2017? Well, things got worse for the outfielder. Young didn’t suffer any injuries that required a stint on the disabled list, but his performances instead suffered from an odd pattern of usage. He had his high points, of course, but the lowlights were more common, and there was a time where he actually started over Andrew Benintendi. Don’t worry, it was totally justified and wasn’t at all a waste of time for both players. Promise!

What Went Right

Well, his high points certainly were fun.

He put the Red Sox ahead in a 13-inning win in St. Louis. Young’s basically an unsung hero at this point.

Young also had two multi-HR games, which is pretty wild considering he had less than 300 plate appearances. He certainly made them count. The second-oldest outfielder on the team could still barrel it up just as well as the youngest of them, it seems.

What Went Wrong

You see those two highlights up there? Notice how the pitchers he’s facing are both right-handed. Young’s struggles can be attributed to facing more right-handers, and a not-so-spectacular performance against lefties compared to 2016. Last year, Young saw 144 PAs aginst RHP, and this year, it went up to 160. He had a .590 OPS against left-handed pitching as well, so no matter the handedness, Young was having issues. But it certainly doesn’t help when you can’t even be deployed correctly, or when your manager plays his hand too early and the opponent changes pitchers.

Also, for reasons related to rookie struggles (I assume), Young got starts over Benintendi midway through the season. Sure, some were against tough lefties, but Young ended up facing a fair few right-handed starters as well. As much as you want to give Young some playing time, you need to let your 22-year-old outfielder figure things out for himself. Maybe bench him for a day or two, but don’t predominately use Young over him for a substantial period of time. Benintendi’s track record shows that he’s too good a hitter for him to lose PAs to Chris Young. While Young is a useful bench piece, he’s not a starter anymore. Just let him be a bench guy. He didn’t need to be pressed into service like that.

While he saw a good amount of action in the first half, he didn’t do much once the All-Star break passed. Young wasn’t even on the ALDS roster until Eduardo Nunez’s knee broke down again. That’s how much they went away from him in the second half.

What To Expect

Not anything for the Red Sox, probably. Young’s contract ended once the 2017 season concluded, and the outfielder is now a free agent. The Red Sox could certainly bring him back if they wanted, but it’s not something they’ll focus on until the tail-end of the offseason. Bryce Brentz could step in and do his job if the Red Sox felt like using an in-house option, but they didn’t even bring up Brentz when the rosters expanded last season, so it makes you wonder if they’ll ever use him in the majors again.

Barring a surprise re-signing, 2017 looks like it’ll be Young’s final season in a Red Sox uniform. The man did his job, and that’s all you can really ask for from a player like him.

Photo by Thomas B. Shea — USA TODAY Sports

This past season was certainly a difficult one for Holt on and off the field. The beloved bench bat, who has dealt with concussion issues over the years, missed time from late April until mid-July dealing with vertigo. There were times last year when I remember wondering if he would ever even play baseball again. As scary as that thought was for us fans, I imagine it was devastating for him. When Holt did return, he played his usual myriad of positions, but did so at the lowest level of his career. As we look to the 2018 season, there is a real argument to be made that the team would be better off without Holt.

WHAT WENT RIGHT

After getting back to the field on July 16th Holt didn’t miss any time for the remainder of the season. Just being able to stick with the team and not have to leave due to recurring vertigo was a victory for the player and the team. Oh, and the hair and smile were good all year.

WHAT WENT WRONG

Let’s begin with his batting line for the season. Over 64 games and 164 PA, Holt slashed .200/.305/.243 with zero home runs and just seven RBI. He was completely inept at the plate the entire season in a way that he had never shown us before. His .214 TAv was by far the lowest mark of his career, and overall, Holt was a detriment to the team offensively. Though he was once one of the strangest All-Stars in recent memory, Holt has never really created plus value with his bat. His offense has always been predicated on making contact.

The fact that John Farrell could trust Holt to play nearly every position on the field has always been his most valuable attribute. You knew you were going to get league average or worse offense, but there was little chance he would make a play that would kill you in the field. Holt wasn’t great, but simply solid all around the infield and in the corners of the outfield. After providing 6.7 FRAA in 2016 that number slipped to just 1.1 in 2017. The overall result was a player that was worth -0.2 WARP or -0.9 fWAR depending on which calculation you like best. Either way, negative WAR is not a good look.

WHAT TO EXPECT

I mentioned at the beginning how much his smile was worth and the Red Sox would be smart to move on from Brock Holt if they can find a trade partner. As the team looks at its potential bench for 2018, there are several more appealing options. Devin Marrero is a far superior defender in the infield and is out of options. Bryce Brentz, who was recently added to the 40-man roster, is a much better offensive player than Holt and is also out of options. Since the Red Sox have three guys who can play center field Brentz’s poor defense is no issue here. Sandy Leon, as long as he remains with the team, will take up a bench spot.

Perhaps the most interesting player who could replace Holt is Blake Swihart, who had .997 OPS in Dominican winter league ball. He is out of options and could surely be used all around the infield and in the outfield, although if I see him in the outfield again I might cry. The team could decide to try and shop one of the other players mentioned in order to get Sam Travis on the team. Travis, who mashes lefties, could make for an intriguing platoon partner for Mitch Moreland. All of this is to say that Holt might be too expensive and not good enough with either the glove or bat to warrant a spot on the team in 2018. It’s been a fun ride, but for the club and player, it’s probably time to get off.

