moonslav59

Again, I'm driving the EHern for CF bandwagon. Also, trading for a CF'er or 2Bman is an option, right? Maybe 2-3 PTBNL for one? Is Jarrod Dyson still unsigned? He's still a plus defender even at his advanced age.

Yes, just because he's 24 does not mean he's ML ready. He will likely start the year in AA, so there is a chance he could jump from there to the bigs much later this year, but he'd have to really turn up his game. He also has several pitcher ahead of him-some of which are better than him. Mata and Seabold will surely get their chances before Ward, unless they get hurt. Houck is likely the #7, right now (#6 with Sale on the IL). Whitlock is a fixture on the 26 man roster, so he may get a look before Mata, Seabold or Ward do. There is also Gossett, Hart, Weber as well as Politi, German and Winckowski who could see a look before Ward.

Isn't it 3? Two from KC and 1 from NYM? As long as the prospects we get do not need to be on the 40 man roster, keep 'em coming! (We even have room for a couple on the 40, if Bloom would end his love affair with Brice.)

IMO, he is not "elite" anymore. He was, once, but not any more. As for highlights, JBJ was actually never all the flashy. He had a great first step, instincts and precise routes to where the ball was going. He wasn't about making diving plays all that often. Sure he had some great plays, especially in the triangle in CF. Nobody is saying he's below average. He still has plus range and a plus arm, but he's lost a step. He's not the same defender he was from 2013-2018. It's not just the metrics that have convinced me of his decline, but these sample sizes are clearly large enough to stand on their own. (I even threw 2018 into JBJ's more recent numbers.) JBJ 2014-2017 +8.8 UZR/150 and +47 DRS in 3753 innings 2018-2020 +3.4 UZR/150 and +2 DRS in 2855 innings He's only getting older and slower. This in no way takes away from his greatness in CF while on the Sox. He was my favorite Sox player since 2013. He's not worth $12M/2 and probably won't take that, even if we offered it.

Could be more of these types of players available in the next few days/weeks. I gotta think some will be better than Brice, Wilson, Walden or even Brewer and Valdez. I also wonder, if the Rays gave us something for Mazza & Springs, does Brice & Co. have trade value? I would think maybe Valdez & Brewer do.

GMs will pay for superb D and touch and go offense, but it's his D that has slipped to the point where his O comes under even more scrutiny. After all, we paid him a lot to play in 2020, thinking he was still a big plus on defense. He wasn't and isn't anymore.

He WAS- not IS.

Maybe our best minor leaguers by position are: SP: Houck, Mata, Seabold, Ward, Song/Groome/Bello RP: Aldo Ramirez, Bazardo, Brewer, Feltman, C Murphy/Whitlock/Winckowski C: Hernandez, Wong 1B: Casas, Chavis/Ockimey 2B: Downs, Yorke 3B: Potts, Munoz/Jordan SS: Arauz, Bonaci/Lugo LF: Duran, Decker CF: Jimenez RF: Rosario

Soxprospects.com projects these minor league rosters: AAA SP Houck, Mata, Seabold, Gossett, K Hart RP Brewer, Bazardo, Gonsalves, Espinal, MCCarthy, Weber, Feltman, Grotz, Walden C Pereda, Herrman 1B Chavis, Ockimey 2B Downs 3B de la Guerra SS Arauz LF Munoz CF Duran RF Gettys DH Puello AA SP Ward, Politi, German, Winckowski, Reys, Shugart (Groome, Bello A+) RP Simpson, Blair, Ort, Martinez, Crawford, de Jesus (Wallace A+), Gomez, Browning C Wong, Hernandez, A Rei 1B Casas 2B Netzer 3B Potts SS Fitzgerald LF Rusconi CF Rosario (Jimenez A+) RF Wilson DH Castellanos

He was invited to ST'ing. I think he is expected to be a SP'er at Portland (AA), to start the 2021 season. This does seem to be a make or break season for a few of our young pitchers, and little to no action, last year, bunched up a few players into one bigger group.

