Spring Training game thread: Week of Feb 21

[mvp 78]

19 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

Sorry, moon. 

 

[Old Red]

33 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

IDK what you mean about "just right." All I said was "if other GM's valued him highly, Duran would have been traded" because the Red Sox clearly value him highly. Breslow clearly values him higher than other GM's do. 

 

45 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

In a way, yes. The point about "just right" is not.

Maybe Brez is right- maybe not.

Some think trading him after 2024 would have gotten peak value for him. 

I value Duran very highly, but I have suggested more Duran trades on BTV than any other Sox player, and that includes Yoshida and the constant throw-in- DHam.

I was one who said to trade him after the 2024 season for some pitching where most likely his value would have been as good as it’s going to get. Good player, but as I keep saying i don’t see any extensions coming his way from the Red Sox.

[moonslav59]

9 minutes ago, Old Red said:

 

I was one who said to trade him after the 2024 season for some pitching where most likely his value would have been as good as it’s going to get. Good player, but as I keep saying i don’t see any extensions coming his way from the Red Sox.

Quite a few suggested we trade Duran, in part because we had and still have 4 OF'ers and greater needs elsewhere, and also because we doubted his ability to keep up the 2024 pace.

That being said, I would not be surprised if he does better than 2025 in 2026. I hope he does.

[mvp 78]

11 minutes ago, Old Red said:

 

I was one who said to trade him after the 2024 season for some pitching where most likely his value would have been as good as it’s going to get. Good player, but as I keep saying i don’t see any extensions coming his way from the Red Sox.

No way is he getting an extension. They are just going year to year with him now. He'll be 32 at the end of his BOS control. No reason to give him any more years right now. 

[mvp 78]

2 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Quite a few suggested we trade Duran, in part because we had and still have 4 OF'ers and greater needs elsewhere, and also because we doubted his ability to keep up the 2024 pace.

That being said, I would not be surprised if he does better than 2025 in 2026. I hope he does.

If he is playing mainly DH, his value will tank even further than it did last offseason. 

[mvp 78]

Too bad @drewski6 won't be seeing this guy on tv. We know he likes them big! 

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

If he is playing mainly DH, his value will tank even further than it did last offseason. 

If he looks okay on D, when he does play OF, maybe he retains some of his defensive value, but I agree.

[Old Red]

4 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

If he looks okay on D, when he does play OF, maybe he retains some of his defensive value, but I agree.

Duran is Still a work in progress playing the outfield. Playing less time out there won’t help that any.

[moonslav59]

7 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Duran is Still a work in progress playing the outfield. Playing less time out there won’t help that any.

Agreed, but he's been up and won on defense. Can you predict how he looks on defense in 2026?

(I'd guess not any better, but with him, one never knows.)

[Duran Is The Man]

3 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Agreed, but he's been up and won on defense. Can you predict how he looks on defense in 2026?

(I'd guess not any better, but with him, one never knows.)

i may be wrong, but his "ups" have been in LF while his "downs" have been in CF. keep him in LF.

[Bellhorn04]

18 hours ago, JoeBrady said:

to me, while I wouldn't admire a short HR, I don't care.  But it has to be a real shot.  Not some rinky-dink 360 footer.  Everyone gets one of those.  If you hit it 450 feet, then I don't care.

Like Manny's walk-off off K-Rod in the 2007 ALDS.  The GameDay graphic of where that ball ended up was hilarious. 

[drewski6]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

Too bad @drewski6 won't be seeing this guy on tv. We know he likes them big! 

6'6 , 277 lbs.  Cant teach it.

[drewski6]

1 minute ago, Duran Is The Man said:

i may be wrong, but his "ups" have been in LF while his "downs" have been in CF. keep him in LF.

I think its the opposite, and he should be in CF.

[drewski6]

But I honestly care very little where Duran plays.  Just as long as hes getting extra base hits because without that, we drop even further than the 19th ranked offense per ESPN.

Duran hits a lot of double and triples against righties.  Hes probably not a great player.  And even I think the #2 CF or comparisons to Kyle Tucker are too far.  But I think we need Durans doubles and triples in the middle of our order.  It bothers me less than most that hes better suited for a platoon (although, ofc, I do wish he could hit lefties better), and I honestly dont ding his value too much for playing DH.  WE need his extra base hits.

