A Realistic View of the 2025 Red Sox: Part I

[mvp 78]

17 minutes ago, Hugh2 said:

Agreed, they have other options as well.  A lot depends on how long Story would be out.  They'd plug Hamilton or Gonzalez there, but I don't see them playing every day long term.  There's also a scenario where Rafaela plays. 

There's a world where Mayer just shoves in spring training and Story goes down with a series injury.  I still think in 999 out of 1,000 scenarios that doesn't involve injury to a starting position player Campbel/Anthony come up sooner. 

I believe only pitchers shove. If a batter is shoving, it's an intentional act against another player that is going to get them ejected from the game. 

[Hugh2]

15 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

I believe only pitchers shove. If a batter is shoving, it's an intentional act against another player that is going to get them ejected from the game. 

Ok, well...replace shove with MASH!!!

[Hugh2]

I actually saw Kristian Campbell play SS when he was down in Portland. 

Unfortunately, he never really had a chance to do anything other than make a routine play, but for what it's worth he made every single one.  He played 36 games at both SS and 2nd last year, after that he played 25 games in CF, 5 at 3B and 16 times he was the DH.

[mvp 78]

10 minutes ago, Hugh2 said:

I actually saw Kristian Campbell play SS when he was down in Portland. 

Unfortunately, he never really had a chance to do anything other than make a routine play, but for what it's worth he made every single one.  He played 36 games at both SS and 2nd last year, after that he played 25 games in CF, 5 at 3B and 16 times he was the DH.

Sure you did, buddy... We also had posters on here claim they saw Enmanuel Valdez play SS when he only had 2 career appearances and the last time was in TX while in the Astros org! 🧐

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, Hugh2 said:

Agreed, they have other options as well.  A lot depends on how long Story would be out.  They'd plug Hamilton or Gonzalez there, but I don't see them playing every day long term.  There's also a scenario where Rafaela plays. 

There's a world where Mayer just shoves in spring training and Story goes down with a series injury.  I still think in 999 out of 1,000 scenarios that doesn't involve injury to a starting position player Campbel/Anthony come up sooner. 

Agreed. Story needs to be hurt for Mayer to get the call, before Campbell and Anthony, and even then, Story would have to be out long term. (Campbell could also play SS.)

Mayer will not win the 2B job over Campbell, IMO, but if Campbell is used in the OF, maybe Mayer plays 2B or 3B.

[mvp 78]

2 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Agreed. Story needs to be hurt for Mayer to get the call, before Campbell and Anthony, and even then, Story would have to be out long term. (Campbell could also play SS.)

Mayer will not win the 2B job over Campbell, IMO, but if Campbell is used in the OF, maybe Mayer plays 2B or 3B.

If they need a 3B, why wouldn't they slide Bregman over there? 

[mvp 78]

 

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

2 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Agreed. Story needs to be hurt for Mayer to get the call, before Campbell and Anthony, and even then, Story would have to be out long term. (Campbell could also play SS.)

Mayer will not win the 2B job over Campbell, IMO, but if Campbell is used in the OF, maybe Mayer plays 2B or 3B.

If Story's arm is too "old" they may move him back to second and insert the young stud at short.

I don't think they're going to make Bregman an LA Mookie (though he would've had two homers yesterday if the game was up north at Jet Green Park).

[moonslav59]

9 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

If they need a 3B, why wouldn't they slide Bregman over there? 

Of course. (No "slide." He's the 3B starter on day one, in my book.)

I was thinking if injury(s.)

[Hitch]

What this all means for Vaughn Grissom remains to be seen, but he’s been upbeat early in camp about finding ways to make himself versatile, whether that be taking reps at first base or in the outfield. Grissom is noticeably stronger and smoked a 100 mph line drive to right field off Aroldis Chapman in batting practice last week.

 

Jen McCaffrey. Interesting to see Grissom attempting to put himself in the 1st base picture. 

[TheSplinteredSplendor]

6 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

 

It's behind a pay wall and I refuse to give any money to the nyt.

[moonslav59]

23 hours ago, Hitch said:

 

 

[moonslav59]

In all likelihood, injuries and poor showings by a few players will help make some of the roster choices easier to make for Cora and Brez, but we could see some difficult decisions having to be made. One could be optioning Yoshida to AAA or some "rehab" assignment.

