A Realistic Look at the 2026 Red Sox: Part I

[notin]

21 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Is Masa able to play the IF and I'm just now learning about it? 

Yes if you are  among the rare folks who consider DH to be an infield position…

[mvp 78]

8 minutes ago, notin said:

He’s not but he’s the only one of the three that can be demoted without being DFA.  The Sox aren’t likely to make irreversible changes right now…

Why couldn't they demote Duran? He has options. 

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

27 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Is Masa able to play the IF and I'm just now learning about it? 

If you're just learning about it now, all I can say is bend your knees (if they still bend), start both hands on the ground in front of your body, and move your feet -- no backhanders unless it's a dive!

[mvp 78]

They are 16th in active cash payroll, which excludes any player on IL. I think that's a terrible way to look at payroll TBH. Doesn't make sense to exclude Gray, Crochet, etc.

[mvp 78]

What if they had traded for Joe Ryan instead?

 

[moonslav59]

12 hours ago, SPLENDIDSPLINTER said:

Crochet could end up this season with the same stats as last year and this team still finishes under.500.

Crochet & Suarez, too.

[mvp 78]

7 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Crochet & Suarez, too.

Honestly, if they dig themselves in too much of a hole, the whole team could get their stats back up and still be under .500. 

[mvp 78]

[notin]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

Why couldn't they demote Duran? He has options. 

I actually thought he didn’t.  They could demote him as well, but unlike Durbin, Duran has a track record for being a 4-8 WAR player.  And at some point they need to keep a few bodies.

Also Duran doesn’t have a 60% groundball rate against a 6% line drive rate.  

Besides like I pointed out, Durbin is doing much worse than Duran if you don’t count his lone home run of Weston Wilson.  Against actual MLB pitchers, his numbers are worse than Kristian Campbell during his slump.  
 

Why not demote Durbin? They still get to keep him and can recall him later.  And they probably need to make some sort of changes.

I suppose given the alignment I proposed, they could simply bench Durbin.  But that does him no good…

[mvp 78]

5 minutes ago, notin said:

I actually thought he didn’t.  They could demote him as well, but unlike Durbin, Duran has a track record for being a 4-8 WAR player.  And at some point they need to keep a few bodies.

Also Duran doesn’t have a 60% groundball rate against a 6% line drive rate.  

Besides like I pointed out, Durbin is doing much worse than Duran if you don’t count his lone home run of Weston Wilson.  Against actual MLB pitchers, his numbers are worse than Kristian Campbell during his slump.  
 

Why not demote Durbin? They still get to keep him and can recall him later.  And they probably need to make some sort of changes.

I suppose given the alignment I proposed, they could simply bench Durbin.  But that does him no good…

I don't know what changes Durbin would make. He's just hitting the ball on the ground more than last year. I don't know if it's a swing profile thing or pitchers are pitching him differently. Last year, he did a little better with pitches on the outer half of the plate and he's been dogwater with them so far this year. He's still swinging at everything so maybe he comes out of it. IDK. He doesn't have a huge ceiling so it's not like he's going to tear the cover off the ball once he gets going. 

I'd cut my losses on Trevor Story. Move Mayer to SS. Move Rafaela to 2B. Story isn't here long term. No point in investing anytime in him going forward. I'd send him to COL and eat 90% of the contract. 

[notin]

7 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

I don't know what changes Durbin would make. He's just hitting the ball on the ground more than last year. I don't know if it's a swing profile thing or pitchers are pitching him differently. Last year, he did a little better with pitches on the outer half of the plate and he's been dogwater with them so far this year. He's still swinging at everything so maybe he comes out of it. IDK. He doesn't have a huge ceiling so it's not like he's going to tear the cover off the ball once he gets going. 

I'd cut my losses on Trevor Story. Move Mayer to SS. Move Rafaela to 2B. Story isn't here long term. No point in investing anytime in him going forward. I'd send him to COL and eat 90% of the contract. 

I have 0 issues with moving Story, but it’s more likely a DFA/release situation, or take back an even worse deal.

The proper Avenue is DFA/release.  But doing so is a complete white flag on 2026…

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

16 minutes ago, notin said:

I have 0 issues with moving Story, but it’s more likely a DFA/release situation, or take back an even worse deal.

The proper Avenue is DFA/release.  But doing so is a complete white flag on 2026…

Not so sure. If a guy at a key spot isn't doing the job, management has an obligation to replace him for the good of the company.

Theo wasn't giving up when he gave up on Nomar, who was hitting .321 with an .867 OPS. They replaced him with a better glove and it turned out alright.

Never know what could spark a turnaround. The Red Sox don't need to make major trades yet before at least trying a few in-house changes: Mayer to SS, and call Rivera back up to stay in the bullpen instead of name-your-mediocre burned-out arm. A 10-game winning streak and right back in it!

 

[mvp 78]

41 minutes ago, notin said:

I have 0 issues with moving Story, but it’s more likely a DFA/release situation, or take back an even worse deal.

The proper Avenue is DFA/release.  But doing so is a complete white flag on 2026…

TBH, I think the white flag is up, but Brez doesn't realize it. 

[mvp 78]

12 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Not so sure. If a guy at a key spot isn't doing the job, management has an obligation to replace him for the good of the company.

Theo wasn't giving up when he gave up on Nomar, who was hitting .321 with an .867 OPS. They replaced him with a better glove and it turned out alright.

Never know what could spark a turnaround. The Red Sox don't need to make major trades yet before at least trying a few in-house changes: Mayer to SS, and call Rivera back up to stay in the bullpen instead of name-your-mediocre burned-out arm. A 10-game winning streak and right back in it!

Story is one of Cora's buddies. I think he's not a fan of the Driveline stuff. He's not here long term. I don't see a point in keeping him around. Brez needs to find "his guys" and elevate them. 

