McAdam: The one constant for the '21 Red Sox OF will be change

Last week, after Jackie Bradley's signing with the Milwaukee Brewers officially wiped out what was left of the the Red Sox' 2018 championship outfield, there followed lots of discussions about where that trio ranked with other outfields in recent team history.

Was it as good or better than Rice-Lynn-Evans in the 1970s? How about Yaz-Smith-Conigliaro from a decade earlier?

That debate is ongoing and perhaps, like healthy sports discussions, has no official right or wrong answer. But for the most part, those outfields were at least predictable. Other than when injuries hit -- or the very occasional day off -- you knew who would be in left, center and right on a day-to-day basis.

In 1967, for instance, Carl Yastrzemski played 161 games in left and Reggie Smith 144 games in center. (Smith's total was reduced somewhat by the fact he played second for the first week of the season. Tony Conigliaro, meanwhile, had his season tragically cut short by a beaning in August, but up to that point, had played 95 of the first 117 games in right).

It was the same with the trio of Jim Rice, Fred Lynn and Dwight Evans. With few exceptions, and allowing for the occasional late-career cameos from Yastrzemski in left, the same combo inhabited the same positions. It didn't matter much the opponent or the location.

That will not -- repeat not -- be the case in 2021.



Manager Alex Cora has hinted at that since the start of spring training, and Friday morning, he made it even more clear: the outfield alignment will be be constantly evolve. Don't like how it's set today? Wait until tomorrow, when it will surely be different.

"Knowing the versatility that we're going to have,'' said Cora, "and the guys that we're going to have in the infield, we'll make adjustments throughout.''

There will be a host of factors that go into determining who plays where and when: rest, health, pitching matchups, and ballpark to name just a few.

Cora did narrow down his plans at least somewhat, by revealing that the tandem of Alex Verdugo and Hunter Renfroe will focus mostly on center and right. That doesn't mean that either one won't play a game here or there in left, or perhaps get moved there late in games. But for the most part, that duo will almost exclusively play center and right -- at home, at least. (More on the road plans in a bit).

Figure that Verdugo will get the lion's share of playing time in center. He has more experience there, and frankly, can probably cover more ground than Renfroe, who has made just a handful of starts in his career in center. Add in that Renfroe has at least slightly better arm strength, and that tilts the equation a bit more, since teams traditionally prefer the best outfield arm to handle right field.

However -- and here's where things get tricky -- that doesn't begin to factor in the presence of second baseman/utility man deluxe Kiké Hernández, who oddly, may actually be the best center fielder on the roster. Hernandez will get some playing time there.

When Hernandez is in center, Verdugo could slide over to right, or get a day off. Or, Cora could keep Verdugo in center, Renfroe in right and place Hernandez in left.

Left field seems to the pivot point, with as many four different options to play the position: Hernandez, Franchy Cordero, Marwin Gonzalez and J.D. Martinez.

After playing about a third of the game in the outfield in 2018 (57 of 162) and a quarter in 2019 (39 of 162), Martinez served almost exclusively as DH last year, starting just 10 percent of the games (six of 60) in the outfield.

Cora wants Martinez to play more there this season, for a multitude of reasons, including the belief that Martinez can sometimes overwork himself in the cage in between at-bats when he's serving as the DH. He's also said that playing the outfield strengthens his shoulder and helps him at the plate.

"And I don't think J.D.'s a bad outfielder,'' Cora added, though that point would seem to up for debate. "He's just a big guy and he doesn't move as well as other guys. It's good for him to move around and he likes it. As far as preparation, he doesn't get stuck in the DH thing. When he knows I'm going to use him in the outfield, he goes out there, he shags, he moves around, he's throwing, which is good for him. I do believe it puts him in a better spot.''

Of course, there's also the matter of venue. At Fenway, left field is the smallest (and easiest) spot of the three, making it a natural for those with less mobility, like Martinez and Gonzalez.

But when the Sox go to, say, Yankee Stadium, things change. There, left field is the most spacious and challenging while right field is the equivalent of Fenway's left. There, it's possible that Martinez or Gonzalez or even Cordero will flip to right, with either Verdugo or Renfroe handling left.

Then there's a ballpark like Houston's Minute Maid Park where an expansive center field is the most demanding spot.

"We'll be creative,'' vowed Cora. "We'll have a solid outfield trio on a nightly basis. But you'll see moving parts. You will.' We'll see where we're at and what we feel is the best alignment, and we'll go with it.''