Would you move Rafaela into the infield to make room for Anthony?

[Cameron Tran]

With Mayer up now, Roman Anthony is the last of the "big 3" to debut for Boston. With the way the outfield is playing, there isn't really a spot for Anthony to play. The best option at this point might be the move Rafaela back into the infield. While he struggled last year ( -7 OAA at SS), he could slide into second if Campbell shows he is able to play first base. Rafaela played 10 games at second last year, putting up 45 innings of league average defense at the position. While his glove is great in center, Duran has proven he can play center, with 6 OAA at the position last year. If he could slide over, Anthony could play in left, a position he has played just 4 games in this year. Alternatively, he could play center, where he starts tonight in Worcester. This is what the lineup could look like:

C: Narvaez

1B: Campbell

2B: Rafaela

3B: Mayer

SS: Story

LF: Duran/Anthony

CF: Duran/Anthony

RF: Abreu

 

What do you think? Is it worth it to make Rafaela once again juggle 2 positions, something he struggled with last year?

[moonslav59]

Unless Mayer is already holding down a FT infield slot, and Story or Campbell have gotten hurt or sucked so badly, they lose their job, I would not move Rafaela out of CF and into the IF.

[dgalehouse]

In a move that is so obvious that it is almost in the " no brainer " category, you put Anthony in left, move Duran to center and use Rafaela as a substitute or platoon  outfielder , infielder and defensive replacement. 

[Old Red]

2 minutes ago, dgalehouse said:

In a move that is so obvious that it is almost in the " no brainer " category, you put Anthony in left, move Duran to center and use Rafaela as a substitute or platoon  outfielder , infielder and defensive replacement. 

I disagree on that one. I don’t think the Red Sox gave RAF Man the contract they did to be a sub, or platoon player. RAF Man doesn’t have to hit as good as the other OF, because his glove, and his arm are worth something, so I don’t think it’s as obvious as you, and others think, and suggest. 

[oldtimer]

18 minutes ago, dgalehouse said:

In a move that is so obvious that it is almost in the " no brainer " category, you put Anthony in left, move Duran to center and use Rafaela as a substitute or platoon  outfielder , infielder and defensive replacement. 

I agree. Too many 1 run games to not improve the offense. Duran is Heating up, Abreau is valuable. Rafaela is flexible. We have far too many underperformers with the bat and should have made a move at the first of May. 

[Maxbialystock]

21 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

Unless Mayer is already holding down a FT infield slot, and Story or Campbell have gotten hurt or sucked so badly, they lose their job, I would not move Rafaela out of CF and into the IF.

Rafaela absolutely needs to stay in CF, provided his hitting doesn't get a lot worse.  

That said, I think the Bregman injury could be the one event that makes a Sox resurgence this season unlikely.   Mayer now has 2 singles and his defense looks fine, but he ain't no Bregma

41 minutes ago, dgalehouse said:

In a move that is so obvious that it is almost in the " no brainer " category, you put Anthony in left, move Duran to center and use Rafaela as a substitute or platoon  outfielder , infielder and defensive replacement. 

Not obvious to me.  Rafaela currently is tied for the 4th best WAR, 1.8, on the team.  Good D in CF is actually worth something.  

I think the real problem right now is that Bregman is irreplaceable.  To me it was a big joke when everyone kept saying the Sox needed a really good guy to replace Casas, who in fact was having a terrible season with the lowest WAR (-0.9) on the team.  

[dgalehouse]

4 minutes ago, Maxbialystock said:

Rafaela absolutely needs to stay in CF, provided his hitting doesn't get a lot worse.  

That said, I think the Bregman injury could be the one event that makes a Sox resurgence this season unlikely.   Mayer now has 2 singles and his defense looks fine, but he ain't no Bregma

Not obvious to me.  Rafaela currently is tied for the 4th best WAR, 1.8, on the team.  Good D in CF is actually worth something.  

I think the real problem right now is that Bregman is irreplaceable.  To me it was a big joke when everyone kept saying the Sox needed a really good guy to replace Casas, who in fact was having a terrible season with the lowest WAR (-0.9) on the team.  

How do they calculate a WAR of 1.8 ? I have no idea. Do you know ? I heard that the geeks scrutinize every pitch of every game. Can that be true ? It sounds kind of insane. And did Rafaela's WAR drop a percentage point with his error and 0-4 today ? I guess baseball has passed me by , but I would still promote Anthony and use Rafaela as a sub. 

