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Post by telson13 on Jul 19, 2018 10:47:19 GMT -5
If there is a way to get Zach Britton make it so. This team has needed a power reliever from the left side for as long as Andrew Miller has not been on the roster. I am *really* warming up to the idea of getting Britton. His command and control are still dicey, but the stuff is there and (having had a torn Achilles myself), I’m very confident that by the time the postseason rolls around, he’ll be very close to his former self. Love that he’s a lefty who throws gas and keeps the ball on the ground.
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Post by ematz1423 on Jul 19, 2018 10:51:09 GMT -5
Brand Hand dealt to Indians for Francisco Mejia and Adam Cimber. Bad news for the Sox on two fronts, the Indians with a revamped bullpen can catapult themselves back into the conversation as an elite team in the AL and that is a steep price to pay for a reliever. If those are the types of prices for relievers it will be tough for the Sox to acquire a difference maker without gutting the system more. The steep price was more the function of years of control that both Hand and Cimber have (as the Indians soon probably lose Allen and Miller to free agency) than how much of a difference maker they are versus other relievers. Years of control is the biggest key. Hand might be the best guy out there but I don't think he's better than Herrera necessarily and Herrera's deal was a lot less, just as I suspect Britton's deal will be. The one thing that will prop up what the O's get back is that there's a ton of competition to acquire Britton. That should help inflate his value a little bit, but it still won't be anywhere near what Cleveland gave up. It's all about the years of control for cheap. I agree the price is definitely due to the years of control and this shouldn't effect the price for something along the lines of a rental vet bullpen arm but there was also the rumor floating around that the Sox were interested in acquiring an impact reliever with years left along the lines of a Barraclough which I would think this trade might now set the market for an arm like that.
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Post by telson13 on Jul 19, 2018 11:01:58 GMT -5
Given what Machado went for we have more than enough to make trades. Orioles got one really good prospect and 4 guys outside the crappy Orioles top 10. So as far as rentals go we can get anyone. It just comes down to how far we want to go. The Sox don't have even that one really good prospect. Maybe Mata, depends on how another organization views him. That pretty much should take out Britton out of the mix for the Sox immediately. Dozier and rental relievers outside of Britton are okay bets, although I hate Milwaukee's presence in the Dozier talks. Machado is a superstar having a career year. That’s why he commanded the top-100 guy. Britton looks pretty good but he’s coming off significant injury and his command isn’t back yet. Dozier is having a pretty bad year. As rentals, they’re already going to command much less than controllable players. And with Britton at least, there are tons of other options, because SO many teams are completely out of it. I don’t think either will warrant a particularly painful return. I’m bullish on Britton at this point and I like the idea of a RH basher at 2b who can play average D, so I’d love to see the Sox get both. I’d lean Britton over Dozier if it’s just one, because i think Lin can provide outstanding defense and sufficient offense to approximate their current 2b production. As always, Im reticent yo trade too much away for rentals, but i think Britton has a good chance to be a difference-maker in the postseason. As far as getting there, Dozier probably does move the needle a good amount, but i trust this team as constituted.
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Post by cotuitfan on Jul 19, 2018 11:07:45 GMT -5
ok, i hate to do this, but I live and work in New York - the Yanks fans are howling at the cost the Dodgers and Indians just paid - howling. The Stanton trade looks worse and worse for Jeter by the minute ...
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Post by kingofthetrill on Jul 19, 2018 12:00:13 GMT -5
I just checked and Mejia, the 15th overall prospect, ranks 3rd in the Padres system. The Padres now have the number 3, 13, 15, 29, 32, 33, 42, 75 (Anderson Espinoza), 95, 97 (Logan Allen) prospects. That's insane.
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Post by bluechip on Jul 19, 2018 12:54:22 GMT -5
ok, i hate to do this, but I live and work in New York - the Yanks fans are howling at the cost the Dodgers and Indians just paid - howling. The Stanton trade looks worse and worse for Jeter by the minute ... Staton has 300 million owed him over ten years. Would he get that as a free agent, as the fifth best outfielder in American League East?
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Post by adiospaydro2005 on Jul 19, 2018 12:55:48 GMT -5
I just checked and Mejia, the 15th overall prospect, ranks 3rd in the Padres system. The Padres now have the number 3, 13, 15, 29, 32, 33, 42, 75 (Anderson Espinoza), 95, 97 (Logan Allen) prospects. That's insane. Yes, that is quite an impressive group of prospects. However, their major league club is really bad, both pitching and hitting. It will take years for the Padres to field a competitive team as not all of those prospects are going to pan out.
