A Realistic View at 2016

[moonslav59]

11 players per team x 30 teams = 330 players.

 

330 players with 170+ PAs. Here are the Sox rankings in wRC+

 

1) Leon 179

3) Ortiz 169

25) Betts 137

44) JBJ 126

80) Bogey 118

85) Pedey 117

109) Ramirez 111

192) Shaw 95

232) Holt 86

 

 

 

[Nick]

MLBTR reports...

 

Both Ben Badler of Baseball America and Kevin Thomas of the Portland Press Herald reported that Moncada made several good plays at third base in addition to his contributions at the plate.

 

 

Better get some reps in LF

[oldtimer]

The talk has turned to Castillo. Strange season.

[illinoisredsox]

The talk has turned to Castillo. Strange season.

 

Might be something to this; there are unconfirmed reports of worms at Fenway abandoning their homes for safer ground in the outfield.

[southpaw777]

Better get some reps in LF

 

Benni will be back at least by 2017..Moncada has looked really good at 3b, almost looks natural. Made a couple nice diving stops already. A little winter ball then ST and we'll see where hes at...

[moonslav59]

Benni will be back at least by 2017..Moncada has looked really good at 3b, almost looks natural. Made a couple nice diving stops already. A little winter ball then ST and we'll see where hes at...

 

I hope Moncada wins the job. I'm too skeptical of Shaw as a FT'er. Travis will need time to rise. HanRam should DH, so we need a corner IF'er when Papi retires.

[oldtimer]

It was another tough night for the Sox. Unfortunately, Wright had to shake off some rust and that resulted in giving up a big 1st inning. After that, he settled down and looked like himself.

 

The major story was how the lineup from the 5th through the 8th hitters did nothing until Hanley blooped a single in the 9th. Pedey had 4 hits and a walk, Bogaerts had 3 hits, Mookie had 5 hits and both Ortiz and Holt had one hit each. In most cases this was righty on righty so the Royals pitchers could be hit. Our middle to bottom of the lineup just doesn't look good and pinch hitters Young and Hill looked weak as well.

 

What can be done? The only thing I noticed again that might be corrected is that JBJ has gone to an uppercut swing. From the Ted Williams book on hitting, he advocated swinging on the same plane of the ball as it comes into the plate by gravity. JBJ's approach means he needs to be right on the ball to get good wood on it. He is something like 1 for last 15 or so. He needs to get over it soon to give this team some punch in the bottom part of the order. Leon gets a bye as he has been hitting of late. Hanley still looks bad at the plate and Shaw hit one ball very hard but to straightaway center. He still might add some punch. What else can be done? I don't know other than call ups.

 

The good news coming out of the Sox front office is that there is no structural damage to Beni's knee and it will only require the time for the swelling to go down and a rehab period. Great for the kid and good for the club.

[moonslav59]

It was another tough night for the Sox. Unfortunately, Wright had to shake off some rust and that resulted in giving up a big 1st inning. After that, he settled down and looked like himself.

He looked really good after that first inning. I actually feel good about Wright being back.

 

 

The major story was how the lineup from the 5th through the 8th hitters did nothing until Hanley blooped a single in the 9th.

I'm not usually one to bring up strikeouts, because I think they are over-rated, but 9 Ks in 13 ABs from the 5 through 8 hitters is sick!

 

 

Pedey had 4 hits and a walk, Bogaerts had 3 hits, Mookie had 5 hits and both Ortiz and Holt had one hit each. In most cases this was righty on righty so the Royals pitchers could be hit.

13 hits from the first 4 hitters and only 3 runs scored....WOW!

 

 

Our middle to bottom of the lineup just doesn't look good and pinch hitters Young and Hill looked weak as well.

They do now, but our bottom of the order is probably the best in MLB over the full season.

 

What can be done? The only thing I noticed again that might be corrected is that JBJ has gone to an uppercut swing. From the Ted Williams book on hitting, he advocated swinging on the same plane of the ball as it comes into the plate by gravity. JBJ's approach means he needs to be right on the ball to get good wood on it. He is something like 1 for last 15 or so. He needs to get over it soon to give this team some punch in the bottom part of the order.

