranked number one on this list, Young is going to get a lot of at-bats because of his success against lefties, who he hit .327 with 7 HRs and 24 RBIs off of last season.
Castillo is set to start the season in right field and Bradley in left. Young has played both positions his entire career. Last year for the Yankees, he played 76 games in right and 55 games in left. Therefore, he will be able to fill in for both corner outfielders, if necessary.
With Bradley, he has been healthy for most of his career. Ultimately, after going back and forth between Pawtucket (AAA) and Boston last season multiple times, he played in 74 games for the Red Sox. He batted .249 with 10 HRs and 43 RBIs. However, but for an August that saw him hit .354, he struggled, as he has for most of his career when given the chance at the big league level. Although everyone is excited about his offense in August of last season, he followed that up with a .216 September batting average. Therefore, the jury is still out on whether Bradley will be able to produce enough offense to be an everyday player. If he falters, Young will need to step in.
With Castillo, due to various injuries, he has been out of the lineup for most of his tenure with the Red Sox. The uncertainty of when, if ever, that will change is likely what prompted Dombrowski to sign a player like Young. In addition to the injury concerns, the Red Sox have to be worried about Castillo’s growth at the plate since arriving from Cuba, which has been non-existent for the most part. Other than one impressive stretch last year between July and August, where he batted .338 over 23 starts, he has been overmatched by Major League pitching, resulting in the shortening of his swing this offseason. Given the fact he carries both injury and production concerns, it seems like a foregone conclusion that Young will need to step in for him at some point this season.
By virtue of Young’s splits against left-handed pitching, it is a certainty that he is going to be called upon by the Red Sox to win a lot of games this season. Depending on the performance of Bradley and health and performance of Castillo, Young may be called upon to slide into the starting outfield. As a result, he is by far the most important bench player on the 2016 Red Sox.
Next: Brock Holt
Similar to last season, Holt’s opportunities for playing time will come all over the field. In 2015, he played 8 games at first base; 58 games at second base; 33 games at third base; 11 games at shortstop; and 37 games in the outfield. While Young will be primary bench player for the outfield, Holt will be the primary cover for the Red Sox in the infield. With Pedroia and Sandoval both coming off injuries and Ramirez yet to prove he is capable of playing competent defense at first, Holt will need to be ready.
Holt represented the Red Sox at the All-Star Game in 2015. The 27-year-old utility man played in 129 games, hitting .280 with 2 HRs and 45 RBIs. He also stole eight bases. It says a lot about the Red Sox that one of their top two bench players this season was their only All-Star last year.
The reason Holt is not higher than Young on this list is opportunity. Young has two players whose starting jobs he may end up taking due to both injury and performance, while Holt will only be given everyday at-bats in the case of injuries or trade. He played most of his games last year at second, but Pedroia is headed into spring training at full health. Therefore, barring injuries, you can expect 140 starts from Pedroia, 150 from Bogaerts, and the same from Sandoval, which limits Holt’s opportunities.
Holt’s best chance to significant playing time will be at first, although Travis Shaw may disagree with that, which is ironic considering it was his least-played position last year. With Ramirez, the Red Sox do not know what they are going to get at either the plate or in the field. It is entirely possible that he becomes such a defensive liability, like he was in left field last season, that the Red Sox are forced to sit him two times per week or even try to trade him, again.
Holt will also be expected to fill-in for either Bradley or Castillo, if they need a day off, against right-handed pitching. While Young has strong splits against lefties, he batted under .200 last year against righties. Holt batted a respectable .270 off of right-handed pitching in 2015.
Regardless of how things play out with the starters health and performance, chances are Holt is going to have a huge say in the team’s success or failure in 2016. He plugs in at every spot on the field and John Farrell loves to find ways to get him in the lineup.
Next: Travis Shaw
As referenced above, Shaw is hoping to backup Ramirez at first. He started 55 games at the position for the Red Sox last season and performed well enough for the organization to consider trading Ramirez this offseason in order to hand Shaw the job. Overall, he appeared in 65 games in 2015 and batted .274 with 13 HRs and 36 RBIs. Spread over a 162-game season, those numbers suggest Shaw has 30-HR power potential, which is something the Red Sox have not received consistently from someone not named David Ortiz in quite some time. That is why the Red Sox are going to do their best to get Shaw in the lineup whenever they can.
The problem for Shaw, and the reason he is third on this list, is the lack of opportunity. If Ramirez picks up first quickly and hits the way he did in April of last season, or even anything remotely close to that, Shaw will struggle for playing time. While he played the occasional third last season, appearing eight times there, Holt is going to be the primary backup at that position. Therefore, other than a Ramirez injury, trade or release, Shaw is going to be given the occasional spot start and nothing more. The most likeliest of scenarios being when Ortiz sits, Ramirez will DH and Shaw will be inserted at first.
Regardless, Shaw needs to be ready and the Red Sox are lucky to have his bat on the bench. To be able to fall back on someone like him, with his professionalism, character and power is huge for John Farrell, especially when you consider the fact that Ramirez’s track record indicates he will have at least one extended stay on the disabled list this season.
Next: Ryan Hanigan
Hanigan is going to be the primary backup to starting catcher, Blake Swihart. It remains unclear how much Hanigan will play or when, i.e. if he will be the personal catcher for one of the Red Sox starting pitchers. What is known though is the importance he will play this season. In addition to his continued mentorship of the second-year catcher, he is going to be asked to start at least 20-30 games and maybe more depending on Swihart’s health. The Red Sox are likely confident in his abilities to step in and start, if necessary, given his 27-24 record last year as the starting catcher.
Overall, Hanigan finished the 2015 season batting .247 with 2 HRs and 16 RBIs. He was much better at Fenway Park too, as he batted .310 at home, but .162 on the road. Another important thing to know about Hanigan has to do with the clutch factor. In Boston, the most successful players are the ones that relish pressure and the big at-bat. Hanigan is that guy, which should give the Red Sox confidence of his ability to pinch hit in the late innings or be called upon in the case of an extended stay on the disabled list for Swihart. In 2015, Hanigan batted .273 in high leverage situations. He also hit .268 with men on base, which is fairly productive for a catcher, let alone a backup.
Unless someone in the starting rotation prefers throwing to Hanigan, he will likely spell Swihart against lefties. Last season, while Swihart hit .225 against left-handers, Hanigan hit an impressive .364. Therefore, expect to see a lot of Hanigan’s spot starts coming against left-handed pitching. There is also the chance Swihart suffers an injury or runs into a physical wall during his first full season at the Major League Level. Given that risk, it is important the Red Sox have someone capable backing him up and that is Hanigan.
Conclusion
During a 162-game season, teams experience injuries. Oftentimes, it is the organization who has the depth to deal with the injuries, plug the hole the starter leaves and still win ballgames that separates the bad from the good and the good from the great. That is even more true when you have a starting lineup nearly full of players who are either without a significant track record of performance or coming off an injury-shortened season, such as the Red Sox, which is why the importance of the fact their bench includes a 2015 all-star, a player nine straight double-digit HR-seasons, a player who hit 13 HRs in only 65 games last season and a veteran game-caller who hits lefties at a plus-.300 clip.
Next: Rodriguez fixed issue with pitch tipping
The Red Sox bench may be just as important as their starting lineup this season and that may not be a bad thing.