It's difficult to decipher what we should make of this month.
Are we going to define J.D. Martinez because of his struggles leading up to Wednesday night, when he avoided dipping below the Mendoza Line with two hits and a home run? Is Tanner Houck automatically going to be placed in the 2021 starting rotation because of five good major league innings? And then there is Yairo Munoz.
You can tell a lot ... I still think you can get a reason what guys can do," said Red Sox manager Ron Roenicke when asked about the evaluation conundrum that has come with this season.
When it comes to Munoz, there has been a lot of reading. Probably more than even the Red Sox anticipated.
In his 11 games since being called up from the Sox' alternative site in Pawtucket Munoz is hitting .349 with an .884 OPS, having collected two more hits in the Red Sox' 8-4 loss to Miami Wednesday night.
“I feel great right now,” Munoz said. “Obviously I’m hitting well and I’m just putting in all the work I need to have success at the plate. As far as the organization, I feel great being here. I feel at home, and all the young guys have been great, all the veterans as well. It’s really good to be a part of this, so I’m super excited to be here.”
He has become an interesting piece of the puzzle.
Once considered more of an infield option, Munoz was almost classified as more of an outfielder by his new organization.
When asked on the Red Sox' radio broadcast's pregame show about who is going to play where for the final days of the 2020 season, Roenicke noted that the plan was to run out Bobby Dalbec at first base and Christian Arroyo at second the majority of time while giving Munoz the of brunt of the opportunities alongside Jackie Bradley Jr. and Alex Verdugo in the outfield.
Considering the skill-set being possessed by Munoz, it's a dynamic that could carry over to next season.
"He's doing a good job,” the manager noted. “He's got good instincts out there, the speed plays. He's got a good arm, and he knows how to hit. I know he's a free swinger, but he can hit and we've been seeing it since he's been here. ... So we need some people to get on base and we need some people to get those runs in when we get an opportunity, and most of the time he's going to put the ball in play. So he's doing his job, and we're all liking what we're seeing.”
Coming into this season, the majority of Munoz's major league time had been bouncing between second base, shortstop and third base in the infield, although there had been 54 games played with the Cardinals as an outfielder.
But the 25-year-old has certainly shown enough defensively to start rethinking if this is more than just a spare part.
Put it this way: The Red Sox would have probably have been looking for a right-handed-hitting outfielder to complement Verdugo and Andrew Benintendi in 2021, along the lines of what Kevin Pillar ultimately was brought on to accomplish prior to this season. Munoz might be that guy.
“It was one of my favorite teams growing up, so when they presented the offer I accepted because I knew I can play at this level and I knew there was going to be an opportunity to be able to do this," Munoz, who was let go by the Cardinals in early March. "So, I was just trying to take advantage of it."