In effort to stay with Red Sox, Anthony Seigler switched back to switch-hitting
About a year ago, at the recommendation of the Brewers, Anthony Seigler abandoned switch-hitting, which long had been part of his identity as a ballplayer. He wasn’t doing much as a righthander, so they told him to stick with swinging lefthanded.
Read more Game 84: Nationals at Red Sox lineups and preview
Early this month, when chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and interim manager Chad Tracy informed Seigler they were sending him back to the minors, he made a suggestion: Let him try again.
The Red Sox gave him the go-ahead, which helped bring Seigler to where he is now, starting at second base for a 10th consecutive game Monday night in a 6-3 win against the Nationals.
His switch back to switch-hitting has been key, Seigler said.
“Obviously, I want to be in there every day. I mean, everybody does,” said Seigler, who went 2 for 3. “And I think me going down there [to Triple-A Worcester] and getting some reps righty definitely helped me confidence-wise, feel-wise attacking lefties again.”
Overall, he has performed well in a small sample, batting .333 with a .405 on-base percentage and .515 slugging rate across 11 games entering the day.
Against righthanders (as a lefty batter), those numbers were .296/.345/.481.
Against lefthanders (as a righty batter), he was 3 for 6 with a double, two walks, and no strikeouts.
“It speaks for itself,” Seigler said. “I feel comfortable with that. I feel really confident. I’m just glad that they also feel confident in me and are trusting me to just go out there and get some righty at-bats.”
He also is a switch-thrower, doing so righty as an infielder and lefty as an outfielder. He brushes his teeth with his left hand and writes with his right hand.
Seigler’s pitch to his Sox bosses: The keen eye and solid swing decisions he showed as a lefthander would carry over to the other side of the plate.
“They were fine with [resuming switch-hitting], as long as it didn’t mess with my lefty swing,” he said. “I feel confident in my ability to see pitches really well, and I know I have really good bat-to-ball [skills]. I know I don’t swing out of the zone a lot, so I told them that. I told them, I got great bat-to-ball from both sides. I know I do.
“It means a lot from a confidence standpoint, and I’m just glad that they trust me to go out there and dominate lefties like I know I can.”
Butera makes Fenway return
First-year Nationals manager Blake Butera had the opportunity to play a few games at Fenway Park when he was a Boston College infielder from 2012-15.
He also saw plenty of games as a fan during his time at Chestnut Hill and while playing in the Cape Cod League.
Still, there was some emotion when he arrived at the ballpark early Monday afternoon.
“This is pretty awesome,” Butera said. “It’s all a blur when you go to school here, and you’re 18-22 years old, and then realizing I hadn’t been back here in a while.”
Butera goes back a long way with the Sox. His father, Barry, was an outfielder in the system from 1977-80. That led Blake to become a fan of the team.
Barry Butera had dinner with 95-year-old Joe Morgan, his Triple-A manager, on Sunday night. They called Blake as the Nationals were arriving at their hotel.
“I got to talk to Joe, and he was excited,” Blake said. “My dad asked him, ‘So are you a Nationals fan or a Red Sox fan for this series?’ And he said, ‘I’m just going to watch the game.’”
Sandoval’s next step(s)
Patrick Sandoval, who had Tommy John surgery two years ago and a series of setbacks since, will make a sixth and potentially final rehab start with Double-A Portland on Saturday. He is due to throw about 70 pitches (five innings). That will be the 30th day of his rehab assignment. Pitchers are allowed 30 days but teams can apply for up to three 10-day extensions (which also need to be approved by the player). So the Sox are approaching decision time on Sandoval but don’t necessarily need to make a call imminently … Jovani Morán (left elbow inflammation) will make another rehab appearance, probably his last, on Wednesday, Tracy said … Nick Sogard (right oblique strain) is due to start playing in the minors Wednesday or so, per Tracy … The Nationals called up righthander Riley Cornelio and lefthander Carson Palmquist from Triple-A. They replaced lefthanders Mitchell Parker (left elbow inflammation) and Richard Lovelady (left triceps strain) … Floating around the Red Sox’ clubhouse: special hats for Independence Day. The off-white caps feature stars and stripes in the team’s “B” logo, plus a “USA 250” patch on the side.
Peter Abraham of the Globe staff contributed to this report.
Post Comment