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Catcher in 2019 (4/16: Swihart DFA'd)
manfred
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Post by manfred on Sept 18, 2018 10:15:05 GMT -5
I don’t think signing or trading for a catcher when you have three makes sense. I know Leon can’t hit his ass with two hands, but he is a great defensive catcher. They can absorb his bat. And Swihart looks like he can be good on both sides. So... set. Call it good. There are going to be plenty of holes to fill of greater import than catcher. That not to mention the money they are going to have to spend soon on Mookie, Xander, Sale, Porcello (or his slot), etc.
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Post by terriblehondo on Sept 18, 2018 16:13:27 GMT -5
If you trade a catcher and one of the 2 you have left gets hurt there is nobody ready in the farm system. Not a situation that the Sox would or should be in. I would not trade any of them and if I did it wouldn't be until the end of Spring after the competition to be next years starter.
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Post by jmei on Sept 18, 2018 22:36:50 GMT -5
Good players have bad years. None of the three catchers are true-talent below replacement level players.
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Post by boydhurstlovechild on Sept 19, 2018 0:10:17 GMT -5
Yeah, not sure why it would be that risky to trade any of them? If we did, I'm sure they'd pick up a vet for AAA more serviceable than Dan Butler. A 2015 Sandy Leon. Guess the site (Hatfield and other eyeballs) don't think much of Rei, but he seems like he should be given a chance at being a prospect next year at AAA to me. Fairly highly regarded college guy. I get he was awful to start his career, but suddenly wasn't too bad at AA? 750 OPS. Huge improvement. Seems like sometimes catching prospects traject that way for whatever reason. Wasn't he the defensive player of the year in the system last year?
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danr
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Post by danr on Sept 19, 2018 6:05:13 GMT -5
Somehow the Sox managed to win the division and more than 100 games with these catchers. I don't see the necessity of making any changes there. If anything causes this express to crash it will be the bullpen.
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nomar
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Post by nomar on Sept 19, 2018 9:08:50 GMT -5
Good players have bad years. None of the three catchers are true-talent below replacement level players. Respectfully I think that's up for debate for Leon and Vazquez (Swihart too early to tell). Leon seems to have a way with the staff which is fairly non-quantifiable. Vazquez has been bad in all facets of the game, and if not for a .348 BABIP last year (which is not sustainable for him by any means), hasn't showed much in the majors at all. And his defense hasn't been good this year which is disappointing. But he is younger and may still have his prime ahead of him, whatever that looks like. Really not great options all around, but we've clearly managed to get by with them still. I'd still easily choose Swihart as the starter next year, or at least a 50% split.
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Post by pedrofanforever45 on Sept 19, 2018 11:56:40 GMT -5
Yeah if Leon and Vazquez are above replacement level in terms of ceiling, then they aren't much above replacement level in terms of ceiling. I think there in lies the problem. One of them has to go because that's the ceiling of a backup catcher.
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Post by umassgrad2005 on Sept 19, 2018 15:28:48 GMT -5
I wonder if a lot of this is that people think an average catching hits a lot more than they do in reality. Given the rise in SS offense, Catcher has to be by far the worst offensive position in Baseball. It also seems catcher is by far the position where teams need players.
Vazquez hasn't been that good this year, but he was very good last year. He's signed to a great deal that is basically paying him like a back up catcher. So he'll have value and teams will want to trade for him. I don't think he's a .290 hitter, but I also don't think he's a .211 hitter either. His .248 career average seems about right. Given his D, that has to be about average for a starting catcher right now.
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Post by jimed14 on Sept 19, 2018 16:36:16 GMT -5
WAR is completely broken for catchers IMO. There just is no easy way to judge defense with statistics. There is no range to speak of and just going by errors and passed balls isn't going to cut it either. You can't compare passed balls between catchers when one of them catches a knuckle ball pitcher and the other one doesn't. You can look at CS%, but that has a lot of non-catcher factors in it as well, such as the pitcher's ability to hold runners, how quick they are to the plate and how aggressive the runners are. More aggressive runners will get thrown out more by definition. Swihart looked awesome recently throwing out some runners, but if he kept doing that, they'd stop running and getting thrown out.
