Red Sox must stop pretending Franchy Cordero is a first baseman
The Boston Red Sox need to find a reliable first baseman
The lack of production from first basemen in the Boston Red Sox lineup has been a sore spot all season but the defense at the position has been even worse.
Bobby Dalbec’s struggles forced the Red Sox to platoon him at first base in order to utilize him primarily against left-handed pitching. Their limited depth at the position pushed Franchy Cordero into an unfamiliar role. Cordero had never played first base prior to his arrival in Boston last season and he has started only 47 career games at the position.
Cordero’s inexperience was exposed by the Cleveland Guardians in Wednesday night’s loss.
With a pair of runners in scoring position and nobody out in the second inning, Cordero made a leaping stab at a ball hit toward first base, only for the ball to pop out of his glove. He chased it down as the ball rolled away from him, spun and delivered an awkward off-balance throw to first base that was well out of the reach of the pitcher covering the bag. Cordero was charged with two errors on the play while two unearned runs went against Nathan Eovaldi.
Cordero made the same mistake in the 8th inning when Nolan Jones beat out an infield single. Franchy made another terrible throw while falling away from first base, allowing the runner to advance to second base.
Jones would end up coming around to score the tying run in that inning. Perhaps he would have scored from first anyway on the double by Myles Straw – John Schreiber was charged with a rare earned run – but we’ll never know if the Red Sox could have prevented that run with a play at the plate if Jones wasn’t already in scoring position due to the error.
Cordero should have put the ball in his back pocket on both plays. Instead, he looked like he was trying to imitate Stephen Curry shooting a fadeaway 30-footer to beat the buzzer, only Cordero’s shot splashed down far from his intended target. He had no chance of recording the out at first and his ill-advised throws allowed runners to advance. He cost the Red Sox at least a pair of runs in a game they lost by one.
Cordero has been a defensive disaster for the Red Sox
This defensive performance was a disaster but unfortunately, it’s been a common theme when Cordero is at first base. He’s been charged with eight errors as a first baseman this season, the second-most in the majors at the position, per FanGraphs.
That’s particularly troubling when you consider he’s only logged 299 innings at first base. Every other major league fist baseman with 5+ errors this season has spent over 400 innings at the position. Cordero is the only first baseman with fewer than 300 innings to commit more than three errors. He’s making an error roughly once ever 38 innings. At this pace, his error total would more than double anyone else at the position if he were an everyday first baseman with 800+ innings so far this season.
Cordero’s -1 defensive runs saved and -2 Outs Above Average might suggest a slightly below-average first baseman but those metrics are more alarming in the context of his small sample size. Only seven major league first basemen have produced -2 DRS or worse in fewer than 300 innings. Every first baseman worse than -2 OAA has logged at least 350 innings at the position and most of them have at least doubled that workload.
Dalbec hasn’t been prone to as many mistakes with only two errors in 516 1/3 innings at fist base but he’s still an abysmal defensive player. His -5 DRS is tied for the second-worst in the majors at the position he’s been nearly as bad as Cordero with -1 OAA.
The Red Sox can’t pretend that they are making an honest effort to climb back into the Wild Card race if they continue to roll with Cordero and Dalbec at first base. Unfortunately, their injury-ravaged roster has limited options. With Rafael Devers on the IL, Dalbec has been playing third base with Cordero locked in at first. Former Gold Glove award-winner Yolmer Sanchez has experience at the hot corner but he’s needed at second base while Trevor Story is sidelined. The versatile Christian Arroyo is still working his way back from an injury.
Boston went from having an abundance of depth in the infield to a dangerously thin group to cover those positions. Those injured players should return relatively soon but the Red Sox cannot wait for them as their playoff hopes slip away. Even when they are back at full strength, first base remains a major weakness at the plate and in the field.
Dalbec finally showed signs off life with a two-homer game and Cordero partially made up for his defensive blunders by recording a hit, a walk and scoring three runs in the narrow loss to Cleveland. Despite those strong performances at the plate, Red Sox first basemen are 28th in the majors with 75 wRC+ this season. Combine their offensive woes with their defensive struggles and it’s clear this team is in desperate need of an upgrade at first base.
Where can the Red Sox find a first base upgrade?
The problem is that there are no clear options to turn to. Boston expected Triston Casas to be their savior at the position but he’s not ready yet after missing two months with an ankle injury.
According to MassLive’s Chris Cotillo, the Red Sox are bringing Danny Santana back on a minor league deal. While he has experience playing all over the infield, Santana isn’t the solution. He hit a meager .181 with a .597 OPS in 38 games with the Red Sox last season. Santana hasn’t played this year while serving an 80-game PED suspension. It’s hard to see him earning his way into a meaningful role down the stretch. He offers little more than depth and an excuse for the front office to claim that they are leaving no stone unturned.
Options are limited on the trade market with the deadline looming next week. Josh Bell is the prize at the position, and while his bat solves part of the problem, he leads the position with nine errors. The potentially available Hunter Dozier (-2 DRS) and Jesús Aguilar (-3) are also subpar defensive first basemen.
Arizona might be willing to part with Christian Walker, who leads the position with 14 DRS and he has 23 home runs, but his batting average is hovering above the Mendoza Line. He’s also under team control through 2024, which means the Diamondbacks might not be eager to let him go unless a team overpays. Plus, he’d create a roadblock for Casas next season, although his right-handed bat would make him an ideal platoon partner considering the lefty prospect has struggled with southpaws in his minor league career.
The options are slim, both internally and externally, and they all come with warts. There isn’t an easy solution to this problem but the Red Sox need to do something. Cordero’s bat hasn’t proven consistent enough to be ready for the big leagues and his defense is a liability. Boston gave him an opportunity but at this point, the Franch Toast is burnt. If they don’t find a more reliable option before next week’s deadline, they might as well concede to being sellers.
Next. J.D. Martinez available in trade talks. dark