The big change heading into the 2019 Red Sox season was a simple alteration at the top of their batting order. Mookie Betts was sliding into the No. 2 spot, flip-flopping with new leadoff hitter Andrew Benintendi.
This year there was a deluge of alterations, with the lineup not really landing on anyone's radar.
Then came Tuesday night and suddenly the batting order debate was back in business.
After suggesting he would be starting the season with two left-handed hitters at the top of the lineup, pairing Benintendi and Rafael Devers, Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke tried something else out in his team's first exhibition game of Spring Training 2.0. Benintendi would still be hitting first, but behind him was someone new to the spot.
Meet J.D. Martinez, Red Sox No. 2 hitter.
"Kind of tinkered with the lineup a little bit moving J.D. second, we wanted to see what it looked like," Roenicke explained. "I talked to him before the game. And that looked good. So yeah I thought it was a good day."
What transpired out of the gate was exactly what Roenicke was hoping for, with the Red Sox putting up four runs in the first inning thanks to a Martinez walk, singles by Devers and Xander Bogaerts and then Mitch Moreland's three-run blast.
The Red Sox' designated hitter would come back with a two-run homer in the fifth inning, impressing in his first stint in the two-hole since manning the spot for 33 games with the Tigers in 2016. It was a far cry from the results when Martinez found himself hitting in front of Victor Martinez and Miguel Cabrera, hitting just .224 with nine homers.
"We've thought about it," Roenicke added. "We may do it in the future. I wanted to see what he thought about it. I guess they tried it a little bit when he was in Detroit and he didn't like it a whole lot. He said fine let's do it, let's see what it looks like. Swung the bat great. And the reason being simply because we have Benintendi followed with Devers and we know that gives the opponent the opportunity to bring in a left-hander against them and this breaks it up and makes it tough now. If you want to bring in a lefty to face Benny you have to get through J.D. before you get to Devers. It makes sense, it's just if everybody is comfortable with it because I know comfort has a lot to do with how these guys hit and changes their confidence. It's a good look. If you put that lineup up like that and an opposing team looks at it, it's hard to pitch to."
As for how the others have fared in their respective spots, Devers hasn't had the best of luck in the third spot, hitting .204 with just a .589 OPS in 21 starts as a No. 3 hitter. Bogaerts? He has actually proven to be an effective cleanup hitter over his career, hitting .301 with a .932 OPS and 11 homers in 51 games.
The Sox are slated to face lefty Tommy Milone in their opener against the Orioles. Bogaerts has had particular success against Milone, going 6-for-12 against the veteran starter. Martinez is 6-for-18 with two homers, while neither Benintendi nor Devers have faced the southpaw.
