There’s lots to cover
And young OFs are capable in all spots
NEW YORK — That the Red Sox now have their best defensive outfield in a century on their hands next season is not up for debate.
The great debate, one that could rage between now and spring training unless an unlikely consensus is reached soon, is which position best suits each player.
The team has two aboveaverage center fielders in Mookie Betts and Rusney Castillo and one elite center fielder in Jackie Bradley Jr.
The Red Sox probably cannot make a wrong move here. But what’s their best move?
Indications now point toward Bradley replacing Betts as the center fielder by Opening Day next season.
That sounds and feels right as the long-term solution. And logical.
It’s not that simple, though.
New president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski is soliciting all the information he can from the coaching staff. Right now, there’s not agreement on where the best arm goes, which position — left, center or right — is tougher to play and where Betts should go — right or left — in case he does get moved.
The Red Sox seem to believe even though it has been barely a year since he moved from second base to center field, Betts is young enough and athletic enough to handle another transition to a corner spot. They are likely right, but it still remains to be seen. Betts does not care. “I feel very comfortable out there in center field but you also have to respect the man playing next to me, too, No. 25 (Bradley), he’s one of the best if not the best,” said Betts. “If I’m center, right or left, it really doesn’t matter.”
And, the team also contends, Castillo is established enough to handle a transition to a different corner position just fine.
Castillo, who has been playing mostly in right, also is ready to move to left if needed: “I’m practicing playing left field and if they want me to play there, that is fine with me. Whatever the manager wants.”
Mainly because Fenway Park’s dimensions are so irregular, interim manager Torey Lovullo said that the team cannot come to a consensus about which position is the toughest to field.
“We haven’t defined what is the toughest position. Several of us think right field, several of us think left field,” said Lovullo.
“We do not have an agreement — we have that discussion very often. Right field has the biggest space. And we’ve all seen Shane Victorino in the past couple of years man that position very, very well, an ex-center fielder. There are those of us who feel like the left fielder has a tremendous responsibility because the biggest area at Fenway Park is right field and right-center field. To shade two guys over in that area and cover that big a space now leaves a big vacancy in left field. So now that left fielder has responsibility side to side to cover a lot of ground.”
Betts could play left. So could Castillo.
But after seeing Victorino play right field, Lovullo believes right field is tougher than left field at Fenway. Superior arm strength is needed not only to throw out the runner at home, but being able to throw out the runner at third base is a big part of the job description at Fenway, since so many runners try to grab an extra base at third given how deep balls go in right field.
So all things being equal, the best arm — Bradley Jr. by a lot — should be placed in right field, right? Not so fast. “We may or may not rank arm strength in the order of importance,” said Lovullo. “We may just rank range and running down the ball. We’re looking for every ingredient possible.”
What about punting on the decision, and tailoring the alignment on a series-by-series basis, factoring in the ballpark’s dimensions?
Like the closer-by-committee idea, that’s a nonstarter with the Sox.
“When we had a little bit of uncertainty, we used to do that in Yankee Stadium, Jackie in left field (there) at times,” said Lovullo. “But I think once we get to that point where we determine where our guys are going to play, we’re going to try to stay with that. We feel like we have three really strong athletic bodies that once they get familiar with where they’re playing, it’s going to be fun to watch.”
Maybe all this talk about who plays where is not as complicated as it sounds. Just place Bradley in center, and flip a coin on Betts and Castillo in right or left, it won’t really matter.
Now that Hanley Ramirez is out of left field, it’s obvious Dombrowski does not place much stock in chance and hopeful thinking when it comes to outfield defense.
He just wants to get it right.
And this decision is hardly a can of corn.