Red Sox: Bottom of the order funk a continuing concern

The Boston Red Sox batting order has some holes to fill

The Boston Red Sox leadoff hitter situation is a perilous venture as manager Alex Cora searches for an answer to having consistency. There is no Mookie Betts, Johnny Damon, Jacoby Ellsbury, and even Julio Lugo to slot into the table-setting situation. My concerns go deeper into what is becoming a quicksand in the lineup.

A glance at the latest numbers shows Red Sox leadoff hitters are slashing .246/.291/.407 with Kiké Hernández the primary go-to guy. Then you drift down to seventh and a slash of .146/.231/.229 and ninth with a wretched .161/.212/.215. Each slot has multiple entries to contribute to the malaise. The seventh slot has Cora pinning his hopes on six different players and the ninth checks in with nine non-pitchers.

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The significant contributors to the dead weight department are the usual suspects who are not hitting their weight – Franchy Cordero, Bobby Dalbec, Hunter Renfroe, Kevin Plawecki, Christian Arroyo, and Marwin Gonzalez.

Gonzalez is a particular surprise by hitting just .083 in 36 at-bats while hitting seventh. Gonzalez hustles that average up to .323 in 31 at-bats when hitting sixth. Occasionally one of the laggards does something special – the old blind squirrel scenario.

What Cora has is an early-going problem, dilemma, or possible nightmare as the season moves forward. Teams usually have a hole or two in the lineup. There is no Jackie Bradley Jr. or Bill Mueller to provide a threat factor deep down the lineup card. In Sunday’s game against Texas, Boston had Gonzalez, Renfroe, Cordero, and Plawecki in the bottom of the order. All were below or hovering near the Mendoza Line.

Despite that anchor holding the lineup down, the team is still winning. Eventually, it will surface when runs are needed. There is no strategic bat off the bench. No Mitch Moreland, Mike Carp, or Jonny Gomes. With the versatility within the roster, the mix and match have accomplished little.

The minors offer little in the way of a remedy. Michael Chavis is certainly not an answer. Maybe one of the many who are mired in the muck of a slump will suddenly catch fire. But, again, I see little in the history of those players to place my bets on that happening.

At this juncture, a few players remain unsigned or consigned to the minors. The list has a few names of those available, but the possibility of any being a potential cure is about as remote as my having lunch on Titan tomorrow.

Chaim Bloom has resisted trading away prospects and has built a club that has surprised. But the lineup has some wet powder. The team has some salary-cap space in case another team is looking for a partner to absorb a fiscally irresponsible contract. That space, however, is a shade under $4 million.

What will most certainly happen is to go to the minors first with quite possibly Jarren Duran finally arriving after a few weeks of Triple-A ball. That could impact a farewell to Cordero or Renfroe. I could even see the Red Sox sending Garrett Richards elsewhere for cost savings and bringing back Tanner Houck. Richards could get you a bat and hopefully not a rubber bat. That said – I would avoid that option since Richards is fast becoming reliable.

Right now, Red Sox Nation is pleased and has developed an “In Chaim, we trust” mantra. So far his moves this season are more plus than a minus. I expect the team will stand still for a few more weeks until the quarter pole or 40 game mark. If the bottom of the order is still in a funk moves will be made.