Alex Cora Has Tough Decision To Make Thanks To These Two Red Sox Players In WBC
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Alex Cora Has Tough Decision To Make Thanks To These Two Red Sox Players In WBC originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Boston Red Sox are well represented in the World Baseball Classic, and Alex Cora has some tough decisions to make after the tournament.
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The Red Sox outfield has been a talking point all offseason. Between Wilyer Abreu, Roman Anthony, Ceddanne Rafaela, Jarren Duran and Masataka Yoshida, there are five players for three outfield spots and the designated hitter spot. Abreu and Rafaela figure to play every day, and Anthony seems destined to establish himself as one of the best outfielders in baseball.
That leaves Duran and Yoshida. Duran can play good enough defense and could get on the field via the outfield, but it would mean removing one of the three starters. However, Yoshida's defense is not great and his only true spot is as a designated hitter. It was presumed that Duran would get a bulk of the time as a designated hitter, getting him in the lineup.
However, the World Baseball Classic may have made Cora's decision tougher. Duran has looked good against southpaws again in the tournament after a down year. On the other hand, Yoshida has put together a monster tournament and deserves to be in the lineup as well.
Yoshida is hitting .500 with a 1.654 OPS with two home runs. Duran has a 2.083 OPS and three homers. After Yoshida's impressive showing at the World Baseball Classic, it will be tough to keep him out of the lineup regularly. The question is who gets pulled out of the lineup in favor of him.
Cora cannot rely on a platoon either. For one, Anthont, Rafaela and Abreu are too talented to be taken out of the lineup as well. Additionally, Anthony, Duran, Abreu and Yoshida are all left-handed hitters, so playing matchups is out of the question. Something has to give to get all five players in the lineup regularly.
Yoshida may not have lived up to expectations so far in terms of his power numbers, but he is a talented hitter capable of being an everyday player. He is being paid handsomely, but would Cora sacrifice at-bats for one of the young outfielders for him?
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