For a Sox team bereft of impact bats after injuries to their big-time hitters, infielder Gavin Sheets has been a revelation.
Sheets is slashing .333/.455/.704 through the early part of the season. Sheets gives the lineup some power it sorely needs. The offense is 29th in the majors (.151) in batting average with runners in scoring position.
“Going two days without playing is difficult,” manager Pedro Grifol said of his decision to play the left-handed Sheets Saturday against left-hander Nick Lodolo. “I have confidence in Gavin giving us a good at-bat against lefties, but I don’t plan on playing him every single day against left-handed pitching.”
Sheets said he enjoyed facing a left-hander and that he enjoys competing every day. Grifol has thought about how to deploy Sheets because of his fast start to the season. There’s also a matter of incorporating Sheets into the lineup when designated hitter Eloy Jimenez returns from injury.
Among players with at least 20 plate appearances, Sheets is third in the American League in slugging percentage.
“We need to swing the bat, and he’s been swinging the bat really good,” Grifol said. “We’ll find a place for him somewhere.”
Bullpen decisions
Grifol has made it known he’ll be cautious with his bullpen. But he said he will take a game-by-game approach to managing the load of relievers Michael Kopech and Jordan Leasure.
“To get in a nice winning streak, you’re going to need the Leasure’s, the Kopech’s,” Grifol said. “To win a game when there’s some urgency, sometimes you have to go multiple innings, even if it costs you the next couple of days.”
Grifol said he wouldn’t put Kopech on the mound back-to-back days if he goes multiple innings the night before. The Sox coaches have also taken that approach with Leasure, who threw two innings for the first time all season against the Guardians and one on Saturday.
Leasure threw a 1-2-3 inning in his eighth with two strikeouts before Kopech took over in the ninth inning. Leasure said he felt good after throwing multiple innings against Cleveland and is comfortable in any role the team puts him in.
“It was their decision to keep me down,” Leasure said of not pitching after throwing two innings on Tuesday. “They’re easing me into it, but I could have gone the next day, so I think that’s a good sign for me at this point in the season.”
After a 2-12 start, the Sox are starving for wins. They have to take advantage of every opportunity to get a win going forward.
Eloy Jimenez’s recovery
Jimenez ran on Friday as he recovers from a left adductor strain. He participated in live batting practice on Saturday against pitcher John Brebbia — who is recovering from a right calf strain that landed him on the IL (retroactive to Apr. 6).
Grifol said the team was comfortable with the numbers Jimenez reached during his running to progress to the next step. The batting practices gives the team a chance to evaluate Brebbia and Jimenez. For Jimenez, it gives him an opportunity to get into a rhythm against live pitching.
“Now, we’ve got to get him back to timing and rhythm and all this stuff,” Grifol said of Jimenez’s recovery.