Photo by Patrick McDermott — USA TODAY Sports

The struggles against left-handed starters are present for the majority of the guys who makeup the regular lineups:

With the caveat that we are playing with small samples of plate appearances and recognizing that OPS is not the best measure of offensive production, Chris Young, Hanley Ramirez and Xander Bogaerts’ inability to do damage against lefty starters this year is alarming. They are all down at least 300 points from last year and 190 points from their career marks. Xander has been playing hurt and it is killing him at the plate. Likewise, Hanley’s shoulder injury affected him and likely had a knock-on effect on Young’s opportunities. Despite Young’s struggles, the Red Sox seem to be happy to move forward with him as the fourth-outfielder-primary-righty-bench-bat for the playoffs. They could have promoted Bryce Brentz, who has crushed lefties for Triple-A Pawtucket (.279/.380/.577), but elected not to. In Young we trust, I guess.

It is worth mentioning that in 2016 the Red Sox’s offense, which was largely made up of the same guys as this year, also performed considerably worse against left-handed starters than against right-handed starters (.758 v .824). However some of that was a function of rough luck in scheduling, as the lefties they lined up against last year included six top-50 starters (by BP’s WARP): Jose Quintana (twice), Chris Sale, James Paxton, Madison Bumgarner, Danny Duffy, and Dallas Keuchel. They knocked Quintana and Keuchel around, but the point stands. Given my mentioning this fact, you might think the 2017 difficulty against lefties has also been a function of who they have faced, but the difficult-opponent issue has not really been present this year. Only Paxton and Quintana currently qualify as top-50 starters among the lefties they have opposed in 2017. If you only saw bunt-hating C.C. Sabathia’s starts against the Red Sox (1.04 RA9 in 26.0 innings) you might think he was the class of the league, but his 4.8 RA9 in his 105.0 not-against-the-Red-Sox innings shows he is not and makes me even more mad about how he has dominated them this year.

All of this might come across as another pessimistic article about another fatal flaw of this 2017 Red Sox team. While there is a clear difficulty against lefty-starters, the Red Sox have patched together enough of an offense to complement their strong pitching and defense, and be in control of the American League East with strong odds of making the postseason. What’s more is that other than the Yankees, who could throw three left-handed starters in a playoff series (Sabathia, Jamie Garcia, and Jordan Montgomery), none of the other likely playoff teams in the AL feature left-handed heavy rotations. The Cleveland “21 Straight” Windians have an entirely right-handed rotation, and Keuchel is the lone lefty in the Astros’ starting corps. Don’t get me wrong, the Red Sox will be in really tough against either of those rotations in a Division Series, but considering the offense’s performance to date, the lack of lefties could make the task a little easier. And of course, given the track records of the guys on this team, the offense can be much better.

Photo by Bob DeChiara – USA TODAY Sports

The Red Sox have been desperate for help in left field since May. Brock Holt’s great start to the season faded quickly, Blake Swihart was being converted to an outfielder, and Chris Young hadn’t defied his career splits for a month just yet – and even when he did, it all ended rather abruptly, thanks to a hamstring injury. Rusney Castillo was uninspiring yet again, then Bryce Brentz finally got his shot, and he’s done relatively little with it. The lack of consistent left fielder has been an issue for the Red Sox since the trade deadline in 2009, which is roughly the point where pitchers stopped throwing Jason Bay first pitch fastballs, and he subsequently stopped hitting. It’s been a black hole from then on, and you could make the argument that it was worse than the revolving door at shortstop the Red Sox had for a good part of the last 10 years.

This season, Red Sox left fielders as a unit are 15th in the league with a .739 OPS, and haven’t been very good with the leather. Brock Holt has been trying to fill in for Chris Young’s .288 TAv, but neither his .259 mark or Bryce Brentz’s .257 TAv have come close to replicating that. It’s been a long, gradual slope downhill for that position.

That’s where Benintendi comes in. The Red Sox probably didn’t want to bring him up this early, but with no clear options available to them and Chris Young still a ways off, it was worth a shot. He immediately gives the Red Sox an outfielder who can actually play the position. Holt’s value comes in playing multiple positions acceptably, not a single one well, and Brentz, well…

…let’s just say fielding isn’t his strong suit. Benintendi has much better chops than both of them in the field.

Speaking of Holt, Benintendi’s call-up might have shown that the Red Sox have finally learned their lesson with Brock Holt in the second half. See, he’s usually pretty good for three months, give or take a couple weeks. Once the second half starts, he’s not so great:

It’s not pretty. He’s been worked so much that’s he’s worn down by August the last two seasons, and even with 120 fewer PA this year (due to a concussion that he still played through, partially), it’s not smart to risk it for the third straight year. Thanks to Benintendi’s call-up, Holt’s now been relegated to a utility role, which not only keeps him fresh, but keeps the team from using Michael Martinez ever again. You can’t lose there. That’s a win-win in anyone’s book.

