A Realistic View at 2016

[moonslav59]

I think Sandoval's time in a Red Sox uniform is over and we have to look at his contract as a sunken cost.

 

I am not counting on one PA from Pablo going forward, but I am not writing him off, and I think Sox management will allow him back to ST'ing with perhaps some sort of weight level or just make sure hes' in much better shape than this spring.

 

Pablo is still young. If he has an ounce of pride under all that flab, he might light a fire and turn things around. IM ean, who wants to be remembered exiting MLB this way?

 

I have not been impressed with Hanley. He is so hit and miss that I think we can do much better. If we could trade him and eat part of his contract, I would be for that.

 

I totally agree. I even said last winter that even if HanRam had a .950 OPS this year. I'd trade him before his stock plummets yet another time (2017). The better the year he has in 2016, the less we'll have to pay on his remaining contract. Some one may take him, if we pay just $5-8M out of his 422M per year (X 2). Assuming Pablo is DFA'd,we'd have this within our system:

 

3B: TShaw, Moncada, Hernandez, Rutledge, Holt, Marrero (Pablo)

1B: TShaw, Travis, Holt, Swihart?, Holt (Pablo)

DH: Moncada, Young, Swihart (Pablo)

 

I see a lot of risk here. That's one reason we probably won't totally give up on Pablo, until he shows up at camp (or earlier, if he lets us weigh him over the winter.

 

 

TShaw has the possibility of improvement as he is early in his career and he is Hanley's equal at ist defensively. Travis is another intriguing possibility but he has to come back from injury and show he can play at a major league level, something TShaw has already done.

He still has not proven it to me yet. IS ee him as a platoon player until he shows he can hit both sides well enough to play everyday.

 

Moncada at third is the likely choice of management. Whether he makes it remains to be determined. I sure many other clubs would love to have our problem with finding him a position.

I'm not sure he can field well enough to play 3B until maybe 2017. As great of an athlete as he is, he may have to start at DH.

 

I would use Holt and Hernandez as utility players as you never know when our infielders might need rest or get injured. I do think we need to trade for or FA sign a quality power bat for DH, whether he be Encarnacion or another possibility. Probably no one can match our loss with Ortiz leaving.

 

I'd rather trade for a SP'er, but if wed o trade for a big bat, why not get somebody that can actually play a position well?

 

With 5 current good starting pitchers, perhaps we can get a #1 in the FA market. We would need a #1 to go into any playoff race with an expectation of being successful. We should continue to strengthen our pitching development capability to see if we can develop another of our own kids. Other organizations are doing it so why can't we?

 

There are no aces in the FA market this winter.

[a700hitter]

The injury probably had something to do with it, but injuries are part of the equation of decline in players going beyond age 32.

True, but it was not a chronic condition and it healed even though it took some time. His skills didnt decline. There was no diminishment of bat speed. It is similar to the situation with Pedroia's hands. Now that he is completely healed, it us obvious that his skills are not in decline.

[moonslav59]

True, but it was not a chronic condition and it healed even though it took some time. His skills didnt decline. There was no diminishment of bat speed. It is similar to the situation with Pedroia's hands. Now that he is completely healed, it us obvious that his skills are not in decline.

 

I've been a big defender of Papi over many years. My thread titles "Rumors of Papi's Demise have been Greatly Exaggerated" was one of the longest running threads in BDC history.

 

He's a living legend. I wish he'd come back for one more year, but he is in so much pain, I know I'm being selfish.

 

Not many players can keep producing after age 33, 34 or 35. I understand the concerns about signing Encarnacion to a long term deal. Nobody has ever done what Papi has done at this age without the use of PEDs.

 

[a700hitter]

I've been a big defender of Papi over many years. My thread titles "Rumors of Papi's Demise have been Greatly Exaggerated" was one of the longest running threads in BDC history.

 

He's a living legend. I wish he'd come back for one more year, but he is in so much pain, I know I'm being selfish.

