Felger & Mazz: Bogaerts A Bad Fit At Shortstop With New Red Sox Rotation
BOSTON (CBS) - It's no secret that Xander Bogaerts struggled at shortstop in 2014 (remember when they brought in Stephen Drew midseason, only to trade him at the deadline?), and if tasked with the same responsibility for 2015, the 22-year-old could experience similar growing pains.
After losing out on the Jon Lester sweepstakes, the Red Sox traded for Wade Miley and Rick Porcello, then later signed Justin Masterson to a one-year deal.
According to Fan Graphs, new additions Porcello (49%), Miley (51%) and Masterson (58%), all possess high ground ball rates. Clay Buchholz (47%) is also above league average (< 45%) and Joe Kelly's ground-ball rate is 55%. (h/t Tim Britton)
So the Red Sox have five ground-ball starting pitchers and one giant uncertainty at shortstop.
"You have five ground-ball pitchers in your rotation -- five! -- and you have a guy that you don't know if he can play shortstop," said a concerned Tony Massarotti.
"Now, I'm pro-Bogaerts. I think he can and I think he can play it well enough. But for this pitching staff? Bogaerts is not a great fit. If you're going to build a rotation of ground-ball pitchers then you need Jose Iglesias at shortstop, or Deven Marrero. I think fans could get really frustrated with that one, we'll see how it goes."
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