All three of the Red Sox’ highly-touted prospects are now in Boston, but it appears two of them are not going to be everyday players – at least not yet.
Manager Alex Cora has been hesitant to use Marcelo Mayer and now Roman Anthony, both lefty bats, against left-handed pitchers. Mayer has not started against lefties and has been pinch-hit for against lefty relievers. Anthony, just two games into his big-league career, has already been subbed out against a lefty reliever as well.
The shielding of Mayer and Anthony against lefties has led to some consternation among Red Sox fans, who are understandably wondering why Cora doesn’t seem to fully trust these talented youngsters who arrived with so much hype. Heck, Anthony was crushing lefties in Triple-A (.361 average, .955 OPS), and Mayer at least held his own (.255 average, .699 OPS).
It could become an even bigger story this weekend, as the New York Yankees are expected to start lefties in all three games coming up at Fenway Park.
Cora explained his thinking on Tuesday, saying that left-handed pitchers in the majors are significantly better than lefties in the minors, calling them “real lefties” and saying that left-handed pitchers with good enough stuff are “not going to be in Triple-A or Double-A.”
Appearing on The Greg Hill Show Wednesday morning, WEEI and NESN analyst Lou Merloni echoed those sentiments and backed Cora’s approach, noting that Cora and the Sox need to try to win every game right now as they fight to stay alive in the playoff picture. Listen to the full interview above.
“A lot of it is timing,” Merloni said. “I think [Rob] Refsnyder, who only faces lefties, has played like three times in three weeks, because you just don't see many of them. You just so happen to be playing the Yankees here, who have three in their rotation. We’ll see. I think [Cora] might get a start for each of them. Maybe Duran sits one game, I don't know. But as long as you have Romy [Gonzalez] and you've got Refsnyder, that's their job. They're two of the best in the game as far as hitting left-handers go. [Abraham] Toro is a guy that has been swinging it. I don't know if you take him out of the lineup.
“And you're trying to win each and every night. I think maybe at the deadline, depending on where this team is, maybe there's a guy like Refsnyder I think will be very valuable. Hopefully he stays here, but that might open the door to get some more at bats for some of these guys. But until you're in this thing, or not eliminated, as long as you're trying to win each and every night, I don't think Marcelo and Roman give you your best chance over Romy Gonzalez or Refsnyder. Not right now.
“The lefties are different animals. Like it really is. The Triple-A pitching, Cora talked about it yesterday. I've been trying to talk about it. Nobody believes me until Cora says it. But it's a different animal. The other day, [Garrett] Cleavinger came in, 97 [mph] with sink. He's never seen that, because the lefty down in Triple-A is awful. If he was any good, he'd be up in the big leagues. Like, it's just the way it is. They rush kids up through the system. So, it would be like drafting some corner in the NFL who’s never played college football and saying, ‘Go cover the best wide receiver.’ It's just too hard.
“And they gotta work their way into it. He's going to give them some at bats, like they've done with [Triston] Casas, [Wilyer] Abreu, [Rafael] Devers, all these lefties. And eventually, yeah, they're going to be everyday players and they're going to play against lefties. But right now, as rookies, it's just probably not going to happen too often at all.”
To Lou’s point about Refsnyder and Gonzalez in particular, their numbers against lefties are indeed impressive. Refsnyder is hitting .279 with a .958 OPS in 43 at bats this season, while Gonzalez has a .353 average and .950 OPS in 34 ABs. So yeah, they’re going to be in the lineup against lefties.
Perhaps Anthony and Mayer will eventually get opportunities at someone else’s expense, but most likely they – and fans who want to see them play every day – are going to need to be patient.