McAdam: Is Jarren Duran the answer to Red Sox' bottom-of-lineup woes?

As befits a team that sits atop its division, the Red Sox are associated with far more positives than negatives.

As a staff, the Red Sox have a 3.75 ERA -- 12th among the 30 MLB teams and sixth among the 15 clubs in the American League.

Meanwhile, the offense is tied with Houston for the most runs scored among A.L. teams, and the Sox are among the league-leaders in total bases, slugging percentage, OPS and a host of other categories.

That's not to suggest, however, that all is perfect or that there aren't troubling aspects of the team's performance that could use improvement.

Chief among those is the abysmal production being provided by the bottom three spots in the Boston batting order.

Here are the batting average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage slash lines associated with the final three spots in the lineup through 29 games.

No. 7:  .150/.232/.230
No. 8: .232/.280/.354
No. 9: .167/.216/.229

Combined the three spots have generated a slash line of .186/.246/.275 with 19 walks and 95 strikeouts. The power output has been negligible with a total of three homers.



It's not as if this issue was completely unforeseen. The three principal players grouped at the bottom of the lineup have been Hunter Renfroe, Bobby Dalbec and Franchy Cordero, all of whom have well-earned reputation as free swingers with a history of high strikeout rates. And, indeed, the numbers reflect that all three have struggles with making consistent contact.

Expectations have been so modest of late that it was something of a moral victory that Cordero at least succeeded in putting the ball in play in the team's most recent series in Texas. Cordero fanned just once in 10 plate appearances in the final three games against the Rangers, which Alex Cora cited as an indication that the outfielder was making strides. What Cora didn't say: not once did Cordero reach base safely in those plate appearances.

The Sox are inclined to be more patient with Dalbec, who last September and again this spring showcased his prodigious power on a regular basis. The same goes for Renfroe, who "leads'' the trio with two homers, but has more of a track record in big leagues and is at least contributing with his above-average defense in right field.

But Cordero looks so utterly lost at the plate that it's worth asking if it isn't time to send him to the minor league to work on his swing. Cordero also has remaining options, meaning the Sox could assign him to Worcester, whose season begins Tuesday, without fear of exposing him to waivers.

Sending Cordero down would provide a roster opening for his replacement, and while Michael Chavis might be the most obvious candidate -- having had some success at the big league level, along with a strong Grapefruit League showing that indicated he had improved his swing decisions -- a more interesting choice would be Jarren Duran.

To date, the Red Sox have chosen to give Duran additional development time at the alternate site, which is a prudent course. Duran converted from the infield to the outfield just three years ago, and as his play in spring training highlighted, still needs work on his play in center, his projected long-term position when he does graduate to the big leagues.

But in a telling move, the Sox, within the last 10 days, have been working Duran in left field, too, a position far less challenging, especially at Fenway.

Demoting Cordero to Worcester and promoting Duran as his at least occasional replacement, makes sense.

By placing Duran in the lower third of the order, they could take the pressure off the rookie. The Sox wouldn't be asking him to be a table-setter at the top of the lineup -- his likely eventual role -- and given how little Cordero has contributed (two extra base hits in 57 at-bats), he wouldn't exactly have a high bar to clear.

Cora could continue to play Alex Verdugo in left, Kiké Hernández in center and Renfroe in right, with Christian Arroyo and Marwin Gonzalez sharing time at second. But occasionally, especially against righties, Duran could slip into the lineup and play left field.  Duran wouldn't be expected to be an everyday player, but would get enough playing time to show what he can do.

If Duran responds well to the challenge, his playing time could increase and his timetable accelerated. If he fails, he could be returned to Triple A where he could continue to development and improve his routes in center. By then, perhaps, Cordero may have fixed some things with his swing and could return to the major league team.

There's little downside to this experiment. Enough time has passed at the start of the season that the Red Sox would not be using up a full year of Duran's service time. If he stays long-term, the worst that would result is qualifying for salary arbitration a year early. That would be a small price to pay down the road for injecting some life into the bottom third of the team's lineup.