A Realistic View at 2024: Part I

[moonslav59]

Mitch Garvers pop time is 2.0

 

Not awful, not good. His bat is nice but catcher is not a position I want to go offense first. Especially with a pitching staff that desperately needs help. Wong could stand to improve in some areas but he’s a much better starting catcher than Garver ever was.

 

The fact that he DH'd more than he caught over the last two seasons, you have talked me out of the idea.

[Bellhorn04]

Down goes Garver!

[moonslav59]

Down goes Garver!

 

Who was the fool who brought up this guy's name?

 

We don't need another DH!!!

[Hugh2]

Although……he is a RHB

[illinoisredsox]

But -- the Babe played his last 28 games for Boston... 6 HR, 12 RBI, .181 BA, -0.3 dWAR... but still a positive 0.1 bWAR (1/10th better than a replacement poster?)

 

 

Except that Boston did get Babe Ruth back…

 

Boston got Ruth back, the Red Sox did not

[notin]

Boston got Ruth back, the Red Sox did not

 

And no one said they did…

[notin]

Down goes Garver!

 

Wait… what?

[notin]

Who was the fool who brought up this guy's name?

!

 

A writer predicted him for Boston on MLBTR…

[Hugh2]

Wait… what?

 

I think he meant that in terms of him being an option here

[moonslav59]

When I look at the non pitchers on the FA list and what MLBTR projects their contracts to be, I can't see many deals I support offering.

 

$264/12 Bellinger: LMAO

$150/6 Chapman: sorry notin. Nope.

$80/4 Teoscar: sure, we need another DH! NOT!

$70/4 Candelario: Nope.

$54/4 Gurriel: Not another LF'er!

$50M/5 Jung Hoo Lee: A CF'er, but bats LH'd.

$45M/3 Soler: Yup, another LF'er!

$40M/2 JD M: We have 9 DHs, already.

$39M/3 Garver: More DH than catcher, but does bat RH'd w power.

$36M/2 Hoskins: 1B/DH- been there-done that.

(That's only 10 in MLBTR's top 30 FAs.)

 

$26M/2 Kiermaier: Nice glove in CF, when healthy, but bats lefty.

$20M/2 H Bader: Hey! He bats RH'd and plays CF. Can't hit well.

$20M/2 Urshela: Nope

$18M/2 Ahmed Rosario: Bats RH'd but not well. Could be good at 2B.

$18M/2 Merrifield: RHB, but near .700 and not good on D: Nope

$16M/1 Turner: RHB, love the guy, but we have a DH.

$16M/2 Heyward bats LH'd.

$15M/1 Belt bats LH'd.

$12M/1 Tim Anderson: bats RH'd but fell off a cliff and is not good on D. Maybe OK at 2B, but Nope.

 

That's the top 50, and only Rosario looks mildly interesting, to me.

 

Some of the honorable mentions look more appealing:

Duvall

Michael A. Taylor

 

Pretty sad. The best of the best don't fill a need or cost way too much.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[notin]

When I look at the non pitchers on the FA list and what MLBTR projects their contracts to be, I can't see many deals I support offering.

 

$264/12 Bellinger: LMAO

$150/6 Chapman: sorry notin. Nope.

$80/4 Teoscar: sure, we need another DH! NOT!

$70/4 Candelario: Nope.

$54/4 Gurriel: Not another LF'er!

$50M/5 Jung Hoo Lee: A CF'er, but bats LH'd.

$45M/3 Soler: Yup, another LF'er!

$40M/2 JD M: We have 9 DHs, already.

$39M/3 Garver: More DH than catcher, but does bat RH'd w power.

$36M/2 Hoskins: 1B/DH- been there-done that.

(That's only 10 in MLBTR's top 30 FAs.)

 

$26M/2 Kiermaier: Nice glove in CF, when healthy, but bats lefty.

$20M/2 H Bader: Hey! He bats RH'd and plays CF. Can't hit well.

