3 options for the Red Sox in World Series games without a designated hitter
Will Alex Cora go with a bold strategy?
In the first two games of the World Series, the Red Sox beat the Dodgers at the American League’s game. Now, traveling west to Los Angeles, the team will try to win two more playing by National League rules.
The main difference in the two leagues boils down to the one position: The designated hitter. It’s existed in the American League since 1973, but pitchers have always had to bat for themselves in the National League. Of course pinch-hitters can be used, but the difference in rules has major strategic ramifications.
This means that Red Sox manager Alex Cora will have decisions to make over. Does he bench his regular DH, J.D. Martinez? Does he bench defensive wizard Jackie Bradley Jr.? Or does he make a bold choice, playing regular right fielder Mookie Betts at second base? While Cora did say that Betts won’t start Game 3 at second base, he didn’t deny that it could happen at some point.
Given the current state of the Sox lineup, it seems unlikely that Betts or Andrew Benintendi would be benched in any scenario, leaving a few likely possibilities.
Here’s a quick look at the non-DH options for the Red Sox:
Option 1: Bench Jackie Bradley Jr.
Potentially the most likely scenario, this would result in Martinez playing either left or right field, Betts moving to centerfield, and Benintendi playing the remaining outfield spot.
Sacrificing Bradley’s defensive capability would be a blow for the Red Sox, who have been conspicuously great on defense all season, but it allows the maximum amount of power to remain in the lineup without asking Betts to play out of position.
Option 2: Bench J.D. Martinez
This would appear an unlikely scenario, given that Martinez was one of the top hitters in the game in 2018. His bases-loaded single in Game 2 proved the difference, plating the go-ahead runs.
.@JDMartinez14 is a hitting MACHINE. #WorldSeries pic.twitter.com/nDc3GxKnkV
— MLB (@MLB) October 25, 2018
Yet he twisted his ankle rounding second base in Game 1, and has admitted to experiencing a degree of soreness. It’s probably unlikely that Cora would willingly choose this option; Martinez — though not on the verge of winning a Gold Glove — is perfectly adept in the outfield, having played 57 games there in the regular season.
Should Martinez prove unable to play, the regular outfield of Benintendi in left, Bradley in center, and Betts in right would take shape.
Option 3: Play Mookie Betts at second base
The final option calls for Betts, normally an outfielder, to return to his original position: second base. This is the scenario that’s attracted the most speculation because it’s the boldest choice. Cora has said this as far as Game 3:
Cora said Mookie Betts would not start at second base in Game 3. But he did not rule out him playing there at some point in the game.
— Pete Abraham (@PeteAbe) October 26, 2018
Asking Betts to play second base would, in theory, allow the Red Sox to play Martinez in the non-DH position he’s most comfortable in — corner outfield — while not actually sacrificing one of the outfielders in the lineup. Instead, the second base platoon of Ian Kinsler and Brock Holt would remain on the bench.
While technically possible, this contingency is unlikely. Betts hasn’t started a game at second base since his rookie season in 2014, though he did play a few innings there against the Yankees in August.
Alex Cora recently noted that the chances of Betts playing second were “slim,” but Betts, who was drafted as an infielder, and played there for much of minor league career, would likely prove more than adequate on defense.
2018 non-DH lineups
To identify what Cora might do, it helps to look at Red Sox lineups from all of their 2018 regular season away games against National League opponents. Boston went 9-1 in 10 such games.
Cora believed in a policy of lineup rotation throughout the season, meaning that Benintendi and Betts each saw the bench in multiple away games against NL opposition. But as this scenario is not expected in the World Series, based on regular season lineups, it’s possible to infer the likelihood of Bradley going to the bench.
Specifically, here’s who played in the outfield, as well as at first and second base:
April 2nd: 7-3 win over Marlins
Outfield: Benintendi (LF), Bradley Jr. (CF), Betts (RF)
1st: Hanley Ramirez
2nd: Eduardo Nunez
April 3: 4-2 win over Marlins
Outfield: Benintendi (LF), Bradley Jr. (CF), J.D. Martinez (RF)
1st: Ramirez
2nd: Nunez
July 2: 4-3 win over Nationals
Outfield: Benintendi (LF), Bradley Jr. (CF), Betts (RF)
1st: Mitch Moreland
2nd: Holt
July 3: 11-4 win over Nationals
Outfield: Benintendi (LF), Betts (CF), Martinez (RF)
1st: Moreland
2nd: Eduardo Nunez
July 4: 3-0 win over Nationals
Outfield: Martinez (LF), Bradley Jr. (CF), Betts (RF)
1st: Steve Pearce
2nd: Nunez
Aug. 14: 2-1 win over Phillies
Outfield: Benintendi (LF), Betts (CF), Martinez (RF)
1st: Moreland
2nd: Nunez
Aug. 15: 7-4 loss to Phillies
Outfield: Benintendi (LF), Bradley Jr. (CF), Martinez (RF)
1st: Moreland
2nd: Holt
Sept. 3: 8-2 win over Braves
Outfield: Benintendi (LF), Betts (CF), Martinez (RF)
1st: Moreland
2nd: Kinsler
Sept. 4: 5-1 win over Braves
Outfield: Martinez (LF), Bradley Jr. (CF), Betts (RF)
1st: Pearce
2nd: Kinsler
Sept. 5: 9-8 win over Braves
Outfield: Benintendi (LF), Bradley Jr. (CF), Blake Swihart (RF)
1st: Moreland
2nd: Brandon Phillips
