mvp 78

Dalbec with 6 K’s, HR, 1B in first two games is wild.

Speier: Pillar and Osich were the lone Red Sox deals today.

In a normal year, this team makes money hand over fist. Rebuilding will only help Henry's bottom line.

Strained rib cage. Those are always simple to recover from!

We've always been at war with the war on WAR.

The Mets are showing interest in Red Sox catcher Christian Vazquez, per reports from Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (via Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com) and Jon Heyman of MLB Network. While the Mets have gotten off to a subpar 15-19 start, they’re nonetheless in the playoff race in a wide-open National League. And catcher is one of the areas they’re looking to upgrade, as Heyman reports that they’re hoping to at least add depth behind the plate. The club was previously in on Jason Castro before the Padres acquired him from the Angels on Sunday, according to Heyman. Mets catchers have collectively logged middling offensive numbers this year, largely because starter Wilson Ramos is amid one of the worst offensive years of his career. On the other hand, the normally light-hitting Tomas Nido has posted impressive production, though his success has come over a paltry 26 trips to the plate. With Ramos likely to become a free agent after the season (New York has a $10MM option or a $1.5MM buyout decision), the Mets could be in the market for a new No. 1 backstop during the winter. In acquiring Vazquez, though, they’d seemingly remove the need to pursue catchers in the offseason. Vazquez, after all, is controllable next season for $6MM and has a $7MM option (or a $250K buyout) for 2022. As such, there may not be any urgency for Boston to move Vazquez, but the out-of-contention club is at least open to it. Vazquez, who turned 30 on Aug. 21, hasn’t hit much since his career began in 2014. He seemed to turn a corner in that regard last year with a .276/.320/.477 line and 23 home runs in 521 plate appearances, but he has slumped to a .252/.286/.411 line with four homers in 112 PA this season. At the very least, though, Vazquez is an accomplished defender – one who has thrown out a whopping 40 percent of would-be base thieves this season and during his career.

WAR on people who don't know how to start new threads.

@SoxNotes Yesterday was the 3rd time Rafael Devers had 4 hits and 2 HR in a game. The only players with 3 such games before turning 24 years old are: Mel Ott (3; 1929-32) Al Kaline (3; 1955-57) Rafael Devers (3; 2018-20) Carlos Correa (3; 2016-17)

@redsoxstats With McAdam reporting earlier this week the Sox were willing to get creative with money, and the luxury tax being reset, I wonder if there is talk about eating a bad deal to buy a prospect today. Odor due $28m over the next two years, but only $8.2m AAV. Texas trying to dump him.

Devers: -.1 fWAR JD: -.5 fWAR Beni: -.5 fWAR Osich/Godley/Walden/Barnes/Webber/Brewer/Springs all have worse fWAR than Devers.

Padres are getting swept in the first round.

No accounting for clutch, right?

It depends on if Chaim thinks he's going to compete next season. If he does, Perez stays. I think Vaz stays just because the Sox don't have someone behind him.

@alexspeier While Red Sox pitching prospect Bryan Mata left today’s Alternate Site outing in Pawtucket due to a lower body injury and had to be helped off the field, the initial diagnosis is a hamstring cramp. He’ll be re-evaluated tomorrow. Not great!

@alexspeier Zack Godley is the first Red Sox starting pitcher this year other than Eovaldi or Perez to record an out in the 5th inning.

I don't think any trade is made today that hasn't already been discussed. I doubt GM's call up rando GM's on 3pm today and discuss trades that have never been brought up before, especially when prospects will be involved.

I'd be surprised if they brought up Duran. More likely that Lin just gets a lot of run in the OF. They should trade Pillar AND JBJ. Anything not nailed down for 2021 should be on the sidewalk.

If JBJ is traded, wouldn't OF just be Verdugo/Pillar/filler? I don't see Verdugo getting platooned at all. With Beni out, there really aren't enough bodies to create a logjam if one guy goes. I wonder if they end up trying Chavis in LF?

The most important thing was the tax reset. The draft is just a crap shoot.

At this point of the season, I don't think a GM is focusing on fixing one position, especially CF. It's about plugging holes on your bench. I think that's why Pillar has a leg up.

Home uni's for sure.

Pillar's bat is definitely the reason he'd be dealt. He has a very solid glove and doesn't kill you when he's in the lineup. Perfect plug and play guy for a team going to the playoffs.

Pillar has much more recent experience in both RF and LF in the past two years. I'd argue that while JBJ's arm is stronger, that his defense over his career is not that much different than Pillar's. Though it's hard to know how much of an effect Betts in RF had on his overall defensive value. Offensively, Pillar is far superior to JBJ this year.

Pillar is a better trading chip than Brasier.

The only good thing about the Dodgers was the stadium, the crisp uni's and Vin Scully. Fernando Valenzuela was dope. He's the only Dodgers player I've liked.