Should Boston Pilfer A Division Rival to Replace Alex Bregman in Free Agency?

[moonslav59]

3 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

So we're trying to upgrade 1B and DH, and 2 of the top 12 are the guys we are trying to replace?

Casas has to recover from a serious injury. 

Masa has very little power and is aging.

I'd be happy with Alonso at 1B, Suarez at 3B, Mayer/Romy at 2B and Masa/Ref at DH.

[Hitch]

14 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

I'd platoon Mayer because he's not good vs LHP. 

If he's only a platoon guy we should move him for pitching, then move from our outfield for infield help.

[Hugh2]

2 hours ago, Hitch said:

If he's only a platoon guy we should move him for pitching, then move from our outfield for infield help.

Mayer may be a platoon guy, but he's too young and too talented to not see if he can be an everyday player right now.  I don't think they should take a guy deserving of being a top 10 prospect in all of baseball and make him a platoon guy without giving him a chance to see how he grows first. 

[Hitch]

6 minutes ago, Hugh2 said:

Mayer may be a platoon guy, but he's too young and too talented to not see if he can be an everyday player right now.  I don't think they should take a guy deserving of being a top 10 prospect in all of baseball and make him a platoon guy without giving him a chance to see how he grows first. 

I agree - I'd play him every day and let him learn. But if the plan is just to platoon long term, I'd trade for his value right now.

[moonslav59]

9 hours ago, JoeBrady said:

So we're trying to upgrade 1B and DH, and 2 of the top 12 are the guys we are trying to replace?

They were far from top 12 in 2025 and wont be top 50 in 2026.

[mvp 78]

3 hours ago, Hitch said:

If he's only a platoon guy we should move him for pitching, then move from our outfield for infield help.

If it was for the right guy maybe. Otherwise, I'm holding onto him and seeing if he can progress into a more complete hitter over the next few years. 

[mvp 78]

1 hour ago, Hitch said:

I agree - I'd play him every day and let him learn. But if the plan is just to platoon long term, I'd trade for his value right now.

They chose to platoon Abreu right off the bat. They chose to not let Duran become a platoon player. Both have platoon splits. Hard to say what the right course of action is with Mayer. They have a need for him to start, but his bat isn't fully developed and still needed seasoning in AAA IMO (offspeed/LHP). 

[mvp 78]

And I'm not saying he'll never develop into an every day hitter, just that right now they have a guy that smokes LHP and you can ease Mayer into MLB as a platoon guy this season. 

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

They chose to platoon Abreu right off the bat. They chose to not let Duran become a platoon player. Both have platoon splits. Hard to say what the right course of action is with Mayer. They have a need for him to start, but his bat isn't fully developed and still needed seasoning in AAA IMO (offspeed/LHP). 

I think Abreu's platoon time may be coming to an end, despite having RHBs Garcia and Campbell banging on the OF door.

BTW, Duran was pretty much a platoon player in 2022:

48 GS vs RHPs (89% of starts)

6 GS vs LHPs

(The team faced RHPs 78% of the time.)

Duran hit .721 vs RHPs, that year and hasn't come close since, but Cora keeps him in the line-up as much as possible. His speed on the bases is likely the reason. His defense has not been bad, and was actually a plus for a year or two.

Duran has a .645 OPS since 2023 and .634 since 2024 (declining trend.) Abreu is at .604 since '24, but was 76 points higher in 2025 (.676 to .600.)

I cant see us stunting the development of Campbell and Garcia by having them as strict platoons on the ML club- one for Duran and one for Abreu. I doubt we use even one to do it. I will not be surprised if both Duran and Abreu play FT in 2025. If it was up to me, I'd play the GG OF'er FT over Duran.

 

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

And I'm not saying he'll never develop into an every day hitter, just that right now they have a guy that smokes LHP and you can ease Mayer into MLB as a platoon guy this season. 

Exactly. Mayer will end up facing a few LHPs as they come in relief, and if he shows he can hit them, we can always have Romy start platooning with Masa at DH or whoever we have at 1B (assuming he's a LHB.)

[Hugh2]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

And I'm not saying he'll never develop into an every day hitter, just that right now they have a guy that smokes LHP and you can ease Mayer into MLB as a platoon guy this season. 

You won't ever develop into an everyday hitter by sitting vs. all LHP. You can't learn to hit LHP if you don't face LHP. 

Mayer may very well end up being a platoon player one day, but they're not going to platoon him in 2026.  That's certianly not good for his development, and thus maybe the team long term. 

[Hitch]

20 minutes ago, Hugh2 said:

You won't ever develop into an everyday hitter by sitting vs. all LHP. You can't learn to hit LHP if you don't face LHP. 

Mayer may very well end up being a platoon player one day, but they're not going to platoon him in 2026.  That's certianly not good for his development, and thus maybe the team long term. 

I'm not so sure on that last sentence. Cora has said repeatedly that platooning is the best thing for a lot of the kids coming up.  Mayer didn't have much of a season last year (again). I would not be shocked to see him platooned. 