 

Not many players can keep producing after age 33, 34 or 35. I understand the concerns about signing Encarnacion to a long term deal. Nobody has ever done what Papi has done at this age without the use of PEDs.

 

I don't think anyone did what he is doing even with PEDs.

[moonslav59]

I don't think anyone did what he is doing even with PEDs.

 

Not at age 40, but Barry Bonds had an OPS between 1.278 and 1.422 every season between ages 36 to 39.

 

He also had some big years at age 41 & 42, but never cracked 500 PAs those last two seasons.

 

[moonslav59]

Here's how next year's luxury budget looks:

 

$31M Price

$22M Ramirez

$20.6M Porcello

$19M Sandoval (Maybe we can get him off the 40-man luxury budget)

$13.75M Pedroia

$10.5M Kimbrel

$6.5M Young

$133.5M Subtotal

 

Options:

$13.5M Buchholz ($500K buyout)

$3.75M Hanigan ($800K buyout)

$0 to 16.75M Subtotal (Let's assume $0, although we may keep Hanigan, especially if we trade Swihart.)

 

Arbitrations (Est.):

$5.0M Bogaerts (1st of 3 arbs)

$3.7M Bradley (1st of 4 arbs)

$2.7M Pomeranz (2nd of 3rd arb)

$2.6M Kelly (2nd of 3 arbs)

$1.6M Abad (2nd of 3 arbs)

$1.4M Ross (2nd of 3 arbs)

$1.0M Holt (1st of 3 arbs)

$900K Rutledge (1st of 3 arbs)

$900K Layne (1st of 4 arbs)

$800K Workman (1st of 3 arbs)

$700K O'Sullivan (1st of 3 arbs)

$700K MMartinez (1st of 3 arbs)

$22.5M subtotal

 

 

21 Non-arb players listed by seniority on 40 man roster (avg salary of about $530K)

Wright, Vazquez, Brentz, Betts, Hembree, Barnes, Swihart, T Shaw, ERod, Marrero, N Ramirez, B Johnson, Owens, Jerez, Hernandez, Smith, Elias, Cuevas, Leon

$11M subtotal

 

Rule 5 Eligible: Luis Ax. Basabe, Danny Bethea, Ty Buttrey, Jamie Callahan, Carlos Coste, Allen Craig, Jake Drehoff, Jeff Driskel, Jeffry Fernandez, Pat Goetze, Reed Gragnani, Taylor Grover, Justin Haley, Juan Hernandez, Dedgar Jimenez, Raiwinson Lameda, Angelo LeClerc, Tzu-Wei Lin, Deiner Lopez, Austin Maddox, Kyle Martin, Mike McCarthy, Daniel McGrath, Simon Mercedes, Mike Meyers, Mike Miller, Yankory Pimentel, Tim Roberson, Javier Rodriguez, Jake Romanski, Dioscar Romero, Ramses Rosario, Robby Scott, Teddy Stankiewicz, Aneury Tavarez, German Taveras, JT Watkins, Jordan Weems, Jantzen Witte, Luis Ysla

 

Total Estimated Luxury Tax Budget for 2017:

 

$167M

 

Add the $13M player benefits cost...

 

Est 2017 Budget Total:

 

$180M

 

If the limit goes up to $210M, we'll have about $30M to fill all these slots:

 

DH:

 

SP2:

 

RP2:

 

RP4:

 

 

LF? 3B? 1B?

 

It might not be as easy as many think to fill all these holes.

 

We could end up DFA'ing Sandoval to clear $19M from the luxury tax budget, but Henry is already paying Castillo and Craig big money to stay off the 40-man roster.

 

That would give us close to $50M to spend and be near the luxury limit.

 

We might sign Encarnacion to $25M x 6 years.

 

We might re-sign Uehara ($6.5M x 2) and Ziegler ($3.5M x 2)

 

That would leave us $15M for that mystery SP'er, or we could trade for Sale or Quintana and be under the limit.

 

[Nick]

We could end up DFA'ing Sandoval to clear $19M from the luxury tax budget, but Henry is already paying Castillo and Craig big money to stay off the 40-man roster.

