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Post by jrffam05 on Aug 13, 2015 14:09:29 GMT -5
Stealing this one from Macpherson but Brandon Belt would be an interesting 1B option next year. 1 year of team control left, and Posey is getting some reps at 1B to stay fresh. Miley probably wouldn't get it done, but Buchholz for Belt might be a a fair trade. Belt has two years of team control remaining. Didn't realize he is a super 2.
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ericmvan
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Post by ericmvan on Aug 14, 2015 22:30:57 GMT -5
Stealing this one from Macpherson but Brandon Belt would be an interesting 1B option next year. 1 year of team control left, and Posey is getting some reps at 1B to stay fresh. Miley probably wouldn't get it done, but Buchholz for Belt might be a a fair trade. As Belt has averaged $25M of value the last three years (projecting this season), his two remaining years have a ton of excess value. It would take some major prospects to land him. However, the idea of trading Miley, and maybe a prospect or two for a 1-year 1B rental might work. (Of course, this is all in a scenario where Hanley is still in LF.) Using fWAR as predictive (plus his career ERA= FIP- = SIERA, more or less), he's about a $13M a year guy, with two guaranteed years at a total of $15.3M plus an option for another $11.5. So he has about $11M of surplus value. A guy eligible for FA who projects to be $11M (1.4 WAR) better than his salary is a pretty good player. The prospect(s) going the other way, if any, make up for the possible loss of the other team's eventual compensation pick, and/or to get an even better player. If you get a guy good enough, of course, you'll get a compensation pick yourself, helping balance the trade. The only guy who fits this description, however, is (ironically enough) Mitch Moreland, if you believe his breakout season is for real. However, even with Hanley at 1B, the logic could also be used to get Josh Reddick for a year's rental in RF, if it's decided that Castillo (at least for 2016) is just a platoon player and not an everyday guy. There could be other guys who fit the math, too.
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Post by jrffam05 on Aug 18, 2015 13:39:57 GMT -5
What kind of contract will Ben Zobrist command this offseason? He might be a good fit to help cure this teams inflexibility.
I'm in the Hanley to 1B, JBJ, Castillo, Betts in the outfield, Shaw as a bench player, all problems solved camp, but just solutioning our position players in house leaves us exposed. Hanley could be as bad at 1B as he is at LF, which causes a bigger problem than it fixes, along with performance risk in the outfield with Bradley and Castillo and at 3B with Sandoval, plus very bad performance against LHP from Sandoval and (until recently) Ortiz, and a lack of depth in the outfield. Zobrist can address all these concerns in a single move. His bat plays at 1B if Hanley cannot adapt, gives the outfield depth, is a great bat against LHP, and can cover 3B for Sandoval (I was surprised to see his lack of track record at 3B, but given his time at SS I'll choose to ignore this fact :/ ). If Hanley can't handle 1B, and Zobrist is needed at another position, Shaw is a good third 1B option who can spell 3B and LF also. It gives the team options in case players under perform, and the flexibility to find spots for players that over perform (Shaw being a candidate).
Zobrist may seem like an overpriced Brock Holt, but he has a much better bat. I'm not convince Brock Holt's reverse split this season is legit, and that's the driver of his above average hitting line. Another part of this is that it frees us up to trade Brock Holt. I'd focus on getting relief help, someone like AJ Ramos (something like Holt + Cecchinni for Ramos)
I'm not sold on this, just thinking out loud. I think it's worth a discussion, but it relies heavily on what kind of contract a 35 year old Zobrist could get. Is the NYY signing Carlos Beltran the best recent comp?
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Post by jimed14 on Aug 18, 2015 13:51:35 GMT -5
What kind of contract will Ben Zobrist command this offseason? He might be a good fit to help cure this teams inflexibility. I'm in the Hanley to 1B, JBJ, Castillo, Betts in the outfield, Shaw as a bench player, all problems solved camp, but just solutioning our position players in house leaves us exposed. Hanley could be as bad at 1B as he is at LF, which causes a bigger problem than it fixes, along with performance risk in the outfield with Bradley and Castillo and at 3B with Sandoval, plus very bad performance against LHP from Sandoval and (until recently) Ortiz, and a lack of depth in the outfield. Zobrist can address all these concerns in a single move. His bat plays at 1B if Hanley cannot adapt, gives the outfield depth, is a great bat against LHP, and can cover 3B for Sandoval (I was surprised to see his lack of track record at 3B, but given his time at SS I'll choose to ignore this fact :/ ). If Hanley can't handle 1B, and Zobrist is needed at another position, Shaw is a good third 1B option who can spell 3B and LF also. It gives the team options in case players under perform, and the flexibility to find spots for players that over perform (Shaw being a candidate). Zobrist may seem like an overpriced Brock Holt, but he has a much better bat. I'm not convince Brock Holt's reverse split this season is legit, and that's the driver of his above average hitting line. Another part of this is that it frees us up to trade Brock Holt. I'd focus on getting relief help, someone like AJ Ramos (something like Holt + Cecchinni for Ramos) I'm not sold on this, just thinking out loud. I think it's worth a discussion, but it relies heavily on what kind of contract a 35 year old Zobrist could get. Is the NYY signing Carlos Beltran the best recent comp?If Beltran is the comp, I think that says it all, no? He has 0.4 fWAR and has been paid around $25 million so far in that deal. I have no idea what position Zobrist would play for the Sox. He doesn't play 3B or SS anymore. He'd be worth way more to another team who needed a full time 2B.