He is worrying me now. Let's hope he turns it around very soon.

 

Leon gets a bye as he has been hitting of late. Hanley still looks bad at the plate and Shaw hit one ball very hard but to straightaway center. He still might add some punch. What else can be done? I don't know other than call ups.

Tomorrow, they bust out against the league leader in ERA! Book it.

 

The good news coming out of the Sox front office is that there is no structural damage to Beni's knee and it will only require the time for the swelling to go down and a rehab period. Great for the kid and good for the club.

Maybe, Young can catch fire until Beni returns.

[moonslav59]

If everybody was 100% healthy, which doesn't assume they'd be in top form, does anyone have a serious argument with my position by position projected major league depth chart going into 2017?

 

C: Leon, Vazquez, Swihart

1B: Ramirez, Shaw, Pablo, Travis (Swihart?)

2B: Pedroia, Moncada, Holt, Hernandez, Rutledge

SS: Bogaerts, Hernandez, Marrero, Holt

3B: Moncada, Shaw, Hernandez, Holt, Rutledge

LF: Benintendi, Young, Swihart, Holt, Castillo (Moncada?)

CF: JBJ, Beninetndi, Betts, Young, Holt

RF: Betts, Benintendi, Young, Holt, Castillo

DH: Ramirez, Young, Pablo, Moncada

 

SP: Price, Porcello, Wright, Pomeranz, ERod, Johnson, Kelly, Owens, Elias, Cuevas (Kopech?)

RP: Kimbrel, Smith, Kelly, Barnes, Ross, Hembree, Abad, Owens/BJohn/Elias, Martin, NRam, Workman, R Scott, C Shepherd, L Ysla, W Jerez

 

[oldtimer]

If everybody was 100% healthy, which doesn't assume they'd be in top form, does anyone have a serious argument with my position by position projected major league depth chart going into 2017?

 

C: Leon, Vazquez, Swihart

1B: Ramirez, Shaw, Pablo, Travis (Swihart?)

2B: Pedroia, Moncada, Holt, Hernandez, Rutledge

SS: Bogaerts, Hernandez, Marrero, Holt

3B: Moncada, Shaw, Hernandez, Holt, Rutledge

LF: Benintendi, Young, Swihart, Holt, Castillo (Moncada?)

CF: JBJ, Beninetndi, Betts, Young, Holt

RF: Betts, Benintendi, Young, Holt, Castillo

DH: Ramirez, Young, Pablo, Moncada

 

SP: Price, Porcello, Wright, Pomeranz, ERod, Johnson, Kelly, Owens, Elias, Cuevas (Kopech?)

RP: Kimbrel, Smith, Kelly, Barnes, Ross, Hembree, Abad, Owens/BJohn/Elias, Martin, NRam, Workman, R Scott, C Shepherd, L Ysla, W Jerez

 

 

With what we have seen this season, I think your assessment is interesting. I would slim down the number of options to make it more useable.

 

C: Leon, Vazquez, Swihart

1st: Shaw, Rameriz, Travis

2nd: Pedroia, Holt, Moncada

SS: Bogaerts, Hernandez, Holt

3rd: Moncada, Shaw, Hernandez

RF: Betts, Benintendi, Swihart

CF: JBJ, Benintendi, Betts

LF: Benintendi, Swihart, Young

DH: Rameriz, Swihart, Young

 

I kept the depth chart down, but Holt would be on the list on many positions if I went to a 4th option. I am ruling Sandoval out at this time until he can prove that he belongs. Putting Moncada in is a stretch at this time but the competition for him is weak and he is the #1 or #2 player in the minors this year. I think he will make it. I would get rid of Rameriz if possible but am resigned to the fact that his salary might make a trade impossible. Rutledge, Castillo, Marrero, Hill I see as trade bait.

 

No comment on pitching at this time.

[Wade Boggs]

With what we have seen this season, I think your assessment is interesting. I would slim down the number of options to make it more useable.

