When you're hot, you're hot!

[dustcover]

As hot as Nunez has been at the plate of late, and his flawless defense at 3B, and we all have seen him when he goes on one of his hot streaks, should he remain the everyday 3B starter upon the imminent return of Devers from the DL ? Or should Devers be inserted in the starting lineup and Nunez relegated to the utility role off the bench?

Edited August 30, 2018 by dustcover

[fxkatt]

I think Nunez receives a well-deserved rest. He'll have many opportunities to see a little action here and there to keep in shape for the playoffs. Meanwhile, Devers needs to work himself back into hitting and fielding form for the playoffs, and he'll get that chance.

[Spudboy]

I say ride a hot horse until it is no longer hot.

 

Do not f*** with what is working. Especially if it means replacing the hot player with a player with significant warts on both sides of the ball.

[Dojji]

Devers needs experience. I'd work him in as a reserve for now, but at the end of the day we either need to give Devers the job or sign a fulltime 3B, because Nunez is being pushed beyond his own red line right now.

 

Nunez is a reserve infielder -- a good one, but he gets exposed when he's asked to start for too long

 

Besides, Rafael Devers is still a (slightly) better offensive option over a full season. Don't let low expectations on Nunez and higher expectations on Devers blind you to this. If he can stay healthy, he's our starting 3B going forward. Nice to know our reserves can get the job done when called upon though

Edited August 30, 2018 by Dojji

[moonslav59]

Devers is our FT 3Bman. He will most likely be that to start next year, too.

 

He's way to young to be thinking of finding a replacement for him.

 

It's logical to think about moving him to 1B or DH, but this kid has enormous offensive upside. We should expect a learning curve before he gets there.

[notin]

Devers is our FT 3Bman. He will most likely be that to start next year, too.

 

He's way to young to be thinking of finding a replacement for him.

 

It's logical to think about moving him to 1B or DH, but this kid has enormous offensive upside. We should expect a learning curve before he gets there.

 

 

Devers should be starting in MLB.

 

However, given the presence of Nunez and the depth behind him in the system with Chavis and Dalbec, Devers could also be a very interesting trade bait.

 

Although emptying the farm depth behind Devers is more of Dombrowski's style...

[mvp 78]

Devers could also be a very interesting trade bait.

 

You are a monster!

[notin]

You are a monster!

 

Yep. The Sox are trading Devers and keeping - dare I say extending - Pedroia...

[Kimmi]

As hot as Nunez has been at the plate of late, and his flawless defense at 3B, and we all have seen him when he goes on one of his hot streaks, should he remain the everyday 3B starter upon the imminent return of Devers from the DL ? Or should Devers be inserted in the starting lineup and Nunez relegated to the utility role off the bench?

[ATTACH=CONFIG]665[/ATTACH]

 

Devers should and will be our everyday 3B once he returns, though Cora might ease him back into it. Nunez has been a pleasant surprise since taking over everyday 3B duties, but he, like Holt, serves the team better in a utility role.

[Dojji]

Devers should be starting in MLB.

 

However, given the presence of Nunez and the depth behind him in the system with Chavis and Dalbec, Devers could also be a very interesting trade bait.

 

Although emptying the farm depth behind Devers is more of Dombrowski's style...

Nunez is not a starting 3B. Again, you're letting mismatched expectations run amok in your mind. We expected a lot of Devers and little of Nunez, that is the ONLY reason that Nunez looks so good to you.

 

As for Dalbec and Chavis... let them get to the bigs and produce, and then we'll see.

 

Besides, Moonslav is right. WAY too early to give up on Devers

[OH FOY]

His fielding in the last Month will determine how things go for Devers. Last thing in the Play-offs you want is give Good Teams extra Outs. I could see Defensive Replacement for him late in games also. Edited August 31, 2018 by OH FOY!

[moonslav59]

Devers has some big hits in his short career. He even has 16 HRs in just 389 ABs this year.

