{"id":655,"date":"2026-05-18T19:33:48","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T19:33:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=655"},"modified":"2026-05-18T19:33:48","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T19:33:48","slug":"chad-tracy-decides-the-lineup-and-other-red-sox-thoughts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=655","title":{"rendered":"Chad Tracy decides the lineup, and other Red Sox thoughts"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>\n<div>\n<p><span><i>This story originally appeared in the Globe\u2019s Sunday Baseball Notes. <\/i><i>Read the rest here.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=653\">Bentley men\u2019s basketball coach Jay Lawson announces retirement<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>Pardon my cynicism, but it was refreshing \u2014 and a bit surprising \u2014 to hear interim Red Sox manager Chad Tracy say last week that he decides the lineup, not the front office.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThe final pen to paper is my call,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span>Tracy said he generally sits with bench coach Jos\u00e9 David Flores to come up with the lineup.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI get ideas and hear other people\u2019s thoughts about where will be a good day [to use] this guy or that guy,\u201d he said. \u201cThat will always be the case. I have really good people around me that I trust to cover your blind spots.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It can\u2019t be easy. The Sox went into the weekend with the worst offense in the American League, a product of their lack of power and poor seasons from, among others, Caleb Durbin, Jarren Duran, Carlos Narv\u00e1ez, and Trevor Story.<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><span>Get Starting Point<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span>A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.<\/span><\/div>\n<div>\n<div><label>Enter Email<\/label><\/p>\n<div><button>Sign Up<\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>Tracy had seven-plus years of experience managing in the minors before he was promoted. He said the level of information in the major leagues is far deeper, and there\u2019s more video to use when making decisions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cSimilar information but a much wider [range] of what is actually available to you,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Minor league lineups are focused on development, not necessarily winning games. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cIn the minor leagues, the construction of a lineup is who\u2019s on the 40-man [roster] that\u2019s immediately going to help us? Who are the top prospects that we need to see get in the batter\u2019s box a lot?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cA guy hitting first vs. sixth could be the difference of 100 plate appearances in a year. All of that stuff is considered for getting guys the reps they need; making sure that 40-man guys who are going to come up the next day are ready to go.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<div><span>Related<span>: <\/span><\/span>Joe Morgan, the greatest interim manager in baseball history, knows what Chad Tracy is dealing with, and other thoughts<\/div>\n<p><span>A few other observations on the Red Sox:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u25aa Speaking of the lineup, how long do the Sox keep Duran batting leadoff? He has a .304 on-base percentage batting first over the last two seasons, with 100 more strikeouts (142) than walks (42).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>That\u2019s a 127-game sample size, too.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u25aa Wilyer Abreu is off to a start that could merit down-ballot MVP votes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The 27-year-old right fielder has a team-best .860 OPS and leads all American League outfielders with 11 defensive runs saved. Only Cubs center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong (13) has more.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Abreu won his second Gold Glove last season and has been even better this year.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cIt\u2019s hard to believe because he was so good before,\u201d Tracy said. \u201cBalls get hit, and it looks like he\u2019s already taken four steps by the time you glance at him.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cHe\u2019s moving before the ball even comes off the bat. He\u2019s just become very, very good.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=651\">Federal jury sides with OpenAI in feud with Elon Musk<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>\u25aa You may have noticed Sox players on second base seeming to signal the batter what pitch is coming. With PitchCom, there are no signs to steal, but some pitchers give it away by how they waggle their gloves or if they show their grip too early.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>That said, the Sox are mostly pretending, according to several opposing teams.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cSome of it\u2019s real, and some of it\u2019s just to make you think they know something,\u201d Mattingly said. \u201cWe saw a lot of the same [signals] on different pitches, so it tells you they didn\u2019t really have anything.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u25aa If the Sox wanted to fire Jason Varitek as game planning and run prevention coach, fine. That\u2019s their right. Varitek was traded as a prospect and became a part-time player at the end of his playing career. He understands how the game works.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>But the Sox claimed, \u201che has been reassigned to a new role within the organization.\u201d Was that supposed to mollify the fans who have fond memories of Varitek from his playing days?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>That wasn\u2019t true. Like manager Alex Cora and the rest of the coaches who were fired, Varitek is a free agent and can join another team if he chooses. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In a NESN appearance, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said Varitek has an \u201copen invitation to stay in the organization as long as he wants.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It would be out of character for Varitek to take some phony job and pretend all is well. If he wants to stay in baseball, there are teams that would value what he has to offer.<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<blockquote>\n<p>Sam Kennedy spoke with @TomCaron on Jason Varitek&#8217;s reassignment <\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Tek is a Red Sox Hall of Famer. One of the most important figures in our history&#8230; We&#8217;re gonna give him all the time he needs [to make a decision]&#8230; He&#8217;s got a very bright future in the game, and hopefully\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/bucM27eCJa<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 NESN (@NESN) May 13, 2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>\u25aa Baseball America\u2019s latest top prospect list has lefthander Payton Tolle eighth, with Double-A shortstop Franklin Arias soaring from 46th to 16th. Arias had a 1.072 OPS through his first 29 games this season.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>(Yes, Tolle is still considered a prospect, but won\u2019t be much longer.)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Two righthanders drafted last season \u2014 Anthony Eyanson (No. 48) and Kyson Witherspoon (73) \u2014 also made the list.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Three New England players are in the Top 100. Marlins Triple-A lefthander Thomas White (Rowley, Phillips Andover) is 11th. Dodgers High-A outfielder Mike Sirota (Northeastern) is 40th, and Cardinals Triple-A outfielder Joshua Baez (Boston, Dexter Southfield) is 57th. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Sirota was considered a potential first-round pick going into his junior season with the Huskies, but fell to the Reds in the third round of the 2024 draft. The Dodgers acquired him in a trade for infielder Gavin Lux prior to the 2025 season. He has since posted a 1.091 OPS in 89 games for the Dodgers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=649\">26 medical research projects at Rhode Island universities and hospitals just got a boost<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The interim manager said he generally sits with bench coach Jos\u00e9 David Flores to come up with the lineup.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":654,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Chad Tracy decides the lineup, and other Red Sox thoughts - Boston Relocation Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=655\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chad Tracy decides the lineup, and other Red Sox thoughts - 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