mvp 78

Downs is sill higher because of proximity. He's close enough to at least be a utility guy going forward. Other guys around him may never make it at all. The position player right after Downs is Abreu, which makes sense as they don't really see him as an everyday MLB guy either. The pitchers right below Downs are generally pretty far away or are relievers. The other position players nearby are Ronaldo at 32 and Binelas at 33. I'd have Downs much higher than either of those guys too.

Signing two starting pitchers moves Paxton and Whitlock to the pen most likely. Pen: Jansen Paxton Whitlock Houck Schreiber Barnes Kelly Joely

Plausible? Yes.

What are you trying to say about what the previous GM did to the farm, moon?

Under Duke, they did have a 78-84 record in 97 and a .470 winning % in 94. They weren't a consistently good team until Pedro showed up.

Correa 35 Senga 18 Taillon 18 Jansen 16 Brantley 10 I'm coming out to 97ish. Are you expecting bigger savings on Taillon and Senga? I think I'd still nab Kluber over Taillon. Not sure if he'd be cheaper or not. I'd be really surprised if they are able to sign 2 SP's.

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/red-sox-take-a-chance-on-joely-rodriguez-with-incentive-laden-deal/ FanGraphs did a write up of Joely today. A deal full of incentives and options makes sense for a pitcher like Rodríguez. For one thing, he comes with minor injury concerns after a shoulder problem kept him off the Mets’ postseason roster. Finally, in 2021, Rodríguez got his chance at a full major league season, only to fall victim to an elevated .355 batting average on balls in play. His BABIP was 65 ticks higher than the league average, and it was the sixth-highest figure among relievers with at least 40 IP. He finished the season with a 4.66 ERA, despite his 3.43 FIP. His BABIP came down to earth in 2022, but a new problem sprung up in its place: bequeathed runners. Of the 28 runs attributed to Rodríguez’s line, 14 crossed the plate after he had already left the game. Relievers inherited 35 baserunners from him (17 in scoring position) and allowed 40% of them to score. For context, the average reliever allowed only 32% of inherited runners to score in 2022. Poor Rodríguez was left looking at a ghastly earned run average for the second straight year; his 4.47 ERA was more than a full run higher than his FIP and xFIP. Thus, the stats on the back of Rodríguez’s baseball card over the past two seasons — a 4–7 record, a 4.56 ERA, and two blown saves in three chances — don’t paint him in the best light. The underlying data, however, tell us he’s a much better pitcher than the traditional stats suggest. Since 2021, Rodríguez has a 3.33 FIP, which places him among the top 30% of relievers (min. 50 IP). His 3.44 xFIP positions him among the top 20%. With those numbers in mind, the Red Sox are betting Rodríguez has more success keeping runs off the board in 2023. The left-hander’s biggest asset is his ability to limit home runs. That should come in handy for the Red Sox, whose pitching staff finished last season with the second-highest home run rate in the AL. Rodríguez has allowed only seven long balls over the past two years, good for 0.65 HR/9 in 107 appearances. His secret is simple but effective: he keeps the ball on the ground and prevents hard contact. The article then compares Joely with the overpaid Robert Suarez.

Contreras had a bad year behind the plate. He doesn't frame well at all. His carrying tool is his bat.

Santana would be the primary DH, plays a good 1B and is a good platoon option for Casas against tough LHP. For 7M, I think it's a pretty good deal. I can see him being over 1 fWAR next season.

@redsoxpayroll Duquette 94-02 (no WS) Theo 03-11 (04,07 WS) Cherrington 11-15 (13 WS) Dombro 15-19 (18 WS) Bloom 19-present (no WS) Prior to Bloom, the last 3 won a WS in their first 3 years. Duquette didn't in 9 years. Not defending, just think the impatient vitriol is interesting right now.

My post was using sarcasm. Or not.

http://news.soxprospects.com/2022/11/soxprospectscom-end-of-season-rankings_0147498655.html 30-21 posted. 28. Ronaldo Hernandez Preseason Rank: 28 2022 Stats: 105 games, 439 PA, .261/.298/.451, 17 HR, 21 BB, 92 @ Worcester Hernandez is ranked 28th, exactly where he was at the start of the season.

Oh, so you want a guy that the Phillies CUT?!?!?

I think the Joely signing is fine.

Option 2. Why Abreu???

I mean, I hope Abreu wasn't the #1 outside target. It just doesn't make sense that he's the #1 target.

@JonHeyman Jose Abreu was Boston’s No. 1 outside target. The Red Sox met with him as soon as free agency opened. This better not have been the case.

No.

Pass. I'd rather have Bogey or Correa.

Montero Santana

Whitlock was a great pick, but without Andriese teaching him the changeup grip, maybe he's not the same pitcher? We'll never know. With all the reliever churn since Bloom has been here, the only success story being Schreiber is pretty scary.

If you are going to build through your farm, you need to either extend your players, replace them with in house options or trade them before their contract runs out. Players Bloom has extended: Whitlock Barnes? Players Bloom has replaced with in house options: Moreland>Dalbec>Casas Plawecki>Wong Wacha>Bello Misc Relievers>AAA squad Players Bloom as traded: Betts>Verdugo Extending QO's to Bogey and Eovaldi isn't going to replenish the farm the way trading them a year earlier would. Letting guys like JD walk out the door isn't going to help the future.

McGuire ended the year with the same amount of fWAR as Vaz had, but with 150 less PA's. He was 17th best in the league. That's starter level.

If he was hired to find gems in the rough, he's done a pretty miserable job of it.

German still isn't ready as he doesn't have any secondary pitches. Walter will be 26 and has 7 innings above AA. He has an MLB caliber arm, but I'm not sure it's going to be much better than what Winckowski showed in 2022. Murphy is probably a bullpen arm. He got hit around in AAA last season. I'm not sold that he's an upgrade over Crawford or Winckowski. The rotation is currently: Sale Paxton Bello Pivetta Whitlock If they add Kodai Senga or Corey Kluber, the rotation looks a little better. I'm not sure they can count on both Sale AND Paxton to be in the rotation. Then having Hill as a 2nd half signing would make sense for a stretch run.