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Post by greenmonsterwhalers on Aug 23, 2015 1:45:10 GMT -5
#1 SP- We need at least one front-line starter. I'd prefer we go really hard after Price because if we're going to be giving out 200+ million, I'd want someone who checks all the boxes. Price is the only one who has shown he can perform in the AL East and though he hasn't played for the Red Sox or Yankees, I've seen enough of him in big spots against NYY/BOS and others to trust that he will be able to handle the pressure of playing in Boston. That's what the eyeball/mind test tells me. Greinke is my backup plan: he has played in a big market (though LA isn't quite the same as Boston), with the downside being that he's two years older than Price. Cueto is a fairly distant third because he's never pitched in the AL East nor played in a big pressure market. Though all of these guys would be cost $$$, keeping guys like Betts/Bogaerts/etc saves us a lot of money at other positions, making signing a FA ace doable. If we could get a young, cheap, and controllable ace via trade, that's something we would have to explore but it's very hard to do. As great as the Mets' guys are, the pressure of playing for the Mets/NL East isn't the same as Boston's pressure or the AL East. That's not to say they wouldn't be successful here or that I wouldn't trade for them- I'm just keeping in mind that if I'm putting in major resources (major money/big prospects/top young guys), I want as many boxes checked as possible. Xander Bogaerts and Eduardo Rodriguez are the only guys I would not trade, period.
#2 SP: Buchholz. Know that you'll need to get a different #2 for the postseason. Could be via trade, could be E-Rod developing into a #2. Signing two aces at 30M+ per is too much money. Sleeper: Jeff Samardzija if you can get him at a reasonable price due to his down year in 2015. I haven't seen him pitch this year so I don't know why his numbers are down.
#3 SP: Eduardo Rodriguez. Hope he develops into more.
#4 SP: Rick Porcello. We're stuck with him and would be foolish to sell so low. Let's hope this year was an outlier. Starters don't usually fall off a cliff at 26.
#5 SP: Miley/Owens. Miley is the safer option. Owens has the higher ceiling but is unproven in the bigs. How Owens does down the stretch this year will help in making this decision.
Depth: Owens if he's not the #5, Wright (initially our long reliever), Johnson, Kelly, Barnes.
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Post by blizzards39 on Aug 23, 2015 2:11:36 GMT -5
#1 SP- We need at least one front-line starter. I'd prefer we go really hard after Price because if we're going to be giving out 200+ million, I'd want someone who checks all the boxes. Price is the only one who has shown he can perform in the AL East and though he hasn't played for the Red Sox or Yankees, I've seen enough of him in big spots against NYY/BOS and others to trust that he will be able to handle the pressure of playing in Boston. That's what the eyeball/mind test tells me. Greinke is my backup plan: he has played in a big market (though LA isn't quite the same as Boston), with the downside being that he's two years older than Price. Cueto is a fairly distant third because he's never pitched in the AL East nor played in a big pressure market. Though all of these guys would be cost $$$, keeping guys like Betts/Bogaerts/etc saves us a lot of money at other positions, making signing a FA ace doable. If we could get a young, cheap, and controllable ace via trade, that's something we would have to explore but it's very hard to do. As great as the Mets' guys are, the pressure of playing for the Mets/NL East isn't the same as Boston's pressure or the AL East. That's not to say they wouldn't be successful here or that I wouldn't trade for them- I'm just keeping in mind that if I'm putting in major resources (major money/big prospects/top young guys), I want as many boxes checked as possible. Xander Bogaerts and Eduardo Rodriguez are the only guys I would not trade, period. #2 SP: Buchholz. Know that you'll need to get a different #2 for the postseason. Could be via trade, could be E-Rod developing into a #2. Signing two aces at 30M+ per is too much money. Sleeper: Jeff Samardzija if you can get him at a reasonable price due to his down year in 2015. I haven't seen him pitch this year so I don't know why his numbers are down. #3 SP: Eduardo Rodriguez. Hope he develops into more. #4 SP: Rick Porcello. We're stuck with him and would be foolish to sell so low. Let's hope this year was an outlier. Starters don't usually fall off a cliff at 26. #5 SP: Miley/Owens. Miley is the safer option. Owens has the higher ceiling but is unproven in the bigs. How Owens does down the stretch this year will help in making this decision. Depth: Owens if he's not the #5, Wright (initially our long reliever), Johnson, Kelly, Barnes. I'm on board but I don't think we can rely on Buchholtz. I think we need to cut ties and put that 13M$ towards the ace. We need a different option at #2 and I think it will come via trade. I like Owens at #5 and Porcello or Miley at #4 ( the other one is traded). In a perfect world I like Sale/ Degrom/Harvey /Gray. We have the parts to get one of these guys assuming that they would even be available, but odds are they won't be. If we can shed Hanley or Pablo maybe we can afford to make a run at a guy like Strasburg or Iwakuma. It will be interesting...