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Post by oilcan73 on Jul 19, 2018 13:03:31 GMT -5
It's a nice start for the Padres though. They will be picking high again for the next few years most likely so they should continue to stockpile prospects and, if they are smart, getting rid of as much salary as possible. 5 year plan looks bright right now. That would be kind of exciting to be part of I bet, but that would never fly in Boston.
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Post by mandelbro on Jul 19, 2018 13:03:42 GMT -5
I just checked and Mejia, the 15th overall prospect, ranks 3rd in the Padres system. The Padres now have the number 3, 13, 15, 29, 32, 33, 42, 75 (Anderson Espinoza), 95, 97 (Logan Allen) prospects. That's insane. Yes, that is quite an impressive group of prospects. However, their major league club is really bad, both pitching and hitting. It will take years for the Padres to field a competitive team as not all of those prospects are going to pan out. Its amazing how much their players have universally underperformed. I honestly wonder if they have an organizational flaw of some kind. Look at the OBPs their players are running. Even friggin' HOSMER has a .317 OBP this year. Its like players get to San Diego and suddenly stop getting on base.
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Post by rjp313jr on Jul 19, 2018 13:18:49 GMT -5
The Red Sox screwed up by trying to stay under the 237m figure this offseason. They have nothing to trade for the top guys they need to really impact the bullpen. The need for a top bullpen arm to place with Kimbrel was there this offseason and they could have addressed it then. Their window was and is now. They put themselves in this spot then decided to put the cap on themselves. Perhaps, the biggest fall out from trying to stay under is coming from taking Mookie to arbitration to try and save 3m bucks on your best player. Mookie, we can’t give you that 3m because we are paying 60m to these guys not on the team.
Hopefully the Sox get Seattle in the first round.
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ericmvan
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Post by ericmvan on Jul 19, 2018 13:28:07 GMT -5
Brand Hand and and Adam Cimber [fixed] dealt to Indians for Francisco Mejia. Bad news for the Sox on two fronts, the Indians with a revamped bullpen can catapult themselves back into the conversation as an elite team in the AL and that is a steep price to pay for a reliever. If those are the types of prices for relievers it will be tough for the Sox to acquire a difference maker without gutting the system more. The steep price was more the function of years of control that both Hand and Cimber have (as the Indians soon probably lose Allen and Miller to free agency) than how much of a difference maker they are versus other relievers. Years of control is the biggest key. Hand might be the best guy out there but I don't think he's better than Herrera necessarily and Herrera's deal was a lot less, just as I suspect Britton's deal will be. The one thing that will prop up what the O's get back is that there's a ton of competition to acquire Britton. That should help inflate his value a little bit, but it still won't be anywhere near what Cleveland gave up. It's all about the years of control for cheap. If there is a way to get Zach Britton make it so. This team has needed a power reliever from the left side for as long as Andrew Miller has not been on the roster. I am *really* warming up to the idea of getting Britton. His command and control are still dicey, but the stuff is there and (having had a torn Achilles myself), I’m very confident that by the time the postseason rolls around, he’ll be very close to his former self. Love that he’s a lefty who throws gas and keeps the ball on the ground. Britton's far and away the guy who makes the most sense for us. Of realistic options, I think he's the only guy that makes sense. And there's a rationale for the bidding possibly not getting too high.
There are a number of pretty good relievers on the market, like Soria and Familia, who ought to be of little or no interest to us because we can fill our roster with guys who have pitched as well or better. (In fact, if we add Britton, I can see us dealing Hembree, Thornburg, Workman, or Kelly.) The contenders with mediocre bullpens, like the Astros, Braves, Dodgers, and Rockies (who rank 15th to 20th in MLB in bullpen WPA) may not have strong motivations to pay extra in order to move up a little from those guys, who would be upgrades, to Britton.
A fair offer for Britton's 1/3 year of control is probably less than 1 WAR of projected value. If we make that offer, I can imagine a situation where there is little motivation for a given team to go over market when they could win a fair offer for one of the solid relievers who will also be available. If you're hurting for bullpen depth, you don't pay 1.25 x price of Britton when you could pay 1 X price of Soria.
So what I might do next (tomorrow? never?) is look at the other contenders and see who might be looking exclusively for an 8th inning guy (and preferably a LHR), as opposed to or in addition to another arm for the 7th.
