moonslav59

Just a guess, but I think Sandoval either wins the 3rd base job or he won't be here. If ever there was a player "cut out" to be a DH, it would be someone like Pablo (at least vs RHPs). I do think he'll get a long look at 3B, and my hopes are not high on Shaw.

Speaking of Moncada, this from MLBTR... Red Sox prospect Yoan Moncada suffered a thumb injury while batting in the Arizona Fall League recently, per Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald. Moncada didn’t suffer any fractures but has been out for a few days already and could undergo further testing today. President of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski tells Drellich that while it’s the same hand that Moncada has injured in the past, the issue isn’t believed to be serious at this time. Maintaining his health will be a key for Moncada as he looks to force his way back onto Boston’s roster in 2017. The 21-year-old struggled tremendously in his brief September call-up, collecting four hits and striking out 12 times in 20 plate appearances.

I'm worried more about losing Papi, Ziegler, Koji and Taz.

I'm not an "expert" on the DH, but I know enough about it to know that not everyone has the mindset to be able to do it. Not sure where you went with the rest of this post, but I'm pretty certain that the Sox will know who will handle the bulk of the DHing by the end of spring training 2017, and it certainly won't be Swihart or Moncada, regardless of the fact that either of them could possibly be the "best option." I'm not sure what the argument is. I have agreed that at the end of ST'ing, Moncada and Swihart will be in AAA. It's about what happens if or when Pablo flops.

Shaw is a way better fielder than HanRam at 1B and Pablo/Moncada at 3B, so I don't see Shaw at DH. Shaw's fielding won't matter. What will matter is how comfortable Ramirez is at DH. If he isn't, he'll play first. Ramirez' bat is the overriding factor here by a mile. In limited time at DH, HanRam has done better than as a non DH. Who knows what his comfort level is at DH. Maybe he'd love it- maybe not. ____________________________________________________________________________________ I'm not sure why so many people are so dead set against using Moncada at DH (or Swihart). I get that it's not ideal, but they can still get work in at their position. IMO, if we need their bat, and we have nobody better, they'll be at DH whenever it makes us better. We went through all of this before, but there are several reasons why you literally never see young athletic players DH. Except in the minors, I guess. Look, I get the reasons why a young, stud athlete like Moncada shouldn't DH. He needs to learn a position and try to get to be a decent fielder there ASAP, and playing DH hinders that growth, but it doesn't look like he'll be a plus fielder anywhere for a while. Assuming we don't pick up a DH, I see Moncada as one of our best hitters out of the candidates to fill the DH role. Young looks to be the best choice vs LHPs, but it's easy to see Moncada as our best option vs RHPs, if not on opening day, then maybe after (if?) Pablo & Co. flop. If Moncada is raking it in the minors, but hasn't mastered 3B at AAA, will we keep him there out of some sort of tradition that needs to be upheld? ____________________________________________________________________________ I don't want to hash it out all over again, but I will make any wager that you would like to that Swihart or Moncada won't be part of any kind of DH platoon. They will play every day somewhere, at least to start the season next year. I'm 100% certain, barring injury. I have said the same as you. The season will start with Moncada in AAA, unless he magically proves he can field well enough. Look, they put Swihart in LF, and he got hurt. It's not like having him in LF is a big deal compared to DH, but I'm not even sure he can hit well enough to DH yet. Once the season begins, we may have to go through the depth chart to find a DH that works for us. It's not like Pablo has a lock on any role. It's not ideal for Swihart or Moncada to DH, but I think the odds are higher than you think, but maybe too low for me to want to bet on it, if I was a betting man. _________________________________________________________________ I think you also may not realize that there aren't a lot of guys who are cut out to DH. It's nowhere near as easy as most people think it is and the Sox won't keep it as any kind of revolving door for different players. It doesn't work. Where did I say it was easy? What makes you the expert on who is "cut out" to DH? 3B is not easy either, as Moncada proved this season. LF is not easy, as Swihart proved this season, and HanRam proved last season. I guess it was not only okay to throw HanRam in LF last year, but to keep him there through the ugliest ordeal I've seen in ages. Allowing him or others to play DH may be just what they want or like, and maybe they don't even know it yet. My guess is when Papi was put at DH, he probably would have preferred to stay at 1B. Somebody, somewhere might have said, "he's not cut out to be a DH".

I thought your statement that I responded to meant get EE and nothing else. We may not need an elite closer or something major, but we need enough to not really say "just sign EE and call it day." That's all I meant.

So, you're okay with our pen that sucked most of 2016 and is losing Ziegler, Koji and Taz?

Young-Pablo Young-Swihart Young-Moncada Young-HanRam (HR at 1B vs LHPs) I doubt we spend on a DH, unless it's Beltran.

Shaw is a way better fielder than HanRam at 1B and Pablo/Moncada at 3B, so I don't see Shaw at DH. I'm not sure why so many people are so dead set against using Moncada at DH (or Swihart). I get that it's not ideal, but they can still get work in at their position. IMO, if we need their bat, and we have nobody better, they'll be at DH whenever it makes us better.

I think they both have value. Maybe holding onto them longer may increase it.

Yes, there are, but there are also teams that don't have much. Plus, it's not all about your last year's stats, especially with prospects.

It's hard to value a DH. Papi did not get maid more than $16M and many of his deals were relatively short term. His age and fear of quick decline were probably factors, but I'm not sure what some GM will give EE. I'm guessing $110-110M/5- maybe $110M/6. I guess he might get "just" $80M/5 at worst.

Probably "absurd" is a alittle rash, I admit.

They still have value, but I'm done with both of them.

If we sign Beltran, when we play at NL parks, he can play LF, and Beni can sit or play CF as JBJ rests. If we sign EE, either EE or HanRam sist in NL parks. Not a big concern, but it is a factor to think about.

Yeah, well I thought what we gave the Padres for Kimbrel & Pomeranz was ridiculous, absurd and astronomical. Oops, I promised I wouldn't bring that up again. My bad!

That too!

Yeah, but winning can cure that.

I'd love to have him on our team, but he's like a 100 in catcher years, and his intangibles have not helped the cards get anywhere very special in quite some time (WS loss in 2013 and WS win in 2011). What's it going to take to get the Cards to trade him to us?

No, but I do think Tito had something to do with us losing. Had price let up 5 runs and we won, we wouldn't be talking about this. My point was that nobody should ever be surprised about anything in a one game sample size. Tito had nothing to do with how P & P pitched.

That was the part that was designed to get us Frazier. JBJ, Pom and Moncada would, in theory, bring us Q and Robertson.

There were several rumors about trading sale at the deadline.

JBJ is one of the most sought after players in MLB. Pomeranz shows a lot of promise. Moncada is MLB's number one prospect. I'd hardly call that a "grab bag". I agree on the idea of Q maybe not even being available, and I doubt I'd want to give the same package for one year less of Sale (if he's even available).

How about 4-0 2.98 over the second half of 2016? That's saying a little more, isn't it? I was surprised at Porcello after he was consistently good all year. I wasn't a bit surrpised that Price spit the bit. It's what he does, when there's a some pressure involved. It was one game. It shouldn't be all that surprising that a couple pitchers had off days facing a very tough line-up and manager. If Buch's option is picked up, he'd be my fill in option next fall, if they make the playoffs again. I think they will take his option and the 4-5 slots will come down to a battle between Buch, Wright and Pomeranz, where the "loser" ends up in the pen as an important player.