A Realistic View of 2024: Part II

[Tedballgame]

Casas has already been out for 3 months with what was initially said to be a 3-9 week injury. Cora said yesterday that Casas is far off from a rehab assignment. This injury is looking like Ellsbury's rib injury. Its looking like a lost season for Casas. Hope he doesn't turn into an injury prone player.

[Nick]

Casas has already been out for 3 months with what was initially said to be a 3-9 week injury. Cora said yesterday that Casas is far off from a rehab assignment. This injury is looking like Ellsbury's rib injury. Its looking like a lost season for Casas. Hope he doesn't turn into an injury prone player.

 

Go get a right handed bat 1B.....

[dgalehouse]

For anyone interested, MLB Extra Innings has a free preview at least through the weekend. I think the Sox/Dodgers games are on Fox tonight and ESPN on Sunday night.

[notin]

Go get a right handed bat 1B.....

 

Full time?

 

Sox bench isn’t big enough to support platooning Smith, Yoshida, Hamilton and Abreu.

[notin]

Go get a right handed bat 1B.....

 

Andrew Vaughn is reportedly available. He hits right-handed, provides league-average offense (career OPS+ of 100) and is nowhere near the six feet tall every site lists him as. Houston is rumored to be interested.

 

Vaughn is under team control through 2026. He’s played outfield, but not particularly well. He’s also no defensive whiz at 1b…

[Nick]

Andrew Vaughn is reportedly available. He hits right-handed, provides league-average offense (career OPS+ of 100) and is nowhere near the six feet tall every site lists him as. Houston is rumored to be interested.

 

Vaughn is under team control through 2026. He’s played outfield, but not particularly well. He’s also no defensive whiz at 1b…

 

He has two years of arbitration left, getting paid little over $3M this year. I'd like to see little more power out of 1B but without looking at his spray chart, maybe Fenway will help his offense.

 

We don't have to re-sign him so our risk is how much do we give up?

[moonslav59]

At what point do the big 3 make their major league appearance? How much better is Roman Anthony than say Abreu?

He should be better and can play CF. Both are LHBs, as is Duran. I think one might be traded by the start of 2025.

 

How soon can we expect to see Teel? Do we stick with Reese McGuire for another year? His third and final year of arbitration?

Catchers normally take time to develop, but Teel is supposed to be good on D. That being said, I think we start 2025 with McGuire as the #2 catcher and maybe trade him at the deadline. (I might be one of the few who still likes McGuire as our #2.)

 

How realistic is it for Mayer to replace healthy Story with decent hitting? Do we move Story to second base to accommodate Mayer? When does the switch occur?

Story is still an excellent defensive SS, and I'm not sure his bat is dead. I really like Mayer, and playing him at 2B seems wrong, so maybe Mayer at SS and Story at 2B is the best choice. With 2B being the Sox weakest position for 5 years, I would not trade Mayer or Campbell. With Story's injury history- al the more reason.

I think Mayer is on the 2025 opening day roster. DHam is the back-up. Rafaela is in CF and Anthony is traded in a package for a solid SP.

 

Will Kristian Campbell placed in the same time table as the big 3? He is already 22 and plays in Portland. Is it possible for him to shift to CF and have Rafaela play short and Story second if Mayer does not pan out?

I think Campbell starts 2025 in AAA and is a midseason call-up, if needed.

 

We're very fortunate to have Rafaela because his ability to play short and center gives us tons of flexibility.

Agreed, but ideally, Rafaela should be our 4th SS and 5th 2Bman. He is an excellent CF'er. He is one of just 5 rookies to ever have 10 Hrs, 10 SBs and 50 rbis at the AS break.

 

At this point, the Sox may feel they need to extend/sign Pivetta and hope for the best from Giolito in 2025 and call it the day.

We should be able to improve on Gio and Pivetta for 2025. Jansen will not be so easy. Trading Anthony (or Abreu) in a package for a solid SP'er and adding a closer should possible, even staying below the tax line.

 

We can't make any bold moves without giving up top talent in my opinion. You can't have it all.

