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2014-15 offseason discussion
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Post by bbscouts on Aug 23, 2014 19:56:44 GMT -5
I think Holt stays as he is one of the only left handed hitters that can be counted on. He can also play every position. 3rd base is an area that could be upgraded, maybe Sandoval but he will get a large contract. The quality young 3B options like Frazier, Donaldson or Seager are still a few years from FA and would cost a lot to get. Maybe a blockbuster trade with the Reds, we take Cueto, Latos and Frazier and they get several Red Sox prospects. I'd be ok with trying Mookie at 3B or starting the season with Holt there hoping Middlebrooks or Cecchini rediscovers their hit tool at some point in the minors.
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Post by larrycook on Aug 23, 2014 19:59:21 GMT -5
I am not sure mookie has the arm to play third base.
In my mind he is a pure second baseman.
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Post by adiospaydro2005 on Aug 23, 2014 20:34:33 GMT -5
Mookie has made a number of highlight catches playing CF this week. As BC and Farrell have said many times they prefer to play two guys who have CF range at the same time in the OF.
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Post by redsox4242 on Aug 23, 2014 20:44:36 GMT -5
The lineup and roster i predict for your 2015 Boston Red Sox
CF: Rusney Castillo 2B: Dustin Pedroia DH: David Ortiz LF: Yoenis Cespedes 1B: Mike Napoli RF: Shane Victorino SS: Xander Bogaerts 3B: Brock Holt/ Mookie Betts or free agent ( Pablo Sandoval) C: Christian Vazquez
Bench: Adam Rosales/Free Agent David Ross, Allen Craig, Daniel Nava
SP Shields SP Field Agent/Trade SP Buchholz SP Rubby De la Rosa SP Anthony Ranuado/ Allen Webster/ Henry Owens CL David Robertson Or Koji Uehara RP Luke Gregerson RP Junichi Tazawa RP Andrew Miller RP Tommy Layne RP Edward Mujica RP Alex Wilson
I expect a bounce back season from the disastrous 2014 season. I like the way the lineup looks on paper, however we have some questions marks on who will play 3B and SS. Rusney Castillo is a major addition, i absolutely love the signing! We have some speed now with the addition of Castillo. I expect Xander to have a better season offensively and defensively. Butterfield is a great coach who will get through to Xander. Pedroia will have bounce back year, Papi will have a monster year, Cespedes will provide the protection that Napoli served in 2013 for Ortiz. Victorino will be the key as well, we have seen how great he is when he is healthy. Adam Rosales is an intriguing player, Rosales hussles, he can play all over the infield and absolutely destroys left handing pitching. He is great in the clubhouse as well. Barring health i want Ross back, he is a good mentor to Vazquez and a good clubhouse presence. I am not too sure what happens with Allen Craig, so far from what i have seen i am not impressed. He has been on the DL already and hasn't hit consistently in the small sample we have seen so far.
As for the pitching i feel we wont be able to resign Lester, obviously if we get into a bidding war you can forget it. We Can't compete with the Dodgers and Yankees with the amount of cash they have. James Shields is a guy i would like to have, Shields eats innings and stays healthy. He wont come cheap, but probably won't go over 70-80 range. Can the Sox surprise and make a monster move and sign Scherzer? that remains to be seen but that would be a nice addition to have. Buchholz is the same thing, which Clay will we get? Who knows but he will be key to how successful we are pitching wise. I would not depend on him. I have seen enough progress from Rubby, i am excited about his future with the team. Rubby has great stuff and for the most part doesn't walk the ballpark. As for the bullpen, I think we will resign Miller. It will cost a lot, but i think we could pull it off. He is too valuable not to have. Gregerson would be a great addition, Luke is devastating against right handers, and has a electric breaking ball. We can't depend on Tazawa, he is to inconsistent in my opinion as a 8th inning reliever. I think we will either resign Koji for 2 years or go After Robertson for a 4 year deal in the neighborhood of what Papelbon received. Robertson is younger and has been great for the Stankies besides a few hiccups.
GO RED SOX!!
