And yet, most defensive metrics don't think the Sox are that bad, and some think they are elite. By Statcast's Fielding Run Value as presented by Baseball Savant, the Red Sox had the fifth-best defense in baseball last year. By Statcast's Fielding Run Value as presented by FanGraphs (which is apparently a slightly different thing, though I couldn't tell you how) they were the seventh-best.
Alex Bregman's departure not only opened up a hole which the front office thought it had solved in 2025, but it deepened the mystery of what we have in Marcelo Mayer. Mayer will continue to be an unknown quantity until he spends more time in the majors and proves he can stay on the field for a full season. Not only is he young and untested, but he can play second and third base as well as shortstop.