Tag: John Farrell

Travis Shaw Ready For Full Time Job

With his job on the line, John Farrell has let it be known that Travis Shaw is in the mix for a starting position and Pablo Sandoval is playing for his job. Farrell told assembled media yesterday that Sandoval is “very well aware of it.” He also discussed “not limiting [Shaw] to just a utility player,” emphasizing that the the 25-year-old corner infielder “could be competing for regular at bats.”

In the wake of consecutive last place finishes, a bad start for Farrell and the Red Sox could mean a change in the Red Sox manager’s office by Memorial Day. Dave Dombrowski was not part of the management team that signed Sandoval to a five-year, $95 million contract, so he will have no qualms sitting the big money/underperforming player in favor of an up-and-coming, but still unproven player.

After posting a .797 OPS with 14 homers and 42 RBI in just 226 at bats last season, the Red Sox believe Shaw can be a productive major league hitter. The left-swinging slugger has been proficient in driving the ball to all fields, which makes him particularly intriguing at Fenway. He begins the spring like a man looking to win a job, hitting .419 in 11 games with a 1.132 OPS. Primarily a first baseman, Shaw, an exceptional athlete who has seen time at shortstop in the minors, has been solid at third base.

Sandoval is hitting .250 with an .847 OPS this spring. A wind-aided home run yesterday gave his power numbers a boast, but the Red Sox would like to see Sandoval drive the ball with more consistency. Defense has also been a concern. The hefty third baseman already has four errors and, like last season, has displayed minimal range at the hot corner.

Sandoval’s hitting and fielding woes have gone well documented, but his base running was atrocious last season, well-below standards for a major league player of any size at any position. Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe offers this synopsis of Sandoval on the base paths during the 2015 season:

  • 17 times when Sandoval was on first base when a single was hit. All 17 teams, he advanced no further than second base.
  • Sandoval was on first base only 7 times when a double was hit. Six times, he reached only third base. He didn’t score once in this situation.
  • In the 11 times he was on second when a single was hit, he scored just 3 times.
  • His “extra base taken percentage” was just 9%. In comparison, lead-footed David Ortiz was at 18%, Dustin Pedroia was at 32% and Mookie Betts was at 44%.

In short, competing in the American League East is a difficult task. Competing with Sandoval occupying a spot in your lineup every day might be an impossible task. Shaw deserves a chance to show his worth and Farrell needs to win.

Xander Bogaerts Looks To Anchor Red Sox Line Up

The emergence of Xander Bogaerts was the top takeaway from the Red Sox dismal 2015 season. The 23-year-old shortstop had a legitimate breakout season, batting.320 — trailing only four-time league batting champion Miguel Cabrera — and appears to be on the verge of stardom.

In 156 games, Bogaerts compiled a .776 OPS, tops among American League shortstops. His 45 extra base hits 81 RBI — not to mention significantly improved defense — made Bogaerts the best all-around shortstop to wear a Red Sox uniform since Nomar Garciaparra’s prime years of 1998 – 2000.
xander

A work in progress, Bogaerts sacrificed power for batting average last season. After hitting 13 home runs in his first 582 major league at bats, Bogaerts hit just 7 homers last season. Spraying the ball to all fields, while also finding the gaps, Bogaerts exploited defensive shifts by hitting to the open areas. The result was a higher batting average and increased production — more hits with runners on base while batting third in the batting order for much of the season.

Recently, Bogaerts has been working with hitting coach Chili Davis on harnessing his natural power. Davis is encouraging Bogaerts to still use the entire field, but to also take advantage of the game’s circumstances — turning on pitches on favorable counts and pulling the ball in the right situations.

Manager John Farrell has experimented with batting Bogaerts clean up, hoping to maximize the rising star’s production. Hitting behind Mookie Betts, Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz will give Bogaerts more RBI opportunities, possibly enhanced with additional power. With his baseball IQ on par with his on-the-field proficiency, Bogaerts could be the anchor of the Red Sox lineup for many years to come.

Bogaerts is already entering his seventh season with the Red Sox. Impressed by his athletic ability and live bat, the Red Sox signed Bogaerts at the age of 17 out of his native Aruba for $410,000. As a teenager, Bogaerts impressed off the field at the World Baseball Classic, displaying people skills and speaking fluently to reporters in four different languages (English, Spanish, Dutch and Papiamento). One of his most limited baseball cards is the 2013 Topps Tribute World Baseball Classic Game Worn Jersey, which is limited to a production run of 67.

Bogaerts’ 2012 Bowman Chrome “First Card”, generally regarded as a rookie, is readily available, while the “Refractor Autograph” version is limited and highly coveted.