Blake Swihart

[Bellhorn04]

What evidence-besides the fact the Leon is helpless with a bat in his hands?

 

Well, the evidence in the rumors.

[moonslav59]

What evidence-besides the fact the Leon is helpless with a bat in his hands?

 

Leon has actually had longer and better stretches with the bat than Vaz or Swihart, and at the ML level not AA.

 

I'm not saying Leon is a better hitter or will be going forward, but he has shown he can be streaky- both good and bad.

 

He was horrible last year and not very good in 2017 either, but he can hit at times.

[notin]

Well, the evidence in the rumors.

 

 

Or the evidence in that they force fit Swihart into the lineup as a starting left fielder once. And that they DFAd the #3 hitter to keep him.

 

DD has been a Swihart guy for a while now...

[moonslav59]

Or the evidence in that they force fit Swihart into the lineup as a starting left fielder once. And that they DFAd the #3 hitter to keep him.

 

DD has been a Swihart guy for a while now...

 

They DFA'd HRam to save money.

 

Keeping Swihart was a bi-product.

 

That being said, it does seem like DD has been unwilling to give up on Swihart.

[Nick]

They DFA'd HRam to save money.

 

Keeping Swihart was a bi-product.

 

That being said, it does seem like DD has been unwilling to give up on Swihart.

 

Sandy is set to make $2.475M. Swihart is under team control for 4 years.

[notin]

They DFA'd HRam to save money.

 

Keeping Swihart was a bi-product.

 

That being said, it does seem like DD has been unwilling to give up on Swihart.

 

 

They DFAd HRam to prevent his option from kicking in, but that doesn’t change the fact that they DFAd him to keep Swihart. After all, they could have DFAd Hanley before the season started, too...

[notin]

Sandy is set to make $2.475M. Swihart is under team control for 4 years.

 

Swihart is under team control, but let’s not pretend re-signing Leon is going to be some protracted and lengthy negotiation process. If the Sox want him back, it’s easy to make happen...

[Nick]

Swihart is under team control, but let’s not pretend re-signing Leon is going to be some protracted and lengthy negotiation process. If the Sox want him back, it’s easy to make happen...[/QUOT

 

I was merely pointing out Swihart is cheaper at $910K and under team control 2 years longer than Sandy.

[Bellhorn04]

They DFAd HRam to prevent his option from kicking in, but that doesn’t change the fact that they DFAd him to keep Swihart. After all, they could have DFAd Hanley before the season started, too...

 

It all depends which story makes more sense to you. My belief is that they decided to give Hanley a shot, while also being prepared to cut him.

[Kimmi]

They DFA'd HRam to save money.

 

Keeping Swihart was a bi-product.

 

That being said, it does seem like DD has been unwilling to give up on Swihart.

 

I can understand why Dombrowski doesn't want to give up on Swihart. But it's a little ironic that Cora seems unwilling to give Swihart the playing time. So Dombrowski really likes him, but Cora, not so much?

[moonslav59]

Red Sox Place Sandy Leon On Waivers

By Mark Polishuk | March 24, 2019 at 5:12pm CDT

 

The Red Sox have placed catcher Sandy Leon on waivers, as per WEEI.com’s Evan Drellich (Twitter link).

[moonslav59]

I can understand why Dombrowski doesn't want to give up on Swihart. But it's a little ironic that Cora seems unwilling to give Swihart the playing time. So Dombrowski really likes him, but Cora, not so much?

 

Could be that Cora likes him but likes Leon more.

[moonslav59]

They DFAd HRam to prevent his option from kicking in, but that doesn’t change the fact that they DFAd him to keep Swihart. After all, they could have DFAd Hanley before the season started, too...

 

I think they'd have DFA'd HRam, even if Swihart was not on the roster.

 

I think they waited to give HRam a chance to avoid a grievance.

[SCM33]

The Colorado Rockies have placed Tom Murphy on waivers.