[notin]

52 minutes ago, dgalehouse said:

How do they calculate a WAR of 1.8 ? I have no idea. Do you know ? I heard that the geeks scrutinize every pitch of every game. Can that be true ? It sounds kind of insane. And did Rafaela's WAR drop a percentage point with his error and 0-4 today ? I guess baseball has passed me by , but I would still promote Anthony and use Rafaela as a sub. 

I have no idea why you think WAR is calculated that way.  It’s not done at pitch level at all.  But your consistent referral to any mention of WAR has to involve geeks shows a complete lack of open-mindedness.

On topic, keep Rafaela in CF.  The Sox OF is working.  This past off-season, many fans (myself included) wanted to move Abreu to accommodate Anthony.  Not looking like a smart move considering Abreu has been a star.  And Rafaela has improved immensely as well.  
 

The Sox need corner infielders. Every game they start Abraham Toro or Nick Sogard.  Is that going to change if you bench Rafaela?  Or move him to the infield?  I suppose if the 5’9” (yeah right) Rafaela gets moved to first base.  Anyone up for that?

The Sox do have one All Star corner infielder on the roster, but he’s both pouting and hitting. So apparently it’s easiest to humor and accommodate him.  Because if Devers took over 1st or 3rd, getting Anthony into the lineup gets that much easier…

[Old Red]

6 minutes ago, notin said:

I have no idea why you think WAR is calculated that way.  It’s not done at pitch level at all.  But your consistent referral to any mention of WAR has to involve geeks shows a complete lack of open-mindedness.

On topic, keep Rafaela in CF.  The Sox OF is working.  This past off-season, many fans (myself included) wanted to move Abreu to accommodate Anthony.  Not looking like a smart move considering Abreu has been a star.  And Rafaela has improved immensely as well.  
 

The Sox need corner infielders. Every game they start Abraham Toro or Nick Sogard.  Is that going to change if you bench Rafaela?  Or move him to the infield?  I suppose if the 5’9” (yeah right) Rafaela gets moved to first base.  Anyone up for that?

The Sox do have one All Star corner infielder on the roster, but he’s both pouting and hitting. So apparently it’s easiest to humor and accommodate him.  Because if Devers took over 1st or 3rd, getting Anthony into the lineup gets that much easier…

Ah, another drone up with Raffy’s name on it. Raffy has been an Allstar, because of his bat, and not , because of his glove. At the rate he’s going now he’ll be an allstar again, because of his bat. The ones whom seem to be pouting are the ones who think Raffy should be at 1B. Raffy has given his answer to 1B, Cora has given his answer about 1B, and finally is a roundabout way JH has given his answer about 1B. If the Red Sox had been in such a hurry to get Anthony, and Mayer before the injury to Bregman up they would have both been up before.

[dgalehouse]

19 minutes ago, notin said:

I have no idea why you think WAR is calculated that way.  It’s not done at pitch level at all.  But your consistent referral to any mention of WAR has to involve geeks shows a complete lack of open-mindedness.

On topic, keep Rafaela in CF.  The Sox OF is working.  This past off-season, many fans (myself included) wanted to move Abreu to accommodate Anthony.  Not looking like a smart move considering Abreu has been a star.  And Rafaela has improved immensely as well.  
 

The Sox need corner infielders. Every game they start Abraham Toro or Nick Sogard.  Is that going to change if you bench Rafaela?  Or move him to the infield?  I suppose if the 5’9” (yeah right) Rafaela gets moved to first base.  Anyone up for that?

The Sox do have one All Star corner infielder on the roster, but he’s both pouting and hitting. So apparently it’s easiest to humor and accommodate him.  Because if Devers took over 1st or 3rd, getting Anthony into the lineup gets that much easier…

I clearly stated that I have no idea how they calculate WAR. I clearly remember reading that the " metrics analysts "  study every pitch of every game.  Haven't you ever seen that ? I do like baseball. I liked playing it and I enjoy watching it. But I could never hope to match your extensive knowledge of the game.  I am satisfied with a cold beer, hot dog , peanuts and traditional stats. I have zero interest in OAA, DRS, xwoba+ , fWAR, bWAR, dWAR,  what percentile some guys spin rate may be and all the rest of it.  And I have never heard of or know anything about at least half of the players  in MLB today.  So it is useless for you to debate me on these things. You are a charter member of the board of experts on here. I am not worthy. 

