moonslav59

It's also about money. They are saving a lot of money by replacing Springer with JBJ. Replacing him with Marisnik may not go over very well with their fans.

I like what I hear about Jimenez, but no, I haven't seen any Sox prospects play since I went to a game in Portland, 3 years ago. I'm no expert on prospects, but I think, when all is said and done, he ends up better than Duran.

Nothing really new, here... https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/11/latest-on-chris-sale-eduardo-rodriguez-2.html

Like many Sox moves, Ramon had one of his worst years with us. ERA/IP 2.64/72 2.84/70 2.99/69 4.46/42 with BOS 2.62/29

Beltre played more innings with the Sox than Iggy. Iggy's innings with the Sox '11-'12: 112 SS '13: 279 SS, 240 3B & 12 2B TOTAL: 743 innings Beltre put in 1343 innings in 2010 with the Sox- nearly double what Iggy gave us over 3 partial seasons.

We have plenty of room for a few more rule 5's.

So, his years of team control will go into his 30's and all of his prime years.

Bogey is a huge plus, despite his defense not helping his overall value (WAR). I may talk down his D, but I love the guy.

Crisp had a .720 OPS with us and a .729 career OPS. JBJ had a .732 OPS career. (.727 from 2017-2019) Reese was decent from 1999-2000 (.727), but he fell off the cliff afterwards (.627 2001-2004> retired).

Iggy did not have enough innings in one season to make the list. Here are the overall from 2004 to 2020 (400+ innings). Did you forget Adrian Beltre at 3B? SS 19.8 Reese 18.2 Iggy 14.4 Gonzo 10.9 Drew 6.5 Cora 4.8 Aviles 3.0 Green 2.8 Lowrie 0.0 Bogey -1.9 Scutaro -5.0 OCab (weird) -7.9 Lugo -9.6 Renteria 2B 9.1 Pedey 8.4 Cora 2.7 Holt 1.5 Graffanino -4.1 to -5.0 Chavis, Nunez, Loretta & Bellhorn CF 9.1 Crisp 6.3 JBJ 4.6 Ellsbury 3.0 Betts -3.4 Beni -8.7 DMac -13.3 Damon -18.1 Kalish -27.7 Cameron (weird)

No, I have done many data dives that only compare how each catcher did with the same pitchers. Leon and others consistently got better results with the vast majority of the same pitchers samples. Granted, some pitchers had vastly different sample size numbers with specific pitchers, but almost all of the ones with larger sample sizes favored someone not named Vaz. Pitchers with the most IP with the Sox since 2014: Porcello (964) 4.19 Leon (576) 4.93 Swihart (122) 4.96 Vaz (211) ERod (699) 3.78 Hanigan (50) note: small sample size 3.98 Vaz (456) 4.05 Leon (118) 4.44 Swihart (75) Price (588) 2.96 Leon (204) 4.27 Vaz (360) Sale (520) 2.79 Leon (436) 4.61 Vaz (84) Buch (423) 2.83 VMart (241) 3.01 Leon (155) 3.95 Salty (207) 4.44 Vaz (118) Kelly (359) 3.23 Vaz (98) 4.48 Swihart (74) 4.63 Leon (56) 4.83 Hanigan (91) Barnes (337) 3.81 Vaz (158) 3.83 Leon (99) The ones where Vaz did better have much closer differentials, except for Joe Kelly. He gets blown away with Porcello, Price, Sale and Buch. Their results are staggering! It doesn't seem to matter who catches for ERod & Barnes.

Lugo was actually pretty good defensively, until he got hurt and lost a step. He had plus range that more than made up for the unforced errors. When he lost that step, he became a net minus. The best Sox SSs by UZR/150 by year only since 2004 were (400+ innings): 19.8 Reese '04 14.6 Gonzo '06 9.9 S Drew '13 8.7 Cora '06 4.7 Aviles '12 3.0 Green '09 2.6 Bogey '15 1.7 Scutaro '11 1.3 Bogey '18 0.8 Bogey '19 -0.6 Lugo '07 (Worst: -9.6 Renteria '05) FYI: 2B in our ring years: 7.6 Pedey '13 4.2 Holt '18 4.1 Pedey '07 -6.2 Bellhorn '04 CF 25.3 Crisp '07 8.8 JBJ '18 1.4 Ellsbury '13 -10.0 Damon '04

To me, the full "defensive value" of a catcher is very hard to quantify, especially things like "getting the most out of the staff" or CERA type data, framing pitches, blocking passed balls and WP's and more. Time and time again, Vaz has under performed with pitchers when compared to our other catcher. I like Vaz, but I don't see him as an overall plus on D, when everything not having to do with offense is factored in.

"Truther?" Maybe "Alt-truther" fits better. (LOL)

No, but $5M, in today's depressed market can get us someone like Perez, or add to a $10M pitcher getting us a $15M one. If our budget can be $19.9M over the tax line, then I['m fine with taking a few gambles. However, I think there are better ones than Sanchez out there.

This is one reason I am open to seeing what return we could get. I'm not for pushing to trade him, but maybe someone offers us a nice package in return. Defense up the middle is a big priority. We do not have a great defensive catcher. 2B is an open slot. CF is an open slot.

In total agreement. As a teacher who has worked at 4 different schools in 13 years and several companies outside the educational profession. The principal/boss makes a huge difference.

Agreed. I'm thinking just having Cora back will make watching more enjoyable.

He's ranked 32 out of 53 2Bmen in UZR/150 from 2018-2020 (600+ innings). It's -0.9. His -3 DRS ranks him 34th. He's certainly not a plus on defense, at 2B, but the numbers show he's far from the worst. I can't recall watching him play at 2B, at all.

I totally understand where you are coming from.

Is that OF'er any better than replacement value? (I'm asking, because I really do not know.) If it wasn't for the money, I'd do the trade. The fact that Sanchez could be a 2 or 3 catcher adds enough value to tilt it his way. I would not take money from the pitching budget in hopes Sanchez regains his offense, although I like his chances better than Chavis.

41 (36 GS'd)

I'm not all that optimistic about 2021, either. We'd need a lot to happen to make the playoffs and even more to be a top contender. I do think some other factors could come into play that could boost our chances, beyond what you mentioned here (or instead of them). Devers could be better than even his 2019 season. Bogey could put up a monster year. Dalbec is a bit of a wildcard, who could surprise. There is not much on the pitching staff that jumps out and says, Maybe this guy could..., except maybe DHern & Houck. We have to hope for incredible good luck with health, especially Sale, Eovaldi & ERod and that the vast majority of the players Bloom adds come through for us. I think it will be a fun season to watch.

Yes. Fenway's RF is more important than many other teams, but SS, C and CF, with 2B not far behind are the top 4.

I admitted I did not take a strong position on calling up Devers- one of the few times I sat on the fence. I'm no expert on prospects. I have my opinions, and I loved Devers from the start. I have never had a beef with Sox management's decisions on calling up or not calling up prospects. I did think they rushed Bogey to learn 3B too quickly, but it was an emergency. I don't recall the Devers for Quintana trade suggestion, but I'm not doubting your detective work. There are times, I say, "I'm not sure I'd do this deal, but..." I'm sure I could go back and find 100 times more glowing statements on Devers by me... much more than most posters early on. I was part of the "maybe he'd be better at 1B brigade."