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Post by Deleted on Aug 23, 2015 2:25:40 GMT -5
Stealing this one from Macpherson but Brandon Belt would be an interesting 1B option next year. 1 year of team control left, and Posey is getting some reps at 1B to stay fresh. Miley probably wouldn't get it done, but Buchholz for Belt might be a a fair trade. As Belt has averaged $25M of value the last three years (projecting this season), his two remaining years have a ton of excess value. It would take some major prospects to land him. However, the idea of trading Miley, and maybe a prospect or two for a 1-year 1B rental might work. (Of course, this is all in a scenario where Hanley is still in LF.) Using fWAR as predictive (plus his career ERA= FIP- = SIERA, more or less), he's about a $13M a year guy, with two guaranteed years at a total of $15.3M plus an option for another $11.5. So he has about $11M of surplus value. A guy eligible for FA who projects to be $11M (1.4 WAR) better than his salary is a pretty good player. The prospect(s) going the other way, if any, make up for the possible loss of the other team's eventual compensation pick, and/or to get an even better player. If you get a guy good enough, of course, you'll get a compensation pick yourself, helping balance the trade. The only guy who fits this description, however, is (ironically enough) Mitch Moreland, if you believe his breakout season is for real. However, even with Hanley at 1B, the logic could also be used to get Josh Reddick for a year's rental in RF, if it's decided that Castillo (at least for 2016) is just a platoon player and not an everyday guy. There could be other guys who fit the math, too. Two points:
(1) Regardless of what his WAR is, Brandon Belt isn't a $25 million / year player. The Giants view Belt as a nice player who can hold down the position until Posey transitions to first in a couple of years. I say this as someone who lives in the Bay Area and listens to Bruce Bochy and Brian Sabean pretty much every week on KNBR. Backing this up is the fact that there's been little to no extension talk regarding Belt. If anything, extending Belt would actually screw up the Giants' long-term plans with regard to Posey.
(2) The Giants aren't trading Belt for any of the Red Sox starting pitchers, including Clay Buchholz. Lincecum, Hudson, Leake, Vogelsong and Marco Scutaro (yes, he's alive) are all free agents after this year. That gives the Giants more than enough dough to grab one or two real starting pitchers on the free agent market to pair with Bumgarner, Heston, probably a returning Vogelsong and hopefully Kyle Crick. You can 100% guaranteed scratch Belt out of any equation involving the Red Sox.
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Post by greenmonsterwhalers on Aug 23, 2015 2:44:53 GMT -5
#1 SP- We need at least one front-line starter. I'd prefer we go really hard after Price because if we're going to be giving out 200+ million, I'd want someone who checks all the boxes. Price is the only one who has shown he can perform in the AL East and though he hasn't played for the Red Sox or Yankees, I've seen enough of him in big spots against NYY/BOS and others to trust that he will be able to handle the pressure of playing in Boston. That's what the eyeball/mind test tells me. Greinke is my backup plan: he has played in a big market (though LA isn't quite the same as Boston), with the downside being that he's two years older than Price. Cueto is a fairly distant third because he's never pitched in the AL East nor played in a big pressure market. Though all of these guys would be cost $$$, keeping guys like Betts/Bogaerts/etc saves us a lot of money at other positions, making signing a FA ace doable. If we could get a young, cheap, and controllable ace via trade, that's something we would have to explore but it's very hard to do. As great as the Mets' guys are, the pressure of playing for the Mets/NL East isn't the same as Boston's pressure or the AL East. That's not to say they wouldn't be successful here or that I wouldn't trade for them- I'm just keeping in mind that if I'm putting in major resources (major money/big prospects/top young guys), I want as many boxes checked as possible. Xander Bogaerts and Eduardo Rodriguez are the only guys I would not trade, period. #2 SP: Buchholz. Know that you'll need to get a different #2 for the postseason. Could be via trade, could be E-Rod developing into a #2. Signing two aces at 30M+ per is too much money. Sleeper: Jeff Samardzija if you can get him at a reasonable price due to his down year in 2015. I haven't seen him pitch this year so I don't know why his numbers are down. #3 SP: Eduardo Rodriguez. Hope he develops into more. #4 SP: Rick Porcello. We're stuck with him and would be foolish to sell so low. Let's hope this year was an outlier. Starters don't usually fall off a cliff at 26. #5 SP: Miley/Owens. Miley is the safer option. Owens has the higher ceiling but is unproven in the bigs. How Owens does down the stretch this year will help in making this decision. Depth: Owens if he's not the #5, Wright (initially our long reliever), Johnson, Kelly, Barnes. I'm on board but I don't think we can rely on Buchholtz. I think we need to cut ties and put that 13M$ towards the ace. We need a different option at #2 and I think it will come via trade. I like Owens at #5 and Porcello or Miley at #4 ( the other one is traded). In a perfect world I like Sale/ Degrom/Harvey /Gray. We have the parts to get one of these guys assuming that they would even be available, but odds are they won't be. If we can shed Hanley or Pablo maybe we can afford to make a run at a guy like Strasburg or Iwakuma. It will be interesting... I agree that we can't rely on Buchholz, but at $13M plus a reasonable option for 2017, I would take the chance. Remember, all pitchers come with some risk, and getting stuck with a Greinke making 30M at ages 35-38 is a bigger risk to me because that could handicap the organization for several years, while the worst Buchholz could do is hurt you for one year. If you can't afford Price and need to get rid of Buchholz to do so, that's one thing. If you've already signed a Price, then Clay is worth the risk. Plus, there's reason to believe we could get a #2 via E-Rod developing or a trade from our great farm system.
