Article: Bryce Harper Isn't the First Base Solution the Red Sox Need

[drewski6]

1 minute ago, moonslav59 said:

Pedro was a pinto bean.

these days, ill take a man body like crochet.

[mvp 78]

11 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

these days, ill take a man body like crochet.

Thanks for your body positivity. 

[mvp 78]

15 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

"The Rock says that if its Big Show vs HHH in the main event at wrestlemania, than wrestelmania is going to suck"

Feel like that applies

Big Show fell off a skyscraper and lived. He deserves every main event. 

[moonslav59]

14 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

The rock says, if all you do is bring back bregman , and then on top of that, trade either Duran or Abreu for pitching, then next years lineup is going to suck!

I have to agree.

Even if Bregman stays healthy all year, he may not provide much more total production than he did in 2025.

Story led the team in many categories, and he's they guy most of us counted on for nothing in 2025. Now, we are supposed to expect a repeat?

Duran declined from his awesome 2024 season, and may bounce back with an uptick, but can or should we count on it? Plus, many think he'll be traded for pitching.

Abreu could stay healthy and move from a platoon to FT, but like others listed here, can we expect the same or more in 2025.

Some here think Rafaela lucked out being close to the league norm OPS, so counting on him to be above .700 might be a stretch.

Narvaez has an amazing rookie season, while Wong had a horrific season. Expecting the same from them in 2025 might be reasonable, but expecting more is probably pushing it.

That leaves precious few slots to hope for major improvements to make up for the loss of Devers, which the tarde itself did not come close to doing on offense.

Assuming Bregman returns...

2025 numbers

1B: .691 (16 HRs)

DH: .823 (26 HRs with Devers boosting the numbers)

2B: .670 (12 HRs)

We gotta think Yoshida/Romy will not hit .823 with 26 Hrs as the DHs, but with 4 OF'ers and no moves made, I do think it's fair to count on equaling these numbers with Duran/Anthony at DH. The thing is, most of us don't see us benching an $18M Yoshida to keep the status quo with Devers & Co's 2025 numbers. Trading Duran may fix the hole left by Gio, but now we still have these 3 positions to hope for significant boosts.

If Yoshida/Romy ate the 2026 DHs, and if that's the plan, we need massive boosts from 2B and 1B. It does not take much to improve on .691 and .670, but we have to also make up from expected downticks at DH and some of the other I listed above.

Alonso would provide a huge boost. Schwarber at DH would, too. Perhaps they are wishful thinking as would be adding Bichette on top of paying Bregman to return, but it seems to me we need one of these three to hope for any form of improved offense. And this assumes Mayer/Romy can slightly improve the 2B production.

Another option might be to add two tier two players from Suarez, Polanco or maybe someone via trade, like Harper or K Marte. I'm not sure Suarez & Torres/ B Lowe/ W Castro would be enough, but with a solid #2 SP'er added, maybe it could be.

We'd certainly need to see some boost from Anthony, Mayer, Campbell or Garcia, unless we see some major uptick from the 2025 veteran regulars.

 

[JoeBrady]

1 hour ago, drewski6 said:

yes because everyone has breakouts and year to year grown like duran

Duran went from borderline bust to borderline mvp. I wouldnt expect that to like ever happen again.

Fair enough, but imo, people are giving up on Hamilton too quickly.  A lot of his overall .590 was due to his very low .234 BABIP.  But he still managed a 1.1 bWAR in only 177 ABs.

[JoeBrady]

1 hour ago, moonslav59 said:

Pedro was a pinto bean.

Painter is twice the size of Sale.  I get the idea that you want legit strong guys on the mound, but it is not an iron-clad rule.

[JoeBrady]

2 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

It's the same lineup that slumped at the end of last season. 💪

Not the same lineup that slumped in September.  We lost Abreu, Anthony, Casas, Mayer, and Bregman may or may not have been suffering lingering effects of his injury.  And we still ranked 10th in OPS over the final 28 days.

[JoeBrady]

1 hour ago, moonslav59 said:

I have to agree.

Even if Bregman stays healthy all year, he may not provide much more total production than he did in 2025.

Story led the team in many categories, and he's they guy most of us counted on for nothing in 2025. Now, we are supposed to expect a repeat?

Duran declined from his awesome 2024 season, and may bounce back with an uptick, but can or should we count on it? Plus, many think he'll be traded for pitching.

Abreu could stay healthy and move from a platoon to FT, but like others listed here, can we expect the same or more in 2025.

Some here think Rafaela lucked out being close to the league norm OPS, so counting on him to be above .700 might be a stretch.