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Post by soxpatsceltics on Jul 19, 2018 13:41:38 GMT -5
Honestly, where do the Sox need to make an upgrade? I guess 1 lefty reliever would be nice, but I feel like Pomeranz is destined to be that guy in September and October anyway. It would be nice to grab a controlled RP to hedge against Kimbrel leaving, but these guys may already exist in-house in Buttrey, Feltman, or Thornburg.
If anything, I'd try to sell Nunez to a team to get out of his next year's player option. But I don't see a big need at any position really. And the Sox can always add a guy before August 31st if injuries get really bad.
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Post by 1toolplayer on Jul 19, 2018 13:43:28 GMT -5
The Red Sox screwed up by trying to stay under the 237m figure this offseason. They have nothing to trade for the top guys they need to really impact the bullpen. The need for a top bullpen arm to place with Kimbrel was there this offseason and they could have addressed it then. Their window was and is now. They put themselves in this spot then decided to put the cap on themselves. Perhaps, the biggest fall out from trying to stay under is coming from taking Mookie to arbitration to try and save 3m bucks on your best player. Mookie, we can’t give you that 3m because we are paying 60m to these guys not on the team. Hopefully the Sox get Seattle in the first round. Are you Tony Mazz?
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ericmvan
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Post by ericmvan on Jul 19, 2018 13:46:09 GMT -5
The Red Sox screwed up by trying to stay under the 237m figure this offseason. They have nothing to trade for the top guys they need to really impact the bullpen. The need for a top bullpen arm to place with Kimbrel was there this offseason and they could have addressed it then. Their window was and is now. They put themselves in this spot then decided to put the cap on themselves. Perhaps, the biggest fall out from trying to stay under is coming from taking Mookie to arbitration to try and save 3m bucks on your best player. Mookie, we can’t give you that 3m because we are paying 60m to these guys not on the team. Hopefully the Sox get Seattle in the first round. There are only three contenders whose best setup man is having a better season than Matt Barnes, and only one looks likely to make the playoffs -- the Brewers with Jeremy Jeffress setting up Josh Hader. The others are Tony Watson setting up Will Smith in SF, and Lou Trivino setting up Blake Treinen in Oakland.
So not only is this a relative strength rather than a weakness*, the identity of the guys who are having outstanding seasons would have been impossible to predict last winter, as is usually the case.
The short version is that you're saying that the Red Sox screwed up by not making a third trade like the ones for Smith and Thornburg.
*In all my years online, I've never see such a consistent mismatch between reality and perception. It's like everyone believes that every other contender has a bullpen like the '15 Royals.
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Post by rjp313jr on Jul 19, 2018 16:04:46 GMT -5
The Red Sox screwed up by trying to stay under the 237m figure this offseason. They have nothing to trade for the top guys they need to really impact the bullpen. The need for a top bullpen arm to place with Kimbrel was there this offseason and they could have addressed it then. Their window was and is now. They put themselves in this spot then decided to put the cap on themselves. Perhaps, the biggest fall out from trying to stay under is coming from taking Mookie to arbitration to try and save 3m bucks on your best player. Mookie, we can’t give you that 3m because we are paying 60m to these guys not on the team. Hopefully the Sox get Seattle in the first round. There are only three contenders whose best setup man is having a better season than Matt Barnes, and only one looks likely to make the playoffs -- the Brewers with Jeremy Jeffress setting up Josh Hader. The others are Tony Watson setting up Will Smith in SF, and Lou Trivino setting up Blake Treinen in Oakland. So not only is this a relative strength rather than a weakness*, the identity of the guys who are having outstanding seasons would have been impossible to predict last winter, as is usually the case. The short version is that you're saying that the Red Sox screwed up by not making a third trade like the ones for Smith and Thornburg. *In all my years online, I've never see such a consistent mismatch between reality and perception. It's like everyone believes that every other contender has a bullpen like the '15 Royals.
