Patrick Bailey swings between extremes. He’s arguably the best defensive player in the game as well as one of the worst offensive ones. His -17 Batting Value on Baseball Savant ranks in 2nd percentile. Watching him hit, especially in the first half, was like watching a senior citizen drive on the freeway. A lot of squinting, reading road signs aloud under their breath, hard-braking as the car straddles the shoulder in the far right lane approaching the next exit at a crawl while we hold our breath: Will they take it? Will they get off the interstate?

Bailey did before the All-Star break, managing a .203 average with an OPS that fell well short of .600. He’s been better in late-summer, but that isn’t saying much. The underwhelming offense is a problem. Some previous under-the-breath grumbl

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