Daniel Nava on farewell tour?
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| The last days of Daniel Nava? |
Contributing Writer
We have a question that begs an answer.
Why is Daniel Nava playing every day in the Red Sox outfield?
He is on a single year contract, getting a salary that you can easily DFA or trade away, but yet there he is standing out in the Fenway outfield almost every game.
It is no secret that the Red Sox have a surplus on outfielders this year and going into next season, and by surplus we mean a great selection to choose from should one or two not work out. Think of Yoenis Cespedes, Shane Victorino, Rusney Castillo, Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr. and Allen Craig, then it's hard to see how Nava fits in there.
Don't get it wrong, this is not a commentary on Nava himself.
He was a substantial part of the epic 2013 World Series run.
He turned around a disastrous first half of the season with an improved batting average and on-base percentage and his entire career is an inspirational one, given the path he's had to travel.
He deserves all the respect in the world.
The hard baseball questions need to be asked and it is whether he deserves the playing time he's getting.
The playing time is better spent on any number of options to work towards the 2015 season. When Brock Holt returns from his illness, he deserves to play over Nava.
Betts, upon whom the Sox are counting, should always be playing over Nava right now.
Castillo may be called up by the weekend should play over Nava.
With Cespedes and Craig, who really needs his time at the plate it seems, it's difficult to see the motivation for playing Nava, especially considering his woeful .341 slugging percentage in the middle of the Boston batting order.
Take a good look at the Red Sox outfield at Fenway this month and wave goodbye to Daniel Nava, his days have to be numbered.
Post a comment or via twitter @erics_redsox with your thoughts.
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