Blake Swihart

[moonslav59]

I still think the poll was a sham as one can ask the sort of poll questions that draw an answer that one wants to elicit. Sort of like political polls.

 

if I wanted a catcher from the Sox, why not just wait for one to be DFAed and pick them up without having to part with any assets?

 

Maybe because someone will offer something for one of them, and you'd miss out on upgrading your catcher position by a little bit.

[SCM33]

I still think it's going to come down to which catcher brings the best in trade value. Not necessarily the best pieces, as that would be Vazquez, IMO, but the most bang for the buck.

 

If this is true, then Swihart is gone.

 

Leon has no value to anyone else except for Porcello and Sale.

 

I really hope they keep Swihart though.

[vegasbob]

Could Swihart being behind Moreland at 1B provided enough coverage to avoid paying Steve Pearce over $6 million, which in turn probably made the overall bullpen what we see today , an unsettled situation ? Pearce brings the power hitting threat from the RH side, and Moreland has trouble playing a full season without injury, so the backup guy does need some decent skill/experience level. If Sale and Price prefer pitching to Leon, let's survey the infielders on who they want at 1B to snag their errant throws. First up, Rafi.

[notin]

 

if I wanted a catcher from the Sox, why not just wait for one to be DFAed and pick them up without having to part with any assets?

 

Well if the Sox DFA Swihart, he goes through waivers, which establush a priority for claims. If a team with a low claim wants him, but doesn’t think he’ll make it past everyone above them, they can work out a trade during the waiver period...

[harmony]

Well if the Sox DFA Swihart, he goes through waivers, which establush a priority for claims. If a team with a low claim wants him, but doesn’t think he’ll make it past everyone above them, they can work out a trade during the waiver period...

notin nails it again.

[moonslav59]

If this is true, then Swihart is gone.

 

Leon has no value to anyone else except for Porcello and Sale.

 

I really hope they keep Swihart though.

 

Price does better with Leon by more than Porcello.

[Bellhorn04]

Price does better with Leon by more than Porcello.

 

Price did great with Vazquez, though, his last 3 starts in the 2018 playoffs.

[moonslav59]

Price did great with Vazquez, though, his last 3 starts in the 2018 playoffs.

 

Yes he did!

6 IP 0 ER 3 H+BB

6 IP 2 ER 6 H+BB

7 IP 1 ER 5 H+BB

 

But before those last 3...

 

6 IP 4 ER 9 H+BB with Vaz

 

1.2 3 5 H+BB with Leon

 

2018 Season

2.37 with Leon (.587 OPSA in 329 PAs)

4.68 with Vaz (.780 OPSA in 394 PAs)

 

Career:

2.83/.636 with Leon (769 PAs)

4.32/.735 with Vaz (1113)

5.73/.646 with Swihart (48)

 

[Kimmi]

Swihart has been blowing his competition away offensively so far in ST.

 

I wonder how much weight that will hold in deciding who stays and who goes. Not too much, I hope.

[Kimmi]

On a related and very exciting note, Fangraphs has now added catcher framing stats to its player and leader pages. Also, its WAR calculation for catchers now includes 'framing' and catcher WAR stats have been updated to reflect that.

 

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/war-update-catcher-framing/

[moonslav59]

On a related and very exciting note, Fangraphs has now added catcher framing stats to its player and leader pages. Also, its WAR calculation for catchers now includes 'framing' and catcher WAR stats have been updated to reflect that.

 

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/war-update-catcher-framing/

 

Nice to know.

 

I wonder, if they will ever incorporate some sort of CERA value into WAR. (Very hard to quantify.)

[notin]

Per Rotoworld, the Sox are actively discussing Leon trades. No mention of other teams or return...

[harmony]

Per Rotoworld, the Sox are actively discussing Leon trades. No mention of other teams or return...

[Slasher9]

Buster olney can eat a bag of D’s

[moonslav59]

So, this must mean Swihart gets traded!

 

 

[Kimmi]

Per Rotoworld, the Sox are actively discussing Leon trades. No mention of other teams or return...

 

Jason Mastrodonato‏Verified account @JMastrodonato 12m12 minutes ago

 

“No disrespect to any other catcher that I’ve thrown to, but Sandy Leon is the best catcher I’ve ever thrown to,” -- Rick Porcello

 

Trading Sandy Leon is the kind of move that can fly by without much notice now, but come back to bite the Red Sox very quickly.

 

 

I am in agreement with this tweet.

[moonslav59]

Jason Mastrodonato‏Verified account @JMastrodonato 12m12 minutes ago

 

“No disrespect to any other catcher that I’ve thrown to, but Sandy Leon is the best catcher I’ve ever thrown to,” -- Rick Porcello

 

Trading Sandy Leon is the kind of move that can fly by without much notice now, but come back to bite the Red Sox very quickly.

 

 

I am in agreement with this tweet.

 

Remember when Mirabelli got a police escort to return to the Sox in time for a game?

 

Could the same happen with Leon?

 

[Bellhorn04]

Remember when Mirabelli got a police escort to return to the Sox in time for a game?

 

Could the same happen with Leon?

 

 

I think Alex Cora is making the call on this. And don't forget, he's the best manager in team history.

