Red Sox: Off Season 2024-2025

[Bellhorn04]

17 minutes ago, notin said:

Boo boo on my part.  I thought Mayer’s .850 OPS was in Worcester.  He’s stil in Portland, where Campbell demolished Eastern League pitching.

 

Campbell is no Mickey Gasper, though!

Gasper may take over Dalbec's spot as living testament to the gulf between AAA pitching and MLB pitching.  His Woo numbers are pretty insane. 

[moonslav59]

6 minutes ago, notin said:

The man can hit.  If he moves to LF, doubtful it’s in Boston.  His 2b activity could be severely interrupted by Vaughn Grissom next year.  And, if he’s still here, David Hamilton.  With Story back and Mayer still here, hopefully we see less of Hamilton (and Rafaela) at SS.

Valdez’ best position is DH…

Campbell is in play at 2B, too.

I just see no fit for EV w BOS.

[moonslav59]

24 minutes ago, notin said:

Who cares?  There’s room for both. Until Anthony comes up and Abreu gets moved, Refsnyder has a place to play…

Abreu may get a look at playing FT, and I think Anthony gets called up, the day his service time clicks to an extra year (April '25?)

Campbell may also play OF, but I do not think he is ML ready for that, yet.

If Rafaela move to CF, FT, like he should, and we trade Yoshi, I think Ref at DH makes a lot of sense. He's not good in RF.

[notin]

2 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Abreu may get a look at playing FT, and I think Anthony gets called up, the day his service time clicks to an extra year (April '25?)

Campbell may also play OF, but I do not think he is ML ready for that, yet.

If Rafaela move to CF, FT, like he should, and we trade Yoshi, I think Ref at DH makes a lot of sense. He's not good in RF.

And Abreu is not a good fit to bat against LHP.  If the Sox trade Yoshida for Garver, they can put both in vs LHP, which is an improvement.  Just platooning Refsnyder in somewhere is the status quo…

[notin]

How about a blockbuster?

Jarren Duran (surplus value - $86mill) to Seattle for Logan Gilbert ($88mill)

i don’t see it happening either, but it makes sense for both teams on some level…

[moonslav59]

7 minutes ago, notin said:

And Abreu is not a good fit to bat against LHP.  If the Sox trade Yoshida for Garver, they can put both in vs LHP, which is an improvement.  Just platooning Refsnyder in somewhere is the status quo…

I do think Garver could be a fit, but I'd prefer Ref at DH vs LHP, assuming Yoshi is traded. Of course, a RF platoon with Ref and Garver at DH works better than hoping Abreu figures out LHPs, but I also think he will get a chance to do that, soon.

I also think Anthony should be our FT starting RF'er by the end of April, so Abreu-Ref at DH makes the most sense. (The other is the 4th OF'er.) We could play Anthony in CF and Abreu in RF vs some tough RHPs, and give Rafaela a day off.

[moonslav59]

The more I think about it, the more I do not want to swap Abreu for  RHB. We need pitching way more.

I'm wondering how much of an upgrade we can get on Crawford by trading him and Abreu, together.

Wink & Abreu for ____.

Sandlin & Abreu for ____.

Maybe a team who has 3 roster slots: Abreu, DHam and Crawford for ____.

[dgalehouse]

2 hours ago, notin said:

How about a blockbuster?

Jarren Duran (surplus value - $86mill) to Seattle for Logan Gilbert ($88mill)

i don’t see it happening either, but it makes sense for both teams on some level…

That trade would be grounds for terminating Breslow on the spot. 

[Nick]

I like to see Campbell at 2B. I believe there's enough at bats for our top 4 prospects. Sure would like to keep Hamilton just for his speed.

I'm okay with a full time DH but I believe he has to be able to play in the field from time to time.

Yoshida is such a liability in LF and is so limited athletically along with lacking raw power, he is only ideal to be a DH because he can't play anywhere else.