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Post by telson13 on Sept 19, 2018 22:53:46 GMT -5
I wonder if a lot of this is that people think an average catching hits a lot more than they do in reality. Given the rise in SS offense, Catcher has to be by far the worst offensive position in Baseball. It also seems catcher is by far the position where teams need players. Vazquez hasn't been that good this year, but he was very good last year. He's signed to a great deal that is basically paying him like a back up catcher. So he'll have value and teams will want to trade for him. I don't think he's a .290 hitter, but I also don't think he's a .211 hitter either. His .248 career average seems about right. Given his D, that has to be about average for a starting catcher right now. Agree 100%. And to clarify, I don’t think the Sox have a “need” at catcher, but I do see it as a position where they could fairly easily 1) upgrade substantially (eg Ramos, who in a half-season’s worth of PA would be a roughly 2.5-win upgrade over what they’ve gotten...which is the approximate difference between Sale and Price or Porcello), 2) obtain talent for their excess and replace said excess for only a marginal additional cost, and 3) potentially parlay said upgrade into even more additional talent should their high-end-pedigree player (Swihart) approach some semblance of his potential. There’s a lot of opportunity there to improve the team both short- and long-term, and to do so with relatively limited risk. The bar for catching nowadays is so low even, that 1) Vazquez’s value/demand is probably irrationally high relative to what it should be based on results, and 2) a relatively “poor” performance by Swihart, Leon, or Ramos if he were signed would still be completely acceptable. So the rewards are even greater and the risk even less, for the state of MLB catching as you accurately describe it.
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Post by telson13 on Sept 19, 2018 23:24:21 GMT -5
I wonder if a lot of this is that people think an average catching hits a lot more than they do in reality. Given the rise in SS offense, Catcher has to be by far the worst offensive position in Baseball. It also seems catcher is by far the position where teams need players. Vazquez hasn't been that good this year, but he was very good last year. He's signed to a great deal that is basically paying him like a back up catcher. So he'll have value and teams will want to trade for him. I don't think he's a .290 hitter, but I also don't think he's a .211 hitter either. His .248 career average seems about right. Given his D, that has to be about average for a starting catcher right now. Boston has a .544 OPS as a team at the catching position, worst in the league by 25 points. 13 teams have a team OPS of over .700 from the catching position, 23 teams are at .650 or better. So, no my issue with our catching is not psychological. I may have some unrealistic expectations having grown up watching Varitek, but overall this is very much a numbers issue. Leon is good defensively but won't hit any better in 2019. He is what he is at this point and, IMO, that's a really good backup who can catch full-time if an injury occurs. Vazquez could hit his career slash of .248/.297/.339 in 2019 for an OPS of .636, but that still would rank 25th against current team numbers. His defense doesn't make up for that, especially the way he's playing right now. Without consistently elite defense, he's a lesser player than Leon. Swihart had a .711 OPS in his first year as a Red Sox player. The #10 team in the league this year has a .712 OPS. I think Swihart can repeat that .711 OPS and maybe even improve upon it. By all accounts, his defense is getting better. He may never be Leon defensively, but average-ish defense and a .750 OPS is a realistic ceiling and that would make him one of the 5-10 best catchers in the league. I have similar thinking, but just fwiw I don’t think UMass was critiquing your thought process. His point, as I see it, is that the bar is very low, and so the Sox’s current trio (as jmei pointed out) likely have a true-talent level much closer to league average. I agree with you 100% on Swihart...in fact, our opinions on “what to expect” seem very similar to me. I think his much-maligned defense looks at least average, probably above, and potentially plus. He needs reps. He was a late convert (HS Sr!), made a lot of progress in MiLB, was fringy on arrival, and then got screwed by Farrell’s short-sightedness, and then injured. For a guy who’s only had five full seasons behind the dish, he’s pretty damn good. Sure seems to me that he learns at an accelerated rate. His metrics this year are surprisingly good, and backed up by the eyeball test. I don’t think it’s at all a stretch to see him as an at least average backstop defensively, long-term. Where Swihart needs improvement is on game-calling. This is where Leon absolutely excels, by all accounts. So keeping Leon as a tutor for Swihart’s one apparent weakness is ideal. Vazquez isn’t complementary to either. And Swihart has obvious offensive potential. Reports out of HS had him as a potential .270 hitter with a reasonable eye and some XB pop, more LD than FB-HR. 25-30 2b, 10-15 HR. I think you’re dead-on