Why Ron Roenicke won’t bench Andrew Benintendi and Jackie Bradley Jr., despite their recent slumps

"We’ve got to play them to get them going."

Ron Roenicke discussed the hitting slumps of Andrew Benintendi and Jackie Bradley Jr. Julio Cortez / AP Photo

August 5, 2020

2 minutes to read

Despite their underwhelming performances so far this season, Red Sox interim manager Ron Roenicke does not plan on benching outfielders Andrew Benintendi and Jackie Bradley Jr.

During their 5-1 loss against the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday, Benintendi was 0-for-5, and is currently 2-for-29 this season. Bradley Jr. is hitting .273 this season, but is 1 for his last 19 (his impressive defense hasn’t gone away).

Roenicke believes both players need consistent playing time in order to get into a rhythm. After the game on Tuesday, he brushed off the notion of benching them, stating, ‘We’ve got to play them to get them going. I can sit them a game, but I really wouldn’t want to do more than that because I know what they can do to help this offense. I think when all those guys are doing what I know they can, then we’ve got a powerful offense and we know we can score a lot of runs.”

While he does not mind sitting them for a game, Roenicke feels like anything longer could be counter-productive.

“To sit them for a while doesn’t help that much,” Roenicke said. “I don’t mind sitting them a game, but if you sit them longer than that, all of the sudden what they’ve been working on, you can’t see that transition into a ballgame and getting out of the little slump they’re in and getting going.”

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The Red Sox have struggled offensively this season, and MassLive’s Chris Cotillo described Benintendi as looking “lost at the plate.” Roenicke believes he needs to find the right zone where he can do “the most damage.”

“I think he’s trying to find his recognition of where that zone is where he does a lot of damage,” he said. “And then also, making sure he lays off pitches. Usually when he’s not going good, he’s chasing. He chases down, he chases up. So if he can narrow those pitches and get them back into the zone where we know he can hit, I think that’s probably more of it than where he is in the lineup.”

J.D Martinez said he would typically try to help his teammate, as well as other players on the team, by breaking down film and for Benintendi, looking at his swing specifically. However, social distancing guidelines will not allow it.

“Honestly, in years in the past, I probably would have already been able to get in the video room, break (Benintendi’s) swing down and look at it with comparisons,” Martinez said on Tuesday according to Cotillo. “It’s what I do for most of the guys on the team. Anytime they’re going through some stuff, I dedicate some time either after the game or before the game, or during the game if I just hit.”