A Realistic View at 2018: Part I

[jacksonianmarch]

Upton has been far less consistent in his career than JD since JD got regular PT in DET.

[Kimmi]

Pretty much. Some people who go through microfracture treatment get temporary relief (some don't), but its almost always a very short term solution. My guess is that he will need a new knee down the road.

 

Have faith in Mr. Pedroia. If anyone can bounce back and have a successful remainder of a career, it's him.

[Bellhorn04]

Have faith in Mr. Pedroia. If anyone can bounce back and have a successful remainder of a career, it's him.

 

I agree, he will do everything he can to get back on the field. Though it must be noted that sometimes it's the body that make the decision.

[sk7326]

The Seattle Mariners have two Gold Glove-winning second basemen each with multiple All Star Game appearances (10 combined).

 

However, I don't see a good match in a Red Sox trade for Robinson Cano or Dee Gordon.:)

 

Cano is the best 2B of his era (outside of Chase Utley) ... Pedroia has been consistently better than Gordon

[sk7326]

DD is still talking as though Nunez might be in the picture. With the lack of positive results to date, Nunez might fill part of the bill if he can be had under the circumstances.

 

I think Nunez can be had later in the winter ... he's not a starter on a good team (but a supersub - that is different).

[notin]

I think Nunez can be had later in the winter ... he's not a starter on a good team (but a supersub - that is different).

 

There's a good chance he prioritizes starting roles when mulling offers...

[OH FOY]

Wouldn't shock me if Nunez resigns with the Yanks.

[notin]

Wouldn't shock me if Nunez resigns with the Yanks.

 

Id be shocked, given they are trying to keep payroll low and have long term players that would prevent him from starting.

 

He'll likely sign with the Giants or Angels...

[sk7326]

There's a good chance he prioritizes starting roles when mulling offers...

 

that is possible - and probably pushes him to a bad team ... which i respect. But i am not sure he gets more than 2 years, $10M or something.

[notin]

that is possible - and probably pushes him to a bad team ... which i respect. But i am not sure he gets more than 2 years, $10M or something.

 

Not sure he'd get that from Boston either. For some reason DD has already committed $2mill-ish to Brock Holt to be some sort of all-purpose Swiss army knife player...

[sk7326]

Not sure he'd get that from Boston either. For some reason DD has already committed $2mill-ish to Brock Holt to be some sort of all-purpose Swiss army knife player...

 

Holt can field the umpteen positions he can play. Nunez' ability is entirely in whether he is making hard contact.

[notin]

Holt can field the umpteen positions he can play. Nunez' ability is entirely in whether he is making hard contact.

 

At the end of the day, how many "super sub" players do you think the Sox are going to commit multiple millions of dollars to?

 

I think offering Holt arbitration may have done more to close the door on Nunez than many Sox fans want to believe. ..

[oldtimer]

At the end of the day, how many "super sub" players do you think the Sox are going to commit multiple millions of dollars to?

 

I think offering Holt arbitration may have done more to close the door on Nunez than many Sox fans want to believe. ..

 

Maybe we can still trade Holt.

[moonslav59]

Maybe we can still trade Holt.

 

Other teams may want to first wait until at least the end of ST'ing to see if Holt looks like the pre-concussion or post concussion Holt.

 

Plus, until we know more about Pedey's possible return and timetable, we will probably attempt to keep all our 2B options in the system:

 

Hernandez (starter in April?)

Marrero (out of options)

Holt (1 option)

Lin (on 40 man roster)

Quiroz (not on 40 man roster)

 

(Chavez & Swihart????)

Edited December 17, 2017 by moonslav59

[notin]

Maybe we can still trade Holt.

 

Maybe.

 

It would be easier if he didn't have legitimate health concerns, could field, and was cheaper.

 

Really he should have been traded back after he was as all star and had value. Now at best he's a throw-in whose inclusion in a trade gets the Sox nothing but salary relief, which, if they wanted, they could have gotten more easily by simply non-tendering him...

[moonslav59]

I see Holt starting the season in AAA, despite Pedey being on the DL. Marrero, Brentz and Swihart are all out of options, and Leon is the back-up catcher.

 

It seems weird to pay a guy $2M to be in AAA and be 3rd or 4th, at best, on any positional depth chart.

 

IMO, h only becomes $2M valuable, if Pedey never returns AND one or two from Hernandez, Marrero, Lin, Brentz and Swihart bombs out or gets hurt (which is certainly possible). notin makes a great point, though, and we certainly could have found a cheaper player like Holt at any point in a season or off season.

[sk7326]

At the end of the day, how many "super sub" players do you think the Sox are going to commit multiple millions of dollars to?

 

I think offering Holt arbitration may have done more to close the door on Nunez than many Sox fans want to believe. ..

 

Multi-millions, who knows? But in the eras of a 3-4 man bench, multipositional ability is important. I could see the Sox preferring to say give Swihart that whirl - and I'd agree with that.

[moonslav59]

Multi-millions, who knows? But in the eras of a 3-4 man bench, multipositional ability is important. I could see the Sox preferring to say give Swihart that whirl - and I'd agree with that.

