WEST SACRAMENTO – After meeting most of his new teammates on a 3,000-mile charter to the West Coast, new Red Sox acquisition Curtis Mead wasted no time becoming part of the mix, batting second and starting at second base in interim manager Chad Tracy’s lineup on Monday night against the Athletics.
Though this was the fourth time the 25-year-old has been dealt in his young career, this occasion was different.
Mead, who was traded from the Nationals in exchange for left-hander Connelly Early on Sunday, had struggled to make an impact in a limited sample size at his previous stops. This time, he arrived as a sought-after bat the Red Sox brought in to increase their postseason chances.
“It was unique. I just remember speaking to my agent about the whole thing, and he was like, ‘This is a little bit different than when we were traded in March.’ Everyone here has been awesome, and I feel like they've welcomed me with open arms, and just been supportive in whatever I need,” Mead said. “My agent was like, ‘Dude, you're gonna enjoy it. Boston's an awesome place to play, and you're joining a really good ballclub.’”
Mead set himself up for success – and, indirectly, to be a key Trade Deadline acquisition for a marquee team – by improving his setup at the plate.
It has led to a career year in which he belted 17 homers with an .852 OPS in 87 games with the Nats. He looks forward to adding to that stat line in Boston.
“My setup is something that I've put stress on in the past, and I felt like it had to be absolutely perfect for me to be in a good position to hit,” Mead said. “So, I kind of took the stress away a little bit in that regard, and just wanted to be comfortable, and ultimately landed there. It’s been good, which has been nice.”
Looking back on it now, Mead realizes that he did too much self-correcting in the past.
“If I had a bad game, I'd try something new. It just wound up with me not feeling super comfortable in the box. I've tried to be super consistent with what I do every day in the cage to prepare, so that when I step in the box, I'm feeling good about myself and can just put all my focus on the ball,” said Mead.
What is the biggest adjustment he has made?
“I think the main thing for me is just trying to keep it simple. I want to keep it short. I'm trying to just stay out of my own way, keep it as compact as possible,” Mead said. “Guys just seem to keep throwing harder and harder, so I probably try to cut it down a little bit and just be a bit more direct with my swing. I don't want to go up there feeling like I have to cheat to a good fastball. So that's probably the basis of it.”
With Mead on board, Tracy did some adjusting to his batting alignment. For weeks, Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu and Willson Contreras have been in the 2-3-4 spots.
With Mead now slotted in the two-hole, Contreras moved to third with Abreu batting cleanup and Rafaela occupying the fifth spot.
“Rafa has done an amazing job hitting second, but there have been a number of circumstances just based out of need we've had him red-lighted as a runner because of who's hitting behind him,” said Tracy. “And in that case, you feel like now you’ve got Curtis, Willson and Wilyer, and he's behind that group, and when he gets on with some of the guys that play contact baseball behind him, he can be a little bit more active with his legs. So that all went into it. Looked at it for a long time, but we have a powerful top half for sure.”
Though Mead has made 42 starts at third base this season and just one at second, the Red Sox didn’t want to move Caleb Durbin away from the hot corner, where he’s played Gold Glove-caliber defense all season.
That was fine with Mead, who made 35 career starts at second before Monday night.
“I think last year I played a lot more second than I did third, and early in the season in Washington I didn’t have regular playing time to start the year, and every day I'd take grounders – grounders at second and some at first,” Mead said. “So, you know, it's definitely a spot that I feel comfortable with. And yeah, just excited to kind of work at it and dial it in.”