SoxFanForsyth

Sad to see Ellsbury gone. But don't take the bait, Ben. Stay the course. Don't get in a bidding war like Theo. If it makes sense, pull the trigger but only then. Glad he's the GM right now because if it was me, I would overpay for Kemp tonight.

I would have loved to have Hanigan for 3 years, starting this year and then taking the young kids under his wing over the next couple years. With David Ross gone after next season, it would have been a perfect fit. Hanigan would still be able to catch 90+ games in 2015 while Vazquez gets accustomed to the big league schedule. Would have been a great fit.

Hanigan going to the Rays, according to Rosenthal. What a day.

I'm not cherry picking articles. I'm picking the most recent and relevant one. Guess what. If 34% of players picked him as their most hated player, there's a very good chance that quite a few of those guys played for the Red Sox because, wait for it, this is going to blow your mind, THEY WERE HIS OPPONENTS UNTIL ABOUT 20 MINUTES AGO. Will he change their opinion? Maybe, who knows. But as of right now, one of every 3 players doesn't like him more than anyone else in the MLB. There's a really good chance that 34% encompasses a handful of Sox players, too. Don't try to pull the wool over my eyes. He's already built his reputation. Whether or not players like him as a teammate is something we'll soon find out, but first impressions and preconceived notions go a very, very long way and he's rated poorly on both aspects.

34% of players who took part of the vote. That's not just 1 guy. A lot of players hate this guy. Either way, the deal is 1 year, 8.25mm. Low enough that you can DFA him if/when Vazquez is ready.

Priceless overreaction? I'm not sure about that. "(Pierzynski) likes to talk a lot of (stuff), and I've heard he's a bad teammate," one National League pitcher tells Men's Journal. "He's been (mean) to guys on his own pitching staff. Basically, if you haven't got five years in the big leagues, he treats you like you're a peasant. He's that kind of guy." Well at least we're not going to have a lot of young guys on the team over the course of this year like Bogaerts, Bradley, Barnes, Ranaudo, Webster, Workman, Cecchini, Vazquez... The things I like about this deal are few, but here they are: 1. It's a 1 year deal which means the Sox are banking heavily on Vazquez being ready by this time next year. 2. Pierzynski strikes out about 14-15% of the time so he makes very good contact, which is something that I absolutely despised about Salty. And Pedroia didn't show up on the "most hated players" listing at all. In fact, he showed up as the #3 player most players would want on their team. Meanwhile, Pierzynski shows up with 34% of votes as the most hated player, and the 2nd place guy (ARod) had 10%. Terrible comp between Pedey and AJP.

I wouldn't say they "land" him as much as "Got stuck with" him.

I have always hated him so don't listen to me because I'm extremely biased in this aspect, to be fair.

This deal makes me sick. I absolutely hate this deal. I hope so insanely much that Christian Vazquez tears up AAA and is up in the MLB by June.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/dailypitch/post/2012/06/aj-pierzynski-most-hated-player/1#.Up3YZdJDt8E He was voted as the #1 most hated player in the league. By other players. I guess 2012 didn't teach us anything after all.

Heyman reporting that the Red Sox have agreed to terms with AJ Pierzynski. I hope it's a 1 year deal and Pierzynski gets hurt on April 1st and I never have to see him play. Just awful. I absolutely despise this guy.

Dodgers will trade Kemp and sign Cano. That's my bold prediction of the offseason (or maybe just of the day)

Like I said a week or so ago, if Hanigan gets picked up by someone else, then we can get a little anxious about the C market, but right now I think that's their #1 target. Tigers got mauled in that trade of Fister. He's in his 1st year of arbitration and they got jack in return, particularly when he would have ranked as one of the better FA arms out there and certainly would have gotten at least 3/42 or 4/56 on the open market. I think the Red Sox offseason hinges on what Napoli does. Whether or not he comes back has the biggest ripple effect on who they go after (for example, Beltran in LF so Nava/Carp can play 1B. go sign Hart?). If Drew doesn't resign, you just slide Bogaerts to SS and WMB at 3B. Ellsbury gone? JBJ takes over. But Nap requires a bit more juggling.

For what its worth, Fangraphs Steamer projections have Vazquez at .249/.314/.362 next year (which is plenty of offense for next season, given his defense)

That was sarcasm. He will throw out 40%+ though.

Thinking out loud - if the Sox can't land Hanigan or Santana, I think I would rather see them push Vazquez a bit and let him hit .225/.295/.315 and throw out 98% of runners than to A) resign Salty or give the ropes to Lavarnway or Butler. Giving Vazquez a year of splitting duties with David Ross certainly wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. I would hate to have 3 rookies in the 4 up-the-middle positions, but that may be the best option.

Hearing Dexter Fowler's name on the block right now, with connections to some of the relievers for the Royals. Particularly to Tim Collins (LHP). He'd be an intriguing guy to at least check in on, see what they'd want from the Sox. He'd give them some nice insurance out in the OF if Bradley wasn't ready.

