Wilyer Abreu continues to rake! #MLB
What has been the difference for Abreu this year? Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow joins and explains!
What has been the difference for Abreu this year? Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow joins and explains!
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00:00Boston Red Sox joins us right now. Good morning.
00:04Good morning. How are you doing?
00:05Doing great. The football guy, the professional, former professional football player in the room,
00:12has a question to start about last night's game, which he was asking earlier on the show.
00:17Yeah, Craig, the play at first base when Roman Gonzalez, he's bobbled the ball a little bit,
00:23but then he steps up with the ball in his hand.
00:26He's standing on first base, and the runner never touched the bag.
00:31How did they not call that an out?
00:33Explain that to me, because I always thought that was an out in baseball.
00:37Yeah, so my understanding of the rule is once the runner passes the base and doesn't set foot on the base,
00:44at that point, our first baseman has to present it as it's an appeal,
00:49so kind of demonstrably show that he's tagging the runner or he's tagging the base
00:54because the runner missed the base, which I think if we're going to be critical of anything,
00:59it should be of the rule, because that's a lot to figure out in real time.
01:04But that would be the reason that kind of the incidental contact with the base
01:08while holding the ball after the runner had passed didn't result in the out.
01:14I didn't know that.
01:15Well, Craig, Williard continues to crush.
01:18What's been working so well for him in your mind?
01:22Yeah, so I think he, number one right now, has a ton of confidence.
01:25He's got runway, knows he's going to be in the lineup every day.
01:28Obviously, we saw last night Alex left him up there for a left-on-left matchup,
01:32and he rewarded us.
01:34But going into last season, he had a pretty significant improvement in his bat speed.
01:39This year, he's hitting the ball in the air a ton.
01:43He's a really good player.
01:44So the more at-bats that he gets, the more we're going to see that.
01:48Alex Cora was on this radio station yesterday afternoon talking a little bit about Rafi Devers
01:55and the option, if there is one, for him to do some time over at first base.
02:01And that, you know, talked a little bit about how he has settled into that DH role,
02:06but that he would not be reluctant to talk to him about it at some point.
02:13Just to be clear, has Alex Cora, have they spoken about Rafi maybe doing some time over at first base?
02:22So we've had that conversation kind of internally and just batted around ideas
02:29as we're trying to surface every possible solution.
02:34Now, I think what Alex is pointing out rightfully is we want to make sure
02:39that we're not creating one problem by solving another,
02:42and, you know, Rafi's greatest impact is going to be what he can do in the batter's box.
02:47So, you know, if and when the time comes to have that conversation,
02:52we want to make sure that we're mindful of all of those things.
02:57And I think considering, we need to consider all options,
03:01which doesn't necessarily mean that we're going to pursue them.
03:04Craig, I have to say, this is one of the weirdest weeks I've had watching this team,
03:09following this team in 40 years.
03:12Why is the team afraid of Rafi Devers?
03:17I don't think anybody is afraid of Rafi Devers.
03:21Obviously, we, you know, we had a difficult conversation with him in spring training,
03:26you know, moving him off of third base and into the DH spot
03:30because we felt like that was what's best for the team
03:32and will continue to operate with what is best for the team front of mind.
03:35But is it what's best for the team, the roster flexibility you would get,
03:39having Devers at first, Bregman at third,
03:41and then have whatever guys are nursing injuries or coming up through the minors
03:45be able to DH in a way that would not put them in the field in a position
03:50that the number one prospect in baseball plans to play?
03:55It could be.
03:56You know, if Rafi is able to make that transition pretty seamlessly,
04:02if, you know, it doesn't impact what happens on the offensive side,
04:07then sure.
04:08But those are all factors that we need to consider when making this decision.
04:11Has he done anything with the first baseman's mitt as far as you know?
04:17No.
04:18So far, his infield work has been at third base when he goes out there.
04:22But wouldn't it benefit the organization to see how he could play it just before a game
04:26so you could inform the decision?
04:28I don't know that it's as simple as that because I think, you know,
04:35you put a glove on his hand and he goes out there and he starts to get to work
04:38and then there's a bunch of questions about, is he ready?
04:40How good will he be?
04:41When will he be ready?
