Why the Boston Red Sox Should Sign Pitcher Trevor Bauer

[Randy Red Sox]

5 minutes ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

Tito Francona doesn't like Bauer. If Tito doesn't like a guy, he's probably awful. Move on.

it was classic tv when Bauer turned and fired the ball into the CF bleachers when Tito yanked him from a start

[Randy Red Sox]

1 hour ago, moonslav59 said:

If we sign Soto, we may need to try and find some cheaper pitching options.

if that includes Bauer as our only pitching addition I don't want Soto

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, Randy Red Sox said:

if that includes Bauer as our only pitching addition I don't want Soto

Of course. If he was the second or third pitcher added, probably a no as well.

[Bellhorn04]

18 hours ago, notin said:

I thought my answer was clear, too.  
 

I’m not convinced Bauer is any better at this point than any other options.  So why bother?

OK, well you really believe in the long layoff factor, as you're entitled to.

Personally I think in one of one moon's alternate universes where Bauer has a clean slate, teams would absolutely be giving him a shot.  He pitched extremely well in both 2020 and 2021.  He'll be 34 at the start of the 2025 season.   

[Duran Is The Man]

7 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

OK, well you really believe in the long layoff factor, as you're entitled to.

Personally I think in one of one moon's alternate universes where Bauer has a clean slate, teams would absolutely be giving him a shot.  He pitched extremely well in both 2020 and 2021.  He'll be 34 at the start of the 2025 season.   

sign him to MLB minimum with behavior clauses and incentives. he f***s up, he's gone. he does well, he gets paid.

[Bellhorn04]

2 minutes ago, Duran Is The Man said:

sign him to MLB minimum with behavior clauses and incentives. he f***s up, he's gone. he does well, he gets paid.

I would do it, I just don't think the Red Sox would.

Truth be told, I suspect that the teams have a covert agreement in place that no one will touch him.  Because in baseball terms it makes no sense that no one would give him a shot last year.

[notin]

3 minutes ago, Duran Is The Man said:

sign him to MLB minimum with behavior clauses and incentives. he f***s up, he's gone. he does well, he gets paid.

That’s the exact deal 30 teams have been ignoring, except Bauer proposed it without the incentives…

[Duran Is The Man]

53 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

I would do it, I just don't think the Red Sox would.

Truth be told, I suspect that the teams have a covert agreement in place that no one will touch him.  Because in baseball terms it makes no sense that no one would give him a shot last year.

buncha gotdamn hypocrites is what they are.

[Duran Is The Man]

54 minutes ago, notin said:

That’s the exact deal 30 teams have been ignoring, except Bauer proposed it without the incentives…

yeah, i think i remember that now.

[notin]

1 hour ago, Bellhorn04 said:

OK, well you really believe in the long layoff factor, as you're entitled to.

Personally I think in one of one moon's alternate universes where Bauer has a clean slate, teams would absolutely be giving him a shot.  He pitched extremely well in both 2020 and 2021.  He'll be 34 at the start of the 2025 season.   

First of all, it’s not just the “long layoff”;  it’s Bauer’s long layoff.  And not playing in MLB for a prolonged period is a legitimate concern, despite your phrasing it like I’m talking about Bigfoot..  Some have overcome it, but most (all, actually) don’t carry the same PR stigma. This isn’t the same as Merrill Kelly or Miles Mikolas coming back from an extended overseas tour.

Teams might give him a shot had he no baggage.  But the combination of the baggage and his extended hiatus plus his age really reduces his ceiling, and if you’re talking a shot at zone of the most disliked players in recent MLB history, is what he likely brings to the table worth it?

Not every pitcher can make the last 4 years disappear like Sale and jump back in at age 35 like he was still 28.  And Sale was very possibly helped along by an extremely favorable and effective Atlanta system and staff that the Sox don’t have…

 

[notin]

1 hour ago, Bellhorn04 said:

I would do it, I just don't think the Red Sox would.

