Tomase: Red Sox’ downright offensive defense is costing them games originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The pattern has become all too familiar. The Red Sox fail to make a play in the field, and they inevitably pay.
In Wednesday’s 5-4 loss to the Reds, Rafael Devers threw away a ground ball leading off the seventh with the Red Sox protecting a one-run lead. Four batters later, Spencer Steer launched the go-ahead two-run homer.
One night earlier, shortstop Kiké Hernández tossed a potential inning-ending double play into right field, allowing a run to score. When the Reds built a 9-3 lead in the ninth, that run hardly mattered. When Boston’s rally in the bottom of the frame fell just short in a 9-8 defeat, it loomed considerably larger.
MLB Mock Draft roundup: Who experts see Red Sox taking in Round 1
Since winning eight straight games in early May to move out of last place in the AL East and into the wild card picture, the Red Sox have regressed. They’ve won just seven of their last 20 games, and porous defense is a good place to start.
“We’re not a good defensive team,” manager Alex Cora told reporters before Wednesday’s loss. “The numbers don’t lie.”
Outside of rifle-armed catcher Connor Wong and right fielder Alex Verdugo, the Red Sox grade as well-below average with the glove at virtually every position.
You don’t have to understand how Statcast calculates outs above average to recognize that these positional rankings aren’t good: first baseman Triston Casas (35th of 38), second baseman Enmanuel Valdez (43rd out of 46), shortstop Kiké Hernández (38th out of 40), left fielder Masataka Yoshida (17th out of 29), center fielder Jarren Duran (20th out of 35). Devers is one of Boston’s better defenders, despite Wednesday’s error, and he’s merely middle of the pack at 19th out of 41.
(Xander Bogaerts, incidentally, places first overall at shortstop).
But it’s not even about advanced metrics. The Red Sox own the fifth-highest error total in the game, and Hernández leads all shortstops with 11 miscues despite spending time at second base and center field.
Making matter worse, Red Sox pitchers put the ball in play. Boston ranks in the bottom third of the league in strikeouts, which means the defense has to deliver.
“We have a pitching staff that doesn’t have swing and miss stuff,” Cora told reporters, including Julian McWilliams of the Boston Globe “We get to two strikes and we induce weak contact, we have to make the play. When we do that, we’re really good. When we’re not making plays, we struggle.”
The Red Sox are suddenly only a game over .500 after hitting their high-water mark of 21-14 on May 6. They’ve not only fallen back into last place, but their record now places them 10th in the American League. The days of taking solace in their overall place in baseball are slipping away with each booted grounder and errant throw.
We always knew their margin for error would be small this season. Even with what has on the whole been a pretty good offense, they’re not built to withstand defensive miscues. They’re relying on injured shortstop Trevor Story to return and solidify their defense, but there’s no telling when he’ll be ready to return from offseason elbow surgery or if he’ll be able to play to his old near-Gold Glove level.
The defensive failures once again put the spotlight on roster construction. The Red Sox could’ve signed a glove-first shortstop to hold down the fort until Story’s return, but they chose to move Hernández out of center field, where he had excelled, a decision that has not remotely paid off.
They knew Yoshida would make his money with his bat when they signed him to a $90 million deal, and they knew durability could be a concern when they made Adam Duvall their everyday center fielder.
So while these defensive results aren’t necessarily surprising, they’re definitely disappointing. The Red Sox aren’t good enough to withstand them.