Narvaez has an amazing rookie season, while Wong had a horrific season. Expecting the same from them in 2025 might be reasonable, but expecting more is probably pushing it.

That leaves precious few slots to hope for major improvements to make up for the loss of Devers, which the tarde itself did not come close to doing on offense.

Assuming Bregman returns...

2025 numbers

1B: .691 (16 HRs)

DH: .823 (26 HRs with Devers boosting the numbers)

2B: .670 (12 HRs)

We gotta think Yoshida/Romy will not hit .823 with 26 Hrs as the DHs, but with 4 OF'ers and no moves made, I do think it's fair to count on equaling these numbers with Duran/Anthony at DH. The thing is, most of us don't see us benching an $18M Yoshida to keep the status quo with Devers & Co's 2025 numbers. Trading Duran may fix the hole left by Gio, but now we still have these 3 positions to hope for significant boosts.

If Yoshida/Romy ate the 2026 DHs, and if that's the plan, we need massive boosts from 2B and 1B. It does not take much to improve on .691 and .670, but we have to also make up from expected downticks at DH and some of the other I listed above.

Alonso would provide a huge boost. Schwarber at DH would, too. Perhaps they are wishful thinking as would be adding Bichette on top of paying Bregman to return, but it seems to me we need one of these three to hope for any form of improved offense. And this assumes Mayer/Romy can slightly improve the 2B production.

Another option might be to add two tier two players from Suarez, Polanco or maybe someone via trade, like Harper or K Marte. I'm not sure Suarez & Torres/ B Lowe/ W Castro would be enough, but with a solid #2 SP'er added, maybe it could be.

We'd certainly need to see some boost from Anthony, Mayer, Campbell or Garcia, unless we see some major uptick from the 2025 veteran regulars.

 

My figuring is that we were 9th in road OPS and 6th in road RS last year.  That makes us a good scoring team.  If we replace Bregman's bat, and add a full year of Casas, Mayer, and Anthony, we should be better than last year.  We can do better on offense, but if we add a Bregman-level bat, a #2  SP, and another quality SP, we'll stay under the cap, and should be a 90+ win team.

[drewski6]

18 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

Fair enough, but imo, people are giving up on Hamilton too quickly.  A lot of his overall .590 was due to his very low .234 BABIP.  But he still managed a 1.1 bWAR in only 177 ABs.

Gotta improve the offense.  I dont think anyone is trying to outright release him. But hes not a starter in mlb.

[drewski6]

13 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

Painter is twice the size of Sale.  I get the idea that you want legit strong guys on the mound, but it is not an iron-clad rule.

Agreed, im not against trading for painter, but there are guys id rather target.

[drewski6]

11 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

Not the same lineup that slumped in September.  We lost Abreu, Anthony, Casas, Mayer, and Bregman may or may not have been suffering lingering effects of his injury.  And we still ranked 10th in OPS over the final 28 days.

If you are counting on anything more than 0 from casas, you lost me. Thats not giving up on him, thats not relying on him or holding a seat for him.  We need sluggers and we cannot expect one to be casas, doesnt mean one cant be casas.

Bregman isnt here, and is no guarantee to be healthy next year. Mayers replacements hit better than he had, but I dont think that remains the case going forward. Agreed on Anthony but leadoff guys are only as good as the dudes hitting behind them. Abreu was back by then. Plus most circle Abreu or Duran to be traded. So I guess it wouldnt be that offense, it would be worse because youd be minus Bregman/Abreu (or Duran)

10th isnt good enough

[drewski6]

We need two very good hitters to add, one can be Bregman.

[drewski6]

I would sign Schwarber. Teach Masa how to play 1b. Let him and Casas and Romy compete to see who wins the job (my money on Romy). Get another very good infielder who can play both sides of the ball.  That may be Bregman, that may be Bichette, that may be somebody in a trade.

Not assume Casas, Yoshida, Hamilton, Story, Mayer, RA, Cedanne, Duran/Abreu (whichever isnt traded) will all be healthy (they wont) or assume that this offense is good enough even if they do stay healthy (they arent)

[notin]

16 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

Gotta improve the offense.  I dont think anyone is trying to outright release him. But hes not a starter in mlb.

He would have plenty of opportunity in places like Tampa and Pittsburgh that platoon a lot of lower cost players.

I am not a fan of platooning anywhere but DH, but if he’s on the Boston bench, he absolutely has his uses…

[notin]

9 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

I would sign Schwarber. Teach Masa how to play 1b. Let him and Casas and Romy compete to see who wins the job (my money on Romy). Get another very good infielder who can play both sides of the ball.  That may be Bregman, that may be Bichette, that may be somebody in a trade.

