Yu Chang hits the IL, shining more light on the Red Sox’ shortstop problem
The infielder is expected to be out for about six weeks after suffering a left hamate fracture.
Red Sox shortstop Yu Chang left Monday’s game against the Orioles with pain in his left wrist.
Following further diagnosis, it was discovered that Chang fractured his left hamate, a small bone in his wrist, and will require surgery. On Tuesday, the team placed Chang on the 10-day Injury List and called up infielder Enmanuel Valdez to replace him on the active roster.
According to Chang, he’ll have surgery on his wrist on Thursday and he was told that he’ll be out for about six weeks.
While Boston will surely miss his power in his absence (three homers in 17 games) it will be his defense that will be most wanted.
So far, Chang has logged 11 games at shortstop for the Red Sox and has recorded three Outs Above Average, a range-based metric of skill that shows how many outs a player has saved over his peers.
If you add in his time at second base, he has four OAA on the season, the best mark of any Boston player regardless of position.
Chang entered the season as the team’s utility infielder, filling in at first, second, third, or short, if any starter needs a rest. Since April 12, he’s turned into a full-time player, starting in 11 of 13 possible games before his injury.
With Chang starting at short for the majority of the time, Alex Cora was able to move Kiké Hernández to center and second, where he’s been average defensively.
When Hernández has had to play short, he’s been one of the worst defenders in the league with negative six OAA in his 16 games there.
The rest of the roster doesn’t provide much help defensively at shortstop either. Christian Arroyo is the most likely option as the backup shortstop, given he’s played there prior, but his bat has been one of the worst on the team so far this season.
In Valdez, Chang’s replacement on the roster, the Red Sox have a player with plenty of bat-to-ball skill but also one who has already struggled defensively in the big leagues, with two errors in two games at second.
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