Blake Swihart To Start In Left Field Friday For Red Sox
BOSTON (CBS) -- Faced with a proverbial "good problem to have" at the catcher position, the Red Sox needed to find a way to get Blake Swihart's bat in the lineup while keeping Christian Vazquez's elite defense and game-calling behind the plate. The simplest solution was to put Swihart in left field, and that will become a reality Friday night as the Red Sox take on the Cleveland Indians at Fenway Park. Swihart will bat ninth and make his first career major league start in the outfield.
Friday marks just the 12th game of Swihart's professional career that he has played left field. He recorded one error in 23 total chances playing 11 games in left for Triple-A Pawtucket, recording two outfield assists.
Perhaps more concerning right now, however, is Swihart's offense: he has batted just .243 with a .655 OPS in 29 games in the minor leagues in 2016. But all eyes will be on Swihart once he's manning the Green Monster.
Here's the full Red Sox lineup for Friday night against the Indians:
1. RF Mookie Betts
2. 2B Dustin Pedroia
3. SS Xander Bogaerts
4. DH David Ortiz
5. 1B Hanley Ramirez
6. 3B Travis Shaw
7. CF Jackie Bradley Jr.
8. C Christian Vazquez
9. LF Blake Swihart