 

Agreed. Trade Anthony or Abreu plus other prospects for a solid SP'er and sign a closer and 4/5 SP'er (maybe Pivetta.) Add a RHB like O'Neill or Kim (2B.)

 

SP1 Houck

SP2 Return on Anthony+ trade

SP3 Crawford

SP4 Giolito

SP5 Bello

 

Closer: FA (Jansen?)

RP2: Hendriks

RP3: Whitlock

RP4: Slaten

RP5: Winckowski

RP6: Bernardino

RP7: Kelly, Criswell, Weissert

 

C: Wong, McGuire>Teel

1B: Casas

2B: Story, DHam (Kim) Campbell

SS: Mayer (Story/DHam/Rafaela)

3B: Devers

LF: Duran, Refsnyder

CF: Rafaela (Abreu)

RF: Abreu, O'Neill type (Refsnyder)

DH: O'Neill type/Yoshida (Ref/Valdez)

 

This looks solid!

[notin]

He has two years of arbitration left, getting paid little over $3M this year. I'd like to see little more power out of 1B but without looking at his spray chart, maybe Fenway will help his offense.

 

We don't have to re-sign him so our risk is how much do we give up?

 

His StatCast is actually pretty good. Better than Smith and Casas (2024 only).

 

Andy Ibanez is a RHH 2b potential acquisition that also might make sense…

Edited July 20, 2024 by notin

[Nick]

Thanks Moon and notin

[moonslav59]

Thanks Moon and notin

 

You asked good questions.

[Maxbialystock]

Andrew Vaughn is reportedly available. He hits right-handed, provides league-average offense (career OPS+ of 100) and is nowhere near the six feet tall every site lists him as. Houston is rumored to be interested.

 

Vaughn is under team control through 2026. He’s played outfield, but not particularly well. He’s also no defensive whiz at 1b…

 

Andrew freaking Vaughn??!!! He's played 91 games for the White Sox this year and his OPS is .675 and his overall WAR is -0.1.

 

I have my doubts about whether Casas will ever be Casas again, but right now I would vastly prefer him over Vaughn.

 

Also, let's not forget that 1b is the easiest infield position. If Trevor Story is healthy, Mayer is brought to Boston, Hamilton is still decent at the plate, Grissom turns out to be decent, etc--then one of those guys could be moved to 1b. Or Devers could be moved to 1b with Story or someone moving to 3b.

[Bellhorn04]

Man, bullpens can really fall apart overnight.

 

Kelly and Booser are about the only two guys you would want to see pitch tonight.

 

Jansen-blew it last night and was shaky in his previous inning

Slaten-on IL and who knows when he returns

Martin-on IL and who knows when he returns

Bernardino-was great up until June but has been terrible since

Winckowski-OK but not confidence-inspiring

Weissert-just about dead and dusted

Campbell-see you in 2025

Horn-disappeared?

Anderson-mopup guy

[Bellhorn04]

Does anybody think selling might be still on the table? A horrible thought, but I'm not sure it can be ruled out yet.

[Old Red]

Does anybody think selling might be still on the table? A horrible thought, but I'm not sure it can be ruled out yet.

 

I’m not counting on Brez doing much of anything in the buying dept. if he does great, but I won’t believe it until I see it.

[dgalehouse]

Does anybody think selling might be still on the table? A horrible thought, but I'm not sure it can be ruled out yet.

 

Not at all. A tough loss, on the road, against a very good team is not a reason to panic.

[Bellhorn04]

Not at all. A tough loss, on the road, against a very good team is not a reason to panic.

 

I'm not panicking Denny, but our bullpen suddenly looks like a major problem with no clear fixes in sight.

 

Breslow could go bold and trade for 1 or 2 legit relievers, but that would cost some prospects, maybe some really good ones.

 

Breslow said he's determined to pick a lane.

 

I'm just saying we can't rule out the sell lane just yet. If he has a cold-blooded, future-oriented philosophy, selling could still be the way to go.

[notin]

I'm not panicking Denny, but our bullpen suddenly looks like a major problem with no clear fixes in sight.

 

Breslow could go bold and trade for 1 or 2 legit relievers, but that would cost some prospects, maybe some really good ones.

 

Breslow said he's determined to pick a lane.