 

That would give us close to $50M to spend and be near the luxury limit.

 

We might sign Encarnacion to $25M x 6 years.

 

We might re-sign Uehara ($6.5M x 2) and Ziegler ($3.5M x 2)

 

That would leave us $15M for that mystery SP'er, or we could trade for Sale or Quintana and be under the limit.

 

 

I know we won't but we need to simply walk away from Koji. His health is a concern and no way I want to give him $13M for his two years. Now Ziegler is a different story.

[southpaw777]

We could end up DFA'ing Sandoval to clear $19M from the luxury tax budget, but Henry is already paying Castillo and Craig big money to stay off the 40-man roster.

 

That would give us close to $50M to spend and be near the luxury limit.

 

We might sign Encarnacion to $25M x 6 years.

 

We might re-sign Uehara ($6.5M x 2) and Ziegler ($3.5M x 2)

 

That would leave us $15M for that mystery SP'er, or we could trade for Sale or Quintana and be under the limit.

 

 

I could see a trade with Pablo for another bad deal once he proves hes healthy. Castillo and Craig are sunk costs at this Point. At least pablo has a history of post season success and at least above average regular season numbers.

I dont see them moving Hanley. Actually I hope to see him at 1b next year and do a little DHing...

And now, Let the Andrew Benintendi MLB career begin!!!!

[Nick]

“Maybe,” Dombrowski said of their (Benintendi and Moncada) potential impact this season. “It could be. They’re close enough that they could be. I’m not making that prediction, but they could be. They’re really good. … (Single-A Salem third baseman Rafael) Devers you could say is pretty close, too. He’s a little younger. These guys are special players, and they’re not far from the big leagues, either.

Moon, sounds as though Devers is still a 'keeper' for the Sox. I'm glad but are we running out of positions for some of these young guys?

 

High Ceiling guys for the Sox

 

LF Benintendi CF Bradley Jr RF Betts SS Xander 3B Moncada 1B Devers C Swihart? I would prefer full time DH and that position can be purchased...maybe Shaw can be in the mix somewhere...

 

IF this happens, every player in our system will be blocked.....good problem to have....

Edited August 2, 2016 by Nick

[cp176]

They are all "keepers" until the trade return is right. I don't think DD is going to give these guys away for nothing in return.

[S5Dewey]

I think Sandoval's time in a Red Sox uniform is over and we have to look at his contract as a sunken cost.

 

I am not counting on one PA from Pablo going forward, but I am not writing him off, and I think Sox management will allow him back to ST'ing with perhaps some sort of weight level or just make sure hes' in much better shape than this spring.

 

Pablo is still young. If he has an ounce of pride under all that flab, he might light a fire and turn things around. IM ean, who wants to be remembered exiting MLB this way?

 

I have not been impressed with Hanley. He is so hit and miss that I think we can do much better. If we could trade him and eat part of his contract, I would be for that.

 

I totally agree. I even said last winter that even if HanRam had a .950 OPS this year. I'd trade him before his stock plummets yet another time (2017). The better the year he has in 2016, the less we'll have to pay on his remaining contract. Some one may take him, if we pay just $5-8M out of his 422M per year (X 2). Assuming Pablo is DFA'd,we'd have this within our system:

 

3B: TShaw, Moncada, Hernandez, Rutledge, Holt, Marrero (Pablo)

1B: TShaw, Travis, Holt, Swihart?, Holt (Pablo)

DH: Moncada, Young, Swihart (Pablo)

 

I see a lot of risk here. That's one reason we probably won't totally give up on Pablo, until he shows up at camp (or earlier, if he lets us weigh him over the winter.

 

 

TShaw has the possibility of improvement as he is early in his career and he is Hanley's equal at ist defensively. Travis is another intriguing possibility but he has to come back from injury and show he can play at a major league level, something TShaw has already done.

He still has not proven it to me yet. IS ee him as a platoon player until he shows he can hit both sides well enough to play everyday.