$20M/2 Urshela: Nope

$18M/2 Ahmed Rosario: Bats RH'd but not well. Could be good at 2B.

$18M/2 Merrifield: RHB, but near .700 and not good on D: Nope

$16M/1 Turner: RHB, love the guy, but we have a DH.

$16M/2 Heyward bats LH'd.

$15M/1 Belt bats LH'd.

$12M/1 Tim Anderson: bats RH'd but fell off a cliff and is not good on D. Maybe OK at 2B, but Nope.

 

That's the top 50, and only Rosario looks mildly interesting, to me.

 

Some of the honorable mentions look more appealing:

Duvall

Michael A. Taylor

 

Pretty sad. The best of the best don't fill a need or cost way too much.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You write off Chapman too quickly…

[moonslav59]

You write off Chapman too quickly…

 

I'd be okay, if I knew we'd trade for an ace, but I'm not spending $25M our of $50 or $70M on a 3Bman, when we need 2-3 SP'er, a 2Bman and maybe a C, LH RP or RHB OF'er.

 

It was not a quick decision. We've been over this for a while.

[moonslav59]

You write off Chapman too quickly…

 

If you can't have Chapman, which other non pitchers are you most interested in?

 

I'm thinking MAYBE Rosario, Bader or even Duvall from the scrubs list.

[moonslav59]

Hey guys, don't take it from me. There is a headline on MLBTR that reads:

 

Red Sox Prioritizing Starting Pitching Help

 

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/11/red-sox-prioritizing-starting-pitching-help.html

 

[notin]

If you can't have Chapman, which other non pitchers are you most interested in?

 

I'm thinking MAYBE Rosario, Bader or even Duvall from the scrubs list.

 

Rosario?

 

A left-handed hitting left fielder? That struggles to get a .300 OBP?

[notin]

If you can't have Chapman, which other non pitchers are you most interested in?

 

I'm thinking MAYBE Rosario, Bader or even Duvall from the scrubs list.

 

As for non-Chapman position players - weak showing. Duvall, Bader, IKF, Tim Anderson…

[moonslav59]

Rosario?

 

A left-handed hitting left fielder? That struggles to get a .300 OBP?

 

It is RHB Ahmed Rosario, who would be converted to 2B with the Sox.

Edited November 9, 2023 by moonslav59

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

It is RHB Ahmed Rosario, who would be converted to 2B with the Sox.

 

Maybe that's the kind of guy who would be worth giving a second chance. He was a 4.2 WAR at shortstop just two years ago, when he led MLB in triples. Dodgers tried him at 2B last summer, where he was errorless in 190 innings.

 

Then again, the Sox already have a bounce-back guy who was a 3.1 WAR two years ago, and 3.3 the year before that in Urias...

[mvp 78]

When I look at the non pitchers on the FA list and what MLBTR projects their contracts to be, I can't see many deals I support offering.

 

$264/12 Bellinger: LMAO

$150/6 Chapman: sorry notin. Nope.

$80/4 Teoscar: sure, we need another DH! NOT!

$70/4 Candelario: Nope.

$54/4 Gurriel: Not another LF'er!

$50M/5 Jung Hoo Lee: A CF'er, but bats LH'd.

$45M/3 Soler: Yup, another LF'er!

$40M/2 JD M: We have 9 DHs, already.

$39M/3 Garver: More DH than catcher, but does bat RH'd w power.

$36M/2 Hoskins: 1B/DH- been there-done that.

(That's only 10 in MLBTR's top 30 FAs.)

 

$26M/2 Kiermaier: Nice glove in CF, when healthy, but bats lefty.

$20M/2 H Bader: Hey! He bats RH'd and plays CF. Can't hit well.

$20M/2 Urshela: Nope

$18M/2 Ahmed Rosario: Bats RH'd but not well. Could be good at 2B.

$18M/2 Merrifield: RHB, but near .700 and not good on D: Nope

$16M/1 Turner: RHB, love the guy, but we have a DH.

$16M/2 Heyward bats LH'd.