 

[illinoisredsox]

3 hours ago, notin said:

And Abreu is not a good fit to bat against LHP.  If the Sox trade Yoshida for Garver, they can put both in vs LHP, which is an improvement.  Just platooning Refsnyder in somewhere is the status quo…

Abreu may or may not figure out lefties, but with all of 65 MLB PAs against them in his career, it’s a bit early to make the statement that he’s not a good fit.  His minor league stats don’t show nearly the disparity as his limited major league ones do.

[moonslav59]

2 minutes ago, illinoisredsox said:

Abreu may or may not figure out lefties, but with all of 65 MLB PAs against them in his career, it’s a bit early to make the statement that he’s not a good fit.  His minor league stats don’t show nearly the disparity as his limited major league ones do.

Having one of MLB's top 20 platoon bats vs LHPs, Refsnyder, has been a major reason, he hasn't gotten a long looks vs lefties.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

11 minutes ago, Nick said:

Yoshida is such a liability in LF ...

 

... to the lights at the bottom of the Green Monster!

That line drive that got stuck in the strike light two feet off the ground last year was something fans never saw before, but maybe one of the reasons is that big league outfielders usually catch balls at thigh-high levels -- or don't let balls hit the wall that low behind them.

Granted, it was a slicing liner off a lefty bat -- a tough play for any leftfielder -- but if you watch the replay, Yoshi actually jumped for the ball and missed it, before it smashed the low light. 

Definitely a rarity in the majors... but maybe the coaching staff thought the same about Yoshida -- and, yikes.

[moonslav59]

In theory, we should try to ... (not in order of importance)

1. Find a taker for Yoshida with minimal payments needed going along with him. (Abreu-Ref platoon at DH w Anthony in RF or Abreu in RF and DHam/EValdez platooning with Ref at DH.

2. Find a bridge catcher to Teel.

3. Upgrade the rotation with the best pitcher we can sign or trade for, without creating a bigger issue.

4. Upgrade at closer or top set-up man and use Hendriks for the other with Slaten as the #2 set-up man.

5. Add another quality SP or RP.

This is minimum and need not break the bank or empty the farm to get done.

[Larry Cook]

14 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

In theory, we should try to ... (not in order of importance)

1. Find a taker for Yoshida with minimal payments needed going along with him. (Abreu-Ref platoon at DH w Anthony in RF or Abreu in RF and DHam/EValdez platooning with Ref at DH.

2. Find a bridge catcher to Teel.

3. Upgrade the rotation with the best pitcher we can sign or trade for, without creating a bigger issue.

4. Upgrade at closer or top set-up man and use Hendriks for the other with Slaten as the #2 set-up man.

5. Add another quality SP or RP.

This is minimum and need not break the bank or empty the farm to get done.

1.) minimal payment may not get it done, but a west coast team is perfect for yoshida! 
2.) should be plenty of glove first veteran catchers  available on a one year deal. 
3.) fried would be an excellent free agent addition, if the medicals check out. 
4.) I think we have to sign two relievers, a lefty and a righty. 
5.) we have the assets to trade for miller in Seattle. It will be painful but cassas, plus plus plus should make for a blockbuster trade! 

[moonslav59]

I gotta think Seattle offers the best opportunity to trade for a very good SP'er. We may not match up, in terms of what they need, and they are not the type of team that has a lot of room on their roster for a 3 forty man roster players for 1 type trade.

We could try to lessen the return package by taking on some big salaries.

We could part with a top 4 prospect or young players, but we can't create new holes by doing so.