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Aug 23, 2014 22:22:35 GMT -5
The lineup and roster i predict for your 2015 Boston Red Sox CF: Rusney Castillo 2B: Dustin Pedroia DH: David Ortiz LF: Yoenis Cespedes 1B: Mike Napoli RF: Shane Victorino SS: Xander Bogaerts 3B: Brock Holt/ Mookie Betts or free agent ( Pablo Sandoval) C: Christian Vazquez Bench: Adam Rosales/Free Agent David Ross, Allen Craig, Daniel Nava SP Shields SP Field Agent/Trade SP Buchholz SP Rubby De la Rosa SP Anthony Ranuado/ Allen Webster/ Henry Owens CL David Robertson Or Koji Uehara RP Luke Gregerson RP Junichi Tazawa RP Andrew Miller RP Tommy Layne RP Edward Mujica RP Alex Wilson I expect a bounce back season from the disastrous 2014 season. I like the way the lineup looks on paper, however we have some questions marks on who will play 3B and SS. Rusney Castillo is a major addition, i absolutely love the signing! We have some speed now with the addition of Castillo. I expect Xander to have a better season offensively and defensively. Butterfield is a great coach who will get through to Xander. Pedroia will have bounce back year, Papi will have a monster year, Cespedes will provide the protection that Napoli served in 2013 for Ortiz. Victorino will be the key as well, we have seen how great he is when he is healthy. Adam Rosales is an intriguing player, Rosales hussles, he can play all over the infield and absolutely destroys left handing pitching. He is great in the clubhouse as well. Barring health i want Ross back, he is a good mentor to Vazquez and a good clubhouse presence. I am not too sure what happens with Allen Craig, so far from what i have seen i am not impressed. He has been on the DL already and hasn't hit consistently in the small sample we have seen so far. As for the pitching i feel we wont be able to resign Lester, obviously if we get into a bidding war you can forget it. We Can't compete with the Dodgers and Yankees with the amount of cash they have. James Shields is a guy i would like to have, Shields eats innings and stays healthy. He wont come cheap, but probably won't go over 70-80 range. Can the Sox surprise and make a monster move and sign Scherzer? that remains to be seen but that would be a nice addition to have. Buchholz is the same thing, which Clay will we get? Who knows but he will be key to how successful we are pitching wise. I would not depend on him. I have seen enough progress from Rubby, i am excited about his future with the team. Rubby has great stuff and for the most part doesn't walk the ballpark. As for the bullpen, I think we will resign Miller. It will cost a lot, but i think we could pull it off. He is too valuable not to have. Gregerson would be a great addition, Luke is devastating against right handers, and has a electric breaking ball. We can't depend on Tazawa, he is to inconsistent in my opinion as a 8th inning reliever. I think we will either resign Koji for 2 years or go After Robertson for a 4 year deal in the neighborhood of what Papelbon received. Robertson is younger and has been great for the Stankies besides a few hiccups. GO RED SOX!! For the most part I concure with what you have. I think Victorino is a major question mark and can't be penciled into RF for 2015. You don't know how many games you'd get out of him. More likely Allen Craig starts in LF and Cespedes moves to RF. I'd personally prefer Cespedes in LF and Betts in RF, but I don't think Betts will get the opportunity. I think he's gone in a deal to obtain Cole Hamels, along with Swihart and some pitching because the Sox would rather deal prospects than spend the money to sign Jon Lester. Of course Craig is also a major question mark as well, so it's possible the Sox go after Jason Heyward - they do need another LH bat, you have to figure either at 3b or LF. I think that the other starter the Sox will sign as a free agent will be Justin Masterson, not that I'd be particularly thrilled by that signing. I hope the Sox do get a legit leadoff hitter. Just because Castillo is fast doesn't mean that he'll be an adequate leadoff hitter. Leadoff hitters need to get on base. Don't know if Castillo will be that type of hitter. He might be too aggressive to be a leadoff hitter. So I think we'll see Holt at 3b leading off. I think the rotation will be Hamels, Masterson, Buchholz, Kelly, De La Rosa, with Webster, Wright, and Owens serving as depth. I think Ranaudo will wind up in Philly along with Swihart and Betts. I think Uehara will be back. If not, I can't figure out why they wouldn't have traded him on 7/31. I think Workman and Hembree will be key bullpen figures. Tazawa will still be around as will Layne and Mujica. The Sox will sign another lefty reliever not named Andrew Miller.
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Post by bryce on Aug 25, 2014 6:53:37 GMT -5
Cherington said that there isn't manny good batters in this year's free agents. Is there still possible for us to pursue Chase Headley or Pablo Sandoval this winter? Or we will get a thirdbaseman by way of trade?
