The Playoff Roster

[Fan_since_Boggs]

When the Red Sox took away the starting 3b job from Shaw and decided Moncada wasn't ready, I would have given Hernandez a chance over Holt. I don't know about Hernandez's defense at 3b, and he isn't the most disciplined hitter, but maybe they could get a .300 BA out of him for the rest of the season and post-season (he has shown that ability in the minors). I'm not overly optimistic about Holt's offensive game.

 

Farrell's lack of faith in Hernandez is a mystery to me. B.Holt doesn't seem like a better choice to me.

 

Having a PH for the catcher is a good point and so I would add Hernandez to the roster and take away one of the relief pitchers.

 

SPs: Porcello, Price, Rodriguez, Buchholz

Bullpen: Kimbrel, Uehara, Ross, Ziegler, Kelly, Tazawa, Pomeranz, Hembree OR Scott

(12 pitchers)

 

C: Leon, Vazquez

INF: Ramirez, Pedroia, Bogaerts, Holt, Hill, Hernandez

OF: Benintendi, Bradley Jr, Betts, Young

DH: Ortiz

(13 position players)

 

I would go with Vazquez over the other two catchers, but I agree that Farrell doesn't seem to be leaning in that direction.

[moonslav59]

When the Red Sox took away the starting 3b job from Shaw and decided Moncada wasn't ready, I would have given Hernandez a chance over Holt. I don't know about Hernandez's defense at 3b, and he isn't the most disciplined hitter, but maybe they could get a .300 BA out of him for the rest of the season and post-season (he has shown that ability in the minors). I'm not overly optimistic about Holt's offensive game.

 

Farrell's lack of faith in Hernandez is a mystery to me. B.Holt doesn't seem like a better choice to me.

 

Having a PH for the catcher is a good point and so I would add Hernandez to the roster and take away one of the relief pitchers.

 

SPs: Porcello, Price, Rodriguez, Buchholz

Bullpen: Kimbrel, Uehara, Ross, Ziegler, Kelly, Tazawa, Pomeranz, Hembree OR Scott

(12 pitchers)

 

C: Leon, Vazquez

INF: Ramirez, Pedroia, Bogaerts, Holt, Hill, Hernandez

OF: Benintendi, Bradley Jr, Betts, Young

DH: Ortiz

(13 position players)

 

I would go with Vazquez over the other two catchers, but I agree that Farrell doesn't seem to be leaning in that direction.

 

Hernandez is a decent fielding SS who was given reps at 3B in AAA, so I would think he is better defensively at 3B than Holt. Hernandez is definitely better on defense at SS than Holt, but they gave Holt the start on September 22nd at SS.

 

It may just come down to JF going with the vet and not wanting to put Hernandez into the fire so late in a pressure-cooked season.

 

Holt had ample opportunities to win the 3B job, and in some ways, he's one reason why we signed Pablo. Holt was not in the mix last year or in ST'ing. They gave the job to Shaw over Pablo with Holt's name never mentioned.

 

I think Hernandez was hurt at some point this season, so maybe that is part of the decision. He only played in 57 games at AAA- starting 54. He got only 10 starts at 3B, but that's all Bogey and Moncada got before being called up, a pet peeve of mine BTW. He started 6 games at 3B with the Sox (1 at SS and 2 at 2B mostly when Holt was out).

 

Hernandez has a .730 OPS in a tiny ML sample size of 56 PAs, but he did have an .832 OPS at AA (294 PAs in 2015- age 22) and a .752 OPS at AAA (427 PAs over the last 2 years- age 22-23). I have to think he's a better offensive option than Shaw or Hill, and he could PH for Leon or Vaz or Holaday.

 

 

[mvp 78]

Moncada will be in AZ, not in the playoffs.

[sk7326]

If you carry the extra position player you want something specialized ... someone you might actually deploy in these games ... so your choices are (for type):

 

- A pure defensive sub

- Someone who can pinch run and a threat to steal

- A designated pinch hitter sort

 

(obviously would be nice if they could do multiple)

 

But I think that is the skill set you are diving into. Unfortunately the injury to a Sam Travis (who was the best candidate if he kept growing) eliminates any real good candidates to just pinch hit. I'd probably lean to Merrero and just stick with an extra defender.