 

I'm just saying we can't rule out the sell lane just yet. If he has a cold-blooded, future-oriented philosophy, selling could still be the way to go.

 

I’m hoping these last two games don’t weigh as heavily with Breslow as they seem to on here. But yes, he could go into Sell Mode and try to capitalize on the Seller’s Market. Of course, with three wild cards and 12 playoff spots, it could be a Seller’s Market every year…

[Old Red]

I’m hoping these last two games don’t weigh as heavily with Breslow as they seem to on here. But yes, he could go into Sell Mode and try to capitalize on the Seller’s Market. Of course, with three wild cards and 12 playoff spots, it could be a Seller’s Market every year…

I’m not anymore ,or less confident today then I was a month ago that Brez will make any good improvements let alone a big improvement to this team then I was a month ago.

[dgalehouse]

There are not too many teams that are sellers at this point. But there are surely some decent bullpen arms who will be available without costing an arm and a leg.

[notin]

I’m not anymore ,or less confident today then I was a month ago that Brez will make any good improvements let alone a big improvement to this team then I was a month ago.

 

Wow. You had zero confidence a month ago. Now you’ve gone negative?

[notin]

There are not too many teams that are sellers at this point. But there are surely some decent bullpen arms who will be available without costing an arm and a leg.

 

Plus the Sox do have a farm system they could tap into…

[moonslav59]

There are not too many teams that are sellers at this point. But there are surely some decent bullpen arms who will be available without costing an arm and a leg.

 

This is the reason I think we trade for a 5th starter type and 1-2 decent RP'ers.

 

Not only will there be less sellers, there will be more buyers.

[Old Red]

There are not too many teams that are sellers at this point. But there are surely some decent bullpen arms who will be available without costing an arm and a leg.

 

Will be available is fine, but the last two nights has shown that the need is NOW.

[Old Red]

Wow. You had zero confidence a month ago. Now you’ve gone negative?

 

Negative? I wasn’t sold on the 12th pick in the 2024 HOBO draft from the beginning. Now is his chance to prove me wrong, and I hope he does, but I’m not counting on it.

[notin]

Will be available is fine, but the last two nights has shown that the need is NOW.

 

Can’t buy anything before someone opens their store…

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

There are not too many teams that are sellers at this point. But there are surely some decent bullpen arms who will be available without costing an arm and a leg.

 

I'm not sure about that. But I am sure Brez won't trade the Big 3 for Mason Miller or even one of them for Tanner Scott. And unless those clubs with elite relievers for sale get overpaid this week, they'll be waiting until the last possible second of the deadline to take someone's best, most desperate trade package...

 

... which means Red Sox fans better expect some untapped arms from the Dollar Store that Bailey thinks he can mold into the fold.

[notin]

I'm not sure about that. But I am sure Brez won't trade the Big 3 for Mason Miller or even one of them for Tanner Scott. And unless those clubs with elite relievers for sale get overpaid this week, they'll be waiting until the last possible second of the deadline to take someone's best, most desperate trade package...

 

... which means Red Sox fans better expect some untapped arms from the Dollar Store that Bailey thinks he can mold into the fold.

 

Like Trey Wingenter?

 

And Mike Baumann is available again!

 

Also, what happened to Dakota Hudson?

[Old Red]

Can’t buy anything before someone opens their store…

 

Knock on the door. Time is wasted.

[dgalehouse]

I'm not sure about that. But I am sure Brez won't trade the Big 3 for Mason Miller or even one of them for Tanner Scott. And unless those clubs with elite relievers for sale get overpaid this week, they'll be waiting until the last possible second of the deadline to take someone's best, most desperate trade package...

 

... which means Red Sox fans better expect some untapped arms from the Dollar Store that Bailey thinks he can mold into the fold.

 

Mason Miller certainly has looked special so far. He is not for sale cheap. But there are also numerous hard throwing relievers out there whose names are not familiar to most fans. And it would not take one of the " big 3 or 4 " to get them.

[Bellhorn04]

There are not too many teams that are sellers at this point. But there are surely some decent bullpen arms who will be available without costing an arm and a leg.

 

Proven late inning relievers actually tend to be pretty costly.