 

Marrero can play 3 positions (SS, 2B & 3B)

Lin can play 4+ positions (SS, 2B, 3B & OF)

Hernandez can play 3 (3B, 2B & SS)

Swihart can play 2 now (C & OF) but can probably play 1B and maybe 3B/2B

 

If a 1Bman gets hurt, Travis can be called up.

 

Holt plays 7, but when 3 of your bench players play multiple positions anyways, we don't need the 7 position guy.

 

Edited December 18, 2017 by moonslav59

[notin]

Multi-millions, who knows? But in the eras of a 3-4 man bench, multipositional ability is important. I could see the Sox preferring to say give Swihart that whirl - and I'd agree with that.

 

Exactly. Holt, Swihart, Leon and Marrero. No room for Nunuz here..

[moonslav59]

Exactly. Holt, Swihart, Leon and Marrero. No room for Nunuz here..

 

...and if Pedey comes back, Hernandez will squeezze Holt, Marrero or Swihart out of a job.

 

(Then, there's Brentz.)

[notin]

I keep trying to forget about Brentz.

 

I know a lot of people want him to get a shot. But if Bradley goes down for 3 weeks, and he is the most likely outfielder to go down historically, then the Sox have to re-arrange the outfield to accommodate Brentz. And by the time those 3 weeks are up, I wonder how many fans will still be glad that Brentz finally got a shot....

[Spudboy]

I keep trying to forget about Brentz.

 

I know a lot of people want him to get a shot. But if Bradley goes down for 3 weeks, and he is the most likely outfielder to go down historically, then the Sox have to re-arrange the outfield to accommodate Brentz. And by the time those 3 weeks are up, I wonder how many fans will still be glad that Brentz finally got a shot....

 

Then again he may hit the s*** out of the ball.

 

You do not know. No one does.

[notin]

Then again he may hit the s*** out of the ball.

 

You do not know. No one does.

 

He won't. We do all know this or should.

 

He took 5 years to hit AAA pitching. Do you really think MLB is suddenly going to become easy for him? And while he did have some success his last time in MLB, it was carried by a very lucky BABIP and his xBABIP had him pegged as closer to a .218 hitter.

 

He won't hit the s*** out of anything. Not on Fenway at least...

[Bellhorn04]

He won't. We do all know this or should.

 

He took 5 years to hit AAA pitching. Do you really think MLB is suddenly going to become easy for him? And while he did have some success his last time in MLB, it was carried by a very lucky BABIP and his xBABIP had him pegged as closer to a .218 hitter.

 

In 64, count 'em, 64 PA's. Kind of a small sample, no?

[moonslav59]

I keep trying to forget about Brentz.

 

I know a lot of people want him to get a shot. But if Bradley goes down for 3 weeks, and he is the most likely outfielder to go down historically, then the Sox have to re-arrange the outfield to accommodate Brentz. And by the time those 3 weeks are up, I wonder how many fans will still be glad that Brentz finally got a shot....

 

I agree, but he's going to get that 3 weeks, so we might as well discuss things on that premise.

[notin]

In 64, count 'em, 64 PA's. Kind of a small sample, no?

 

 

Yes. Small sample. But the larger point was that he spent 5 years in AAA before adjusting to the pitching at that level...

[mvp 78]

I keep trying to forget about Brentz.

 

I know a lot of people want him to get a shot. But if Bradley goes down for 3 weeks, and he is the most likely outfielder to go down historically, then the Sox have to re-arrange the outfield to accommodate Brentz. And by the time those 3 weeks are up, I wonder how many fans will still be glad that Brentz finally got a shot....

 

Moving Benny to CF isn't really rearranging the OF since he played there off and on in 2017.

[mvp 78]

In 64, count 'em, 64 PA's. Kind of a small sample, no?

 

Plus it was before he revamped his swing.

[mvp 78]

He won't. We do all know this or should.

 

He took 5 years to hit AAA pitching. Do you really think MLB is suddenly going to become easy for him? And while he did have some success his last time in MLB, it was carried by a very lucky BABIP and his xBABIP had him pegged as closer to a .218 hitter.

 

He won't hit the s*** out of anything. Not on Fenway at least...

 

He did play less than half of the games from 2014 - 2016. That probably hurt his development, you think?

[Fan_since_Boggs]

OK, let's say that that one player the Red Sox are focused on is JD Martinez. Let's say the Red Sox sign him (for around J.Upton money) and L.Morrison. (1) The Red Sox wouldn't give up any draft picks. (2) The Red Sox would have the extra depth to block H.Ramirez's option. (3) The organization can handle one big contract (JD Martinez), maintaining enough flexibility for the Machado & Harper sweepstakes in next year's free agency. (4) As far as the lineup goes, I like the idea of giving Bradley a chance at leadoff with the hope that the spot will augment Bradley's OBP skills (increase his walk totals).

 

1b: Morrison/Ramirez

2b: Hernandez

SS: Bogaerts

3b: Devers

LF: Benintendi

CF: Bradley

RF: Betts

DH: Martinez

C: Vazquez

 

Lineup:

Bradley

Betts

Benintendi

Martinez

Morrison/Ramirez

Devers

Bogaerts

Hernandez

Vazquez

Edited December 18, 2017 by Fan_since_Boggs