Are we good enough now?

[Soxlover]

11 minutes ago, Nick said:

We're 11-16 when Wong starts......46-34 when Wong doesn't start......

He’s basically just catching Bello, now.

[Soxlover]

2 hours ago, drewski6 said:

Addition by lack of subtraction.  Without Duran, we would have fallen out of it in July.

Dont think we have a major need for a bat, but dont think we have a bat to spare for pitching.  At least not a core one.

With Rafaela at 2B we don’t really have a need to trade an OFer, but if Mayer returns, we better bench or dump Yoshida. 
if the plan is to keep playing Mada, we should trade an OFer.

[mvp 78]

14 hours ago, Soxlover said:

With Rafaela at 2B we don’t really have a need to trade an OFer, but if Mayer returns, we better bench or dump Yoshida. 
if the plan is to keep playing Mada, we should trade an OFer.

They needed to trade someone in the offseason and failed to do so. 

[Bellhorn04]

3 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

They needed to trade someone in the offseason and failed to do so. 

Could be, but I can't see how having both Duran and Abreu on the team is an actual problem when they're both on pace for 4 WAR or so.

[mvp 78]

7 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

Could be, but I can't see how having both Duran and Abreu on the team is an actual problem when they're both on pace for 4 WAR or so.

There were discussions about moving Casas, which would have pushed Devers straight to 1b rather than DH. 🫠

Duran or Abreu are good players, but not irreplaceable by any means. If you can package them for a rotational starter, it's worth it IMO. 

[drewski6]

44 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

They needed to trade someone in the offseason and failed to do so. 

No they didnt, they needed to sign one more starter and one more reliever, or make a prospect swap.

[drewski6]

15 hours ago, Kimmi said:

Perhaps.  In a perfect world, I'd keep Rafaela in CF.  In the less than perfect situation that we're in, I don't mind having him at second base.

I use to mind Rafaela at second base, because I was under the impression that he was a serviceable / passable defensive 2b, and an elite defensive outfielder

Then he started making plays at 2b and now im fine with it.  Granted, im biased because i never wanted to move duran or abreu so moving cedanne to inf im going to look at through that lens. But we all have our biases 

[mvp 78]

45 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

I use to mind Rafaela at second base, because I was under the impression that he was a serviceable / passable defensive 2b, and an elite defensive outfielder

Then he started making plays at 2b and now im fine with it.  Granted, im biased because i never wanted to move duran or abreu so moving cedanne to inf im going to look at through that lens. But we all have our biases 

Even if he's an average 2b, he's an ELITE CF. He should never play any other position. The value he provides there is immense. 

[notin]

15 hours ago, Soxlover said:

With Rafaela at 2B we don’t really have a need to trade an OFer, but if Mayer returns, we better bench or dump Yoshida. 
if the plan is to keep playing Mada, we should trade an OFer.

They could just demote Yoshida to Worcester and keep all the outfielders just in case of injuries down the stretch.  With no more waiver trade deadline, teams will struggle to add MLB talent to their team for the final one third of a season…

[mvp 78]

1 minute ago, notin said:

They could just demote Yoshida to Worcester and keep all the outfielders just in case of injuries down the stretch.  With no more waiver trade deadline, teams will struggle to add MLB talent to their team for the final one third of a season…

I wonder if they are just playing Masa as much as possible prior to the deadline to see if they'll get any takers? Unfortunately, the results haven't been there. My guess is he'll be back to the bench on Aug 1. 

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

11 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Even if he's an average 2b, he's an ELITE CF. He should never play any other position. The value he provides there is immense. 

Ceddanne should play center whenever a fly ball pitcher is on the mound.

But we also need him in the infield with a lot of traffic on the bases, like when a guy like Hicks has his good foot finder working.

[mvp 78]

1 minute ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Ceddanne should play center whenever a fly ball pitcher is on the mound.

But we also need him in the infield with a lot of traffic on the bases, like when a guy like Hicks has his good foot finder working.

They just need to trade for a 2b. 

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Just now, mvp 78 said:

They just need to trade for a 2b. 

I thought about it the other day, but just couldn't force myself to type it...

... all those shortstops drafted this decade who can move to any position, all those middle infield prospects -- including the Minor League Player of the Year -- and we have pay deadline prices for a second baseman?

[harmony]

5 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

I wonder if they are just playing Masa as much as possible prior to the deadline to see if they'll get any takers? Unfortunately, the results haven't been there. My guess is he'll be back to the bench on Aug 1. 

