mvp 78

O'Neilll is more of an entire body condition than a chronic leg condition. I was constantly disappointed with Bloom's offseasons, this one was even worse but the charge was led by the incompetent ownership group this time.

Sox are 27th in FanGraphs C Power Rankings. Connor Wong floundered in his first full season in the majors, where his proclivity to whiff and chase kept his OBP below .290. And while his maximum exit velocities sat in premium territory, he clubbed just nine homers in 403 plate appearances, too often hitting the ball on the ground. Wong’s struggles will open up more playing time for backup Reese McGuire, who lacks Wong’s raw strength but makes more contact and is more defensively sure-handed. Roberto Pérez also figures to enter this playing time mix, especially if either Wong or McGuire fails to meet their offensive projections. Pérez, who signed a split contract this winter, is one of the most talented framers in baseball, but has played just 26 games across the past two years due to injuries, including a surgery to his throwing shoulder that ended his 2023 season just a week in. We have him projected as an emergency call-up, but he could play his way into a much larger role. FanGraphs grades Pérez out better than Wong or McGuire per PA due to his defense. FanGraphs does not like Wong's defense even though he has a cannon for an arm.

Love it!

@tylermilliken_ Just updating Trevor Story’s offensive numbers this spring: 13 Games 39 PA .324/.410/.618/1.028 2 HR, 4 2B 12/4 K/BB 171 wRC+ Expectations are low, but a nice bounceback season from the RHB would be great for the middle of the lineup.

Considering the age and recent injuries to Martin and Jansen, Winckowski should definitely be held back a bit.

Also, the Eastern League only consists of 12 teams.

If he was above average, why are they flirting with pushing him to LF?

I had no idea what Vegas had them at.

If they have 77 win with two to play, do you root for one more win for them to get to 78 or do you hope they get to 79? Maybe hope they lose out and stay at 77?

@SmittyOnMLB Kenley Jansen won't pitch for the Red Sox on Monday as planned. Lower back tightness. Red Sox are being safe (don't think it's a big deal) and he might pitch tomorrow. He's still on track for Opening Day. Stop me if you think you've heard this one before.

It was a survey done by Baseball America of Eastern League managers as to who had the best tools. Yorke won for defensive tools at 2b. Mayer won for SS and Meidroth won for 3B.

You'd have Abreu on the Opening Day roster and then send him down after calling Rafaela up? Use someone else as a backup OFer?

They will need fluke health from the Judge/Stanton lineup... Is Judge ready for Opening Day?

@tylermilliken_ . @CarlosACollazo of @BaseballAmerica has released his first mock draft of 2024 and he has the Red Sox taking Duke LHP Jonathan Santucci with the 12th pick. Local kid from Leominster. He’s made 4 starts this spring with a 2.29 ERA, 16.0 K/9, and 4.6 BB/9.

He's not even an average 2B. He's worked on it and is better than what they initially projected, but it's not great. He's definitely much better than Valdez.

“We actually had a conversation with Wink. We’re going to transition him to the bullpen,” said Cora to reporters on Sunday. “He threw the ball well. We’re going to keep him as a multi-inning guy; I don’t envision him as a one-inning guy. It’s very similar to what (Garrett Whitlock) did and Kutter (Crawford). We’ll try to maximize his talent. When he’s out there, we’ll use him for multiple innings. Of course, the game is going to dictate what we do. “Had a conversation with him. Obviously, he was disappointed, which is great. That’s what we were talking about (regarding competition). If everything goes accordingly and he stays healthy and he throws the ball the way he’s supposed to, he should be with us.” It's fine if Winckowski can throw 2 innings out of the pen. He's definitely not a starter though. I'm glad they didn't try to go that route. Now if they could only figure that out with Whitlock..........

Verdugo: 550 OPS in Spring Training and still showing up late It's going to be fun to follow his escapades this year. Reaping. Sowing. What have you. The NY media will get on him harder than the BOS clown show.

@alexspeier Cora said the Sox want to see Yorke getting back to being an offensive-minded middle infielder. However, he praised his work at 2B - while also saying he moves well enough to likely get exposure to LF this year.

@alexspeier Cora said a platoon will be used at 2B. Reyes/Valdez?

@BOSSportsGordo Red Sox LHP Chris Murphy is getting an MRI on his elbow, Alex Cora says. The team will know more tomorrow, but obviously a concern. Another one bites the dust...

Hamilton is DFA'able. I think Sogard could have an impact this year. I really don't know what Yorke can do. I need to see something out of him in AAA. I know they've been trying him out in LF in ST. Has he had any in game time there?

I'm not super concerned about Rafaela either. If they just keep him in BOS, it's not a big deal. Michael Taylor just signed for 1/4 at the end of Spring Training. Unless Rafaela learns to hit, he's not going to cost a lot of money.

If you are the Oakland A's, Tampa Bay Rays or Pittsburgh Pirates, you care about years of control. If you are the Boston Red Sox, in a big media market with tippy top ticket prices, there is little to no reason to care about years of control for a player who likely projects to be a 4th OFer.

I think they'll be worse at the beginning.

Bello Games 1-15: 3.14 ERA, 3.94 xFIP Games 16-26: 4.50 ERA, 3.83 xFIP Games 27-28: 13.00 ERA, 6.13 xFIP Interesting how the xFIPs for Games 1-15 and Games 16-26 are very similar. Games 1-26: 3.71 ERA, 3.89 xFIP How luck evens out over a larger sample size.