Don't look now, but Caleb Durbin is turning things around in his first season with the Boston Red Sox. And he might actually be pretty good after all.
Boston essentially traded for Durbin, who finished third in NL ROY voting with the Milwaukee Brewers last season, to help replace Alex Bregman after he signed a five-year, $150 million contract with the Chicago Cubs in the offseason.
And to say things didn't look so hot at first would be an understatement. He didn't record his first hit of the season until the sixth game, and through his first month in Boston, he batted .169 with one home run and 10 RBIs in 100 plate appearances. He even got benched for Nick Sogard at one point.
It didn't look pretty for a while, and what felt like everybody in Red Sox Nation was ready to move on from the Durbin experiment and called the trade a failure after just a few months (which is really surprising considering how patient and objective Boston fans typically are...).
But the praise should be as loud as the disrespect, because Durbin hasn't just turned it around -- he has had some games where he has looked like the best player wearing a Red Sox uniform, especially recently.
Caleb Durbin might actually be an asset to the Red Sox after all
Since May 28 (when he was re-inserted into Boston's lineup full-time), the Illinois native is batting .341 with two home runs (both against the Tampa Bay Rays on Jun. 10 -- he also had three of the Red Sox' six hits that game) and 10 RBIs. He has also struck out just five times in his last 44 at-bats, and he is finally batting over .200 on the season (.204).
Durbin took a while to find his rhythm offensively, but he has been one of the best defensive third basemen all season long. According to FanGraphs.com, the 26-year-old is tied for second-most defensive runs saved at the position across the majors (alongside Max Muncy and Maikel Garcia) with seven.
Plus, in the AL, he also has the second-most assists as a third baseman (106, only behind Junior Caminero's 122), and ranks third in Fielding % (.974 - Garcia is at .975, and Josh Jung is at .978).
It remains to be seen if this is just a hot streak for Durbin or if this is a sign of what's to come. It's easy to forget that this is just his second MLB season, and it's only natural for younger players to go through their ups and downs.
As it stands, it's clear that Durbin has talent, and it's becoming easier to realize why the Red Sox acquired him in the first place. He's finally figuring things out, and if he can keep going at this rate, he should be a legitimate contributor for years to come.
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