moonslav59

Realistic- "best case scenario"- he could start 12-18 games.

When we traded Nomar for OCab, I told my friends the trade would "bring us a ring." I felt we were just a plus defensive SS away from being the favorite. Later, the rumors that he was hitting on other players' wives (and more) was widely thought to be the reason he was not brought back.

Red Sox, Matt Barnes Discussed Extension Prior To Shutdown By Steve Adams | December 4, 2020 at 3:03pm CDT Red Sox righty Matt Barnes will be a free agent after the 2021 season, but the 30-year-old tells Alex Speier of the Boston Globe that he hopes to spend his entire career in Boston. To that end, Barnes revealed that he and the organization had discussed a multi-year deal that would have extended his time with the Red Sox “beyond next year.” There’s no indication to this point that the two sides plan to resume talks, although Barnes makes clear that he’s plenty open to the possibility. All 30 big league clubs were impacted by the lack of gate revenue in 2020, and all are still waiting to ascertain just what the 2021 season will look like in terms of fan attendance, length of season and other factors. Barnes saw his strikeout and walk rates both trend in the wrong direction in 2020, although as Speier points out, he finished the season with a strong showing inSeptember. Barnes’ track record on the whole in Boston is quite good, and the past four seasons in particular have seen him assume a prominent role in the team’s relief corps. Dating back to 2017, Barnes owns a 3.83 ERA and a 3.30 FIP, having averaged 13.2 K/9, 4.6 BB/9 and 0.99 HR/9 with a 49.1 percent ground-ball rate. From 2018-19, only four of the 108 qualified relievers in MLB struck out a greater percentage of batters faced than Barnes: Josh Hader, Edwin Diaz, Aroldis Chapman and Kirby Yates. Barnes and the Red Sox agreed to a $4.5MM salary for the upcoming season earlier this week, so his earnings are locked in barring the restructuring of that salary as part of a longer-term deal. Any such contract talks aren’t likely to happen in the near future, however. Extensions are most commonly negotiated during Spring Training even under normal circumstances — hence last spring’s talks referenced by Barnes — and that figures to be more true than ever as teams wait to gather information that will determine their revenue streams in 2021. If Barnes does eventually reach the market next winter, he’ll join what looks to be a rather weak class of free-agent relievers. Assuming a solid season in 2021, Barnes could make a case for himself as one of the more appealing names on the market. -MLBTR

I'm not sure that's the "best case," but it could be what happens.

I think his defensive decline, likely injury-related, was the final straw.

I meant to say $23M, and my research shows we paid him a $4M bonus, $8M for year one and $11M was sent to the Braves as part of the deal that brought us Andy Marte, who was later flipped with Shoppach for Crisp, Riske and Josh Bard. That was big money back in 2005.

I think we ended up paying something like $33M for 1 year of Renteria.

Exactly, but this fits right into my hopes that we get some promising non 40 man roster players for the scrubs we were about to release anyway. Maybe none of these guys even get 1 PA in MLB, but it's nice to increase the amount of hopeful players in our system.

I like this viewpoint and agree. You'd have to be incredibly physically gifted to make the bigs while being a person who wilts under pressure..

Something like 16 starts: 3.50 and 90 IP would be nice. I would not be surprised, if he comes back looking as sharp as ever. The guy is a fierce competitor. I'm more hopeful about 2022 and Chris Freakin' Sale!

Very well said. Also, players can change, but once they are labelled, sometimes it is hard to change the fan's perceptions, and maybe being called a "choke" even adds to the pressure.. Josh Beckett was on his way to becoming one of the greatest "money pitchers" in MLB history, then ooops! (He's still got a pretty awesome record, in total.) David Price was the poster boy for not being a "money pitcher," then ooops! Barry Bonds. To me, to many definitive judgements and assumptions are made on tiny and scattered sample sizes, like the playoffs. It's not that I don't believe some players handle pressure better than others. To me, it seems rather obvious some would likely do that or not do that and some do and some don't, but even this can change as a player learns, grows, experiences or matures. If someone appears to be a "choke," he may not actually be one due to the randomness of a small sample size. If the pressure did cause a player to "choke," he may not be one going forward.

My question has been answered.

It's pretty sad to look at the Pirates' budget and think they are looking to cut costs. I'm with you on Taillon, and think he is probably the best option out there for us, assuming Pitt does want to move him. I'm okay with Musgrove, but Taillon is the better prize.

He could have had the wrong perception about himself. Even if true, it does not mean he will continue to wilt under pressure, going forward. Many people learn from past experiences. (Many don't, but as the saying goes, admitting the problem is the first step towards recovery.)

LOL. I had a good comeback, but I'll leave well enough alone.

I wasn't expecting we'd get anything for some of our bubble players, and for all we know, Koss might amount to squat. He does seem to have promise, so I like getting something for someone I thought we'd just release.

This makes me wonder what did their GM see in Aybar?

Beni & JD offer much more hope than the vacant CF position, a 2B position with 4 AAAA players fighting it out to be the starter and at least 3-4 huge gaps in our pitching staff. If we fill those slots first, and Henry is okay with spending on insurance against slots we already have filled, then fine, but I'll believe that, when I see it.

Not bad, then, for Aybar, who I had us DFA'ing at some point, soon.

No way we spend large on Ozuna. If we spend big, it will be on pitching. I could see Rosario & Marisnck/Pillar.

MLBTR reports: The Rockies announced that they have acquired left-hander Yoan Aybar from the Red Sox for infielder Christian Koss. Aybar, now 23, didn’t produce much as an outfielder through 2017, which led the Red Sox to move him to the mound. With a fastball that can reach triple digits, Aybar pitched to a 4.61 ERA with 11.1 K/9 and 6.5 BB/9 in 56 2/3 innings between the Single-A and High-A levels in 2019. Koss, who will turn 23 in January, was a 12th-round pick of the Rockies in 2019 who hasn’t gotten past rookie ball. He did perform very well there during his first pro season, though, as he slashed .332/.447/.605 with 11 home runs in 238 plate appearances. Looks like we freed up a 40 man roster slot- not that we really needed to.

MLBTR reports: The Rockies announced that they have acquired left-hander Yoan Aybar from the Red Sox for infielder Christian Koss. Aybar, now 23, didn’t produce much as an outfielder through 2017, which led the Red Sox to move him to the mound. With a fastball that can reach triple digits, Aybar pitched to a 4.61 ERA with 11.1 K/9 and 6.5 BB/9 in 56 2/3 innings between the Single-A and High-A levels in 2019. Koss, who will turn 23 in January, was a 12th-round pick of the Rockies in 2019 who hasn’t gotten past rookie ball. He did perform very well there during his first pro season, though, as he slashed .332/.447/.605 with 11 home runs in 238 plate appearances. Looks like we freed up a 40 man roster slot- not that we really needed to.

Yes. He's 29. His average HRs per 162 games over the last 2 years is 38. That's valuable.

His .310 career OBP (.305 from 2019-2020) is rather frightening, but he's got 30 HR power.

Nice!