[Old Red]

12 minutes ago, dgalehouse said:

I clearly stated that I have no idea how they calculate WAR. I clearly remember reading that the " metrics analysts "  study every pitch of every game.  Haven't you ever seen that ? I do like baseball. I liked playing it and I enjoy watching it. But I could never hope to match your extensive knowledge of the game.  I am satisfied with a cold beer, hot dog , peanuts and traditional stats. I have zero interest in OAA, DRS, xwoba+ , fWAR, bWAR, dWAR,  what percentile some guys spin rate may be and all the rest of it.  And I have never heard of or know anything about at least half of the players  in MLB today.  So it is useless for you to debate me on these things. You are a charter member of the board of experts on here. I am not worthy. 

Well said.👍👍👍

[notin]

55 minutes ago, dgalehouse said:

I clearly stated that I have no idea how they calculate WAR. I clearly remember reading that the " metrics analysts "  study every pitch of every game.  Haven't you ever seen that ? I do like baseball. I liked playing it and I enjoy watching it. But I could never hope to match your extensive knowledge of the game.  I am satisfied with a cold beer, hot dog , peanuts and traditional stats. I have zero interest in OAA, DRS, xwoba+ , fWAR, bWAR, dWAR,  what percentile some guys spin rate may be and all the rest of it.  And I have never heard of or know anything about at least half of the players  in MLB today.  So it is useless for you to debate me on these things. You are a charter member of the board of experts on here. I am not worthy. 

You can stop the whole immature “you’re such the expert” act.  For years you’ve repeatedly called anyone who embraced metrics as geeks and created all kinds of skits to denigrate them.  And then sat back and cried victim when called on it.  No one cares if you personally embrace any metrics.  But you do have to acknowledge that some people do.  It’s why I still use batting average,  despite finding it meaningless.  It doesn’t say much, but it’s relatable and understood by everyone.  And why I don’t call Old School stats folks some reference to antediluvian thinking, like, say, Flat Earthers (although I think I did use that exact moniker at one point many years back).

 

That said, on some level I’m impressed you were chose to read about metrics analysts…

[notin]

1 hour ago, Old Red said:

Ah, another drone up with Raffy’s name on it. Raffy has been an Allstar, because of his bat, and not , because of his glove. At the rate he’s going now he’ll be an allstar again, because of his bat. The ones whom seem to be pouting are the ones who think Raffy should be at 1B. Raffy has given his answer to 1B, Cora has given his answer about 1B, and finally is a roundabout way JH has given his answer about 1B. If the Red Sox had been in such a hurry to get Anthony, and Mayer before the injury to Bregman up they would have both been up before.

Didn’t you repeatedly tell us the Sox signed Devers to play third base?

Not to mention, as the injuries pile up, his stance should look selfish to anyone.  And one would think he’d embrace the chance just to show up the Sox for removing him from the field.

But I guess he’ll just let his teammates pick up the slack, while he plays DH and fans dream up reasons to blame management, usually containing fictional BS terms like “roster construction.”

[dgalehouse]

21 minutes ago, notin said:

You can stop the whole immature “you’re such the expert” act.  For years you’ve repeatedly called anyone who embraced metrics as geeks and created all kinds of skits to denigrate them.  And then sat back and cried victim when called on it.  No one cares if you personally embrace any metrics.  But you do have to acknowledge that some people do.  It’s why I still use batting average,  despite finding it meaningless.  It doesn’t say much, but it’s relatable and understood by everyone.  And why I don’t call Old School stats folks some reference to antediluvian thinking, like, say, Flat Earthers (although I think I did use that exact moniker at one point many years back).

 

That said, on some level I’m impressed you were chose to read about metrics analysts…

I am not feeling like a victim. I just said what I think. And I think you like to present yourself as an authority on baseball. And what I said was true. I never even heard of at least half the players today. I know you love to get into debates , but I am not interested. Have a nice evening. 

[Old Red]

24 minutes ago, notin said:

Didn’t you repeatedly tell us the Sox signed Devers to play third base?

Not to mention, as the injuries pile up, his stance should look selfish to anyone.  And one would think he’d embrace the chance just to show up the Sox for removing him from the field.