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Post by greatscottcooper on Aug 25, 2014 7:15:13 GMT -5
Cherington said that there isn't manny good batters in this year's free agents. Is there still possible for us to pursue Chase Headley or Pablo Sandoval this winter? Or we will get a thirdbaseman by way of trade? Admittedly I know nothing but my guess would be no. If the market for offensive players is generally weak then the guys that are there could be in line to be overpaid for. Headley and Sandoval don't exactly scream "please overpay me" to me. The Sox F.O. seems to be pretty good at breaking their own norms every few years but my gut feeling tells me if they spend big in this years F.A. market then it's going to be for a run at Scherzer or Lester. That seems to be the direction they set themselves up for. What did they have a month ago going into the future? Starting pitching and pitching depth + plenty of payroll space for 2015 beyond. What did they lack? hitting and top of the rotation starters for 2015 beyond. So they traded/signed for offense (Castillo, Craig, Cespedes) and they are left with pitching depth, still plenty of payroll space, a hole in the top of the rotation and front office that has admittedly said they are not optimistic about this years hitting class. To me this all adds up at them either signing one of the big name pitchers or trading for a front of the rotation starter and possibly both. I highly doubt with the options we have at 3rd and the additions they have made add up to signing/trading for a 3Bman. But again....admittedly...I know nothing.
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Post by sibbysisti on Aug 25, 2014 9:07:02 GMT -5
This lineup, with the exception of the second SP, relies solely on signing free agents. I believe the time is ripe for a major trade. BC has a surplus at starting pitchers and can't possibly find space on the ML roster for them in the next season or two. Workman, Webster, De La Rosa, Barnes, Renaudo, Owens, Kelly and Escobar are already on the staff or will be ready in the next 12 - 18 months. They will be followed closely behind by Rodriguez and Johnson.
It's to his credit that he has built up a large cache of talent. This is the time to sort it out and find out whom you wish to keep and whom to deal. September, with the expansion of rosters, will be a good time to evaluate.
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Post by iakovos11 on Aug 25, 2014 9:13:34 GMT -5
It's sort of the Danny Ainge approach to roster construction. Now if we can just fine our Kevin Garnett - a younger one, though.
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Aug 25, 2014 12:56:38 GMT -5
Cherington said that there isn't manny good batters in this year's free agents. Is there still possible for us to pursue Chase Headley or Pablo Sandoval this winter? Or we will get a thirdbaseman by way of trade? I'd guess by trade. Headley would have to be a pillow contract, but I think somebody out there will give him a couple of years, and honestly I'm not too wild about him. Regarding Sandoval, I can't see the Sox committing big $ and years to such a big guy with plate discipline issues. If they could, I'd prefer to see the Sox take Matt Picard up on his idea of trying Betts at SS or 3b and seeing if he could handle it (with Bogaerts at the other position). They probably will give WMB another shot at 3b next year and if he struggles they'll then go with Holt at 3b, and if Cecchini improves next season at Pawtucket, which I suspect he will, then maybe he'll get a chance. Who knows?
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Post by bbscouts on Aug 25, 2014 18:20:34 GMT -5
The Red Sox just need to add abut 25 wins to the roster and I smell a Championship. Maybe some of those wins are already on the roster with Craig, Cespedes, Castillo and Xander having good years in 2015.
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Post by larrycook on Aug 25, 2014 21:14:49 GMT -5
The Red Sox just need to add abut 25 wins to the roster and I smell a Championship. Maybe some of those wins are already on the roster with Craig, Cespedes, Castillo and Xander having good years in 2015. Not sure about Craig, but I think we have some wins with the others you mentioned.
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Post by redsox4242 on Aug 25, 2014 21:32:02 GMT -5
The Red Sox just need to add abut 25 wins to the roster and I smell a Championship. Maybe some of those wins are already on the roster with Craig, Cespedes, Castillo and Xander having good years in 2015. Add Mookie Betts to that list and you got yourself and solid outfield!
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Aug 25, 2014 22:03:20 GMT -5
Before we anoint the Sox 2015 World Champions, we need to remind ourselves that the starting pitching is kind of atrocious and that the Sox won't be shelling out the money to re-sign Lester, and they'd have plenty of competition for signing Shields, not that I think he's as good as Lester, but he'd certainly be a strong replacement for Lackey, whom they also miss in the rotation.
I have no doubt the Sox will try very hard to address their starting pitching issues by trying to obtain two experienced pitchers, but even with that the Sox might need to acquire another starter and will need to add more bullpen depth.