[JoeBrady]

15 hours ago, notin said:

When is it time to demote Durbin? 
 

His OPS is .520, but if you don’t count his lone home run off an outfielder, it’s .475.  Campbell’s got demoted for a worse slump, and he already had an Offensive Rookie of the Month award on his resume (with a .935 OPS)…

Story to 2b, Mayer to 3b, Rafaela to SS, Duran to CF, Anthony to LF, Yoshida to DH.

It feels a little criminal to me that Yoshida is among the best 3 or 4 hitters on this struggling team, but is only batting slightly more often than Monasterio and Kiner-Falefa…

I'd be open to demoting Durbin, but your solution, with all due respect, downgrades our defense in LF, CF, and SS, all so we can start a player at DH with -0- HRs.

[JoeBrady]

2 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

Why couldn't they demote Duran? He has options. 

And why would they do that?

[notin]

27 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Not so sure. If a guy at a key spot isn't doing the job, management has an obligation to replace him for the good of the company.

Theo wasn't giving up when he gave up on Nomar, who was hitting .321 with an .867 OPS. They replaced him with a better glove and it turned out alright.

Never know what could spark a turnaround. The Red Sox don't need to make major trades yet before at least trying a few in-house changes: Mayer to SS, and call Rivera back up to stay in the bullpen instead of name-your-mediocre burned-out arm. A 10-game winning streak and right back in it!

 

I agree reversible , in-house changes are more likely at this stage of the season.

You can demote Durbin and promote him again 10 days later or whenever.  But the point is he’s not gone forever.  DFA/release Story and you’ve made an irreversible move.   Now moving Story to 2b or 3b?  Thats reversible and a preferred in-house change as well.

 

[notin]

9 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

And why would they do that?

Oops.  Post deleted.

 

Confused Durban and Duran.  The similarities in those names makes me happier that they signed IKF instead of adding Mauricio Dubon and additional layers of confusion…

[Duran Is The Man]

22 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Story is one of Cora's buddies. I think he's not a fan of the Driveline stuff. He's not here long term. I don't see a point in keeping him around. Brez needs to find "his guys" and elevate them. 

this is the guy teaching our guys how to hit. LOL. no wonder they suck.

 

 

[JoeBrady]

1 hour ago, notin said:

I have 0 issues with moving Story, but it’s more likely a DFA/release situation, or take back an even worse deal.

The proper Avenue is DFA/release.  But doing so is a complete white flag on 2026…

We have no practical solutions to replacing Story.  We have no big bat/poor glove guys to force into a position.  No one on the bench is projected to out-perform him.  Arias has cooled off a little.

[mvp 78]

11 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

And why would they do that?

Not saying they should, just questioning a point that said they couldn't. 

[mvp 78]

4 minutes ago, notin said:

I agree reversible , in-house changes are more likely at this stage of the season.

You can demote Durbin and promote him again 10 days later or whenever.  But the point is he’s not gone forever.  DFA/release Story and you’ve made an irreversible move.   Now moving Story to 2b or 3b?  Thats reversible and a preferred in-house change as well.

If we could go back in time and not sign Story, I think everyone would be happy. Just pull the band-aid off. 

 

[mvp 78]

5 minutes ago, Duran Is The Man said:

this is the guy teaching our guys how to hit. LOL. no wonder they suck.

 

 

They can't all be beefcakes like Aaron Judge's hitting coach, right? 

 

[mvp 78]

7 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

We have no practical solutions to replacing Story.  We have no big bat/poor glove guys to force into a position.  No one on the bench is projected to out-perform him.  Arias has cooled off a little.

Arias shouldn't come up until Sept anyway. You move Story because you are turning the page as an org. 

[JoeBrady]

20 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Not saying they should, just questioning a point that said they couldn't. 

Fair enough.

[Old Red]

21 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

If we could go back in time and not sign Story, I think everyone would be happy. Just pull the band-aid off. 

 

Yes if the Red Sox had not signed Story, or Masa.

[Old Red]

48 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Story is one of Cora's buddies. I think he's not a fan of the Driveline stuff. He's not here long term. I don't see a point in keeping him around. Brez needs to find "his guys" and elevate them. 

Who is he going to elevate?

[Old Red]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

I don't know what changes Durbin would make. He's just hitting the ball on the ground more than last year. I don't know if it's a swing profile thing or pitchers are pitching him differently. Last year, he did a little better with pitches on the outer half of the plate and he's been dogwater with them so far this year. He's still swinging at everything so maybe he comes out of it. IDK. He doesn't have a huge ceiling so it's not like he's going to tear the cover off the ball once he gets going. 

I'd cut my losses on Trevor Story. Move Mayer to SS. Move Rafaela to 2B. Story isn't here long term. No point in investing anytime in him going forward. I'd send him to COL and eat 90% of the contract. 

You could make all those moves, but how’s that going to make the hitting better, or better yet get a hit with runners on base?

[JoeBrady]

19 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

If we could go back in time and not sign Story, I think everyone would be happy. Just pull the band-aid off. 

 

Too early for the bandaid.  There are 29 guys on FG with negative fWARs.  That includes Devers, Perez, Adames, Butler, Cronenworth, Semien, Naylor, Duran, Carpenter, Adell, and Frelick, There is a good likelihood that most will return to form, and several of them have.  That's the nature of baseball.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

29 minutes ago, Duran Is The Man said:

this is the guy teaching our guys how to hit. LOL. no wonder they suck.

 

 

And no wonder Brez is so frustrated -- why can't his players get with the program?

Not one Red Sox batter holds his hands that low, knuckles misaligned, and elbows splayed in opposite directions doing the chicken dance.