But I guess he’ll just let his teammates pick up the slack, while he plays DH and fans dream up reasons to blame management, usually containing fictional BS terms like “roster construction.”

Yes, that’s the word on the street that Raffy was signed to the contract he was signed to as a 3B. Would he have been signed for that much money if he wasn’t? You, and others have complained about his bad D at 3B for at least 3 years now, and finally he got moved to DH, and he was told to put his glove away. Just, because Casas got hurt now you want Raffy to pick his glove back up, and learn a new position on the fly.l and no I wouldn’t think Raffy would want to embrace the chance to learn a whole new position during the season no less. I never thought Raffy would be a good 1B, and I don’t believe Cora does either, and that’s to me the MAIN reason Cora hasn’t even approached Raffy about doing it. I don’t see much slack being picked up at the moment either, and that’s on management. If Bregman doesn’t get hurt Mayer is still at Woo with Anthony, and  still MASA  IS in exile. Yes roster construction. No s***.👋

[notin]

1 hour ago, Old Red said:

Yes, that’s the word on the street that Raffy was signed to the contract he was signed to as a 3B. Would he have been signed for that much money if he wasn’t? You, and others have complained about his bad D at 3B for at least 3 years now, and finally he got moved to DH, and he was told to put his glove away. Just, because Casas got hurt now you want Raffy to pick his glove back up, and learn a new position on the fly.l and no I wouldn’t think Raffy would want to embrace the chance to learn a whole new position during the season no less. I never thought Raffy would be a good 1B, and I don’t believe Cora does either, and that’s to me the MAIN reason Cora hasn’t even approached Raffy about doing it. I don’t see much slack being picked up at the moment either, and that’s on management. If Bregman doesn’t get hurt Mayer is still at Woo with Anthony, and  still MASA  IS in exile. Yes roster construction. No s***.👋

Is learning a new position in the middle of a season really a big deal?  Not like we want him to learn nuclear physics.  We’ve all seen players like Kyle Schwarber and Adrian Gonzalez change midseason. Jaz Chisholm did last year to help the Yankees get to the World Series. And these players all went from infield to outfield or vice versa.  Boston just wanted Devers to go from third base to first base, a very common change.

 

Heck Casas first replacement Romy Gonzalez never played first before doing so for the Sox last year.  Can people stop pretending this kind of think never happens?

[Old Red]

13 minutes ago, notin said:

Is learning a new position in the middle of a season really a big deal?  Not like we want him to learn nuclear physics.  We’ve all seen players like Kyle Schwarber and Adrian Gonzalez change midseason. Jaz Chisholm did last year to help the Yankees get to the World Series. And these players all went from infield to outfield or vice versa.  Boston just wanted Devers to go from third base to first base, a very common change.

 

Heck Casas first replacement Romy Gonzalez never played first before doing so for the Sox last year.  Can people stop pretending this kind of think never happens?

Boston just wanted Devers to go from 3B to 1B? Boston? That was Brez. Cora said NO, and it appears JH sided with Cora, so saying Boston is not all correct. 

[notin]

1 hour ago, dgalehouse said:

I am not feeling like a victim. I just said what I think. And I think you like to present yourself as an authority on baseball. And what I said was true. I never even heard of at least half the players today. I know you love to get into debates , but I am not interested. Have a nice evening. 

That’s not the point.  None of it is. I don’t care how many players you can name.  That just tells me you probably don’t soend as much time watching random baseball games as I do. In many (most?) circles, thats a good thing.  I’m just pointing out your derogatory attitude towards those who view the game differently than you do, whether it’s calling out stat geeks, or using your fictional bookie, or the boys at Flaherty’s.  While not the worst offender in terms of insults, you’ve been doing it the longest and I’m not the first to call you out on it.

Sure I like debating.  Earlier this week I debated TedYazMookiePapi on fielding percentage.  I didn’t insult him during the debate.  I presented my views.  He presented his.  Neither of us agreed with the other, but no insults and no derogatory comments about the other person were exchanged.  (Although I think others joined in and cut him down somewhat; I can’t control that.)  We still don’t agree but it was civil.  Why is that so wrong?  And why is it necessary to label anyone who disagrees with you as “thinking they’re some kind of authority?”

[notin]

17 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Boston just wanted Devers to go from 3B to 1B? Boston? That was Brez. Cora said NO, and it appears JH sided with Cora, so saying Boston is not all correct. 