The biggest logjam seems to be at 2B, although many "contenders" are not going to break anyone's hearts if demoted, traded or otherwise. If Bregman plays 3B 90+% of the time, then the choices get tougher.

It gets tough (or easy, however you want to look at it) if Campbell is raking this spring. Even if he is added to the 40, 26 and starting line-up, the choices for back-up infield could get difficult. It helps to have Rafaela able to play SS & 2B on the 26. I figure a catcher and refsnyder take 2 of the 4 slots on the 26, so (assuming Campbell wins the 2B job)  the last 2 slots could come down to....

DHam: Maybe the best defensive 2Bman of this group and a decent batter vs RHPs, but our need is vs LHPs. He is a minus on D at SS and 3B. He could steal 60+ bases per 650 PAs, if given the chance and a decent OBP.

Romy: Maybe the best bat vs LHPs on the team, behind Ref. He can also play 1B and a decent 2B, SS and 3B. Word is he can play some OF, too, but I doubt we need him there. He might have the best shot.

Grissom: Two years ago, he looked very promising. A slump and then an injury soured many against him, while he'll be forever known as the guy we got for Sale, but we should not write this just turned 24 year old. (He's 3-4 years younger than DHam & Romy.) He's not good on D at SS, and looked bad at 2B, in the limited time he played there in '24. He bats RH'd but unless he shows he can hit, that might not matter.

Yoshida: His injury could be used as an excuse to delay the choice, especially if Devers is looking like the near FT DH in '25. He can hit better than Rafaela L & R, and better than Duran & Abreu v L, but his D is so much worse, it looks like the best he can do is come out equal to Rafaela (and better than Abreu vs lefties.) I'm not sure even the $18M a year is enough to give him the nod.

Anthony may win a slot, but it might take an OF injury. That's not to say he's not as good as Rafaela and Abreu v lefties, but they may hold back this choice to see how the OF starts the season. He could gain that extra year of control by waiting, too, so maybe that plays into the choice. Seeing if Yoshida can build back value or earn a slot in the line-up may be the biggest factor in choosing Anthony for the 26. (He will not be on the 26 in a bench role.)

I don't see Sogard as a choice, unless we see multiple injuries, and he won't be a longtime fix, anywhere.

[Larry Cook]

Anthony has looked very good at the plate so far this spring. I know it is early, but he is determined to show his abilities 

[moonslav59]

I'd love to see both Anthony and Campbell make the opening day roster and then go nutty.

[mvp 78]

The best path forward for Grissom is a UTIL guy who ends up finding a permanent position in a few years IMO.

[moonslav59]

5 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

The best path forward for Grissom is a UTIL guy who ends up finding a permanent position in a few years IMO.

Not being very good on defense does not help, although poor defensive utility players have been common of past Sox teams.

Maybe he can improve his 2B defense to respectability. Maybe 3B would work for him, but we already have two of those.

[moonslav59]

Kyle Finnegan to Nats for $6M/1.

[moonslav59]

Good read on the future Catcher market....

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/02/the-long-term-catching-trade-market.html

[moonslav59]

Sox by age. (Note how many are pre-prime, nearing prime of in prime.)

 

Everyday players:

24: Rafaela, Grissom

25: Casas, Abreu

26: Narvaez

27: Wong, DHam

28: Devers, Duran, Romy

30: Bregman

31: Yoshida

32: Story

34: Rafsnyder

 

Pitchers:

24: Priester

25: Crochet, Bello, Wink, Fitts

27: Slaten

28: Houck, Crawford,  Whitlock, Criswell, Sandoval

30: Buehler, Weissert, Kelly

31: Giolito

33: Bernardino

36: Hendriks

37: Chapman, Wilson

[mvp 78]

2 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

Not being very good on defense does not help, although poor defensive utility players have been common of past Sox teams.

Maybe he can improve his 2B defense to respectability. Maybe 3B would work for him, but we already have two of those.

I think him being a current bad defender at one position and dabbling in others is how he finds his long term home. 

[moonslav59]

53 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

I think him being a current bad defender at one position and dabbling in others is how he finds his long term home. 

He very well may win that role, but currently DHam & Romy are better fielders. As a platoon, they may be hard to pass on offense, but Grissom may be able to do that, and then we won't need a platoon infield utility tandem. DHam's speed also plays into the choice.