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Post by greenmonsterwhalers on Aug 23, 2015 3:43:25 GMT -5
In terms of position players, let's start with the two major disappointments from this season: Hanley and Panda.
Sandoval is a guy who can be salvaged. In the field, he's made several nice plays recently, and if his performance this year has convinced him to get in at least somewhat better shape, it's not unreasonable to think he could be at least an average defensive third baseman next season. On the offensive side of the ball, his move to abandon switch hitting has been very effective, so if you subtract the 2/41 as a RHB this year, his average doesn't look as bad. Plus, losing some weight probably wouldn't hurt his offensive output.
Hanley Ramirez has to go. Yes we'd be selling very low, and yes we would need to pay a big portion of his contract, but it has to be done. His defense in LF has been so bad that he has a negative overall WAR, and his defense hasn't improved much throughout the season. It doesn't help that there have certainly been times where it's looked like he's not giving a full effort. Regardless, we can't live with his defense in left field. There is no way we should even think about putting him at SS or 3B either, so the only possibility left is 1B. It would resolve the one obvious hole on the diamond and to me, there's reason to believe that he could be passable at 1B and like many fans, I wish the Sox would try him there before the season is over. However, Dombrowski and Lovullo have made clear that he will not be moved this season. Thus, we won't get to see what Hanley would look like at 1B and so there is a possibility that he could be awful at 1B too. He might not be, but because of how awful his defense has been this season and how his effort doesn't seem up to par, I would not be willing to take the risk of involving him in a huge amount of defensive plays going into next season. Though Ortiz is only committed for one more season, Hanley is not going to be pushing him out of the DH role, especially now that Papi is on a roll overall and hitting lefties, while Hanley has been scuffling at the plate. Thus, the sad reality is that the Hanley Ramirez experiment has been a complete failure, and he must go.
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Post by greenmonsterwhalers on Aug 23, 2015 4:51:26 GMT -5
Meanwhile, the rise of JBJ has complicated things in the outfield and has suddenly put Mookie Betts in a spot where he's somewhat of an odd fit on the roster. If JBJ is in CF, where does Mookie go? Some suggest putting him in LF, but his ability to cover ground would be completely wasted in 81 games per year. Putting him in RF makes more sense to me because RF at Fenway is so big that you basically need a second center-fielder there. However, Mookie has a below-average arm which would become a bigger liability in RF. Some have floated the idea of moving Mookie to 2B and trading Pedroia. There's some sense to this idea since Mookie is cheaper and younger, but it's tough to see the Red Sox dealing away Pedroia considering his leadership, work ethic, and the fact that he's still quite a good player. Mookie would certainly fetch more in return than Pedroia would, so that leaves Mookie either in the OF or in another uniform. It's possible the Red Sox could simply keep Betts in CF and move Bradley to RF, but JBJ is so darn amazing defensively- could we really keep him out of CF? That would be tough to do. I would explore the possibility of dealing Betts and seeing what we could get for him. I'd be looking for a cheap, controllable #2 starter in return, and would be willing to include somebody like Miley to get the deal done. If I could get somebody like Sonny Gray (probably in a 3-way deal) or one of the Mets' guys, I might make the deal. Otherwise, I wouldn't. If we keep Mookie, here's what the lineup would look like: Betts, Pedroia, Bogaerts, Ortiz, ? (first base), Sandoval, Castillo, Bradley Jr., Vazquez. Note the absence of Blake Swihart. I would look to trade Swihart either for a middle-of-the-order first baseman or for a front-line starter, and I think combining him with somebody like Brian Johnson and Matt Barnes should be able to net us somebody really good- I'm thinking Jose Abreu territory. The big bat would be inserted behind Ortiz, and voila. Maybe I'm misjudging how much we could get for those guys, I don't know. If Betts is dealt along with Miley/what a third team would give up for him in exchange for a #2 starter, we would have Bradley leading off or maybe put Holt there. Ideally Holt would be in a utility role though. We would then look to fill the hole in LF via free agency. Speaking of LF, I think it's actually more important to have a good arm in LF at Fenway than in RF because the LF has so many more chances to affect the game with his arm than the RF does- there could essentially be no such thing as a sac fly to LF, many wall-balls could go from singles to doubles, etc. It is true though, that only half the games are played at Fenway.
