Life as the centerpiece of a huge trade
After the Red Sox' 7-2 loss to the Cardinals Saturday night - their 11th defeat in the last 15 tries - Alex Cora was to the point when it came to his team's problems.
"I think at the end of the day, we’ve got to score runs. Can’t play these games all the time," Cora told reporters. "[Close] games all the way, it puts pressure on the bullpen. At one point, we have to start producing runs."
The solution? That's the problem.
Trevor Story isn't coming back this season. It's another month until Triston Casas' return. And Masa Yoshida's emergence doesn't appear to be around the corner. Luis Arraez-esque May trades don't appear to be in this club's DNA, with the attempt at bolstering the lineup a few weeks back - with the addition of Garrett Cooper and Dominic Smith - haven't paid dividends.
The issues were put on display Saturday against a St. Louis starting pitcher in Miles Mikolas who entered the game with a 6.19 ERA. Up until Rob Refsnyder's eighth-inning, two-out, RBI double - tying the game at 2-2 - the only offense supplied by the Sox was, you guessed it, Rafael Devers.
Devers hit a home run for the fourth straight game and is doing everything expected of him, and then some. The problem is that when it comes to the others in the lineup, we don't know what to expect.
Since May 2, when these losing ways truly started gaining momentum, the Red Sox have the 24th-best OPS (.655 OPS), managing the fourth-fewest runs in the majors.
The reality is that other than third base, there isn't a single position - designated hitter included - where one would be banking on production. The closest right now is wherever Jarren Duran is playing, with the outfielder possessing a .908 OPS in May.
The answers at shortstop, left field, right field, second base and first base have been downright depressing throughout these last 15 games, as has been evidenced by the production from Ceddanne Rafaela (.641 OPS), Tyler O'Neill (.609), Wilyer Abreu (.601), Vaughn Grissom (.337), Cooper (.534) and Smith (.460).
And when the designated hitter spot has been occupied by anyone other than Casas, Devers or even Yoshida, the production has been unacceptable, with the combination of O'Neill, Cooper, Smith and Rob Refsnyder going 11-for-64 (.172) with just one home run.
As Cora pointed out, all of it simply isn't going to work.