Red Sox Committed To Major Experiment Across Organization

BOSTON — Red Sox manager Alex Cora has made it abundantly clear.

“I want to see the kids play,” Cora said Saturday. “(Kristian) Campbell and Marcelo (Mayer) and Roman (Anthony) — I want to see them play.”

The Red Sox don’t necessarily have the space to make that a reality as things currently stand, though. Trevor Story, Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu, Ceddanne Rafaela and potentially even Masataka Yoshida would have to be displaced to open up some spots for that trio.

Unless…

“Marcelo has versatility, he’ll move around a little bit — second, short, third,” Cora revealed at Fenway Fest. “Campbell obviously has that versatility, but he’ll get a lot of reps at second base. (Nick Sogard) will be moving around… (David Hamilton) will get work in the outfield.”

Boston has been proactive regarding versatility over the last several seasons, notably exploring positional changes with the likes of Mookie Betts, Dustin Pedroia, Duran and Rafaela when they were prospects. It’s something they feel is invaluable to the big league club.

“I think we always have preached versatility within our minor league system. It brings a ton of value,” Red Sox senior director of player development Brian Abraham said Tuesday. “The reality is, we don’t know what the major league roster will look like at any time of the year. Roman, Kristian, Marcelo — if they’re able to play multiple positions, if a position comes open and they’re able to impact the game offensively, there’s going to be a chance for them to play. I think we try to get all of our players exposed to different spots, so when they get to the major leagues for the first time they’re not doing something for the first time. It’s incredibly valuable for us.

You can’t expect to bat 1.000 in that category, however.

Blake Swihart famously couldn’t cut it as a utility man, while the effort of moving him around really put a damper on his development behind the dish. Bobby Dalbec’s move from third base to first base worked for all of eight games. Duran’s move to the outfield took literal years to pay off.

Cora still isn’t discouraged. Mayer, Anthony and Campbell are expected to lead the next generation, so a little bit of movement shouldn’t have that big of an impact. Boston would rather figure out just how much value they have now than wait for them to get promoted and struggle.

It’s time to see the kids play, so get them out onto the field as much as possible.