Cora will make pitch for DJ, Springer
Pair of free agents would bring spark to depleted lineup
Let’s check in on the Red Sox’ roster and new manager Alex Cora’s preferences when it comes to lineup-building.
It looks like — checks notes — Mookie Betts is no longer on the roster and is currently playing in Los Angeles.
George Springer, Cora’s favorite leadoff man in Houston who inspired the skipper to turn Betts into a leadoff man, is currently a free agent.
DJ LeMahieu, the batting-title-winning Yankees’ leadoff man who Cora raved about publicly on a monthly basis during the entire 2019 season, is currently a free agent.
And what does Red
Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom think about listening to Cora’s preferences on roster-building?
“I love the conversation and having the manager involved in those things,” Bloom said Wednesday on a Zoom call with reporters. “That’s what I’m used to. It’s what I’ve been used to really my whole career. I think it’s a positive when you have someone — I think this would apply to really any manager given the importance of the position, but especially when you have someone with as active of a mind as Alex, you want them engaged. We talk about this as a partnership and it really is.”
The sound you hear is the cash register opening up for Springer and LeMahieu, two of the top free agents this winter who each turned down one-year, $18.9-million qualifying offers from their respective teams and are likely to get lucrative multi-year contracts.
That’s a slight concern to the Red Sox, who would have to forfeit their second-highest draft pick as well as $500,000 in international bonus pool money if they sign anybody who turned down a qualifying offer.
But Bloom was asked specifically about that on Wednesday and said it wouldn’t be much of a deterrent.
“I think it’s our responsibility to look at everything that can fit us,” Bloom said. “Obviously when you’re talking about somebody that has a qualifying offer on them, the cost to us in signing them is greater and you have to factor that on some level. But I don’t like ruling us out on anybody.” The Red Sox have money to spend this year after ducking under the luxury tax threshold and resetting in 2020. They have a clear need at second base and center field, their offense has a Betts-sized hole and they’re without a true leadoff hitter.
The Red Sox’ two most potent sluggers, J.D. Martinez and Rafael Devers, struggled to make contact in 2020, when the Red Sox as a team made contact just 74.7% of the time, down drastically from 79.3% when Cora managed them to a World Series title in 2018.
Dig up old audio of Cora speaking publicly in 2018 and 2019 and two subjects are very popular: he thinks LeMahieu almost single-handedly turned the Yankees into a contender, and he believes high contact percentage wins championships.
Cora mentioned LeMahieu’s name at least once a month during the 2019 season.
“I’ve been saying all along, DJ kind of changed the (Yankees’) mindset, probably,” Cora said that July. “I don’t know, I’m not in their meetings. But this guy, he puts the ball in play, he goes the other way, he’s grinding at-bats, and he’s doing an outstanding job with men in scoring position.
“When you look at the last two World Series champions, they did an outstanding job putting the ball in play with men in scoring position, not striking out in certain situations. The Yankees are a little bit different now.”
LeMahieu is certainly going to be pursued by the Yankees, but if Cora’s voice is to be taken into account in the Red Sox’ offseason planning, there’s little doubt his name will be brought up often.
“It’s exciting to have Alex as a partner in those conversations now,” Bloom said.
Springer is the other one to think about.
“A slugger leading off, yeah,” Cora said early in 2018 when he announced Betts would become the Sox’ new leadoff hitter, a la Springer in Houston.
And when the Astros temporarily took Springer out of the leadoff spot in the 2018 postseason, Cora expressed his shock.
“Never expected that,” he said. “I never thought (A.J. Hinch) was going to take George Springer out of the leadoff spot. Never.”
Springer has been one of the most impactful leadoff hitters in the game. Since the start of 2017, when Cora joined the Astros, Springer ranks third in MLB in weighted runs created above average (140) among leadoff hitters with at least 1,000 at-bats. The top-five goes Betts and Ronald Acuna Jr. (148), Springer (140), Charlie Blackmon (133) and LeMahieu (130).
The Red Sox have no center fielder, and Bloom said Wednesday it would certainly be a priority to get one this winter, despite prospect Jarren Duran’s progress in the last two years.
“I tend not to put too much weight on it,” Bloom said of Duran’s great 2020 season while playing at the alternate site in Pawtucket.
Bloom added, “I think we have guys on this club who are capable of playing center field, but I would certainly like to be in as strong a defensive position as you can.”
If there was any doubt the Sox should be considering LeMahieu and Springer, the return of Cora should clear that up.