Trades before the deadline?

[User Name]

What?

[BSN07]

BSN, no one would want Mortensen even as an add-on as part of a deal for a player worth his weight in salt. In fact, i bet if they put him through waivers, he would pass unless the Astros claimed him.

 

So you're saying there is a chance?(I hope you get the reference )

[MJantomaso]

SoxSport probably wants to go out and trade for Navarro after his 3 HR performance. He is clearly one of the top tier catchers in the league now.

[Spitball]

I see the Braves just DFA third baseman Juan Francisco. This guy had pretty good minor league numbers: http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=franci003jua

 

He was considered a pretty good power prospect not too long ago. He has one of the hardest swings you will ever see. I believe he must be out of options, or they would have simply sent him down.

 

I wish the Sox could acquire him and get him to agree to work things out in Pawtucket.

[User Name]

He has light tower power, but little in the way of discipline, and sucks at 3B. However, he's the type of guy who wows scouts with his tools. He has a very similar profile to Mr. Edwin Encarnacion, and look where he is now.

[Spitball]

He has light tower power, but little in the way of discipline, and sucks at 3B. However, he's the type of guy who wows scouts with his tools. He has a very similar profile to Mr. Edwin Encarnacion, and look where he is now.

 

That is a pretty good comparison.

 

The Braves traded hard throwing J.J. Hoover for him a couple of years ago, so they were pretty high on him at one time.

[SoxFanForsyth]

If nothing else, Juan Francisco would provide some depth in easily the thinnest position in the Sox system.

 

They would be smart to make a move and acquire him. He could well benefit from the Monster in LF.

[italstallianion]

If nothing else, Juan Francisco would provide some depth in easily the thinnest position in the Sox system.

 

They would be smart to make a move and acquire him. He could well benefit from the Monster in LF.

 

 

Then again we said something similar about Gomes and a lot of our righties. Hopefully this one can hit LHP.

[Spitball]

Then again we said something similar about Gomes and a lot of our righties. Hopefully this one can hit LHP.

 

He is a lefty who was mostly platooned in Atlanta. His slash versus left handed pitching:

.175/.202/.213

[italstallianion]

Hmm I'm wondering who the heck I was thinking of then.

[User Name]

That is a pretty good comparison.

 

The Braves traded hard throwing J.J. Hoover for him a couple of years ago, so they were pretty high on him at one time.

 

Interestingly enough, both came from the Reds organization but couldn't hack it. Encarnacion got his chance with the Blue Jays, and they fixed his swing and approach and he exploded into a legitimate power hitter. Francisco has arguably more power than Encarnacion but needs a lot more work on his approach. I think if any organization could turn him around, that's the Red Sox.

[Spitball]

I am suspicious of Encarnacion's sudden power...Bautista's, also. There seems to be something pretty potent in the water up there. I sure hope Francisco doesn't end up with the Jays.

[MJantomaso]

If anything, this team needs a big bat to hit behind Papi.

[Station 13]

If anything, this team needs a big bat to hit behind Papi.

 

You would hope Middlebrooks start hitting like 2012 again, he was a big time runs producer.

[Standing Room]

You would hope Middlebrooks start hitting like 2012 again, he was a big time runs producer.

 

Yeah, it's not too crazy to think that he could either.

[rjortiz]

How much of a leash do we give Middlebrooks?

[Station 13]

How much of a leash do we give Middlebrooks?

 

As much time as possible. He isn't blocking anybody.

[a700hitter]

How much of a leash do we give Middlebrooks?

What about Gomes, hitting under .200 on June 1st with almost no power production? At least Middlebrooks has some power production.

[rjortiz]

I'm not too worried about Gomes. He's a platoon player. I think we keep playing him against lefties, and hope he regains his stroke. He has a career .882 OPS against lefties, so I think with more AB's his numbers should normalize. He has a .205 BABIP, and a 20% walk rate, so those numbers offer some hope. If he keeps tanking, I think we could find a righty complement for Nava on the market for cheap.

[a700hitter]

I'm not too worried about Gomes. He's a platoon player. I think we keep playing him against lefties, and hope he regains his stroke. He has a career .882 OPS against lefties, so I think with more AB's his numbers should normalize. He has a .205 BABIP, and a 20% walk rate, so those numbers offer some hope. If he keeps tanking, I think we could find a lefty complement for Nava on the market for cheap.

