A Realistic View at 2018: Part I

[Carpin]

Agreed, this is the lineup I go with:

 

Betts 2b

Beni CF

Hanley 1b

JD RF

Xander SS

Devers 3B

Swihart LF

Vazquez C

Wright DH

 

Betts in 2B??? and loose all his defensive runs saved in RF??

 

Interesting

[jad]

Agreed, this is the lineup I go with:

 

Betts 2b

Beni CF

Hanley 1b

JD RF

Xander SS

Devers 3B

Swihart LF

Vazquez C

Wright DH

 

How does moving JBJ to RF solve his hitting problems?

[moonslav59]

lol!

[moonslav59]

Betts in 2B??? and loose all his defensive runs saved in RF??

 

Interesting

 

Also, Nunez and Pedey are bot better hitters than Swihart and JBJ.

[mvp 78]

Sorry, that's the lineup I'm going with!

[oldtimer]

Agreed, this is the lineup I go with:

 

Betts 2b

Beni CF

Hanley 1b

JD RF

Xander SS

Devers 3B

Swihart LF

Vazquez C

Wright DH

 

The question on JBJ remains unsettled. He probably will have a hot streak at the plate, but when and for how long? He is at a point in his career where he has to perform or be surpassed.

[moonslav59]

Sorry, that's the lineup I'm going with!

 

With Wright as the DH?

 

Brilliant!

[mvp 78]

With Wright as the DH?

 

Brilliant!

 

And you think you can do better? Pfffft...

[moonslav59]

And you think you can do better? Pfffft...

 

Wright should hit 3rd- studies show the worst hitter should go there!

 

[moonslav59]

The Rangers have released Bartolo Colon from his minor-league contract.

[moonslav59]

MLBTR....

 

Red Sox Extend Christian Vasquez

By Kyle Downing | March 24, 2018 at 9:27am CDT

 

The Red Sox have signed catcher Christian Vazquez to a three-year contract extension that’ll run through the 2021 season, as Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe was first to tweet (Vazquez was already set to receive $1.425MM this season after his first trip through the arbitration process). According to Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald, he’s set to receive $2.85MM in 2019, $4.2MM in 2020, and $6.25MM in 2021. The club option is for $7MM, and can increase to $8MM if he manages to accrue at least 502 plate appearances in each of 2020 and 2021. The option comes with a $250K buyout. The extension also comes with a club option for 2022. Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald tweets that Vazquez has offered to make an annual donation to the Red Sox foundation as part of the agreement. He’s represented by MDR Sports Management.

 

Over the course of his career, Vazquez hadn’t received much attention for anything other than his defensive prowess behind the plate. That changed a bit, however, when the now-27-year-old hit .290/.330/.404 across 345 plate appearances for the Red Sox in 2017. While a .348 BABIP suggests that those numbers could regress significantly, the combination of an offensive breakout and a stellar defensive reputation apparently convinced the team that he’s worth keeping in the fold through his age-30 season (and possibly his age-31 season as well).

 

 

 

Vazquez will receive $13.55MM in new guarantees from the pact, including the buyout of his option. As for the Red Sox, they’ll receive cost certainty across the catcher’s final two arbitration seasons in addition to delaying his free agency by a year, and possibly two. The pact is somewhat similar to the extension given to Guardians catcher Roberto Perez just last season, who’s also a client of MDR Sports Management.

While Vazquez spent last season in a nearly-equal time share with fellow backstop Sandy Leon, the terms of the option (and indeed the extension itself) seem to hint that they’d like to give the lion’s share of at-bats and defensive innings to the former. Considering he’s been worth 31 defensive runs saved in just 1,668 innings behind the dish over the course of his career, more playing time for Vazquez would likely end up paying dividends for Boston.

 

A largely unheralded ninth-round pick by the Red Sox back in 2008, Vazquez has never known another major league organization. It took him six years to crack the MLB club, and even then he didn’t seem to be a core piece of the team right away. Vazquez owned a .309 career slugging percentage prior to last season, and missed all of 2015 after undergoing Tommy John surgery. However, the Red Sox will hope that last year’s 1.6 fWAR showing is more indicative of his talent moving forward.