[mvp 78]

I still think it's a little weird that they didn't pick up a speed guy for late inning situations.

[sk7326]

I still think it's a little weird that they didn't pick up a speed guy for late inning situations.

 

Me too. I think they were genuinely hoping Moncada could do that - which was not unreasonable. (after all the Royals carried Raul Mondesi Jr, who had played zero major league games - for that purpose) But I think all that air his bat generated told them that he needed at-bats more than they needed a designated pinch runner (which I am less sure of). I know he had some lapses on the basepaths too - but I think that was probably less important than the bat. (although I imagine that was the cherry on the sundae)

[Maxbialystock]

Can the playoff roster be adjusted after the ALDS and/or ALCS? I ask because the Guardians don't have many lefty pitchers--no starters and maybe 2 relievers. Consequently, I would probably favor lefty bats among the last 1 or 2 Sox slots.

 

I think most everyone agrees with 4 starters and 7 relievers--11 pitchers overall.

 

Plus 4 outfielders (Young, Benintendi, JBJ, and Betts), 2 catchers (Leon and one of Vazquez, Holoday, Hanigan--I favor Vazquez), and 1 DH (Ortiz).

 

That leaves 6 infielders: Bogaerts, Pedroia, Ramirez, and 3 among Holt, Shaw, Hill, and Hernandez. Worth noting is that all three regular infielders hit from the right side. Of the four remaining, three--Shaw, Holt, and Hernandez--hit from the left side and Hill is the only righty hitter. I think Holt is in because of his versatility in the field. I think Shaw is too despite his 2d half struggles at the plate. Hill could be the final pick because of his experience and the fact that he is a righty hitter. And Hernandez could be the pick because he hits from the left side, has a higher OPS than Hill, and is more versatile than Hill.

[sk7326]

Can the playoff roster be adjusted after the ALDS and/or ALCS? I ask because the Guardians don't have many lefty pitchers--no starters and maybe 2 relievers. Consequently, I would probably favor lefty bats among the last 1 or 2 Sox slots.

 

I think most everyone agrees with 4 starters and 7 relievers--11 pitchers overall.

 

Plus 4 outfielders (Young, Benintendi, JBJ, and Betts), 2 catchers (Leon and one of Vazquez, Holoday, Hanigan--I favor Vazquez), and 1 DH (Ortiz).

 

That leaves 6 infielders: Bogaerts, Pedroia, Ramirez, and 3 among Holt, Shaw, Hill, and Hernandez. Worth noting is that all three regular infielders hit from the right side. Of the four remaining, three--Shaw, Holt, and Hernandez--hit from the left side and Hill is the only righty hitter. I think Holt is in because of his versatility in the field. I think Shaw is too despite his 2d half struggles at the plate. Hill could be the final pick because of his experience and the fact that he is a righty hitter. And Hernandez could be the pick because he hits from the left side, has a higher OPS than Hill, and is more versatile than Hill.

 

Playoff rosters can be changed between series ... any injury substitution knocks out a player for the following series. That is, if, say Betts got hurt and the Sox wanted to replace him for Game 2, that puts Betts on the shelf until the World Series.

[moonslav59]

If you carry the extra position player you want something specialized ... someone you might actually deploy in these games ... so your choices are (for type):

 

- A pure defensive sub Marrero/ Vazquez/ maybe Hill

 

- Someone who can pinch run and a threat to steal Hernandez/ Moncada (in AZ)/ Marrero?

 

- A designated pinch hitter sort Young or Beni- whoever doesn't start

 

(obviously would be nice if they could do multiple)

 

But I think that is the skill set you are diving into. Unfortunately the injury to a Sam Travis (who was the best candidate if he kept growing) eliminates any real good candidates to just pinch hit. I'd probably lean to Merrero and just stick with an extra defender.

 

I'd take Marrero over Hill, but I like Hernandez as our first IF sub.

