Baltimore Orioles: Manny Machado Among Baseball’s Top Third Basemen
By Nate Wardle
5. Boston Red Sox – Travis Shaw, Aaron Hill, Josh Rutledge, Brock Holt
Preseason prediction: 4th, Pablo Sandoval, Brock Holt, Shaw, Deven Marrero
I thought for sure that Travis Shaw and the Red Sox would be fourth, but then you look at the numbers. Shaw started extremely well, hitting .269/.332/.456. The second half was ugly, hitting .194/.259/.360. Overall, Shaw hit 16 HRs, 34 2Bs, 71 RBIs, 63 runs. Shaw also had 16 errors in 99 starts at third base, for an ugly fielding percentage of .945.
So, the Red Sox traded for Aaron Hill to help out at the trade deadline, as he was hitting above .280 for the Milwaukee Brewers. He played in 47 games for the Red Sox, hitting .219. /.287/.290. Bad.
Josh Rutledge and Holt both started just over 10 games at the position. While the offensive numbers for both were pretty good for contact hitters, and Holt, of course, is the super utility guy for the Red Sox, Rutledge had a fielding percentage of .915 in his limited appearances. Ouch.