Rays' C.J. Cron: Role partly dependent on pitcher handedness
Cron, who's hitting .298 with three home runs and 11 RBI in 50 spring plate appearances, will log many of his starts against left-handed pitching this season, Bill Chastain of MLB.com reports. "Yeah, it's going to be a lot of left-right," Cash said. "But saying that, we know that we really value getting C.J. in there a lot. We will have plenty of opportunities where C.J. will play against some righties. Brad [Miller] is going to play, obviously, against righties."
Manager Kevin Cash has a potentially good problem brewing at first base, as both Cron and Miller have proven to be above-average hitters at different points in their respective careers. Notably, both are coming off career-low batting averages in 2017, and Miller still appears to be stuck in a bit of a funk (.222 spring average over 19 plate appearances). The schedule works out well early with respect to projected playing time for Cron, as the Rays are slated to face several southpaws through the first two series. Ultimately, the workload split likely projects as somewhat of a fluid situation in the coming season, with the designated hitter role also an option for getting both players into the lineup simultaneously.
