Despite those disappointing results, Cron is just two years removed from making the National League All-Star team after slashing .257/.315/.468 with 29 homers and a career-high 102 RBIs over 150 games (632 plate appearances) for the Rockies in 2022. That came after he clubbed 28 home runs and posted a career-best .905 OPS in his first season with Colorado in 2021.
For his major-league career, which began in 2014, Cron is a lifetime .260/.320/.471 hitter with 194 doubles, 10 triples, 187 home runs, 604 runs driven in, 470 runs scored, 10 stolen bases, 268 walks, and 928 strikeouts across 1,049 total games (4,043 plate appearances) with the Angels, Rays, Twins, Tigers, and Rockies. In that time frame, the former first-round draft selection out of Utah has forged a .781 OPS against right-handed pitching and an .814 OPS against left-handed pitching, though he has struggled with southpaws to some degree in each of the last two seasons.
On the other side of the ball, Cron has been used exclusively as either a first baseman or designated hitter since debuting with the Angels in 2024. Between Colorado and Los Angeles last year, the 6-foot-4, 235-pounder logged 502 innings at first, where he produced zero defensive runs saved, one out above average, and an ultimate zone rating of 1.3, per FanGraphs.
After losing Justin Turner to the Blue Jays in free agency, the Red Sox came into camp this spring relatively thin on right-handed hitting depth at first base. Bobby Dalbec had been projected to make the team as a backup option behind the left-handed hitting Triston Casas, but Cron now figures to challenge him for that spot in the coming weeks.
I don’t think the title of your article matches the content lol. Just kidding, mainly because I had some doubts after reading the article.