In 1997 or 1998, New York Giants head coach Jim Fassel decided to use Jason Sehorn as a punt returner/kick returner. Sehorn had developed into a top flight NFL defensive player and CB, and so I immediately hated the decision as a N.Y. Giants fan, believing you don’t ask top players to do things that will increase injury risk. Sehorn hadn’t returned punts/kicks since college. He spent his first few seasons in the NFL focusing on his development as a CB.
While returning a kick in a preseason game, Sehorn tore his knee, missed the season, and was never the same player again when he returned the following year.
I presume that Wright did not experience a career altering injury. Nevertheless, the decision to use Wright in a pinch running capacity reminded me of the Sehorn decision to some extent. Specifically, Farrell asked one of the best players in the organization, a top starting pitcher, to do something he had not done in a long time, thereby increasing injury risk. There are certain things you don’t do as a manager, and using Steven Wright as a pinch runner is one of those things especially when Farrell had other options (all of them unappealing but not as unappealing as the decision Farrell ultimately made):
(1) Two position players on the bench.
(2) A former NL starting pitcher who had more experience running the bases than Wright.
(3) The Ortiz situation was peculiar. If he was so badly injured, why didn’t Farrell take out Ortiz when he reached first base? He didn’t take out Ortiz until he reached second base. If he could run from first to second, why couldn’t he run from second to third?
(4) Here’s someone who argues that Buchholz could have been used:
http://calltothepen.com/2016/08/11/boston-red-sox-john-farrell-blame-steven-wrights-injury/
Ben Buchanan also believes Buchholz could have been used in that situation, as well as Abad:
http://www.overthemonster.com/2016/8/10/12430064/steven-wright-to-miss-start-after-hurting-self-running-the-bases
Buchanan summed things up pretty well when he stated:
they wanted a pinch-runner for David Ortiz but didn't really have the bench depth to give him one. So they turned to a pitcher. This, in itself, is not the absolute worst idea in the world. What is the worst idea in the world is taking one of the most productive members of a rotation that's just barely pulling itself together and throwing him into that situation.
This situation is comparable to another baseball situation: a late inning blow out where the manager uses a position player to pitch one or two innings. In that scenario, managers rarely call on their best position players. Instead, managers call on utility bench players like a N.Green or G.Jones, for example, players who are eminently replaceable. Most competent mangers aren’t going to risk injuring a top position player by putting that player in an unfamiliar situation. Likewise, the Red Sox best starting pitcher should not be used as a pinch runner.