The six best left-handed hitters I ever saw were Boston Red Sox great Ted Williams, Tony Gwynn, Rod Carew, Wade Boggs, Stan Musial, and Tony Oliva. The common thread, aside from being left-handed, is that they are in the Hall of Fame and did not hit left-handed pitching as well as they did right-handed pitching.
A significant incentive for the Red Sox to sign Alex Bregman was his right-handed power, especially at Fenway Park. With a lefty-loaded lineup, managers like balance, and that is precisely a quality Bregman brought to Alex Cora's lineup card.
The Red Sox's top two prospects — Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer — have finally arrived, and Rafael Devers has departed. All three are lefties. You can also place Wilyer Abreu, Masataka Yoshida, Jarren Duran, and injured Triston Casas into the scrum of southpaws.
Devers in Boston had a kerfuffle with management, and a degree of obstinance and stubbornness has surfaced in San Francisco. Will Clark may have moderated his ire at Devers, but to Will the Thrill, Devers may be a baseball persona non grata. It is eerily similar to the mixed messages in Boston and has a disturbing pattern, but Boston is not exactly Mother Teresa in this mess.
Boston does have a unique connection to California and salary relief. A few years ago, the Dodgers made a move that was considered a salary dump for Boston, especially with Carl Crawford. I will skip the Mookie Betts disaster, but a significant part of Devers' excommunication from RSN was financial. The Giants were willing to take responsibility for the remaining $251 million on his decade-long contract.
The Rafael Devers trade could bring balance to the Red Sox lineup
Boston has been hitting — really hitting — since Devers departed, but like Devers's early failures in San Francisco, it is more circumstantial than a statement of good riddance. Or could it be a team challenge to make up for the loss? Devers will eventually hit, play first base, make Dick Stuart-like plays, and avoid any leadership role. Devers would be a perfect fit for those Red Sox teams of the distant past that coined the expression of 25 cabs for 25 players.
The Red Sox need another right-handed bat of significance to continue seeking lineup balance. Young players such as Ceddanne Rafaela and Kristen Campbell is not the right-handed power hitter they need. Trade rumors regarding Josh Naylor are intriguing, but that balance thing is key. Too bad Naylor hits left-handed.
The Red Sox may or may not acquire the necessary bat, but the offseason presents another avenue, either through trade or by utilizing the money saved from the Devers trade. In the here and now, the team will hit, and the righties will enjoy a steady influx of left-handed pitching unless the Yankees ship Aaron Judge to Boston.