 

Tom Murphy placed on waivers by Rockies

WWW.MLB.COM

---

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The Rockies have settled on Tony Wolters and Chris Iannetta as their catchers -- a decision that came into focus Saturday when Major League sources told MLB.com that the club has placed Tom Murphy on waivers to gauge trade interest. Last season, Iannetta appeared defensively at catcher

 

Murphy and Blake Swihart are catchers, born on April 3 a year apart, who are out of options. Murphy, who is older, comes with five years of team control including two seasons at a salary near the league minimum. Swihart comes with four arbitration years of team control, including this season at a salary of $900,000.

 

Steamer projects Murphy with 2019 wRC+ and WAR of 69 and 0.0 in 60 plate appearances and Swihart with 2019 wRC+ and WAR of 75 and 0.4 in 202 plate appearances.

 

ZiPS projects Murphy with 2019 wERC+ and WAR of 72 and 0.2 in 349 plate appearances and Swihart with 2019 wRC+ and WAR of 62 and 0.0 in 242 plate appearances.

 

https://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=13499&position=C

 

https://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=13176&position=C

 

Murphy was a one-time Baseball America Top 100 prospect, peaking at No. 97 in 2016. Swihart was a three-time BA Top 100 prospect, peaking at No. 17 in 2015.

 

Compare their defensive metrics (scroll down):

 

https://legacy.baseballprospectus.com/card/70673/tom-murphy

 

https://legacy.baseballprospectus.com/card/70407/blake-swihart

 

The Rockies and Red Sox have decisions with relatively weak catching corps comprised of players out of options.

 

What are the relative trade values of Murphy and Swihart?

 

I don't want to s*** on all the research you did, but I agree with Bellhorn.

 

All that matters is......which Catcher the Sox feel is more valuable. The fact that they are fudging an injury for Pedroia to keep all 3, suggests that they are (A) still looking for trade options for Leon, ( trying to convince him to take a minor league assignment.....or © are really dragging their feet designating Swihart.

 

With other recent releases around baseball in terms of defensive catchers......I really don't understand what the hold up is. Cut Leon. Hopefully he gets drowned in the mess of other reject backup catchers......and we take a chance that we can sign him later on, if need be.

[harmony]

I don't want to s*** on all the research you did, but I agree with Bellhorn.

 

All that matters is......which Catcher the Sox feel is more valuable. The fact that they are fudging an injury for Pedroia to keep all 3, suggests that they are (A) still looking for trade options for Leon, ( trying to convince him to take a minor league assignment.....or © are really dragging their feet designating Swihart.

 

With other recent releases around baseball in terms of defensive catchers......I really don't understand what the hold up is. Cut Leon. Hopefully he gets drowned in the mess of other reject backup catchers......and we take a chance that we can sign him later on, if need be.

Not to dampen your parade, but the Red Sox have already placed Sandy Leon on waivers:

 

[SCM33]

Not to dampen your parade, but the Red Sox have already placed Sandy Leon on waivers:

 

 

It doesn't dampen my parade at all!!!!!!!

 

They made the right decision.

 

They should have outright released him, and then signed him to a minor league deal. nobody is going to claim him, and they could save money and a roster spot.

Edited March 25, 2019 by SCM33

[moonslav59]

It doesn't dampen my parade at all!!!!!!!

 

They made the right decision.

 

They should have outright released him, and then signed him to a minor league deal. nobody is going to claim him, and they could save money and a roster spot.

 

I'm not sure there's a difference.

[SCM33]

I'm not sure there's a difference.

 

There is. He is on the 40 man roster. By releasing him outright.....they could re-sign him to a minor league deal and assign him to AAA, without taking up a roster spot.

[moonslav59]

There is. He is on the 40 man roster. By releasing him outright.....they could re-sign him to a minor league deal and assign him to AAA, without taking up a roster spot.

 

If someone picks him up, we lose him.

 

If nobody picks him up, we do not have to keep him on our 40 man roster.

 

Am I missing something?

[oldtimer]

Could be that Cora likes him but likes Leon more.