[sk7326]

It is not.

 

that Farrell was managing rest and playing time over winning - that part was obvious

[moonslav59]

Can the playoff roster be adjusted after the ALDS and/or ALCS? I ask because the Guardians don't have many lefty pitchers--no starters and maybe 2 relievers. Consequently, I would probably favor lefty bats among the last 1 or 2 Sox slots.

 

I think most everyone agrees with 4 starters and 7 relievers--11 pitchers overall.

 

Plus 4 outfielders (Young, Benintendi, JBJ, and Betts), 2 catchers (Leon and one of Vazquez, Holoday, Hanigan--I favor Vazquez), and 1 DH (Ortiz).

 

That leaves 6 infielders: Bogaerts, Pedroia, Ramirez, and 3 among Holt, Shaw, Hill, and Hernandez. Worth noting is that all three regular infielders hit from the right side. Of the four remaining, three--Shaw, Holt, and Hernandez--hit from the left side and Hill is the only righty hitter. I think Holt is in because of his versatility in the field. I think Shaw is too despite his 2d half struggles at the plate. Hill could be the final pick because of his experience and the fact that he is a righty hitter. And Hernandez could be the pick because he hits from the left side, has a higher OPS than Hill, and is more versatile than Hill.

 

Hernandez is a switch hitter who hit from both sides well in AAA, but hit lefties much better in his tiny ML sample sizes. (He hit RHPs better in AA.)

[moonslav59]

That leaves 6 infielders: Bogaerts, Pedroia, Ramirez, and 3 among Holt, Shaw, Hill, and Hernandez.

 

I'd add Marrero for his defense.

 

I'd take Shaw, because he can play 1B and is still a better hitter than Hill and Marrero. He's also a much better defender at 1B than HanRam (see Buckner and Stapleton)

I'd take Hernandez over Hill or Marrero, because he can hit better and is a decent fielder. He's also a switch hitter.

I'd take Marrero over Hill, because they both can't hit, but Marrero is a better defender, especially at SS.

 

I might take a third catcher, so we can PH for two of them.

[sk7326]

For the position players:

 

Leon, some catcher

Ramirez, Pedroia, Bogaerts, Holt, Benintendi, Bradley, Betts, Ortiz

 

Reserves:

Young - extra OF, lefty masher

Shaw - can play the corners, best choice for a designated pinch hitter.

Hill - a righty bat. has struggled a lot, but still

Merrero - The best extra piece we have in the org is a defensive specialist.

[moonslav59]

For the position players:

 

Leon, some catcher

Ramirez, Pedroia, Bogaerts, Holt, Benintendi, Bradley, Betts, Ortiz

 

Reserves:

Young - extra OF, lefty masher

Shaw - can play the corners, best choice for a designated pinch hitter.

Hill - a righty bat. has struggled a lot, but still

Merrero - The best extra piece we have in the org is a defensive specialist.

 

Hernandez bats right and left. I'd take him over Hill- who really has sucked royally.

[Spudboy]

I like Merrero a lot but no way in hell should he replace someone who can actually hit the ball.

 

I say go with Hernandez since he does everything but field SS better.

[mvp 78]

BABIP

Hill: .218

Hernandez: .350

 

K%

Hill: 11.7%

Hernandez: 17.9%

 

WAR

Hill: -0.2

Hernandez: -0.2

 

My guess is that Hill is better than what he has shown and is more likely to outpace his current performance. Hernandez's defense has been pretty bad since coming up to Boston. Hernandez does have more positional flexibility and youth, but I wonder if they'll go with Hill for his experience (though he only has 5 games of postseason experience).

[Bellhorn04]

Hernandez bats right and left. I'd take him over Hill- who really has sucked royally.

 

What happened to small sample sizes?

[Dojji]

When small sample sizes are all you have to judge on, you judge based on small sample sizes. We have to make a call, Hill or Hernandez, we can't not make that decision, so we use the available evidence despite how shallow it is.

[bosoxmal]

Not much talk about the pitching. ten would be plenty because there are plenty of off days. I would favor Uehara or Kelly as my closer.

