A Realistic View at 2023: Part I

[Bellhorn04]

Sox sign Chris Matin to $17.5M/2:

 

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/12/red-sox-to-sign-chris-martin-to-two-year-deal.html

 

Not bad at all.

[Bellhorn04]

The Seattle Mariners are highly, highly unlikely to trade J.P. Crawford.

 

They just traded Winker and Toro for Kolten Wong.

[Nick]

Sox sign Chris Matin to $17.5M/2:

 

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/12/red-sox-to-sign-chris-martin-to-two-year-deal.html

 

It sure looks like Hosmer's contract will cost the Red Sox additional luxury tax payroll in excess of actual cash payout to the player. Look closely at FanGraph analysis of Sox luxury tax calculation. First Cot's, now this.

[MADSTORK]

Lmfao!

37 year old beer leaguer for 9 million per what a joke!

Should fit right in with the 8 million stooge Matty Barnes

 

Keep on wasting that coin Orlando, you ain’t made a bad signing yet!

[moonslav59]

It sure looks like Hosmer's contract will cost the Red Sox additional luxury tax payroll in excess of actual cash payout to the player. Look closely at FanGraph analysis of Sox luxury tax calculation. First Cot's, now this.

 

What would be worse? Knowingly doing this trade was going to hurt the tax budget or mistakenly thinking there was not tax budget hit? Are we going to have to hold out hope on Ferguson or Rosier?

[Hugh2]

It sure looks like Hosmer's contract will cost the Red Sox additional luxury tax payroll in excess of actual cash payout to the player. Look closely at FanGraph analysis of Sox luxury tax calculation. First Cot's, now this.

 

Sox are only the hook for the league minimum, SD pays the rest. In actual money and AAV.

[Hugh2]

Lmfao!

37 year old beer leaguer for 9 million per what a joke!

Should fit right in with the 8 million stooge Matty Barnes

 

Keep on wasting that coin Orlando, you ain’t made a bad signing yet!

 

Dude, Martin has been pretty damn good.

 

Who did you expect in the bullpen?

[notin]

Dude, Martin has been pretty damn good.

 

Who did you expect in the bullpen?

 

Martin was on my list at one point, but probably the bottom of the list…

[a700hitter]

Martin was on my list at one point, but probably the bottom of the list…

Your s*** List?

[moonslav59]

Am I wrong to think Martin will be the only significant pen addition, this winter?

[notin]

deGrom to Texas

 

5 years $185mill

[notin]

Your s*** List?

 

Best available RPs.

 

It was not a long list…

[moonslav59]

We don't know how well Martin will do for us, going forward, but he's been pretty damn good since 2019:

 

58 RP'ers with 170+ IP from 2019-2022

 

fWAR

12th at 3.6

 

xFIP

5th at 2.86

 

BB/9

1st at 0.99 (Diekman is last)

 

K/9

29th at 9.99

 

GB%

20th at 48.4%

 

1.029 WHIP

 

2022: .622 OPS Against (.315 last 4 weeks of 2022)

.598 v R (.704 career)

.651 v L (.664 career)

.610 Late & Close (.698 career)

 

Looks really good, on paper.

[Bellhorn04]

It sure looks like Hosmer's contract will cost the Red Sox additional luxury tax payroll in excess of actual cash payout to the player. Look closely at FanGraph analysis of Sox luxury tax calculation. First Cot's, now this.

 

I still say they're wrong. No way Bloom would do it. I posted an article that explained the change in the new CBA.

[Bellhorn04]

Dude, Martin has been pretty damn good.

 

Who did you expect in the bullpen?

 

Hugh, you have to keep in mind that Daffy Duck doesn't know anything about baseball.

[Larry Cook]

Am I wrong to think Martin will be the only significant pen addition, this winter?

 

We need a closer bad. The 22 bullpen blew about half their save opportunities. We can not have another year of that type incompetence,

 

Hang’em Chaim has proven completely incompetent in two areas:

1.) building competent bullpens.

2.) drafting pitchers early in the draft.

 

He needs to fix number 1 this offseason or we are so screwed for 23.

[notin]

We need a closer bad. The 22 bullpen blew about half their save opportunities. We can not have another year of that type incompetence,

 

Hang’em Chaim has proven completely incompetent in two areas:

1.) building competent bullpens.

2.) drafting pitchers early in the draft.

 

He needs to fix number 1 this offseason or we are so screwed for 23.

 

If he isn’t going to go big with any players in this draft - and that might not be an good idea - maybe he can sign a slew of relievers and deal Houck and Schreiber for SP or OF or C or whatever…

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

If he isn’t going to go big with any players in this draft - and that might not be an good idea - maybe he can sign a slew of relievers and deal Houck and Schreiber for SP or OF or C or whatever…

 

I honestly think this has been an actual plan for some franchises. Which commodity is always at a premium at the trade deadline? Since bullpens rule the modern game, it makes sense that good relief pitchers -- because the very definition changes with faces and names yearly -- is always in demand... for contenders.

 

Watch how Tampa uses Eflin, who was more effective as a reliever last year. Starter, opener, set-up man... I just hope Boston crushes him every time they face him until the Rays dump his contract on a desperate Seattle-type team in an upcoming July.

[Old Red]

We need a closer bad. The 22 bullpen blew about half their save opportunities. We can not have another year of that type incompetence,

 

Hang’em Chaim has proven completely incompetent in two areas:

1.) building competent bullpens.

