2024 Red Sox Defense

[moonslav59]

You can check FanGraphs too.

 

I can and did, but he played 0 games, last season, and only 34 in 2022, so he is a 2 years older than that, now. He's started less than 175 200 games at SS in the past 4 years, combined. Whatever fangraphs says about that sample size may be near meaningless.

 

I'll pass. There should be someone better on D, just as cheap and maybe with more upside on O.

[notin]

I certainly thought our defense had improved this year--and said so, mostly because the pitching has been spectacularly good, the best in MLB after just 10 games.

 

But guess what? 9 of the 22 runs scored against the Sox were unearned. That to me bespeaks lousy defense--and the fact that Story played excellent defense at SS could not prevent the bungles by the likes of Rafaela, Abreu, Reyes, Casas, Devers, and Valdez.

 

Of those errors, to me the most forgivable one was by Devers, who had to deal with one of those in between high-hoppers, which he tried to grab while going backwards.

 

Rafaela's error was on a dead easy fly he decided to go casual on. Same goes for Abreu on an easy grounder single he let get through his legs. Same for Casas--of course Casas--on another easy grounder. Same for Valdez on a throw to 2b, which he dropped.

 

Also, let's not forget that, while I think we can all agree Trevor Story is superb on defense, at 2b or SS, he can't stay healthy. I hasten to add he's getting paid $22M/year primarily for hitting, which he has yet to do.

 

Speaking of hitting, I don't see a whole lot of them in next year's hypothetical all-defensive team. I think I see 3: Devers, Casas, and Duran--and the latter two are probables, not certainties.

 

I disagree, and think you’re misinterpreting that stat.

 

The 9 unearned runs aren’t what defines the defense; it’s also that the Sox have only given up 24 runs total. We like to attribute that solely to pitching, but defense absolutely is a factor. The Sox crazy low run total can’t be all pitching; not with all these guys back from last year.

 

Defense isn’t measured just by the plays you don’t make. The ones you do makes are factors as well…

[notin]

I can and did, but he played 0 games, last season, and only 34 in 2022, so he is a 2 years older than that, now. He's started less than 175 200 games at SS in the past 4 years, combined. Whatever fangraphs says about that sample size may be near meaningless.

 

I'll pass. There should be someone better on D, just as cheap and maybe with more upside on O.

 

 

The Angels just DFA’d Liván Soto. He might not be a bad idea…

[mvp 78]

The drop off in CF to Duran is not as bad as the drop off at SS to Hamilton/others.

 

Also I think it's a mischaraterization to say "not great" he's defense has been characterized many times as plus at SS. He grew up playing SS, and continued playing it 1-2 times week while he's been in the minors in the Sox system.

 

Sox may very well roll the dice with Hamilton at SS, but Rafaela is their best option there right now and IMO it's not even close.

 

^^^

[mvp 78]

Ok, I will also go listen to their last podcast in which they advocate Rafaela at SS as their best option.

 

http://news.soxprospects.com/2024/04/podcast-ep-311-neverending-scary-story.html

 

I would prefer Rafaela in CF, but right now, the team might be best with him at SS.

 

EDIT. I don't advocate the move permanent, and I still think he should start 1-2 games a week in CF and have Pablo/Hamilton play SS.

 

I'd prefer Rafaela stick in CF too, but they don't have another decent SS to plug in defensively.

[mvp 78]

The Angels just DFA’d Liván Soto. He might not be a bad idea…

 

-4 OAA at SS.

[Old Red]

I'd prefer Rafaela stick in CF too, but they don't have another decent SS to plug in defensively.

 

And the BIG question would be with Story’s history of getting hurt why not?

[Bellhorn04]

I have confidence that Breslow can figure this out better than Bloom did.

[Old Red]

I have confidence that Breslow can figure this out better than Bloom did.

 

The fact that there isn’t one now is not a good sign.

[Bellhorn04]

The fact that there isn’t one now is not a good sign.

 

It's hard to plan around your #1 guy at such a key position going down.

 

They have to find out how long Story will be out and act accordingly.

