Teams assemble eight-man bullpens every year, but the Boston Red Sox have put together something new: an eight-man outfield.
In the span of four months, the Boston Red Sox have acquired three starting outfielders: Yoenis Cespedes, Allen Craig and Rusney Castillo. They’re now reportedly on the brink of signing both Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez to five-year deals, a development that would add Ramirez to the outfield mix. And they had a full outfield to begin with: Shane Victorino, Daniel Nava, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Mookie Betts.
That’s a ton of outfielders, and while it’s possible the Red Sox will ask Ramirez to play shortstop ahead of Xander Bogaerts, that would weaken the team’s defence while shifting Bogaerts into limbo. Unless the Red Sox are prepared to marginalize the player who entered the season as Baseball America’s number two prospect, Ramirez makes more sense in the outfield.
Moving him to left would create an overload of outfielders for the Red Sox. Depth definitely matters, but there are diminishing returns on having more than, say, five capable outfielders. Rival clubs will see this and ask about trades, especially as free agent prices climb. The Minnesota Twins, Kansas City Royals, Texas Rangers and Cincinnati Reds are among the teams that have been linked to corner outfielders this off-season.
The main reason the Red Sox must strongly consider moving outfielders is they have so many other needs to address. (Outfielders aren’t the only ones who could be moved; infielders Will Middlebrooks and Juan Francisco have seemingly uncertain roles in Boston following the additions of Sandoval and Ramirez.)
Boston’s starting rotation ranked 26th among the 30 MLB teams with a 4.36 ERA last year. If the season were to open today, their rotation would likely include Clay Buchholz, Joe Kelly, Allen Webster, Rubby De La Rosa and Brandon Workman. The group includes some upside, but it’s hard to imagine that any GM with designs on contending would feel comfortable entering the season with that group.
The Red Sox need starting pitching, ideally a frontline arm. If a willingness to part with someone like Cespedes allows Ben Cherington to spark trade talks for a talented starter, that’s a good thing for Boston. Cherington also needs bullpen help, so if they want to keep their top outfielders and trade someone like Daniel Nava, that’d be another option worth exploring. And with this many outfielders are around, Boston could deal multiple outfielders.
One consideration for Cherington: he’s not the only GM with outfielders available in trades. The Atlanta Braves seem willing to listen on Justin Upton and the Houston Astros could consider offers for Dexter Fowler. The Los Angeles Dodgers are on record saying they’ll weigh offers for Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp and former Red Sox discard Carl Crawford.
How the Red Sox handle their outfield depth won’t be determined immediately. The deals with Sandoval and Ramirez were only just completed and the Thanksgiving break will soon slow the baseball calendar down.
On paper the Red Sox have the most crowded outfield in recent memory. Chances are, it won’t stay that way for long.
