Position-by-position look at Red Sox roster: Left field

This is Part 5 in a series in which we'll examine the Red Sox roster by position. Each day, we'll focus on one spot around the diamond, examine the incumbent player(s), look at prospects in the system and comment on the state of the position within the organization in general.

TODAY: Left field
INCUMBENT: Andrew Benintendi
CONTRACT STATUS: Arbitration eligible for first time, with projected salary of $4.9 million
THE SKINNY: Benintendi had a disappointing season in 2019. At a time when it was thought he might be ready to take off and reach new heights, Benintendi instead regressed. He suffered drop-offs in most major offensive categories (homers, RBI, stolen bases, runs scored, batting average, slugging percentage, walks...) while seeing his strikeout totals soar — in 10 fewer games, he struck out 34 additional times compared to 2018. Part of the problem was



being moved to the leadoff spot at the start of the season, where he was clearly conflicted about his approach. Not even a return to his more familiar No. 2 spot helped him (.795 OPS). Benintendi tinkered a lot with his swing, eliminating his toe tap in his load, but not even going back to the swing he used in college could fix things permanently. His outfield play also suffered, as Benintendi seemed to take his hitting struggles into the field with him: he went from four defensive runs saved in left in 2018 to a -3.

THE BACKUPS: J.D. Martinez, Marcus Wilson
The Red Sox actually prefer Martinez to play RF when he gets time in the outfield, but on the road, he'll occasionally play left. However, he saw his outfield playing time reduced in 2019 as he battled some nagging lower-back issues and the Sox are likely to limit his opportunities in the field going forward in order to keep him in the lineup for his powerful bat. Wilson hasn't played Triple A, much less in the big leagues, but he had a strong second half in Portland, was added to the major league roster and likely will get his first chance in Boston at some point next season.

THE PROSPECTS: Nick Decker
A second-round pick in 2018, Decker profiles somewhat similarly to Benintendi, though with perhaps the capability of more power. But at just 20-years-old, he'll need plenty of additional development and will probably start the year at Single A Greenville.

OVERALL: In general, outfield is not a position of strength in the Red Sox system. Their two most highly regarded outfielders — Jarren Duran and Gilberto Jimenez — are more speed/athletic types who profile as center fielders, and Jimenez has yet to play above Rookie Ball, so he's got a long, long way to go. There exists the possibility that others in the system — Michael Chavis or Bobby Dalbec — could see some time in left field, but that hasn't happened yet. That's why, despite trade rumors involving, at one point or another, all three starting outfielders, a deal is difficult to imagine because the Sox are poorly positioned to replace any of the three internally.