mvp 78

He hit 444/941/1385 in Portland last year. He's good enough for AA. He had a 979 OPS in AAA. Let him tear the cover off the ball there. Send the fans home happy.

Anyway, some MiLB guys I follow are stating that Santana is just coming to play in AAA as the AAA OFers are wearing down. Downs is going to be sent down soon as Arroyo is on his way back shortly.

The talks about Dominic Smith died off pretty quickly.

I think I remember him hitting one homerun and then striking out every other time he was at bat when I watched him in 2021. He may have played a little 1b and OF. Does it say more about Bloom needing guys after a fire sale or just that Kiké's injury is going to be longer than originally planned?

SoxProspects 5th-round pick Noah Dean signing his contract.

That stuff may be funny in retrospect, but it's not funny now. I think it's easier to laugh at silly MiLB signings.

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/the-2022-replacement-level-killers-catcher/ After dipping to a 77 wRC+ and 0.4 WAR last year, Christian Vázquez has rebounded, hitting .277/.323/.431 (108 wRC+), which in Boston’s spotty lineup makes him a decent choice to fill in at first base on days he’s not catching; he’s made four starts there. No longer a framing star, his defensive work is trending closer to average, and his 1.0 WAR ranks 19th among players who have spent more than 50% of their time as catchers. The Red Sox’s problem here isn’t Vázquez so much as it is his backups, as Kevin Plawecki and Connor Wong have combined for -0.4 WAR at the position. Nearly all of that is on the former, who in 104 PA has hit .187/.286/.264 (58 wRC+), pretty much canceling out the meager gain from Vázquez filling in for the unproductive tandem of Bobby Dalbec and Franchy Cordero at first. The 26-year-old Wong, who’s made just nine trips to the plate this year, projects to provide more offense (.238/.285/.406 via our Depth Charts) and can play solid defense, a combination that at least merits a longer look. Amid a 2–11 skid and a 6–17 July, the Red Sox have fallen below .500 (49–50), five games out of the third AL Wild Card spot but still with a 22% chance of making the playoffs. Their slide makes it increasingly likely that they’ll be sellers at the deadline. If they go that route, Vázquez, a pending free agent, would have plenty of potential landing spots, as you can see from this list. I hadn't really considered a trade of Vaz, but he does have some decent value to teams like the Cardinals, Astros and Mets.

Mitch 2bags is just sitting at home right now! Please, Bloom! He did already bring Grullon back. With Devers out, they need to trade for Yairo Munoz. He could get Taylor Motter back really cheap...

Post trade deadline Sox wackiness? It's going to be lots of "who are these guys" conversations with my family whenever a Sox game is on later this season.

1. Yup, lack of production from 1b and OF really sealed the deal on this season. Kiké and Casas getting hurt really disrupted the plan. 2. Xander was good. Story was just ok. Maybe Story can bounce back next season? IDK. He's just a very volatile hitter. 3/5. Hoping on Wacha/Hill/Paxton/Sale was quite the role of the dice. Even Eovaldi comes with lots of health concerns. SP's had great health last year and the luck reversed this year. 4. I agree. The bullpen pieces just weren't there, especially early on in the season. RIP Barnes and Taylor.

@redsoxstats The J.D. Martinez – Dodgers rumor floating around is from their flagship radio station postgame show. It only said that LA "is kicking the tires" on JDM and other right-handed bats.

I thought he'd be a lights out closer with the FB/SL combo. It hasn't worked that way. He's been mediocre.

As I said above: "Sox originally had an agreement to trade Beni for Lee/Cordero straight up, but were able to expand the trade because they knew Mets had lots of interest in the deal. I look at it as two separate deals."

If Perez signed here, Plawecki's CERA regression would have tanked Perez' career. He'd be pitching in Japan by now.

And it was Danny Freakin' Santana, which is why I made the font larger. Former Sox get a bigger laugh. He's a true Bloom guy tho!

Huh? I think it's hilarious that he's brining Danny Santana back. Santana has zero professional AB's this year.

He's 28 next season and doesn't have any remaining upside. Let him go. I'd consider calling up Mieses and Ronaldo Hernandez to see if their bats can continue to stay hot. Both have hit very well since June 1.

They have to decide between one of Houck and Whitlock and go for it full hog this offseason. They can't toe the line the way they did last offseason.

The FIP and OPSa shows it's not playing up as much as it should.

Conveniently ignoring the Paxton signing.

It makes sense to keep throwing Duran out in CF. It doesn't make any sense to do that with Cordero at 1b and Arroyo in RF.

@mlbtraderumors Red Sox, Danny Santana Agree To Minor League Deal

Pretty much. Beni has a below average sprint speed for LFers. Out of the top 50 LFers, he's 31st. Out of 50, he's 24th running to 1b and he has the advantage of being lefthanded, just ahead of Verdugo. For defense, he's behind Verdugo for OAA and runs prevented. I don't think you'd get many Sox fans to say that 2022 Verdugo was a great baserunner or fielder. LOL.

Only 3 first place finishes in 20 managerial years. .391 postseason record. He has LOST every playoff series he's been in.

Sox originally had an agreement to trade Beni for Lee/Cordero straight up, but were able to expand the trade because they knew Mets had lots of interest in the deal. I look at it as two separate deals.