With Mookie: Betts OF, Pedroia 2B, Bogaerts SS, Ortiz DH, middle-of-the-order 1B acquired via trade, Sandoval 3B, Castillo OF, Bradley OF, Vazquez C.
Without Mookie: Bradley CF, Pedroia 2B, Bogaerts SS, Ortiz DH, middle-of-the-order 1B acquired via trade, Sandoval 3B, Castillo RF, free agent LF, Vazquez C.
Bench: Holt, Hanigan, Shaw, FA outfielder.
As for the bullpen, free agency is the way to go for the second-tier guys, especially in low-risk high-reward situations similar to Ogando's this past year. Uehara and Tazawa are very good as long as we don't overuse them, though both are FA after next season. If we get that #2 starter, maybe we could turn Buchholz into a good reliever via trade? Maybe Owens could net us one? Wright would be our long-reliever. Ogando is under team control and could be part of the 7th inning solution. Tommy Layne could be a second lefty. If we're lucky, maybe Brandon Workman gets healthy and contributes- he could be a late-inning reliever potentially, though we certainly shouldn't count on it.
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Post by johnsilver52 on Aug 23, 2015 9:09:29 GMT -5
Does Boston hope to catch some Korean lightning in a bottle with Byung-ho Park this winter if he's posted? R-L combo at 1b, along with Shaw with one taking over FT should the other fail? Maybe catch another decent find, along the lines of Jung-ho Kang? Probably cheaper than giving up kids in a trade, if Dombrowski is thinking of that course for the 2nd front line starter. Edit: Forgot link... Byung-ho Park
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Post by jdb on Aug 23, 2015 9:42:23 GMT -5
They were just talking about Park in MLB radio. They said due to Kangs success if scouts think Park looked similar vs international pitching (95+ mph and breaking balls) he probably gets a $12-15 million posting fee and something in that range a year for five years.
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Post by sarasoxer on Aug 23, 2015 10:38:27 GMT -5
Does Boston hope to catch some Korean lightning in a bottle with Byung-ho Park this winter if he's posted? R-L combo at 1b, along with Shaw with one taking over FT should the other fail? Maybe catch another decent find, along the lines of Jung-ho Kang? Probably cheaper than giving up kids in a trade, if Dombrowski is thinking of that course for the 2nd front line starter. Edit: Forgot link... Byung-ho ParkThanks for the link. Why not take a flyer or two but I wonder how Park's stats would translate. Is he far and away better than his contemporaries? I don't think of the Korean league as being a cheese (Eck speak) factory so his SO rate is alarming. Rob Deerish? Otherwise: Bradley has turned the corner and his defense is an electrifying draw for fans. Shaw is a ? based upon his milb play and SSS but hey Carlton Fisk hit .228 the year before he arrived. I could see him in a platoon with Hanley if we are unlucky enough not to unload Ramirez. (Hanley's perceived lack of work ethic is a clubhouse cancer...much like the chicken and beer crowd. Management will set a new tone...so G'bye). Swihart is improving by leaps, Castillo has started to connect with more authority. Mookie is a presence. We have to keep Pablo because there are no other options. He will be given the corporate directive and altho perhaps tough for him to swallow, he has proven adept at that. Rodriguez is the future. We keep Buch because he has talent and, due to injury history, is probably not going to get us much. Miley is serviceable. Wright isn't tradable and can fill spot start/long relief. DD does not unload Kelly because he has a penchant for hard throwers. Kelly stays in some capacity. Acquire a FA starter if we set off by jettisoning Hanley, Porcello and . DD traded Porcello once and said he would not have paid as much for him. Color Porcello gone. One of Johnson/Owens will survive just because of need. We will follow the Yankees' model and go for hard-throwers. C Swihart & Vasquez (lefty/righty youth and defense) 1B Shaw and someone not named Hanley 2B Pedroia (hard to trade a face of the franchise, injury history, no trade clause) SS Xander 3B Pablo DH Ortiz OF Mookie, JBJ, Castillo (too good and cheap) allow us to spend elsewhere Bench? Holt has trade value Starters Top hard throwing acquisition(hopefully FA) Buch, Rodriguez, Miley, Owens or Johnson, Wright (SS/LR). BP Koji, Tazawa (Kelly ?) and ? ? ? Two very hard throwers will be added. Barnes not in mix. Devers, Espinoza, Beintendi not traded. Everyone else is game.
