Also, Zack Kelly has been an unsung hero for this team. He’s been awesome
Also, Zack Kelly has been an unsung hero for this team. He’s been awesome
This one is a true dilemma. On the surface , Cora has committed the DH slot to him which may be a showcasing technique. However, Yoshi is not performing like a showcaser. I think his thumb injury will be chronic for this year and is affecting his hitting.Originally Posted by Oscars
The contract is a sunk cost and the Sox may wind up eating a lot of sushi . I think they will carry him through the season and into the offseason, see if his thumb fully heals . A light hitting, slow running DH only is a liability not an asset. Most likely he is back at ST and they will see if he can hit or not.
The Yoshida Issue may end up solving itself, if he does nothing over the next 1-3 weeks. It's hard to imagine the leash being longer than that, if he keeps doing little or nothing.
It would be one thing, if he was replacing players hitting in the 5 or 6 hundreds, but he's not, and I'm not just talking "hot hand," here. Some of these guys are hitting better than he is and better than his career .754 for this full season.
Of course, we have to realize some of the guys hitting better than him may be on unsustainable paths, and can come crashing down to earth, at any moment. If they do, even Yoshida at .600 to .650 might be an upgrade, but it's hard to project this to happen, right now. Valdez, DHam and Romy don't seem to be letting up. Ref and O'Neill are both hitting like they deserve a FT slot in the order. Abreu is back off the IL and absolutely kills RHPs.
If Yoshida could play 1B, we could play him there, until Casas returns, but he doesn't. Our OF is already squeezed with the Abreu return and Ref going nutty, again. Moving Rafaela to SS helps a bit, and squeezing Vadlez/DHam/Romy looks to be better than squeezing Duran/O'Neill/Abreu/Refsnyder. It looks like DH is the only place for him, but it had been a place to get Ref, O'Neill, Valdez and others some more playing time, and they have been rocking the joint.
To me, when healthy, these guys need to play almost exclusively FT:
Devers 3B
Wong C (as much as we can without burning out his legs)
Casas 1B
Duran LF (CF when Rafaela plays SS)
Rafaela CF/SS
O'Neill LF/RF/DH
Refsnyder DH/LF/CF
That's seven slots taken.
Abreu should start vs all RHPs, and Valdez & DHam have done well enough to keep playing vs RHPs, too, but Yoshida will get the look over them, if possible. Since Yoshida does not play 2B, he won't beat them out, there. Sadly, it will come down to benching an OF'er vs RHPs, so Yoshida can DH.
Oddly, Yoshida has a better situation to DH vs LHPs, due to the unbalanced nature of our batters, especially the OF. Since Abreu sucks vs LHPs, he's an easy platoon choice. Valdez has not earned the right to start vs LHPs, either, so DHam and Romy can play 2B or 2B & SS, as Rafaela plays CF (or SS.) We could play Rafaela at SS, Duran in CF, Refsnyder in LF and O'Neill in RF with Yoshida at DH.
It's too early for me to say we should DFA him, if nobody takes him off our hands at 10-20% of his cost, or even 5%. He could still find a groove and redeem himself, but at whose expense?
When you say it's gonna happen now
When exactly do you mean?
Some of these bargain basement additions from the past have started to pay off for us. Some of this year's, too.
On Kelly, before tonight, he had the best OPS Against on the team at .450. Only Jansen (.499) and Houck (.528) are even close.
What might be surprising to some is that he has more PAs Against (batters faced) than Jansen and Martin and almost as much as Booser and Bernardino.
While the 13 BBs is concerning, the .125 BA Against makes up for it. He's only let up 3 XBHs in 88 ABs.
When you say it's gonna happen now
When exactly do you mean?
same here.
Duran has really been an incredible story and turnaround in almost every aspect of the game.
You'd have to try hard to not become a big fan of his.
That great catch he made was not a fluke. He has remade himself into an excellent defender in an amazingly short timespan.
I don't remember a young player who tweaked and readjusted his batting approach, stance and attitude more than Duran.
Add the baserunning maturity and aggressiveness and we have one of baseball's best all around players in less than 2 full seasons.
He's not a young kid, anymore. He turns 28, soon, which is considered prime. We are so blessed to have him for 4 arb years (through 2028.)
When you say it's gonna happen now
When exactly do you mean?
Duran has been a great example for the other young guys now on the 26 , showing how you can up your game, and eventually get to a payday. Jarren took a bad situation and attitude in his initial promotion to the Red Sox but fully turned that around
He became a slash hitter , not too many bouncers to 2Bman. Are you with us, Yoshi ?
Final thought on Yoshi, it is not his fault that Bloom went out of character and overpaid for a limited portfolio player . It is hard to see how Yoshida would be very comfortable on a team without a fellow countryman , playing at a level he may not have considered while in Japan. Take the money Yoshi, it's all yours.
Last edited by vegasbob; 06-24-2024 at 08:41 AM.
Maybe trade Yoshida to the Halos in the offseason, eating 60-70% of the contract.
Championships since purchase by John Henry group: Red Sox 4 Yankees 1
The Red Sox are 8-1 in their last 9 postseason games against the Yankees.
I'm thinking it will take us eating 75-85% of the contract for there to be a taker.
Now, maybe we include Winckowski and get a team to pay 25-35%.
When you say it's gonna happen now
When exactly do you mean?
Winckowski is not worth 50% of the Yoshida contract. That's laughable.
🙈🤭😀.
Maybe Bloom will put in a good word for him, and the Cardinals will take him off the Red Sox hands.
Try re-reading my post. I said WE would eat 75-85%, meaning the other team 15-25%. If they get wink, they'd pay 25-35%.
How is that 50% more?
When you say it's gonna happen now
When exactly do you mean?
You always want to sell players off, and or eat salary.
In regards to Bellhorn's and Moon's comments above , the Angel's would actually be a perfect dumping ground for Yoshi and they desperately need pitching, so Winckowski who was once good enough for the Red Sox would actually help the Angels. They do not have a decent DH on that team The ttrick is who to ask for or accept in a trade.
Ask for Tyler Anderson LHP'er, maybe Jose Marte reliever, Ben Joyce 23 yr old RH'er, Roansy Contreras 24 RH'er. I do not know their MiLB system players but there is virtually no one on the MLB player position roster who would be an upgrade to the 2024 Red Sox. Mike Trout may be a little rich for JH, and he doesn't play a lot.
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