[mvp 78]

I have confidence that Breslow can figure this out better than Bloom did.

 

100%.

 

He traded for Slaten decisively.

 

He wanted a 2b and got Grissom.

 

They needed more starting pitcher prospects so he dealt Schreiber for Sandlin who is now one of the more hyped BA prospects.

 

He wanted to get rid of Verdugo's contract so he dealt him to the Yanks for Fitts, Weissert and Judice.

 

To replace Verdugo, he dealt Santos and Robertson for Tyler O'Neilll.

 

That would have been too much work for Bloom for one offseason.

[mvp 78]

It's hard to plan around your #1 guy at such a key position going down.

 

They have to find out how long Story will be out and act accordingly.

 

He's still on the 10 day IL. No further updates?

[Bellhorn04]

He's still on the 10 day IL. No further updates?

 

More tests I think.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

I have confidence that Breslow can figure this out better than Bloom did.

 

Molecular biophysics vs. the Illiad.

 

Which one would most humans use to replace "rocket science" when blurting metaphors on difficult subjects they know nothing about?

 

(Chaim says, "Don't sleep on Homer; 5Gs couldn't even finish The Canterbury Tales in college, because every other page was footnote translations")

[mvp 78]

Molecular biophysics vs. the Illiad.

 

Which one would most humans use to replace "rocket science" when blurting metaphors on difficult subjects they know nothing about?

 

(Chaim says, "Don't sleep on Homer; 5Gs couldn't even finish The Canterbury Tales in college, because every other page was footnote translations")

 

Too much Whistle Pig for Bloom.

[Old Red]

It's hard to plan around your #1 guy at such a key position going down.

 

They have to find out how long Story will be out and act accordingly.

 

I agree, but to me you should always have a good backup defensive SS around somewhere especially with Story being your #1 guy.

[Old Red]

100%.

 

He traded for Slaten decisively.

 

He wanted a 2b and got Grissom.

 

They needed more starting pitcher prospects so he dealt Schreiber for Sandlin who is now one of the more hyped BA prospects.

 

He wanted to get rid of Verdugo's contract so he dealt him to the Yanks for Fitts, Weissert and Judice.

 

To replace Verdugo, he dealt Santos and Robertson for Tyler O'Neilll.

 

That would have been too much work for Bloom for one offseason.

 

But still no good backup defensive SS. If RAF Man gets moved to SS then so be it, but you don’t have a lot of good backup depth in the OF.

[mvp 78]

I agree, but to me you should always have a good backup defensive SS around somewhere especially with Story being your #1 guy.

 

He was healthy for a long time in COL, but he's been snakebitten recently. I agree that finding a light hitting defensive whizz would have been a good get. Not sure putting Hamilton at SS in AAA was helping anyone.

[mvp 78]

But still no good backup defensive SS. If RAF Man gets moved to SS then so be it, but you don’t have a lot of good backup depth in the OF.

 

This team had a f***ton of holes. He's done a decent job filling them. Bell just said that he had more confidence that Breslow can figure this out than Bloom and I agree.

[notin]

-4 OAA at SS.

 

He's played 149 innings at SS across two seasons. Hard to maintain league average production when you're on the bench or in the minors.

 

I would like a more recent scouting report on him, but so far this is what prospectslive.com said about hm in 2021.

 

"Field: Good instincts. Shows strong footwork at SS. Moves well to his right and can make the difficult backhand. Covers an above-average amount of ground when moving to his left. Very fluid in his actions. Can make some difficult plays. Grade: 55

 

Arm: Plus arm strength with strong carry across the diamond. Can make the throw from deep in the hole. Throws from several arm angles depending on how quickly he needs to get the ball out. Quick transfers. Throws were on target in looks. Arm plays on the left side of the infield. Grade: 60

 

Overall: Soto stands out more for his floor than his ceiling. He's an advanced defender with enough speed to become something more than an org piece. His bat significantly lags behind, and he likely won't get the shot to start without maxing out his raw tools. He looks to be more of a utility/backup type, and he'll need to hit some to get there."

