So, the Red Sox missed out on Jon Lester. I have to say, I’m more than a little surprised. As a fan of the Sox and of Lester individually, I really believed that both sides wanted a reunion and would make it happen in the end. I’m not bitter; Lester helped bring two championships to Boston and has never been anything but the consummate professional. I wish him nothing but the best in Chicago. But with that said, the question now is what exactly is the plan post-Lester in Boston? How can we make sense of the Red Sox offseason?
The Sox have made several moves this offseason, but the three headliners have been the acquisitions of starting pitchers Rick Porcello, Wade Miley, and Justin Masterson. None of these starters could be considered an ace in the ilk of Lester, though Porcello could be trending in that direction, but all three do have something in common: they are all primarily ground-ball pitchers.
This would suggest, amongst other things, that the Red Sox will be trusting their defense to back up their starters and keep them in games this season. At first glance, this might seem odd for a team that committed 92 errors in 2014, 12 more than they committed in 2013, and had revolving doors at third base, shortstop, and basically every outfield position.
However, assuming a couple other acquisitions pan out and another player returns to full health, a heavy reliance on defense might not be that bad an idea. Last season, third base was manned by Will Middlebrooks, now with the San Diego Padres, and shortstop Xander Bogaerts. Middlebrooks played just 62 games at the position due to injury and struggles at the plate, and committed four errors. Bogaerts, splitting time between short and third, committed 10 errors in just 44 games at the hot corner, and another 10 in 99 games at short. The outfield saw many so many faces come and go that its easy to forget that the season began with Grady Sizemore’s comeback attempt in left field.
Quietly, however, the Red Sox have remade their defense in a way that should lead to success for their now ground-ball prone rotation. Two other new faces, Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez, grabbed headlines for what they will bring to the lineup, but they could be even more important for their gloves. Sandoval will immediately step in and take over full time third base duties. The man known affectionately as Panda owns a career .960 fielding percentage at the hot corner and has committed just 76 errors in 771 games at the position. This should also help Bogaerts, who’s defense deteriorated badly when he was forced to switch from short, his natural position, to third. He actually improved defensively when he was finally allowed to move back to shortstop full time, but by then the damage was done. Given another full offseason of work at shortstop, Bogaerts should be able to provide solid, if unspectacular, defense next to perennial gold glove second baseman Dustin Pedroia. Add in gold glover Mike Napoli at first, and the infield no longer looks like the sieve it was last season.
In the outfield, the addition of Ramirez and the healthy return of Shane Victorino should provide stability at the very least. Ramirez has never played outfield, but he has not been charged with more than 16 errors in a season since 2008. Victorino, on the other hand, has spent his entire career in the outfield, and does not have a career fielding percentage worse than .991 at any of the three positions. The third outfield spot is the only real question mark. It is widely assumed that uber prospect Mookie Betts will patrol center field full time in 2015, and there are worse options. Betts has only played 40 games in the outfield at the major league level, and only 28 in center, but has been charged with only one error in that admittedly limited sample size. And if Betts fails to impress or Victorino’s health falters once again, Rusney Castillo is there to step in. Castillo has played just ten games for Boston in the outfield, but has yet to be charged with an error. Castillo is currently playing in the Pueto Rican winter league, where he has garnered high praise for his play and work ethic from manager, and former Red Sock, Alex Cora.
Is it strange, at first glance, to see the Red Sox forgo the traditional strikeout-inducing ace that they’ve been known for having in recent years? Yes, it is. We are accustomed to seeing guys like Pedro Martinez, Curt Schilling, Jon Lester, and even John Lackey anchor the staff and toss fire across the plate. But that does not mean we should wonder at the team’s new direction. A staff comprised of reliable ground-ball pitchers, backed by a reliable defense, is enough to carry a team to the playoffs. Just look at last season’s Baltimore Orioles. Are the Red Sox currently good enough to win it all? Probably not. But in the end, only one team will be, and after finishing in last place in the American League East last season, the Sox will be happy just to contend, and they are now good enough to do that at the very least.
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