Apart from the utility Benintendi offers the Red Sox as a dedicated left fielder, it gives the Sox a two-month window to see what he can do in the big leagues. The former Razorback never seemed to find it difficult to succeed during his campaign through the low minors, exhibiting a great grasp of the strike zone, terrifying pitchers, and looking like an outfielder you can dream on. As the prospect people over at BP said, he makes playing baseball look easy. He wasn’t really being challenged much at whatever minor league stop he went to – hell, Double-A pitchers only kept him to a .295/.357/.515 line, only slightly less dominating than anything he did in the low minors.

With the Red Sox running low on competent outfielders, calling Benintendi up ended up being a viable option. At this point, it might’ve been the only option, seeing as Chris Young is still two weeks away at the very least. It’s absolutely worth a shot, as the worst-case scenario for him being in the majors is that he can’t hit right away. He can still field and run a little bit, but if that’s the worst-case, then you’ve got something there. If Benintendi starts hitting, you’ve got another guy to add to the long list of Killer Bs the Red Sox are rolling out every day. There’s real value and potential here, and he most likely becomes the solution to the years-long problem of finding a left fielder. All that would be left to fill in would be third base – the one position the Red Sox have a bottom-ten OPS in – and it looks like the front office already has a plan in motion for that.

Benintendi’s a fine outfielder, and if he doesn’t initially succeed, it’s not a loss at all. He probably wasn’t long for Portland, and was still hitting before getting the call. Him being on the team gives the Sox their Swiss Army knife back, minimizes plate appearances taken by replacement-level bench players, and gives them a look at one of their two top prospects. That’s not too bad for a guy coming straight from Double-A, and that’s with only having two PAs so far. Imagine what he could do with a couple hundred more.

Get excited, because the future is here, and the Red Sox know it.

Photo by Joe Nicholson/USA Today Sports Images

The next season was even worse. Bradley was the Red Sox’s starting center fielder for most of 2014. He was a Gold Glove-caliber fielder, but a disaster at the plate, posting a .198 TAv and striking out at a 28.6 percent rate. Bradley needed time, and the Sox gave it to him, as he split the 2015 season between Triple-A and the majors. A year later, Bradley is an All-Star with a .303 TAv  and showing us why he was one of the team’s top prospects four years ago.

The Red Sox should remember the lessons that Bradley’s career path offer before calling up Andrew Benintendi.

Benintendi’s situation isn’t much different than Bradley’s was. He’s a 2015 first-round pick who’s using his bat, glove and elite speed to soar through the minor leagues in his first full season in the organization. He needed just 34 games in High-A Salem before getting the call up to Portland, where he owns a .295 TAv in 213 plate appearances. He’s the hot young prospect. He’s considered nearly untouchable as the trade deadline approaches, and the Red Sox’s thin outfield depth has left many wondering if he could reach the majors as early as this season.

The Red Sox can’t afford to let another inexperienced player who may not be ready for the big leagues take his lumps at the big league level.

It’s certainly possible. Brock Holt, Blake Swihart and Chris Young have all battled injuries. Any more setbacks on that front may leave the Red Sox with no other choice. However, it may not be in the team’s best interest. Consider this: Benintendi hit .231 in his first 138 plate appearances in Double-A. It’s only over the past three weeks that those numbers have significantly improved. That’s not an indictment on Benintendi, just the reality of adjusting to the better pitching he’s facing at the next level. The Red Sox, two games back of the Orioles in the division and clinging to a wild card spot, can’t afford to let another inexperienced player who may not be ready for the big leagues take his lumps at the big league level.

Right now, the Red Sox have enough reliable short-term options in left field to get the production they need. Brock Holt is back, and Blake Swihart and Chris Young should both be healthy and contributing before long. Holt (.259 TAv) and Swihart (.253) have been decent, and are fine as bottom-of-the-order hitters in this lineup. Young, meanwhile, looked like the Red Sox’s best offensive left fielder before suffering a hamstring injury last month, posting a .288 TAv and slashing .340/.404/.638 against lefties. Bryce Brentz has emerged as another strong option in left. He filled in for Holt nicely before the All-Star break, and owns a .293 TAv in 45 plate appearances in the majors this season. Brentz at the very least looks like a reliable option off the bench.

None of this is to say Benintendi is doomed to fail if called up this season. Kyle Schwarber was drafted by the Cubs in 2014, and saw just 58 games of Double-A action and 17 games in Triple-A before being called up to the bigs for good last season. He owned a .307 TAv with Chicago in 2015 and played a key role in its postseason run. Schwarber is just one of multiple cases in Benintendi’s favor.

However, there are also plenty of examples that prove Benintendi may not have enough reps in the high minors yet. The Pirates’ Gregory Polanco had a combined 71 games of Triple-A experience before getting the call to Pittsburgh, where he owned a underwhelming .245 TAv the rest of the way. Even 2015 proved to be an adjustment, as he hit .256/.320/.381 for the year before finally turning things around this season.

Brandon Belt spent less than two years in the Giants system before making his big-league debut in 2011. He hit .225 and struck out at a 27.3 percent rate during that 63-game stretch. He finished three of the next four seasons with a TAv over .300 and has been one of San Francisco’s best hitters in 2016.

Benintendi has still only played 51 games in the high minors, and he spent half of those games in an adjustment phase.

