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Post by charliezink16 on Dec 17, 2012 7:20:56 GMT -5
@jonheymancbs: Drew gets $9.5M salary. #redsox
Hope they aren't hesitant to bench him if/when Iglesias is ready
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steveofbradenton
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Post by steveofbradenton on Dec 17, 2012 8:13:50 GMT -5
Well that certainly "lengthens" the line-up! All those extra base hits he had in 2008 - 2010 look nice. Is he recovered enough to play quality defense for us? May be a good move, but I do not want to see us forget Iglesias.
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Post by charliezink16 on Dec 17, 2012 8:29:19 GMT -5
One of my concerns with Drew is his rising K rates since '09 (14.6%>17.1%>20.9%>23.2%). I think it's fair to say that a lot of that can be attributed to his recent ankle problems over the past 2 years. I like how we inadvertently implemented our drafting strategy into this signing, complete buy low. Simply put, Drew has been crap the past 2 seasons, but in 2010 he had a career high 5.1WAR (.278/.352/.458/.810 w/ 15HR's & 10SB's). If he's healthy and we get anything near that value, consider this an absolute steal. If not, well it's still worth the gamble.
Again though, if they consider Iglesias "ready" at any point in the season, Drew better get benched.
EDIT: Random stat for sabermetric people to help me understand. Drew's LD% last season was at a career high rate of 27.6% (Career Avg. = 20.5%), yet BABIP was .275, lowest since '07. What could this be attributed to?
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Post by buffs4444 on Dec 17, 2012 8:37:18 GMT -5
Good signing. Maybe Iglesias comes to camp and finally puts it all together. Maybe an injury comes into play. Maybe Iglesias goes in a deal for a legitimate middle of the order bat this week. Maybe this is a bridge, with Marrero's quick ascension. Lot of possibilities, but they had the money to do this sort of deal.
Welcome to Boston, Stephen! Hopefully it all comes together for you and we're talking extension in the next few months.
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Post by raftsox on Dec 17, 2012 9:10:01 GMT -5
I get what BC is doing. They're talking to a lot of players and assigning them a value. Then, they assess whether or not the player will sign for that value or less. That's how you end up with Uehara, who fills a position of strength.
That being said: there's 2 reasons I don't like this. 1) I've always thought Drew was overrated. I don't really have any concrete reasons why, it just seemed like he was to me. 2) This is pretty indicative of how the org. feels about Iglesias. I think his time with Boston is done. If he's not traded I wouldn't be surprised to see him placed on waivers.
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Post by jmei on Dec 17, 2012 9:14:06 GMT -5
EDIT: Random stat for sabermetric people to help me understand. Drew's LD% last season was at a career high rate of 27.6% (Career Avg. = 20.5%), yet BABIP was .275, lowest since '07. What could this be attributed to? Basically, Drew had terrible luck converting fly balls and line drives into hits. In 2012, Drew had a .063 BABIP in fly balls compared to a .142 career mark and a .627 BABIP on line drives compared to a .719 career mark. This could either be due to a decrease in the quality of contact (if you hit the ball hard, it's more likely that FB/LD become hits) or just plain bad luck.
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Post by ramireja on Dec 17, 2012 9:18:57 GMT -5
2) This is pretty indicative of how the org. feels about Iglesias. I think his time with Boston is done. If he's not traded I wouldn't be surprised to see him placed on waivers. Not necessarily though...its easy to forget that Iglesias is only 22 (23 when the season begins). They may simply think he needs more seasoning but I wouldn't say this means his time is done here. The same can really be said for the entire trio of Lavarnway, Iglesias, and Kalish. None of them proved to be ready to hold down their respective full time positions last year, therefore they are behind on the depth charts. That being said, I'd be surprised if each one of those guys doesn't get another chance this year to take the position if injuries open up spots, or if they simply rake in Pawtucket.