with the idea that he’s probably a good-bet .725-.750 OPS guy (.270/.320/.420) with an upside at peak of .280/.340/.460, given his athleticism and the lack of wear and tear from a lifetime of catching. He also offers *outstanding* (relative to average) baserunning value for a catcher. Add some loft to his swing and he might even top that. And he’s likely, at least theoretically, to maintain a longer peak given his athleticism. Despite all of the ups and downs, I’m still awfully bullish. If he put up 2-3 WAR next year in 450 PA i wouldn’t be remotely surprised. As you say, i think he’s an excellent chance to be 1-1.5 WAR floor, with 3.5-4.5 WAR upside at the 90th %ile outcome. Moving Vazquez would accelerate that development, and obtaining Ramos might hinder it a bit, but hedges the bet and offers more talent return in a flip. And even with an early offseason Vazquez trade, as you say, the Sox could always look to sign another C much as they did in acquiring Leon.
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Post by pedrofanforever45 on Sept 19, 2018 23:41:10 GMT -5
Where Vazquez does excel is catching of the knuckleball, he is probably the best on the team at it. Stephen Wright is going to probably start next year, Leon can probably catch Wright and probably do a great job at it, but he's still no Vazquez at catching it. This is also where it gets conflicted with me. No one on this team is better than Vazquez at catching that crazy pitch.
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Post by Ryanod1 on Sept 20, 2018 6:48:37 GMT -5
Keeping all 3 again next year is untenable. For all the talk of how versatile Swihart is, he's started just 12 games at a position other than catcher. He's entered games as a defensive replacement in another 14 and also moved from catcher to 3B in a game. Meanwhile, he's started 14 games at catcher and finished another 11, with most of that action behind the plate coming after July 11. It feels like they've figured out that he's a catcher who can also play other positions if needed, not a utility player who can catch, which is kind of what they needed him to be before Vazquez went down. Unless, say, they're not going to also keep two first basemen or they're not going to keep a fifth outfielder, I don't see how there's room to do this again. For most of the season, Swihart was essentially a Rule 5 pick, stashed so they wouldn't lose him. They almost DFA'ed him once and they probably would've had to eventually if Vazquez hadn't gotten hurt. Given the state of catching in MLB, they can find a trade partner for one of the three. Consider that 27 MLB catchers got at least 100 PA at the position and had a wRC+ of under 80 (Yes, two were Leon and Vazquez.). The odd man out really should be Vazquez. I've been trumpeting them making a commitment to Swihart, even at least as the backup, for a while now. Leon handles the staff in a way you can't deny. Vazquez's contract makes it a shade trickier, but I think they can find a trade partner. The move is probably to go into camp with all three and move one, honestly, once a team hoping to contend has an injury or something. But I think Vazquez's defensive reputation has been overstated for a long time, in part because his arm can be spectacular. Unless they think this year is a blip for Vazquez that he will recover from, as he hasn't even been that great defensively (Swihart's been better at throwing basestealers out, believe it or not), he really feels like the guy that should go. Its definitely a nice situation to be in where the Sox have multiple catchers worthy of playing time. I wonder if a potential fix to the carry 3 situation would be to find a 1b that isnt a platoon player? Ultimately, if they stick with a Moreland type then its eating up an additional bench slot to cover the LH vs RH matchups. Im not exactly sure what the 1b situation is regarding free agents, but a full time 1b may allow the carry 3 catchers (although thats not preferential). I wonder what the Sox interest would be with a player like Manny Machado (Donaldson, Murphy, Beltre etc)? If they consider a player like that would it be a viable option to trade Vazquez, put Machado at 3b and possibly shift Devers to 1b? It does not have to be Machado per se, but a good 3b may be worth pushing Devers over. Unfortunately, he is a righty when it comes to catching and throwing, but I feel like this scenario would eliminate the 1b platoon. I wonder what value any of our catchers will hold based on the free agent class as well. There is certainly a lot of value in a you cost controlled player at a thin position, but of all years this one may hurt. Catchers like Wilson Ramos, Jonathan Lucroy, Yasmani Grandal (fantastic year), Kurt Suzuki, Matt Wieters and Devin Mesoraco are all available. Advantage to the Sox with Vazquez and Swihart where they are young and cheap, but there is certainly no lack of talent available in this class. As long as we keep and start Swihart im happy regardless. If the Sox want to be efficient with this situation then snagging Ramos to play 1b and catch a few days a week then that would be ideal. Saves a slot for utility guys (finally get Marco back!), and its an upgrade in 2 areas. Ramos always gets hurt so this should save him a lot of wear and tear.
