Terrible start to the year. Everything has gone wrong: pitching, defense, and offense as well as health (Jacoby Ellsbury and Mike Cameron). With Cameron heading to the DL, this is what I’d like to see:
- Keep Jeremy Hermida in left and put Josh Reddick in center
- When Ellsbury returns, he takes over left field and Hermida slides into the DH role.
This lets the Red Sox take their time with Ortiz/Lowell DH “platoon” and gives Reddick an extended look in the majors. Maybe he boosts his trade value or, if Cameron can’t make it back quickly, he forces himself into the lineup and lets the Sox part with Ortiz/Lowell without worrying about losing what could be dead money.
The pitching will improve. The defense hasn’t been that bad outside of the running game (23 of 24 base stealers have succeeded) and the offense could take care of itself if Hermida can live up to his potential.