Adam Jones made his major-league debut at 20 years old after nearly a full season in Triple-A and struggled mightily. He posted a .193 TAv in 76 plate appearances in 2006 before improving that mark to .280 in 71 plate appearances the next season. It wasn’t until he went to Baltimore the next season that he started to round to form, becoming the All-Star-caliber player he’s been for years.

Even Xander Bogaerts needed time for his bat to come around in the majors. He sported a .247 TAv in his first full season in 2014 before transforming into an All-Star this season.

This is the type of risk the Red Sox would be taking by calling up Benintendi too soon. It’s not a matter of stunting his growth or hurting his confidence, it’s the fact that he’s not ready to make an immediate contribution in the majors yet. The 22-year-old has still only played 51 games in the high minors, and he spent half of those games in an adjustment phase. The jump from Double-A to the majors isn’t uncommon, but it doesn’t guarantee immediate success. Benintendi would need time, and that’s something the Red Sox don’t have much of in the midst of a playoff race.

Right now, the safest bet is to let Benintendi develop in the minors. Holt, Swihart and Young, when healthy, have done enough to contribute to the highest-scoring offense in the majors, while Brentz has shown he can hit as well. No need to turn to the hot young prospect before he’s ready just yet.  

Photo by Kelly O’Connor/www.sittingstill.smugmug.com

I think it’s fair to say that much of the hand-wringing would qualify as an overreaction. This is particularly true when you consider how bad and uncompetitive this team has been the last two years. On the other hand, it’s also fair to say the hand-wringing is perfectly natural given how the team has played lately. Even beyond how they’ve played, I think it’s fair to say this team doesn’t really look like a playoff contender.

Now, I don’t mean “look” as in aesthetically, in the sense of how they play baseball, though that could also be true. I simply mean the names on the roster don’t look like the names of players that should be playing on a playoff team. Much of this has come on the pitching staff, a unit that has relied on Sean O’Sullivan for multiple starts. Additionally, the bench has been something close to depressing for some time now. This isn’t really due to poor management, but rather a rash of injuries. There’s not much one can do about that. Still, this lack of depthhas led to Josh Rutledge and Marco Hernandez playing significant roles at times. I like both players — Hernandez in particular — but they should not be earning significant at-bats in 2016. On top of that, guys like Ryan LaMarre, Deven Marrero and Mike Miller have simply gotten playing time; it should go without saying that playoff teams tend to avoid relying on players of this caliber.

It’s not the end of the world, though. We may think that playoff teams avoid these players, but they don’t. The key is just not relying on them for too long, and that’s something Dave Dombrowski has already addressed. Boston’s President of Baseball Operations went on a little bit of a trading spree last week, acquiring bullpen and bench depth. It all started with the addition of Aaron Hill, who could prove to be the most valuable add of the new trio. He instantly solidifies the bench. Even on days in which he starts — it appears he may form a platoon at third base with Travis Shaw — the best player on the bench is now light years ahead of guys like Rutledge and Hernandez. Hill gives the bench talent and versatility. He’s a solid hitter, with a TAv of .286 in his time with Milwaukee and plenty of above-average seasons before that. He can also play every infield position, and will probably at least be tested in left field.

In addition to Hill, the Red Sox made a minor trade in which they dealt for Michael Martinez for cash. To put it bluntly, Martinez is not the kind of upgrade that Hill is. Instead, he’s simply another Hernandez, who is a below-average hitter but one who can hold his own while playing all over the diamond. This may seem like a pointless move, but as we’ve seen more depth is better depth, even if the talent doesn’t work out that way.

Consider the scenario in which an infielder gets hurt — whether that be Hernandez or a starter. That means someone like Miller or Marrero is suddenly thrust into the top backup role, getting more time than anyone wants. Martinez simply adds more roadblock to that happening, which is subtly important for the grind of a baseball season.

Finally, the bench has gotten deeper with Bryce Brentz. Of course, the outfielder is not a new addition who came over in the form of a trade but is rather a long-time prospect who had seemingly topped out in the upper-levels of the farm system. This season was likely the 27-year-old’s final chance to make it as a big leaguer, and he’s certainly making the most of it.

Of course, we’re only talking about 40 plate appearances, so things could change soon. In fact, it might even be likely that things change soon. In the meantime, though, Brentz has bought the Red Sox time. He’s on the short end of the platoon, and he doesn’t figure to play that role all year. Chris Young is still expected to return at some point, and Brentz has shown the ability to keep Young’s spot warm in the meantime. This is important not only because Boston doesn’t have to try to squeeze value out of Rusney Castillo again or play LaMarre, but also because he can save them prospects. Instead of having to throw prospects to fill in the outfield hole, Dombrowski can now comfortably save his young players to deal for the hole in the rotation.

Despite all the hand-wringing, the Red Sox find themselves in a solid position to make the playoffs for the first time since 2013. Obviously, there’s still a lot of work to do, as the second half gets underway this weekend. The season’s grind necessitates depth, something the Red Sox have learned the hard way this year.

Luckily, Dombrowski recognized the issue and reinforced the bench with some key moves. He’s also benefiting from a modest emergence from Brentz. The jury is still out on whether this Red Sox team is “for real,” but at least we’ll be seeing more players who feel like they belong on a team in this position. Of course, we’ll just find something else to worry about, now.

