Thanks to MLB’s new rule restricting the infield shift, gone are the days of second basemen playing in shallow right field and shortstops moving to the other side of the diamond. But that doesn’t necessarily mean wonky defensive alignments are a thing of the past.
Case in point? The Red Sox’s tactics against Twins outfielder Joey Gallo in a spring training game on Friday.
Boston complied with the league’s rule by keeping two infielders on each side of second base and all four on the dirt. But with the pull-happy Gallo up to bat, the Red Sox sent reinforcements to the right side by moving center fielder Adam Duvall to shallow right field and having left fielder Raimel Tapia shift to center.
