McAdam: As road trip begins, Red Sox have a couple of concerns

Their longest homestand of the season complete, the Red Sox head back out on the road beginning Tuesday with a six-game trek that takes them to New York for two games with the Mets, followed by their first visit to Globe Life Field and four with the Texas Rangers.

All things considered, the Red Sox are in relatively good position. They lead the American League East and have the third-best record in the American League. And while there 5-5 homestand was a bit of a comedown after their nine-game winning streak earlier this month, there were few complaints after the Sox dispatched of Seattle Sunday.

"We're not thrilled, but we're not upset,'' concluded Alex Cora. "We know that we have to keep getting better and we will. It all depends on how you see it. We ended up playing good baseball. We'll take it. If you asked me before the season, would you take this record (14-9) going into New York? Absolutely.''

And yet, as Cora hinted, there's room for improvement.

Here are a couple of problems to be solved.

1. Garrett Richards.

Richards has been a most unreliable starter through his first four turns, with control at the heart of his issues. He's walked more hitters (13) than he's struck out (12) in 16.2 innings. (The fact that Richards is averaging a tick over four innings per start hints at his inconsistency. He'll pitch Tuesday night at Citi Field with the hope that some of the side work he's been doing with pitching coach Dave Bush will pay dividends.

"He's been working on his delivery a little bit, just trying to find a little more consistency,'' said Bush. "The other day (against Toronto), he felt off a little bit. His timing wasn't quite right. He always throws across his body; he always has. It's big stuff, but the command comes and goes. When he gets his delivery dialed in, he's really consistent with his leg lift. I think it syncs up and times up much better.

"So that's been the focus of our work in the bullpen between starts -- cleaning up his delivery, being more consistent, making sure he can stay on line and having a little better posture. And then just letting the ball go and trust it's going to be in the strike zone... When he's on, it's really good. But he fights his delivery quite a bit. So that's been the biggest focus recently.''

It would help if Richards could cure himself of the first-inning blues that have dogged the staff in general. The Sox have allowed 19 runs in the first over 23 games with Richards responsible for six of those 19.

''We've focused on the preparation pre-game and making sure that when they come out of the bullpen, they're ready to go,'' said Bush of the staff-wide phenomenon. "If I make too big a deal out of it, it becomes a bigger (mental) issue. But we have struggled in the first inning and put ourselves in the hole a little bit recently. So I just want to make sure when they come out of the bullpen that they're physically and mentally ready to go and they're ready to attack with their best stuff from the first pitch of the game. And trust that it's going to be there and sticking with their game plan from the get-go.''

2. Franchy Cordero

Cordero has been a bust in the first three and a half weeks. with a .200/.265/.244 slash line. He has two extra-base hits (both doubles) in 45 at-bats, and most ominously, has struck out (23) in better than half his at-bats.

With the Mets set to start lefty David Peterson Tuesday night, Cordero will get another night out of the lineup before likely returning Wednesday against Jacob deGrom.

Cordero is part of the black hole at the bottom of the Red Sox lineup where little offense is being generated. (Righthanded-hitting Hunter Renfroe has been only marginally more producing (.176/.241/.255 with a homer and seven RBI).

The alternatives to Cordero are slim. They could use the switch-hitting Marwin Gonzalez there more frequently, but they like having him available for duty at first base and other spots in the infield. They could also commit full-time to Kiké Hernández in center, with Christian Arroyo then designated as the more-or-less everyday second baseman. But as with the Gonzalez scenario, stationing a versatile play at just one position robs the team of some flexibility.

Down the road, another option looms on the horizon. According to a source, there's building momentum to give Danny Santana some of Cordero's at-bats when he Santana fully recovers from a foot infection that sidelined him for the final few weeks of spring training. Santana, who agreed to a minor league deal in February, has an opt-out on April 30, but given his injury, both sides have agreed to extend that as he rehabs.

Santana, 30, has frankly been a decided average offensive performer over seven seasons, with only one season -- an outlying performance with Texas in 2019 in which he slashed .283/.324/.534 and belted 28 homers -- suggesting that he has the offensive upside the Sox are seeking.

Then again, Cordero has been so underwhelming that it wouldn't take much to surpass his play. And Cordero has an option remaining, meaning he could be sent to Triple-A to work on things when Santana is cleared to contribute.