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Post by m1keyboots on Aug 23, 2015 11:34:27 GMT -5
I like Devers's as much as the next guy, but unlike the next guy I'd be willing to trade him and hear me out why.
Moncada will need a position, and I think 3rd base might be it in a long term. In my opinion he definitely can't crack an outfield of Bradley castill and mookie. First base might be an option, but I think the organization will fill that need before Moncada is ready for the big leagues. Whether it be if sha it's the real deal, or they trade one of the young catchers / Miley and some prospects for a legit right handed bat.
If Devers moves up into Salem, or Portland and continues to rake and be average to above average to below average defensively. I know hard to follow but I'm on my droid. I think he becomes our most valuable trade trip and somebody that next year we can trade in a package for a true ace that's cost controllable like someone from the Mets. In my opinion I would take the Grom over Devers in a heartbeat.
This is all contingent on whether we can get out from underneath Hanley, or Hanley doesn't move to first base and becomes Mike Napoli defensively. Although that would be nice.
Tumi Untouchables are Ben intendi, Espinoza, Moncada even with that contract, and are only true right handed power arm in kopech. Just my two pence
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Post by jimed14 on Aug 23, 2015 12:22:23 GMT -5
Two guys out of options next year will be Wright and Escobar. Escobar has been quite the disappointment this year and probably gets let go like Drake Britton was in the spring for the same reason.
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Post by jdb on Aug 23, 2015 13:33:01 GMT -5
As someone who wanted Sandaval dumped at the deadline I've flip flopped on him and Hanley. If we got rid of Panda we'd need a 3B but Hanley doesn't have a position. Keep Panda and try like hell to get him into shape. If he does and gets back to above average in both areas we could be looking at an asset on a three year deal going into next offseason when Moncada could be ready and possible at 3B.
Dump Hanley and go Betts/JBJ/Castillo.
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Post by greenmonsterwhalers on Aug 26, 2015 22:41:04 GMT -5
They're moving Hanley to first!! Finally! Thank you, Dave Dombrowski! Now we will probably get to see him play at least a few games at first before the season is up. It won't be a huge sample size, but it's better than nothing and we will see how much effort Hanley is putting into the transition. Now we can keep him and not have to spend big bucks or major prospects on landing a first baseman for next year.
I want to focus on the outfield for a second. I don't know if this has been brought up in other threads, but I'm wondering if the Red Sox would consider having a different outfield alignment at home and on the road. On the road, the obvious best alignment is (left to right): Betts, JBJ, Castillo. At home though, I would suggest an alignment of (left to right): Castillo, Betts, Bradley. Yes, Bradley won't be in center, but I think this alignment is the best option at Fenway because Mookie's ability to cover ground would otherwise be completely wasted in LF. Also, in addition to having a great arm in RF, it would enable us to have a strong arm in LF, and I believe that a strong arm in LF is much more valuable at Fenway than at any other park. That's because the left fielder has the ability to impact so many plays with his arm due to his proximity to the bases. At no other park does the left fielder have nearly as many chances to throw runners out at second on wall-balls, and at no other park does the left fielder have nearly as many chances to throw guys out at third and home. Castillo has made some questionable decisions recently in terms of throwing to the wrong bases, but it has usually been in instances when he was simply too eager to try to throw runners out. I'm betting he would be chomping at the bit to have so many chances to impact the game with his arm.
What do you guys think? Has there been a team that consistently had a different outfield alignment at home vs on the road? Would you be willing to try this out?
