Long Term Plan at 1B

[Thunder]

Now that Napoli's gone, who is our first baseman of the future? Shaw? Someone else? There have been many scattered theories throughout the season about things that may work, or just things you want to see. But the trade does bring up a very good question. What are we looking at here?

[reYoukilis]

Now that Napoli's gone, who is our first baseman of the future? Shaw? Someone else? There have been many scattered theories throughout the season about things that may work, or just things you want to see. But the trade does bring up a very good question. What are we looking at here?

 

For now, Hanley so when Betts comes back JBJ can stay. I wish we would've kept Nava.

[waltr]

For now, Hanley so when Betts comes back JBJ can stay. I wish we would've kept Nava.

 

Keep Nava? Surely you jest!!

[waltr]

Buck Farmer? Better not screw up the pronunciation there

[Thunder]

For now, Hanley so when Betts comes back JBJ can stay. I wish we would've kept Nava.

 

Compared to Nava's offense, Napoli looks like Ted Williams.

[reYoukilis]

Compared to Nava's offense, Napoli looks like Ted Williams.

Not this year. As a matter of fact in 2013 Nava had a 385 OBP and a 303 BA. It was also the year he played the most games so plenty of sample size. He was extremely intelligent and hardly ever made a mistake.

 

I don't mean he be the first baseman of the future, just to finish out the year.

Edited August 8, 2015 by reYoukilis

[Northern Star]

I guess there's no point moving the mountain to 1B only to move him again to DH in 2017. So Hanley has to move to 1B where he can do less damage than a position he has zero instinct or skills to play or interest in learning.

[Elktonnick]

I guess there's no point moving the mountain to 1B only to move him again to DH in 2017. So Hanley has to move to 1B where he can do less damage than a position he has zero instinct or skills to play or interest in learning.

 

Hanley can do a heck of a lot more damage at 1st base at Fenway park than he can do in left field. Does any one really want Ramirez involved in the number of plays per game that a 1st baseman has. I don't.

[mvp 78]

Hanley at 1b or free agent/trade for a bopper.

 

Shaw isn't a long term anything.

[reYoukilis]

Trade Hanley and Sandoval for Adrian Gonzales. Edited August 8, 2015 by reYoukilis

[dupree]

Sign Chris Davis in the offseason.

 

Trade Panda to Padres for Shields.

 

Move Hanley to 3rd.

 

Trade top prospects for CarGo to play RF.

 

Boom!!! Great offense.

 

Now all Ben has to do is add pitching.

And we need 1 ace type. And that will be done via F/A so only money is gone and no prospects.

[Thunder]

Sign Chris Davis in the offseason.

 

Trade Panda to Padres for Shields.

 

Move Hanley to 3rd.

 

Trade top prospects for CarGo to play RF.

 

Boom!!! Great offense.

 

Now all Ben has to do is add pitching.

And we need 1 ace type. And that will be done via F/A so only money is gone and no prospects.

 

I don't know how realistic that is, but I like the sound of it.

[Northern Star]

Hanley can do a heck of a lot more damage at 1st base at Fenway park than he can do in left field. Does any one really want Ramirez involved in the number of plays per game that a 1st baseman has. I don't.

 

Sorry but I fail to see how he can be a worse 1B than LF, which he cannot play at all. That said, Hanley at 1B is not the ideal solution, we're just moving around the s***** parts that Ben has added to this team to figure out where they cause the least harm.

[jacksonianmarch]

Hanley goes to 1b.

[Elktonnick]

Sorry but I fail to see how he can be a worse 1B than LF, which he cannot play at all. That said, Hanley at 1B is not the ideal solution, we're just moving around the s***** parts that Ben has added to this team to figure out where they cause the least harm.

 

Number of chances per game. How many plays per a nine inning ballgame is a 1st baseman involved as compared to a left fielder. A first baseman is involved in virtually every play in the infield plus holding runners on. In Fenway Park Hanley may miss play a ball in left but how many a game, one or two. He could easily misplay twice that many at first.

 

Because of the short wall if he misplays a ball it more than likely it will only be a single, most balls off the wall are doubles anyway, he is unlikely to misplay a wallball into a triple. At first if he makes an error down the first base line it could easily be a double. Can you really see Hanley charging a bunt at first, I can't. I don't know how many of you saw Dick Stuart play first base for the Red Sox, I did. Hanley Ramirez reminds me of Dick Stuart who was affectionately called Dr Strangeglove,

 

Besides right now we are going to see a lot of Travis Shaw at first to see how he can handle Major League pitching. This kid had a combined 24hrs last year in the minors. I want to see how well he plays 1st and 3rd and hits in the bigs before I go moving HR anywhere.

[Dojji]

Sorry but I fail to see how he can be a worse 1B than LF, which he cannot play at all.

 

The only people in a baseball game who touch the baseball more than the first baseman are the pitcher and the catcher.

 

First base might be the position that requires the least defensive range in all of baseball but that does not mean it's an "easy fielding position" you can just dump on anyone. The reason a lot of big sluggers play first base is that it's a position that a heavier man can play and a lot of your big boppers are also big in other areas. But that doesn't mean that any hit-first spaz can play the position.

 

Do you really want someone with Hanley's attention span problems anywhere near a position where they touch the ball that many times? It would be like putting Manny there.

 

I think we've been spoiled by having some excellent defensive 1B in the last few years with Youk, then Adgon (who was always defensively excellent) then Napoli, that's three straight gold glovers I believe. Defense at first is tough to really appreciate until you start getting bad defense at first base. A good first baseman probably saves each of his other infielders half a dozen errors over the course of the season. A bad first baseman can make more other players on the diamond look bad than any other position but pitcher and catcher.

