Post by oldfaithful2019 on Nov 9, 2022 19:06:57 GMT -5
False dichotomy here. How often is one of the 11 position players (other than catcher) hurt? And I don't mean just hurt enough to obviously go on the IL; I also mean hurt enough that 10 days on the IL would, in the long run, be a good idea, if you have someone you can call up who's good enough.
The only RHB's of note on the projected WooSox roster are Rafela and Wong. The former you want playing every day for at least the first half of the season, and the latter is barely functional as a bench addition. You really have no RHB to call up at all. Compare the list of LHB: Franchy, Duran, Abreu, E. Valdez, and if there's 40-man room, Fitzgerald.
I agree about Dalbec's worth as a platoon bat on the bench, but until there's an injury, you're likely platooning just at DH, and Refsnyder and Arroyo cover that well enough. Arroyo hits good pitching nearly as well as bad, it seems (he's averaged 0.6 WAR per 600 PA in his career, but 1.3 WAR when you adjust for "clutch", an amazing ratio, granted, in a small sample), while Refsnyder destroys bad LH pitchers but struggles against the good ones. It's a very nice platoon within a platoon, and Kiké's ability to play the infield means you can use anybody who needs a half-day off at DH.
So, how often do you expect one of Story, Kiké, Laureano (or equivalent), and Xander (ditto) to be banged up enough that a trip to the IL would be a good idea ... if and only if you had Dalbec to call up? And of course, if Dalbec is to reach his potential, playing every day for a majority of the season has to help.
Now, Hosmer. He'd be the only LHB on the bench and he's plain and simple Mitch Moreland, except maybe even better (if he returns to his old oppo-power swing).
Moreland in his career averaged just 0.9 WAR per 600 PA, but he hit good pitching so well that when you adjust for the situation he's hitting in, he's 1.6. That's an extra 76% of value, which is a crazy number. And you saw that in action.
Eric Hosmer is also 0.9 raw and 1.6 adjusted, and when you don't round off the numbers he's added 83% of his WAR value. He has a reputation for clutch hitting and this is why.
Would you jettison Mitch Moreland in his Sox prime to make room for Bobby Dalbec on the bench full-time, instead of playing every day in Worcester and available on a moment's notice for MLB action, if needed?
Of course you wouldn't. That's the sort of organizational depth you need to contend.