Matt Barnes is having a great year statistically no doubt about that. However, he's had 2 chances to hold 8th inning leads against playoff teams and he's gotten shelled and coughed up the lead both times. (I'm not counting his 3 run lead vs Atlanta when he had to face the slop of Kurt Suzuki, Ender Inciarte and Tyler Flowers at home). small Sample size? Fine, but they are the games I care most about. Also, the closer the game is the worse is numbers are. The higher the leverage is the worse his numbers are. He needs to prove himself in big spots, against good teams and he hasn't done that yet, at all. I don't care what your numbers tell you. The Indians have Andrew Miller coming back and just added Hand. Both of those guys are better than what the Red Sox have for the 7th and 8th inning. Miller had a knee injury and is on his rehab. Looked great the other night, there's no reason to think he won't be back to his old self. There's not a sane person in the world that would take Matt Barnes over him for the rest of the year. It's kind of weird we have played Cleveland yet, but those will be big games. Right now we're 6-7 against Houston and NYY, who are the only real contender in the AL besides us and Cleveland. That's not bad, but those teams are in a position to improve. I'm not suggesting it's all doom and gloom, but my point was they put themselves in a spot where they couldn't really improve from the outside during the year and they really could use another reliable bullpen arm and they have no way of getting it. They could have and should have in the off season.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Jul 19, 2018 16:23:22 GMT -5
The Red Sox screwed up by trying to stay under the 237m figure this offseason. They have nothing to trade for the top guys they need to really impact the bullpen. The need for a top bullpen arm to place with Kimbrel was there this offseason and they could have addressed it then. Their window was and is now. They put themselves in this spot then decided to put the cap on themselves. Perhaps, the biggest fall out from trying to stay under is coming from taking Mookie to arbitration to try and save 3m bucks on your best player. Mookie, we can’t give you that 3m because we are paying 60m to these guys not on the team. Hopefully the Sox get Seattle in the first round. There are only three contenders whose best setup man is having a better season than Matt Barnes, and only one looks likely to make the playoffs -- the Brewers with Jeremy Jeffress setting up Josh Hader. The others are Tony Watson setting up Will Smith in SF, and Lou Trivino setting up Blake Treinen in Oakland. So not only is this a relative strength rather than a weakness*, the identity of the guys who are having outstanding seasons would have been impossible to predict last winter, as is usually the case. The short version is that you're saying that the Red Sox screwed up by not making a third trade like the ones for Smith and Thornburg. *In all my years online, I've never see such a consistent mismatch between reality and perception. It's like everyone believes that every other contender has a bullpen like the '15 Royals.
Yes, Matt Barnes is having an excellent year and Kimbrel is awesome. But why not have other options that can be as good if not better than Barnes? Teams are stacking their bullpens these days and relying less on starters. The Yankees and Astros have better bullpens than the Sox right now. I know ERA is hardly the best judge but the Red Sox bullpen ERA is about half a run worse than Houston and NY. I guess I just don't get the rationale of we have Barnes who's better than most everybody else so why get him any help? Why not have other options nearly as good as Barnes if Barnes is struggling or overworked? If Britton is healthy and becoming closer to the reliever he was, then he'd be an excellent guy to pick up. Soria is having a good year. I won't rehash the debate you and UMass are having. Suffice to say I agree with UMass. I will say I'm glad the Sox didn't give up a talent like Mejia to get Brad Hand. Of course I wish the Sox had a young talent like Mejia. I'll go after the rental just about any day when it comes to getting relief help. Kimbrel might be the exception to that, though. I get that it's strange that suddenly everybody is stacking their pen the way the Royals did in 2014-15, but I know one thing - have a bullpen like the 1986 Red Sox, and it could cost you a championship. I think the Red Sox need to close the bullpen gap that exists between them and the Yankees. Afterall, if they want to win, that's who'll they'll have to go through - and maybe Cleveland is now part of that discussion, too, although I would never agree with the deal they made.
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Post by kingofthetrill on Jul 19, 2018 19:45:02 GMT -5
The bright side about not having a top farm system is that we can't complain about giving up too many top prospects in trades. *Temple tap*
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Post by philsbosoxfan on Jul 19, 2018 19:55:50 GMT -5
A few general comments (opinions):
Our team needs are highly dependent on pitching data on Pomeranz that we have no access to like spin rate, ball path, etc., but yesterday's result has me more optimistic. If he gets to be the rough equal to Johnson, I'd be more than thrilled.
Saying Stanton is the 5th best outfielder in the AL East is roughly equivalent to a Yankee fan saying JBJ is the third best defensive center fielder in the AL East.
With relievers in particular, control is the central question. Hand is good but not old Miller good. Miller returning and old Miller returning are two different statements. The Yankees probably have the best pen in the playoffs with the Sox not far behind.
Because of the team control situation, Hembree alone should put you in the ballpark of Britton. If you need the O's to eat money, you throw in a Dalbecish level of prospect. I only continuously pick on Hembree because he has no options, he's a more than decent reliever.
