Story was never, ever a good righty bat for the Sox. In 3 seasons he has 19 dingers and an cumulative OPS under .700. Good field, no hit since he showed up in Boston, which means his $140M for 6 years was wasted. What we miss are Duvall and Turner.
But I agree a righty bat would definitely help. I think overall weakness from the right side is why the Sox have a losing record at Fenway.
So why not at 1B?
Relatedly, here are the current Sox OPS's at Fenway: Devers .983; Casas .980; Duran .891; Valdez .878; Wong .804; Abreu .783; O'Neill .776; Yoshida .682; Smith .677; Refsnyder .669; Rafaela .654; Hamilton .609; Gonzalez .607; McGuire .307.
I thought you were saying that prospect package wouldn’t bring you back anything more than a marginal upgrade at best.
I’m confused, I’m not focused on Story, he’s not here for 2024 and I’m trying to add up the middle talent, not rely on Story.
I’d be open to 1B upgrade, but as time goes on and Casas gets closer to a return in becomes more pointless.
I’d look to upgrade up the middle to strengthen the defense and also provide the upside in the lineup as well.
Forget Casas. His injury is rare, even unprecedented, and the result of simply swinging a bat at a pitched ball. It's not just a question of when he can return, but whether he can return and swing a bat effectively.
As for better defense up the middle, think Marcelo Mayer, who is already better than Hamilton and maybe Story too.
Last edited by Maxbialystock; 07-05-2024 at 02:16 PM.
Casas will be fine, his injury is muscular. I’ve strained an oblique before myself when I used to box. Tons of core strength work to come back, probably very good for him. I still wouldn’t mind a RHH option at 1B who can slide into a DH role and split time elsewhere at the corners when Casas is back.
Mayer isn’t an option in 2024 in my opinion.
A guy up the middle who can hit and defend is the best option to upgrade the lineup.
Anyone is tradeable for the right price, I’m just getting the ball rolling with some proposals.
You guys are welcome to add your own trade proposals.
I’d prefer a rental over trading Mayer. But if you want a pitcher with multiple years of control who has TOTR potential, the price starts with Mayer or Anthony.