During the offseason a Red Sox podcaster lambasted the Seattle Mariners for reportedly not taking on Triston Casas and Masataka Yoshida in exchange for right-hander Luis Castillo, who this season has posted a 3.19 ERA in 22 starts.

Even so, Baseball Trade Values assigns Castillo a negative value of $10.6 million while listing Yoshida at a negative $32.8 million and Casas at 0.

[mvp 78]

56 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

I thought about it the other day, but just couldn't force myself to type it...

... all those shortstops drafted this decade who can move to any position, all those middle infield prospects -- including the Minor League Player of the Year -- and we have pay deadline prices for a second baseman?

The MiLB PotY is a very bad MIF. They are working on a new defensive home for him. 

Marcelo has had an injury in every season he's been in the org. 

Romero has had an injury in every season he's been in the org.

Yorke was traded for Priester who was also traded.

The aristocrats!

[mvp 78]

54 minutes ago, harmony said:

During the offseason a Red Sox podcaster lambasted the Seattle Mariners for reportedly not taking on Triston Casas and Masataka Yoshida in exchange for right-hander Luis Castillo, who this season has posted a 3.19 ERA in 22 starts.

Even so, Baseball Trade Values assigns Castillo a negative value of $10.6 million while listing Yoshida at a negative $32.8 million and Casas at 0.

The Mariners wanted Hamilton for Castillo and Breslow said no. 😩

[harmony]

18 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

The Mariners wanted Hamilton for Castillo and Breslow said no. 😩

David Hamilton? That's news.

https://www.mlb.com/news/red-sox-deepened-rotation-with-crochet-and-buehler?partnerID=mlbapp-iOS_article-share

https://www.masslive.com/redsox/2024/12/red-sox-wanted-to-package-triston-casas-high-paid-veteran-in-trade-for-pitching-report.html

https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-red-sox/2024/12/27/red-sox-triston-casas-masataka-yoshida-mariners-trade-luis-castillo/

 

[mvp 78]

4 minutes ago, harmony said:

David Hamilton? That's news.

https://www.mlb.com/news/red-sox-deepened-rotation-with-crochet-and-buehler?partnerID=mlbapp-iOS_article-share

https://www.masslive.com/redsox/2024/12/red-sox-wanted-to-package-triston-casas-high-paid-veteran-in-trade-for-pitching-report.html

https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-red-sox/2024/12/27/red-sox-triston-casas-masataka-yoshida-mariners-trade-luis-castillo/

 

That's what I've heard. 

[Duran Is The Man]

2 hours ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

I thought about it the other day, but just couldn't force myself to type it...

... all those shortstops drafted this decade who can move to any position, all those middle infield prospects -- including the Minor League Player of the Year -- and we have pay deadline prices for a second baseman?

i've been thinking the same thing. SS after SS in the draft -because they're all so versatile. more genius from the Sox FO.

[Duran Is The Man]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

The Mariners wanted Hamilton for Castillo and Breslow said no. 😩

say what? if so, that's grounds for dismissal. immediately. i'd trade Hamilton for a corn dog.

[mvp 78]

11 minutes ago, Duran Is The Man said:

say what? if so, that's grounds for dismissal. immediately. i'd trade Hamilton for a corn dog.

They really liked him after 2024. I would have done that trade last offseason? IDK. 

I think each CBO has the guys they like whether we understand it or not. 

[moonslav59]

22 hours ago, Kimmi said:

Not that I'm condoning it, but maybe 2nd base is something that Breslow is looking at?  How long will Mayer be out?  At least with Rafaela playing 2nd, that clears up our outfield logjam.  I'm actually fine with the offense that we have.  Again, they can be extremely frustrating at times, but I think the talent is there.  As you said, a 1B to platoon with Romy should about cover it.

I doubt we trade for a rental 2Bman, unless they think Mayer will be out for more than another 2-3+ weeks.

I do share the concern over our offense, but when I look at place to make a major improvement, I'm seeing 1B v RHP and back-up catcher. Together, maybe they add up to 1 FT player's playing time. Since Bello is doing very well with Wong, I wonder about the importance of upgrading catcher offense, perhaps at the expense of Bello's success.

1B platoon rentals should not be very costly, even for a very good batter vs righties. I'm all for a move like that, assuming they are not giving Campbell another look.

