It's weird that the Red Sox have ignored first base

BOSTON -- The current series taking place between the Red Sox and Yankees doesn't project to be a good time for Boston.

After rookie Josh Winckowski started the opener on Thursday, it'll be rookie Connor Seabold on the bump on Saturday, likely followed by rookie Kutter Crawford on Saturday. Nick Pivetta will get the ball on Sunday, but it may require an optimist's viewpoint to believe he'll be pitching with a chance to even give the Red Sox a split of the four-game set.

Yet while pitching may be the overriding story for the Red Sox in this series, one can't help but have wondered while watching the opener on Thursday evening how a team with the payroll of the Red Sox, how a team with the meticulous roster curation of the Red Sox, how a team with the passionate fan base of the Red Sox has more or less lived life for two-plus years as if the first base position doesn't exist.

It's insane.

Not since the moribund 2020 Red Sox traded away Mitch Moreland at the deadline has the team employed a real, live, MLB-caliber first baseman. They've tried Michael Chavis, Bobby Dalbec, and most recently Franchy Cordero at the spot, while getting some temporary fill-in work from Kyle Schwarber last year. Marwin Gonzalez and Danny Santana got some run at first last year, and Travis Shaw spent some time there as well last year and this year.

For a team with a payroll north of the $200 million, playing a real season with real stakes while contending for a real* playoff spot while employing Dalbec and Cordero as the only first basemen on the roster is borderline negligent. The team did invest in a bat at the position last year at the deadline, sure. Yet while Schwarber was a major offensive boost for Boston, he was, well, a bit ham-handed at first base, a position he had not played since his days with the Wareham Gatemen in the Cape Cod League.

(*The new wild card setup really calls into question what a "real" playoff spot is nowadays, but we must roll with it.)

Chaim Bloom and his front office apparently were not affected by that display, as they've been happy to use Dalbec (who came up as a third baseman) and Cordero (who had exclusively played in the outfield since 2016 after having an abysmal .830 fielding percentage at shortstop early in his minor league career) at a position that used to mean something.

Obviously, the issue reared its head on Thursday night, when Cordero was unable to catch a routine popup, thus allowing what proved to be the game-winning run to cross the plate.

It was a grisly display.

For whatever reason, that was ruled a double. Then it was rightfully changed to an error. Then it was somehow changed back to a double. That, however, was no double. It was a brutal misplay by a player fielding a position for which he is not equipped with the skills and experience necessary to succeed at the big league level.

It was the second straight night that Cordero flubbed a play at first base, after he failed to catch a ball thrown directly to him in the first inning of Wednesday's loss to the Rays.

Dalbec's looked the part of an MLB first baseman a little better, though he's bungled his fair share of foul pop-ups and has shown some poor footwork at and around the bag. FanGraphs has him at negative-2 defensive runs saved this season. Cordero's at negative-3.

Is that their fault? Or is it the team's fault for asking them to play out of position?

And unlike the situation with Schwarber, it's not as if either player's bat justifies the defensive deficiencies at the position.

Despite Cordero's somewhat steady bat, the Red Sox rank 14th out of 15 AL teams in OPS by first basemen this year. Their .610 OPS at first base is a full 253 points lower than the Orioles, who lead the league at .863. The Yankees are second at .858, followed by the Blue Jays at .843. The Rays aren't far behind, ranking fifth at .811.

Now, that may not be Boston's biggest problem. Hansel Robles' MLB-leading six blown saves, plus eight more from the trio of Matt Strahm, Jake Diekman and Ryan Brasier might have something to say about that.

Yet it's nevertheless a bit mystifying why the Red Sox are blazing this path with no emphasis on having a real first baseman. Cordero's botching of a routine play on Thursday was merely the latest reminder.