The Boston Red Sox reportedly hired former Los Angeles Angels general manager Jerry Dipoto as a consultant to assist in offseason planning and player evaluations.
They could use the help.
Boston (50-64) is in last place in the American League East after getting swept in two games against the awful Miami Marlins (46-68).
The Boston bullpen was brutalized in both games, and the starting pitching wasn’t much better.
Dipoto, 47, resigned from the Angels last month and will now assist Red Sox GM Ben Cherington.
“He will review our system, our big-league club,” Red Sox manager John Farrell said of Dipoto. “He will give us an objective viewpoint.”
The Red Sox, potentially headed for a third last-place finish in the past four years, need a lot of help, especially on the mound, where they have the third-worst ERA in the major leagues.
Offensively, Boston is middle of the pack in homers (tied for 15th) and 11th in runs scored.
Boston shelled out a combined $183 million in guaranteed money this past offseason for third baseman Pablo Sandoval and left fielder Hanley Ramirez. But those moves have not worked out as hoped — Sandoval has a .253 average with nine home runs and 35 RBIs while Ramirez has a .262 average, 19 homers and 53 RBIs.
Injuries have hurt — Ramirez, second baseman Dustin Pedroia, catcher Christian Vazquez, closer Koji Uehara and starting pitchers Clay Buchholz and Rick Porcello are among the players currently on the disabled list.
The bright spots have been DH David Ortiz and shortstop Xander Bogaerts.
Ortiz is still drilling homers — he hit two more on Wednesday and has 25 on the season and 491 for his career. But Ortiz will turn 40 in November, and he obviously won’t be on the roster for too much longer.
Bogaerts, who turns 23 in October, has had a breakthrough season. He leads all major league shortstops in batting average (.314), hits (132) and doubles (25). He also leads all AL shortstops in RBIs (54) and total bases (172). He has also improved his fielding percentage from .975 last year to .985 this season.
Beyond Bogaerts, the Red Sox have some developing players such as center fielder Mookie Betts and right fielder Rusney Castillo. Outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. can field, but his offense is still in doubt.
Overall, it’s a lot for Cherington — and now Dipoto — to sort through and try to improve for 2016.
Two struggling teams to meet
The Boston Red Sox and the Seattle Mariners were both popular preseason picks to make a run at their respective division titles. Things have not exactly worked out for either club, and the Red Sox will be trying to climb out of last place in the American League at the expense of the similarly-struggling Mariners when the teams open a three-game series in Boston on Friday night.
Boston is holding open auditions for next season at this point, with Rusney Castillo and Jackie Bradley Jr. both getting a long look in the outfield and any available arm getting a chance to record outs in relief. Castillo and Bradley are both getting positive feedback, but Ryan Cook, Jean Machi and everyone else in the bullpen have been having a rough go of late.
Seattle has only Oakland on which to look down in the AL West and picked up its third straight series win by taking two of three from Baltimore this week. Nelson Cruz missed Wednesday’s game with a sore neck and is day-to-day as he brings a 21-game hitting streak and eight homers in his last 11 games to face the Boston pitching staff, beginning with Friday starter Joe Kelly.
The Mariners will start left-hander Mike Montgomery (4-4, 3.25 ERA) against Red Sox righty Joe Kelly (4-6, 5.96).
Montgomery is winless in his last six starts and is struggling with his control of late. The 26-year-old issued a total of 18 walks in 25 1/3 innings over his last five outings, including four in as many innings in a no-decision against Texas on Saturday. Montgomery is making his first career start against Boston and is 3-1 with a 3.06 ERA in six road outings.
Kelly is another player auditioning for a spot in next season’s rotation and is coming off an encouraging outing at Detroit last Friday, when he struck out seven and allowed two runs on seven hits in 5 1/3 innings to pick up a win. The California native had yielded at least four earned runs in each of his previous four major-league starts. Kelly was sharp at Seattle on May 14, surrendering one run over 6 1/3 innings without factoring in the decision.
Marrero misses chances
Boston infielder Deven Marrero, who grew up within 30 minutes of Marlins Park in Miami, never got to make his homecoming. He was optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket on Tuesday before the start of the two-game series with Miami. Marrero, Boston’s first-round pick (24th overall) out of Arizona State in 2012, turns 25 on August 25. He has just seven at-bats in the big leagues this year (batting .143) but is known as an excellent defensive prospect. His career average in four minor league seasons is .254 with a total of 15 homers. He hit 30 homers, two triples and six homers last year while rotating between Double A and Triple A. But scouts wonder if he will be able to hit enough to be a starting shortstop in the majors.
Buchholz may not return
RHP Clay Buchholz, who turns 31 on Friday, has missed 27 games this year due a right-elbow injury. He may not pitch again until the instructional league in the fall. For his career, Buchholz is 73-51 with a 3.85 ERA. But he is a combined 15-18 the past two years with ERAs of 5.34 in 2014 and 3.26 this season. His biggest seasons came in 2010 (17-7, 2.33 ERA) and 2013 (12-1, 1.74 ERA), and the Red Sox will have to decide if they think he can regain that form or something close. That’s because Boston has a team option on his contract in each of the next two years.
Pedroia back on field in two weeks
2B Dustin Pedroia, a four-time Gold Glove winner who turns 32 on Monday, has been out to a right-hamstring injury but hopes to begin baseball activities in two weeks. Spread out over two stints on the disabled list, he has missed 34 games due to the injury. It’s uncertain if he will return this year. Pedroia is a four-time All-Star but not since 2013. He is under contract through the 2021 season, so the Red Sox have to hope that the former American League Rookie of the Year and MVP has plenty more left in the tank.