I think you mean a righty complement to Nava.. ?

[rjortiz]

I think you mean a righty complement to Nava.. ?

 

Oops. Yeah, that's what I meant.

[SoxFanForsyth]

You've got a righty in Pawtucket right now hitting .306 with a .848 OPS vs LHP. He's got 10 bombs and an overall line of .284/.333/.498.

 

Bryce Brentz would be a perfect guy to come up and play vs LHP, or all the time if need be.

[SoxFanForsyth]

How much of a leash do we give Middlebrooks?

 

However long it takes for Bogaerts to get here. Probably until August or September.

 

It will be interesting to see if Bogaerts would make the PS roster if Middlebrooks continues to struggle and Bogaerts is wearing out AAA sometime before September.

[Standing Room]

Wrong thread. Sorry!

[rjortiz]

However long it takes for Bogaerts to get here. Probably until August or September.

 

It will be interesting to see if Bogaerts would make the PS roster if Middlebrooks continues to struggle and Bogaerts is wearing out AAA sometime before September.

 

That's exactly what I was thinking. If Bogaerts continues to rake, they should move him to 3B for the rest of the year.

 

Personally, I don't like WMB's approach. He's too impatient, and he's getting exploited by big league pitching. I think he's .280/.320/.500 player at his peak. Right now, he's a below average replacement player at 3B. They may be best off playing Bogaerts at 3B, and Iglesias at SS. I'd give it until the deadline, and I'm probably way off, but maybe we could see Bogaerts at 3B, Iglesias at SS, with Middlebrooks being a part of a Cliff Lee deal.

[Behindenemylines]

I still think that the lack of power numbers in the outfield is a problem. Gomes was suppose to be a right handed platoon player that could give the lineup some power. If the power outage is still happening at the trade deadline I can see the Sox try to get a power hitting right handed outfielder. If Brentz looks like he could be the guy that would be great. Unless there are injuries I don't see any major moves for the pitching staff.

[rjortiz]

Brentz has got great power potential, and a good arm in RF. However, I worry that his low walk/high strikeout approach will lead to problems at the major league level. He has a 6.5% walk rate, and a 23.3% K rate. It's encouraging to see the K's come down, he's also benefited from absurdly high BABIP averages, which will probably come down to earth at some point. I like him more as a trade chip.

[User Name]

Brentz would only exacerbate this team's overall lack of contact.

[SoxFanForsyth]

I'm really trying to figure out what this team could use, but (not to be arrogant) its hard to find an area to upgrade when your team has the best record in the AL (.603 W%, 98 win pace), and is top 3 in runs, average, OBP, and SLG.

 

The SP ERA is 8th in the MLB and 3rd in the AL (basically tied for second, Sox at 3.61, Rangers at 3.60).

 

The back end of the bullpen has been very good with Bailey (1.56 ERA), Uehara (1.90 ERA), Tazawa (2.30 ERA) and Breslow (2.30 ERA).

 

As much as I'd love to see this team utilize some of the prospect depth for a player to push us over the edge, it would be hard to justify it. The Sox certainly have the pieces to make a monster blockbuster deal for anyone, Stanton, Lee, etc. But do they really need to?

 

Nava is playing out of his mind, but is it sustainable? Gomes is starting to come along so I have some comfort in him against left handed pitching. Is Victorino going to stay healthy?

 

Another option that the Sox could look for is a deal for Mauer. If there is a major weakness on this team is the low contact rate, which is helped in large part by Salty. This team is built around grinding out at bats and getting on base. Can you imagine a lineup of Ells Pedey Mauer Ortiz?? Not to mention that Mauer can play 1B next year when Napoli leaves.

 

This team could have 4 guys with OBP's over .400 with Pedroia, Mauer, Ortiz, and Nava. And Mauer has an inside out swing that would bang doubles off the monster all year.

 

All of these things will sort themselves out and the picture will be much clearer in a month and a half, but I think Mauer would be an extremely intriguing option, and the Sox have the chips to get it done.

[User Name]

So trade for a guy making over $20 million per who has a history of being unable to stay healthy? Also, Mauer has a full NTC and the Twins have zero interest in trading him anyway. The Sox offered to take on all of his contract in December of this year (Gammons reported it, look it up) and got told no before they could even finish offering.

 

This is a fantasy that doesn't make sense in any way.