Truth be told, I suspect that the teams have a covert agreement in place that no one will touch him.  Because in baseball terms it makes no sense that no one would give him a shot last year.

Bauer was unpopular enough with fans and media, so it’s not a stretch to assume he was also unpopular with managers, coaches, and players.  Every story about Bauer and a coach/manager/player always ends with how disliked he is.  Not sure a conspiracy is needed here…

[Bellhorn04]

34 minutes ago, notin said:

Bauer was unpopular enough with fans and media, so it’s not a stretch to assume he was also unpopular with managers, coaches, and players.  Every story about Bauer and a coach/manager/player always ends with how disliked he is.  Not sure a conspiracy is needed here…

Well, the Dodgers did guarantee him 102 million in his last deal, with 2 opt-outs...

Just gonna have to agree to disagree.  I think it's pretty damn odd that not one team has given him a shot under the low-commitment terms he's proposed... 

[moonslav59]

Nobody wants to give Bauer a big contract. Most likely it would be $1M or even a minor league deal with an opt out, if not on the ML roster by a certain date.

Nobody is thinking that adding him fills an immediate slot in the rotation. He would be signed as possible rotation depth by summer, at the earliest.

Nobody is saying that signing him is a good PR move, but if done in the shadow of a Soto addition, I doubt it would matter.

[notin]

30 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

Well, the Dodgers did guarantee him 102 million in his last deal, with 2 opt-outs...

Just gonna have to agree to disagree.  I think it's pretty damn odd that not one team has given him a shot under the low-commitment terms he's proposed... 

As you stated earlier, those same Dodgers voted unanimously to let him go after his re-instatement. despite that he was pitching well.  That speaks towards my point about how disliked he really is.

 

I think getting 30 owners to agree to avoid a minimum wage Cy Young winner seems less likely than getting his past coaches and mangers to agree that he’s an insufferable *******.  Why would, say, the Dodgers owner care if some random team like the Pirates or A’s, both of whom could easily meet Bauer’s demands, signed this headache they didn’t want anyway?

[Bellhorn04]

Just now, moonslav59 said:

Nobody is saying that signing him is a good PR move, but if done in the shadow of a Soto addition, I doubt it would matter.

The Boston media would do their best to make it matter. 

[Bellhorn04]

7 minutes ago, notin said:

As you stated earlier, those same Dodgers voted unanimously to let him go after his re-instatement. despite that he was pitching well.  That speaks towards my point about how disliked he really is.

Mookie Betts actually likes Bauer a lot...

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/dodgers-mookie-betts-hopes-trevor-bauer-makes-mlb-return-says-ex-teammate-is-awesome-guy/

[moonslav59]

10 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

The Boston media would do their best to make it matter. 

So?

Nobody would care about PR, with Soto added to the roster. Bauer would be forgotten in a day, unless he ends up getting to the bigs.

You mentioned the Dermody situation, before. Are you so sure he'd have been DFA'd had he pitched very well that one game?

[notin]

1 minute ago, Bellhorn04 said:

Mookie Betts actually likes Bauer a lot...

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/dodgers-mookie-betts-hopes-trevor-bauer-makes-mlb-return-says-ex-teammate-is-awesome-guy/

Want he part of that unanimous vote to let him go?

[Bellhorn04]

13 minutes ago, notin said:

Want he part of that unanimous vote to let him go?

You'll have to ask Stan Kasten about that...

Since this is all wild-ass speculation, I think it's possible some Dodger players might have liked Bauer but still voted for releasing him because of the distraction factors and even maybe on moral grounds... 

 

[Bellhorn04]

6 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

So?

Nobody would care about PR, with Soto added to the roster. Bauer would be forgotten in a day, unless he ends up getting to the bigs.

You mentioned the Dermody situation, before. Are you so sure he'd have been DFA'd had he pitched very well that one game?

Sorry moon, I accidentally removed the last part of your post.

I can't answer that question about Dermody. 