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Post by blizzards39 on Aug 26, 2015 23:08:47 GMT -5
They're moving Hanley to first!! Finally! Thank you, Dave Dombrowski! Now we will probably get to see him play at least a few games at first before the season is up. It won't be a huge sample size, but it's better than nothing and we will see how much effort Hanley is putting into the transition. Now we can keep him and not have to spend big bucks or major prospects on landing a first baseman for next year. I want to focus on the outfield for a second. I don't know if this has been brought up in other threads, but I'm wondering if the Red Sox would consider having a different outfield alignment at home and on the road. On the road, the obvious best alignment is (left to right): Betts, JBJ, Castillo. At home though, I would suggest an alignment of (left to right): Castillo, Betts, Bradley. Yes, Bradley won't be in center, but I think this alignment is the best option at Fenway because Mookie's ability to cover ground would otherwise be completely wasted in LF. Also, in addition to having a great arm in RF, it would enable us to have a strong arm in LF, and I believe that a strong arm in LF is much more valuable at Fenway than at any other park. That's because the left fielder has the ability to impact so many plays with his arm due to his proximity to the bases. At no other park does the left fielder have nearly as many chances to throw runners out at second on wall-balls, and at no other park does the left fielder have nearly as many chances to throw guys out at third and home. Castillo has made some questionable decisions recently in terms of throwing to the wrong bases, but it has usually been in instances when he was simply too eager to try to throw runners out. I'm betting he would be chomping at the bit to have so many chances to impact the game with his arm. What do you guys think? Has there been a team that consistently had a different outfield alignment at home vs on the road? Would you be willing to try this out? I've been pondering the same thing but think one would be better off sticking with one lineup. I think I prefer Betts inLF JBJ in CF and Castillo in RF. Betts playing LF may save his legs and end up being worth it.
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Post by larrycook on Aug 26, 2015 23:32:54 GMT -5
Given that Buchholz's body can not hold up for 200 innings per year, could he thrive in the bullpen where he only throws 80 innings per season?
The 2016 rotation could be:
Grienke Porcello Miley Rodriguez Kelly
With Owens, Barnes, wright or workman as potential spot starters if needed.
The bullpen would consist of uehara, tawaza, Buchholz, workman, Edwin Escobar, layne and Wright.
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Post by Chris Hatfield on Aug 27, 2015 9:03:42 GMT -5
Given that Buchholz's body can not hold up for 200 innings per year, could he thrive in the bullpen where he only throws 80 innings per season? In his case, I'd think throwing shorter innings more often would probably be worse, no? It's not like he wears down every year once he reaches 120, 150 innings or something.
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danr
Veteran
Posts: 1,871
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Post by danr on Aug 27, 2015 9:06:47 GMT -5
As someone who wanted Sandaval dumped at the deadline I've flip flopped on him and Hanley. If we got rid of Panda we'd need a 3B but Hanley doesn't have a position. Keep Panda and try like hell to get him into shape. If he does and gets back to above average in both areas we could be looking at an asset on a three year deal going into next offseason when Moncada could be ready and possible at 3B. Dump Hanley and go Betts/JBJ/Castillo. I agree with you. Lovullo said last night that Panda has been doing a lot behind the scenes to improve himself and the results are beginning to show. Both his fielding and his hitting are better. I do not know what the problem with Hanley is. He is an enormously gifted baseball player. Maybe he is one of those players for whom things just came too easily, and having to work to improve a skill isn't natural for him. But that is just speculation.
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Post by mandelbro on Aug 27, 2015 9:32:43 GMT -5
What kind of contract will Ben Zobrist command this offseason? He might be a good fit to help cure this teams inflexibility. I'm in the Hanley to 1B, JBJ, Castillo, Betts in the outfield, Shaw as a bench player, all problems solved camp, but just solutioning our position players in house leaves us exposed. Hanley could be as bad at 1B as he is at LF, which causes a bigger problem than it fixes, along with performance risk in the outfield with Bradley and Castillo and at 3B with Sandoval, plus very bad performance against LHP from Sandoval and (until recently) Ortiz, and a lack of depth in the outfield. Zobrist can address all these concerns in a single move. His bat plays at 1B if Hanley cannot adapt, gives the outfield depth, is a great bat against LHP, and can cover 3B for Sandoval (I was surprised to see his lack of track record at 3B, but given his time at SS I'll choose to ignore this fact :/ ). If Hanley can't handle 1B, and Zobrist is needed at another position, Shaw is a good third 1B option who can spell 3B and LF also. It gives the team options in case players under perform, and the flexibility to find spots for players that over perform (Shaw being a candidate). Zobrist may seem like an overpriced Brock Holt, but he has a much better bat. I'm not convince Brock Holt's reverse split this season is legit, and that's the driver of his above average hitting line. Another part of this is that it frees us up to trade Brock Holt. I'd focus on getting relief help, someone like AJ Ramos (something like Holt + Cecchinni for Ramos) I'm not sold on this, just thinking out loud. I think it's worth a discussion, but it relies heavily on what kind of contract a 35 year old Zobrist could get. Is the NYY signing Carlos Beltran the best recent comp? Good post. Sandoval's wRC+ versus righties is 116 on the season, 27 versus lefties. Red Sox 3B overall are an 88 wRC+ group. Shaw and Holt can both both play some 3B but they are lefties themselves. The lowest hanging fruit to improve our offense... is to improve our 3B production. Zobrist is a lefty masher. He can also back up 1B. He can also play the OF. Zobrist would be a fantastic pickup for this roster. C Swihart/Vazquez 1B Ramirez/Shaw/Zobrist 2B Pedroia/Holt/Zobrist SS Bogaerts/Holt/Zobrist 3B Sandoval/Zobrist/Shaw LF Betts/Holt/Zobrist CF Bradley/Holt/Zobrist RF Castillo/Holt/Zobrist A Zobrist/Holt/Shaw bench can make the two disaster signings better by platooning them, and will raise the floor on our production at every single position - we can have two guys hurt and avoid having scrubs there. I don't think it means you trade Holt either. If we want to compete he can play a lot when people get hurt. It comes down to his cost I guess.