[notin]

Remember when Mirabelli got a police escort to return to the Sox in time for a game?

 

Could the same happen with Leon?

 

 

That was so stupid.

 

Wakefield was losing games due to poor run support.

 

When your issue is run support, Mirabelli is not the solution...

[SCM33]

Remember when Mirabelli got a police escort to return to the Sox in time for a game?

 

Could the same happen with Leon?

 

 

No.

 

And they arent getting anything for him either. He has value to us, because Sale likes him. He has no value to any other team. They will end up releasing him.

[SCM33]

That was so stupid.

 

Wakefield was losing games due to poor run support.

 

When your issue is run support, Mirabelli is not the solution...

 

It was more than that. John Flaherty retired in spring training because he didn't want to be Wakefield's catcher, and Josh Bard was terrible as his "personal" catcher. Those circumstances are a little different than Leon.

 

Varitek refused to catch Wakefield, Flaherty retired and Bard couldn't do it. Mirabelli, for whatever reason, had an ability to do it.

[moonslav59]

I think Alex Cora is making the call on this. And don't forget, he's the best manager in team history.

 

I'll still think Cora is the best, even if he gives the okay to trade Leon. It's not like there's no pluses to keep the cheaper, longer-controlled player.

 

I hope we trade Swihart, but like I said many times, I won't be crushed, if we trade or DFA Sandy.

 

[moonslav59]

That was so stupid.

 

Wakefield was losing games due to poor run support.

 

When your issue is run support, Mirabelli is not the solution...

 

It seemed like there was about 2-3 passed balls or WPs per game before Mirabelli came back.

[moonslav59]

No.

 

And they arent getting anything for him either. He has value to us, because Sale likes him. He has no value to any other team. They will end up releasing him.

 

Price and Porcello like him, too and probably others.

 

They may release him, but he will be picked up by somebody. We may try to get him back, later, if our staff struggles (or collectively do slightly worse) with Vaz & Swihart behind the plate.

[SCM33]

They WILL release him.

 

Nobody will pick him up. His defense is pretty good, he f***ing blows offensively. He hit .177 last year in 265 AB's. His OB% was .232.

 

There are AAA catchers who are equal defensively, and produce as much offensively. There are 30 MLB teams. Each team has at least 2 catchers, so, minimum of 60 catchers......he is in the 55-60 range.

[notin]

It was more than that. John Flaherty retired in spring training because he didn't want to be Wakefield's catcher, and Josh Bard was terrible as his "personal" catcher. Those circumstances are a little different than Leon.

 

Varitek refused to catch Wakefield, Flaherty retired and Bard couldn't do it. Mirabelli, for whatever reason, had an ability to do it.

 

 

Bard let some passed balls get by, but maybe he needed more than FIVE GAMES to learn to catch a knuckleball. It was a stupid panic move.

 

Also, Wakefield’s ERA with Mirabelli behind the plate was a run higher than it was with Bard back there...

[notin]

They WILL release him.

 

Nobody will pick him up. His defense is pretty good, he f***ing blows offensively. He hit .177 last year in 265 AB's. His OB% was .232.

 

There are AAA catchers who are equal defensively, and produce as much offensively. There are 30 MLB teams. Each team has at least 2 catchers, so, minimum of 60 catchers......he is in the 55-60 range.

 

Unless some team needing a catcher has a small contract they prefer to unload...

[moonslav59]

They WILL release him.

 

Nobody will pick him up. His defense is pretty good, he f***ing blows offensively. He hit .177 last year in 265 AB's. His OB% was .232.

 

There are AAA catchers who are equal defensively, and produce as much offensively. There are 30 MLB teams. Each team has at least 2 catchers, so, minimum of 60 catchers......he is in the 55-60 range.

 

1) Offense is not all about what you did last year.

2) Offense is way down on the list of catcher importance.

3) It's not just defense. There's more to defense than throwing, blocking pitches in the dirt and framing pitches.

 

You can't just take a great defensive minor leaguer and plug 'em in with our rotation and expect the same results.

 

Someone may claim him. Maybe not. There's a learning curve with every pitcher and new catcher. It may not be worth the risk. That would be great for us, if Sandy can be our minor league catching depth.

 

[harmony]

They WILL release him.

 

Nobody will pick him up. His defense is pretty good, he f***ing blows offensively. He hit .177 last year in 265 AB's. His OB% was .232.

 

There are AAA catchers who are equal defensively, and produce as much offensively. There are 30 MLB teams. Each team has at least 2 catchers, so, minimum of 60 catchers......he is in the 55-60 range.

I like Sandy Leon as a defensive mentor to bat-first Seattle catcher Omar Narvaez, a fellow squat Venezuelan. However, I doubt the Mariners would surrender much in a trade for Leon

[Bellhorn04]

Bard let some passed balls get by, but maybe he needed more than FIVE GAMES to learn to catch a knuckleball. It was a stupid panic move.

 

Also, Wakefield’s ERA with Mirabelli behind the plate was a run higher than it was with Bard back there...

 

It was kind of an inconsequential move, since what we gave up was Bard and Meredith.

 

In what turned out to be a lost season.

 

Only us nutty Sox fans would still be arguing about such a trivial transaction all these years later.