Should the Sox be looking for someone to bat Leadoff?

I think that Xander is an ideal candidate to bat leadoff if he’s injury-free. People forget just how good he was in 2016 and the first half of 2017. He clearly wasn’t right/healthy after being hit by that pitch in the hand. If we are able to land a big bat this offseason and make no other moves, this would be my lineup:

1. Xander Bogaerts SS
2. Andrew Benintendi LF
3. Mookie Betts RF
4. J.D. Martinez DH
5. Rafael Devers 3B
6. Hanley Ramirez 1B
7. Jackie Bradley Jr. CF
8. Dustin Pedroia 2B
9. Christian Vazquez C

Why do I hit JBJ in between Hanley and Pedey? It’s simple really, to protect him since both of them destroy lefties.

The question is whether Cora will be able to get Bogey to run. Cora wants to run. This was a very athletic team, and if you look at the SBs by Bogaerts (15) and Bradley (8 - even Vazquez had 7, so 8 is horrible for a guy this athletic and fast), they are weak compared to what they should be given tools available. I think Betts will hit 2 ahead of Beni because he is a much better base-runner. Beni will be good and stole 20 bags, but he made some very bone-headed errors on bases as well. If they can get Bogey to run more as well, it would be a big help to the offense. Otherwise, Bogey should hit down in the order and let Betts and Beni make pitchers nervous facing the heart of the order.

Will Hernandez run? Maybe, but I don't see them hitting him leadoff, and Pedey will not lead off much in future as he ages. His base-running has gone south somewhat. There is a much better chance his power comes back than his speed. The lineup is very good with Pedey down low because a pitcher can never let up.

I would love to see a Bogey who leads off and just tries to get on base and make pitchers squirm. His AVG/OBP are leadoff quality when he just tries to hit the ball to all fields (at his best when going the other way frequently) and not try to hit for power. That would be the base case scenario for a lineup with Bogey in it. He did not inspire me in the leadoff slot last year though in limited ABs. Maybe once he is healthy he will hit well from the leadoff spot. That is really his best slot in this order above 6 or 7 I think.  If they can't get Bogey to run, then I expect they will bat Betts 1 and Bogey at 2 and Beni at 3 if they cannot find a more prototypical leadoff hitter than Betts, but I think that is suboptimal use of tools of Bogey and Betts.   Anyway, Cora clearly likes the idea of running more and being disruptive on the base paths. He has already mentioned running more than Farrell probably did in last several years.

I would prefer to see them acquire a speedy leadoff hitter who annoys a lot on bases ahead of Betts and Beni and who plays great D at SS (Albies and Mateo my best ideas for guys they could try to get). But there are only a couple of those guys, so easier said than done -- even if I would prefer it, and yes, I do think it is important, and if they trade Bradley to create a spot for Martinez, the piece should be focus of that trade if at all possible (Hello Billy? Remember Boston?)

Not sure where you're getting the idea that Bogaerts is fast. He isn't. He's a very good baserunner and he's certainly not slow, but that's not the same thing as having stolen base speed. Bradley isn't really all that fast either - a lot of his outfield range is due to excellent instincts, reads, routes, etc., rather than footspeed.

Again, neither is slow, but it's not like they have great speed but just are too stubborn to use it.

As for the leadoff question, it's funny - Betts struck me as the perfect leadoff hitter when he was in Portland. Excellent plate discipline, great speed, made great contact. But it's almost like he got too good to hit leadoff.

So, before we get too far down this road, while I don't want to stifle a valid discussion, it's WAY too early to have much serious discussion about lineups. We don't even know who's on the team yet.

I'm not going to tell anyone not to post, but... let's not get too far down the projected lineup road.