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Post by buffs4444 on Dec 17, 2012 9:19:14 GMT -5
I get what BC is doing. They're talking to a lot of players and assigning them a value. Then, they assess whether or not the player will sign for that value or less. That's how you end up with Uehara, who fills a position of strength. That being said: there's 2 reasons I don't like this. 1) I've always thought Drew was overrated. I don't really have any concrete reasons why, it just seemed like he was to me. 2) This is pretty indicative of how the org. feels about Iglesias. I think his time with Boston is done. If he's not traded I wouldn't be surprised to see him placed on waivers. I agree with you on Iglesias, doesn't strike me as a good sign as far as he's concerned. Maybe they have a plan already in place for another move including him..... then again, I'm somewhat skeptical of giving BC-LL that kind of credit right now (though always willing to be proven wrong). I do disagree with signing players "only at value" as you said though. It basically eliminates you from anything but leftover type free agents; the premier guys will always command a premium (a few mill more $$ and/or a extra year longer than they should get). But that's a topic for another thread. Drew is here, hopefully Upton is on the way (i'm hitting the "holiday eggnog" early).
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Post by honkbal on Dec 17, 2012 9:26:35 GMT -5
I get what BC is doing. They're talking to a lot of players and assigning them a value. Then, they assess whether or not the player will sign for that value or less. That's how you end up with Uehara, who fills a position of strength. That being said: there's 2 reasons I don't like this. 1) I've always thought Drew was overrated. I don't really have any concrete reasons why, it just seemed like he was to me. 2) This is pretty indicative of how the org. feels about Iglesias. I think his time with Boston is done. If he's not traded I wouldn't be surprised to see him placed on waivers. I agree with you on Iglesias, doesn't strike me as a good sign as far as he's concerned. Maybe they have a plan already in place for another move including him..... then again, I'm somewhat skeptical of giving BC-LL that kind of credit right now (though always willing to be proven wrong). I do disagree with signing players "only at value" as you said though. It basically eliminates you from anything but leftover type free agents; the premier guys will always command a premium (a few mill more $$ and/or a extra year longer than they should get). But that's a topic for another thread. Drew is here, hopefully Upton is on the way (i'm hitting the "holiday eggnog" early). See, I read that as sign any player at value, rather than sign players only at value. And, in that case, it's possible they could assess what they consider to be premium players at a premium price.
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Post by elguapo on Dec 17, 2012 9:33:10 GMT -5
Good move.
If Drew has a good year we submit a qualifying offer and collect a draft pick.
Iglesias works on his strength in the offseason, proves himself with the bat in AAA, gets some time in the majors for injuries, and is heir apparent or trade bait depending on where Bogaerts stands.
He could be 'wasted' in the minors but from the team's perspective - so what?
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Post by rjp313jr on Dec 17, 2012 9:38:52 GMT -5
I like this signing. He had a nice September, in a penant race so there is some reason for optimism. I get this is a prospect forum so we tend to want to see the young guys, but there is zero legit evidence to think Iglesias can hit major league pitching. To think he can't improve at AAA when he can barely put up passable numbers there is off base.
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Guidas
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Post by Guidas on Dec 17, 2012 9:58:45 GMT -5
Good sign. Hopefully Igelsias can get some reps and be ready mid-year. I still think he can be an ave MLB regular with the bat and a ++ defender.
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Post by brendan98 on Dec 17, 2012 10:00:21 GMT -5
I like this signing too, every year, you see the smart small market clubs load up on middle relievers and players looking to re-establish their value, on short term contracts, and then trading those guys at the deadline for good pieces if they fall out of contention. If Drew returns to pre-injury form, he could net the Sox a very good prospect during the season, or a draft pick when the season is over.
As for Iglesias, it will be interesting to see how he takes this setback, does he come to spring training with something to prove, or does he let this negatively affect his play, will be interesting to watch.
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Post by jmei on Dec 17, 2012 10:17:12 GMT -5
Also note that Drew is a lefty, which brings a little more balance to the lineup.