I think Breslow counts as Boston, by which I mean The Red Sox organization, not the city.  Earlier in this scenario, when Devers tried to fall back on his promise that he would play third, which came from Bloom, you quickly and repeatedly pointed out that promise counted as coming from Boston.  If Bloom counts as a representation, so does Breslow.

With Cora, there’s a good chance he didn’t want to ask Devers to change again after it went over so poorly the first time.  If so, let’s not confuse  desire with acquiescing to obstinance…

[Old Red]

11 minutes ago, notin said:

That’s not the point.  None of it is. I don’t care how many players you can name.  That just tells me you probably don’t soend as much time watching random baseball games as I do. In many circles, thats a good thing.  I’m just pointing out your derogatory attitude towards those who view the game differently than you do, whether it’s calling out stat geeks, or using your fictional bookie, or the boys at Flaherty’s.  While not the worst offender in terms of insults, you’ve been doing it the longest and I’m not the first to call you out on it.

Sure I like debating.  Earlier this week I debated TedYazMookiePapi on fielding percentage.  I didn’t insult him during the debate.  I presented my views.  He presented his.  Neither of us agreed with the other, but no insults and no derogatory comments about the other person were exchanged.  (Although I think others joined in and cut him down somewhat; I can’t control that.)  We still don’t agree but it was civil.  Why is that so wrong?  And why is it necessary to label anyone who disagrees with you as “thinking they’re some kind of authority?”

Of course you don’t Have a derogatory attitude against those who view the game differently than you, and don’t need, or care about all the newer metrics, and just stick to the old school stats, which is good enough for them, and turn the derogatory bells, and whistles on when they get mentioned.🤭🙈

[notin]

6 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Of course you don’t Have a derogatory attitude against those who view the game differently than you, and don’t need, or care about all the newer metrics, and just stick to the old school stats, which is good enough for them, and turn the derogatory bells, and whistles on when they get mentioned.🤭🙈

I have a derogatory attitude about a lot of Old School stats, and certainly about Eye Test data.  And I’ve exchanged insults with certain individual Old School stats folks (notably you).  But overall I denigrate stufff like BA, Fldg pct, etc.  and don’t go on about how my personal credentials (which, beyond watching baseball, I’ve never mentioned) make my opinion more valuable.  And I embrace many baseball card stats because it’s a language all fans understand, but they tell very little about a player…

[Old Red]

7 minutes ago, notin said:

I have a derogatory attitude about a lot of Old School stats, and certainly about Eye Test data.  And I’ve exchanged insults with certain individual Old School stats folks (notably you).  But overall I denigrate stufff like BA, Fldg pct, etc.  and don’t go on about how my personal credentials (which, beyond watching baseball, I’ve never mentioned) make my opinion more valuable.  And I embrace many baseball card stats because it’s a language all fans understand, but they tell very little about a player…

There are no more room for Any More N’s on your helmet.

[TedYazPapiMookie]

With regard to Rafaela, no chance he should move.  Neither should Duran.  The only questionable outfielder is the platoon player Abreu.  Compare the three on offense

Measure the consistency of the players using 2025 splits

Duran hit .287 in the last 28 days and .284 in the last 365 days

Rafaela hit .241 in the last 28 days and .258 in the last 365 days

Abreu hit .244 in the last 28 days and .248 in the last 365 days

EXCEPT - Rafaela plays against RH and LH pitchers and Abreu platoons

Abreu has had 22 at bats versus LH pitchers and has hit .227 and if they are the starter then .176

Abreu has had 145 at bats versus RH pitchers and has hit .262 and if they are the starter then .267

Obviously, Abreu must stay as a platoon player at best.  He's hitting .208 in May.

Rafaela is hitting .270 in May and Duran is hitting .250 in May.

Because Rafeala is by by far the best outfielder defensively and Abreu is the weakest it's just a matter of time before Abreu goes to the bench or gets traded.  Only an injury to Duran or Rafaela will slow Abreu's decent to the fourth outfielder.

Leave Mayer at 3B and hope he can field better than in the minors, leave Story at SS, leave Campbell at 2B and go get a real 1B who actually has power.  If Anthony is a power hitter then maybe he should be the 1B so Abreu can stay in the line-up against RH pitchers and Refsnyder can play versus LH pitchers.  Hopefully, Bregman recovers quicker than the last time he had this injury.  Without him, this team is a .500 team at best.