 

No doubt, he has had struggles. We all talked about expecting a learning curve for a kid this young. I expected worse on defense and better on offense, but he was thrust into a high pressure situation at a very young age. Let's have patience and keep Nunez in the role he was meant to have- high AB back-up.

 

ISO:

.180 Devers (.187 career)

.123 Nunez

.103 Holt

 

[moonslav59]

His fielding in the last Month will determine how things go for Devers. Last thing in the Play-offs you want is give Good Teams extra Outs.

 

We also do not want him to have suffer, at his age, what Buckner went through as a polished vet.

[Carpin]

Nunez is not a starting 3B. Again, you're letting mismatched expectations run amok in your mind. We expected a lot of Devers and little of Nunez, that is the ONLY reason that Nunez looks so good to you.

 

As for Dalbec and Chavis... let them get to the bigs and produce, and then we'll see.

 

Besides, Moonslav is right. WAY too early to give up on Devers

 

Nunez has a funny way to raise your expectation, once you are sold on his talent he finds ways to let you down.

 

The guy has a lot of talent but somehow he hasn't been able to put it together for an extended period of time, as a yankee fan I know how you feel about him, at the end he always breaks your heart.

[OH FOY]

We also do not want him to have suffer, at his age, what Buckner went through as a polished vet.

 

OK so I take it you wont say move him to 1st anymore. That's OK too. He needed another year in the Minors to work on his Defense, only hope it doesn't show up in a big game.

Edited August 31, 2018 by OH FOY!

[moonslav59]

Nunez has a funny way to raise your expectation, once you are sold on his talent he finds ways to let you down.

 

The guy has a lot of talent but somehow he hasn't been able to put it together for an extended period of time, as a yankee fan I know how you feel about him, at the end he always breaks your heart.

 

He's actually been a pretty consistent .749 since 2015.

 

It's the injuries and missed time that has hurt him.

[moonslav59]

OK so I take it you wont say move him to 1st anymore. That's OK too.

 

No, I most likely will say it this winter and even more likely after Moreland's deal runs out after 2019, depending on his improvement or lack there of.

 

He's more likely to flub up at 3B than 1B, but he will need time to learn 1B, something I'm not sure he'll get this winter or next spring.

[Dojji]

OK so I take it you wont say move him to 1st anymore. That's OK too. He needed another year in the Minors to work on his Defense, only hope it doesn't show up in a big game.

 

No, he wouldn't learn anything more in the minors. He needed a fanbase that allows young players to make mistakes without making histrionic statements about how badly they suck. Too bad he doesn't have one.

[mvp 78]

We also do not want him to have suffer, at his age, what Buckner went through as a polished vet.

 

Good grief.

[mvp 78]

OK so I take it you wont say move him to 1st anymore. That's OK too. He needed another year in the Minors to work on his Defense, only hope it doesn't show up in a big game.

 

The ball comes at you quicker in MLB. It's better that he's getting the defensive reps here.

[Dojji]

Imagine if we'd given up on Xander Bogaerts one of the million times fans on here decided to be down on him -- including as recently as last year. And yet Bogaerts went through an even more significant learning curve than Devers has, at least to this point.

 

I know it's not the nature of fans (short for "fanatic") to be rational, but there's no need to raise it to a freaking art form!

[Kimmi]

No, he wouldn't learn anything more in the minors. He needed a fanbase that allows young players to make mistakes without making histrionic statements about how badly they suck. Too bad he doesn't have one.

 

No, he did need some more time in the minors to work on his defense. He wasn't quite ready yet.

 

I'm not advocating and have never advocated sending him back down to work on it this year, but ideally, he wouldn't have been called up as quickly as he was. Now that he's up, you are absolutely correct about having patience with him.

[Dojji]

I disagree. The only reason we're even having this conversation is because we're in the playoff hunt. Look what happened with other teams and star players like Yoan Moncada and Mike Moustakas. It's very normal to most teams around the league to call up a rookie a couple years before you expect him to produce at a big league level.