[moonslav59]

1 minute ago, Duran Is The Man said:

i may be wrong, but his "ups" have been in LF while his "downs" have been in CF. keep him in LF.

I think it's been all over the map.. His best time on defense was in 2024 in CF, but yes, he has not had a negative DRS in LF in any season..

DRS

CF: -5, -9, -5 [+17 in 2024] -2

-4 career in CF

LF: 0, 0. 6, 11

+17 in LF

OAA tells a different story...

LF: 0,0, 3, and -4

Career : 0

CF: 0, -2, -1 +7 in 2025!

Career: +5

With opposite conclusions, I think it's safe to say he's "all over the map" on defense.

The Sox other OF'ers are not.

[drewski6]

He can run, he can hit gappers, he can hit trips, he sprinkles in occasional HR. He hits the ball hard.  Hes going to produce a lot of R's and RBI's and we're gonna need em.  

But more than anything, I dont want to trade him and then get hit with like an injury to Cedanne or Abreu.  Especially not for future assets, which I understand are currency for a big deadline add.  But I dont think we can spare Duran at this point in time.

[moonslav59]

Maybe Duran excels at DH, since he seems to get dizzy trying to track down fly balls.

[drewski6]

1 minute ago, moonslav59 said:

Maybe Duran excels at DH, since he seems to get dizzy trying to track down fly balls.

I do not care who plays where for the 8% of games where everyone is healthy and available.  

[notin]

30 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

I think its the opposite, and he should be in CF.

Not as long as Rafaela is healthy.  
 

But if that situation changes, he does very likely move there…

[mvp 78]

1 minute ago, notin said:

Not as long as Rafaela is healthy.  
 

But if that situation changes, he does very likely move there…

In his professional career, Rafaela has never been placed on the IL. More likely that Roman or Wilyer needs time off this season. 

[drewski6]

4 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

In his professional career, Rafaela has never been placed on the IL. More likely that Roman or Wilyer needs time off this season. 

Lets get everyone back healthy from the World Baseball Classic before we start worrying about too much of anything (other than pitching), IMO.

Im not sure how we'd align with an injury to Abreu (if Duran or Cedanne would shift to right, I imagine one would).

Cedanne did hit that dinger a mile, so maybe he does stay above .700 OPS at the plate.

[mvp 78]

 

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, drewski6 said:

I do not care who plays where for the 8% of games where everyone is healthy and available.  

There is a good chance all 4 OF'ers are healthy for over 60-75% of the games.

[iortiz]

Thus far Bello, Oviedo and Suarez didn’t look good at all. Suarez is going to be fine but the other two are really concerning. OTOH Early looked pretty well. It’s obviously early but the kid probably will end up as our No. 3. 

[mvp 78]

Story and Eaton are hitting the ball very hard today. 

[drewski6]

1 minute ago, mvp 78 said:

Story and Eaton are hitting the ball very hard today. 

Eaton going to make the team.

[mvp 78]

3 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

Eaton going to make the team.

More likely now that Romy went down. 

[drewski6]

4 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

More likely now that Romy went down. 

He has a hit in every game and plays every position and has wheels.  Just gotta learn how/when to tag up.

[Duran Is The Man]

2 hours ago, drewski6 said:

He can run, he can hit gappers, he can hit trips, he sprinkles in occasional HR. He hits the ball hard.  Hes going to produce a lot of R's and RBI's and we're gonna need em.  

But more than anything, I dont want to trade him and then get hit with like an injury to Cedanne or Abreu.  Especially not for future assets, which I understand are currency for a big deadline add.  But I dont think we can spare Duran at this point in time.

he steals home too.

[Duran Is The Man]

46 minutes ago, iortiz said:

Thus far Bello, Oviedo and Suarez didn’t look good at all. Suarez is going to be fine but the other two are really concerning. OTOH Early looked pretty well. It’s obviously early but the kid probably will end up as our No. 3. 

not to mention Sandoval. i wouldn't doubt he misses half the year.