McAdam: Red Sox could utilize platoons at a number of positions

In recent seasons, the Red Sox everyday lineup has been pretty predictable.

Injuries aside, it was easy to forecast who would be playing each position on a daily basis. But like a lot of things associated with the 2020 MLB season, that's about to change.

Some positions will remain predictable. Rafael Devers will start most every game at third and the same can be said for Xander Bogaerts at shortstop. Ditto for Christian Vazquez behind the plate. And unless he's getting a day off or a (very) occasional start in the outfield, count on J.D. Martinez as the team's regular DH.

If anything, the Sox might be willing to ask more of their established position players, given the concentrated nature of the 60-game schedule.

"You feel like, if (your best players) are in shape, you kind of want them to have them out there more often,'' said manager Ron Roenicke, "because we know it's a shortened season. We know how important every game is.''

But beyond those four spots, expect some fluctuation at several other positions. In the modern game, having advantageous matchups based on opponents pitching plans is seen as critical.

Additionally, the novel nature of training camp (three weeks instead of seven; few, if any exhibition games) makes it difficult for Roenicke, his coaching staff and the front office to evaluate players in a conventional way.

On the right side of the infield, Roenicke has a number of options, with Mitch Moreland and Michael Chavis potentially forming a platoon at first base. Moreland has struggled against lefties in recent years (.684 OPS vs LHP in 2018; .598 vs. LHP in 2019), so having a righthanded option like Chavis makes more sense against lefties.

Oddly, Chavis was actually slightly more effective against righties (.774 OPS) than lefties (.742) last year, but that can probably be attributed to a relatively small sample size (347 at-bats) than anything else.

Equally unsettled is second base. The Sox signed Jose Peraza as a free agent last winter, but he's coming off a poor season offensively (.631 OPS) and he particularly struggled against righties (.586 OPS). The Sox don't have an established lefty option for second base -- unless, that is, Rule 5 pick Jonathan Arauz, a switch-hitter, emerges -- but it's easy to envision Chavis getting plenty of starts at second when Moreland is slotted at first.

Lefty-hitting Marco Hernandez, who made 48 starts at second last season, has seemingly seen his stock drop within the organization and was outrighted over the winter. He was, however, included in the team's initial 60-player pool over the weekend, indicating that he could still be in their plans. The same is true for Tzu-Wei Lin, who is out of options, but has yet to demonstrate he can hit major league pitching with any consistency.

"Probably those two positions (first and second base) are going to change,'' predicted Roenicke.

There's also the potential for some mixing and matching in the outfield.

The three projected starters in the outfield -- Andrew Benintendi, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Alex Verdugo -- are all left-handed hitters.

But the addition of Kevin Pillar gives Roenicke the ability to plug in a righty bat at any of the three outfield spots.

"You look at right field and center field: if a lefthander is pitching, is Pillar going to play there?'' asked Roenicke rhetorically. "So I think there's going to be some platoons there that will happen at times.''

Verudgo is likely to be an everyday player, both for his overall talent level and his ability to hit lefties (.843 OPS last season). But it's easy to imagine Bradley sitting in favor of Pillar in center, or, even, Pillar playing right and Verdugo shifting to center.

Benintendi will likely start most games, too. In an otherwise disappointing season, he posted a respectable .796 OPS against lefties in 2019. Still, the presence of Pillar provides the Sox with something they didn't have the last two seasons -- a defensively responsible outfielder off the bench who can provide decent offense, too.