Red Sox Middle Infield Remains Unsettled and Uncertain

 

The Red Sox held their Winter Weekend convention on Friday evening, where Chaim Bloom and Alex Cora addressed the media and fans. Bloom and John Henry both received a series of sustained boos during the event, and deservedly so.

Cora suggested that Enrique Hernández was the in-house favorite to play shortstop, with Christian Arroyo the likeliest option to man second base.

Though Hernández has experience at every non-catching position on the diamond, he’s primarily played center field, having logged just 618 innings at shortstop through parts of nine MLB seasons. Yet, he's played even fewer at second.

For reference, if a guy plays 150 games in a season, he'd amass 1,350 innings. So, Hernández has played less than half a season at shortstop in his entire career. I'm not saying he's incapable, but the Red Sox certainly won't be playing to his strengths by moving him out of center and not playing him at second.

At age 27, Arroyo remains a tantalizing player. He showed flashes of excellence last season, when he batted .286 over 87 games. However those 87 games marked a career high for Arroyo, who has continually struggled to stay healthy and on the field. Since he debuted in 2017, Arroyo has averaged just 43 games per season, excluding the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, when appeared in just 15 games.

Over six seasons, Arroyo has slashed .255/.307/.400/.708. Entrusting him with a starting role is quite risky.

Now that Adam Duvall has been signed to man center field, where he has started only 55 games in his career, the wisest choice would be to move Hernández to second, where he has played just 454 career innings, but has typically graded out as a solid or better defensively.

The Sox could then sign either Elvis Andrus or José Iglesias to play short. Both players have extensive experience at the position and grade out highly there. Each of them would come fairly cheap at this point in their careers and this offseason. With the absence of Xander Bogaerts and Trevor Story, the Red Sox cannot afford to take further risks up the middle this season.

Arroyo could remain in the utility position that has served him well over the years, manning second base on days when the Sox move Hernández out to center. This would give the team lots of flexibility.

However, the Sox could also sign a veteran second baseman, such as 35-year-old Josh Harrison, to pair with Arroyo. They clearly need insurance at the position, given Arroyo's history.

It's hard to tell whether Boston's plan is set in stone or if their stated position is merely a smokescreen being used as bargaining leverage with free agent shortstops, such as Andrus or Iglesias. Let's hope it's the latter.

If the Sox go with their stated plan, the lineup looks like this:

1. LF Masataka Yoshida (L)

2. SS Kiké Hernandez (R)

3. 3B Rafael Devers (L)

4. DH Justin Turner (R)

5. 1B Triston Casas (L)

6. CF Adam Duvall (R)

7. RF Alex Verdugo (L)

8. 2B Christian Arroyo (R)

9. C Reese McGuire (L)

That lineup comes with too many unknowns.

Yoshida has never played in the majors and was a defensive liability in Japan.

Hernández has never played a full season at shortstop.

Devers is a defensive liability at third.

Justin Turner is 38 years old.

Tristan Casas has played just 27 games in the majors.

Duvall has amassed just 75 innings in center, having primarily played left or right field over his eight seasons.

Verdugo has played a grand total of 151 innings in right field over his entire 6-year career.

Arroyo has averaged just 43 games per season and maxed out at 87 last year.

McGuire played in a career-high 89 games last season and has averaged just 53 games over his four-year career, excluding the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, when appeared in 19 games.

There are question marks all over the field and few reasons for confidence or high hopes this year. And I haven't even addressed the starting rotation, which is a topic for another day.