 

Moncada at third is the likely choice of management. Whether he makes it remains to be determined. I sure many other clubs would love to have our problem with finding him a position.

I'm not sure he can field well enough to play 3B until maybe 2017. As great of an athlete as he is, he may have to start at DH.

 

I would use Holt and Hernandez as utility players as you never know when our infielders might need rest or get injured. I do think we need to trade for or FA sign a quality power bat for DH, whether he be Encarnacion or another possibility. Probably no one can match our loss with Ortiz leaving.

 

I'd rather trade for a SP'er, but if wed o trade for a big bat, why not get somebody that can actually play a position well?

 

With 5 current good starting pitchers, perhaps we can get a #1 in the FA market. We would need a #1 to go into any playoff race with an expectation of being successful. We should continue to strengthen our pitching development capability to see if we can develop another of our own kids. Other organizations are doing it so why can't we?

 

There are no aces in the FA market this winter.

 

I haven't read the entire 300 pages of the CBA but I have it in the back of my mind that it was said in the spring that teams aren't allowed to have "weight limits" for players. Can anyone confirm or debunk this?

 

I see the fact that there are no "Aces" available in the off season to be a good thing for the Sox. That means that any team with an interest in rebuilding may be willing to trade an Ace for a package of solid prospects, something the Sox have quite a few of and shouldn't have to worry about being outbid.

[S5Dewey]

I could see a trade with Pablo for another bad deal once he proves hes healthy. Castillo and Craig are sunk costs at this Point. At least pablo has a history of post season success and at least above average regular season numbers.

I dont see them moving Hanley. Actually I hope to see him at 1b next year and do a little DHing...

And now, Let the Andrew Benintendi MLB career begin!!!!

 

This observation with Sandoval could happen. I can see some optimistic GM with a bad contract who's willing to take a chance jumping at this opportunity. Of course, we get a bad contract in return, but it shouldn't be as bad as Sandoval's, which could free up some money.

[mvp 78]

“Maybe,” Dombrowski said of their (Benintendi and Moncada) potential impact this season. “It could be. They’re close enough that they could be. I’m not making that prediction, but they could be. They’re really good. … (Single-A Salem third baseman Rafael) Devers you could say is pretty close, too. He’s a little younger. These guys are special players, and they’re not far from the big leagues, either.

Moon, sounds as though Devers is still a 'keeper' for the Sox. I'm glad but are we running out of positions for some of these young guys?

 

High Ceiling guys for the Sox

 

LF Benintendi CF Bradley Jr RF Betts SS Xander 3B Moncada 1B Devers C Swihart? I would prefer full time DH and that position can be purchased...maybe Shaw can be in the mix somewhere...

 

IF this happens, every player in our system will be blocked.....good problem to have....

 

Sox still need a 3b, 1b and DH. Devers and Moncada can be in the mix there. Also, who's to say that Devers couldn't be a good bench player and be called up if someone gets hurt. It's not like you get 10 position guys and close up shop.

[Nick]

Sox still need a 3b, 1b and DH. Devers and Moncada can be in the mix there. Also, who's to say that Devers couldn't be a good bench player and be called up if someone gets hurt. It's not like you get 10 position guys and close up shop.

 

I agree......bottom line is there's excitement with younger guys....I appreciate Pedey...but I love watching Betts, Bradley and Xander. They look like they're having fun. I want Moncada, Benintendi and Devers to join the PARTY.

[oldtimer]

For the first time in a while, I feel optimistic about the teams chances of making the playoffs. The starting pitching has spun a number of good games and Clay Buchholz has even regained some of his abilities. Our relief pitching has gotten another boost through DD while Kimbrel is back and Ziegler is going well. Pitching, which was a disaster, partially due to injuries is now on a par with other contenders.