 

 

Source: https://www.prospectslive.com/scoutingreports/livan-soto

 

Certainly a lot could change in 3 years, but if he has maintained or improved on that, he is a better option than Hamilton. Certainly not a permanent solution, but a good option for a stopgap...

[notin]

I agree, but to me you should always have a good backup defensive SS around somewhere especially with Story being your #1 guy.

 

I think they had far bigger needs than just shortstop depth.

 

Starting pitching being number one. Relief pitching behind that, as they moved too many relievers into the rotation. Catcher, despite the hot start by McGuire, looked much worse at least until Teel forces the issue.

 

If/when Story went down, defensive shortstops hit the waiver wire much more often than quality pitchers and catchers...

[notin]

This team had a f***ton of holes. He's done a decent job filling them. Bell just said that he had more confidence that Breslow can figure this out than Bloom and I agree.

 

Definitely. Bloom had the same problem and it surfaced 3 months before the season even started. And his solution still has not played a game in the majors yet...

[Old Red]

This team had a f***ton of holes. He's done a decent job filling them. Bell just said that he had more confidence that Breslow can figure this out than Bloom and I agree.

 

Wow! f***ton of holes. Did you expect Story Land to be open for 140 games this year. If you did that’s pretty bad planning. I’m not disagreeing with Bell that Breslow can figure this out better than Bloom now, but I still think a cheap good defensive SS should already be around. Agree, or not it’s not a f***ton of a big deal.🙈🤭🤮

[Old Red]

I think they had far bigger needs than just shortstop depth.

 

Starting pitching being number one. Relief pitching behind that, as they moved too many relievers into the rotation. Catcher, despite the hot start by McGuire, looked much worse at least until Teel forces the issue.

 

If/when Story went down, defensive shortstops hit the waiver wire much more often than quality pitchers and catchers...

NO One has said the Red Sox don’t have bigger needs than SS depth, but now lack of SS depth has reared its ugly head again. Maybe they could bring Kike back.

[Old Red]

He was healthy for a long time in COL, but he's been snakebitten recently. I agree that finding a light hitting defensive whizz would have been a good get. Not sure putting Hamilton at SS in AAA was helping anyone.

Sale was healthy in Chicago too. So what?

[Old Red]

The Ham Man is at SS again today.

[notin]

NO One has said the Red Sox don’t have bigger needs than SS depth, but now lack of SS depth has reared its ugly head again. Maybe they could bring Kike back.

 

Kike is playing weakside platoon while James Outman struggles vs pitching with any arm. While the Dodgers have made a complete questionable mess of their INF and OF alignment, they still have not tried Kike at SS, and for several good reasons. The man is not available, not cheap, not an option, and flat out not capable.

 

If Mayer ever stats playing again, he can play himself into candidacy. If one of the other young SS prospects (Colson Montgomery, Jackson Holliday) can force the issues on their teams, then players like Jorge Mateo and Paul DeJong might become more available. Brandon Crawford might already be, as Masyn Winn appears to have taken over his role in St. Louis..

[Old Red]

He's still on the 10 day IL. No further updates?

 

Cora says there is concern with the bone structure, and surgery is possible, and back to LA to see a doctor. A platoon at SS with Romy, and the Ham Man, and Grissom will get some reps at SS down below. No mention of Raf Man moving to SS.

[notin]

Wow! f***ton of holes. Did you expect Story Land to be open for 140 games this year. If you did that’s pretty bad planning. I’m not disagreeing with Bell that Breslow can figure this out better than Bloom now, but I still think a cheap good defensive SS should already be around. Agree, or not it’s not a f***ton of a big deal.

 

What did you expect in a backup SS this offseason? Capable fielder, and just hope offense happens? Sounds a lot like Pablo Reyes.

[Old Red]

What did you expect in a backup SS this offseason? Capable fielder, and just hope offense happens? Sounds a lot like Pablo Reyes.

 

What ever the solution I expected it to be a cheap one, and so far the solution is calling up the Ham Man, and Romy.