A Realistic View at 2017 Part II

[Larry Cook]

Red Sox To Promote Rafael Devers

By Mark Polishuk | July 23, 2017 at 5:13pm CDT

 

The Red Sox will promote third base prospect Rafael Devers, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski announced to the Boston Herald’s Jason Mastrodonato (Twitter link) and other reporters. Devers will join the team in Seattle tomorrow and make his Major League debut on Tuesday when the Red Sox face the Mariners (hat tip to MassLive.com’s Jen McCaffrey).

 

 

Let the Devers era begin.

 

Let it be prosperous.

 

Is this a sign of desperation by Dave?

[Palodios]

Is this a sign of desperation by Dave?

 

Eight days left before the deadline, might as well take a look. If he has a good week, the Sox have more trade leverage. If he's not ready, atleast they know.

[jacksonianmarch]

It's a cameo. Thing is, you cannot make much of a judgement off a 5 game stint. He could light the world aflame in those 5 games and trail off. He could go 2 for 20 and then prosper after adjusting.

[Kimmi]

Is this a sign of desperation by Dave?

 

Yes. Though there is no need for it.

[Jack Flap]

It's desperation only if they don't think he's ready yet but called him up anyway...if they believe he's already an MLB-quality player, why not give him a shot?

[Kimmi]

It's desperation only if they don't think he's ready yet but called him up anyway...if they believe he's already an MLB-quality player, why not give him a shot?

 

I agree with this statement. IMO, I don't believe the FO truly thought he was fully ready.

 

I don't think they would have called him up if the Sox had won their recent series and the Yankees had lost or split theirs. Do you think he would have still been called up in that case?

[mvp 78]

I agree with this statement. IMO, I don't believe the FO truly thought he was fully ready.

 

I don't think they would have called him up if the Sox had won their recent series and the Yankees had lost or split theirs. Do you think he would have still been called up in that case?

 

If they didn't think he was ready, they wouldn't have called him up.

[mvp 78]

They spent so much effort stating that he wouldn't be called up until he was ready that it makes no sense to call him up now if he's not ready.

 

He's ready. He can hit AAA pitching. There's nothing else for him to learn down there.

[Kimmi]

If they didn't think he was ready, they wouldn't have called him up.

 

To a certain extent, yes. I think they feel he's close, but I also think they would have preferred to give him more time in the minors.

 

At any rate, I'm all in with Devers. Let the offensive explosion begin!

[moonslav59]

Is this a sign of desperation by Dave?

 

I don't think it is. I've trusted DD on this decision all along. It seems like Devers has been "ML ready" for a while, so to me, the move looks fine.

[moonslav59]

Eight days left before the deadline, might as well take a look. If he has a good week, the Sox have more trade leverage. If he's not ready, atleast they know.

 

Nobody should know anything with any sort of certainty after any 8 day sample size.

[OH FOY]

No small sample size for his career, in the Minor League level, as far as his Defense. About a .940 Fielding % there, and it gets harder now. This is what concerns me. Not his hitting.

[mvp 78]

No small sample size for his career, in the Minor League level, as far as his Defense. About a .940 Fielding % there, and it gets harder now. This is what concerns me. Not his hitting.

 

1. How does fielding get more difficult in MLB?

2. Not many people care about Fielding % anymore. Most scouts think his defense is good enough now and is still improving.

[moonslav59]

1. How does fielding get more difficult in MLB?

2. Not many people care about Fielding % anymore. Most scouts think his defense is good enough now and is still improving.

 

Agreed.

 

I think the hold back was more about how Devers can or cannot adjust to ML pitching. I do not think his fielding was holding him back, especially when Pablo was playing.

[OH FOY]

Just saw him play, 4 games. He made 2 errors on throws, in 4 games that I saw. That was at Double AA. Hitting no question. He can hit, just hope I'm really wrong, and you guys are right. Edited July 24, 2017 by OH FOY!

[moonslav59]

The team has 18 errors in 100 games at 3B, and that's not even counting non-error misplays and range-lacking missed plays this season.

 

Maybe Devers is not as good defensively as Lin or Marrero, but he should be a step up from the aggregate defense we've had at 3B this year, so far.

 

His bat, even if he swings with his eyes closed, almost has to be better than what we've had so far this year.

[Bellhorn04]

1. How does fielding get more difficult in MLB?

 

I would assume it gets a little more difficult because balls are being hit a little harder on average.

 

Then there's the 'bright lights' factor that nobody can really measure.

