Red Sox's Craig Breslow Appears To Be Against Justin Turner, JD Martinez Reunions
Boston Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow was fairly transparent in his first time with the media since his introductory press conference.
One of the most telling quotes was his stance on the designated hitter position, which does not appear to bode well for potential reunions with Justin Turner or J.D. Martinez -- two of the top right-handed bats on the market.
“I think positional versatility helps,” Breslow told the media, as transcribed by The Athletic's Jen McCaffrey. “I don’t think it makes a ton of sense to kind of typecast that to a right-handed bat who can only DH. But I think we have to be open-minded about the ways to improve the team. Given that we’re pretty left-handed, it makes sense to set our sights on somebody who can hit right-handed.
“On a high level, we’d probably look to give Alex (Cora) as much flexibility as possible,” Breslow continued. “Recognizing that it’s a long season and there will be times where he’s going to want to get guys off their feet, but keep their bats in the lineup. I don’t think there’s one way to do it. Now, obviously, I’ve played with a guy who commanded the DH spot for quite some time (in David Ortiz) and was pretty successful doing it. I think short of that, having as many creative possibilities as we can arrange makes sense.”
Turner played 41 games at first base, 10 at second base and seven at third base but is far from a defensive stalwart and will plug up the designated hitter role for the majority of the season. It's possible that the 38-year-old's semi-platoon with Triston Casas and ability to spot start at third base for Rafael Devers would clear him of this one-dimensional description that Breslow is describing, but I would not bank on it.
Martinez was about as pure of a designated hitter as possible, playing 110 games in that role and just three -- for a total of 12 innings -- in left field for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
With this news in mind, the Red Sox might prefer someone like Lourdes Gurriel Jr., a strong offensive contributor who plays an above-average left field. Teoscar Hernández can play outfield, but not super well. Jorge Soler profiles more of a designated hitter. There are not many free agents to plug in that fit Breslow's description -- assuming that new righty could produce at a similar level as Turner a year ago.
If there is a silver lining beyond the improved defense that the Red Sox should have next season, it's that Breslow and Cora already appear to be more of a unified front than Bloom/Cora.
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