 

It looks like Cora and or DD made the decision after a long deliberation. They know more than we do and I trust their decision.

[moonslav59]

It looks like Cora and or DD made the decision after a long deliberation. They know more than we do and I trust their decision.

 

We'll probably never know, if they both agreed on the choice.

 

My guess is Sale and Porcello and maybe Price would rather have Leon catching them, but we should be fine.

 

We'll save some money for a summer pick-up and have Swihart under team control for several more years than Leon.

 

There were pluses to either choice, and everyone know what I preferred, but like I said, choosing Swihart over Leon was not going to crush me.

 

Best of luck to Sandy.

[cp176]

Could be that Cora likes him but likes Leon more.

 

Where does this suggestion even come from? wow - Most of us liked what Sandy gave us behind the plate but many of us have felt that it was time to move on. Personally i have absolutely no reason to doubt that DD and Cora are anywhere other than on the same page.

[Bellhorn04]

Where does this suggestion even come from? wow - Most of us liked what Sandy gave us behind the plate but many of us have felt that it was time to move on. Personally i have absolutely no reason to doubt that DD and Cora are anywhere other than on the same page.

 

moon was just trying to answer Kimmi's question about why Cora seemed so reluctant to give Swihart any playing time last year, which is true. But that was last year.

[cp176]

moon was just trying to answer Kimmi's question about why Cora seemed so reluctant to give Swihart any playing time last year, which is true. But that was last year.

 

I understand that. It is odd to me that for people who have the need for all things baseball to be supported by analytical data that they would throw out a comment for which there is nothing but personal opinion to support it with. I'm really not surprised though because we do still have a few around who still think that larry Luchino is responsible for every bad move the Red sox have ever made.

[notin]

If someone picks him up, we lose him.

 

If nobody picks him up, we do not have to keep him on our 40 man roster.

 

Am I missing something?

 

 

Yes.

 

The part where any team picking him up off waivers is responsible for his entire $2.48 mill salary. While certainly not the most prohibitive salary in MLB, other catchers like Rene Rivera and Tom Murphy can be had for less.

 

He’s going to clear waivers. Boston will have ample opportunity to bring him back...

[Bellhorn04]

Yes.

 

The part where any team picking him up off waivers is responsible for his entire $2.48 mill salary. While certainly not the most prohibitive salary in MLB, other catchers like Rene Rivera and Tom Murphy can be had for less.

 

He’s going to clear waivers. Boston will have ample opportunity to bring him back...

 

If they can stash Leon in Pawtucket that sounds like best case scenario to me...

[notin]

If they can stash Leon in Pawtucket that sounds like best case scenario to me...

 

 

It’s probably the most likely outcome. Lately we’ve seen teams releasing backup catchers, not acquiring them...

[moonslav59]

Where does this suggestion even come from? wow - Most of us liked what Sandy gave us behind the plate but many of us have felt that it was time to move on. Personally i have absolutely no reason to doubt that DD and Cora are anywhere other than on the same page.

 

"Could be" does not mean it is.

 

Cora obviously liked Leon over Swihart last year. It's not like there is no basis for the speculation.

[moonslav59]

I understand that. It is odd to me that for people who have the need for all things baseball to be supported by analytical data that they would throw out a comment for which there is nothing but personal opinion to support it with. I'm really not surprised though because we do still have a few around who still think that larry Luchino is responsible for every bad move the Red sox have ever made.

 

I guess GMs and managers never disagree but still come to consensus.

 

I'm not saying they did here, but I can speculate, can't I?

[moonslav59]

Yes.

 

The part where any team picking him up off waivers is responsible for his entire $2.48 mill salary. While certainly not the most prohibitive salary in MLB, other catchers like Rene Rivera and Tom Murphy can be had for less.

 

He’s going to clear waivers. Boston will have ample opportunity to bring him back...

 

I get that part, but what's the downside SCM33 is talking about.

 

Had we just released him, what might we have gained?