Filling Ortiz’ big void a team effort
There’s no chance the Red Sox offense can be as good as it was last year without David Ortiz. None. If you like fancy numbers, look at weighted runs created plus (wRC+), an attempt to objectively measure offense. Per FanGraphs, Ortiz’ 163 ranks better than every hitter in the majors last season save for the 171 posted by American League MVP Mike Trout.
Those 38 Big Papi home runs won’t magically appear.
The only player available in free agency this winter who has a shot to come close Big Papi’s production is Edwin Encarnacion. Everyone speculated the Sox would pursue him, but they stayed far away because they wanted to be under the luxury-tax threshold, and he signed with the Indians.
Ortiz’ spot in the lineup essentially was filled by a defense-minded first baseman, Mitch Moreland, the only new addition to the lineup unless you want to count a full season of Andrew Benintendi.
Either way, Ortiz’ absence will sting at times, particularly when the middle of the lineup goes cold, when Hanley Ramirez flails at everything.
But it will be important to remember the Sox had the absolute best offense in baseball last year. If healthy, they should be among the leaders again.
A lot will continue to be made of the other side of this loss, the clubhouse dynamic. During the first losing streak, everyone will wonder who’s the guy to turn to.
This is where the hype really becomes overkill.
Leadership in baseball is rarely about a team meeting. Team meetings are usually when the public, the fans and the media hear about leadership. But it’s not a rah-rah thing. If Dustin Pedroia has a chat with a slumping Xander Bogaerts, that might be more important than anything else for the shortstop at a time of low confidence.
And we might never know it took place.
There’s reason to believe the Sox can at least adapt well behind the scenes in Ortiz’ absence, even if his loud presence isn’t there.
“No one will replace David person for person. That’s a given,” Sox manager John Farrell said. “No one even makes that claim. For 10 years here, Dustin Pedroia has been a leader in his own right. He becomes more of the visible guy in our clubhouse, and has been for a number of years as well.
“We have a number of candidates capable, and we’ve seen it in their own way, whether it’s been on the pitching side — Rick Porcello I think last year (took) a step forward in that leadership type role. Not just because of the win-loss record or the Cy Young Award, but the way he talked to his pitching mates.”
The Red Sox outfield is very young, but the team has experienced players.
Hey, if you really think Ortiz was the glue that made it all work behind the scenes, you can at least be encouraged that this group is largely unchanged and learned directly from Ortiz.
“You can’t anoint someone a leader,” Farrell said. “They have to do it in a natural way. But when we look at Jackie Bradley to Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, they all have that ingredient in them. Some may be a little more vocal than others, but we feel very good about the core group emerging into those roles.”