The Red Sox Still Have A Trevor Story Problem

[Alex Mayes]

3 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

This is the first post that Ive seen in this thread, from Alex, that I would consider to have "an agenda"

You caught me.

[drewski6]

57 minutes ago, Alex Mayes said:

Missed this comment when we were discussing, sorry about that. Last season I was against a Rafaela trade but I've warmed up to it now. Roman is likely still untouchable and he should be. I think the absolute worst case scenario with him, if he can't figure out the arm issues, is he can move to first base. Not ideal by any means, and won't happen while Contreras is around and healthy, but it would take a ton of pressure off him playing there.

I said on the last episode of the podcast I'd move Ceddanne to second, Mayer to short, Duran to center, and Roman to left full time to put the best defensive unit on the field, but I still think the smart move is to trade Duran. His value will never be as high as it was in 24 when he should have been dealt, but he can net you something as part of a package now.

Theres too many potential scenarios right now to talk about trading Duran.  Versatility is good , as it allows us to have our best 9 hitters on the field without being a trainwreck defensively.  Which is the goal.  Not ideal defensive optimization.

Lets let our catchers heat up before we decide that Roman to first is not a possibility this year.  Lets let Durbin and Mayer heat up before we decide to keep them up all year.

RA at 1b/Contreras at C
Cedanne at 2b/SS (mayer in AAA)
Cedanne at 2b/ss (durbin getting the vaughn grissom)
RA being wactastic all year with the arm and having to play DH

I dont want to rush into a trade that cant be undone with so much unsettled.  I can see multiple different combinations/positional alignment by playoffs.  And thats even assuming full health.  When we factor in who could get hurt, plus how things could shake out with our 5-6 question marks - there are just so many ways that logjams work themselves out.

And we're playing better now that I think we can buy ourselves a little time.  Im fine moving around deck chairs and position swapping and even swapping around in batting order because that can all be undone. Im fine sending down someone with options becasue that can be undone.  But trading Duran (or even Cedanne right now)....What if Roman still cant throw, Durbin is Vaughn Grissom 2.0, Mayer is still hitting .200 in June, Story is an error machine, Abreu is hurt, and Narvaez is slumping hard

But youve traded Duran and Masa and now you are just terrible.  We have too many question marks and too much versatility in my opinion to be stressing about how who could have and didnt subtract.

[drewski6]

42 minutes ago, TedYazPapiMookie said:

Here is another helpful hint to you Alan about defensive metrics.  The number of balls played (total chances) varies greatly by position.  That's why fielding percentage adjusts for the difference by creating a success for the fielder.  Abreu has 493 total chances and 13 errors over two full seasons and two partial seasons.  He won GG in the two full seasons with a total of with 228 chances and 7 errors in 2024 and 227 chances and 5 errors in 2025.  By comparison, Rafaela has played 2 partial and 2 full seasons as well.  In 2024 he had 187 chances and made 3 errors and in 2025 he had 332 chances with 5 errors.  So during his two full years Abreu made 12 errors and won two gold gloves and Rafaela made 8 errors and won one GG.  Overall, 

In 2024 when Abreu got his first bogus GG he had a fielding percentage of .969 and LEAGUE AVERAGE was .986 nearly 20 points higher!!!!  That's why I consider it bogus.  In 2025, Abreu got his second bogus GG he had a fielding percentage of .978 and LEAGUE AVERAGE was .987 (9 points higher to be league average!!).

In 2026 Mayer has made 2 errors in 52 chances for a .962 fielding percentage with League Average being .988 so he's just 26 points below league average.  That sure sounds like he is consistently bad at fielding since it's very similar to his minor league numbers.  His hype is beyond disgusting.  The guy is at best a league average player and at worst a DFA waiting to happen.  Good thing he's connected.

Looks like you are just going to have to change your name to Alan, Alex

[drewski6]

27 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Trading Roman would be the craziest move the Sox have done in 100 years. Would be even more unpopular than letting Mookie go. I'm not advocating for it either. 

I'd rather they keep Rafaela in CF, but it seems they are as unable to move Duran as they are Masa. At some point, they need to find ways to fit these guys onto the roster. Duran's defense has played up in CF in the past, maybe it can do the same in '26? They do lose a ton of Rafaela's value the second he moves off of CF. That's the problem with how this roster has been constructed. 