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Post by mjammz on Dec 17, 2012 10:18:35 GMT -5
I watched Drew in the playoffs and it looks like he was getting healthier by the day. There is no doubt this signing makes our team better this year and if he really lights it up the Sox can always tender him a contract at 13 million and pick up a draft pick. And again if the Red Sox are out of it midseason it's a great trade chip to get something back. I really like this move. I think we will now see BC start to hit the trade market.
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Post by raftsox on Dec 17, 2012 10:22:42 GMT -5
See, I read that as sign any player at value, rather than sign players only at value. This is what I was trying to say, thanks for clarifying. I don't see how sending a player to a 3rd season at AAA is somehow going to make him better. As the saying goes: "sh*t or get off the pot". I think they just stood up disappointed. * Note, Kalish is excluded for injury reasons. Though I'm very bearish on his future, too.
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Post by remember04 on Dec 17, 2012 10:37:30 GMT -5
See, I read that as sign any player at value, rather than sign players only at value. This is what I was trying to say, thanks for clarifying. I don't see how sending a player to a 3rd season at AAA is somehow going to make him better. As the saying goes: "sh*t or get off the pot". I think they just stood up disappointed. * Note, Kalish is excluded for injury reasons. Though I'm very bearish on his future, too. [/quote Because his defense is so good I kind of feel as though they rushed him through the minors. I think he would've benefited much more from being overmatched but being overmatched a little bit less than he has been. His D is clearly where his value lies and any offense they get is a bonus however I think his offense is well below what they had thought/hoped it would be.
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Post by elguapo on Dec 17, 2012 10:46:29 GMT -5
I don't see how sending a player to a 3rd season at AAA is somehow going to make him better. Iglesias improved some in the 2nd year but slumped at times and had some injury problems. The Sox indicated he needed to work on his strength in the offseason -- we'll see how that translates this year in AAA. He can develop at the major league level or in the minors (I was happy with him learning in the majors, but the Drew contract is a nice opportunity) but nearly everyone agrees he could stand more development, and it's not a situation where he needs to face top pitching to do it.
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Post by tjb21 on Dec 17, 2012 10:48:14 GMT -5
Really pleased with this signing and I think Drew fits perfectly into this off-season's philosophy. He is an upgrade over Jose right now, and only signing a 1 year deal makes it a no brainer for me.
This is my favorite move so far.
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Post by soxfan06 on Dec 17, 2012 11:38:41 GMT -5
This is my favorite move as well. Let's hope he is healthy and can give us a solid year at a position where we are used to seeing a black hole.
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Post by jioh on Dec 17, 2012 11:39:58 GMT -5
is there still a rule that free agents cannot be traded without their consent for a year? I think the Sox are just piling up useful talent, and if Drew and Iglesias are both playing well in July one could be traded. The same goes for several other positions.
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Post by rangoon82 on Dec 17, 2012 11:41:42 GMT -5
Good move IMO. Iglesias is only 22 and OBP'ed .318 last year at AAA. He needs more AB's down on the farm.
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Post by Matt Huegel on Dec 17, 2012 11:47:03 GMT -5
is there still a rule that free agents cannot be traded without their consent for a year? MLB free agents cannot be traded until June 15 after signing in prior off-season (see, Kelly Shoppach). I think you're thinking of the rule on trading newly signed draftees.
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wcp3
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Post by wcp3 on Dec 17, 2012 11:59:33 GMT -5
I actually like a lot of these moves. Dempster/Drew/etc. are ready to play now, which means the younger players (Iglesis, Kalish, Ruby, Bradley, etc.) don't have to be rushed into the lineup. And because none of these guys are signed long term, the Sox won't feel pressured to play them over the young guns.
Victorino is the only potentially crappy contract, but if he's healthy and returns to form, it turns into a very fair deal.
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Post by fenwaythehardway on Dec 17, 2012 12:33:21 GMT -5
I'm not much of a Drew fan, but what are you gonna do? It would be downright irresponsible to hand the job to Iglesias next year with no safety net, and good shortstops are basically non-existant, so there you have it.
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