The Boston Red Sox are slated to face multiple left-handed pitchers this weekend against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park.
Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer likely will spend that time on the bench.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora has been steadfast in his approach to avoid left-on-left matchups with rookie batters, platooning the likes of Rafael Devers, Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu, Mayer and likely Anthony. It’s something he was asked about on Wednesday, which sort of struck a nerve.
“I don’t know, maybe (the rookies will play) Friday, maybe Saturday, maybe Sunday,” Cora said, as seen on NESN. “Let’s wait until we see the lefty, and then when you seen the lineup you guys can ask me.
“We have some good righties here. If we don’t play Romy (González), if we don’t play (Rob Refsnyder), is that good for the team? I get the whole conversation. I get that (the rookies) are great hitters, they’re great players, but those two guys are really good at what they do. We’re trying to win as many games as possible.”
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Cora has a point in being frustrated with the conversation, as his track record is nearly perfect with this approach. The Red Sox like to slowly integrate rookies against left-handed pitchers because the jump in opponent quality from the minor leagues to the major leagues is so large.
Boston can point directly to last weekend’s series in New York, when González, Refsnyder and Mayer combined to help win two games in that platoon role — with others around them moving around the diamond to accommodate.
“We can’t play 13 position players. We cannot,” “I get it, people get frustrated, but I get frustrated, too. I get the same question over and over again, but I’ve been doing it like this since 2018. Rafael Devers platooned in 2018, and right now he’s one of the best hitters in the big leagues.”
Anthony and Mayer are supposed to be super prospects, so the platoon splits might be fewer and farther between, but numbers support this approach — no matter if it’s fun for fans or not.
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