 

 

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, TedYazPapiMookie said:

With regard to Rafaela, no chance he should move.  Neither should Duran.  The only questionable outfielder is the platoon player Abreu.  Compare the three on offense

Measure the consistency of the players using 2025 splits

Duran hit .287 in the last 28 days and .284 in the last 365 days

Rafaela hit .241 in the last 28 days and .258 in the last 365 days

Abreu hit .244 in the last 28 days and .248 in the last 365 days

EXCEPT - Rafaela plays against RH and LH pitchers and Abreu platoons

Abreu has had 22 at bats versus LH pitchers and has hit .227 and if they are the starter then .176

Abreu has had 145 at bats versus RH pitchers and has hit .262 and if they are the starter then .267

Obviously, Abreu must stay as a platoon player at best.  He's hitting .208 in May.

Rafaela is hitting .270 in May and Duran is hitting .250 in May.

Because Rafeala is by by far the best outfielder defensively and Abreu is the weakest it's just a matter of time before Abreu goes to the bench or gets traded.  Only an injury to Duran or Rafaela will slow Abreu's decent to the fourth outfielder.

Leave Mayer at 3B and hope he can field better than in the minors, leave Story at SS, leave Campbell at 2B and go get a real 1B who actually has power.  If Anthony is a power hitter then maybe he should be the 1B so Abreu can stay in the line-up against RH pitchers and Refsnyder can play versus LH pitchers.  Hopefully, Bregman recovers quicker than the last time he had this injury.  Without him, this team is a .500 team at best.

I must have suggested dozens of Abreu trades, last winter. He seemed like the obvious choice. 

I love CF defense and Rafaela looks as good or better than any Sox CF'er i've seen, and that is saying a lot (JBJ, Lynn, Miller and several more.)

I'm not sure I'd use Rafaela's splits vs LHPs as a selling point. It's .616 career.

His .270 May BA might be nice, but that's him on a hot streak, and his May OPS is .607, while the "cold" Abreu is at .674.

In short, I'd rather have Abreu's bat vs R plus L over Rafaela vs R plus L, and Abreu won the GG award, so it's not like Rafaela blows Abreu's D to pieces.

I like our OF, as is. Ref with Abreu makes for a top 3-4 RF in MLB.

I also like Anthony and don't want to trade him, unless there is another Crochet with extension out there, and even then...

We have some big need areas. We could use an ace and a couple very good RP'ers. We can also use a 1Bman, but no way would I trade Anthony, Duran and maybe even Abreu for a 1Bman,. Maybe Abreu or Rafaela for a young, proven 1Bman with 3-4+ years of inexpensive control, and even then...

It's not an easy situation, but normally, when a team has glaring weaknesses and some major plus depth areas, some sort of deal materializes. We should not trade top players for July rentals, IMO, and that is usually what you can get in July. 

The best time to make a serious move may be this winter, but that seems like a waste of "window" season where we check of one year of Crochet control with little chance for a ring.

If we trust Mayer to be the real deal, we could trade a middle infielder, but we're not talking some great return for DHam, Romy, Grissom or Story. Campbell could get a nice haul, but trading him or Mayer seems drastic.

I'm not sure Arias has the value to splash us into the deep end of the playoff pool. (He might be the best of the lot, too!)

[cp176]

Roman Anthony has 0 left to prove in Worcester.  He can hit, he can run and he can field.  Left haded batter or not, he needs to be up and playing.  Rafaela is for sure a very good fielder but swinging for the fences doesn’t seem to be working too well for him.  We’ve been down this road before with JBJ.  Great fielder no bat.   We need run producers and I think that it is time to at least try something a little different.  Oh yes and while I’m at it how about giving your starters a legit chance to at least get you six.  85 pitches every five or six days seems to be a little light to me.

[Old Red]

1 hour ago, cp176 said:

Roman Anthony has 0 left to prove in Worcester.  He can hit, he can run and he can field.  Left haded batter or not, he needs to be up and playing.  Rafaela is for sure a very good fielder but swinging for the fences doesn’t seem to be working too well for him.  We’ve been down this road before with JBJ.  Great fielder no bat.   We need run producers and I think that it is time to at least try something a little different.  Oh yes and while I’m at it how about giving your starters a legit chance to at least get you six.  85 pitches every five or six days seems to be a little light to me.