The metrics show he is minus at 2B, and the sample size is about large enough to matter. They also show he is way better in CF than anyone we've got and better that JBJ his last 2 seasons. If we can trust 2B to Arroyo, Chavis, Munoz, Arauz, then fine. We don't have much budget space to add a 2Bman, anyway, if we want to bolster our pitching staff now or at the deadline. We could always PH Renfroe or Cordero late in the game and move EHern to 2B, and slide OF'ers around to fill CF with Cordero or Verdugo. Kiki's Career UZR/150 and DRS 2B: -6.2 1263 innings (-26.9 in 2020 in 220 innings) +18 DRS CF: +8.4 in 1109 innings/ +4 DRS LF: +18.0 in 603 innings/ +14 DRS RF: +11.9 in 343 innings/ +3 DRS OF: +12.0 in 2055 innings/ +21 DRS 136 MLB OF'ers with 2,000+ innings since 2014: UZR/150 16.0 Kiermaier 15.8 H Bader 14.8 J Dyson 14.4 M Betts 13.4 A Judge 12.0 E Hernandez 21 DRS/2055 innings 11.6 B Hamilton 10.2 L Cain 10.2 J Gallo 10.1 B Buxton 9.1 L Martin 9.0 A Gordon 8.0 J Marisnick 7.4 J Lagares 7.3 JBJ 55 DRS in 7167 innings 7.3 E Inciarte Now, look at 2019-2020 (175 OF'ers with 300+ innings) 6. Hernandez +17.3 13. Betts +14.0 80. JBJ +0.4 Just say no to JBJ. He gave us some great years of defense and some very good hitting in spurts- some extended, some not so extended.

Maybe there is a reason JBJ has not signed, yet. Either he is not as good as we think he is, or he and his agent think he is worth more than what any GM thinks he's worth. (I wonder what his top offer has been, and if it is still on the table.)

JBJ already has diminished defensive skills. He's not the same as he was 3-5 years ago. The eye test and defensive metrics both show he was about average the last 2 years. He's only getting older. His bat is as hot and cold as ever there was one. Let's nit be fooled by a decent 60 game season, last year. He's not worth $7M/1, let alone $21M/3. I would pay him $5M/1, but we'd be right at the tax line with no flexibility to add pitching, later. If we sign JBJ, I'll be shocked. Note: before anybody goes off on me for not showing enough love for JBJ, nobody defended him more than I did over the last few slump-ridden seasons. NOBODY! The guy WAS a great defender. I love defense up the middle. Personally, I think E Hern is a better defensive CF'er than the 2021 JBJ, and certainly will be by 2022. We need pitching. Second is pitching. Third is pitching or maybe a 2Bman, so EHern cam play CF, and Cordero can platoon with Renfroe in LF. Just say no to JBJ. He's not taking $3M/1, which is about all we have to spend, right now.

They only “got better” if a bunch of 2020 do nothings do something

Dream on. You go by just last years numbers, yes Paxton and Happ gave nothing but look beyond one year. Also, if you by just last year, Taillon, Kluber and other you have gave NOTHING!

The will also put Sale on the IL, right?

Duran & Arauz Named to Carribbean All-Yourney Team The Red Sox organization featured the leadoff hitter for two of the four squads in the 2021 Caribbean Series, and both were honored with All-Tournament Team recognition. Jarren Duran continued to build upon his strong finish to the season in the Roberto Clemente (Puerto Rican) League, going 10 for 25 with a homer out of the leadoff spot for Caguas. He was 2 for 3 with a walk and a stolen base in a semifinal victory over Culiacan of the Mexican League. Duran followed with a 1-for-2 effort that included two walks in a 4-1 loss in the final to Aguilas. Jonathan Arauz was 7 for 26 from the top of the order for Chiriqui, representing Panama. Jeremy Rivera (2 for 11) and Jack Lopez (2 for 6) joined Duran getting playing time for Caguas, while Joey Meneses submitted a strong .261/.375/.478 line for Culiacan.

