mvp 78

I've said all season that you can't play bad baseball and expect to win in the postseason. I've talked about the issues with errors long before now. I don't think it's the only thing to go by, but you can't hand wave it away and say "well, the METRICS say they were good."

852 vs RHP, 600 vs LHP Maybe he should have been a platooned more, I agree. Hard to have Abreu AND Duran in the same lineup with those splits.

Sandlin would definitely get picked based on his stuff. Compare his numbers to Slaten's.

Duran also led the team in PA's by 42. Third highest was 109 behind him. Fourth highest was 200 behind him. He had a worse OBP than 5 guys with 200+ PA's. There were 6 guys with better OPS's with 200+ PA's.

Teams aren't going to want to load up on Rule 5 guys prior to the draft.

I would have traded him last offseason. Sox didn't want to.

The trades could look better down the line, but they set the 2025 Sox back. Maybe the 2026 Sox too. Hard to say right now.

Narvaez great. Rafaela great. Abreu very good. I don't know why the metrics keep giving Duran such high marks. If you just look at the metrics, you'd think he's a great LFer. If you watch him play, you wouldn't trust him with a flyball to clinch a WS win. He has said that he doesn't want the ball hit to him during the game. Hamilton is also seen as a plus plus defender, but only plays parttime. Story has taken a huge step back in his defense and is now average to below average. Breggie is about average. Wong had a better than expected season. Romy was really rough at the beginning when playing 1b, but got a little better. Casas is awful. Rafaela should have his cleats in the grass only. Overall, I'm not worried about Story's defense, but it would be better at 2b. I think they'd be better off with Mayer at SS and Story at 2b. Find a solid 1b that can pick it a little, unlike the schlubs they threw over there in the beginning of the year. I'd trade Duran because he is just untrustworthy out there. An OF defense of Anthony/Rafaela/Abreu is one of the best in the league. I would NEVER play Rafaela anywhere but CF.

Maybe they should have kept Devers?

And we were told that the defense would be better now that Story and Breggie would be together. 🤔

3 of the top 7 highest error totals in the past 3 years. Not good!

Even if Giolito was healthy and Bello pitched a great game, they still lose because of a lack of offense and defensive miscues. Saying "they were outgunned because Gio was out" doesn't make sense. They didn't lose because of their pitching. "But they were playing backups!" Nate Eaton had a 1100 OPS in the series. Sogard went 833. The problem was the starters (Duran, Abreu, Rafaela, Romy, Lowe, Narvaez). The backups and the pitching were ok. It was the defense and the hitting IMO.

Yeah, they don't need more OFers right now. They will have a puzzle to fill at 3b/2b/1b/DH with a combination of inside and outside options. That's where the upgrades are desperately needed.

DD not making "the right offer?" What world do you live in?

🫠

I said all year that due to the high number of errors and bad baseball IQ that this team showed, that they didn't exhibit "playoff baseball." Once they got to the playoffs, those mistakes became magnified and they are now the reason the Sox are out of the playoffs. Having good defensive metrics is all well and good, but playing smart baseball is just as important IMO.

Defensive metrics like him a lot.

79-83 Wait until ‘27.

I didn’t think that about Breggie.

Could

Switch could to will. He has a MLB contract and won't be spending the whole season in AAA next year. He's also TERRIBLE at 2b.

I wasn't interested in Hoskins until I saw that. I think his swing profile would just pop at Fenway.

They moved Campbell off 1b fulltime, so it must not be a long term fit for him. I just don't have faith that Casas will be ready to go early on next year or at any point.

Moving Yoshida helps clear up some of the issues this roster has? Maybe an offseason helps Hicks? IDK.

Top 10 AAV SP contracts from last season: Burnes 0.7 fWAR (11 starts) Snell 1.9 fWAR (11 starts) Fried 4.8 fWAR Eovaldi 3.7 fWAR (22 starts) Flaherty 2.5 fWAR Severino 2.5 fWAR Manaea 0.4 fWAR (12 starts) Martinez 2.1 fWAR (24 starts) Buehler -0.3 fWAR Kikuchi 2.5 fWAR One contract really worked out, a few were good to decent and 4 that leave something to be desired (though Snell is at least pitching in the postseason).