moonslav59

Maybe JD Martinez?

A weak arm is one thing, but throwing the ball away is worse. I still think Story is a plus on D. I'm not sure Mayer is better, but if he is, I'm for the swap.

I don't disagree. I just don't know how good Mayer is on D at SS, just yet. When you read scouting reports that talk of positional; changes, I woner.

Mayer is a better defensive SS than Bogey, and Story played 2B for him. I know this is different, but let's do what is best for the team. (Note: I'm not sure what alignment is best, and if it's close, I'd keep Story at SS and have Mayer at 2B.)

Just what we need. LOL

If he's good enough, the closing job can be his, so yes. He fits the criteria you suggested.

It is concerning to watch Story's arm issues. I'm not sure moving him to 2B is the right choice. I do think he'll make up for the arm issues by getting to balls most SS don't come close to getting, but he can't have a throwing error every 2 games, or worse. He has not played 2B, this spring, so I do not think that is being considered.

and Criswell.

Yes, there are many factors that go into choices like these. The keeping of as many options in the system for as long as possible may be more important than the extra year of control thing. Anthony, Campbell and Mayer offer great depth to the ML roster without needing to be on the 40. That's like having a 43 man roster. Players who signed minor league deals, and can be stashed in AAA without having to expose the to waivers have real value, too. Teams often choose lesser players to be on the 26, because they have no options or because choosing a non 40 man player to make the team would involve moving someone off the 40 and taking away an option. Now, we have about 3 pitchers who can be added to the 60 Day IL. That could give us a 2 month benefit of adding someone we need, but we probably will only do this for players we want on the 26 or who we might lose, due to an opt out clause, or who may need to pass through waivers. These are not always the best non roster players, but they are good enough to not want to remove from the chocies Cora & Brez have. The level of ML readiness is always up for debate, and some seem to think they know who is ready and who is not, better than Brez & Co. There are also various levels of ML readiness- like ready on D but not on O, or this kid might need a lot of time to adjust, but he looks ready, and on a team looking to compete, "time to adjust" could mean losing a game or two. Waiting to promote may or may not work out, but there are always questions. How good the player(s) you have already matters, too. We see a lot of various opinions on how good a DHam-Romy platoon is at 2B. Some just plain do not like platoons. Some think 2024 was a fluke for both DHam & Romy, despite the fact that they brought a stability to a position that has really sucked for 2 seasons, and not been very good for over 5 seasons. Is the step up, if it turns out to be that, worth adding Mayer or Campbell to the 40 & 26, instead of someone else, or instead of holding off, in case a key injury forces another need for a different player addition. The situation with Anthony has several factors at work, too. A Duran-Rafaela-Abreu OF looks to be one of the best defensive OF's in a long time. Ref vs LHPs is one of baseball's best split batters, and offers relief to Abreu, who has struggled mightily vs lefties out of the gate. Yoshida may not be capable of playing OF, but in Fenway, LF is often used to hide a DH-only type player at that position. He is depth, whether we like the idea or not. Romy and DHam can play OF, for a short time. Adding Anthony looks like an almost sure upgrade, but the word almost is key, and losing other options to add him, might comeback to bite us. Do we bench a GG OF'er who kills RHPs (Abreu?) Do we bench a kid like Rafaela who seems to have immense potential? We are not benching Duran. (I keep repeating that Ref needs to start every game vs LHPs, but not everyone agrees.) How sure are we that Anthony will be much better than Rafaela or an Abreu-Ref platoon in 2025? It's a risk-reward choice.

MLBTR has a poll on who should start at 2B. The results: 35.5% DHam 33.5% Mayer 31.0% Campbell They asked "Who should..." not "Who do you think will...)

That should have been something scouts knew. Had Yoshida been signed to $7M x 5, we'd not be so critical, and he might be gone by now.

What makes Ceddanne's high K rate stick out is the low BB rate. 2023-2024: K%-BB% 34-11 O'Neal 31-6 Duvall 28-6 Wong (23-6 in '24) 27-13 Casas (32-12 in '24) 27-3 Rafaela (26-3 in '24) 25-8 DHam (25-7 in '24)

I think DHam has the lead, right now. Mayer is second. Campbell starts the season in AAA. Romy is DHam's platoon partner. If Mayer is not the 2Bman, he will start in AAA, too and not be added to the 40, until he's penciled in to start at the big level. If it was my choice, I think I'd go with Mayer.

No, but we have 3 pitchers we can add to the 60 Day IL to open a slot.

DHam is a decent player. Plus D at 2B. .729 vs RHPs Can steal 50+ bases.

without Rafaela, too!

Priester. Fitts seems like he's earned a slot.

It's a nice part of what DHam brings to the table.

I'm thinking Newcomb is the 5th starter.

That was a nice throw. DHam got the nod at 2B, tonight. Big decisions loom.

Got it. I agree, but I'm thinking DHam might get the opening day call. I'm not sure how much these guys are looking at the extra year of control issue, or how much they trust the DHam-Romy platoon numbers after June, last year are projectionable.

Jansen put us through some tough times, last year, but I'm expecting worse in '25. We might need to have some bigger late leads in '25. I'm expecting better D, better O and better SP'ing, so maybe we can pull this off.

I think David Robertson is still unsigned. It's too late for him to be our opening day closer, but what's up with him not being signed, yet? I know he's olds, but so was Jansen and Martin (both 37, last year), and so are Chapman (37) and Hendriks (36). Robertson turns 40 in a few days. Last 3 year numbers: 67 IP per season 2.82 ERA/ 1.15 WHIP 12K to 4BB ratio per 9. .571 OPS Against in 2024, including a killer reverse split vs LHBs at .467 (.653 v RHBs)

Most RP'ers are volatile. That tends to support the idea that having so many RP'ers with some promise is a good thing. The problem might be that we need to cycle through 10 to find the one who does well, and by then, we are 10 games behind.

It's interesting that most people probably picked Anthony or Campbell as the most likely prospect to make the opening day roster, due in part to Mayer's injury that kept him from playing in AAA, just as he was promoted. He ended 2024 on the IL. Now, Mayer might be the most likely to make the roster. Anthony and Campbell are still in the running, though.