Boston Red Sox: Lack of true leadoff hitter one huge weakness
By Max Bozicas
It wasn’t exactly hard to predict that the Boston Red Sox would be pretty good at scoring runs. As of right now they are ranked first in the Majors in runs scored.
With Alex Verdugo, JD Martinez, Xander Bogaerts, and Rafael Devers being the heart of the lineup, naturally pitchers are having a hard time. However, they all bat second through fifth and to this point the Red Sox have gotten practically no production out of the leadoff spot.
It’s impressive that the Red Sox are tied for the most wins in the Majors despite this problem. The leadoff hitter can often set the tone for the lineup, so having a good one is usually essential.
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There have been a few combinations attempted with no success. Kiké Hernández opened the season as the leadoff hitter but struggled. The Sox have tried Michael Chavis and Marwin Gonzalez there as well, but neither of them have been the answer either.
While this hasn’t necessarily prevented the team from having a good season so far, there is always room for improvement and this is a glaring issue.
How can the Boston Red Sox improve their leadoff hitting woes?
The Red Sox could try and make Verdugo the full-time leadoff hitter, as he generally does a good job of getting on base and has decent speed. Otherwise, there aren’t really any other options that would make sense.
The only other solution would be to seek a trade. While teams aren’t typically active in the trade market until closer to the July 30th trade deadline, that doesn’t necessarily mean that a deal can’t get done sooner. Whatever they decide to do, it would be nice to see this get addressed. Currently, their leadoff hitter is almost as sure of an out as the eighth and ninth hitters in the lineup.
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It’s still early in the season, but the Red Sox could truly be a contender this year if they decide to be aggressive about improving the few weak spots on the roster. In theory, the talent in the middle of the order should be good enough for the offense to continue to be among the best in baseball, but there’s no reason for the Boston Red Sox to not at least attempt to improve their leadoff spot.