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Post by soxfan1615 on Aug 27, 2015 9:38:07 GMT -5
Given that Buchholz's body can not hold up for 200 innings per year, could he thrive in the bullpen where he only throws 80 innings per season? The 2016 rotation could be: Grienke Porcello Miley Rodriguez Kelly With Owens, Barnes, wright or workman as potential spot starters if needed. The bullpen would consist of uehara, tawaza, Buchholz, workman, Edwin Escobar, layne and Wright. You want to knock Clay Buchholz and his 3.1 WAR out of the rotation for freaking Joe Kelly? Even when Buchholz gets injured he still pitches more than 100 innings a season, and can pitch 180+ when healthy. This is a horrible idea. Also you're worried about Buchholz holding up, but you want to sign Mr. 2000 innings Zack Greinke? No thank you.
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Post by jimed14 on Aug 27, 2015 9:49:23 GMT -5
Given that Buchholz's body can not hold up for 200 innings per year, could he thrive in the bullpen where he only throws 80 innings per season? In his case, I'd think throwing shorter innings more often would probably be worse, no? It's not like he wears down every year once he reaches 120, 150 innings or something. Plus there's the fact that he'd have to have one of the best relief pitching full seasons ever to match what he's contributed as a starter this year in a partial season.
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Post by jimed14 on Aug 27, 2015 9:54:27 GMT -5
What kind of contract will Ben Zobrist command this offseason? He might be a good fit to help cure this teams inflexibility. I'm in the Hanley to 1B, JBJ, Castillo, Betts in the outfield, Shaw as a bench player, all problems solved camp, but just solutioning our position players in house leaves us exposed. Hanley could be as bad at 1B as he is at LF, which causes a bigger problem than it fixes, along with performance risk in the outfield with Bradley and Castillo and at 3B with Sandoval, plus very bad performance against LHP from Sandoval and (until recently) Ortiz, and a lack of depth in the outfield. Zobrist can address all these concerns in a single move. His bat plays at 1B if Hanley cannot adapt, gives the outfield depth, is a great bat against LHP, and can cover 3B for Sandoval (I was surprised to see his lack of track record at 3B, but given his time at SS I'll choose to ignore this fact :/ ). If Hanley can't handle 1B, and Zobrist is needed at another position, Shaw is a good third 1B option who can spell 3B and LF also. It gives the team options in case players under perform, and the flexibility to find spots for players that over perform (Shaw being a candidate). Zobrist may seem like an overpriced Brock Holt, but he has a much better bat. I'm not convince Brock Holt's reverse split this season is legit, and that's the driver of his above average hitting line. Another part of this is that it frees us up to trade Brock Holt. I'd focus on getting relief help, someone like AJ Ramos (something like Holt + Cecchinni for Ramos) I'm not sold on this, just thinking out loud. I think it's worth a discussion, but it relies heavily on what kind of contract a 35 year old Zobrist could get. Is the NYY signing Carlos Beltran the best recent comp? Good post. Sandoval's wRC+ versus righties is 116 on the season, 27 versus lefties. Red Sox 3B overall are an 88 wRC+ group. Shaw and Holt can both both play some 3B but they are lefties themselves. The lowest hanging fruit to improve our offense... is to improve our 3B production. Zobrist is a lefty masher. He can also back up 1B. He can also play the OF. Zobrist would be a fantastic pickup for this roster. C Swihart/Vazquez 1B Ramirez/Shaw/Zobrist 2B Pedroia/Holt/Zobrist SS Bogaerts/Holt/Zobrist 3B Sandoval/Zobrist/Shaw LF Betts/Holt/Zobrist CF Bradley/Holt/Zobrist RF Castillo/Holt/Zobrist A Zobrist/Holt/Shaw bench can make the two disaster signings better by platooning them, and will raise the floor on our production at every single position - we can have two guys hurt and avoid having scrubs there. I don't think it means you trade Holt either. If we want to compete he can play a lot when people get hurt. It comes down to his cost I guess. Zobrist isn't going to want to be a bench player and he's going to be getting close to $20 million a year if teams think his terrible defensive year is an outlier and not a collapse. I'd guess it would take a deal similar to Hanley's to sign him. So that doesn't have a chance in hell of happening as a bench player.
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