Photo by Kim Klement/USA Today Sports Images

No one would say the hitting’s been a problem, as it’s the one thing keeping the team afloat. But what about the bench players? They’re not a particularly inspiring group, but they’re not main cogs of the run-scoring machine the Red Sox run out there every day. You could definitely fault them as a whole for being pretty terrible, though.

On Opening Day, the Red Sox began the season in Cleveland with a bench that included Ryan Hanigan, Pablo Sandoval, Chris Young, and Rusney Castillo. While benches aren’t exactly supposed to be imposing, this one certainly wasn’t at first. Chris Young is the one good name here, and he’s currently on the disabled list after pulling a hamstring. Sandoval’s shoulder ended up being a lot worse than we thought, and he was done for the year. Rusney Castillo has been so bad in both Triple-A Pawtucket and the big league club that he’s since been removed from the 40-man roster. Hanigan’s a backup, but even he was sidelined by a neck strain, and catching Steven Wright hasn’t helped his defensive metrics in any way.

So, next one(s) up, right? Here comes Christian Vazquez, who clubbed a home run I can only describe as immensely satisfying to watch. The clean sound off the bat, the arc, the – well, everything.

As great as that dinger was, it didn’t take long for Vazquez to revert back to his old ways of simply not hitting. The thing is, you accept that if he could play some of his trademark phenomenal defense, right? He didn’t have that either. After a June that saw Vazquez hit .189/.246/.226, he was sent to Pawtucket, and Sandy Leon was called up.

Then Leon caught fire, and in just 60 PA, he amassed 1.1 WARP. Catchers, man. Apart from Young, Leon might be the best guy here in terms of contributing to the 2016 team.

I’d talk about Blake Swihart with the rest of the backstops, but he was a catcher for all of a month. Swihart was sent back down to Triple-A to learn how to play left field, as Brock Holt had one good week and didn’t really do much after that. Come May, it turned out Holt was also playing through concussion symptoms. So Swihart gets installed as the left-handed platoon partner in LF, and promptly gets injured while playing a position he had all of a few months worth of experience with. Another bench player bites the dust, albeit an out-of-position one.

“But Brett,” you argue, “catcher depth is going to have some very steep fall-off in production after the starter!” And yes, that’s true. The thing is, all the guys who haven’t been backup catchers on the Red Sox’s bench have collectively been just as bad.

Of the infielders, Marco Hernandez has promise, but that’s about all you can say for whomever’s graced the Red Sox bench over the last couple months. Josh Rutledge was doing okay filling in here and there, but knee tendinitis has sidelined him, forcing the Red Sox to rely on Deven Marrero and Mike Miller – yeah, that was my reaction too – to help put a band-aid on a bullet wound.

The outfielders are in the same spot. Chris Young’s pulled hammy opened the door for Bryce Brentz, who has done well early on, but you’re not going to be sold on a guy who has a 25% difference between his strikeout and walk rates. Ryan LaMarre has appeared, and then disappeared, kinda like this pitch:

RYAN LAMARRE pic.twitter.com/Pz7n1gCMXa

— Joon Lee (@iamjoonlee) June 21, 2016

Yeah. That’s what the Red Sox have been dealing with.

So what’s been the point of me listing off all the failings of guys of which the majority shouldn’t be starting in the first place? Well, it’s because this is starting to become an issue as bad as the starting pitching. It’s just not as evident or instantly noticeable.

The 2016 Red Sox are being propelled on the strength of the hitting of Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, Jackie Bradley Jr., and David Ortiz, with some help thrown in by the likes of Dustin Pedroia and Travis Shaw. But man, does it ever drop off after that. Hanley Ramirez has been okay, sure, but who do you turn to when he can’t buy a hit and Travis Shaw starts regressing from hitting .350 for two months? You turn to the bench.

This time, there was nothing on the bench to shore up whatever the Red Sox lacked. Combined with a pitching staff that got worse at the worst time, the Red Sox trudged through a 10-16 June, and the left field situation got so bad that people started wondering if Andrew Benintendi could work out in a call-up to the majors from Double-A Portland.

Benches, in a vacuum, aren’t supposed to be good. I get that. The players aren’t starting because they’re not good enough to do so, and we weren’t going to see something like 2013 where guys like Mike Carp and Jonny Gomes annihilated everything they saw. But the Sox, with the resources they have, should’ve done better.

Thankfully, Dave Dombrowski’s taking steps to actually fix all this, trading for Aaron Hill, who was – relative to the Sox bench – smacking the hell out of the ball in Milwaukee. It’s a start. They might just have to wait for guys to come back off the DL for more help.

One can only hope the regulars keep doing what they’re doing, since the Red Sox can’t really afford for them to do much else. That’s the situation they’ve ended up in after the first half, and it’s not going away anytime soon.

Photo by Bob DeChiara/USA Today Sports Images

So the Red Sox are going for it. Like really going for it, and that deal plus that thought process makes an argument for further trades. We knew the Red Sox needed starting pitching before the Hill trade and now they’ve dealt away Aaron Wilkerson, a Triple-A starter widely thought of as a possibility to join the major league rotation, so that need is that much stronger. It’s undeniable the Red Sox need a better starter, maybe even two better starters if Eduardo Rodriguez isn’t going to help this season. The problem is finding them. They don’t seem to exist out on the market, so instead, Dombrowski should focus on improving the team in a different way: fix left field.

