The Boston Red Sox have been tough to watch through the first month of the 2022 season. They're now 10-16 following Thursday's loss to the Los Angeles Angels and have dropped five consecutive series.
As their struggles continue, it's a good time to check in on how some familiar faces across the league are performing. One name that stands out is Andrew Benintendi, Boston's homegrown left fielder from 2016-20.
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Benintendi, now with the Kansas City Royals, has been one of the league's hottest hitters over the first month of the campaign. The 27-year-old only has one homer but is slashing .354/.407/.439 through 23 games. His batting average is the third-highest in the American League he's tied for fifth in the AL with 29 hits.
The 2018 World Series champion leads the light-hitting Royals in RBI (11) and on-base percentage. He has nine multi-hit games and only 10 strikeouts.
As Benintendi rakes, several other former Red Sox players are off to notable starts. Here's a look at how they've fared early on.
Kyle Schwarber, Philadelphia Phillies
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Schwarber's stint in Boston was brief, but it'll be remembered fondly. The veteran slugger belted seven homers and posted a .957 OPS in 41 games with the Red Sox last year.
He's already belted seven homers through 23 games this season with Philly. The batting average isn't where he'd like it to be (.193, 16-for-83), but there's no question the Red Sox could use Schwarber's pop right about now. Boston hitters not named Xander Bogaerts, J.D. Martinez, or Rafael Devers currently have seven homers COMBINED.
Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers
It's been a quiet start to the season for Mookie Betts. The 2018 American League MVP, traded from Boston to L.A. before the 2020 season, stumbled out the gate and left some wondering whether the Red Sox actually "won" the deal.
Betts has since looked like his MVP self. Over his last nine games, he has a slash line of .344/.421/.531 with two homers and zero strikeouts. He's now tied for the Dodgers lead in homers with four on the year.
Betts is hitting .247 with a modest .762 OPS by his standards through 22 games. Given how he's played as of late, we should expect those numbers to continue to rise.
Eduardo Rodriguez, Detroit Tigers
It hasn't been a smooth start to E-Rod's Tigers tenure. The former Red Sox southpaw is 0-2 with a 5.33 ERA and 1.30 WHIP through five starts.
One of those starts was a rough outing against Boston on April 13. The Red Sox knocked him around with seven runs (two earned) on five hits and three walks. They chased him out of the game after only 3.2 innings.
Adam Ottavino, New York Mets
The Red Sox could use some bullpen help, but they still probably don't regret parting ways with Adam Ottavino. The right-hander has struggled so far in his first season with the Mets.
Ottavino has made 11 appearances so far this year, allowing seven runs on 11 hits through 9.2 innings. That's a 6.52 ERA to go with a 1.66 WHIP. Worth noting though is six of those runs were allowe
d in two appearances. Eight of his outings were scoreless. It shows just how dominant Ottavino can be when he's on, and how brutal he can be when he's off.
Michael Chavis, Pittsburgh Pirates
Chavis failed to carve out a consistent role in his first three seasons with Boston. He was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates at last year's trade deadline and it's safe to say he's gotten comfortable in his new home as an everyday utility infielder.
The 26-year-old is slashing .274/.299/.484 with three homers through 20 games. One of those homers was a go-ahead grand slam back on April 10.
The rebuilding Pirates also currently have a better record (10-14) than the Red Sox, so there's that...
Garrett Richards and Martin Perez, Texas Rangers
Both Richards and Perez left the Red Sox in free agency this past offseason to join the Rangers pitching staff. So far, they've been pretty solid pickups for Texas.
Richards has made seven appearances (two starts), allowing six hits and four runs in nine innings (4.00 ERA). He's walked six and struck out nine. The numbers don't jump off the page, but the right-hander is valuable for the pitching-needy Rangers with his ability to eat innings as both a starter and a reliever.
Perez has been a pleasant surprise in the rotation. The southpaw is 0-2 through five starts but has an impressive 2.25 ERA and 1.04 WHIP. Of course, it helps that he pitched six perfect innings against the Houston Astros on April 28.