 

C: Leon, Vazquez, Swihart

1st: Shaw, Rameriz, Travis

2nd: Pedroia, Holt, Moncada

SS: Bogaerts, Hernandez, Holt

3rd: Moncada, Shaw, Hernandez

RF: Betts, Benintendi, Swihart

CF: JBJ, Benintendi, Betts

LF: Benintendi, Swihart, Young

DH: Rameriz, Swihart, Young

 

I kept the depth chart down, but Holt would be on the list on many positions if I went to a 4th option. I am ruling Sandoval out at this time until he can prove that he belongs. Putting Moncada in is a stretch at this time but the competition for him is weak and he is the #1 or #2 player in the minors this year. I think he will make it. I would get rid of Rameriz if possible but am resigned to the fact that his salary might make a trade impossible. Rutledge, Castillo, Marrero, Hill I see as trade bait.

 

No comment on pitching at this time.

 

 

Hill is a F/ A at the end of the year. He can not be used as trade bait.

 

Castillo has been a 72m bust at the moment. He is although playing well in the minors but who cares. He has no trade value.

 

Rutledge has been out since May, he has no trade value. If you carry Holt and Hernandez than Rutledge is sent down or released.

 

Marrero is a throw in to a deal at the winter meetings. He has no trade value . He has a great glove not a great bat. Those players are a dime a dozen. But with XB and Pedey, Moncada, and if they want to give Panda one more chance, your right you can always include Marrero as part of some deal.

[Spudboy]

With what we have seen this season, I think your assessment is interesting. I would slim down the number of options to make it more useable.

 

C: Leon, Vazquez, Swihart

1st: Shaw, Rameriz, Travis

2nd: Pedroia, Holt, Moncada

SS: Bogaerts, Hernandez, Holt

3rd: Moncada, Shaw, Hernandez

RF: Betts, Benintendi, Swihart

CF: JBJ, Benintendi, Betts

LF: Benintendi, Swihart, Young

DH: Rameriz, Swihart, Young

 

I kept the depth chart down, but Holt would be on the list on many positions if I went to a 4th option. I am ruling Sandoval out at this time until he can prove that he belongs. Putting Moncada in is a stretch at this time but the competition for him is weak and he is the #1 or #2 player in the minors this year. I think he will make it. I would get rid of Rameriz if possible but am resigned to the fact that his salary might make a trade impossible. Rutledge, Castillo, Marrero, Hill I see as trade bait.

 

No comment on pitching at this time.

 

Good stuff. Although I wonder how much RF Swihart will play.

[moonslav59]

With what we have seen this season, I think your assessment is interesting. I would slim down the number of options to make it more useable.

 

C: Leon, Vazquez, Swihart

1st: Shaw, Rameriz, Travis

2nd: Pedroia, Holt, Moncada

SS: Bogaerts, Hernandez, Holt

3rd: Moncada, Shaw, Hernandez

RF: Betts, Benintendi, Swihart

CF: JBJ, Benintendi, Betts

LF: Benintendi, Swihart, Young

DH: Rameriz, Swihart, Young

 

I kept the depth chart down, but Holt would be on the list on many positions if I went to a 4th option. I am ruling Sandoval out at this time until he can prove that he belongs. Putting Moncada in is a stretch at this time but the competition for him is weak and he is the #1 or #2 player in the minors this year. I think he will make it. I would get rid of Rameriz if possible but am resigned to the fact that his salary might make a trade impossible. Rutledge, Castillo, Marrero, Hill I see as trade bait.

 

No comment on pitching at this time.

 

Hill is a free agent after this year. I left off all players not under team control next year.

I, too, would put Shaw at 1B and HanRam at DH, but since I think HanRam is better than Shaw, I listed him as our best option at both positions. I guess I could have done that with Betts at every OF position and maybe even 2B, so I realize I was not consistent in my analysis.

 

I think if Pedey gets hurt, I'd rather have Moncada at 2B than Holt, although I do think this is Holt's best position. Shaw could play 3B, HanRam 1B, and Young/Pablo/Swihart could DH.