The next slot could be DH, if Mayer does not return, soon. No way can we continue with Yoshida at sub .600 for much longer. If Mayer returns, and Rafaela returns to CF, we can rotate the DH with our OF'ers and maybe Ref/Romy vs L. That could be another area we could upgrade, pending Mayer's ETA.

IMO, we need a solid SP'er. Buehler and Fitts are not cutting it, and I still worry about Gio & Bello, some.

Chapman's back trouble is very worrisome. Getting a solid pen arm can't hurt, either. Let's hope we have better luck than we did with Lucas Sims & Luis Garcia in 2024.

[mvp 78]

19 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

I doubt we trade for a rental 2Bman, unless they think Mayer will be out for more than another 2-3+ weeks.

They only have a few days to determine this. Mayer was out for about a month last time he had this issue and wasn't exactly tearing the cover off the ball anyway. If you can get an average 2b and push a rehabbing Mayer to AAA, it also helps protect against potential injury concerns for Story or Bregman. 

[Kimmi]

8 hours ago, drewski6 said:

I use to mind Rafaela at second base, because I was under the impression that he was a serviceable / passable defensive 2b, and an elite defensive outfielder

Then he started making plays at 2b and now im fine with it.  Granted, im biased because i never wanted to move duran or abreu so moving cedanne to inf im going to look at through that lens. But we all have our biases 

I'm looking at things through the same biased lens.  Duran played a very good defensive centerfield last year, so perhaps Rafaela's defense there won't be missed so much.  And it's far too early to say that Rafaela won't be an elite defensive 2nd baseman.  Anyway, things could change in a hurry.

[Kimmi]

7 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

They just need to trade for a 2b. 

I'm surprised they didn't call up Grissom when Mayer went on the IL.  I guess they're more concerned with the defensive side of things at 2nd base.

[Kimmi]

3 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

I doubt we trade for a rental 2Bman, unless they think Mayer will be out for more than another 2-3+ weeks.

I do share the concern over our offense, but when I look at place to make a major improvement, I'm seeing 1B v RHP and back-up catcher. Together, maybe they add up to 1 FT player's playing time. Since Bello is doing very well with Wong, I wonder about the importance of upgrading catcher offense, perhaps at the expense of Bello's success.

1B platoon rentals should not be very costly, even for a very good batter vs righties. I'm all for a move like that, assuming they are not giving Campbell another look.

The next slot could be DH, if Mayer does not return, soon. No way can we continue with Yoshida at sub .600 for much longer. If Mayer returns, and Rafaela returns to CF, we can rotate the DH with our OF'ers and maybe Ref/Romy vs L. That could be another area we could upgrade, pending Mayer's ETA.

IMO, we need a solid SP'er. Buehler and Fitts are not cutting it, and I still worry about Gio & Bello, some.

Chapman's back trouble is very worrisome. Getting a solid pen arm can't hurt, either. Let's hope we have better luck than we did with Lucas Sims & Luis Garcia in 2024.

I'm in agreement, Moon.

I'm disappointed that Yoshida hasn't hit better than he has.  Granted, he's been out a long time.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

To answer the original question; NO.

[sk7326]

I have been okay with moving Duran for the right deal.  But the uptick recently has spoken to sort of water finding its level with the bat.  His has been one of the cases where his batted ball data showed a guy who should be getting better results. (his exit velocities and barrel rates are as good as they were last year)

[moonslav59]

7 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

They only have a few days to determine this. Mayer was out for about a month last time he had this issue and wasn't exactly tearing the cover off the ball anyway. If you can get an average 2b and push a rehabbing Mayer to AAA, it also helps protect against potential injury concerns for Story or Bregman. 

Maybe if Mayer was a Ranger, you'd expect  better.

.752 last 29 PAs

.730 after his first 9 games (101 PAs)

Not "tearing the cover off," yes, but doing well enough to make 2B a plus position.

[moonslav59]

26 minutes ago, sk7326 said:

I have been okay with moving Duran for the right deal.  But the uptick recently has spoken to sort of water finding its level with the bat.  His has been one of the cases where his batted ball data showed a guy who should be getting better results. (his exit velocities and barrel rates are as good as they were last year)

I feel the same way. I dislike being hypocritical, but I often criticize posters for overreacting on relatively small sample size.

The thing about Duran is that his really good sample size is actually pretty damn large: 2023-2025 (not counting tonight)

.812 OPS

162 game avg: .279 17 75 (33 SB) 78 XBhs