[moonslav59]

I would assume it gets a little more difficult because balls are being hit a little harder on average.

 

Then there's the 'bright lights' factor that nobody can really measure.

 

Bright lights also help the fielder see the ball better. The fields are smoother, too.

[mvp 78]

Bright lights also help the fielder see the ball better. The fields are smoother, too.

 

Whooosh

[sk7326]

One plus on the defensive end is often an org's best fielding instructors are at the ML level. Butterfield is known as one of the better fielding coaches in the game.

[moonslav59]

One plus on the defensive end is often an org's best fielding instructors are at the ML level. Butterfield is known as one of the better fielding coaches in the game.

 

Whooosh!

[Maxbialystock]

The team has 18 errors in 100 games at 3B, and that's not even counting non-error misplays and range-lacking missed plays this season.

 

Maybe Devers is not as good defensively as Lin or Marrero, but he should be a step up from the aggregate defense we've had at 3B this year, so far.

 

His bat, even if he swings with his eyes closed, almost has to be better than what we've had so far this year.

 

Devers has 4 errors in 9 games at Pawtucket, and you think that's an improvement over 18 in 100 games?

[moonslav59]

Devers has 4 errors in 9 games at Pawtucket, and you think that's an improvement over 18 in 100 games?

 

No, but you failed to take into account the other aspects of fielding beyond errors that I mentioned in my post.

 

Also, I never hold any 9 game sample size against any player.

 

My guess is Devers will be close to what we've gotten so far on defense at 3B this season as a whole, if not better.

 

(Note: I only mentioned the errors as a response to a post. I do not use fldg% to judge defense.)

[Bellhorn04]

He's got 16 errors in 72 games at 3B this year. That's a lot of errors any way you look at it.

[moonslav59]

He's got 16 errors in 72 games at 3B this year. That's a lot of errors any way you look at it.

 

Yes, his defense is a concern, but our defense at 3B has been a concern at the ML level as well. That was the point I was making. I never meant to imply that Devers is a great fielding 3Bman.

 

His RF/9 is 2.87 on the farm (2.44 this year) while Boston's has been 1.90. This a rather crude stat, but it does hint at the idea that Devers might make up for a few extra errors by making more plays than our 3Bmen have been making this year.

 

(Note: he will not be a defensive upgrade over Marrero.)

[S5Dewey]

He's got 16 errors in 72 games at 3B this year. That's a lot of errors any way you look at it.

 

Yep. One error every 4 1/2 games is a lot, and yet some folks are willing to overlook that in the hope that he can hit. :-(

Devin Marrero has made 3 errors @ 3B in 49 games, or about 1 error every 16 games and has an OPS of .582.

 

I know we're all involved in the Rafael Devers fan club here, but it makes no sense to me to replace good defense with bad defense and expect the offense to be so much better than it'll be a net gain. Is it a net gain if Devers OPS is .200 points higher than Marrero's but he makes even twice as many errors as Marrero? And if it's not a net gain, then why are we doing it?

 

I'm not trying to blow Marrero's horn here - he is what he is - but I simply don't see Devers being a net gain.

[Kimmi]

1. How does fielding get more difficult in MLB?

 

Two things I've read about this:

 

1. From the dweeb a couple of days ago:

 

Perhaps more significant, however, is what Devers does defensively. He’s committed three errors (two fielding, one throwing) in five games at third base in Pawtucket, a reminder that he remains a work in progress at the position. It’s also worth noting the defensive transition to the big leagues at third base can be particularly daunting, given the need to stand the closest to home plate while dealing with bat speeds that are rarely replicated in the minors.

 

If it looks like he’ll need a while to field his position reliably, his timetable for the big leagues may be pushed back to September. If he shows rapid improvement, then he could accelerate his timetable, depending on what kind of trade the Red Sox make to address their worst-in-the-AL production at third base.

 

2. The second is a very valid point from PA about how important our left side defense is with our LH heavy rotation. That doesn't necessarily make the defense more difficult, but it does make it more important. Perhaps not the ideal situation for a player who is still a work in progress defensively.

[mvp 78]

Marrero sucks.

[moonslav59]

Marrero sucks.

 

He's done well vs LHPs in a small sample size, but I agree. We needed a new 3Bman, and Devers now has his chance.

 

It seems like almost everyone wanted him called up, and now it sounds like lots of doubts.

 

[moonslav59]

Last year, after 100 games, we were 55-45 and in the midst of losing 4 straight and 6 out of 7 games.

 

We then went 6-7 over the next 13 games.

 

People seemed happier with the team last year.