Spring Training Game Thread for Week of March 8th

[moonslav59]

1 minute ago, Old Red said:

And what did all those PA get him? He couldn’t even work his way back up to Boston. So far he doesn’t look any better this ST either. Jerking him around from position to position last year didn’t help him much either.

.799 at AAA is not the end of the world, but certainly he didn't move himself any closer to getting another look. I'm not sure I'd use the word "wasted," but it wasn't a good year.

He sucks on defense, so it makes sense to try and find out where he sucks the least.

He may be a DH.

[JoeBrady]

4 hours ago, drewski6 said:

if you have 9 2.5 WAR guys making 1m, thats great WAR/$, but it prob doesnt win the world series and can be better. 

If I have 9 2.5 WAR guys at $1M, then I will eventually have Skubal, Skenes, Crochet, Yamamoto and Brown.  We'd have $250M to spend.  I could probably do without one of those SPs, and add another $50M position player.

[moonslav59]

Bello looked very sharp, today.

I'm psyched about this rotation!

[vegasbob]

2 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

Bello looked very sharp, today.

I'm psyched about this rotation!

Regrettably, i saw Ranger Suarez in his 3rd inning vs the Japanese team and he looked awful.  He had no command, and surrendered a double and 3 run HR , could not locate his change pitch.    

Hopefully just a poor outing since he was pitching for Venezuela, but he looked like a pitcher with a broken arm on his throwing side.   Not encouraging.

[moonslav59]

2 hours ago, vegasbob said:

Regrettably, i saw Ranger Suarez in his 3rd inning vs the Japanese team and he looked awful.  He had no command, and surrendered a double and 3 run HR , could not locate his change pitch.    

Hopefully just a poor outing since he was pitching for Venezuela, but he looked like a pitcher with a broken arm on his throwing side.   Not encouraging.

Let's hope it's just a hiccup.

[JoeBrady]

On 3/14/2026 at 1:48 PM, moonslav59 said:

I'm not sure about the advantage of locking a guy up for ages 32-34 seasons, especially when he still has some question marks.

Just circling back on this (Durbin), there are very few reasons to not lock him up, even at his advanced age.  There are guys that we can be reasonably sure we will give a number of chances to.  So let's say we offer to lock in Durbin for three years for $3M.  That represents an excess over his minimum salary for about $750k ($3M - $750k*3).  The $750k represents our risk.

In return, he gives us 4th, 5th, and 6th year options for $2M, $4M, and $6M.  So if the upside of his performance is that he can earn $3M, $6M and $9M, then our risk is the $750k v the reward of $6M.

If this was real life, I'd discount both the $750k and $6M to reflect what I expect by way of under- and over-production.  And I'd use McNeil as his comp.

[mvp 78]

On 3/14/2026 at 5:01 PM, moonslav59 said:

.799 at AAA is not the end of the world, but certainly he didn't move himself any closer to getting another look. I'm not sure I'd use the word "wasted," but it wasn't a good year.

He sucks on defense, so it makes sense to try and find out where he sucks the least.

He may be a DH.

I think he's a fine OFer. 

[moonslav59]

2 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

I think he's a fine OFer. 

Right now? Fine?

[mvp 78]

21 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Right now? Fine?

Today, he's fine enough to throw out in the OF. If his bat turned around, you could put him somewhere in the OF and not worry about it. At 2b, his fielding would be a nightmare and it wouldn't be worth it unless he had like an 850 OPS. 

[Old Red]

40 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Today, he's fine enough to throw out in the OF. If his bat turned around, you could put him somewhere in the OF and not worry about it. At 2b, his fielding would be a nightmare and it wouldn't be worth it unless he had like an 850 OPS. 

Hopefully we don’t have to find out any time soon except for at Woo although it would be nice to have another RHH outfielder.

[mvp 78]

2 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Hopefully we don’t have to find out any time soon except for at Woo although it would be nice to have another RHH outfielder.

For his sake, he needs a long leash in AAA since he just drastically changed his swing this offseason.

[moonslav59]

21 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Today, he's fine enough to throw out in the OF. If his bat turned around, you could put him somewhere in the OF and not worry about it. At 2b, his fielding would be a nightmare and it wouldn't be worth it unless he had like an 850 OPS. 

They said the same about Altuve.

[mvp 78]

36 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

They said the same about Altuve.

We've seen KC play OF. It's been fine! 

[moonslav59]

12 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

We've seen KC play OF. It's been fine! 

In ST'ing or the 69 innings in MLB, last year or the 189 in AAA?

I'd say the jury is out, but hiding him in LF shouldn't be the end of the world.

With 4 OF'ers ahead of him, it would take Rafaela at 2B to find enough time for KC in the ML OF.

[Old Red]

13 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

We've seen KC play OF. It's been fine! 

It’s his bat that got him sent down last year, and why he will be sent down this year. They would have lived with him at 2B if it wasn’t, or the OF for that matter.

[mvp 78]

13 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

In ST'ing or the 69 innings in MLB, last year or the 189 in AAA?

