Southpaw Blues
With Rob Refsnyder gone and Romy Gonzalez out for a significant portion of the year, where will the production against lefties come from?
Here at the Bastards, we make fun of the Platoon Dynasty (the phrase coined for Alex Cora’s disdain for allowing young lefties to hit against left-handed pitching), but what options does Cora really have? On one hand, you want to give guys like Wilyer Abreu and Marcelo Mayer the opportunity to learn how to hit left-handed pitching. On the other hand, how long do you want to watch them struggle against LHP before reverting to your “lefty killers?” The problem in 2026 is, where have all the lefty killers gone?
Normally, a right-handed hitter will hit LHP better than a left-handed hitter due to the break of the ball and the ability to better see the pitch as it leaves the lefties hand. For the last few years, the Red Sox have had some RH hitters that did well against LHP (* denotes LH hitter):
Justin Turner, Rob Refsnyder, Tyler O’Neill, and Romy Gonzalez all crushed LHP. Even left-handed Rafael Devers hit lefties well, probably because he is an exceptionally good hitter. Turner, Refsnyder, O’Neill, Devers, and Bregman are now gone. Romy is still with the team, but out for an extended period of time with a shoulder injury. How will Alex Cora compensate for this against lefties, particularly tough lefty starters?
First, let’s look at the three bats the Red Sox added this season. Willson Contreras hits lefties well, with a .863 OPS against LHP in 2025 and an .871 over his career. Isiah Kiner-Falefa does not. He hit lefties at a .536 clip last season and .643 for his career. Caleb Durbin has only played one season and hit LHP at .717.
One question is why don’t the Red Sox starting RH hitters hit LHP well? I’m talking mainly about Trevor Story and Ceddanne Rafaela. They should be mashing lefties. Right now, left-handed Roman Anthony is their second-best hitter against LHP. Rafaela has been a sub .700 hitter against LHP for two years. It just doesn’t make sense. Story has been mediocre at best. Connor Wong actually had a really nice year against LHP in 2024 but fell apart in 2025. So, we know we can trust Contreras and probably Anthony. Where will the rest of the production come from?
My guess is Nick Sogard and Nate Eaton will make the team. Eaton is right-handed and has 101 plate appearances against LHP where he batted .666. Sogard is a switch hitter with only 54 PAs against LHP, but with a .783 OPS. Let’s be clear, these are not Romy and Ref replacements. Romy and Ref have given the Red Sox two seasons of excellent performance against left-handed pitching including some crucial hits to win games. The Red Sox would not have finished anywhere near their win total of 89 without them. I think Cora will platoon Sogard and Eaton thinking he will get the same results as he did with Refsnyder and Gonzalez.
The larger question may be, why didn’t Craig Breslow make it a priority to bring back Refsnyder, especially since he knew he had young LH hitters who would struggle against LHP? He may have felt the acquisitions of Contreras, Durbin, and Kiner-Falefa were enough to offset the loss of Refsnyder. He may think Story and Rafaela will hit LHP better in 2026 or that Wong will return to form. I’m an educated man, but I’m afraid I can’t speak intelligently about the roster construction habits of Craig Breslow.
We will get to see this in action in the season opener. Terry Francona is sending lefty Andrew Abbott to the mound. He’s started 75 games in three seasons for the Reds with a 3.42 ERA and 8.3 K/9. There’s a decent amount of red on his savant page, including a 93% hard hit rate but only a 26% fastball velocity. So, keep your eye on that opening day lineup. If you see names such as Kiner-Falefa, Sogard or Eaton, you know the Platoon Dynasty will rule for another season.