NASHVILLE -- In the last two weeks, the Red Sox have signed three free agents and they all have one thing in common: They all rake against left-handed pitching.
That can't be a coincidence.
On paper, that wouldn't seem to be a huge need for the team. Even in a season in which they scored 141 runs fewer than they did the year before, the Red Sox still finished with the fourth-best OPS in the American League last season, with a figure of .759. Only Texas (.793), Los Angeles (.785) and the Yankees (.777) did more damage against lefties.
And still, the Red Sox went searching for ways to improve their lineup against lefties. In Jonny Gomes, Mike Napoli and Shane Victarino, they found them.
Here's how the three have fared against lefties in their careers:
BA
OBP
SLG
OPS
Gomes
.284
.382
.512
.894
Napoli
.273
.381
.529
.911
Victorino
.301
.373
.508
.881
All three have on-base percentages above .380. All three have slugging percentages over .500. And all three have an OPS of .881 or higher.
Boston Red Sox
But why the infatuation with left-handers, since most pitchers are right-handed? In part, it's because of the division in which the Red Sox play.
Take a look at the number of left-handed starters in the starting rotations of the other four A.L. East teams:
YANKEES (2): CC Sabathia, Andy Pettitte
BLUE JAYS (2 OR 3): Ricky Romero, Mark Buehrle, perhaps J.A. Happ
RAYS (2): David Price (the Cy Young Award winner), Matt Moore
ORIOLES (1 OR 2): Wei-Yin Chen, perhaps Brian Matusz
So, of the 20 projected starters on the other four division clubs, a mininum of seven and possibly as many as nine will be left-handed.
And because of the unbalanced schedule, the Red Sox will play almost half of their 162 games against the four teams. Meaning, even before the Sox go outside the division -- and face the likes of Chris Sale, Jon Danks, C.J. Wilson, Derek Holland, Matt Harrison and Tommy Milone -- they figure to have anywhere from 35 to 45 games against lefty starters in their division alone.