But left field isn’t broken! No, it’s not, but it sort of is. The Red Sox have received good production from left field so far this season, which is strange because if you look at the players they’ve used so far, that might surprise you. To date the most plate appearances have been taken by Brock Holt, who isn’t what you’d call an ideal left fielder. He’s been fine out there for the most part, but when Holt is starting at a position it prevents him from roving around and utilizing the vast array of skills he possesses to the team’s highest and best benefit. Put it this way. Using Holt as a starting left fielder turns an asset into a mediocre left fielder.

Using Holt as a starting left fielder turns an asset into a mediocre left fielder.

So the Red Sox probably need to find someone else. Chris Young was fantastic against both lefties and, bizarrely, against righties this season. Maybe that will continue when he comes back from the Disabled List, but considering he has 5,000 plate appearances in his career that say he’s good at hitting lefties but lousy at hitting righties, it’s probably not best to bet on Chris Young hitting like Chris Young against lefties against righties (got that?) going forward. After Young, Blake Swihart (injured), Rusney Castillo (Triple-A), Ryan LaMarre (DFA’d), and Bryce Brentz (place holder) have played there. None of those guys should be starting in left field on a playoff team.

The team has a .768 OPS from their left fielders this season, and that’s 12th in baseball, which is pretty good. But, sad emoji, that’s likely unrepeatable with the talent they have on-hand in the second half of the season. Brentz has hit since getting called up, something he’s not done in Triple-A, and likely won’t continue to do in the majors with more at-bats. Like Holt, asking Young to start every day is probably asking for failure. So it seems a safe bet that over the second half of the season the Red Sox will experience a downturn in production from left field if they do not make any changes to their current personnel. The Red Sox need a new, better, regular left fielder.

However, they need pitching more. And last year’s first round draft pick, Andrew Beintendi, looks like the real deal in Double-A so far and there’s real hope he can be the long-term solution in left field for the Red Sox as soon as next season, or, maybe more realistically, the one after. They don’t want to acquire a Ryan Braun who would then block Benintendi, or a similar player who would have a long term deal. They also need pitching badly. Did I mention that? They need pitching very badly.

Thing is, there doesn’t seem to be much in the way of impact starting pitching available on the trade market, and that means if a good pitcher is going to come to Boston, he’s going to need to be pried out of his current home. You know those “make me move” offers you see sometimes on real estate websites. Dombrowski is going to have to make some GM an offer he can’t refuse and that offer is almost certainly not going to be a good one for the Red Sox.

Perhaps making minor moves to prop up the team’s starting pitching depth makes sense if it comes with a bigger, better move at a different position of need, like say, left field.

Maybe there is a deal to be had that doesn’t cripple the organization. Maybe there’s something out there that makes sense given all the factors at play. If so I’m sure Dombrowski will find it, but if not, and [spoiler!] I suspect not, perhaps making minor moves to prop up the team’s starting pitching depth makes sense if it comes with a bigger, better move at a different position of need, like say, left field.

The name that springs to mind here is Carlos Gonzalez. He’s enjoying a strong season in Colorado, hitting .319/.368/.556 with 18 homers. The home/road splits are, as always with Rockies players, daunting, but there’s reason to believe once the player gets out of the thin Colorado air entirely he’ll get more used to it and the numbers will positively reflect that. Gonzalez has a year after this season left on his deal and Boston could handle the $20 million hit in 2017. He could be kept to win next year or dealt after this season to help replenish the hit to the minors his acquisition would make. They could make that decision based on their desire to go with Benintendi, or to give him more seasoning in the minors, but ether way it gives the team flexibility and depth in case of injury as well as a serious upgrade in left field. Gonzalez would likely cost a good prospect, but the Red Sox have those to give in the service of winning with David Ortiz in 2016.

Another name to throw out there is Jay Bruce. Bruce is enjoying nice bounce-back season after a few years in the proverbial wilderness, hitting .268/.317/.546 with 18 homers for sad-sack Cincinnati. Bruce isn’t quite the hitter or fielder Gonzalez is, but he’s cheaper (the remainder of $12.5 million this season and a team option for $13 million in 2017) and would likely not cost as much to acquire. Both Bruce and Gonzalez are left handed so, should it be necessary to give them a day off, Chris Young could perfectly spell them against a left-hander now and again.

The Red Sox could get on alright without either of these or countless other guys, but the issue is bang for the buck. A good starter is going to cost a tremendous amount in this trade market, but an upgrade in left field could be as impactful and a lot cheaper. Cheaper doesn’t just mean more money for the team, it means holding on to more and better prospects, something that will help the team both now as they try to win with David Ortiz, and as they move into the post-Ortiz era. So win now, Dave Dombrowski. And yes the Red Sox badly need starting pitching, but mostly they need increased production. A 12-10 win is, after all, still a win.

Photo by Ron Chenoy/USA Today Sports Images

Top Play (WPA): Don’t be fooled — the Red Sox did almost nothing right, and yesterday’s top play was little more than a novelty. To that end, at least it was interesting. With two outs in the sixth inning, Bryce Brentz hit his first career home run over the left field wall. You might say the ball #Brexited the stadium for Brentz, if you’re into topical jokes and still have a sense of humor about either the Sox or the collapse of the British Empire and/or the global economy. I do not.