Not assume Casas, Yoshida, Hamilton, Story, Mayer, RA, Cedanne, Duran/Abreu (whichever isnt traded) will all be healthy (they wont) or assume that this offense is good enough even if they do stay healthy (they arent)

The shortest guy on the team at 1b?

Yoshida does have all his options and need not be on the roster.  But he is a contact hitter and has a .825 OPS in 2024 until he injured his shoulder and slumped out the season.  
 

I do get the impression Breslow isnt a huge fan, so there is the possibility he is traded (for not much) or released…

[drewski6]

Just now, notin said:

The shortest guy on the team at 1b?

Yoshida does have all his options and need not be on the roster.  But he is a contact hitter and has a .825 OPS in 2024 until he injured his shoulder and slumped out the season.  
 

I do get the impression Breslow isnt a huge fan, so there is the possibility he is traded (for not much) or released…

yoshida having a few inches of reach less than an ideal 1b is more than offset by the difference between Alonsos B ovr bat and Schwarbers A- overall bat.

[Old Red]

Just now, notin said:

The shortest guy on the team at 1b?

Yoshida does have all his options and need not be on the roster.  But he is a contact hitter and has a .825 OPS in 2024 until he injured his shoulder and slumped out the season.  
 

I do get the impression Breslow isnt a huge fan, so there is the possibility he is traded (for not much) or released…

I don’t see Masa getting released, and he definitely is NO 1B candidate.

[drewski6]

Im fine with schwarber at 1b and yoshida at dh if youd rather.

But nothing is stopping me from offering schwarber 110m/3

[drewski6]

i promise you , with 11 mins of practice yoshida will be better at 1b than fatass casas

[drewski6]

8 minutes ago, notin said:

He would have plenty of opportunity in places like Tampa and Pittsburgh that platoon a lot of lower cost players.

I am not a fan of platooning anywhere but DH, but if he’s on the Boston bench, he absolutely has his uses…

im not old school, but one my old school thing that i love is having a designated speedster off the bench. I agree. I dont hate hamilton on this bench. Just not as a starter.

[drewski6]

reach and throwing lefty are advantages to playing 1b.  But so is flexibility. And Yoshida is infinitely more flexible than casas and toro last year.

Yoshida cant run or throw well.  But Im not ruling him out , him being serviceable at 1b - and if Im him, I wanna add the tool to my toolbelt.

Im not saying pencil in masa at 1b and leave him there all season even if he struggles.

Im saying that there is a gap between schwarbers bat and every other alternative bat i see us getting (even alonso).  So i get schwarber.  And i put one of him, yoshida, casas, romy or some breakout minor leaguer (pw, campbell) at 1b and if that 1b winds up being schwarber someone else from the list goes to DH.  If Schwarber cant play 1b, than he goes to dh and yoshida , casas, romy or someone else has to play 1b

I dont let yoshida stop me from going after a better hitter than devers

[JoeBrady]

1 hour ago, drewski6 said:

Gotta improve the offense.  I dont think anyone is trying to outright release him. But hes not a starter in mlb.

Fair enough.  I'd like to consider him as a fallback position.  Just for the sake of debate, say we signed Bregman, Alonso and Ranger.  If that took our entire allowance, and we had to platoon Gonzo/Hamilton at 2nd, I'd be fine with that.

[JoeBrady]

1 hour ago, drewski6 said:

If you are counting on anything more than 0 from casas, you lost me. Thats not giving up on him, thats not relying on him or holding a seat for him.  We need sluggers and we cannot expect one to be casas, doesnt mean one cant be casas.

Bregman isnt here, and is no guarantee to be healthy next year. Mayers replacements hit better than he had, but I dont think that remains the case going forward. Agreed on Anthony but leadoff guys are only as good as the dudes hitting behind them. Abreu was back by then. Plus most circle Abreu or Duran to be traded. So I guess it wouldnt be that offense, it would be worse because youd be minus Bregman/Abreu (or Duran)

10th isnt good enough

My thinking is still that, if we finished 6th out of 30 in road runs scored, and bring back the same team, we'll theoretically be 6th in scoring again.

[moonslav59]

3 hours ago, JoeBrady said:

My thinking is still that, if we finished 6th out of 30 in road runs scored, and bring back the same team, we'll theoretically be 6th in scoring again.

We're bringing 330 PAs of Devers back?

We can't just look at team OPS when our home park is Fenway.

We were T 12th in wRC+ at a whopping 103. (Devers probably added the 3.) The Athletics finished ahead of us.

OPS+

118 NYY

113 SEA

108 TOR

106 BOS

9th in road OPS is not something I'm beating the drum to bring back as is (without Devers.)