Now that the David Ortiz era has officially come to an end in Boston, the Red Sox lineup is going to look way different. We knew it was going to be hard enough to figure out the Opening Day order when the only change to it was going to be Big Papi, at the time. Then, Dealin’ Davey Dombrowski went and traded Travis Shaw and Yoan Moncada, most likely won’t sign Edwin Encarnacion, brought in Mitch Moreland from Texas, plans on platooning left field and now has a plethora of options at catcher. Plus, the offseason isn’t over yet, so who knows what he will/won’t do next.
Nobody knows what the heck lineup will be come April, but I came up with a few options and examined them.
Dustin Pedroia 2B
Xander Bogaerts SS
Mookie Betts RF
Hanley Ramirez DH
Pablo Sandoval 3B
Mitch Moreland 1B
Andrew Benintendi LF
Jackie Bradley Jr. CF
Sandy Leon C
This is probably the most logical Opening Day option, as of right now. We all know that Pedroia dislikes leading off, but nonetheless, he produces there. Bogaerts hitting second and Betts hitting third is the way to go, assuming the X-Man has said goodbye to his 2016 second-half self, which was just awful. The middle to the further end of the lineup is where it gets tricky. Ramirez, when he takes DH duties, should be hitting fourth, again assuming that he’s still himself offensively. As for Sandoval, it’s hard to figure out where to place him.
Nobody knows what kind of shape he’s in or what kind of player he is now. I guess we’ll have to learn the hard way. Truthfully, I know little to none about Moreland, but from the few times the Red Sox have played Texas, he’s appeared to be a decent, consistent hitter. He and Sandoval could be interchangeable batting order-wise, but either of them could easily drop in the lineup at any time. Personally, for the time being, I’d keep Benny lower in the lineup, but probably gradually move him up. JBJ and Sandy are, too, interchangeable in the eighth and ninth holes. If it were up to me, that would be my Opening Day lineup.
Dustin Pedroia 2B
Andrew Benintendi LF
Mookie Betts RF
Hanley Ramirez DH
Pablo Sandoval 3B
Xander Bogaerts SS
Mitch Moreland 1B
Jackie Bradley Jr. CF
Sandy Leon C
Again, Pedey batting leadoff should be standard. As the season progresses, absolutely experiment with Benintendi at the top of the lineup. Let Mookie and Hanley protect him and you’ve got yourself something special. Sandoval fifth doesn’t seem like a horrible idea with this particular lineup. If Bogey does have to be dropped down, like the team did last season, he should be in the six spot again. Not too high, not too low. Just right for him if he does slump. Then Moreland, JBJ then Leon/Vazquez is automatic.
Dustin Pedroia 2B
Andrew Benintendi LF
Xander Bogaerts SS
Mookie Betts RF
Hanley Ramirez DH
Jackie Bradley Jr. CF
Pablo Sandoval 3B
Mitch Moreland 1B
Sandy Leon C
Assuming Sandoval happens to be a waste of space once April approaches, this lineup might be the way to go. Panda hitting seventh in that scenario seems fitting. Maybe switch JBJ and Moreland, but I’d probably lean towards Moreland eighth. Bogaerts batting third and Mookie cleanup might be nice as well, but I wouldn’t go to that option too often, as Betts should be getting the most at-bats most of the time. Hanley at DH after Mookie is dangerous no matter what.
Dustin Pedroia 2B
Andrew Benintendi LF
Xander Bogaerts SS
Mookie Betts RF
Hanley Ramirez DH
Mitch Moreland 1B
Pablo Sandoval 3B
Sandy Leon C
Jackie Bradley Jr. CF
This could be an alternate option from the third lineup, if Moreland does produce and exceed his limited expectations. If 1-5 in this lineup succeeds, I wouldn’t mind seeing 6-9 in that order. This one shouldn’t be utilized too often, but it’s okay to go to once in awhile, all things considered. We know that JBJ does his very best when hitting ninth, so I’d try to put him there whenever possible. It’s weird to even think about any Red Sox player batting cleanup by anyone not named David Ortiz, but I wouldn’t hesitate throwing Mookie in there every so often.
It’s hard to come up with a set lineup considering the team’s current circumstances, like the lack of knowledge on everything Sandoval and at least my little time of actually watching Moreland play. What we do know about Sandoval is that he’s motivated and Dombrowski has put all of his faith into him. A lot of the team’s success is going to rely on Panda’s performance, unfortunately. Dave traded away any third base competition, so the job has automatically been handed to him, which might not be the best start. If and when Pablo does struggle, Brock Holt would be the immediate “replacement”.
As for the DH situation, expect to see more Hanley and less Moreland. I’d assume that the team wants Ramirez to focus on hitting first and foremost, and try to continue his success from last season into this season. Having Moreland playing first will allow Hanley to focus at the plate. I’m sure we’ll still see Hanley over there at first base, but on a limited basis.
Benintendi and Chris Young will almost certainly platoon in left field. As long as there are reduced injuries to Boston’s poor left fielders compared to last year, it’ll be as simple as that. I hope we won’t have to go through a constant rotation like we were forced to do last year.
With a healthy Blake Swihart and a healthy Christian Vazquez, expect to see less of Sandy Leon and more of a merry-go-round at catcher, depending on who is pitching whatever day. I’d expect Leon to be the starter come Opening Day, so that’s why I marked him as catcher on all of the lineups. Things will definitely evolve behind the plate as the season goes along.
2017 is shaping up to be an interesting year, but in a good way. There’s a lot to learn about this team and its players and I’m excited for the journey. Guaranteed, there will be bumps in the road, but this is a special team and I think they can overcome them better than previous years. Life post-David Ortiz will be depressing for Sox fans at first, but I have a feeling that the Red Sox will make it as uplifting as possible.
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