'23 MiLB 31 LF, 18 RF

'24 MiLB 204 CF

'25 MiLB 42 LF, 87 CF, 58 RF

'25 MLB 12 LF, 57 CF

That's 500+ innings of scouting plus our own personal history to have an opinion on his OF defense. Adding in ST would add an additional 100 innings. 

 

[mvp 78]

19 minutes ago, Old Red said:

It’s his bat that got him sent down last year, and why he will be sent down this year. They would have lived with him at 2B if it wasn’t, or the OF for that matter.

I disagree. It was his hitting AND his fielding that sent him down. He had a 510 OPS over his final 30 G at BOS. 

[moonslav59]

2 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

'23 MiLB 31 LF, 18 RF

'24 MiLB 204 CF

'25 MiLB 42 LF, 87 CF, 58 RF

'25 MLB 12 LF, 57 CF

That's 500+ innings of scouting plus our own personal history to have an opinion on his OF defense. Adding in ST would add an additional 100 innings. 

 

I guess we see things differently on this.

[Old Red]

3 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

I disagree. It was his hitting AND his fielding that sent him down. He had a 510 OPS over his final 30 G at BOS. 

Didn’t the Red Sox already know KC wasn’t a good 2B last year when they gave him the job to start the season yet they were so concerned they kept playing him in the OF in ST, and once the season started.

[mvp 78]

8 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Didn’t the Red Sox already know KC wasn’t a good 2B last year when they gave him the job to start the season yet they were so concerned they kept playing him in the OF in ST, and once the season started.

Their bad internal metrics believe he can be a good 2b. 😎

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

Their bad internal metrics believe he can be a good 2b. 😎

I think they knew he sucked and thought he could hit his way above it all. Afterall, this is the team that went with E Valdez for almost the same amount of time.

[JoeBrady]

34 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

I think they knew he sucked and thought he could hit his way above it all. Afterall, this is the team that went with E Valdez for almost the same amount of time.

Probably 100% correct.  Lots of poor fielders get starting gigs because they have a bat, and the team has no better alternatives.

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, JoeBrady said:

Probably 100% correct.  Lots of poor fielders get starting gigs because they have a bat, and the team has no better alternatives.

I know people like to think management is made up of buffoons, but everybody and their grandma knew KC as an awful defender all along.

Maybe they hope his athleticism would help him improve, over time, but they knew from day one and even before day one.

[Old Red]

1 hour ago, moonslav59 said:

I know people like to think management is made up of buffoons, but everybody and their grandma knew KC as an awful defender all along.

Maybe they hope his athleticism would help him improve, over time, but they knew from day one and even before day one.

Buffoons?🤭. You’re not apologizing, and defending  management AGAIN are you? Maybe showing some love to management again like with Bloom, Breslow, and of course JH. Seems I’ve read this story before.👏

[moonslav59]

15 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Buffoons?🤭. You’re not apologizing, and defending  management AGAIN are you? Maybe showing some love to management again like with Bloom, Breslow, and of course JH. Seems I’ve read this story before.👏

Not buffoons is not equal to brainiacs, but we've read this lack of vocabulary story before.

[mvp 78]

13 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

I know people like to think management is made up of buffoons, but everybody and their grandma knew KC as an awful defender all along.

Maybe they hope his athleticism would help him improve, over time, but they knew from day one and even before day one.

If that's the case, why do some people in the org keep saying that they believe he can be good at 2b? 

[notin]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

If that's the case, why do some people in the org keep saying that they believe he can be good at 2b? 

Several possible reasons.

1. Optimism.   They believe in his athleticism and think he will be good eventually.

2. Experience.  2b is where he spent the bulk of his college and minor league career as well.  Doubtful Georgia Tech was so stocked with talent in the corner INF and OF slots that they couldn’t move him elsewhere..

3. Open options.  While unlikely, some folks might keep that “you never know” mindset just in case, at least with regards to public statements they prefer not to backtrack on.

[mvp 78]

15 minutes ago, notin said:

Several possible reasons.

1. Optimism.   They believe in his athleticism and think he will be good eventually.

2. Experience.  2b is where he spent the bulk of his college and minor league career as well.  Doubtful Georgia Tech was so stocked with talent in the corner INF and OF slots that they couldn’t move him elsewhere..

3. Open options.  While unlikely, some folks might keep that “you never know” mindset just in case, at least with regards to public statements they prefer not to backtrack on.

#2 is bordering on the he was SS in a competitive HS league in GA argument I've seen before. 🤔

[notin]

3 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

#2 is bordering on the he was SS in a competitive HS league in GA argument I've seen before. 🤔

Or on the “maybe he’s like Bogaerts and Devers in that he has a spot where he is comfortable and likes to play and when that all happens he has been known to crush baseballs wuth authority.”

 

Whether anyone likes the reason or not, it has to be considered as a possibly for issuing that statement.  No one said every statement has to be a pearl of wisdom…

[JoeBrady]

2 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

If that's the case, why do some people in the org keep saying that they believe he can be good at 2b? 

I have a friend who knows 'real' baseball inside and out.  And he thinks KC can eventually play 2nd.  That's good enough for me.  And just recent RS history, two years ago, Romy was absolutely Brady-esque at 2nd.  One year later, he's still weak, but good enough that his bat makes his glove acceptable.