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Post by ryan24 on Sept 20, 2018 6:52:06 GMT -5
I guess I am trying to figure out the value of team chemistry, the sox have the best record in baseball by a lot, and worrying about WAR and the other metrics. The pitching staff seems VERY confident in throwing the ball to these guys. I understand the idea of moving Vazquez. But I have not heard of any specifics on what you could get in return to have a favorable impact on the organization. Would you be able to get a AA pitching prospect? Would you be looking for a younger catcher, like someone in A ball. Trading him for middle of the road relief pitchers does not seem like a great return. How close are the present catchers in the system to being an avg WAR type catcher?
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Post by Guidas on Sept 20, 2018 16:40:19 GMT -5
#1 Trade Devers for Realmuto, buy Machado to cover Devers and as insurance for if/when Mookie/JD goes, trade Vazquez, keep Swihart as the back up catcher/utility dog.
#2 If Machado refuses to play third, do all of the above but buy Harper instead as the Mookie/JD insurance and trade JBJ and Vazquez for players in positions of need (that are not relievers), and either sign a 1 year stop gap for 3rd, start Nuney (ugh) at third until Chavis is ready (May?) or roll the dice and bring up Chavis with Dalbec in the wings.
btw, I am not a "dump Devers" or trade JBJ guy (look at my avi) but these moves maximize value and make the team better.
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Post by telson13 on Sept 20, 2018 21:36:09 GMT -5
I have similar thinking, but just fwiw I don’t think UMass was critiquing your thought process. His point, as I see it, is that the bar is very low, and so the Sox’s current trio (as jmei pointed out) likely have a true-talent level much closer to league average. I agree with you 100% on Swihart...in fact, our opinions on “what to expect” seem very similar to me. I think his much-maligned defense looks at least average, probably above, and potentially plus. He needs reps. He was a late convert (HS Sr!), made a lot of progress in MiLB, was fringy on arrival, and then got screwed by Farrell’s short-sightedness, and then injured. For a guy who’s only had five full seasons behind the dish, he’s pretty damn good. Sure seems to me that he learns at an accelerated rate. His metrics this year are surprisingly good, and backed up by the eyeball test. I don’t think it’s at all a stretch to see him as an at least average backstop defensively, long-term. Where Swihart needs improvement is on game-calling. This is where Leon absolutely excels, by all accounts. So keeping Leon as a tutor for Swihart’s one apparent weakness is ideal. Vazquez isn’t complementary to either. And Swihart has obvious offensive potential. Reports out of HS had him as a potential .270 hitter with a reasonable eye and some XB pop, more LD than FB-HR. 25-30 2b, 10-15 HR. I think you’re dead-on with the idea that he’s probably a good-bet .725-.750 OPS guy (.270/.320/.420) with an upside at peak of .280/.340/.460, given his athleticism and the lack of wear and tear from a lifetime of catching. He also offers *outstanding* (relative to average) baserunning value for a catcher. Add some loft to his swing and he might even top that. And he’s likely, at least theoretically, to maintain a longer peak given his athleticism. Despite all of the ups and downs, I’m still awfully bullish. If he put up 2-3 WAR next year in 450 PA i wouldn’t be remotely surprised. As you say, i think he’s an excellent chance to be 1-1.5 WAR floor, with 3.5-4.5 WAR upside at the 90th %ile outcome. Moving Vazquez would accelerate that development, and obtaining Ramos might hinder it a bit, but hedges the bet and offers more talent return in a flip. And even with an early offseason Vazquez trade, as you say, the Sox could always look to sign another C much as they did in acquiring Leon. Yeah, UMass made a great point. I only looked