Without Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi and Jackie Bradley Jr., the Red Sox’s backfield defense is still “elite”
When the Red Sox decided not to bring Jackie Bradley Jr. back after eight years in Boston, many wondered what would happen to the Sox’s outfield defense.
We have answers more than halfway through the season.
In the bottom of the 10th inning on Friday night, midfielder Kiké Hernandez made a perfect game when he caught a flyball from Sean Murphy and fired a ball from medium depth in midfield to nail Seth Brown to home plate.
Brown would have been the tie-run, but Hernandez’s throw made a jump to Christian Vazquez and Vazquez set the day in a bang-bang game that saved the Sox’s 3-2 win over the A’s.
“I like to play defense,” said Hernandez afterwards. “I am very proud of it.”
The Red Sox were in disbelief that the A’s decided to send Brown home with no one in the inning.
“I didn’t think he would send it,” said Hernandez. “I felt like I was my baseball watch in my mind, I felt like I came in often. I just wanted to make sure I made a good throw where the runner wouldn’t advance on the throw if the runner didn’t go on the third. ”
Manager Alex Cora said he knew Brown was out before the piece was developed.
“I said (third base, coach Carlos Febles) in Spanish, ‘He’s outside, he’s outside, he’s outside’ about five times,” said Cora. “It wasn’t deep enough and he was the key to being behind the ball and I was like, ‘This guy will be out.'”
It was the Red Sox’s 25th outfield assist of the year, six more than the second best team in the majors, the Marlins, who have 19.
“The way we play defense on the outfield is elite, to put it that way,” said Cora. “I know a lot of people had their doubts this season because we didn’t have Mookie Betts, Andrew Benintendi and Jackie, but these three guys are up there, they play elite defense. They throw at the right bases, they keep their throws down, their routes are great, the communication is excellent.
“So defensively we are one of the best outfield players in the big leagues, if not the best.”
Cora is not wrong.
The Red Sox outfield ranks second in the majors with 20 defensive runs saved thanks to their defensive exploits. They rank third with an ultimate zone rating of 9.2. And they pass the eye test, with Alex Verdugo playing in a great left field, Hunter Renfroe looking like a natural in right field, and a rotating cast of players including Hernandez taking the job in the middle.
“I’ve played with (Verdugo) before and I don’t even have to talk about what Hunter did in the right field this year,” said Hernandez. “It was a lot of fun to watch. I knew he was a good defender because I played him in the same league for two or three years. But I didn’t think he was that good. I don’t think there are many real outfielders in baseball who play better defense than him. It was incredible to see. ”
Even without Bradley, the Red Sox’s outfield defense continues to impress.
“That was a very good litter, man,” said left-handed Eduardo Rodriguez of Hernandez’s litter. “That was something that you don’t see very often in the outfield, throwing the ball like that, bouncing off, throwing to the catcher and getting an out like that. Especially in this situation. It was great to be a part of it. ”
