It’ll be nothing like we’ve ever seen before. The 60-game, two-month sprint that will make up the 2020 MLB season promises to be chaotic and wildly unpredictable.
Truly, the World Series is anyone’s to win — assuming COVID-19 doesn’t interrupt things again.
Even the Red Sox, who entered 2020 with low expectations, stand to have a better chance at success under these unique circumstances, even if chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom understandably doesn’t want to get too far ahead of himself yet.
“This is one of those things where I think you could very easily, for any club, argue either side of that question,” Bloom says. “I think the game is humbling enough that we should be careful about thinking we know too much about how this different schedule will be an advantage or disadvantage for teams…
“I think there’s a lot of reasons to be optimistic that it can work in our favor, but I think that to construct too much of a case would be to pretend we know more about this racket than I think we can.”
Bloom doesn’t want to make a case, but there are certainly reasons to think a shortened season could be advantageous for the Red Sox. But even if the team doesn’t perform well, here are five players we think could benefit from the 60-game season.
Jackie Bradley Jr.
One of the best center fielders in the game, there’s never been a debate about Jackie Bradley Jr.’s elite defensive capabilities — that won’t change regardless of the season’s length. A career .236 hitter, the 30-year-old’s kryptonite has always been at the plate.
But in a 60-game season, Bradley’s well-documented streakiness could benefit him. Remember his 29-game hitting streak in 2016? That’s almost half a season this year. Obviously, it’s no certainty that anyone on the Red Sox, let alone Bradley, can find their groove at the plate after almost 10 months since the Red Sox’ last meaningful game. But if he can find one of those hot streaks, it would not only help the team in the short term but set up Bradley, whose contract runs out after this season, to cash in once free agency starts this winter.
Nathan Eovaldi
The 60-game season is obviously a benefit for those with injury histories — they don’t have to hold up for an entire 162-game schedule — and that includes Nathan Eovaldi. The hard-throwing right-hander missed more than half the 2019 season with an elbow injury before returning late in the season, when he ended a mess of a year on a high note with a few good starts.
Eovaldi, fully healthy, was one of the Red Sox’ strongest performers at the start of spring training before it was stopped due to the pandemic, and in the shortened season, Eovaldi will theoretically only need to make about 12 starts. Without any starting depth after the loss of Chris Sale for the season, Eovaldi becomes even more important and the short sprint should help him stay on the mound.
Mitch Moreland
After surveying the free-agent market throughout the winter, Mitch Moreland finally re-signed with the Red Sox on a one-year deal with a player option in February. He was likely to play a first-base platoon with Michael Chavis, and assuming that continues to be the case, it should help the 34-year-old Moreland, who has had durability issues in recent seasons.
Moreland was a major producer at the beginning of last season, hitting 13 homers in April and May before injuries slowed him down. Without the expectations of playing every day, Moreland can avoid getting worn down over the short 60-game season, and if he can be a contributor, that could help him attract suitors in free agency if he chooses to leave Boston after the year.
Ryan Weber
Manager Ron Roenicke may have been Ryan Weber’s biggest fan during spring training. Before Sale was ruled out for the season, whenever Roenicke was asked about the Red Sox’ fifth starter, he always seemed to mention Weber, the mostly unproven right-hander who made 18 appearances, including three starts, last season.
“He’s fun to watch,” Roenicke said after one of his spring training starts on Feb. 25.
It’s unclear exactly how the Red Sox will handle their rotation over a 60-game schedule, but with three definite starters, it’s obvious they will do some experimenting every fourth and fifth day. And given Roenicke’s infatuation with Weber, it seems certain the Red Sox will give the 29-year-old a chance to see what he can do.
Darwinzon Hernandez
Darwinzon Hernandez was already one of the most exciting names on the Red Sox roster going into 2020 and that certainly continues into a shortened season. The 23-year-old lefty is still pretty raw but was electric in 2019, using an overpowering fastball to strike out 57 batters in 30⅓ innings mostly out of the bullpen.
Roenicke talked in the spring about using Hernandez as an opener, having him start for two or three innings, and without Sale there’s even more room for him to do that. With a condensed schedule that offers few off-days, Hernandez could certainly continue to be valuable out of the bullpen as a setup man or even a closer. Whatever the case, the Red Sox have the ability to experiment with the young lefty and should have a better understanding of what his long-term role can be beyond this season.
"five" - Google News
June 29, 2020 at 04:54PM
https://ift.tt/3eLylht
Five Red Sox players who could benefit from shortened season - Boston Herald
"five" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2YnPDf8
https://ift.tt/2SxXq6o
No comments:
Post a Comment