Cespedes on the block

[cp176]

I agree. Sad though when it becomes too much about the $. Guaranteed money will always bug me.

[BSN07]

I agree. Sad though when it becomes too much about the $. Guaranteed money will always bug me.

 

They was she fukin goes boys

[Spudboy]

They have to trade 3 OF now? Huh? Crazy talk. JBJ can sit in AAA. Nava and Vic are on bench. Craig is backup 1b. Castillo, Ramirez and Betts start. Cespedes is moved.

 

Am I forgetting about soneone?

 

I can see moving Craig. We have Nava and even Holt to back up 1st base. I bet some NL team would love to have Craig. I doubt that he will see much playing time in Boston if he remains here.

[a700hitter]

I can see moving Craig. We have Nava and even Holt to back up 1st base. I bet some NL team would love to have Craig. I doubt that he will see much playing time in Boston if he remains here.

Too bad that he hit like Craig Grebeck after we acquired him. I can't see him bringing back a big pitcher unless a lot of other pieces go with him

[Spudboy]

Too bad that he hit like Craig Grebeck after we acquired him. I can't see him bringing back a big pitcher unless a lot of other pieces go with him

 

I see Craig involved in a 3 player swap for starter. Maybe 4 player. Who knows?

[Spitball]

Allen Craig will not bring back much of a starting pitcher or much in return at all. He is owed $25,500 million through 2017. The Sox took on a bad contract. As it stands now, Cherington made a mistake.

[User Name]

...unless they decide to keep him and he bounces back. Waaaaaaay too early to tell.

[Spitball]

...unless they decide to keep him and he bounces back. Waaaaaaay too early to tell.

 

I just don't see how he can get enough playing time to bounce back unless someone gets hurt. Napoli is at first, and Ramirez is in left. Castillo is surely the right fielder, but I doubt Craig could handle right in Fenway on a regular basis.

[User Name]

That's what we always think until the season actually gets underway and someone inevitably gets hurt.

[BSN07]

Or he gets limited time this year and gets a shot at taking over 1B for 2016-2017. Way too early to write Craig off.

[vjcsmoke]

I see Craig as a possible RFer/1B backup.

 

This guy averaged over .800 OPS before his injury plagued 2014 season.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/c/craigal01.shtml

 

And who knows if Victorino can come back healthy?

It looks to me like they are both wait and see candidates. Who can win the RF starting job?

 

The Red Sox see Hanley Ramirez as their LFer and I believe Castillo is seen as their CFer.

 

Which means for the RF spot we have a 3-way battle between Betts, Victorino, and Craig.

If Craig can't win a spot, he's going to have to be a platoon player.

 

The good news is that Victorino is signed only until 2015. If he doesn't win a starting spot, it should be pretty easy to trade him to a contender who needs speedy defensive outfield depth at the deadline or just let him walk at the end of the season.

 

Really don't know what we'll do about Craig if he doesn't bounce back though. He's got pretty big contract.

[mvp 78]

The Sox have enough money to eat a bad contract like Craig's.

[Behindenemylines]

I got the impression that Cespedes didn't want to be here. If Porcello has a break out year this could be a big trade for the Sox. If he can be a top of the rotation pitcher this would a plus. If Cespedes has a big year with the Tiger he probably prices himself out of there because they have so much money tied up in other players. I read somewhere that Porcello and his Dad are remodeling a house in Vermont so it might be easy for the Sox to sign the 26 year old if he works out.

[a700hitter]

I got the impression that Cespedes didn't want to be here. If Porcello has a break out year this could be a big trade for the Sox. If he can be a top of the rotation pitcher this would a plus. If Cespedes has a big year with the Tiger he probably prices himself out of there because they have so much money tied up in other players. I read somewhere that Porcello and his Dad are remodeling a house in Vermont so it might be easy for the Sox to sign the 26 year old if he works out.

Porcello doesn't have top of the rotation stuff. If he pitches like a solid #3, I will be happy.

[Spitball]

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2014/12/19/red-sox-really-need-get-ace-pitcher/mSX30HHA8zMnh1jVd0XGmO/story.html

 

"According to Steamer, Porcello ranks 14th among starting pitchers in terms of FanGraphs’ wins above replacement (fWAR)," this according to The Boston Globe. He is probably more than a number three.

Edited December 21, 2014 by Spitball

[a700hitter]

You have got to be kidding. This is a great example of why stats, especially WAR are just not the be all and end all of player evaluation. The stuff is just not there for Porcello to be considered better than a number 2.

 

Edit: I think the guy is a solid good pitcher and he has been a durable innings eater, but he is not an ace-type pitcher. He just doesn't have the stuff. He is like Derek Lowe, not Pedro or Schill.

Edited December 21, 2014 by a700hitter

[Spitball]

He is not a number one, but he is possibly a number two starter. He will thrive if/because the Red Sox defense is significantly better than Detroit's.

[a700hitter]

Bogaerts is so much better than what the Tigers rolled out at SS? I think Bogaerts has a long way to go in the field.

[jacksonianmarch]

Porcello saw his BABIP drop down to what it should be and he also cut his HR rate down and increased his strand rate. For a sinker baller, he'd had a pretty high HR/9 rate until this past yr.