2.) drafting pitchers early in the draft.

 

He needs to fix number 1 this offseason or we are so screwed for 23.

 

Agree, and I’ve been sounding the closer alarm since last offseason when I did offer 2 solutions in Jansen, and Bard. Going with Houck is risky to me just as counting on Schreiber to be as good as last year, and hoping that Barnes can get back to his good days, which I believe are gone forever.

[Hugh2]

Agree, and I’ve been sounding the closer alarm since last offseason when I did offer 2 solutions in Jansen, and Bard. Going with Houck is risky to me just as counting on Schreiber to be as good as last year, and hoping that Barnes can get back to his good days, which I believe are gone forever.

 

You believe are gone forever? What do you base this on? He’s just 32 and was looking very good at the end of last year. Actually he was really good from August 1st on. Finally healthy again, not giving up home runs and keeping guys from scoring.

 

If he looks like that, he can set up and spot close.

[Hugh2]

Do people remember that Martin came up through the Red Sox system? He was an Indy ball guy too!!!!

 

We traded him, Ben did, so you remember for who????

[mvp 78]

Dude, Martin has been pretty damn good.

 

Who did you expect in the bullpen?

 

Chris Major Move Martin? Or is someone else coming?

 

He was good last year, but it seems like an awful lot of money for a late blooming reliever who will be 37 this year. He also won’t be the closer, right?

[mvp 78]

Do people remember that Martin came up through the Red Sox system? He was an Indy ball guy too!!!!

 

We traded him, Ben did, so you remember for who????

 

Franklin Morales, who we traded back to the Rockies like a year later.

[Bellhorn04]

Chris Major Move Martin? Or is someone else coming?

 

He was good last year, but it seems like an awful lot of money for a late blooming reliever who will be 37 this year. He also won’t be the closer, right?

 

He's not a closer, no. And it is a lot of money, but prices are clearly inflated this offseason by a lot of money chasing a small pool of players.

[notin]

Chris Major Move Martin? Or is someone else coming?

 

He was good last year, but it seems like an awful lot of money for a late blooming reliever who will be 37 this year. He also won’t be the closer, right?

 

And $37mill AAV for FIVE YEARS seems like a lot of money for a guy whose pitched 156 IP total in the past two seasons. But here we are…

[Hugh2]

He's not a closer, no. And it is a lot of money, but prices are clearly inflated this offseason by a lot of money chasing a small pool of players.

 

This is probably a very unpopular opinion after last years abysmal bullpen performance, but I do t have a problem with acquiring a lot of 7th/8th inning talent and seeing who emerges as an option. Martin was the 7th inning guy on the most stacked team in baseball.

 

He was good enough to be the 8th inning guy on that team or any other team. He’s performed well in the post season. He is in the 100% percentile for walk rate. He would have been the best reliever in the this teams bullpen last year; maybe that’s not saying much but when you add a guy who would have been your best relieve your bullpen just got a lot better

[Old Red]

Chris Major Move Martin? Or is someone else coming?

 

He was good last year, but it seems like an awful lot of money for a late blooming reliever who will be 37 this year. He also won’t be the closer, right?

Seems like Martin is a good addition to the BP, but he’s basically taking the place of Whitlock, so more help is definitely needed.

[moonslav59]

We need a closer bad. The 22 bullpen blew about half their save opportunities. We can not have another year of that type incompetence,

 

Hang’em Chaim has proven completely incompetent in two areas:

1.) building competent bullpens.

2.) drafting pitchers early in the draft.

 

He needs to fix number 1 this offseason or we are so screwed for 23.

 

Because he drafted the best player in the draft, Mayer, and highly regarded Romero, that makes him incompetent?

 

[moonslav59]

Good to see two names, this time. I totally disagree on trying to trade for Bard, but he could be a good closer next year. So could Houck or Barnes. So might Martin.

 

2021-2022 xFIP

9. Chris Martin 2.87

14. Whitlock 3.06

30. Houck 3.43

50. Jansen 3.76

51. Bard 3.77

60. Barnes 3.84

[Hugh2]

Because he drafted the best player in the draft, Mayer, and highly regarded Romero, that makes him incompetent?

 

 

I mean, If you were hired by an organization to be director of operations/GM and you looked at the teams history of developing pitchers vs developing hitters wouldnt you go position player too?

 

You can always trade from depth, early reports on Romero is he’s a stud, oh no big problem. If Mayer is the real deal too you can always trade Romero for something you need OR move him to another position.

 

 

I’m actually very optimistic about the bullpen, almost never does everything break right but here are a few things that could happen only looking inside the organization.

 

Barnes, from August 1st on last year he looked like his old self. If that carries into 2023 the bullpen looks much better.

 

Josh Taylor is back and healthy and a very effective LHRP.

 

Schreiber has a 2023 that looks very much like his 2022.

 

Zach Taylor looks good and showed a lot of promise during his call up to Boston. Does he emerge as a guy?

 

Houck - what is he? We know he is good, but If ge can take one more step forward as a 26 year old in a defined role could he become a lights out late inning arm? All the ingredient’s are there.

 

The young arms looking to come up mid season intrigue me much more this year than last year, minus Bello of course. Mata could be really really good in a pen, I’d also like to see the Sox transition some of these grungy starters into bullpen roles (like wink and Crawford).

 

This is NOT an argument against more bullpen moves. I just believe there is plenty of room for internal growth and that’s a good thing.