Edited August 8, 2015 by Dojji

[Kimmi]

I agree with Elk and Dojii on this one. I do not want to see Hanley at first base, for the reasons they've already stated.

 

If the team really wants to get Hanley out of LF, I would put Hanley at 3rd and move Pablo to first before I'd put Hanley at first. This is an option I would go with if JBJ can hit well enough to stick in the bigs. I really like the idea of having an OF of JBJ, Betts, and Castillo for many years. Outside of that, leave Hanley in LF and hope that the experience from this year will make him a little better next year. That would be the lesser of two evils.

[Kimmi]

Cherington stated last night that there is no plan right now to move either Hanley or Pablo to first base. The plan is to give Shaw and eventually Craig playing time there.

[Kimmi]

In a perfect world, Craig would figure out how to hit well enough again to be our first baseman for then next few years.

[Dojji]

In not even a perfect world, but just a world where things go according to plan more often than not, this team is at least over .500 and probably competing for the division.

 

Personally I strongly suspect that the long term plan at 1B is currently not on the 40 man roster. I wouldn't be surprised to hear that it was someone who wasn't even in MLB right now. I actually espect the Red Sox to try to compete in the IFA market, since that's a place where they can use their money to beat nearly everyone without giving up precious draft picks. If a talentedf IFA 1B turns up (and they seem to every few years, witness Kendrys Morales, Jose Abreu, etc) I expect the Sox to be all over them.

 

Actually Kendrys Morales would be a decent choice. He's having an OK year in a hitter-unfriendly ballpark and next year is technically a contract year for him (he has a mutual option for the following year but it's for $11M, and KC's going to pay that the day pigs fly). That might be the move to make at least in the interim.

[jacksonianmarch]

Guys, you cannot commit any more cash to 1b next year. Papi is locked in at DH. Sandoval can't play 3rd anymore. Hanley is a DH in LF. Until 2 of the three above move on, you can't go looking for a big bopper at 1b

[mvp 78]

Guys, you cannot commit any more cash to 1b next year. Papi is locked in at DH. Sandoval can't play 3rd anymore. Hanley is a DH in LF. Until 2 of the three above move on, you can't go looking for a big bopper at 1b

 

Why not? Is there a salary cap I don't know about? Also, why would "2" need to move on and not just "1?"

[Dojji]

I think he's assuming that both Sandoval and Hanley will need to move down the defensive spectrum at some point -- ignoring the fact that one of them already has, and the other... well, his biggest problems aren't defensive in nature.

[Dojji]

By the way, don't sleep on Portland 1Bman Sam Travis as a potential longish term solution to the first base conundrum. At age 21 in Portland he's putting up some reasonably impressive numbers. He's no sure thing, and the team is really hoping his power develops a bit as he fills out, but... well, if we're talking about long term plans at 1B, Travis deserves at least a passing mention.

 

The big thing to note besides the obvious batting average and OBP Travis has (both respectable to good) is that his walk to strikeout ratio has improved steadily despite being underage for his level. That's not a slam dunk but it is a good sign. Trying hard not to get too excited because he's still at least 2 years away and we've all seen that a lot can go wrong, but if he can keep improving his hitting discipline and the power follows, we may just have something here.

 

The way I see it, a short term deal for Kendrys Morales (as long as the Royals aren't too unreasonable) followed by promoting this kid, may be the way to go.

Edited August 8, 2015 by Dojji

[a700hitter]

By the way, don't sleep on Portland 1Bman Sam Travis as a potential longish term solution to the first base conundrum. At age 21 in Portland he's putting up some reasonably impressive numbers. He's no sure thing, and the team is really hoping his power develops a bit as he fills out, but... well, if we're talking about long term plans at 1B, Travis deserves at least a passing mention.

 

The big thing to note besides the obvious batting average and OBP Travis has (both respectable to good) is that his walk to strikeout ratio has improved steadily despite being underage for his level. That's not a slam dunk but it is a good sign. Trying hard not to get too excited because he's still at least 2 years away and we've all seen that a lot can go wrong, but if he can keep improving his hitting discipline and the power follows, we may just have something here.

 

The way I see it, a short term deal for Kendrys Morales (as long as the Royals aren't too unreasonable) followed by promoting this kid, may be the way to go.

 

Everyone seems to think that he is AAA trash. I have seen him in Spring Training and I have liked that the ball jumps off his bat. In some ways he reminds me of Reddick when he was a prospect.

[Dojji]

His hitting numbers resemble Kevin Youkilis more closely than Josh Reddick. He's a line drive hitter whose calling card is patience and discipline.

 

Not that Youkilis is by any means a bad comp, he was the last genuinely great first baseman we had and during his brief heyday he was the best 1B in the American League. He was also one of those players who was regarded as a bit piece until he got the chance to prove otherwise, so again, not a bad comp.

[a700hitter]

His hitting numbers resemble Kevin Youkilis more closely than Josh Reddick. He's a line drive hitter whose calling card is patience and discipline.

 

Not that Youkilis is by any means a bad comp, he was the last genuinely great first baseman we had and during his brief heyday he was the best 1B in the American League.

I was just talking about the aspect of the ball coming off his bat. That is what reminds me of a young Reddick.

[Dojji]

So Youk discipline with Reddick style pop? I can get behind that.

[a700hitter]

So Youk discipline with Reddick style pop? I can get behind that.

That would not be a bad combination at all. People here are very down on him. I would like to see more, before I bury him.

[reYoukilis]

In a perfect world, Craig would figure out how to hit well enough again to be our first baseman for then next few years.

 

I agree, but I guess the reason St Louis gave him up was a good one, and that is he hasn't been or ever will be as good as he was since he got injured. I hope it isn't true because it would be awesome if he found his game again and maybe he will.