https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/BOS/2019.shtml
I was perusing the 2019 Red Sox stays while responding to a different post and started thinking about what was most easily fixable in 2020 relative to 2019. This type of low hanging fruit will be especially important given the new focus on staying under the luxury tax thresholds. Fortunately, there are 2 ways to improve a lot.
It, First, the bad news. The Red Sox everyday lineup was insanely healthy last season. That represents a downside risk for 2020. It was really only at 2B where injuries bit badly. And because of that downside risk, it is imperative that the Res Sox build a better bench and find a 5th starter who can fog a mirror.
Last year’s bench was positively putrid. The team gave 611 Plate Appearances to players with an OPS below 550. Leon and Nunez combined for about 360 of those between them. And that didn’t include Marco Hernandez sucking to the tune of 617 in 155 PA. Any thought of him being a major player next season should be shelved.
in fact, Outside of the top 10 players by PA, there was no one one the roster who contributed positively. Blake Swihart was the 11th player on the team by OPS at 695.
The second area of easy improvement is the 5th starter spot. This spot was way way way below replacement level. Between Eovaldi, Chacin, Johnson, Velazquez, Weber, and Cashner they had a combined ERA above 6.00. Hence, if they do nothing more than simply plugging in the best available free agent starting pitcher still unsigned on March 1, 2020, it should be an improvement of about a run per game in that slot.
I was perusing the 2019 Red Sox stays while responding to a different post and started thinking about what was most easily fixable in 2020 relative to 2019. This type of low hanging fruit will be especially important given the new focus on staying under the luxury tax thresholds. Fortunately, there are 2 ways to improve a lot.
It, First, the bad news. The Red Sox everyday lineup was insanely healthy last season. That represents a downside risk for 2020. It was really only at 2B where injuries bit badly. And because of that downside risk, it is imperative that the Res Sox build a better bench and find a 5th starter who can fog a mirror.
Last year’s bench was positively putrid. The team gave 611 Plate Appearances to players with an OPS below 550. Leon and Nunez combined for about 360 of those between them. And that didn’t include Marco Hernandez sucking to the tune of 617 in 155 PA. Any thought of him being a major player next season should be shelved.
in fact, Outside of the top 10 players by PA, there was no one one the roster who contributed positively. Blake Swihart was the 11th player on the team by OPS at 695.
The second area of easy improvement is the 5th starter spot. This spot was way way way below replacement level. Between Eovaldi, Chacin, Johnson, Velazquez, Weber, and Cashner they had a combined ERA above 6.00. Hence, if they do nothing more than simply plugging in the best available free agent starting pitcher still unsigned on March 1, 2020, it should be an improvement of about a run per game in that slot.