Get off the they cant move Duran, its nonsense. There are 29 teams interested in Duran.  Not everyone who someone considers moving, and doesnt get moved, is pulled from the trade block because the player is not moveable.  

[mvp 78]

I think someone on here is going to get very mad again this fall. 

[Alex Mayes]

4 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

Theres too many potential scenarios right now to talk about trading Duran.  Versatility is good , as it allows us to have our best 9 hitters on the field without being a trainwreck defensively.  Which is the goal.  Not ideal defensive optimization.

Lets let our catchers heat up before we decide that Roman to first is not a possibility this year.  Lets let Durbin and Mayer heat up before we decide to keep them up all year.

RA at 1b/Contreras at C
Cedanne at 2b/SS (mayer in AAA)
Cedanne at 2b/ss (durbin getting the vaughn grissom)
RA being wactastic all year with the arm and having to play DH

I dont want to rush into a trade that cant be undone with so much unsettled.  I can see multiple different combinations/positional alignment by playoffs.  And thats even assuming full health.  When we factor in who could get hurt, plus how things could shake out with our 5-6 question marks - there are just so many ways that logjams work themselves out.

And we're playing better now that I think we can buy ourselves a little time.  Im fine moving around deck chairs and position swapping and even swapping around in batting order because that can all be undone. Im fine sending down someone with options becasue that can be undone.  But trading Duran (or even Cedanne right now)....What if Roman still cant throw, Durbin is Vaughn Grissom 2.0, Mayer is still hitting .200 in June, Story is an error machine, Abreu is hurt, and Narvaez is slumping hard

But youve traded Duran and Masa and now you are just terrible.  We have too many question marks and too much versatility in my opinion to be stressing about how who could have and didnt subtract.

While I support trading both Duran and Masa, I wouldn't even entertain the idea until closer to the deadline unless the train comes completely off the tracks. The team is too fickle right now to do anything more than move pieces around.

[Alex Mayes]

8 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

Looks like you are just going to have to change your name to Alan, Alex

But I don't feel like an Alan.

[drewski6]

Just now, Alex Mayes said:

While I support trading both Duran and Masa, I wouldn't even entertain the idea until closer to the deadline unless the train comes completely off the tracks. The team is too fickle right now to do anything more than move pieces around.

I agree, and Im not against speculating what those trades might be when we are closer to the deadline , just wanted to point out that so much can change and there are many unresolved questions already.

Short of bringing in an absolute stud if one is available, I think we are best served with a little patience. If we are rounding into June and making up no ground, maybe then we start getting itchy.  But the team is starting to come around and we're winning games at enough of a clip to warrant just waiting on more info from like Durbin, Mayer, catchers, health, Roman (just the arm)....

[drewski6]

3 minutes ago, Alex Mayes said:

But I don't feel like an Alan.

When TedYazPapi calls you a horse the first time, you say "Im not a horse man". When TedYazPapi calls you a horse a second time you hit back a little bit something like 

Actually, Trevor Story led the team in errors last season with 19, which was ten more than number two on that list. Abreu came in at eighth overall with five. Kristian Campbell ranked ahead of him though, with seven. 

When TedYazPapi calls you horse a third time, its time to accept fact and eat some hay.

Im sorry, Alan.

[Maddie Landis]

On 4/16/2026 at 10:35 AM, TedYazPapiMookie said:

one good season out of four but the best pedigree on the team for his career

Story’s offensive stats were inflated by the Coors elevation. From 2016-2021, Story held a 124 wRC+ at home versus a 99 wRC+ on the road. In just his second major league season (2017), he led all of baseball in strikeouts (191).

As a member of the Red Sox (2022-present), he’s posted an 83 wRC+ at Fenway versus a 79 wRC+ on the road.

Defensively, he's never won a GG and was nominated only once in 2019.

 

[mvp 78]

37 minutes ago, Maddie Landis said:

Story’s offensive stats were inflated by the Coors elevation. From 2016-2021, Story held a 124 wRC+ at home versus a 99 wRC+ on the road. In just his second major league season (2017), he led all of baseball in strikeouts (191).

As a member of the Red Sox (2022-present), he’s posted an 83 wRC+ at Fenway versus a 79 wRC+ on the road.

Defensively, he's never won a GG and was nominated only once in 2019.

Find something you love as much as Trevor loved hitting at Coors. 

'18 1043/780 Home/Road OPS

'19 1064/764 Home/Road OPS