04:42So, you know, again, I would say all options need to be on the table
04:47and we need to be anchored to what is best for the team.
04:50And we will do that.
04:53Craig, when you talk about the transition,
04:54you've got two guys down in the minor leagues in Anthony and Marcelo Mayer.
05:01When you think about the transition of going from another position to first base,
05:08what is that transition like for a younger player versus a guy like Devers
05:14who might have only played a position for so long and he's a little bit,
05:17you know, a little bit older in his baseball career?
05:21Not too old, but he's been generally a third baseman.
05:24Is it a little bit easier to move the younger players around to maybe be able to play first base?
05:31Yeah, it's a really fascinating question, actually,
05:34because I think you could see it go both ways.
05:36On the one hand, you know, you're right.
05:38Like these guys have just been kind of anchored to a particular position for fewer years,
05:43just given the fact that they haven't been playing quite as long.
05:46And, you know, everything will be new when they get to the big leagues.
05:51On the other, I think because everything will be new,
05:54you want to be mindful of how many variables and how many new things you might be throwing at someone.
06:01You know, I think the other thing here is both Roman and Marcelo profile as pretty strong defenders
06:07at their respective positions.
06:08And we have to keep at least one eye on kind of the big picture and what the impact on their development would be
06:14if we ask them to make a transition for the short term.
06:18Craig, Lucas Giolito fell off the other night pretty badly.
06:22I understand he's coming back from injury.
06:25The weather wasn't great.
06:26Do you attribute those factors into why he played poorly?
06:30Or are you worried about it?
06:33Well, I think he's got two big league starts this year.
06:37One of them was really, really good.
06:39And the other, you know, he'd be the first to admit wasn't.
06:42You know, we definitely want to track the performance.
06:46We want to track the delivery, knowing that he's coming off a couple of injuries,
06:50both the elbow and the hamstring.
06:53You know, I think we want to find the balance between not being overly concerned with one outing
06:59and also not ignoring opportunities to do address or improve what we're seeing.
07:04So, you know, our pitching group is all over it, and they continue to work with him.
07:09And, you know, we're confident that the next time out, he will be better.
07:12Craig, just to go back briefly to Devers, we all heard him at the training camp,
07:16or spring training, rather, and he was, you know, said he was a third baseman.
07:20Has he said anything to you or Alex, as in not you guys asking him,
07:25has he said to you or Alex that he would like an opportunity to play first base?
07:31Yeah, I think it's probably best just to keep those internal conversations internal.
07:36You know, I understand why there's a lot of attention on this,
07:38and we need to figure out both, you know, kind of the shorter-term
07:42and long-term solution there at first.
07:44But, you know, I think it's important that the conversations we're having internally stay internal.
07:48What would be, you would say, would be the most difficult thing for anybody who's playing the position first base
07:54that they would have to learn or might present the biggest problem when you are a first baseman?
08:03Yeah, I think in this case, you know, there are probably two things.
08:08One would be because, you know, someone like Devers is coming from a DH role,
08:14and, you know, granted, he hasn't been doing it for all that long,
08:17but it did take a period to acclimate where he was going from being engaged in the field every inning
08:23to now trying to figure out what his routine looks like to be prepared for, you know, three, four, five at-bats a night.
08:28So that would represent a change.
08:31And then I think the other thing, as it relates specifically to first base,
08:34is not so much the catching the ball, the footwork around the bag, the fielding the ball.
08:39It's the more nuanced plays to understanding, like, what is your range,
08:43which are the balls that you go after, and which do you leave for the second baseman,
08:47and then being in the right place with respect to cutoffs and relays
08:52and, you know, making sure that the responsibilities that go beyond just catching the ball
08:57with your foot on first base are covered.
08:59Do your analytics guys have any insight into who will be the next pope, by chance?
09:08That is not currently on their list of tasks for the next week or two.
09:13So, yeah, once we get the first base situation sorted out, we can follow up on that one.
09:18And we'll know about that.
09:19There will be some kind of smoke or something that comes out of Fenway Park.
09:24Yes.
09:25Yes.
09:25We were thinking about using the smoke to indicate who will play first.
09:31I like it.
09:32All right.
09:33Craig, thank you, as always, and we will talk to you again very soon.