Here is a look at their 5 SP'ers.

fWAR

4.1 Logan Gilbert (82 ERA-, 3.19 xFIP) 3 Arbs remaining (out of 4)

3.7 George Kirby (95 ERA-, 3.56 xFIP) 4 Arbs remaining (1 to 4)

2.4 Bryce Miller (83 ERA-, 3.90 xFIP) Pre-Arb ('26 is Arb 1)

2.4 Luis Castillo (95 ERA-, 3.84 xFIP) 3 yrs at $21.6M AAV  w vesting option '28

2.0 Bryan Woo (62 ERA-, 3.84 xFIP) Pre-Arb ('26 is Arb 1)

We would have to part with some real talent to get any of these guys. They are not in rebuild mode, but we have some ML ready prospects they may want: Anthony, Campbell, Mayer, Teel and maybe Meidroth, Fitts, Priester or Sandlin as add ons. We could offer top young players like Casas or Duran, or add to the package with guys like Abreu, DHam, Grissom or a lesser pitcher, but the larger the package, the more likely we'd have to take back a higher contract player, like...

Mitch Haniger $15.5M/1 remaining or Mitch Garver $11.5M with mutual option for '26 at $12M w $1M buyout- essentially a $12.5M/1 deal.

I don't think they view Castillo's deal as a drag, but they may prefer to trade him, so they can sign a FA with the savings, or maybe we could include Yoshida in a deal for him.

It's hard to find a package that looks good for both teams.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

3 minutes ago, Larry Cook said:

5.) we have the assets to trade for miller in Seattle. It will be painful but cassas, plus plus plus should make for a blockbuster trade! 

The M's may have to go for Casas to offset the new beast of the west, Nikko Kavadas, and his 5.3% HR rate.

Though Tris is only at 4.6% in this broken season.

[moonslav59]

I'd rather trade Casas than Campbell or Anthony, and maybe even Teel. I might give them a choice of Casas or Mayer plus secondary pieces.

Maybe adding Yoshida and taking back Garver could be worked into the mix, but we cannot count on him as a real back-up catcher.

Casas, Yoshida and Abreu for Miller & Garver with no money added.

We move Devers to 1B and see who we can play at 3B: Campbell, Mayer, Story, Meidroth. Anthony takes RF from Abreu & Ref.

[moonslav59]

That was a big loss. Again, we had chances and chances.

Same ole- same ole.

[moonslav59]

10 hours ago, notin said:

How about a blockbuster?

Jarren Duran (surplus value - $86mill) to Seattle for Logan Gilbert ($88mill)

i don’t see it happening either, but it makes sense for both teams on some level…

What is the BTV values given to Casas and Abreu?

[harmony]

12 hours ago, notin said:

How about a blockbuster?

Jarren Duran (surplus value - $86mill) to Seattle for Logan Gilbert ($88mill)

i don’t see it happening either, but it makes sense for both teams on some level…

Jarren Duran's age 27 season in 2024 is reminiscent of Jacoby Ellsbury's age 27 season in 2011 and Darin Erstad's age 26 season in 2000. The three outfielders who bat and throw lefthanded never repeated those fine seasons.

[Randy Red Sox]

8 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

In theory, we should try to ... (not in order of importance)

1. Find a taker for Yoshida with minimal payments needed going along with him. (Abreu-Ref platoon at DH w Anthony in RF or Abreu in RF and DHam/EValdez platooning with Ref at DH.

2. Find a bridge catcher to Teel.

3. Upgrade the rotation with the best pitcher we can sign or trade for, without creating a bigger issue.

4. Upgrade at closer or top set-up man and use Hendriks for the other with Slaten as the #2 set-up man.

5. Add another quality SP or RP.

This is minimum and need not break the bank or empty the farm to get done.

so tell us who get and what it costs us to do so

[Randy Red Sox]

1 hour ago, harmony said:

Jarren Duran's age 27 season in 2024 is reminiscent of Jacoby Ellsbury's age 27 season in 2011 and Darin Erstad's age 26 season in 2000. The three outfielders who bat and throw lefthanded never repeated those fine seasons.

seattle doesn't even return the phone call on this trade

[Randy Red Sox]

8 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

I gotta think Seattle offers the best opportunity to trade for a very good SP'er. We may not match up, in terms of what they need, and they are not the type of team that has a lot of room on their roster for a 3 forty man roster players for 1 type trade.