[mvp 78]

Casas says SHOCKING things in this revealing interview. He was doing no more interview I was told so this is completely uncalled for!!!

Shocking Casas Exposé

Laurila: What about the current changes? Were they driven by conversations with people in the organization?

Casas: "I mean, they obviously want me to cut back... They haven’t ever suggested anything crazy or wanted me to ever make a drastic change... These are just changes that… I mean... It’s just one that I’m going through at the moment. The last time we talked, I was... on something else. This is just where I’m at right now... I don’t know how long I’m going ride this out. If I see that something isn’t working... I’ll scratch it. I’ll go back to the drawing board and do it all over again.”

 

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

27 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Casas says SHOCKING things in this revealing interview. He was doing no more interview I was told so this is completely uncalled for!!!

Shocking Casas Exposé

Laurila: What about the current changes? Were they driven by conversations with people in the organization?

Casas: "I mean, they obviously want me to cut back... They haven’t ever suggested anything crazy or wanted me to ever make a drastic change... These are just changes that… I mean... It’s just one that I’m going through at the moment. The last time we talked, I was... on something else. This is just where I’m at right now... I don’t know how long I’m going ride this out. If I see that something isn’t working... I’ll scratch it. I’ll go back to the drawing board and do it all over again.”

 

This is all about not re-ripping his core muscles by letting it fly on every swing. Big guys could hurt themselves more that way (right, Raffy?).

If Casas stays consistent with this approach, he'll keep his head on the ball longer, and make better contact -- with the sweet spot and the Green Monster -- and could raise his batting average 20 points.

It's like when Bregman says he envisions flashlights on each hip when he's in the box, and making sure he's shining them into the opposite dugout as he swings. He's not pull happy like some reporters describe him, and is still the only big leaguer I've seen take an entire bucket to the oppo field during pregame BP...

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

This is all about not re-ripping his core muscles by letting it fly on every swing. Big guys could hurt themselves more that way (right, Raffy?).

If Casas stays consistent with this approach, he'll keep his head on the ball longer, and make better contact -- with the sweet spot and the Green Monster -- and could raise his batting average 20 points.

It's like when Bregman says he envisions flashlights on each hip when he's in the box, and making sure he's shining them into the opposite dugout as he swings. He's not pull happy like some reporters describe him, and is still the only big leaguer I've seen take an entire bucket to the oppo field during pregame BP...

He may have pulled a brain muscle swing at the fences with his Devers and no prospect promotion comments.

[mvp 78]

Color me skeptical.

 

[mvp 78]

"Yeah, it's honestly for the best if we make Kristian Campbell start in AAA, because he doesn't have enough AB's there. I know he was the MiLB player of the year last year and that there isn't a good solution at 2B, but let's go with Grissom and Hamilton. Hamilton is fast. Grissom was part of the Sale trade and we need to show that we got something out of that trade. I know Grissom played like dog doo last season and Grissom only had a 725 OPS vs RHP last year which we vastly overstate, but we gotta go with those two for some infernal reason." 

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

4 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

"Yeah, it's honestly for the best if we make Kristian Campbell start in AAA, because he doesn't have enough AB's there. I know he was the MiLB player of the year last year and that there isn't a good solution at 2B, but let's go with Grissom and Hamilton. Hamilton is fast. Grissom was part of the Sale trade and we need to show that we got something out of that trade. I know Grissom played like dog doo last season and Grissom only had a 725 OPS vs RHP last year which we vastly overstate, but we gotta go with those two for some infernal reason." 

Can't start Campbell yet, when Griz and Hammy haven't done enough to prove they deserve a seat in a big league dugout. If a guy doesn't have the red ass, how's he supposed to warm the bench?

This has to be what Sam Kennedy means when describing the org's "burning desire to win championships."

[mvp 78]

Is this a crossover post? 

 

[moonslav59]

I'm hoping we go with Campbell at 2B, day one. He seems to be ML ready, despite so few PAs on the farm. He should be okay on D, too.

If he does not start on the big team, and Devers is still nursing his shoulder and is at DH, Bregman will play 3B. We may not like DHam-Romy-Grissom at 2B, but it's a real possibility.