[jacksonianmarch]

And the other thing that intrigues me is the talk that the sox D is just worlds better than Detroits. The guy who started at SS most games was a defensive wiz and Kinsler was a far above average defensive 2b. Their only minus guy was their 3b Castellanos. The sox have a defensive wiz at 2b, an above average 3b, an average 1b, and a minus SS. For a sinker baller, I'd say trading a minus 3b for a minus SS is a bit more concerning. Also, for a sinker baller, he'd given up a lot of homers. Moving to the fens will probably bring that up. Last yr was his first yr of out producing his FIP. The question is, can he do it again?

[Palodios]

And the other thing that intrigues me is the talk that the sox D is just worlds better than Detroits. The guy who started at SS most games was a defensive wiz and Kinsler was a far above average defensive 2b....

 

The 2015 Tigers will probably improve their defense significantly year-over-year, but last year they were terrible. Hunter was bad, Iglesias only played 46 games, Castellanos was terrible, Miggy was bad. Kinsler and Avila were the only plus defenders on the entire team.

[a700hitter]

The 2015 Tigers will probably improve their defense significantly year-over-year, but last year they were terrible. Hunter was bad, Iglesias only played 46 games, Castellanos was terrible, Miggy was bad. Kinsler and Avila were the only plus defenders on the entire team.

Up the middle, they were pretty good in the infield. That is most important for a sinkerballer.

[Palodios]

Up the middle, they were pretty good in the infield. That is most important for a sinkerballer.

 

Without looking it up, can you tell me who played the majority of the games in SS for Detroit? I honestly have no idea.

[a700hitter]

Without looking it up, can you tell me who played the majority of the games in SS for Detroit? I honestly have no idea.

Romine, a defensive specialist and some other prospect kid whose name escapes me.

[Spitball]

Suarez was the other kid the Tigers played at shortstop this past year, and he was not bad defensively.

 

The Tigers were not a great defensive team last year, but they were a lot better than when they had Cabrera and Peralta at third and short in 2012 and '13. Those two could not benefit a sinkerballer Like Pocello. With the upgrade last year, Pocello had a career year. Lets hope he continues into 2015.

[jacksonianmarch]

The 2015 Tigers will probably improve their defense significantly year-over-year, but last year they were terrible. Hunter was bad, Iglesias only played 46 games, Castellanos was terrible, Miggy was bad. Kinsler and Avila were the only plus defenders on the entire team.

 

Their OF may have been bad, but their IF was about what the sox would be. Porcello is a GB pitcher, the IF defense will be key

[Palodios]

Their OF may have been bad, but their IF was about what the sox would be. Porcello is a GB pitcher, the IF defense will be key

 

Sandoval/Castellanos: Strongly favors Red Sox

Pedroia/Kinsler: Strongly favors Red Sox

Napoli/Cabrera: Strongly favors Red Sox

Vaquez/Avila: About even? Hard to gauge this one.

Xander/Romine: Slightly Favors Detroit (UZR says it is a wash, but whatever)

 

The Red Sox have three players significantly better defensively, and one player slightly worse. That's not including the outfield. I'm not really sure how you think the defense is comparable.

[Spitball]

I don't think we need to compare the current Tiger infield defense with the Red Sox infield. Porcello had a very good 2014 with the current Tiger infield. He pitched more innings than ever before and had career best numbers inWHIP, H9, HR9, BB9, and his ERA was about a full run better than his career mark prior to last season.

 

The Red Sox are better defensively than the Tigers, but that need not be the argument. He pitches better with a better defense. The Tigers ranked within the 10 worst defenses of 2013 and 2012, and had the 12th worst defense in 2011. Porcello should continue to be improve in 2015.

[jacksonianmarch]

Sandoval/Castellanos: Strongly favors Red Sox

Pedroia/Kinsler: Strongly favors Red Sox

Napoli/Cabrera: Strongly favors Red Sox

Vaquez/Avila: About even? Hard to gauge this one.

Xander/Romine: Slightly Favors Detroit (UZR says it is a wash, but whatever)

 

The Red Sox have three players significantly better defensively, and one player slightly worse. That's not including the outfield. I'm not really sure how you think the defense is comparable.

 

We aren't comparing Sox 2015 to Detroit 2015. We are comparing what was to what it.

 

At first base, Cabrera had a 3.9UZR/150. Napoli had a 7.3 and is projected to decrease in 2015 (per fangraphs). Let's call it a wash

 

At second base, Pedroia had a 20.4 UZR/150. Kinsler had an 11.2UZR/150. Pedroia better, but Kinsler was very good in 2014.

 

At shortstop, it's about who the Tigers had there and who the sox will have there. The majority of the time, Suarez was SS and he was pretty much average (-0.3). Bogaerts was -3.7 as a SS, so 2014 Tigers have an edge, not by much.

 

The biggest advantage is 3b, where Fat Panda had a 3.5UZR/150 and Castellanos was awful at -19.5. So, the Tigers had a minor downgrade at 1b, a downgrade at 2b, an upgrade at SS, and a major downgrade at 3b. Not exactly massive, but the sox infield D is better now that I look at the numbers

[Palodios]

We aren't comparing Sox 2015 to Detroit 2015. We are comparing what was to what it.

 

 

I am comparing 2014 Tigers to 2015 Red Sox. That is how we can see a place for improvement in Porcello, due to defense. All things considered, three defensive positions are better, one is slightly worse. The outfield also looks much better. Seems pretty clean cut to me.