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Post by sarasoxer on Jul 19, 2018 20:02:10 GMT -5
Look we just had what many say was a pretty good draft and signed some good international players. To my understanding, they can't be traded this year. We have Mata & Groome, Chavis & Dalbec....some possibilities in the quiver. Building a dominant, reliable bullpen is a must today. We are not there yet. We have already depleted the farm. What more is there to lose? This is an historic season. Don't waste it! Take a chance on Britton...carpe diem.
The Yankees will add before the deadline you can damn well bet so forget a 4 1/2 game lead. And they have an easier schedule going forward. If we don't keep pace, well....
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Post by pedrofanforever45 on Jul 19, 2018 20:09:08 GMT -5
If there's anything I can guarantee this trade deadline, it's that Hembree and a marginal prospect is NOT getting Britton.
I don't get why people think Britton isn't getting much this deadline in terms of prospect value. He's the best rental reliever out there and there will be at least 5-7 teams interested in getting him.
It wouldn't surprise me if Britton gets a top 10 prospect in a good farm system, never mind a top 5 prospect in the Sox system.
People seem to forget that competition drives the price up on even a rental reliever.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Jul 19, 2018 20:26:23 GMT -5
If there's anything I can guarantee this trade deadline, it's that Hembree and a marginal prospect is NOT getting Britton. I don't get why people think Britton isn't getting much this deadline in terms of prospect value. He's the best rental reliever out there and there will be at least 5-7 teams interested in getting him. It wouldn't surprise me if Britton gets a top 10 prospect in a good farm system, never mind a top 5 prospect in the Sox system. People seem to forget that competition drives the price up on even a rental reliever. I agree. It's not going to cost what the Indians paid to get Hand and Cimber, but with a lot of teams vying for him, the Orioles should get some quality back. I think that Britton is a great fit for the Sox, but I think they'll be outbid. If I had to guess I'd say Houston, who might have a need for a closer and if Britton is rounding into his previous shape then they're level of need is greater. Haven't seen much in the way of rumors regarding Soria who'd also be a good get. Haven't seem much regarding Familia, who I hope the Sox stay away from. My guess is that the Sox wind up with Brach from the Orioles, but that's just a hunch and most of my hunches are worthless anyways.
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Post by telson13 on Jul 19, 2018 21:28:44 GMT -5
I just checked and Mejia, the 15th overall prospect, ranks 3rd in the Padres system. The Padres now have the number 3, 13, 15, 29, 32, 33, 42, 75 (Anderson Espinoza), 95, 97 (Logan Allen) prospects. That's insane. Ntm that one (3) is a SS with terrific offensive upside in Tatis Jr, one (Mejia) is a high-quality player at the toughest defensive position (C), who’s MLB-ready, and one is a supremely talented pitching prospect who’s only down to 75 (from 20s) due to a high-success-rate surgery. Yeah, they’re ridiculously stacked. I’d guess 3 years and they’re taking the mantle of NLW brutes from LA (despite LA also being pretty stacked, just more at the MLB level vs minors). Padres have serious talent at all levels of their system right now.
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Post by telson13 on Jul 19, 2018 21:41:02 GMT -5
If there's anything I can guarantee this trade deadline, it's that Hembree and a marginal prospect is NOT getting Britton. I don't get why people think Britton isn't getting much this deadline in terms of prospect value. He's the best rental reliever out there and there will be at least 5-7 teams interested in getting him. It wouldn't surprise me if Britton gets a top 10 prospect in a good farm system, never mind a top 5 prospect in the Sox system. People seem to forget that competition drives the price up on even a rental reliever. Historically the best, but he comes with big questions. I’d agree he’s easily the highest-upside. But he’s also the highest-risk. I don’t think a marginal prospect will be enough, but I don’t think a top-100 (maybe top-150 or -200?) will be necessary. In addition, there aren’t THAT many contenders looking for a rental. Cleveland wanted Hand for the long-term; NY really doesn’t need a reliever. Houston does, but they need a *reliable*, probably controllable guy. Their ‘pen has great numbers but Giles is a mess and their WPA is in the tank. I’m not sureBritton fits their MO (though he might if his command comes around and they’re confident he’s back near form). Oakland is pretty set with TN’T. Mariners? Idk...maybe, but they have several needs/wants. The NL is a fuzzier picture so you’re right that there could be more action over there. I just think that a lot of teams are going to want more of a “sure thing,” as much as a reliever can be. The Sox have lots of good, not great, options (though Barnes has been excellent and Kelly very good). So Britton is perfect as a LH with big upside but an absorbable downside risk. Who knows? Be interesting to watch, for sure.