 

I erred not placing Swihart in the DH depth chart. I would, however, platoon Swihart with Young as my primary back-up for HanRam.

[southpaw777]

I hope Moncada wins the job. I'm too skeptical of Shaw as a FT'er. Travis will need time to rise. HanRam should DH, so we need a corner IF'er when Papi retires.

 

Agree with Shaw and Moncada. I still like Hanley at 1b and maybe DH some of the time, but def not a FT DH. Not sure that we NEED to get another corner guy. We dont have to put Hanley there, and really shouldn't..Im curious to why you think we should when hes been pretty damn good there?

Edited August 27, 2016 by southpaw777

[moonslav59]

Hill is a F/ A at the end of the year. He can not be used as trade bait.

 

Castillo has been a 72m bust at the moment. He is although playing well in the minors but who cares. He has no trade value.

 

Rutledge has been out since May, he has no trade value. If you carry Holt and Hernandez than Rutledge is sent down or released.

 

Marrero is a throw in to a deal at the winter meetings. He has no trade value . He has a great glove not a great bat. Those players are a dime a dozen. But with XB and Pedey, Moncada, and if they want to give Panda one more chance, your right you can always include Marrero as part of some deal.

 

Yes, Rutledge would be major league dept at the minor league level. He still has two options left, so he's a keeper. I do agree that with Moncada added to the IF mix and Pablo's possible return, we will likely trade a back-up infielder by "throwing in" Marrero or adding more value to a larger package by trading Holt or Hernandez.

 

I agree that Castillo has little of no trade value, but with just Brentz ML ready, I still see Castillo as part of the extended depth chart.

 

I do think Pablo will be given a chance to make the ML roster, but I am not sure Sox management will go into the 2017 season without making any addition to the 3B/1B/DH mix. I don't see us adding Encarnacion, unless we plan on trading HanRam or Shaw, otherwise Moncada is squeezed. I guess with the uncertainty still attached to Moncada and Shaw, and HanRam still capable of pulling a 2015, adding someone like Encarnacion and keeping the other three is possible. This would then squeeze Swihart, Travis and anyone else with value at 3B, 1B or DH.

 

[moonslav59]

Agree with Shaw and Moncada. I still like Hanley at 1b and maybe DH some of the time, but def not a FT DH. Not sure that we NEED to get another corner guy. We dont have to put Hanley there, and really shouldn't..Im curious to why you think we should when hes been pretty damn good there?

 

I guess we see things differently on HanRam's defense. He's done better than I expected, but I expected bottom 5 out of 30 defense. He's pretty close to bottom 8 or 10, in my opinion. Even if we can agree he's average, Shaw has the best UZR/150 at 1B from 2015-2016. He's much better, defensively at 1B, than HanRam. I have faith in Moncada winning the 3B job by opening day or May.

 

I do share your doubts about how HanRam would or could handle the DH position.

 

I am not for acquiring a DH or corner IF'er unless something changes between now and season end- like Shaw stinks, HanRam stinks or there is a serious injury.

 

[Spudboy]

I guess we see things differently on HanRam's defense. He's done better than I expected, but I expected bottom 5 out of 30 defense. He's pretty close to bottom 8 or 10, in my opinion. Even if we can agree he's average, Shaw has the best UZR/150 at 1B from 2015-2016. He's much better, defensively at 1B, than HanRam. I have faith in Moncada winning the 3B job by opening day or May.

 

I do share your doubts about how HanRam would or could handle the DH position.

 

I am not for acquiring a DH or corner IF'er unless something changes between now and season end- like Shaw stinks, HanRam stinks or there is a serious injury.

 

 

Why do you doubt Hanley at DH?

[moonslav59]

Now let's look at the 40 man roster.

 

Currently, we 39 players on the roster, and the following players will be free agents: Ortiz, Uehara, Tazawa, Ziegler and Hill. Buchholz and Hanigan have options. That creates 5-7 more slots plus the open slot already there.

 

I think we can assume Moncada takes one slot. Here are the Rule 5 players for this winter (I highlighted possible players needing protection by adding to the 40-man roster):

 

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

 

I doubt we add Romanski, even if we let Hanigan walk, but we might.

