Red Sox: 5 DFA candidates to clear a roster spot for Chris Sale
By Sean Penney
Red Sox utility man Marwin Gonzalez
The Red Sox brought in Marwin Gonzalez in part because he was a favorite of Alex Cora from their time together in Houston but even the manager’s patience must be wearing thin with the lack of production.
Gonzalez is struggling to keep his batting average above the Mendoza Line. He doesn’t walk frequently enough to sustain an acceptable on-base percentage and his .566 OPS would be a career low.
At his peak, Gonzalez could hit doubles in bunches and was capable of topping 20 homers. Now his pathetic .286 SLG is among the worst in the majors.
The switch-hitter has performed acceptably well against left-handed pitching, batting .273 with a .759 OPS in 66 at-bats against southpaws. Is that enough to warrant keeping him on the roster?
Not quite, although his defensive versatility might. Gonzalez has fielded seven different positions this season and handled each of them well. He possesses one of the best gloves on the team at any position and can handle almost all of them.
As a defensive replacement who can pinch-hit against lefties, Gonzalez can still carve out a role on this team despite his highly disappointing overall results. He also provides veteran leadership in the clubhouse and has experience on a championship team. Those traits can’t go overlooked.
Gonzalez might be among the worst performers on the team from an overall statistical standpoint but he isn’t useless and therefore not the most likely to get booted.