Great. Middlebrooks was riding a .335 BABIP and had a 5.5:1 K:BB rate. Santana, in 2012, had a .278 BABIP and a 1.1:1 K:BB ratio. WMB has got pop but doesn't take a walk at all and does not fit the offensive approach that the Red Sox preach. You're not losing much pop at all and you're gaining an enormous amount of OBP. Not to mention that this completely discounts 2013, when Santana was substantially better than Middlebrooks.

Interesting point. Cripple is a strong word, IMO. What kind of WAR would you expect someone like Brandon Workman to generate over a full season? For reference, he posted a 0.7 WAR over 41.2 IP this year. I would personally peg him as a 2-2.5 WAR guy. Now, Lackey last season posted a 3.2 WAR. So you're essentially losing 1 win from last year when you downgrade from Lackey to Workman. The next question is what kind of a WAR you can expect from Hanigan (or whoever the other C would be). Over the past 3 years, he's averaged a 1.5 WAR (1.8, 2.7, 0.0 over the past 3). He's coming off an injury, but I still think he can put up a WAR of 2.0. I like him. Carlos Santana, though, has averaged a 3.4 WAR over the past 3 season (3.3, 3.3, 3.6). So you're bumping your win total by ~ 1 win by getting Santana. Looking at it that way, in a vacuum, it would be a wash. But obviously you can't look at it that way. You have to question which way provides the most risk and reward. Lackey, IMO, is a bit of a regression candidate (FIP a tick higher than ERA). Hanigan coming off an injury also provides a great deal of risk. On the other side, Santana catching 100 games isn't ideal behind the plate, and trusting Brandon Workman to give you 30 starts is risky as well (though you also have Barnes right behind him ready to step in if needed). Personally, I would rather have Santana and Workman than Lackey and Hanigan, not just for this year, but for the years going forward. I don't think it's a downgrade in the short term, and I certainly think long-term it benefits the team.

See: Lincecum 2/34. The current market for pitchers is outrageous, which, given the Sox farm system, makes this the perfect time to address areas of need via trading Lackey.

How do you figure?? Santana's wRC+ would have been 4th best in the AL for 1B last year. It was 2nd best only to Joe Mauer for all catchers. He's on a 4 yr/$30mm contract. People on this site are undervaluing Santana horribly.

Not mortgaging the future. Have arms in Barnes, Webster, Owens, etc all coming through the system. Workman could start as the #5 man now and I'd be comfortable with that, and obviously Dempster is still here. I would say it's a pretty fair deal.

Wonder if the Guardians would trade Santana for Lackey + Ranaudo + Middlebrooks? Sox could re-sign Drew with the money saved on Lackey, Workman would be the #5 starter (IMO he's heaps better than Dempster). Rotation of Lester - Buchholz - Peavy - Doubront - Workman. Guardians would get a very strong young arm, an arm that would line up as their #1/#2, and a 3B potentially for the future. The Red Sox have Bogaerts at 3B, with Garin Cecchini only about 1/2 of a year away if depth is needed. Plus, if the Sox can get Drew on a 3/42 deal (or something like that), he would still have plenty of trade value if the Sox wanted to dish him at the deadline. The draft pick tied to him right now hurts his value a bit, so if Cecchini is ready, you can trade Drew and slide Bogaerts to SS.

Just to be clear, Santana was ranked as the #10 prospect overall by Baseball America the year he hit the big leagues. He also hit .268/.377/.455 last year. That OBP is elite for any position outside of maybe 1B, and is elite elite for a C. Maybe stop acting like you know more than Baseball America. I know you live out there, Fred, but it doesn't mean that you're smarter than everyone here about any player who has ever put on a Dodgers jersey or one of their affiliates. And it certainly doesn't mean that Santana couldn't have progressed significantly once he was traded to the Guardians. Point blank, Carlos Santana is extremely similar to Victor Martinez. Defense behind the plate is just ok, but offense for a C is elite. Offense is good enough to DH and play 1B. Santana's 135 wRC+ last season ranked as #22 overall in MLB last year. His wRC+ was tied with 3 players:Adrian Beltre, Allen Craig, Giancarlo Stanton. Maybe you've heard of them? They're pretty good. He was, offensively speaking, better than: Jose Bautista, Yadier Molina, Evan Longoria, Buster Posey. Can we please stop undervaluing this guy already?? It's ridiculous.

I'm not sure about that. I think the Mariners would be willing to give him an extra year over the Sox. Fortunately, I think Napoli is one of the few guys who values winning almost as much as he values money when he's looking at his options, so if it's Red Sox at 3/42 or Mariners at 3/45 with a $10mm option or something like that, the Sox may still have an edge. But I can certainly see the Mariners outbidding the Sox in terms of dollars and years. Not because they have more, but more because the Sox are a more attractive team to play for and don't feel the need to overpay.