 

Haley, Ysla and Stanki might be long shots.

 

Martin might be the only guy I'm pretty sure will be added.

 

We might risk losing Basabe, since he's not really close enough to ML ready for a team to commit to keeping him on their 25 man roster all year. He's got a lot of promise, so maybe we add him.

 

This is a year, where I see little issues with protecting Rule 5 players or squeezing a promising player off the 40 man roster. In other words, the bottom of our 40 man roster is as weak as I've seen it in years. Not only do we seem to have plenty of room for borderline Rule 5 players, but we have several players already on the 40 man roster, that I do not feel have a whole lot of ML promise. They are (in reveres order of importance):

 

Bryce Brentz

Brandon Workman

Noe Ramirez

Williams Jerez

William Cuevas

 

Then, there are the Buchholz and Hanigan options and the possible DFA'ing of Pablo, Holaday and/or Abad.

 

These are the sure "keepers":

 

Betts, Bogaerts, Bradley

Price, Porcello, Pedroia, Kimbrel

Moncada, Benintendi, Swihart, Rodriguez, Wright, Pomeranz

Vazquez, Shaw, Young, Leon, Smith

Hernandez, Barnes, Holt

Kelly, Hembree, Ross, Rutledge

Johnson, Owens

Elias

 

That's only 27-28 sure bets.

 

We'll probably keep these 7- making it 34-35 total.

Jerez, Cuevas

Sandoval, Workman

Abad, Brentz, Holaday

 

I'm sure we'll add 2-3 RP'ers and maybe a vet SP'er and OF'er plus maybe a corner IF'er/DH.

 

There's 40.

 

[moonslav59]

Why do you doubt Hanley at DH?

 

I don't have serious doubts like some seem to, but not every player is cut out to .be a DH.

 

HanRam could be made for DH, but he might also lose focus by not being in the field and lose some of his offensive focus and abilities.

 

I think he's our best option at DH right now, but I am not sure of his further success. I never was a HanRam fan

[S5Dewey]

Why do you doubt Hanley at DH?

 

For me, I don't doubt that Hanley can do a decent job at DH. I see Hanley's (and our) problem as the old saw, "Never be the guy who follows the legend. Always be the guy who follows the guy who follows the guy who's the legend".

 

We've been spoiled by David Ortiz and we're going to have Ortiz-like expectations from whomever the DH is in 2017. As the man used to say, "I pity the fool", because the fans aren't going to be happy with him.

[moonslav59]

For me, I don't doubt that Hanley can do a decent job at DH. I see Hanley's (and our) problem as the old saw, "Never be the guy who follows the legend. Always be the guy who follows the guy who follows the guy who's the legend".

 

We've been spoiled by David Ortiz and we're going to have Ortiz-like expectations from whomever the DH is in 2017. As the man used to say, "I pity the fool", because the fans aren't going to be happy with him.

 

That's not what bothers me about HanRam. It's his up and down career and his possible loss of focus sitting on the bench all year.

[Station 13]

Hanley might be a decent platoon DH. He just doesn't do a lot vs RHP, slugging only .391 this year against. Then there's Pablo, where the hell does he 'fits' in?

[southpaw777]

I guess we see things differently on HanRam's defense. He's done better than I expected, but I expected bottom 5 out of 30 defense. He's pretty close to bottom 8 or 10, in my opinion. Even if we can agree he's average, Shaw has the best UZR/150 at 1B from 2015-2016. He's much better, defensively at 1B, than HanRam. I have faith in Moncada winning the 3B job by opening day or May.

 

I do share your doubts about how HanRam would or could handle the DH position.

 

I am not for acquiring a DH or corner IF'er unless something changes between now and season end- like Shaw stinks, HanRam stinks or there is a serious injury.

