Red Sox utility man Andruw Monasterio has quietly become one of baseball's hottest hitters
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Red Sox utility man Andruw Monasterio has quietly become one of baseball's hottest hitters originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
This season, the Boston Red Sox’s middle infield has received probably the most injuries of any position, other than pitcher, on the roster. With that, you would think that the dregs Boston puts to play there would pull the team down, but instead, the opposite has happened.
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Anthony Seigler has taken over at second base, becoming a spark plug for morale, and his bat has been adequate for getting on base and manufacturing runs. However, the shortstop that has been doing damage unnoticed is a bigger reason for Boston’s success: Andruw Monasterio.
Monasterio was an afterthought
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Both Seigler and Monasterio were add-ons in a trade that revolved around Caleb Durbin, who was the replacement for Alex Bregman. Seigler went to AAA, and Monasterio became a back-of-the-bench utility man for the Red Sox.
Starting the season, it didn’t look like he wouldn’t get much playing time since he was on the fourth string. Then, injuries struck. The three shortstops ahead of him, Trevor Story, Marcelo Mayer, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa, all got sent to the IL.
This made Monasterio the new starting shortstop, and over the course of this season, he’s been the best one.
He’s been slugging in July
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In this past month of July, Monasterio has been on a heater offensively. He’s slashing .357/.439/.679/1.118 in just 67 plate appearances. His wRC+ is also fourth place for the month with a 203, behind names like Yordan Alvarez, James Wood, and CJ Abrams.
This season, he’s hitting .259/.320/.459/.780 with 17 doubles, six home runs, and 20 RBI in 67 games. His 17 doubles are also 43rd place in the American League, which doesn’t seem high, but keep in mind, he’s doing it as a fourth-string utility man who still doesn't play every day, even though he’s the acting starting shortstop. He’s also fifth on the Red Sox when it comes to doubles as well.
Monasterio’s earned a long-term home with Boston
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After this season, Monasterio has three more years of team control left on his contract, and it seems like he has earned every last one of them.
While he may not be a superstar, or even an everyday starter, Monasterio has proven that the Red Sox have a slugger they can turn to off the bench, and someone who can pick up the slack when everything seems like it’s going wrong.
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