[Hitch]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

If it was for the right guy maybe. Otherwise, I'm holding onto him and seeing if he can progress into a more complete hitter over the next few years. 

Agreed. Has to be for the right piece, but if he was part of a package that brought back say, a Skubal (and we could extend), I'm doing it not to have to worry about his health as well as get better.

I like the kid, though. I'm not for just trading him, he's got a lot of talent.

[Hugh2]

16 minutes ago, Hitch said:

Agreed. Has to be for the right piece, but if he was part of a package that brought back say, a Skubal (and we could extend), I'm doing it not to have to worry about his health as well as get better.

I like the kid, though. I'm not for just trading him, he's got a lot of talent.

I don't think that's a 100% fair accurate assessment of the Sox player development philosophy. 

I think there's a very real difference between how you handle a guy long term vs. calling him up and exposing him to the big leagues for the first time. 

There's a very stark difference between calling a kid up to the big leagues when he's still developing at the end of the year and platooning him for a month or two vs. platooning him all year round. The only way Mayer will ever learn to hit LHP will be hitting LHP. I feel pretty confident about stating that they're not going to go into the 2026 with plans for him to be both on the big league club and to be a platoon player.  

I'm not saying they won't sit him vs. some lefties and let Romney get his at bats, but they're not going to cut his development short by depriving him of that opportunity.  He was ranked 15th/12th by BA/MLB last year (and got into the top 10 at various times).  Correct me if I'm wrong, but has a team ever taken a player of that caliber and potential and with only 125 at bats under their belt said "nahhhh lets platoon you now". 

 

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, Hugh2 said:

You won't ever develop into an everyday hitter by sitting vs. all LHP. You can't learn to hit LHP if you don't face LHP. 

Mayer may very well end up being a platoon player one day, but they're not going to platoon him in 2026.  That's certianly not good for his development, and thus maybe the team long term. 

Ideally, he plays FT, but knowing what we know about his struggles vs LHPs on the farm, we need to maximize our chances at winning and Romy vs LHPs gives us much better odds.

[drewski6]

12 hours ago, JoeBrady said:

So we're trying to upgrade 1B and DH, and 2 of the top 12 are the guys we are trying to replace?

2 of the top 12 FA's . neither of which are in the top 4, of free agents that are not pitchers or outfielders for your top 2 offensive positions is not a good argument for rolling forward casas and masa.

[drewski6]

2 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

And I'm not saying he'll never develop into an every day hitter, just that right now they have a guy that smokes LHP and you can ease Mayer into MLB as a platoon guy this season. 

Its not like they cant make him face LHP in practice.  And even if they start the sesaon with him on the bench against LHP, doesnt mean it will end up that way. They may want to give him rest early season because hes a guy coming off injury himself.

Mayer might start 2026 in a platoon.  But it wont be like an abreu situation where he'll stay stuck there.

[Hugh2]

9 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Ideally, he plays FT, but knowing what we know about his struggles vs LHPs on the farm, we need to maximize our chances at winning and Romy vs LHPs gives us much better odds.

No, they're not going to do that with him.

[Hugh2]

Mayer may be platooning in 2027, or at the end of the year in 2026, but he's going to be a full time starter this year.  Book it. 

[Hugh2]

*sigh*

Everyone once in a while I feel so strongly about something I'd be willing to bet on it.  Anyone want to wager Mayer platooning in 2026?

The Red Sox have a very strict plan for how they develop guys, yes they make exceptions like.....there's a few months left in the season and we are in a pennant race.  A perfect example of this is Tolle, who they moved to the bullpen for the end of the year/playoff run.  But he's probably going to move back to the rotation and start the year in AAA to finish his development. 

Anyone who has listened to what guys like their director of player development talk about what they plan on doing with Mayer, or even Cora explicityly stating he's going to be a full time player it's BLATANTLY obvious they're going to play him full time. 

THey're not looking at the splits on BA like you guys, assuming zero growth, and making the types of moves you make in September/October in the spring of next year.  I'll wager on that. 

[mvp 78]

2 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

I think Abreu's platoon time may be coming to an end, despite having RHBs Garcia and Campbell banging on the OF door.

BTW, Duran was pretty much a platoon player in 2022:

48 GS vs RHPs (89% of starts)

6 GS vs LHPs

(The team faced RHPs 78% of the time.)

Duran hit .721 vs RHPs, that year and hasn't come close since, but Cora keeps him in the line-up as much as possible. His speed on the bases is likely the reason. His defense has not been bad, and was actually a plus for a year or two.

Duran has a .645 OPS since 2023 and .634 since 2024 (declining trend.) Abreu is at .604 since '24, but was 76 points higher in 2025 (.676 to .600.)

I cant see us stunting the development of Campbell and Garcia by having them as strict platoons on the ML club- one for Duran and one for Abreu. I doubt we use even one to do it. I will not be surprised if both Duran and Abreu play FT in 2025. If it was up to me, I'd play the GG OF'er FT over Duran.

