A Realistic View of 2024: Part II

[mvp 78]

I agree.

 

2025 template

1B: Devers/Casas (by "resting" at DH, they can start more games and maybe avoid some injuries)

DH: Casas/Devers

2B: Grissom (Story)

SS: Mayer (Story/Rafaela)

3B: Story (Devers)

C: Wong, McGuire (Teel)

LF: Duran/Refsnyder (Abreu)

CF: Rafaela/Duran (Anthony)

RF: Abreu/Refsnyder (Anthony)

Utility: Romy/DHam (Yorke/Valdez)

 

 

 

You've wanted Devers at 1B since 2017. You'll get your wish, but it won't be in 2025.

[mvp 78]

I have been impressed with Romy, despite the small sample size. His at bats look good so far.

 

Cut his K rate in half and has a BABIP of 444. He looks good for now.

[Bellhorn04]

If he was good, Sox could spin him at the deadline and not eat a lot of salary if the Sox were out of it. Sox just wanted to cash out and get a CONTROL of a guy like Grissom. This is a Betts-lite trade.

 

Yes, I agree, it was a Betts-lite trade. This is who they are now.

[notin]

Braves also jumped at the chance for an extension. They are closer to competing so risking $$$ on Sale makes more sense for them.

 

Also the Braves’ farm is very topheavy with pitching prospects. Even if Sale goes down for a few stretches, it creates an opportunity to work some young arms into the rotation…

[notin]

My attitude about Sale was that we had not much to lose by keeping him. Best case scenario he stays healthy and gets back to 80-90% of his old self. We were only on the hook for one more guaranteed year. Plus, what a lot of people don't realize is that the Sox also had an option on him for 2025.

 

But no, we had to do something splashy and clever-looking and trade him. And oh yeah, trim $10 million from the payroll. Henry really liked that last part.

 

Yes holding him looks worse if Sale stays healthy, but his track record in that department has been abysmal since 2018. I don’t blame the Sox for getting what they could out of him at this point. Even waiting until the deadline was far from without risk…

[Old Red]

Why move Devers off position for a guy that can't even stay on the field?

 

You can’t count on Story Land to stay open at any position next year, or any year. Raffy will stay at 3B for the foreseeable future,and especially if NOshida, and Casas is still on the team. It’s definitely not a certainty that Raffy would be good at 1B anyways like some think on here.

[Old Red]

You've wanted Devers at 1B since 2017. You'll get your wish, but it won't be in 2025.

 

It’s far from a certainty that Raffy will ever spend much time at 1B in a Red Sox uniform.

[mvp 78]

Yes holding him looks worse if Sale stays healthy, but his track record in that department has been abysmal since 2018. I don’t blame the Sox for getting what they could out of him at this point. Even waiting until the deadline was far from without risk…

 

The risk they chose to go with was to pay Sale pitch well for the Braves and the guy they acquired underperform. That's what has happened so far. It can turn around after one throw from Sale. It can turn around after a few hot games from Grissom.

[notin]

Yes, I agree, it was a Betts-lite trade. This is who they are now.

 

 

 

Calling this trade Betts-Lite is like referring Troy O’Leary as Ted Williams Lite.

 

Outside of money, there was no reason to move Betts since the guy was perfectly healthy and performing.

 

Sale has been sporadically available for multiple seasons now. Last year, everyone was down on losing Eovaldi and Wacha, two oft-injured pitchers who claimed the Pitcher of the Month Awards in May. Then both got (predictably?) injured a few weeks later and suddenly the noise around them stopped…

[mvp 78]

You can’t count on Story Land to stay open at any position next year, or any year. Raffy will stay at 3B for the foreseeable future,and especially if NOshida, and Casas is still on the team. It’s definitely not a certainty that Raffy would be good at 1B anyways like some think on here.

 

They should also callup Kavadas so they could have 4 LHB DH's.

[Old Red]

They should also callup Kavadas so they could have 4 LHB DH's.

 

That seems to be a suggestion on here.

[mvp 78]

Calling this trade Betts-Lite is like referring Troy O’Leary as Ted Williams Lite.

 

Big time disagree. Sale was on a HOF track before the injuries piled up. They were dealing a one year guy that they weren't going to keep around for a guy with control. Chris Sale reverted to his superstar form and is shoving this year.

[mvp 78]

That seems to be a suggestion on here.

 

Maybe they can callup Nathan Hickey too.

