Sports Q: Who has been the Red Sox’ most frustrating player?

Welcome to Boston.com’s Sports Q, our daily conversation, initiated by you and moderated by Chad Finn, about a compelling topic in Boston sports. Here’s how it works: You submit questions to Chad through Twitter, Facebook, and email. He’ll pick one each weekday to answer, then we’ll take the discussion to the comments. Chad will stop by several times per day to navigate. But you drive the conversation. 

Who has been the Red Sox’ most frustrating player? I dare you to choose just one. – Alex M.

Is all of them an acceptable answer? Because if we’re talking recently … yeah, it’s pretty much all of them, save for maybe Kiké Hernández and a teammate or two. Oh, and Chris Sale. He’s cool.

For a team that had an excellent 3 ½ months before recently hitting the iceberg, careening off it, and hitting three more iceburgs, there have been quite a few players who have been a prolonged source of frustration. Franchy Cordero has at least two holes in his swing. Bobby Dalbec has 17 walks and 122 strikeouts. Christian Vazquez has a .645 OPS. Garrett Richards,  Martín Pérez , and Eduardo Rodriguez all have an ERA above 4.70. 

Marwin Gonzalez was finally shown the door. Matt Andriese got his walking papers today. They’ve made changes, but there are still some major underperformers on this roster.

That’s not why the season is collapsing around them, though. Or not entirely why. Their best players haven’t come through lately. Since July 22, J.D. Martinez has three homers and a .666 OPS in 99 plate appearances. Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers are squeezing the bat into sawdust in big situations. Matt Barnes is pitching like he’s a fan of closer by committee. Reliable Nate Eovaldi had that meltdown against the Jays. Nothing is going right.

But the most frustrating player? Lately, it’s Martinez. Season-long? Pretty much any starting pitcher that isn’t Eovaldi, though Cordero is a close runner up.

But what does everyone else think? Who has been the Red Sox most frustrating player? You can only choose one! I’ll hear you in the comments.

Chad Finn

Sports columnist

Chad Finn is a sports columnist for Boston.com. He has been voted Favorite Sports Writer in Boston in the annual Channel Media Market and Research Poll for the past four years. He also writes a weekly sports media column for the Globe and contributes to Globe Magazine.

Want to leave a comment?

Create an Account Or sign in to your account

To comment, please create a screen name in your profile

To comment, please verify your email address

Conversation

This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com