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Post by pedrofanforever45 on Jul 19, 2018 21:55:37 GMT -5
Telson, without even looking at the list of teams that could go for Britton, I'll name these teams with probable interest-
Astros Red Sox Phillies Brewers Dodgers Cubs Diamondbacks
There's a ton of teams willing to take the chance on Britton's ceiling, especially knowing that Britton is currently reaching that ceiling with his velocity being fully back after a full month of being back after the DL (Britton's spring training).
He's going to get a top 10 prospect from a team, if not more. I almost can guarantee it. The risk is way less now that he's showing full velocity back now.
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ericmvan
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Post by ericmvan on Jul 19, 2018 22:36:49 GMT -5
There are only three contenders whose best setup man is having a better season than Matt Barnes, and only one looks likely to make the playoffs -- the Brewers with Jeremy Jeffress setting up Josh Hader. The others are Tony Watson setting up Will Smith in SF, and Lou Trivino setting up Blake Treinen in Oakland. So not only is this a relative strength rather than a weakness*, the identity of the guys who are having outstanding seasons would have been impossible to predict last winter, as is usually the case. The short version is that you're saying that the Red Sox screwed up by not making a third trade like the ones for Smith and Thornburg. *In all my years online, I've never see such a consistent mismatch between reality and perception. It's like everyone believes that every other contender has a bullpen like the '15 Royals.
Yes, Matt Barnes is having an excellent year and Kimbrel is awesome. But why not have other options that can be as good if not better than Barnes? Teams are stacking their bullpens these days and relying less on starters. The Yankees and Astros have better bullpens than the Sox right now. I know ERA is hardly the best judge but the Red Sox bullpen ERA is about half a run worse than Houston and NY. I guess I just don't get the rationale of we have Barnes who's better than most everybody else so why get him any help? Why not have other options nearly as good as Barnes if Barnes is struggling or overworked? If Britton is healthy and becoming closer to the reliever he was, then he'd be an excellent guy to pick up. Soria is having a good year. I won't rehash the debate you and UMass are having. Suffice to say I agree with UMass. I will say I'm glad the Sox didn't give up a talent like Mejia to get Brad Hand. Of course I wish the Sox had a young talent like Mejia. I'll go after the rental just about any day when it comes to getting relief help. Kimbrel might be the exception to that, though. I get that it's strange that suddenly everybody is stacking their pen the way the Royals did in 2014-15, but I know one thing - have a bullpen like the 1986 Red Sox, and it could cost you a championship. I think the Red Sox need to close the bullpen gap that exists between them and the Yankees. Afterall, if they want to win, that's who'll they'll have to go through - and maybe Cleveland is now part of that discussion, too, although I would never agree with the deal they made. The Astros are a fascinating case, because not just their ERA but most of their deeper metrics are excellent, but their results have been average (15th in MLB in WPA).
I did a study of reliever clutch (as I measured it) and found it to be predictive. But that doesn't mean that a team that's been unclutch all year hasn't just been unlucky. So I want to look at them in more detail.
One thing that I've noticed in a quick look is that their second best reliever, Chris Devenski, has a 166 xFIP-, .333 BABIP, and .091 HR/FB in his 6 July outings. I think that may be worse than Kelly's June. This sort of volatility seems to be more common than not.
Devenski has 4 Meltdowns and a -1.33 WPA in those 6 outings. They lost two of those games, and Devenski has a -1.02 WPA in them. The second of those games was a -.0.62 in a game they were going to win, which means that Chris Devenski in his last two outings has caused 60% as much damage to his team's W/L record as the entire Red Sox setup relief crew has since opening day.
So it's hard to justify the claim that the Astros have the better bullpen right now.
I'm all for upgrading the pen. The question is, how many of the available guys would actually do that? Given relief volatility, it's hard to justify swapping Kelly, Thornbug, Workman, Hembree, or Brasier (and that may already be one or even two pitchers too many once everyone is healthy, and/or if they go back to 4-man bench by adding Dozier but keeping Nunez to back up Devers) for the likes of Soria or Familia.
The Rockie's need to collapse to make Adam Ottavino available, and the price the Indians just paid plus the Preller factor suggests that Kirby Yates isn't realistic, either. I'm all in for Britton, but if he goes somewhere else for more than we'd be comfortable giving up, I'm fine with standing pat.
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