Red Sox Impossible Choice Coming Down To 3 High-Impact Players

What is Boston going to do before Opening Day?

Sep 6, 2020; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; An empty Fenway Park is seen during the game between the Boston Red Sox and the Toronto Blue Jays. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images | Winslow Townson-Imagn Images

Opening Day is one week away and the Boston Red Sox have a big decision to make.

The first big discussion of Spring Training surely centered around third base with Alex Bregman and Rafael Devers. The team hasn't officially announced Bregman will be starting at third base on Opening Day, but they have done everything else possible to hint at this. Bregman hasn't played any second base in Spring Training games and manager Alex Cora shared it is "very unlikely" Devers gets game action at third base before Opening Day. Unless something big happens, Bregman is extremely likely to be the team's Opening Day third baseman.

Boston hasn't announced who will be team's closer, but it has been reported that Aroldis Chapman currently is the favorite and he has done nothing to relinquish this over the last few days. He had one of his best outings of the spring on Wednesday and has a 2.84 ERA and 13 strikeouts in seven appearances.

Now, here's the big question. Who will be starting at second base? It's not going to be Bregman and the team sent Vaughn Grissom down to the minors on Wednesday. That means the decision is coming down to three guys. Kristian Campbell and David Hamilton have been in the mix for longer, but Marcelo Mayer got a start at second base on Wednesday and Cora said everyone is in the mix.

Of the three, Mayer has had the best Spring Training. He's slashing .355/.444/.581 with one home run, two triples, 10 RBIs, and five walks. Campbell has slashed .158/.289/.211 with seven walks and no homers or RBIs. Hamilton has slashed .239/.352/.435 with two homers, six RBIs, five stolen bases, and eight walks.

Mayer hasn't gotten much time at second base, but he is a solid defender and has been far and away the best offensive player in Spring Training of the three, but he doesn't have any at-bats outside of Spring Training above Double-A. Even if Hamilton isn't the starter, he will surely be with the team. Campbell has had a meteoric rise through Boston's farm system but has struggled this spring.

It's going to be a tough decision for Boston. There's pros and cons to each option and at the very least it seems like one of these guys will be the Opening Day second baseman.

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