$15M/1 Belt bats LH'd.

$12M/1 Tim Anderson: bats RH'd but fell off a cliff and is not good on D. Maybe OK at 2B, but Nope.

 

That's the top 50, and only Rosario looks mildly interesting, to me.

 

Some of the honorable mentions look more appealing:

Duvall

Michael A. Taylor

 

Pretty sad. The best of the best don't fill a need or cost way too much.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They should consider kicking the tires on Rosario or Merrifield.

[mvp 78]

Hey guys, don't take it from me. There is a headline on MLBTR that reads:

 

Red Sox Prioritizing Starting Pitching Help

 

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2023/11/red-sox-prioritizing-starting-pitching-help.html

 

 

That doesn't mean they are only going to sign starters.

[mvp 78]

It is RHB Ahmed Rosario, who would be converted to 2B with the Sox.

 

He played a decent 2b last year.

[notin]

He played a decent 2b last year.

 

Oh.

 

Yes, Amed does make more sense of the Rosario brothers. Brothers? Cousins? Both?

 

Or unrelated?

[mvp 78]

Oh.

 

Yes, Amed does make more sense of the Rosario brothers. Brothers? Cousins? Both?

 

Or unrelated?

 

Unrelated. One is Puerto Rican and one is Dominican.

[moonslav59]

That doesn't mean they are only going to sign starters.

 

Trust me. I know.

[notin]

Filling 2b the fun way to me would be trading Kutter Crawford to St. Louis for Brendan Donovan and his .380 OBP…

[moonslav59]

Maybe that's the kind of guy who would be worth giving a second chance. He was a 4.2 WAR at shortstop just two years ago, when he led MLB in triples. Dodgers tried him at 2B last summer, where he was errorless in 190 innings.

 

Then again, the Sox already have a bounce-back guy who was a 3.1 WAR two years ago, and 3.3 the year before that in Urias...

 

I think Rosario is the better defender. Urias is a decent back-up 3Bman, but maybe we could trade or non tender Urias and use Reyes as the all around utility IF'er.

 

The money saved ($~5M) on Urias would lessen the hit of the Rosario contract, but who knows? Maybe Urias outplays Rosario in 2024 and beyond.

 

Urias turns 27 next June.

6.1 bWAR '21-'22

4.2 fWAR, including -0.1 in '23

 

Ahmed turns 28, next week.

6.6 bWAR '21-'23

5.4 fWAR, including +0.2 in '23

 

It would save us money to just keep Urias, but an upgrade on D, while adding a capable back-up SS might be worth the added salary.

[mvp 78]

Filling 2b the fun way to me would be trading Kutter Crawford to St. Louis for Brendan Donovan and his .380 OBP…

 

Wild. Sign me up on that one.

[Hugh2]

We might be competing with the Yankees for Donovan, if they get him Torres might be available.

 

It could make sense for rare trade. Gleyber Torres for Alex Verdugo. Resign Duval (or get Bader) and go pitching pitching pitching.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

We might be competing with the Yankees for Donovan, if they get him Torres might be available.

 

It could make sense for rare trade. Gleyber Torres for Alex Verdugo. Resign Duval (or get Bader) and go pitching pitching pitching.

 

Nothing personal, but I don't want either Torres or Donovan for second base. Both had negative dWARs last year; Torres somehow made 15 errors at 2B -- which means he really sucks on D, considering the scorekeeper scam of giving hits on anything not thrown into the stands or Charlie Browned.

[Hugh2]

Nothing personal, but I don't want either Torres or Donovan for second base. Both had negative dWARs last year; Torres somehow made 15 errors at 2B -- which means he really sucks on D, considering the scorekeeper scam of giving hits on anything not thrown into the stands or Charlie Browned.

 

Better than what we had there last year, a LOT better. He's here for one year, and you get a pick for him too when he declines a Q.O.

 

Also, errors is the worst metric to measure defense by. An error is just NOT making an out, guys make outs all the time that are scored hits on other guys because they're slow.