Bottom Play (WPA): Let the record show that the WPA graph shows a death by a dozen paper cuts. While Nomar Mazara’s first-inning single that drove in the Rangers’ first run was the biggest play of the game, it wasn’t materially worse than any of the other damage-inducing plays from the opening frame. The spiritual backbreaker was a Rougned Odor popup behind third base that no Red Sox could get to, scoring Mazara and hinting that it was going to be, in fact, one of those games.

Key Moment: Buchholz, like so many Red Sox pitchers recently, was unable to escape the first inning unscathed. This could have easily gone on in the ‘Trend to Watch’ section to follow, but it effectively ended the proceedings before they started. On the bright side, it happened early enough that maybe you were inspired to do something other than watch a washed-up Buchholz try to make chicken salad out of another wasted opportunity.

Trend to Watch: Start up the Trademaster 3000. Let’s look at starting pitchers great and small. Julio Teheran? He’d be fantastic. Sonny Gray? He’d be okay. With Dave Dombrowski braying about his own behind-the-scenes work in the trade market, let me suggest another name: Clayton Kershaw. He gave up four runs to the Pirates last night. His value will never be lower. Makes sense imho.

Coming next: Again, the Red Sox will face a team that’s mightily struggling. Last time it was the White Sox, who nearly swept the Sox in a four-game series at Fenway for the first time in a century. This time it’s the Rays, losers of 11 straight games. It will start with Ed Rodriguez versus Blake Snell, and, if form holds, it will probably start poorly.

Photo by Tim Heltman/USA Today Sports Images

Triple-A Pawtucket: Roenis Elias (LHP) and Bryce Brentz (OF)

Roenis Elias was the second player the Red Sox acquired in the Wade Miley-Carson Smith trade with the Mariners this winter. Elias seemed to fit in among the Steven Wright, Joe Kelly, Henry Owens, and Brian Johnson morass of a fifth spot in the rotation. But then his 10.45 ERA in the spring ensured he would start the year at Pawtucket, and unfortunately things have gotten only slightly better. Through his first 25 innings this season he had a 7.20 RA9 (4.83 FIP). Walking 19 batters while striking out 20 will do that to you. Clearly things have been rough for Elias, and just as his chances of getting another shot in the big leagues appeared to be slipping away, he went out and was pretty dominant in his most recent start. Over 7.2 innings (his longest of the season) he allowed only two runs (both solo home runs), walked nobody (!) and struck out 13 (!). According to a report from Tim Britton of The Providence Journal, Pawtucket pitching coach Bob Kipper noticed a rhythm issue in Elias’ delivery and worked with him to implement a freer approach with how he delivered the ball. Obviously, the early results from this adjustment are positive. If it is truly the change needed to get Elias back on track, maintaining consistency with the adjusted delivery will be crucial. If Elias is unstuck and can return to a moderate level of effectiveness, he provides the Red Sox an option other than Henry Owens to fill an open rotation spot.

Bryce Brentz suffered an oblique strain during Spring Training that kept him out of game action for the first two weeks of the season. Then once he got into the lineup it took some time to get things going. He spent the first part of the season at Double-A Portland, where he accumulated 48 plate appearances and posted a .200/.333/.325 line with two doubles and one home run. That is not a great line, but he was moved back up to Pawtucket and with his promotion came a bump in his offensive production. Over his 48 PA with the PawSox he has posted a .295/.354/.364 line, with three doubles but no home runs. While his batting average has seen the largest jump, largely a result of a correspondingly large rise in batting average on balls in play (BABIP), his power is still lacking. His .068 isolated power this season at Pawtucket, will, if it continues, be the lowest mark of his career (among stints with at least 25 PA). Brentz is projected for considerable power, so this lack of it in the early going is slightly concerning. But it is only 48 PA, so there is not yet any real reason for alarm.

Brentz’s path to the big leagues appears murky. His hit tool is likely his ticket upward, but he needs to hit more than he has this year and did last year (.264 TAv), or at least get back to his lefty-mashing ways of 2014 when he posted a 1.039 OPS against lefties (.698 OPS against righties) if he is going to get called up. His defense is fine, but not outstanding to the point of needing to have him roam the Fenway lawn. According to his fielding runs above average number, which should be interpreted cautiously, he was an above average outfielder last year, but is back below average this year. Regardless, with a defender like Rusney Castillo, a utility guy like Brock Holt, and infielders like Travis Shaw and Blake Swihart all ahead of Brentz on the outfield depth chart, Brentz’s chances to get back to the big leagues with Boston appear grim.

Quick update on Rusney Castillo (OF)

When we last checked on Rusney Castillo, he was struggling at the plate, especially in the power department. That problem has not changed. He has nine hits over the last two weeks – all but one of which are singles – and has walked and struck out twice. Put it all together and his season line now sits at an unimpressive .256/.313/.308. While many (including me) thought Jackie Bradley Jr. was the all-glove, no-bat outfielder in the Red Sox system, at least Bradley Jr. hit at Pawtucket. The same cannot be said for Castillo. This is probably the last time I provide this sort of quick update on him.