 

 

You know im not big on defensive metrics. Ive watched every game and Hanley doesnt hurt us at all defensively...Hes made a couple blunders, sure, but for his first year hes done well. No denying that. like I said, he doesnt hurt us and isnt a liability. Shaws offense so far doesnt warrant a ft position there. Although Hanley is having a bit of a down year with the bat and was out with a shoulder issue last year, Id still choose him over Shaw just based on history offensively and how well hes done his fist year at 1b with the glove...right now, to me, Shaw is a bench guy for 1b/3b. Although i believe they should just have kept him in at 3b and let him work through his struggles and the adjustment he needed to make...the Sox can sometimes be a bit impatient with young players like they were with Xander at SS in 2014...

Do you think if they left Shaw alone at 3b he would have worked through things? I do. At least if they let him work through it he couldve upped his value in a trade. Now he looks like a bench player when im no so sure he is.

[harmony]

I am surprised that 26-year-old infielder Deven Marrero remains on the 40-man roster given his .192/.239/.235/.475 line in 368 plate appearances at Triple A this year. Edited August 27, 2016 by harmony

[moonslav59]

You know im not big on defensive metrics. Ive watched every game and Hanley doesnt hurt us at all defensively...Hes made a couple blunders, sure, but for his first year hes done well. No denying that. like I said, he doesnt hurt us and isnt a liability. Shaws offense so far doesnt warrant a ft position there.

Maybe I was spoiled by Youk, AGon and Napoli's fine defense at 1B, but I've watched every pitch or every game and think HanRam has been below average to maybe even bottom quarter tier. I'm totaally convinced Shaw is the better fielding 1Bman, but I share your concerns about his offensive value at 1B.

 

Although Hanley is having a bit of a down year with the bat and was out with a shoulder issue last year, Id still choose him over Shaw just based on history offensively and how well hes done his fist year at 1b with the glove...right now, to me, Shaw is a bench guy for 1b/3b.

Agreed. As you cans ee above, I have HanRam ahead of Shaw at 1B, despite my belief that he is a worse fielder there, but there is an opening at DH, so if the best three we have at 3B, 1B and DH are Moncada, Shaw and HanRam, I'd put HanRam at DH--assuming Moncada is capable at 3B. Even if Pablo comes back, I might keep HanRam at DH, although Pablo could be better there.

 

Although i believe they should just have kept him in at 3b and let him work through his struggles and the adjustment he needed to make...the Sox can sometimes be a bit impatient with young players like they were with Xander at SS in 2014...Do you think if they left Shaw alone at 3b he would have worked through things? I do. At least if they let him work through it he couldve upped his value in a trade. Now he looks like a bench player when im no so sure he is.

I've never been convinced Shaw was for real. I know if you add last year to the start of this year, the sample size of decency was getting pretty large, I still never was sure of his "arrival" as a FT'er. His play the last month or so has shown I had reason for concern. I am still not convinced that Shaw can be anything more than a decent platoon player at 1B or 3B, but if he does play, it should not be at DH while HanRam plays 1B.

 

Maybe we will pick up someone else, but with Young available as a DH vs LHPs and Pablo still a possibility at least as a platoon vs RHPs at DH, 3B or even 1B, I think we'll go into next year with what we got. Shaw and HanRam have the inside shot at winning one of the three slots, and if Moncada is ML ready, I think he'll beat out Pablo and Hernandez as the starter.

[moonslav59]

I am surprised that 26-year-old infielder Deven Marrero remains on the 40-man roster given his .192/.239/.235/.475 line in 368 plate appearances at Triple A this year.

 

I'm not. We only have 39 guys on the roster and have never had a roster squeeze this year. He's a very good fielder. We do not have much defensive depth at SS.

[oldtimer]

Now let's look at the 40 man roster.

 

Currently, we 39 players on the roster, and the following players will be free agents: Ortiz, Uehara, Tazawa, Ziegler and Hill. Buchholz and Hanigan have options. That creates 5-7 more slots plus the open slot already there.

 

I think we can assume Moncada takes one slot. Here are the Rule 5 players for this winter (I highlighted possible players needing protection by adding to the 40-man roster):

 

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

 

I doubt we add Romanski, even if we let Hanigan walk, but we might.