Plenty of time to do the above aforementioned things (including finding a SS/3B as well), but until they do it, I can't project them to be serious contenders for anything next year.
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Post by bryce on Aug 25, 2014 23:37:26 GMT -5
The Red Sox just need to add abut 25 wins to the roster and I smell a Championship. Maybe some of those wins are already on the roster with Craig, Cespedes, Castillo and Xander having good years in 2015. Add Mookie Betts to that list and you got yourself and solid outfield! What you think will make the Sox's lineup become "Lefty Killer"! In the other hand, they will be "Righty Lover"!
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Post by chavopepe2 on Aug 26, 2014 5:36:00 GMT -5
Add Mookie Betts to that list and you got yourself and solid outfield! What you think will make the Sox's lineup become "Lefty Killer"! In the other hand, they will be "Righty Lover"! Please, for the love of all that is decent in this world, find something else to talk about...
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Post by burythehammer on Aug 26, 2014 6:32:21 GMT -5
Admittedly I know nothing but my guess would be no. If the market for offensive players is generally weak then the guys that are there could be in line to be overpaid for. Headley and Sandoval don't exactly scream "please overpay me" to me. The Sox F.O. seems to be pretty good at breaking their own norms every few years but my gut feeling tells me if they spend big in this years F.A. market then it's going to be for a run at Scherzer or Lester. Headley seems like a perfect fit to me and I'd be surprised if they don't go after him. He's not going to get a long term deal (maybe even a 1 year "pillow contract") due to health concerns and coming off the worse offensive year of his career. But he's at least an average player and has the potential to be much more (projections still have him as a 4 win player), and he has the kind of skill set the Red Sox value and a lot of teams may not. And we know the Red Sox are willing to outbid other teams for a short term commitment. And obviously we need a 3B for 2015. Gives us a guy who can help us win now and be a bridge to whoever emerges from the system as the next guy (if anyone does). Oh and it will give the media and fans the opportunity to go nuts when we give a guy who just hit .240 with ~12 home runs an AAV north of 15m.
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Post by ctfisher on Aug 26, 2014 8:53:12 GMT -5
Before we anoint the Sox 2015 World Champions, we need to remind ourselves that the starting pitching is kind of atrocious and that the Sox won't be shelling out the money to re-sign Lester, and they'd have plenty of competition for signing Shields, not that I think he's as good as Lester, but he'd certainly be a strong replacement for Lackey, whom they also miss in the rotation. I have no doubt the Sox will try very hard to address their starting pitching issues by trying to obtain two experienced pitchers, but even with that the Sox might need to acquire another starter and will need to add more bullpen depth. Plenty of time to do the above aforementioned things (including finding a SS/3B as well), but until they do it, I can't project them to be serious contenders for anything next year. I think you're wrong on them not being willing to shell out money for Lester/a top of the rotation starter- right now, assuming improvement from Bogaerts, a full year of a much better outfield/offense in general, the only major hole we have is the gaping one at the top of the rotation. They might not like the idea of committing to Lester/Scherzer/whoever for 5-6 years, but I think they'll do it if they think it's the only way to get the ace they need to win. The alternative is dealing for one (maybe Sale?) because right now, we have a ton of assets that don't fully fit on the roster but have quite a lot of value
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Post by raftsox on Aug 26, 2014 9:49:11 GMT -5
I think you're wrong on them not being willing to shell out money for Lester/a top of the rotation starter- right now, assuming improvement from Bogaerts, a full year of a much better outfield/offense in general, the only major hole we have is the gaping one at the top of the rotation. They might not like the idea of committing to Lester/Scherzer/whoever for 5-6 years, but I think they'll do it if they think it's the only way to get the ace they need to win. The alternative is dealing for one (maybe Sale?) because right now, we have a ton of assets that don't fully fit on the roster but have quite a lot of value I agree with the general point, but will add 3B to the list of needs. As much as I want Middlebrooks to prove that he's the guy; he needs to first prove he can be healthy all season in Pawtucket.