I get all the hoopla, and anticipation of getting all the next big things namely Mayer, and Anthony up in Boston, but it seems the Red Sox just don’t feel the urgency, and need to do so. It seems Brez is looking for that old third option in the fork in the road that has been prevalent in Boston for the last 3-4 years. Bregman getting hurt got Mayer up, but Brez seems stuck on what to do next to get Anthony up. Some don’t like to hear it, but the roster construction thing is real. Just ask Masa.

[Old Red]

7 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

I must have suggested dozens of Abreu trades, last winter. He seemed like the obvious choice. 

I love CF defense and Rafaela looks as good or better than any Sox CF'er i've seen, and that is saying a lot (JBJ, Lynn, Miller and several more.)

I'm not sure I'd use Rafaela's splits vs LHPs as a selling point. It's .616 career.

His .270 May BA might be nice, but that's him on a hot streak, and his May OPS is .607, while the "cold" Abreu is at .674.

In short, I'd rather have Abreu's bat vs R plus L over Rafaela vs R plus L, and Abreu won the GG award, so it's not like Rafaela blows Abreu's D to pieces.

I like our OF, as is. Ref with Abreu makes for a top 3-4 RF in MLB.

I also like Anthony and don't want to trade him, unless there is another Crochet with extension out there, and even then...

We have some big need areas. We could use an ace and a couple very good RP'ers. We can also use a 1Bman, but no way would I trade Anthony, Duran and maybe even Abreu for a 1Bman,. Maybe Abreu or Rafaela for a young, proven 1Bman with 3-4+ years of inexpensive control, and even then...

It's not an easy situation, but normally, when a team has glaring weaknesses and some major plus depth areas, some sort of deal materializes. We should not trade top players for July rentals, IMO, and that is usually what you can get in July. 

The best time to make a serious move may be this winter, but that seems like a waste of "window" season where we check of one year of Crochet control with little chance for a ring.

If we trust Mayer to be the real deal, we could trade a middle infielder, but we're not talking some great return for DHam, Romy, Grissom or Story. Campbell could get a nice haul, but trading him or Mayer seems drastic.

I'm not sure Arias has the value to splash us into the deep end of the playoff pool. (He might be the best of the lot, too!)

I can’t believe Brez didn’t act on one of the dozens of suggested Abreu trades you threw out there. I guess he doesn’t like cooking spaghetti.🤔

[notin]

1 hour ago, Old Red said:

I get all the hoopla, and anticipation of getting all the next big things namely Mayer, and Anthony up in Boston, but it seems the Red Sox just don’t feel the urgency, and need to do so. It seems Brez is looking for that old third option in the fork in the road that has been prevalent in Boston for the last 3-4 years. Bregman getting hurt got Mayer up, but Brez seems stuck on what to do next to get Anthony up. Some don’t like to hear it, but the roster construction thing is real. Just ask Masa.

How is not benching Rafaela to play Anthony a “roster construction” issue?  

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Not looking to pick a fight with anyone. Even old hippies with cranky joints still favor peace.

Answering the question: No. I'd move Abreu to another team for a legitimate pitcher.

For a club like the Red Sox with a mostly mediocre defense and pitching staff, I need to keep my best defensive player in the middle of the action in centerfield (staring down at the other top D man, Narvaez).

It's likely Anthony comes up and isn't as good as Abreu this season. But If this Boston team is serious about making the playoffs, it needs more good pitching -- in the rotation and bullpen.

And the outfield surplus obviously presents the best trade chips...

[notin]

12 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Not looking to pick a fight with anyone. Even old hippies with cranky joints still favor peace.

Answering the question: No. I'd move Abreu to another team for a legitimate pitcher.

For a club like the Red Sox with a mostly mediocre defense and pitching staff, I need to keep my best defensive player in the middle of the action in centerfield (staring down at the other top D man, Narvaez).

It's likely Anthony comes up and isn't as good as Abreu this season. But If this Boston team is serious about making the playoffs, it needs more good pitching -- in the rotation and bullpen.

And the outfield surplus obviously presents the best trade chips...

That was what we all assumed the plan was all offseason.  Certainly the Sox could do it and Abreu has only increased his marketability this year.  And his minimal salary means any team could be interested, or at least won’t be eliminated due to money…