Double-A Portland: Aaron Wilkerson (RHP) and Andrew Benintendi (OF)

In 2015, the relatively unheralded Aaron Wilkerson moved from Low-A to High-A to Double-A over the course of the season. In his 119.2 innings between Salem (79.0) and Portland (40.2), Wilkerson posted a remarkable 3.08 RA9, with a 2.13 FIP that suggested he was even better. This year he has picked up where he left off, dominating opponents and posting scoreless innings. To date, he has made seven starts for the Sea Dogs, five of which have been scoreless and only one was a clunker (3.1 innings, six runs, eight hits, three walks, four strikeouts). All told, in his 39.1 innings for the Sea Dogs he has struck out 46 batters while walking 12. His last time out, against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (the Blue Jays’ affiliate), he had arguably his best start of the season, throwing 7.1 scoreless innings, allowing only two hits, two walks, and eight strikeouts. After reading about Wilkerson’s domination, it seems as though he is due for a promotion to Triple-A. Well, he had an opportunity earlier this season to start a game for Pawtucket and it did not go too well (4.2 innings, seven hits, three runs, one home run, three walks, five strikeouts). He was sent back to Portland after the outing and his first start back was the clunker I mentioned above; certainly an interesting week for Mr. Wilkerson. In any case, if he continues to impress at Double-A the way he has so far he will get another chance at the next level.

Two weeks ago I campaigned for Andrew Benintendi to get promoted to Portland so that I could watch him play. The promotion came too late for me to see him, but it came nevertheless. He has now played four games for the Sea Dogs and is still adjusting to the higher level. He has been held hitless, a feat that seemed unthinkable at High-A, in three of his four games and has struck out in five of his 16 PA. To put that in some perspective, he struck out just nine times in his 155 PA with Salem this year. Benintendi has done nothing but hit at an advanced level at each stop in his young career, so it seems likely that he will get back to raking soon.

High-A Salem: Trey Ball (LHP)

The Red Sox selected left-handed pitcher Trey Ball with the seventh pick of the 2013 first-year player draft. Since then Ball has struggled to live up to his draft status in ways that other Red Sox seventh-overall picks have (see Benintendi, Andrew). At each of his three stops in the Red Sox system, Ball has posted an ERA over 4.50 with corresponding fielding independent numbers that suggest he has been that bad. Thus far in 2016, Ball has been effective in limiting runs from scoring (1.96 RA9), but his 4.20 FIP portends a return to previous runs allowed marks, as do his career low .203 BABIP and career high 84.8% strand rate. Basically, he has been navigating trouble by having opponents hit it where they are, which probably won’t last.

Generally, Ball’s major issue is walking batters. In 23.0 innings this year he has allowed nine walks (3.51 BB/9). Last year it was even worse, as he allowed 60 walks in his 129.1 innings pitched for Salem (4.18 BB/9). He has to reduce his walk totals if he is going to succeed and move up in the system. In his most recent outing, Ball kept the opponents, Kansas City’s High-A Wilmington Blue Rocks, off the scoreboard, scattered five hits, and only walked two batters over a career high seven innings. What’s more is that he struck out six batters, the third highest total in his young career. Ideally this start is an indication he is headed in the right direction, but it is one start and the Blue Rocks are the weakest offensive team in the Carolina League this year.

Updates on Yoan Moncada and Rafael Devers:

Yoan Moncada, like his old teammate Benintendi, is likely to get a promotion soon. He is still dominating pitchers at his level to the tune of a .324/.454/.510 line, and has 29 stolen bases in 35 tries.

Just when it seemed Rafael Devers was coming out of his early season struggles, he had another rough couple of weeks going .182/.234/.205 over his most recent 47 PA. His season line is currently 39 percent worse than average, so he has a lot of work to do if he is going to join his fellow Big Three teammates in Portland.

Low-A Greenville: Luis Alexander Basabe (OF)

The Greenville Drive team’s offense has been great in the early going this season, and that is despite top-prospect Luis Alexander Basabe struggling to consistently produce. Basabe was signed by the Red Sox, along with his brother Luis Alejandro Basabe, in 2012. Luis Alexander spent the 2013 and 2014 seasons in rookie ball, before getting assigned to Lowell last year for his age-18 season. At each level he has produced solid offensive numbers, but has had difficulty thus far at Low-A. His season line is currently .213/.265/.418, which is a bit of a strange line that comes as a result of half of his 26 hits going for extra bases (five doubles, four triples, four home runs). Regardless, a .213 batting average is ugly, and mixing it with a lack of walks is also concerning. He clearly needs to develop better plate discipline, work to earn more walks and focus on attacking pitches in the strike zone. His combination of a high strikeout rate, low walk rate, and below-typical BABIP (.282) could suggest that the low batting average comes as a result of him often making contact on pitches outside the strike zone, which tend to have poorer outcomes. Without access to his swing and batted ball data (i.e., O-Swing%, O-Contact%, exit velocity) I cannot address this hypothesis directly, but the poor plate discipline numbers point to it being plausible. Regardless, given his age, Basabe will spend at least this season with the Drive, so he will have plenty of time and many opportunities to develop into a more well-rounded hitter.

Photo by Kelly O’Connor/www.sittingstill.smugmug.com