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Red Sox will rotate OFs through DH spot, but some will get more at-bats there than others
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- Red Sox will rotate OFs through DH spot, but some will get more at-bats there than others
BOSTON — The Red Sox don’t intend to have any single player get the majority of at-bats at DH this season. Instead, the team will have its four main outfielders in a job-share.
But as manager Alex Cora admitted, it makes sense to keep the team’s best defenders in the field as much as possible.
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“They’re good outfielders, all of them,” said Cora at Fenway Fest Saturday. “I think as a unit, they’re the best in baseball. We just have to figure out (based on) the stadium, the workload and all that.
“But ( Wilyer Abreu ) and Ceddanne (Rafaela), they’re the best in the business. They probably will be playing the outfield (the most).”
Both Rafaela and Abreu won Gold Gloves for their play in 2025 and some believe that Rafaela should have been awarded the Platinum Glove as the league’s best defender regardless of position.
That leaves Jarren Duran and Roman Anthony as available outfielders for the DH spot. But despite some sloppiness last year in left field (six errors), Duran has played well in the past. And given his youth, the Red Sox want the 22-year-old Anthony to get plenty of run in the outfield, too.
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Three of the four main outfielders are lefthanded, giving Cora some latitude when it comes to matchups. Abreu and Duran have each struggled facing opposing lefties, but with Abreu in particular, the team seems committed to giving him more opportunities to face lefthanders as a path toward improving his results.
Defensive ability aside, there’s a benefit to getting any of the outfielders off their feet, at least occasionally, while still having them contribute offensively.
“I think keeping guys healthy is something that we always talk about,” said Cora. "
Finally, there’s Masataka Yoshida , the least accomplished defensively from among the outfielders. If the Sox are going to get contributions from him, or rebuild his value to help facilitate a trade, Yoshida will get some playing time at DH.
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