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| 2015-2017 Stats (Courtesy: TheScore.com) |
Despite the curious geek-inspired hatred of
Eric Hosmer, all
three of Boston's potential first-base replacements for
Mitch Moreland (who wasn't half-bad himself) are
solid. No matter how you slice it, Hosmer,
Carlos Santana or
Jose Abreu would be a major plus for the lineup
and the defense. Please, don't even talk to us about bottom-feeder candidates like
Mark Reynolds. The roto-heads point to Hosmer's "every-other-year" offensive slippage—but (as usual) the numbers don't tell the whole story. Don't forget, legendary manager
Jim Leyland started Hosmer over
Paul Goldschmidt in the recent
World Baseball Classic—and Hosmer
raked and the US won. Over the last three seasons (see chart), the numbers for all three are
virtually identical—with Abreu the clear class of the group. But Abreu would cost prospects—Hosmer or Santana would only put a
slight dent in
John Henry's wallet (don't worry, he'll survive).
