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Can Red Sox hit lefthanded pitching this year? ‘We’re about to find out’
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- Can Red Sox hit lefthanded pitching this year? ‘We’re about to find out’
NORTH PORT, Fla. — A season ago, the Red Sox were heavily lefthanded with their lineup, enough so that not even the arrival of veteran third baseman Alex Bregman could completely balance out things.
In the 2025 season, the Red Sox compiled a .741 OPS against lefties, ranking them 17th in baseball in that category.
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Getting more righthanded was again a priority in the offseason. The team failed to retain Bregman, and later traded for the righthanded Caleb Durbin to replace him. However, Durbin had reverse splits in his rookie season with Milwaukee , so his effectiveness against lefties remains an open question.
The Sox also traded for Willson Contreras, who posted an impressive .863 OPS against lefties. His presence should help.
But the team will still feature four regulars who bat from the left side — Jarren Duran , Roman Anthony , Wilyer Abreu and Marcelo Mayer . Worse, the team did not re-sign Rob Refsnyder , a proven lefty masher, and will be without Romy Gonzalez (.978 vs. LHP in 2025) for at least the first two months as he recovers from recent shoulder surgery.
So, can they be successful against lefties?
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"We're about to find out," said Alex Cora with a chuckle Saturday before the Red Sox took on the Atlanta Braves at CoolToday Park.
Cora's response could be taken literally or as a figure of speech. In their first series of the year in Cincinnati , they're already scheduled to face two lefties: With righty ace Hunter Greene sidelined until mid-season, they'll get Andrew Abbott in the season opener, followed by Nick Lodolo .
More likely, Cora was acknowledging the fact that there's some genuine uncertainty about the lineup for 2026.
A healthy Gonzalez would have been the natural platoon partner for Mayer at second, but none of the present candidates — Andruw Monasterio or Nick Sogard — is established enough to warrant that kind of role yet.
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Meanwhile, with Refsnyder gone, the fifth outfielder will be the lefthanded Masataka Yoshida , yet another lefty.
"We have to make decisions, lineup-wise. about how we're going to deploy them, especially with the outfield configuration," said Cora. "We've got four lefties, one righty (center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela ). We've got a young guy (Anthony), he's going to be OK offensively, but he's going to face some tough lefties.
"Jarren (Duran), he's been up and down (with lefties), although this spring, he's been amazing. Willy (Abreu) has been solid and we know Masa can do it. We're going to have to create balance, lineup-wise, understanding that because you start against a lefty doesn't mean that you're going to face a lefty with the bases loaded in the seventh inning."
But even there, there are limited solutions. On a given night, Cora's four bench players might be limited to backup catcher Connor Wong , utility man Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Yoshida and a backup infielder still to be determined.
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"We'll see how it plays out in the beginning," said Cora, "and then, if we have to make adjustments, we'll make adjustments. But I feel very confident that they're going to be able to battle and put up good at-bats against (lefties).
"It's a challenge in a sense, but it's not a problem."
Much will depend on how much internal improvement Abreu and Duran show against lefthanders.
"Everyone had a plan in the offseason," said Cora. "I know (Abreu) worked hard on that. You can see with Jarren, it was a point of emphasis for him in the offseason (and he's homered off Chris Sale and Matthew Boyd this spring). We feel confident that they're going to be OK."
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