 

The problem with this team is that there is N-E-V-E-R going to be a plan to have that rebuilding year where the goal isn't to win championships and the team can give the struggling rookie time to find his feet. it might happen accidentally but is never going to be the plan in the preseason.

 

So no matter when Devers was promoted, he would be promoted into exactly this kind of environment, having to learn the game all over again at MLB speeds, in the middle of a playoff hunt, with hypercritical fans nanoanalyzing his every mistake. More time in the minors wouldn't have changed that very much.

 

And I'm saying that as a guy who was very much against Devers' initial callup. I wanted him to finish last year in the minors. Even in my plan though, he's in the majors in some capacity by now.

 

There's simply no point in extending his stay over incremental improvements when the next step in his career is right in front of him and the only way to really learn what it's like to be a big leaguer is the hard way.

[Kimmi]

There is a difference between being called up before you're ready, which is the case with Devers, and being called up when you have no more to gain from AAA and suffering through typical growing pains.

[oldtimer]

There is a difference between being called up before you're ready, which is the case with Devers, and being called up when you have no more to gain from AAA and suffering through typical growing pains.

 

When Devers was called up, his bat was impressive but his fielding was not really ready. League pitchers tend to find hitting flaws quickly as they have done with Devers. His fielding hasn't improved all that much in his time with the Sox and his physical condition (weight) is suspect. They say he worked hard to improve, but the results just weren't reflecting his efforts, so down he went and the management is going to be slow to reinstate him. I hope that additional time in the minors will result in his developing into a contributing player next season but for now, we are better off with Nunez. As Moon has said, Devers may find himself migraating to 1st base in future.

[Kimmi]

When Devers was called up, his bat was impressive but his fielding was not really ready. League pitchers tend to find hitting flaws quickly as they have done with Devers. His fielding hasn't improved all that much in his time with the Sox and his physical condition (weight) is suspect. They say he worked hard to improve, but the results just weren't reflecting his efforts, so down he went and the management is going to be slow to reinstate him. I hope that additional time in the minors will result in his developing into a contributing player next season but for now, we are better off with Nunez. As Moon has said, Devers may find himself migraating to 1st base in future.

 

It is interesting to note that Cora has said that whoever is playing better between Nunez and Devers will get the starts. He wouldn't even commit to platooning the two.

 

I think Devers is our 3B of the future, but Cora has definitely sent him a clear message - play better or you will be sitting on the bench the remainder of the season.

[vegasbob]

It is interesting to note that Cora has said that whoever is playing better between Nunez and Devers will get the starts. He wouldn't even commit to platooning the two.

 

I think Devers is our 3B of the future, but Cora has definitely sent him a clear message - play better or you will be sitting on the bench the remainder of the season.

 

Meritocracy at its best. Play well or sit down. The real test and tough decision for DD/Cora is whether he is kept on the first 25 man ALDS roster, assuming his hitting/fielding find their rhythm in September.

[moonslav59]

He's gotta keep Nunez feeling good about himself. I think it is much more about that than about sending Devers any message.

[OH FOY]

Here is the exact Quote.

"One thing is for sure, Raffy has to play better. We knew that. The whole season, offensively he's been up and down. Defensively, he's made his errors. But he needs to be better, that's the bottom line. We're here to win games, and whoever's playing best is going to play". BSJ Sean McAdam

 

Sounds like a message to me, and to Sean also.

[Kimmi]

Meritocracy at its best. Play well or sit down. The real test and tough decision for DD/Cora is whether he is kept on the first 25 man ALDS roster, assuming his hitting/fielding find their rhythm in September.

 

It will be an interesting decision, for sure. I am actually a little surprised by Cora's statement. I thought that he would state that Devers is our starting 3B and that Nunez will return to a utility role.

 

I have been impressed with Nunez' defensive play at 3B, but I'm not sure how long he can keep his offensive hot streak going.