SAN FRANCISCO — Kristian Campbell has started 54 of the Red Sox’ first 76 games at second base this season. Now that he’s been demoted to Worcester, how will the Red Sox replace him?
With a heavy dose of David Hamilton, at least for now.
Manager Alex Cora said Friday that Hamilton, who has made 21 starts at second so far (and is at that spot Friday) will be the primary starter for the time being. The main reason? Defense.
“We’re playing in a stadium that is tough to score runs,” Cora said at Oracle Park. “We’re gonna maximize the defense. Hammy has been great at second base. We need him to get going offensively and he will. He’ll play the majority of times.”
The Red Sox have had four players — Campbell (471 ⅔ innings), Hamilton (198 ⅔), Romy Gonzalez (9) and Ceddanne Rafaela (1) — play second base at times this season. Gonzalez, who has mostly played first, logged 130 ⅓ innings there last year. Abraham Toro, who has played the corners, has over 1,000 innings at second in the majors in his career. So Cora has his options in addition to Hamilton, who is hitting just .172 with two homers and 27 strikeouts in 99 plate appearances this year.
The main other option at present, though, is someone who has never played second in the majors: Marcelo Mayer. The rookie has admirably taken over at third base (while also filling in at shortstop for three innings) but could see time at second, where he played 10 games (84 innings) in Worcester this year.
“Probably,” Cora said when asked about Mayer mixing in at second. “There’s certain days we might play Toro at third, Romy at first and Marcelo at second. That’s something we’ve talked about.”
From the sounds of it, Mayer could start against lefties with the switch-hitting Toro playing third on those days. He is probably a better option in those spots than Hamilton, who has a career .531 OPS against lefties in the majors.
With Campbell out of the mix, it’s possible that Mayer moves to second base on a full-time basis once Alex Bregman returns from his quad injury and reclaims third base. Bregman continues to receive positive reports on his recovery and could target a return around July 1 if things get fast-tracked.
“He’s getting closer but nothing as far as ready to play,” Cora said. “He’s in his running progression. You have two versions: if you talk to him, he’ll tell you he’s ready to go. Ask the trainers and they say we’re in a good spot right now and getting better. I’m with the trainers.”