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Post by jerrygarciaparra on Aug 26, 2014 10:04:21 GMT -5
I think you're wrong on them not being willing to shell out money for Lester/a top of the rotation starter- right now, assuming improvement from Bogaerts, a full year of a much better outfield/offense in general, the only major hole we have is the gaping one at the top of the rotation. They might not like the idea of committing to Lester/Scherzer/whoever for 5-6 years, but I think they'll do it if they think it's the only way to get the ace they need to win. The alternative is dealing for one (maybe Sale?) because right now, we have a ton of assets that don't fully fit on the roster but have quite a lot of value I agree with the general point, but will add 3B to the list of needs. As much as I want Middlebrooks to prove that he's the guy; he needs to first prove he can be healthy all season in Pawtucket. Will Middlebrooks is going to be 26 in 2 weeks. If you are saying he should spend next year in Pawtuckket, I just don't see that happening at all. He has to be considered the starting 3B for next year or you might as well trade him for a bag of balls and clear up a roster spot.
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Post by raftsox on Aug 26, 2014 12:08:50 GMT -5
I really don't care how old he is; there's still considerable upside should he prove healthy. Despite this being a prospect-centric site, there are a large number of MLB players who don't succeed until they're even older than Middlebrooks.
I'm quite alright letting him prove both health and skill in AAA; should he not be able to, then you trade him mid or post 2014 season. [Of potentially relevant note is that I've never been a Cecchini fan, especially at 3B.]
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Post by draft37 on Aug 26, 2014 12:30:18 GMT -5
CF: Russney Castillo (Depending on how many ABs he gets this year, I could see him starting in AAA) 2B: Dustin Pedroia DH: David Ortiz RF: Yoenis Cespedes 1B: Mike Napoli 3B: Pablo Sandoval (5 Years / 80 Million. He will be 28 this season and has averaged 3 WAR over 6 1/2 seasons in a pitcher's park. Also a switch hitter.) LF: Allen Craig (Primary backup for 1B) SS: Xander Bogaerts C: Christian Vazquez -- C: David Ross/Veteran C (1 Year / 2 Million, I would prefer if we could upgrade on 38 YO-injury prone-mendoza line hitting Ross) IF: Brock Holt (He is Darnell McDonald/Nick Green/Pedro Ciriaco tier for me, AAAA guy who had one decent year and shouldn't be counted on for anything more than 200AB with around a .700 OPS) IF: Defensive IF (1 Year / 2 Million) (We can do better than Herrera, who doesn't even have a .600 OPS) OF: Jackie Bradley Jr. (Defensive OF replacement)
TRADE: Lavarnway (probably can pass through waivers), Herrera (surprised he hasn't been dropped yet), Nava (redundant because of Craig, arb eligible, probably trade for a reliever or lottery ticket prospect), Victorino (probably have to eat half the contract)
SP: Free Agent SP [Lester, Scherzer, Shields] (Would only cost a 2nd or 3rd round pick in addition to cash, worth the risk with a lot of payroll coming off the books in the next year or so) OR Trade SP [Latos, Hamels] (Have to trade from the glut of prospects at some point, more availability for an impact SP than an impact bat.) SP: Clay Buchholz SP: Rubby De La Rosa SP: Joe Kelly SP: Anthony Ranuando -- CL: Koji Uehera (I don't anticipate him keeping the role through the end of the year) SU: Junichi Tazawa LRP: FREE AGENT (2 Year / 10 Million) RP: Edward Mujica RP: Tommy Layne RP: Heath Hembree RP: Brandon Workman (Swingman)
Webster gets sent to AAA to convert to relief
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Post by jerrygarciaparra on Aug 26, 2014 13:32:29 GMT -5
I really don't care how old he is; there's still considerable upside should he prove healthy. Despite this being a prospect-centric site, there are a large number of MLB players who don't succeed until they're even older than Middlebrooks. I'm quite alright letting him prove both health and skill in AAA; should he not be able to, then you trade him mid or post 2014 season. [Of potentially relevant note is that I've never been a Cecchini fan, especially at 3B.] Well a lot of teams care about players age and factor them into their valuations. I am all for penciling in the guy at 3rd next year and giving him one last shot. I don't think you would increase his chances to be successful or his potential trade value, by keeping in him AAA. The organization probably doesn't think so either, otherwise he'd be down there right now.
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Post by jimed14 on Aug 26, 2014 16:16:59 GMT -5
What you think will make the Sox's lineup become "Lefty Killer"! In the other hand, they will be "Righty Lover"! Please, for the love of all that is decent in this world, find something else to talk about... Yes please, like gotta go to K-Mart or how many minutes until Wapner.
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Post by larrycook on Aug 26, 2014 19:55:58 GMT -5
Looks like darvish may have some serious arm issues. Time to look for a different stud pitcher to trade for next season.
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