this stuff up because what he said made a lot of sense. Turns out that this year is statistically even worse than I though, but he's right in that it won't take a whole lot to be good at this position. A .750 OPS is generally a good-but-not-great hitter, but is close to elite at the catching position. Also, I think catcher is our greatest weakness but not necessarily our greatest area of need. Generally, you can carry a defense-only player at either C, SS, or CF. When we have two of those spots hitting you hardly notice the one that isn't. One spot can be bad as long as the team construction is sound. We're in this good spot right now with JBJ hitting, but it gets a little dicey when he goes on a cold streak. We have Bogaerts and JBJ next year, so as long as we get the good JBJ for most of the year we're just fine with what we have. I'd like to see us get better, but I completely understand how someone could think we're fine as is. One last thing, someone mentioned continuity and I do think that's important. I don't think Vazquez will play nice in a complimentary role or a split time scenario. Leon definitely will, Swihart seems like he probably will. IMO, the two best scenarios for continuity are Vazquez as the starter or Vazquez playing elsewhere. Lol, you and I have remarkably similar perspective on this one, right down to “easiest place to upgrade” versus “place of greatest need.” I agree, they’re not the same with this team rn. And I agree 100% on playing time issues. I think the Sox can get away with keeping the three through ST and then deciding. But I also think there’s a viable route to (cheaply) upgrading at C, and getting minor league talent back (ideally, to me, a/some big lower level arm(s) and/or a C prospect similar to Kottam, tho preferably D-first (low A or SSA). I think with Swihart, the Sox will have several years before they run into a significant C need, even at backup.
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Post by Ryanod1 on Sept 27, 2018 6:22:34 GMT -5
Yeah, UMass made a great point. I only looked this stuff up because what he said made a lot of sense. Turns out that this year is statistically even worse than I though, but he's right in that it won't take a whole lot to be good at this position. A .750 OPS is generally a good-but-not-great hitter, but is close to elite at the catching position. Also, I think catcher is our greatest weakness but not necessarily our greatest area of need. Generally, you can carry a defense-only player at either C, SS, or CF. When we have two of those spots hitting you hardly notice the one that isn't. One spot can be bad as long as the team construction is sound. We're in this good spot right now with JBJ hitting, but it gets a little dicey when he goes on a cold streak. We have Bogaerts and JBJ next year, so as long as we get the good JBJ for most of the year we're just fine with what we have. I'd like to see us get better, but I completely understand how someone could think we're fine as is. One last thing, someone mentioned continuity and I do think that's important. I don't think Vazquez will play nice in a complimentary role or a split time scenario. Leon definitely will, Swihart seems like he probably will. IMO, the two best scenarios for continuity are Vazquez as the starter or Vazquez playing elsewhere. Lol, you and I have remarkably similar perspective on this one, right down to “easiest place to upgrade” versus “place of greatest need.” I agree, they’re not the same with this team rn. And I agree 100% on playing time issues. I think the Sox can get away with keeping the three through ST and then deciding. But I also think there’s a viable route to (cheaply) upgrading at C, and getting minor league talent back (ideally, to me, a/some big lower level arm(s) and/or a C prospect similar to Kottam, tho preferably D-first (low A or SSA). I think with Swihart, the Sox will have several years before they run into a significant C need, even at backup. Love the points that both