 

In the field, we continue to have great contributions from Betts, Pedroia, Bogaerts, Bradley, Ortiz and Leon and now have hope that our left field will be strengthened. That leaves us with an okay Hanley, Shaw, Hill and Holt. Hannigan at catcher is weak at the plate but someone has to catch Wright and he got that unenviable assignment. We still have Young and Swihart in rehab and Moncada to be brought up later, so even more strength available.

 

I see our biggest problem, should we make the playoffs is a shutdown ace starting pitcher. I don't see anything happening on that front, so we have to go with the pitching we have.

 

We are now a real competitor to win the division, being only one game back. Our schedule is biased toward away games so that is a handicap, and I question Farrell's leadership, but every team has problems, it is not a perfect world.

[moonslav59]

I know we won't but we need to simply walk away from Koji. His health is a concern and no way I want to give him $13M for his two years. Now Ziegler is a different story.

 

I don't see many other winter FA RP'ers that excite me, except Jansen, who won't be leaving LA.

[moonslav59]

“Maybe,” Dombrowski said of their (Benintendi and Moncada) potential impact this season. “It could be. They’re close enough that they could be. I’m not making that prediction, but they could be. They’re really good. … (Single-A Salem third baseman Rafael) Devers you could say is pretty close, too. He’s a little younger. These guys are special players, and they’re not far from the big leagues, either.

Moon, sounds as though Devers is still a 'keeper' for the Sox. I'm glad but are we running out of positions for some of these young guys?

 

High Ceiling guys for the Sox

 

LF Benintendi CF Bradley Jr RF Betts SS Xander 3B Moncada 1B Devers C Swihart? I would prefer full time DH and that position can be purchased...maybe Shaw can be in the mix somewhere...

 

IF this happens, every player in our system will be blocked.....good problem to have....

 

There is room for Devers, if we don't sign Encarnacion and Shaw ends up being a platoon and/or average corner IF'er.

 

He also may not be ready until 2017 or 2018, and by then we'll be close to losing HanRam from the mix.

 

I still don't see Swihart as our FT catcher. I think Vazquez is clearly management's choice and with Leon barely slowing down, I think Swihart may be our 3rd string catcher and then get plenty of PAs in LF and possibly 1B or DH.

 

I'm also not convinced Moncada can become a plus fielder at 3B within a year or two, so he may end up in the OF or even DH until he shows he can do it. This could also create a slot for Devers, if just for a short term.

 

[moonslav59]

I haven't read the entire 300 pages of the CBA but I have it in the back of my mind that it was said in the spring that teams aren't allowed to have "weight limits" for players. Can anyone confirm or debunk this?

 

I see the fact that there are no "Aces" available in the off season to be a good thing for the Sox. That means that any team with an interest in rebuilding may be willing to trade an Ace for a package of solid prospects, something the Sox have quite a few of and shouldn't have to worry about being outbid.

 

I think you're right about the weight limit thing, but we can still DFA him if he looks fat or out of shape.

 

We may be able to outbid anyone for Sale or Quintana, but that doesn't mean we will or we should.

[moonslav59]

Sox still need a 3b, 1b and DH. Devers and Moncada can be in the mix there. Also, who's to say that Devers couldn't be a good bench player and be called up if someone gets hurt. It's not like you get 10 position guys and close up shop.

 

I love Devers and Swihart and think both can and should do great things going forward. To me, I'm not talking about trading them due to me thinking their value is lower than anyone else here thinks. I also think Swihart can be a fine catcher, and that's where his higher value is, but I just like Vazquez on defense much more. I realize we need to give something of great value to get great value in return, so I keep choosing these two guys as the headliners of any big package for a top quality SP'er. I realize it may not be enough of a start, teams will likely want much more, and we may end up saying no to everyone. In that case, I'm still fine with keeping everyone, but I still feel we need a top quality SP'er and two decent RP'ers this winter. With no good FA. With no good SP'ers on the FA market this winter, trading for one seems like the only solution.

 

I'd rather trade Swihart, Devers and maybe Kopech and Travis than Beni or Moncada for two reasons:

 

1) They rate to be better going forward

2) They seem to slot well in LF and 3B/1B/DH- our two biggest non-pitching needs next year.

