Savin Hillbilly said:
Wait, seriously? You're proposing that with Betts and JBJ available, Betts would be the one to play CF? What did Jackie Bradley do to you, anyway?
Impress me with his arm every time I've seen him.
Here's the thought process. A fully matured JBJ will be a good enough hitter to be above league average in a corner OF spot (.800-.840 OPS is my view once he's fully matured). Mookie Betts is a rising star who could put up similar numbers himself. Betts is blocked by what we hope to be a half decade or better MI battery of Pedroia and Bogaerts. Betts also likely lacks the arm for 3B and even if he did have it there's WMB and Cecchini already battling for who locks up that position long term, with the loser having a pretty good chance of taking over 1B from Napoli.
So if we assume that 1. Betts is a legit talent (which is hard to argue with right now) and 2. that he's got the positional versatility to move into CF like many prospect watchers have mentioned, JBJ in RF and Betts in CF is the best way to maximize farm to Fenway production.
But then I also don't see RF as the low position so many treat it as, especially for the Red Sox. Fenway's RF is spacious with some unique curves and some very difficult throws if runners are to be held at 2B consistently. The Sox organization obviously sees this and that is why they've targeted RFs with CF range and strong arms in Drew and Victorino recently. Bradley is the ideal candidate for that job. A job the Red Sox have been paying $13-$15M per year to fill up to this point, FYI.
My hopes are built around the idea of maximizing farm to Fenway production. As a result I'm envisioning a three year OF plan of the following:
2014: Nava/Gomes, Sizemore, Victorino L>R
2015: Nava/Brentz, Sizemore, Bradley/Victorino
2016: Brentz, Betts, Bradley
I'm rather dubious about Victorino continuing to hit RHP through the next two years and neither Nava or Sizemore have a ton of years left before they go into age related decline themselves. 2014 is the year we let the World Champs + Grady try to defend, but by 2015 those guys turn into the bridge the next crop uses to get to full maturity. It's a great fit too. Brentz would make an ideal platoon partner for Nava while Bradley could spell both Vic and Sizemore regularly. Then in 2016 the club has a left fielder capable of playing right, a right fielder capable of playing center, and a young guy who projects as a solid or better center fielder if and when he moves to the OF. At that point the 4th and 5th OF spots would be primarily focused on depth, not needed to duct tape together platoons or work defensive substitutions of any kind.
Of course that all hinges very much on what Betts and Brentz do this year. 2014 is a very important year for the farm system.