Boston Red Sox: Brock Holt should play third base in postseason
Brock Holt’s emergence as the left-handed half of a third base platoon underscores his value to the success of the Boston Red Sox.
When the Boston Red Sox acquired Brock Holt from the Pittsburgh Pirates in a deal that was mainly about acquiring future flameout closer (injuries, not all his fault) Joel Hanrahan, few in Red Sox Nation had ever heard of him. With the inevitable attrition of injuries and poor performance, Holt has become one of the new breed of super-utility players that many teams seem to want now.
The Red Sox, frustrated by the lack of production from Cuban disappointment Rusney Castillo, installed Holt as their regular left fielder versus right-handers to start the season. Since Holt came over in 2014, this was the first time he had a regular position. The player who was valued for his ability to play anywhere on the field was valued for his ability to play a position everyday that he learned at the big league level.
When a lingering concussion issue sidelined Holt for six weeks in the middle of the season, it was uncertain whether he would be back manning left field when he returned. He went back there to start, but the Red Sox, concerned about their reduced production in that position perhaps started thinking about bringing first-rounder Andrew Benintendi up to the majors. They followed through on that in early August.
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With Chris Young earning a very tidy $6.5 million salary, the noted lefty-masher needed to play as much as he could. Holt’s unexpected futility against left-handed pitching in 2016 made sitting him against lefties an easy decision. This season, Holt is 4-for-38 with 15 strikeouts (with a .174 on balls in play or BABIP, average is .290) against left-handed pitching. His .350 OPS versus lefties is not something that is going to earn him any playing time in that role.
What is strange about this is that the previous two seasons, Holt was better against lefties than against righties (.763 vs. .682 OPS in 2014 and .807 vs. .701 OPS in 2015). When Young struggled for at-bats early in the season, Holt wasn’t able to see many lefties early in the season. The terrible season results against lefties might be a reflection of that.
Settling in at third base
It seemed that Holt was without a position, but as always seems to be the case with Holt, an opportunity opened up when Travis Shaw began to struggle in the second half. Whereas Holt seems to be accustomed to playing three or four days a week, Shaw has not been able to adjust to it. After playing 28 games in May, Shaw played only 20 in July. In the second half, Shaw’s numbers fell to .194/.259/.360. The team likes Shaw’s power but after seven homers and 35 RBI through his first 52 games, Shaw managed just nine homers and 36 RBI in his last 93 regular season games.
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Holt’s defense has been steadier than Shaw’s at third base. Though playing in only 93 innings, Holt’s defensive runs saved was 13 in 93 innings whereas Shaw’s was 14 while playing 851.1 innings there. Holt seems steadier than Shaw who seems to struggle making accurate throws to first base. While batting .216 in September does not make you terribly confident in his hitting at the moment, he hit .288 in July and .283 in August.
One could make an argument for Holt playing full time in the playoffs given his career splits are almost identical between lefties and righties. Hill will likely get the nod against lefties though, considering his bat is starting to come around in September, though he only notched 31 plate appearances, hitting at an .811 OPS clip.
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At the start of the year, no one could have imagined Holt would be getting most of the starts at third base in October considering he was the starting left fielder most of the year. This is his value, his ability to be a solid contributor wherever you put him. The Red Sox hope those contributions continue deep into October.