[moonslav59]

For the first time in a while, I feel optimistic about the teams chances of making the playoffs. The starting pitching has spun a number of good games and Clay Buchholz has even regained some of his abilities. Our relief pitching has gotten another boost through DD while Kimbrel is back and Ziegler is going well. Pitching, which was a disaster, partially due to injuries is now on a par with other contenders.

 

In the field, we continue to have great contributions from Betts, Pedroia, Bogaerts, Bradley, Ortiz and Leon and now have hope that our left field will be strengthened. That leaves us with an okay Hanley, Shaw, Hill and Holt. Hannigan at catcher is weak at the plate but someone has to catch Wright and he got that unenviable assignment. We still have Young and Swihart in rehab and Moncada to be brought up later, so even more strength available.

 

I see our biggest problem, should we make the playoffs is a shutdown ace starting pitcher. I don't see anything happening on that front, so we have to go with the pitching we have.

 

We are now a real competitor to win the division, being only one game back. Our schedule is biased toward away games so that is a handicap, and I question Farrell's leadership, but every team has problems, it is not a perfect world.

 

Well said.

 

With 19 of our last 28 games on the road, .we need to be in good position by September 2nd, when we head out to the west coast to play OAK, SD then come back east to TOR. Later we play at BAL 4, TBR 3 and NYY 3 before ending at home with 3 vs TOR. In between those long Sept road trips we play BAL 3 and NYY4 at home. Destiny should be in our own hands, even if it might be on the road.

 

That brings us to the here and now. We still have 3 at SEA then 3 at LAD, then home for NYY and AZ. We then go on a big road trip to CLE 1, BAL 2, DET 4, TBR 4. Then home for KCR And TBR before the road trip mentioned above starting Sept 2nd.

 

It's not going to be easy, but we can do it.

 

[moonslav59]

I'm always looking to upgrade our rotation from the top, but with no top quality FA starters available this winter, and the asking price for SP'ers in trade seemingly way overboard, we may just have to settle with what we have now, or seek incremental upgrades to our bottom rotation or bullpen. I hate thinking this way. It goes against every bone in my body, but then again so does trading away our whole future in prospects for Sale of Quintana. I certainly want us to kick the tires with maximum force, but there is a limit to what we should sacrifice. I'm thinking ERod and two from Swihart, Devers and Kopech plus maybe Owens or Johnson should be about as high as we go. Maybe add Basabe or Travis instead of Owens/Johnson. I doubt this will be enough, so maybe this is what we end up with next year:

 

SP1 Price

SP2 Porcello

SP3 Wright

SP4 Pomeranz

SP5 ERod

SP6 Kelly, Elias, Owens, Johnson, O'Sullivan, Cuevas, Haley (SEPT? Kopech)

 

RP1 Kimbrel

RP2 Smith

RP3 Uehara (re-sign or someone like him)

RP4 Ziegler (re-sign or someone like him)

RP5 Abad

RP6 Barnes

RP6 Hembree

RP7 Ross/Kelly/Elias

RP8 Workman, Martin, N Ramirez, Ysla (SP'er)

 

Not too impressive to me, but there is some promise.

 

Without Papi, I'm thinking we'll need to get better in a number of areas to continue being a strong contender, but I'm not seeing how we can greatly improve our staff without giving up too much of our future.

 

[Nick]

Bradley just hit a double....Now, can we all laugh about Bradley starting out the year hitting 9th in the lineup? He's a fun guy to watch....

[S5Dewey]

I think you're right about the weight limit thing, but we can still DFA him if he looks fat or out of shape.

 

We may be able to outbid anyone for Sale or Quintana, but that doesn't mean we will or we should.

 

Yes. I agree. I was only talking about what we CAN do, and not what we SHOULD do.