[moonslav59]

So, we have one or maybe 2 more years of Vaz under control.

 

I've always been a big Vaz fan, so I really like this move by DD, It also keeps one of our core players from becoming a free agent at just about the same time.

[moonslav59]

MLBTR...

 

Red Sox starter Chris Sale left today’s start after being struck by a comebacker off the bat of J.D. Davis. Chad Jennings of the Boston Herald was first to tweet that the club called it a hip contusion. Thankfully for fans in Boston, the X-rays on his hip came back negative ...

[cp176]

So, we have one or maybe 2 more years of Vaz under control.

 

I've always been a big Vaz fan, so I really like this move by DD, It also keeps one of our core players from becoming a free agent at just about the same time.

 

Tell me where I went wrong with my factorin, because I got him locked up possibly through 2022.

[moonslav59]

Tell me where I went wrong with my factorin, because I got him locked up possibly through 2022.

 

This was the first of 3 arb years (2018-2020). Now, he siged through 2021 with an option for 2022.

[Kimmi]

So as I said in another thread, you better hope the guys stay healthy

 

Stop worrying about our team and start worrying about your own.

 

Our team will be fine.

 

One word for you: R-E-G-R-E-S-S-I-O-N

[Kimmi]

Wright should hit 3rd- studies show the worst hitter should go there!

 

 

You all really need to quote me correctly when you try to quote me sarcastically.

[Kimmi]

So, we have one or maybe 2 more years of Vaz under control.

 

I've always been a big Vaz fan, so I really like this move by DD, It also keeps one of our core players from becoming a free agent at just about the same time.

 

Solid move by Dombrowski.

[moonslav59]

You all really need to quote me correctly when you try to quote me sarcastically.

 

I had a feeling my misquote was not going to go unoticed.

 

[cp176]

This was the first of 3 arb years (2018-2020). Now, he siged through 2021 with an option for 2022.

 

So I'm thinking that he is locked up for potentially 5 years not 2 - wrong?

[moonslav59]

So I'm thinking that he is locked up for potentially 5 years not 2 - wrong?

 

Yes, I think you misunderstood what I meant. I meant 2 more years than we already had. The way I wrote it was not great and easy to misunderstand.

[cp176]

Yes I did and thanks.

[moonslav59]

Top ST'ing OPS (27+ PAs)

1.219 Beni

1.061 Bogaerts

1.014 Devers

.994 de Jesus

.963 Travis

.961 Vaz

.930 Holt

.926 Betts

.863 Moreland

.852 Leon

.846 Swihart

 

Nice to see all three catchers over .845. Swihart is now 3rd.

[oldtimer]

Top ST'ing OPS (27+ PAs)

1.219 Beni

1.061 Bogaerts

1.014 Devers

.994 de Jesus

.963 Travis

.961 Vaz

.930 Holt

.926 Betts

.863 Moreland

.852 Leon

.846 Swihart

 

Nice to see all three catchers over .845. Swihart is now 3rd.

 

I personally don't expect Leon to stay in the 800's once the season gets going.

[Bellhorn04]

I personally don't expect Leon to stay in the 800's once the season gets going.

 

Nope. Anything 700 and over would be great for Sandy. And 750 or better would be great for Vaz.

[moonslav59]

Nope. Anything 700 and over would be great for Sandy. And 750 or better would be great for Vaz.

 

.680 would be "good" for Leon.

[Bellhorn04]

.680 would be "good" for Leon.

 

I don't disagree. (He's .688 in a Red Sox uniform.)

[moonslav59]

I don't disagree. (He's .688 in a Red Sox uniform.)

 

If Leon gets Sale to be a top 3 Cy Young vote getter, he's done his job, even at .580.

[Larry Cook]

Any chance we trade swihart or Leon to Washington?

[moonslav59]

Any chance we trade swihart or Leon to Washington?

 

Right now, we can keep both on the 25. When Pedey comes back, I'd send Holt to AAA and keep everyone.