NEW YORK — The Red Sox acquired Danny Jansen from the Blue Jays, in part, because the club believed his pull-side power would work well at Fenway. But 19 games into his Red Sox tenure, that power has been virtually nonexistent.
Jansen is hitting just .204/.283/.315 with two homers.
“He’s mish*tting balls, not finishing at-bats,” said manager Alex Cora before his club’s 4-1 series-opening loss to the Mets. “It’s part of the grind, man, right now, we’re grinding as an offense. Jarren [Duran] is the only one that’s consistent along with [Wilyer] Abreu. But besides that, right now as an offense, we’re not doing those things.”
Indeed.
Related: Abraham: What’s Ceddanne Rafaela’s best position? Wherever Alex Cora needs him, he says.
Entering Monday, the Red Sox had hit .220/.288/.385 in their last 24 games, going 9-15.
How do the Sox plan on getting out of that funk?
Advertisem*nt
“Like I always said, you got to chase good at-bats,” said Cora. “You cannot chase hits. Because when you start chasing hits, it deviates from what you’re supposed to do. You got to control the strike zone. You got to take a walk. You got men at third, we have to cash in. We haven’t had too many opportunities the last few days. But I think we’ve been below average the last 10.”
Get 108 Stitches
Receive the Globe's best reporting and commentary on the Red Sox every weekday.
Beltran praises Cora
Carlos Beltran was at Citi Field. After a stellar career that could earn him a place in Cooperstown, the nine-time All-Star was named Mets manager ahead of the 2020 season. However, he was quickly fired because of his involvement in the Astros’ 2017 sign-stealing scandal, similar to Cora, who was dismissed by the Red Sox for his actions as Houston’s bench coach.
Cora returned as manager for the 2021 season under former chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom. But Beltran faded into the backdrop. He returned this season as a special assistant to general manager David Stearns, and is elated that his close friend Cora has performed well enough to earn a three-year extension.
“Alex is a great leader, man,” said Beltran. “He’s a great coach. He has proved himself in the big leagues. First year as a manager [in 2018] and what he has done after that. He’s a guy who connects with the players and knows how to impact the guys the right way. As a player himself, he was one of those guys that it wasn’t easy, man. He worked hard to have the playing time that he had in the big leagues.”
Advertisem*nt
Beltran has three young kids. But seeing Cora’s success, though the team is clinging to its playoff hopes, has Beltran thinking about a second opportunity.
“Right now I’m happy doing what I’m doing, being an advisor to David Stearns and being able to work with Carlos [Mendoza] as a manager,” Beltran said. “There’s no doubt, playing the game for 20 years, I love the game. I love to be around. But at the same time, and at this point of my career, I also love to be with my family. Because I have a 16-year-old daughter, a 13-year-old daughter, and an 8-year-old baby boy. When they grow up and I’m relevant within the game, and of course, an opportunity appears, you have to explore it.”
Sox spoke to Severino
Mets starter Luis Severino, who finished in the top 10 of the Cy Young Award voting for the Yankees in 2017 (third) and 2018 (ninth), has struggled to stay healthy since. This year, Severino has seen a resurgence. Though his strikeout numbers are down, the righthander has implemented a sinker and sweeper to go with his four-seamer. Cora hinted pregame that the Sox had talks with Severino, who was a free agent at the end of 2023. “We actually talked to him in the offseason. It was a great conversation. Kind of like the things that he’s doing right now, are the things that we envisioned.” … The Mets held a moment of silence for Columbus Blue Jackets star Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew, New Jersey natives who died when they were hit by a vehicle while riding their bicycles Thursday. The brothers played hockey at Boston College ... Trevor Story (shoulder) played five innings at shortstop in a rehab game for Worcester and went 0 for 3 in a 3-1 win at Rochester ... Liam Hendriks (elbow), who last pitched Friday, will pitch for Worcester Wednesday and Thursday … Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry was in attendance at Citi Field. He’s a huge Sox fan.
Advertisem*nt
Julian McWilliams can be reached at julian.mcwilliams@globe.com. Follow him @byJulianMack.