of you have made. Especially the part regarding continuity. It is very hard to tell when you have never met someone, but I have a feeling Vazquez is least likely to play nice. I only say this because he KNOWS he is talented, and that tends to bring arrogance in some cases. At the same time, from what I have seen, he has been nothing short of a team player, but who knows. I still think that this is a really solid free agent class of C compared to other years. I would definitely love to snag a player like Wilson Ramos to man 1B, trade CV and give Devers 3B. Outside of that it makes a lot of sense (to me at least) to find a 1B, and get rid of the platoon. That opens one spot up (not needing the 2nd player in platoon) leaving the possibility of signing a really good 3b, shifting Devers to 1b, and go from there. The minor league depth is short at 1b so it a fair solution. We have Chavis and Dalbec making a run at 3b in the near future as well! EDIT: Hopefully they end up with CV or BS log term. Whether its both or one of them. Im hoping that one of the two emerge as a stud, but also the timing would be good contract wise. It should transition nicely to Cottam (assuming he pans out and stays at C), or even a sneaky option with players like Milligan. Anyone know why Beau Hanna was released? http://instagr.am/p/BmwvybSHH18
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Post by jimed14 on Sept 27, 2018 7:39:40 GMT -5
I found this on this site:
5/2/2018 Boston Recalled Marcus Walden from Pawtucket and placed Eduardo Rodriguez on the family medical leave list. Beau Hanna retired.
Kind of a strange thing to bring up in this thread because he was never going to be a catcher, let alone next year for the Red Sox.
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Post by FenwayFanatic on Sept 27, 2018 9:48:54 GMT -5
While Swihart doesn't have a positive WAR, I think its important to note that he was thrust into a horrible situation and was able to make the best of it. He also improved noticeably as the year went on.
Definitely hang onto Swihart.
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Post by James Dunne on Sept 27, 2018 9:54:01 GMT -5
While Swihart doesn't have a positive WAR, I think its important to note that he was thrust into a horrible situation and was able to make the best of it. He also improved noticeably as the year went on. Definitely hang onto Swihart. Yeah, I agree. They have to give him a shot where he's getting regular playing time. It doesn't even have to be a starters reps or whatever, just something where he's consistently getting at least 10 or so plate appearances a week all season. If he goes sideways then he goes sideways. He's a replacement-level player at the downside, with so much more upside than Vazquez or Leon bring. It would be one thing if we were talking about him taking reps from guys with minimal upside who are notably better in the short term, where you have to balance the short term loss of trying to develop him with the long-term benefit. That's not the case here - if he's worse than Vazquez or Leon, it's not by so much that it's going to change much of anything in the standings. I hate selling low on anyone, so trading Vazquez now is probably sub-optimal. But they're likely to get something useful-ish for him, and it's hard to see it coming back in such a devastating way. You can't worry that every guy you don't need right now is going to turn into Travis Shaw or Josh Reddick.
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Post by jmei on Sept 27, 2018 13:17:56 GMT -5
Eh, I do think Vazquez still has a reasonably high ceiling. He still doesn’t strike out at all, and the offensive bar at catcher is so low that an empty batting average makes him one of the better offensive catchers in the league. He’s still got all the defensive tools (soft hands, strong arm, etc.), and players do go through defensive slumps sometimes. Wouldn’t surprise me if he put up a few three-ish win seasons in the next few years.
