Sox sign Adam Lind to minor league deal

reasonable "insurance", in case something happens to MM? As I recall he served the Nationals well, when injuries hit, last season.

www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/lindad01.shtml

Lind is an astute pickup. When Hanley was DFA I was hoping the Sox would sign Lind. I hope he doesn't languish in Pawtucket. Hope he gets a crack at making the 25 man roster.

He'd be an excellent pinch-hitting option and a guy you can stick in the lineup as a sub and still have a solid lineup. His presence would have the same type of affect that Hanley had. It allows Moreland a day off. It allows JDM a day off. It allows JDM to shift to LF to give Benintendi a day or moves Beni to CF to give JBJ a day if he isn't hitting.

Of course the issue is that somebody has to come off the roster if they wanted Lind up in Boston.

I guess he's in Pawtucket unless somebody hits the DL, but I think he'd be a better fit in Boston.

I hope the Sox can keep him this year and that he doesn't have an out. He can be a useful piece. I definitely like the signing.

Agree on both counts. I wonder if he has an opt out date.

If the Sox do eventually trade Swihart, they could bring Lind up and DH him at times. I think this a likely scenario too. I still think Swihart is most likely a trade chip in the future.

Idk, I can see them getting him some time around the diamond and even behind the plate. His ability to hit RH makes a difference on this team, especially with Moreland being bad against lefties, Nunez not being much of a fielder (aside from little 1b experience and a mediocre bat), and Travis really struggling in AAA. I can see Swihart’s role gradually expanding.

If the Sox did decide to go the route of trading Swihart, Im sure Lind could be just as good as Swihart, if not better. If JBJ isn't hitting, it could be a nice way to go and not miss a beat offensively.

I hope I'm kind of wrong and they give Swihart chances behind the plate, but it's not happening so far.

I understand how difficult it is to shoe-horn Lind onto the roster and I get that he's a lefty, but I'm not sure why he's necessarily redundant.

I would think he and Moreland could fulfill different roles on the roster.

Moreland is now the starting 1b.

Lind is an experienced pinch-hitter which is something the Sox can use for the bottom of their lineup late in games.

And they still need a guy who can fill in when there's a day off/injury to an outfielder/1b/dh. And since most pitchers are righty Lind would be the #1 option to provide a quality bat and a breather for those players. He's a better bat than Swihart, who should be getting ABs as a catcher so they can see what they have in him.

I guess I can see a scenario where Moreland and Lind can co-exist on the roster and fulfill different roles and contribute.

As I see it, Moreland > Lind who is offensively > than any other player on the bench. I think that has value.

Adam Lind kind of reminds me of Matt Stairs, a guy who was a good platoon starter when he was younger and became a useful guy to have on the bench when he was older. Matt Stairs was always a good guy to have around on the roster.

Ahhhh...I kinda getcha here. I think we actually agree more than I thought at first blush. I think the difference is largely in our optimism about the Swihart situation. I guess I have a sense that, if they really weren’t going to give him a shot, they probably would’ve DFA’d him. The Hanley option vesting issue does cloud that a bit, but I still have hope that they’re going to expand his role. I’m not exactly sure in what manner, and I agree 100% that if not, sheesh, trade the poor guy so he can have a career. But they stirred the pot to keep him, so there’s something going on there.

The usage of Swihart is my biggest question. I'd much prefer Lind's bat to Swihart's against RH pitching. I think Swihart being a LF/1b is kind of a waste.

I like Swihart a good deal, but only as a catcher. If he's not a catcher, then his bat's value is so much lower and I don't really see the big benefit of keeping him.

In an ideal scenario, Swihart would be splitting catching time with either Leon or Vazquez and Lind would have the role that the Sox didn't foresee Hanley wanting any part of (or so they say).
I would love Swihart to eventually take over the catching if he's a viable defensive catcher. If he's not I don't think he really fits the roster well. If he does, he becomes an integral part of the roster.

At this point Nunez doesn't do a ton for the roster, but he is the best righty bat off the bench, can give Devers a breather which I think the kid will need, and if his knee gets better, he actually could be an asset.

The problem is that the Sox have two catchers that are defense first catchers who aren't great offensively. I kind of wish one of them was off the roster - at this point I like Leon more, but last year I would have said I like Vazquez more. I think Leon calls a better game and actually has more pop in his bat. Last year Vazquez did a good job of pinging singles and was strong defensively. This year his hitting has been terrible all around and his defense hasn't been that great and the ERAs are much higher with him behind the plate.

Lind isn't a good fielding first baseman. He's essentially a DH and a part-time first baseman. Hanley is also a DH and part time first baseman. That would have never happened.

Hanley had a .996 fielding percentage in his first ever season as a first baseman, 2016 with the Sox, and hasn't committed an error there since. Last year, Moreland had a .995 fielding percentage as the Sox' primary first baseman.

Hanley was a former shortstop and knows how to field ground balls. He also knows how to play catch so I think he can handle the position just fine.