[moonslav59]

Breslow knew all that when he acquired them. They're stopgaps. They should be capable of a .700 OPS. You want to jettison them because they didn't do that over 40-50 PA's.

 

Maybe you need to explain your sample size principles in more detail because to me they seem to be all over the place.

 

Replacing Smith with Kavadas has nothing to do with his 2024 small sample size. There is nothing to explain. I've laid it out at least twice.

[notin]

The risk they chose to go with was to pay Sale pitch well for the Braves and the guy they acquired underperform. That's what has happened so far. It can turn around after one throw from Sale. It can turn around after a few hot games from Grissom.

 

 

Also helped by having two All Stars at middle infield. Atlanta had no place to play Grissom if they kept him. Except in Gwinnett…

[moonslav59]

You've wanted Devers at 1B since 2017. You'll get your wish, but it won't be in 2025.

 

No. I felt devers deserved a chance to improve at 3B, and he actually looked like he was for a stretch, here and there, and for one pretty solid season, but I did discuss the chance of him moving to 1B back then, yes.

 

His issue is mainly arm accuracy, not his glove or quickness. His footwork can be a problem, and maybe that hurts his chances at 1B, but for most of his career, he has been a negativa on D at 3B. Keeping him there, just because he makes $30M has always seemed hollow to me.

 

I'm not torn up about him staying at 3B, and I do think Casas can improve his D at 1B, if he can stay healthy long enough. We also still have Yoshida at DH, so I can understand the reasoning for keeping Devers at 3B.

 

If Grissom turns out to be a bust, this is fine with me:

 

1B Casas

2B Story

SS Mayer

3B Devers

[Old Red]

Replacing Smith with Kavadas has nothing to do with his 2024 small sample size. There is nothing to explain. I've laid it out at least twice.

 

You laying things out is make believe, and most likely nothing that Cora, and Brez would believe, or do, and it’s a long list.🤭🙈

[moonslav59]

Yes, I agree, it was a Betts-lite trade. This is who they are now.

 

I hope you meant this as gross hyperbole.

[Randy Red Sox]

The risk they chose to go with was to pay Sale pitch well for the Braves and the guy they acquired underperform. That's what has happened so far. It can turn around after one throw from Sale. It can turn around after a few hot games from Grissom.

 

or it can keep playing out like it has so far

[mvp 78]

Also helped by having two All Stars at middle infield. Atlanta had no place to play Grissom if they kept him. Except in Gwinnett…

 

They were going to push him to LF!

[mvp 78]

I hope you meant this as gross hyperbole.

 

The truth hurts sometimes.

[Bellhorn04]

I hope you meant this as gross hyperbole.

 

It was mvp who said it, but no, I agree with it. Betts-LITE. Betts-LIKE would have been hyperbole.

[moonslav59]

The truth hurts sometimes.

 

The deal is 7 weeks old. Sale is not Betts. Nobody wanted us to extend Sale. I never heard you suggest it.

 

That is the truth, and it feels fine. No pain.

[Bellhorn04]

It's all good, they've conditioned us to accept year after year of sub-.500 teams and dreams of a rosy future.

[Bellhorn04]

The deal is 7 weeks old. Sale is not Betts.

 

Of course he isn't. He is, however, a pitcher who has as much ability as anyone in the game. They had very little to lose and possibly much to gain by keeping him.

[Old Red]

They were going to push him to LF!

 

Didn’t Grissom have the first crack at SS after the Swan Man leave?

[mvp 78]

Didn’t Grissom have the first crack at SS after the Swan Man leave?

 

No, it was given to Arcia. Grissom filled in only when Arcia went down with injury early on in the season.

[mvp 78]

The deal is 7 weeks old. Sale is not Betts. Nobody wanted us to extend Sale. I never heard you suggest it.

 

That is the truth, and it feels fine. No pain.

 

I said the deal was Betts-lite. That doesn't mean it's a one for one correlation. Sale was on a HOF track before the injuries. He was Chris Freakin' Sale!

 

I know you just want to argue about everything, but c'mon.........

[Randy Red Sox]

Of course he isn't. He is, however, a pitcher who has as much ability as anyone in the game. They had very little to lose and possibly much to gain by keeping him.

 

we can debate the merits of this trade all we want but the fact remains as -THIS WAS DONE SIMPLY TO CUT PAYROLL. NO OTHER REASON.

[mvp 78]

It was mvp who said it, but no, I agree with it. Betts-LITE. Betts-LIKE would have been hyperbole.

 

A big difference which moon and notin are confusing IMO.