To date, the Red Sox haven’t paid much of a price for their struggles against lefthanded pitching. Following their incredible comeback Friday in a game starter by Seattle southpaw Wade LeBlanc, the Sox evened their record at 9-9, and in the big picture, their inability to do the same kind of damage against lefties as righties hasn’t resulted in an issue – yet.
The Sox, after all, have the second-best record in the game and rank either first or second overall in most offensive categories.
But the Red Sox are far from satisfied, and down the road, worry that the inability to beat up lefty starters could prove to be a fatal flaw in October. What if New York’s CC Sabathia or Houston’s Dallas Keuchel or Seattle’s James Paxton have the chance to send the Red Sox home for the winter?
And remember: the Yankees are in the market for another starter, preferably one who’s lefthanded. Among the names being linked to the Yanks: Toronto’s J.A. Happ, and the Rangers’ Cole Hamels.
Toward that end, the Red Sox are, according to baseball sources, searching for a righthanded bat. In a perfect world, such a player would be an outfielder who could take some playing time from Jackie Bradley Jr., who’s been in a season-long slump and has been particularly woeful (.118/.196/.176) against lefties.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that the Red Sox had expressed interest in Oakland A’s outfielder Mark Canha. Canha has played all over the outfield – including center -- and also has played some first base, which would provide the Sox with an opportunity to help Mitch Moreland against lefties.
Canha’s slash line against lefties this year -- .303/.338/.632 – has been impressive and he has seven homers against lefties in just 76 at-bats.
One issue: Canha is under control through 2021, and as such, the A’s would not give him away cheaply, the way they might if he were getting more expensive through arbitration and closer to free agency.
Mentioned here recently was the prospect of Baltimore’s Adam Jones, whose outfield skills have declined, but who still possesses a formidable bat.
Of course, the bat in question doesn’t have to someone who can be plugged into center field. If the Sox get creative, they could find other ways to fit a righty bat into the lineup. They could conceivably add a veteran third baseman like Adrian Beltre and shift Rafael Devers to DH. That, in turn, would require J.D. Martinez to play most games in left, with Andrew Benintendi pushing Bradley out of center.
(It’s doubtful that, despite below league average production from both their catchers, the Sox would look to deal for a righthanded-hitting catcher. For one thing, Christian Vazquez is righthanded while Sandy Leon switch-hits; for another, the Sox would not want to entrust game-calling to someone who would need to learn a new pitching staff on the fly over the second half of the season).
One thing seems certain, with the deadline still more than five weeks away: the Sox aren’t merely focused on adding another late-inning reliever to fortify the bullpen. The lineup, despite elite production at the halfway point, has some holes in it and the Sox aren’t turning a blind eye to that deficiency.
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