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Post by James Dunne on Sept 27, 2018 13:25:11 GMT -5
Eh, I do think Vazquez still has a reasonably high ceiling. He still doesn’t strike out at all, and the offensive bar at catcher is so low that an empty batting average makes him one of the better offensive catchers in the league. He’s still got all the defensive tools (soft hands, strong arm, etc.), and players do go through defensive slumps sometimes. Wouldn’t surprise me if he put up a few three-ish win seasons in the next few years. I... I just don't see it. He's 28, has a career 1.1 bWAR/650 PA, and has a career extra-base hit rate of under 6%. His .239 BABIP this year is bad luck, but he's always going to be a low-BABIP guy because he doesn't hit the ball with any authority. What's really scary is that Fenway Park might even be helping those power numbers... he has a career .065 Iso on the road. And I get that the defensive tools are there, but he's at the age where the pop time and arm strength will start diminishing, hurting his defensive value even if his receiver and game calling skills improve. If he was like, 25, and having a season like this with his tools? I'd probably be on board with you. But he's going to see skills erosion before he's actually tapped into those skills in the first place. It's hard for me to put those pieces together to get a three-win catcher. I found this on this site: 5/2/2018 Boston Recalled Marcus Walden from Pawtucket and placed Eduardo Rodriguez on the family medical leave list. Beau Hanna retired. Kind of a strange thing to bring up in this thread because he was never going to be a catcher, let alone next year for the Red Sox. I'd missed the Beau Hanna mini-discussion earlier. He's actually enrolled at Augusta (GA) University, and listed as a member of the baseball team. Eligibility rules for college baseball are weird. I assume he had to give a big chunk of his bonus back: augustajags.com/sports/bsb/2018-19/bios/hanna_beau_d26j
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Post by voiceofreason on Oct 9, 2018 11:52:11 GMT -5
Leon had a lot to with the Sox game 1 win, A LOT!!!
WAR and hitting statistics couldn't come within a mile of his value to the Sox. His trade value is nil yet his value to the Sox is big which is why he is in there regardless of his bat. Sox scored more runs than any team in baseball and will probably at the least be close to that again next year so his bat doesn't really matter. He will be the guy catching the majority of the innings next year.
Keep all three for a while next year and move CV when the time comes. Which is when another team needs a starting catcher as that is what he is capable of being, a starting level mlb catcher. He just has to play like he has in the past. Swihart is the perfect backup as he can bring so much more.
I actually view it as a very good position to be in. Sox have a surplus of talent behind the plate. I know that is what we were saying coming into this year but I believe next year it will play out this way.
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ericmvan
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Post by ericmvan on Oct 10, 2018 8:23:10 GMT -5
Keeping all three catchers remains a viable possibility because Swihart is (in theory) also a utility guy. The advantages are that you get more PT for everyone, hopefully increasing the trade value of whoever you eventually trade, and of course you shield yourself from an injury.
One way to make room for all three is to have just one 1B on the roster instead of a platoon. (IOW, the 3rd catcher has to fill the Hanley / Pearce roster spot.) But Mitch Moreland really can't be the one guy. I think you'd have to trade him, and either re-sign Pearce, who would split time vs. RHP with Holt, or acquire someone better.
Since 2014, when he started getting regular PA vs. RHP, Pearce has a 139 wRC+ against LHP (549 PA) and a 120 vs. RHP (1060). He's plenty good enough to be the regular 1B with Holt playing 1B against RHP who are tough on RHB.
The other way would be to deal Nunez, but he still has value as a Devers platoon partner, a guy who can rake in Fenway, and the emergency (3rd option) guy at 2B and SS.
Who might want Moreland? The Twins have nobody with Joe Mauer retiring and Logan Morrison a FA after a terrible year. I was shocked that the Mariners were going with Ryon Healy as a full-time guy rather than a platoon player, and it didn't work out at all; he went from a 103 wRC+ vs. RHP to a 97, and from 136 to 76 vs. LHP. They have no one else. Maybe the Mets would want a fallback / mentor to Dominic Smith (107 wRC+ as a regular in September, after 71 over the previous year). And the Angels might be sane and decide to give up on Albert Pujols, who will be 39 and has 0.0 bWAR over the last three seasons. It's not a deep position right now and there should be a market for an inexpensive guy who is an All-Star can be average and is an excellent clubhouse guy.
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Post by costpet on Oct 10, 2018 12:09:21 GMT -5
You might see Chavis converting to 1B if he has a good Spring Training, with Dalbec moving up to AAA. Vaz could easily be dealt for a number 3 type starter. Price goes to the BP. He could even close. DD must also improve the BP over the winter. Then you just hope Petty can return. Kinsler will be released. Nunez, too.
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