Red Sox sign Jake Bauers

[Old Red]

7 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Per Cotillo, current plan is for Bauers is to get most of his reps at DH and to backup at 1B. 

Hope he brings last years bat with him, and not the bat he’s used all his other years, which wasn’t very good. 

[NHNative]

2 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Hope he brings last years bat with him, and not the bat he’s used all his other years, which wasn’t very good. 

I bet the Nation is gonna love him.

[Old Red]

5 minutes ago, NHNative said:

I bet the Nation is gonna love him.

I know you wanted this guy, and talked him up, but he’s a career.223 hitter, and nothing more much else outside of last year, so it’s still meh for me. 

[WoxburyWommunityWollege]

58 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Breggie's arm strength is 81.1 or 25th percentile and his OAA is 94th percentile. Curtis Mead's lack of range makes his OAA 4th percentile! 

Mead's arm strength is 164th out of 179th for 2b/ss/3b. Breggie's is 117th. Not great, but better. Durbin is 119th. That arm can play at 3b. Mead's can't! He was dead last for all 3b's. 

I just think you're putting way too much stock into metrics about Mead's arm over very small samples.  Ultimately if the Red Sox think Mead would be about the same at 3B or 2B - and Durbin could play a good 2B - then they might as well try Mead at third.

[mvp 78]

18 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Hope he brings last years bat with him, and not the bat he’s used all his other years, which wasn’t very good. 

Mead too. 

[NHNative]

7 minutes ago, Old Red said:

I know you wanted this guy, and talked him up, but he’s a career.223 hitter, and nothing more much else outside of last year, so it’s still meh for me. 

No I get it. Everything is a crapshoot, but I just had a good feeling about this guy. Its how a roll.

[Old Red]

3 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Mead too. 

I agree 100% on Mead who until last year was just another journeyman.

[mvp 78]

3 minutes ago, WoxburyWommunityWollege said:

I just think you're putting way too much stock into metrics about Mead's arm over very small samples.  Ultimately if the Red Sox think Mead would be about the same at 3B or 2B - and Durbin could play a good 2B - then they might as well try Mead at third.

I've heard that the actual scouts don't like him in the IF. It's less about the metrics to me. The last time we heard about that was with Vaughn Grissom (245th out of 267th Fangraphs defensive rating last season).

[NHNative]

3 minutes ago, NHNative said:

No I get it. Everything is a crapshoot, but I just had a good feeling about this guy. Its how a roll.

And I feel the same way about Abreu, Rut, Durbin and Tolle and Rafaela.

[norbit]

36 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Nobody believes this. He's a terrible defender and always has been. No scout or other evaluator sees him as anything but a DH.

This is incredible if true, So the Red Sox traded a young pitcher for a DH that can't play the field.  WTF is Breslow doing?

[NHNative]

Also--there is a chance the locker room has decided Contrares needs to go.

[UtahSox]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

Romy 2b

Mead 3b

Anthony RF

Bauers LF

That's quite the fall from the defense the Sox had in 2026. 

Forgot to list EDLC at the most important position on the field shortstop…. Major major major upgrade.

[notin]

Not wild at all about this…

[notin]

21 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Mead too. 

Mead is much younger and was a much more highly-regarded prospect.  I have more faith in a player that breaks out at 25 than one that “breaks out” at 30…

[UtahSox]

1 hour ago, moonslav59 said:

I'm kinda surprised, although the money part fits perfectly.

He's not the "elite" bat some of us wanted, and if this add keeps us from spending to get one, it's not what we wanted.

He's seems best suited for 1B or DH. Do we move Willson to DH?

I thought moving Mead or Anthony to DH might happen.

So, one more pretty good hitter added to our list, yet we're still short the elite batter.

My sentiments exactly…. We need 1 elite bat. The Chaurio/Turang or the Junior Caminero. WC40 played that way for a bit in 2026. But we lack that guy.
In fairness in Free agency I don’t think that guy existed this year. But we still need to upgrade. This just feels safe impactful but safe impactful. 

[notin]

37 minutes ago, Old Red said:

I agree 100% on Mead who until last year was just another journeyman.

Like David Ortiz was until 2003?

[a700hitter]

2 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

He's not going to HR at Fenway. The epitome of a career year FA signing. 🙃

I haven’t looked at his spray chart, but I heard that he hit a number of his HRs to the opposite field and a number of doubles too.

[notin]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

Nobody believes this. He's a terrible defender and always has been. No scout or other evaluator sees him as anything but a DH.

I’m not wild about Mead’s defense, specifically his (lack of a) throwing arm.  But tha simply isn’t true.

Baseball America suggested his best position was 2b.  Fangraphs oddly said 3b.  Thats just two examples.

Mead isn’t going to make many highlight reels with his glove and noodle arm, and he might even ultimately settle in at 1b at some point in his career.  But not all scouts/orgs are saying “DH or nothing”. 
 

The Sox probably use him at 2b.  He does have weak range for that position…

[notin]

52 minutes ago, NHNative said:

Also--there is a chance the locker room has decided Contrares needs to go.

Or that they just needed a DH…

[moonslav59]

2 hours ago, drewski6 said:

Its game 7, they have a righty on teh mound? You want eaton or romy in the game? You dont.

I pinch hit for Romy. No problem.

Versus a LHPs, 200% I want Romy at the plate in any key situation.

[moonslav59]

To those who look at just recent numbers to project future production, you might like this one...

Only 5 players have a higher wRC+ than Bauers since Sept 1, 2025:

181 Alvarez

150 Ohtani & Rice

148 Alonso & PCA

147 Bauers

145 Caminero

141 Arozarena

 

[Old Red]

38 minutes ago, notin said:

Like David Ortiz was until 2003?

Huh? Huh? Ortiz had only been on one other team when the Red Sox got him, whereas Bauers, and Mead have been on many. Not even close to the same situation, or a journeyman.🙈