soxprospects.com... Scouting Report Update: Josh Winckowski On Thursday, the Red Sox traded Andrew Benintendi to the Kansas City Royals in a three-way trade that also involved the New York Mets. In return, the Red Sox received outfielder Franchy Cordero and two PTBNL from the Royals and RHP Josh Winckowski and a PTBNL from the Mets. For a detailed breakdown of the trade, check out the latest episode of the SoxProspects Podcast. The only prospect we know about so far is Winckowski, who was only just acquired by the Mets in January as part of the Steven Matz trade. Winckowski slots in at 32 in the current SoxProspects Rankings, and it was announced on Friday that he got a Non-Roster Invitation to Major League Spring Training. Here is our initial report on Winckwoski, compiled from data and reports as well as our scouting sources across the game. Please note that the report will be updated after we have seen him in person. Physical Description: Tall, sturdy frame. Minimal remaining projection. Mechanics: Throws from a high-three-quarters arm slot. Delivery is on the stiff side and lacks fluidity. Arm gets out of sync with his delivery and he does not effectively utilize his hips and lower body. Fastball: 93-96 mph. Tops out at 97 mph. Fastball command is below-average and needs refinement. Pitch lacks movement and does not miss as many bats as you would expect given his velocity. Will also show a sinker. Potential plus-to-better offering with refined command. Slider: 84-88 mph. Pitch will show hard, late break at its best. Struggles to consistently locate the pitch and get on top of it due to his delivery. Potential average offering. Changeup: 88-90 mph. On the firm side and lacks separation from his fastball. On occasion, will show good fade. Flashes average potential. Split-Finger Fastball: Reportedly started throwing at the 2020 Fall Instructional League. Career Notes: Acquired by the Red Sox from the Mets as a part of the three-team Andrew Benintendi trade in February 2021. Mets acquired him from the Blue Jays in January 2021 as part of a trade for Steven Matz. Originally drafted out of Estero HS (Ohio) in 2016 and signed away from a commitment to Florida Southwestern State. Spent three seasons in short-season and another in Class A, while still being relatively young for his level, as he climbed the ladder. Missed time in 2019 with a finger injury that lingered and impacted his stuff throughout the year. Was left unprotected and went unselected in the 2020 Rule 5 Draft. Summation: Intriguing arm who needs to work on his arsenal and command. Has the velocity you look for, but still learning how to pitch and harness his stuff. Secondary pitches lag behind and need significant refinement. Slider shows the most potential right now. Fastball/slider combination could profile well in a bullpen role. Needs to refine his arsenal and find a consistent secondary to have a chance to remain in the starting rotation.

Top FAs Remaining (as ranked by MLBTR) 11. Jake Odorizzi 21. Jackie Bradley Jr. 23. Taijuan Walker 27. Trevor Rosenthal 46. Rick Porcello 47. Cole Hamels Honorable Mentions: Brett Gardner, Shane Greene & Jeremy Jeffress Could Bloom have done better by waiting to score some of these guys at rock bottom discount rates, or will these guys sign soon for reasonable prices?

Thanks. That makes more sense, why he's #14 on our list. I still think TBR they could have gotten Mazza & Springs for nothing.

Bloom's farm building: (soxprospects.com's rankings) 2. Downs (with Verdugo & Wong in Betts trade) 9. Seabold (with Pivetta in Workman/Hembree trade) 13. Yorke (2020 draft) 14. Hernandez (Mazza/Springs trade) 16. Rosario (Moreland trade) 18. Potts (Moreland trade) 20. Jordan (2020 draft) 21. Wong (Betts trade) 24. Wallace (Pillar trade) 26. Araus (Rule 5 2019) 28. German (with Ottavino trade) 32. Whitlock (Rule 5 2020) 33. Winckowski (with Cordero & 3 PTBNL in Beni + cash trade) 35. Drohan (Draft 2020) 39. Koss (Aybar trade) 41. Bleis (IFA 2020) 2 PTBNL from KC (Beni) 1 PTBNL from NYM (Beni>K Lee) ML Roster Additions Still on the 40 Man Roster (non prospects): Verdugo (Betts trade) Richards (FA) Hernandez (FA) Renfroe (FA) Ottavino (Trade) Pivetta (Workman/Hembree trade) Cordero (Beni Trade) Perez (FA) Sawamuta (FA) Arroyo (Waivers) Plawecki (FA) Valdez (Waivers) Brice (Santos trade)

MLBTR... The Red Sox were among the teams in attendance for free-agent righty Chaz Roe’s bullpen session over the weekend, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com tweets. The 34-year-old reliever spent the previous three-plus seasons in Tampa Bay and is familiar with Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom, who used to be a Rays executive. Roe threw only 9 1/3 innings in 2020, but he was overall a solid bullpen option as a member of the Rays, with whom he pitched to a 3.54 ERA/3.73 SIERA in 119 1/3 frames.

Me, too, and I bet some services have it that way. Fabian might be a good get, too. Please, no HS kid.

Sogard misses the top 60. Didn't someone say Hernandez was top 10 on the Rays list?

I never count the Rays out, but on paper, but they took a big hit. The Jays improved but still lack pitching. The Yanks appeared to have stayed about even. The O's went from bad to worse. The Sox got significantly better but starting from last place makes it hard to determine where we end up.