But we live in a hyper-sensitive environment now.  The Duran incident did in fact turn into a pretty big deal, and I think if there's a repeat occurrence it could put the Sox in a very uncomfortable position.  

[moonslav59]

13 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

Sorry moon, I accidentally removed the last part of your post.

I can't answer that question about Dermody. 

But we live in a hyper-sensitive environment now.  The Duran incident did in fact turn into a pretty big deal, and I think if there's a repeat occurrence it could put the Sox in a very uncomfortable position.  

Major politically incorrect situations can and are forgotten very quickly, in today's society.

It would be an issue for about a day- maybe a second day or third, if he gets the call.

[Bellhorn04]

22 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Major politically incorrect situations can and are forgotten very quickly, in today's society.

It would be an issue for about a day- maybe a second day or third, if he gets the call.

If you believe that, you must also believe that it's strictly baseball reasons that no one will touch Bauer, I assume. 

[moonslav59]

10 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

If you believe that, you must also believe that it's strictly baseball reasons that no one will touch Bauer, I assume. 

What I believe and what 30 other GMs believe may not be the same. I get that.

Obviously, they think the PR hit is not worth the possible upside of signing him. I'm just giving my opinion, knowing it does not mesh with others, in this case.

I'd sign him to a cheap deal, if we add Soto. I think the massive high we'd get from a Soto signing would help canceL out the negative PR from adding Bauer.

[Duran Is The Man]

4 hours ago, Bellhorn04 said:

Well, the Dodgers did guarantee him 102 million in his last deal, with 2 opt-outs...

Just gonna have to agree to disagree.  I think it's pretty damn odd that not one team has given him a shot under the low-commitment terms he's proposed... 

collusion

[mvp 78]

On 11/30/2024 at 11:02 AM, Bellhorn04 said:

No.  As I keep pointing out, the Sox had a PR disaster from using Matt Dermody for 1 game in 2023.  I think Chaim Bloom was thoroughly shocked, flustered and embarrassed by the firestorm Dermody created. 

Bauer's only shot is with a low-profile team that's not under the media microscope like Boston, where if he pitched well and behaved he might refurbish his image.  But it looks like not even those teams are interested.

He pitched all last year in Mexico and no MLB team took a flier on him. Dude is toast. He's the last guy the Sox should take.

[Hugh2]

On 11/30/2024 at 2:05 PM, moonslav59 said:

If we sign Soto, we may need to try and find some cheaper pitching options.

If we are signing Soto we're spending money again.  We can afford better than Bauer, and if we are looking for bargains and taking a chance on guys, there's better gambles out there now than Trevor as well. 

I'd rather go Fried/Beiber. 

[moonslav59]

1 minute ago, Hugh2 said:

If we are signing Soto we're spending money again.  We can afford better than Bauer, and if we are looking for bargains and taking a chance on guys, there's better gambles out there now than Trevor as well. 

I'd rather go Fried/Beiber. 

Again, I would never be for a plan where bauer was the best SP'er we add. I'm thinking Fried & Bauer.

I'd also want Scott & Holmes, or at least 2 from Hoffman, Estevez and Holmes.

We also need a catcher who can catch.

We can trade for one of two of these slots, but if money gets short, we will need some signings like Criswell, last year. Bauer has more upside than most minor league signings.

[mvp 78]

4 minutes ago, Hugh2 said:

If we are signing Soto we're spending money again.  We can afford better than Bauer, and if we are looking for bargains and taking a chance on guys, there's better gambles out there now than Trevor as well. 

I'd rather go Fried/Beiber. 

Sox need TOTR guys, not more 3/4/5 guys. At his best at age 35 after missing out on a few years, he'd be a 3. With that PR hit, it's not worth it. 

[bobby]

With the Chapman signing  I guess there goes all the PR would be bad arguments 

[mvp 78]

24 minutes ago, bobby said:

With the Chapman signing  I guess there goes all the PR would be bad arguments