[moonslav59]

Now a look at the non pitchers who will or may compete for a slot on the 25 man roster at some point in 2017:

 

C: Vazquez, Leon, Swihart, Hanigan (option),[butler, Romanski]

1B: Ramirez, Shaw, Sandoval, Holt, Travis (Swihart, Moncada)

2B: Pedroia, Moncada, Sandoval, Holt, Hernandez, Rutledge, Marrero, Miller

3B: Shaw, Moncada, Hernandez, Sandoval, Marrero, Hollt, Rutledge

SS: Bogaerts, Hernandez, Marrero, Holt, Rutledge [Dubon]

LF: Benintendi, Young, Swihart, Holt (Moncada) [basabe]

CF: Bradley, Betts, Benintendi, Young, Holt

RF: Betts, Young, Holt

DH: Ramirez, Sandoval, Moncada, Young

 

Even if we assume Hannigan will not return unless we trade a catcher, I count 17 players squeezing into 12 roster slots not counting Marrero or Miller.

 

If we assume Rutledge and Travis are not a strong contenders, we still have 15.

 

Sandy is everyone's chosen "odd man out", but I'm not so certain that will happen. Even with him out, we still have one more being squeezed. It's nice to have depth like this, but pushing Hernandez, Swihart, Benintendi, Moncada or Holt to AAA makes little sense.

 

I'm almost certain someone will be traded.

 

I've spoken of preferring a bench of Swihart (LF, 1B & 3rd catcher), Hernandez, and Young over Holt, but it's not a clear choice. I think either Swihart or Holt gets traded. We may add Devers, but that's assuming we trust MOncada can play 1B or 3B 2-3 years from now (when Devers may be ready).

 

I'm not sure this package would net us a top quality pitcher, but if we add our 5 starter (ERod, Pomeranz or Wright--maybe even Kopech), I would think we could find something special. Naming that "something special" is not easy.

 

 

 

[moonslav59]

MLBTR came out with their winter FA rankings:

1) Cespedes

2) Encarnacion

3) Reddick

4) Chapman

5) Kenley Jansen

6) Desmond

7) Bautista

8) W Ramos

9) Trumbo

10) Fowler, J Turner, M Saunders, Hellickson

 

One option might be to make the big splash trade of Beni, ERod and Swihart for Sale, and then go out and sign Cespedes (or maybe Saunders or even Bautista) to play LF.

 

That leaves HanRam, Shaw, Moncada, Pablo, Hernandez, Holt, Rutledge and Travis to battle for the corner IF/DH FT slots and depth.

[bowman]

Want to see much more of Kopech before we let him go.

[moonslav59]

Want to see much more of Kopech before we let him go.

 

So do other GMs before they decide they want him badly enough.

[bowman]

Would be nice to see at least one front line pitcher come up and dominate for us. Groom and Kopech have that potential, but we've been down that road before.

[moonslav59]

Would be nice to see at least one front line pitcher come up and dominate for us. Groom and Kopech have that potential, but we've been down that road before.

 

Actually, we really haven't had many nationally, highly- ranked pitching prospects since Buchholz, except for Espinoza, and we traded him.

[moonslav59]

Sox OPS in the second half of 2016:

1.017 Betts

.852 Pedroia

.835 Bogaerts

.821 Ramirez

.815 Bradley

.805 Shaw

.782 Leon

.710 Ortiz

.710 Holt

 

Nobody with more than 36 PAs has an OPS below .710.

 

How about the last 365 days:

1.070 Ortiz

.918 Bradley

.906 Betts

.890 Leon (133 PAs)

.846 Young (Sox only- 142 PAs)

.839 Bogey

.825 Pedroia

.793 Swihart (214 PAs)

.785 Shaw

.759 Ramirez

.714 Rutledge (133 PAs)

.705 Holt

.655 Castillo (194)

.651 Brentz (60)

.583 Vazquez (176)

.571 Sandoval (149)

.551 Marrero (56)

.537 Hanigan (167)

.495 A Hill (47-Sox only)

.464 Craig (29)

 

Out top 9 players by PAs are all above .705.

 

Eight are above .758.

 

Seven are above .784.

 

I'm not sure any team has this balance.