Boston Red Sox: Questions at second base loom large in 2020
The Boston Red Sox will once again have questions at the second base position going into the 2020 MLB season.
Last month, Boston Red Sox Chief of Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom told sports radio WEEI that Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia has every intention of returning to the playing field in 2020.
This has been a familiar off-season narrative for the Sox since Pedroia suffered a knee injury followed by a cartilage restoration procedure in 2017. Prior to the injury, Pedey was one of the most prolific players in baseball. From 2007-2016 he hit .303 with 131 homers, 655 RBI and a .368 On-Base Percentage.
He’s won Rookie of the Year, an MVP Award, a Silver Slugger Award, four Gold Gloves and has appeared in four All-Star Games. He’s contributed significantly to two World Championship teams in ’07 and ’13. He deserves every chance to reclaim his spot on the diamond in 2020.
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That being said, the proverbial elephant in the room for the front office isn’t just whether or not Pedey can perform at an elite level again. It’s whether or not he can stay on the field at all. He’s only played in nine games the past two seasons hitting .091 with one RBI when he was on the field.
The Sox survived 2018 by patching together a second base tandem of Brock Holt and Eduardo Nunez, but last season Holt missed time with a scratched cornea and Nunez was hobbled and ineffective which led to his release.
The Boston Red Sox ranked 19th out of 30 MLB teams in Wins Above Replacement (WAR) for second basement in 2019, just a shade over +2 (unsurprisingly, the Astros led the league with a +5 second base WAR). Michael Chavis, a corner infielder by trade spent some time over at second. With first basemen Steve Pearce and Mitch Moreland unlikely to resign due to age and salary respectively, the Sox would prefer to have Chavis manning first in 2020.