 

To me, Kimbrel looks too much like the over worked Dick Radatz his final year with the Sox. If you can't find the plate, what use are you?

[sk7326]

I like Merrero a lot but no way in hell should he replace someone who can actually hit the ball.

 

I say go with Hernandez since he does everything but field SS better.

 

With player #25, I am focusing on a really good level of a specialized something. Young and Shaw already give us enough acceptable pinch-hitting bats. Defensive substitute I think makes the most sense give the guys here. Hernandez is not a silly choice by any means, but Merrero can field the position a bit better, and that should be sufficient.

[sk7326]

Not much talk about the pitching. ten would be plenty because there are plenty of off days. I would favor Uehara or Kelly as my closer.

 

To me, Kimbrel looks too much like the over worked Dick Radatz his final year with the Sox. If you can't find the plate, what use are you?

 

Given most teams all year carry 12 or 13 pitchers, 10 is a bridge too far. 11 is sensible.

 

Kimbrel's real problem is frankly the number of blowouts the Sox are administering - sometimes he has not had regular run.

[illinoisredsox]

Hernandez bats right and left. I'd take him over Hill- who really has sucked royally.

 

They went with 11 pitchers in 2013 in the ALDS, they probably will do the same this year.

 

That leaves 14 position players.

 

Hill offers better D, Hernandez more speed. Given the 14 slots available, I think both will be on the roster as I can't see them taking 3 catchers (if one were Swihart, maybe, since he at least offers a potential bat, as is, no way 3 are on the roster).

 

Offensively, neither one of them has gone to the plate often enough lately to really say which would be better: Hernandez's plus stats are almost entirely from a few games in late June/early July and he only came to the plate 7 times in September; Hill didn't do much all year although he did go 8-27 in September.

 

Bottom line is we are talking about the #6-7 infielder here.

[moonslav59]

I like Merrero a lot but no way in hell should he replace someone who can actually hit the ball.

 

I say go with Hernandez since he does everything but field SS better.

 

Yes, and he can at least field SS. Hill cannot.

 

Marrero fields SS better, but that should not come up at all.

[moonslav59]

With the use of Hill or Marrero in question, I still think the idea of carrying a 3rd catcher makes some sense.

 

We can PH Young or Beni for Leon in the 6th or 7th and then PH Shaw or Hernandez for Holday in the 8th or 9th and end up with Vaz to finish the game behind the plate.

[illinoisredsox]

Not much talk about the pitching. ten would be plenty because there are plenty of off days. I would favor Uehara or Kelly as my closer.

 

To me, Kimbrel looks too much like the over worked Dick Radatz his final year with the Sox. If you can't find the plate, what use are you?

 

You could make a case for Uehara, although whether he can be effective back to back is a huge question. However, Kelly has never closed a game in his life; the postseason is not the time to find out if he can do it.

[moonslav59]

You could make a case for Uehara, although whether he can be effective back to back is a huge question. However, Kelly has never closed a game in his life; the postseason is not the time to find out if he can do it.

 

I'd be okay with 10 pitchers, if there was a position player that screamed usefulness, but sadly even the 14th position player (Hill/Vazquez/Marrero?) is not really a game-changer in any real sense.

[Spudboy]

Given most teams all year carry 12 or 13 pitchers, 10 is a bridge too far. 11 is sensible.

 

Kimbrel's real problem is frankly the number of blowouts the Sox are administering - sometimes he has not had regular run.

 

********. He is wild.

 

He has been that way from day one with the Sox.

[sk7326]

********. He is wild.

 

He has been that way from day one with the Sox.

 

Definitely has been a down year - fortunately hitters don't put the ball in play a whole lot.

[S5Dewey]

Definitely has been a down year - fortunately hitters don't put the ball in play a whole lot.

 

Yeah. And it's going to be less when they start taking more pitches.

[oldtimer]

Yes, and he can at least field SS. Hill cannot.

 

Marrero fields SS better, but that should not come up at all.

 

I agree and he can PH and PR. Both may be of use in the playoffs.