 

Haley, Ysla and Stanki might be long shots.

 

Martin might be the only guy I'm pretty sure will be added.

 

We might risk losing Basabe, since he's not really close enough to ML ready for a team to commit to keeping him on their 25 man roster all year. He's got a lot of promise, so maybe we add him.

 

This is a year, where I see little issues with protecting Rule 5 players or squeezing a promising player off the 40 man roster. In other words, the bottom of our 40 man roster is as weak as I've seen it in years. Not only do we seem to have plenty of room for borderline Rule 5 players, but we have several players already on the 40 man roster, that I do not feel have a whole lot of ML promise. They are (in reveres order of importance):

 

Bryce Brentz

Brandon Workman

Noe Ramirez

Williams Jerez

William Cuevas

 

Then, there are the Buchholz and Hanigan options and the possible DFA'ing of Pablo, Holaday and/or Abad.

 

These are the sure "keepers":

 

Betts, Bogaerts, Bradley

Price, Porcello, Pedroia, Kimbrel

Moncada, Benintendi, Swihart, Rodriguez, Wright, Pomeranz

Vazquez, Shaw, Young, Leon, Smith

Hernandez, Barnes, Holt

Kelly, Hembree, Ross, Rutledge

Johnson, Owens

Elias

 

That's only 27-28 sure bets.

 

We'll probably keep these 7- making it 34-35 total.

Jerez, Cuevas

Sandoval, Workman

Abad, Brentz, Holaday

 

I'm sure we'll add 2-3 RP'ers and maybe a vet SP'er and OF'er plus maybe a corner IF'er/DH.

 

There's 40.

 

 

Rutledge is coming off knee surgery so he might not be as sure a bet as you propose. I also wonder about Elias, otherwise I agree with your list of sure returnees.

 

In the probably keep list, I would assume Abad is likely as he has good velocity and a great curve ball. Workman is coming back from injury so he will have to prove he belongs but has what is needed to do that. Sandoval's big contract and past competency will give him a chance to make it, but that will depend on how much he wants it. I can't see keeping Holaday and Brentz and have no opinion on Jerez and Cuevas.

[oldtimer]

You know im not big on defensive metrics. Ive watched every game and Hanley doesnt hurt us at all defensively...Hes made a couple blunders, sure, but for his first year hes done well. No denying that. like I said, he doesnt hurt us and isnt a liability. Shaws offense so far doesnt warrant a ft position there. Although Hanley is having a bit of a down year with the bat and was out with a shoulder issue last year, Id still choose him over Shaw just based on history offensively and how well hes done his fist year at 1b with the glove...right now, to me, Shaw is a bench guy for 1b/3b. Although i believe they should just have kept him in at 3b and let him work through his struggles and the adjustment he needed to make...the Sox can sometimes be a bit impatient with young players like they were with Xander at SS in 2014...

Do you think if they left Shaw alone at 3b he would have worked through things? I do. At least if they let him work through it he couldve upped his value in a trade. Now he looks like a bench player when im no so sure he is.

 

I don't see Hanley exhibiting the kind of contact or power we should expect at DH. He is okay at 1st base defensively but his metrics don't look great and I don't think he is a good base runner. At his age, he is likely to trend downward. The main argument for Hanley is his big contract and how difficult it would be to get any other team to take him for nearly that money. We have another big contract guy in Sandoval who might DH, but is even more iffy than Hanley.

 

Shaw on the other hand is a relatively new player who is good defensively and has show flashes of power. Can he be helped to improve his offensive production? If so, he might be better off at first with Moncada coming along to handle 3rd. I don't think leaving a player in a position where he doesn't show much positive offensive production over a long period is good for the team. All players have slumps but when does a slump become too much for a team to bear?

[moonslav59]

So - Moncada could theoretically be added on the last day of the season to the 40-man and then be playoff eligible as a replacement for Sandoval.

 

I thought a player could be added in an emergency for a player recently injured-- not someone put on the 60-day DL months ago.

 

[mvp 78]

They wouldn't wait that long as Portland's season ends next weekend.