We could try to lessen the return package by taking on some big salaries.

We could part with a top 4 prospect or young players, but we can't create new holes by doing so.

Here is a look at their 5 SP'ers.

fWAR

4.1 Logan Gilbert (82 ERA-, 3.19 xFIP) 3 Arbs remaining (out of 4)

3.7 George Kirby (95 ERA-, 3.56 xFIP) 4 Arbs remaining (1 to 4)

2.4 Bryce Miller (83 ERA-, 3.90 xFIP) Pre-Arb ('26 is Arb 1)

2.4 Luis Castillo (95 ERA-, 3.84 xFIP) 3 yrs at $21.6M AAV  w vesting option '28

2.0 Bryan Woo (62 ERA-, 3.84 xFIP) Pre-Arb ('26 is Arb 1)

We would have to part with some real talent to get any of these guys. They are not in rebuild mode, but we have some ML ready prospects they may want: Anthony, Campbell, Mayer, Teel and maybe Meidroth, Fitts, Priester or Sandlin as add ons. We could offer top young players like Casas or Duran, or add to the package with guys like Abreu, DHam, Grissom or a lesser pitcher, but the larger the package, the more likely we'd have to take back a higher contract player, like...

Mitch Haniger $15.5M/1 remaining or Mitch Garver $11.5M with mutual option for '26 at $12M w $1M buyout- essentially a $12.5M/1 deal.

I don't think they view Castillo's deal as a drag, but they may prefer to trade him, so they can sign a FA with the savings, or maybe we could include Yoshida in a deal for him.

It's hard to find a package that looks good for both teams.

Castillo is the only SP the M'S  may want to part with but he has significant miles on his wing.  I would stay away and go for a younger SP

[notin]

16 hours ago, dgalehouse said:

That trade would be grounds for terminating Breslow on the spot. 

… unless Duran is having a career year and next season reverts to being the player he was last year…

[notin]

4 hours ago, Randy Red Sox said:

Castillo is the only SP the M'S  may want to part with but he has significant miles on his wing.  I would stay away and go for a younger SP

Been texting Jerry Dipoto again?

[Hugh2]

19 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

Abreu may get a look at playing FT, and I think Anthony gets called up, the day his service time clicks to an extra year (April '25?)

Campbell may also play OF, but I do not think he is ML ready for that, yet.

If Rafaela move to CF, FT, like he should, and we trade Yoshi, I think Ref at DH makes a lot of sense. He's not good in RF.

Sox didn’t hold back Rafaela last year, if Anthony is mashing and they think he can help them on day one, why would they do that with him?

 

P.S. Anthony has no splits, he mashed both LHP/RHP

with Caminero graduating Roman Anthony now sits as the #1 prospect in all of baseball.

The offseason may be very interesting 

 

[Hugh2]

6 minutes ago, notin said:

… unless Duran is having a career year and next season reverts to being the player he was last year…

I think it’s very possible this is Jarren Durans best season.

 

but he adds value in so many ways that his floor is high.  I can see him easily being a 3 war player every year for the next 5 years.

[Old Red]

Just now, Hugh2 said:

I think it’s very possible this is Jarren Durans best season.

 

but he adds value in so many ways that his floor is high.  I can see him easily being a 3 war player every year for the next 5 years.

Sell high for pitching.

[Hugh2]

Just now, Old Red said:

Sell high for pitching.

I mean, I don’t want to advocate trading Duran.  They certainly do have plenty of other assets to acquire pitching.  But I certainly would NOT complain if they parted with Jarren for a young ACE.

 

sox have lots of OF depth.

sox have very little high end pitching.

the math adds up.

[Bellhorn04]

6 hours ago, harmony said:

Jarren Duran's age 27 season in 2024 is reminiscent of Jacoby Ellsbury's age 27 season in 2011 and Darin Erstad's age 26 season in 2000. The three outfielders who bat and throw lefthanded never repeated those fine seasons.

Three instead of two = Freudian slip?