Duran isn't getting benched. If Campbell and Garcia are on the roster, it's either due to injury, trade or as bench roles. Garcia isn't ready for a spot anytime soon. Campbell is still a bit of a mystery right now. We don't even know where they'd play him TBH. He could show up as the fulltime 1B and it wouldn't be that shocking. 

[mvp 78]

1 hour ago, Hugh2 said:

You won't ever develop into an everyday hitter by sitting vs. all LHP. You can't learn to hit LHP if you don't face LHP. 

Mayer may very well end up being a platoon player one day, but they're not going to platoon him in 2026.  That's certianly not good for his development, and thus maybe the team long term. 

That's why I wouldn't have brought him up so early last season. His bat wasn't ready. Everybody said he was ready, but he OPS'd under 700 and didn't look comfortable except on defense. 

[mvp 78]

1 hour ago, Hitch said:

Agreed. Has to be for the right piece, but if he was part of a package that brought back say, a Skubal (and we could extend), I'm doing it not to have to worry about his health as well as get better.

I like the kid, though. I'm not for just trading him, he's got a lot of talent.

The ceiling is still there. He just missed some development time and has things to work on. Not every prospect is going to crush it as quick as Roman did. 

I think we can be honest about where his is today and what the expectations should be for this coming year. To me, let him have a full year in the bigs succeeding against RHB in largely a platoon role and try to get to October healthy. He may not get a full load of at bats against LHP, but if he was treated like Abreu, he's still see LHP like 15% of the time (most likely resting against really tough LHP). When Duran played everyday in '24, he faced LHP about 30% of the time. Is 50% of the at bats destroying his development? I don't really think so if it's his first year. 

[mvp 78]

33 minutes ago, Hugh2 said:

*sigh*

Everyone once in a while I feel so strongly about something I'd be willing to bet on it.  Anyone want to wager Mayer platooning in 2026?

Why take a wager on the roster if it's not close to being set now? 

[mvp 78]

43 minutes ago, Hugh2 said:

Mayer may be platooning in 2027, or at the end of the year in 2026, but he's going to be a full time starter this year.  Book it. 

So at some point he'll be a platoon, but at some point he'll be a fulltime starter. How does that bet work? 

[moonslav59]

25 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Duran isn't getting benched. If Campbell and Garcia are on the roster, it's either due to injury, trade or as bench roles. Garcia isn't ready for a spot anytime soon. Campbell is still a bit of a mystery right now. We don't even know where they'd play him TBH. He could show up as the fulltime 1B and it wouldn't be that shocking. 

Agreed. If they haven't platooned Duran since 2022, they won't start now, despite his worsening splits.

I won't be surprised if they stop patooning Abreu, and not just because they want to keep his D in the game FT. He's getting better at hitting lefties.

Romy is a tough cookie. It's hard to know if 2025 was an outlier season, but he hit righties pretty well. There just may not be a FT job slotted for him, since Mayer will likely be given a chance to show he can play FT. He may end up playing FT, if we have an injury at 1B, 2B or 3B.

[Hugh2]

28 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

That's why I wouldn't have brought him up so early last season. His bat wasn't ready. Everybody said he was ready, but he OPS'd under 700 and didn't look comfortable except on defense. 

Good point, If I remember correctly they brought him up because of injury.  If Bregman didn't go down, they likely don't bring Mayer up until the end of the year (if he was still healthy)

[Hugh2]

17 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Why take a wager on the roster if it's not close to being set now? 

Well Mayer is either on the team or not, so if he's not then he's certainly not platooning here. 

[Hugh2]

9 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Agreed. If they haven't platooned Duran since 2022, they won't start now, despite his worsening splits.

I won't be surprised if they stop patooning Abreu, and not just because they want to keep his D in the game FT. He's getting better at hitting lefties.

Romy is a tough cookie. It's hard to know if 2025 was an outlier season, but he hit righties pretty well. There just may not be a FT job slotted for him, since Mayer will likely be given a chance to show he can play FT. He may end up playing FT, if we have an injury at 1B, 2B or 3B.

So hold up, they won't platoon a guy because they aren't doing it already?

But they'll take a kid who was regarded as one of the top prospects in all of baseball who NEEDS exposure to LHP and platoon him?

I think the logic is the opposite there.  If anything Platoon Duran. 

[moonslav59]

4 minutes ago, Hugh2 said:

Well Mayer is either on the team or not, so if he's not then he's certainly not platooning here. 

While I agree he will not start as a platoon, I'm not sure it's a certainty. Since he would bat vs all RHPs, that's usually 65-70% of all games, so it would still be like playing a full season at AAA to start just games vs RH's SP'ers. Plus, he could come in as a PH'er or defensive replacement for Romy or whoever to get playing time in games he does not start.

It's not such a growth stunter to platoon vs RHPs only.