moonslav59

No, you answered a question I did not ask. I did not say DHam and Romy will hit .800. I asked, if they do, would you still want a FT'er at 2B? (Hell, Bregman hasn't even his .800 over the past 5 years combined.) Of course, I'd rather have Bregman at 2B than a DHam-Romy platoon. Everybody would, but the choice is not just about 2B. It's about several positions related to the choice Cora makes. Maybe Campbell, takes the choice away. I can certainly see this position is valid, if Campbell does not win the job: 3B: Devers, 2B Bregman, Yoshida/Ref DH (and no Yoshida/Ref in the OF.) I've recognized the benefits and downfalls of this choice. The choice is not clearcut, and there may be more factors involved than we know (like Yoshida's health.) Assuming no Campbell at 2B, I also like this plan, maybe even more: 3B: Bregman, 2B: DHam-Romy platoon, Devers DH and REF in LF vs LHPs. I know you don't like the idea, but that was not my question. There are pluses and minuses to this idea, too. Maybe Cora mixes and matches both plans and we see moving parts all over the place- just what yuou like...LOL!

EValdez and Reyes did not get injured. Grissom did, but he seemed set on losing the job, anyway. Why does it matter how they got the job, anyway? I agree, they are better as back-ups, but answer my question. If they hit .800, combined and play plus D, why do we need a FT'er to keep Bregman at 3B?

So, if a DHam-Romy platoon is hitting .800 and playing plus D, that's not good enough to keep Bregman at 3B? We need a 2Bman who plays FT? Regardless who plays 2B and how much, they are likely just a placeholder for Campbell, who may very well win the opening day job or become the FT 2Bman by May. It's nice to have choices, and by that I mean better choices than Peraza vs Arroyo or EValdez vs Reyes.

And what you think is "true?"

I could not agree more. Very well said.

I thought Arias we known for great D. What do you think of Romero? Here's a kid that was highly praised, but injuries made everyone forget about him. He looked pretty good, last year. Maybe he jumps a lot.

He may have pulled a brain muscle swing at the fences with his Devers and no prospect promotion comments.

Why should they? They might not even understand the written article in English or notice the nuance. You are missing the point. Take the last statement I quoted., "The conversation not close." It does not even make sense as written. There is no verb. I know what he said. I listened again, today. He was clearly saying the talks are not done. Not that the conversation is not close to him geographically. Come on, dude!

I speak Spanish, and I heard what he said. Words can be translated within the context they are said, differently, and some expressions are hard to translate, and even harder, if the translator is not from the same area as the player. For example, Devers said "The conversation not close." That's how it was translated in print. IMO, he meant, the conversation is not closed, as in I'm open to talking about it.

There is also a possibility of translation issues and expressions used in other languages that are not easily translated -sometimes giving off an unintended vibe. If you look at his first statements, he did say enar the end a conciliatory statement, 'I’m open to listening. I’m not close to those conversations.”

In 2024, he was on his way to easily top his career high OPS, before the shoulder issue kicked into high gear. His rbi's were down, but what the hey.

He very well may win that role, but currently DHam & Romy are better fielders. As a platoon, they may be hard to pass on offense, but Grissom may be able to do that, and then we won't need a platoon infield utility tandem. DHam's speed also plays into the choice.

Sox by age. (Note how many are pre-prime, nearing prime of in prime.) Everyday players: 24: Rafaela, Grissom 25: Casas, Abreu 26: Narvaez 27: Wong, DHam 28: Devers, Duran, Romy 30: Bregman 31: Yoshida 32: Story 34: Rafsnyder Pitchers: 24: Priester 25: Crochet, Bello, Wink, Fitts 27: Slaten 28: Houck, Crawford, Whitlock, Criswell, Sandoval 30: Buehler, Weissert, Kelly 31: Giolito 33: Bernardino 36: Hendriks 37: Chapman, Wilson

Good read on the future Catcher market.... https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/02/the-long-term-catching-trade-market.html

Kyle Finnegan to Nats for $6M/1.

Not being very good on defense does not help, although poor defensive utility players have been common of past Sox teams. Maybe he can improve his 2B defense to respectability. Maybe 3B would work for him, but we already have two of those.

I'm not fussin' and certainly not gushing, but no MLB team has a 6th starter with a 1.3 projected fWAR. Only these teams have a 5th starter better than 1.3 projected: (I think before injury issues) lAD: Ohtani 2.0 PHI: Luzardo 2.0 SEA: Woo 1.8 NYY: Schmidt 1.7 TEX: Mahle 1.6 CIN: Abbott 1.6 AZ: Kelly 1.5 TOR: Francis 1.5 (HOU's Arrighetti & MIL's T Myers tied at 1.3) About 1/3 of MLB has a better or equal 5th SP to Crawford- our 6th SP'er... according to STEAMERS.

Not even close. He's not ML ready. He's not good enough. We have Grissom, Romy and DHam. Rafaela played 620 innings at 3B. Campbell could play 3B. Hell, we might try Wong or Casas at 3B, before Jordan, Casas played 3B in the minors.

I predict Arias jumps into the top 3, as one graduates. Cespedes is at #4 by EOY. Fitts graduates and does well in the pen at the ML level. JH Garcia moves to top 6 or 7, and his brother to top 9 or 10. Castro fall below #30. Jordan below #45. I like Valera, Reyes and Delzine to make major gains. I have doubts about Dobbins and don't know much about Cason and Tolle to have an opnion.

I'd love to see both Anthony and Campbell make the opening day roster and then go nutty.

These types of pitchers seem to be recycled from team-to-team, and often end back with a team that already gave up on them once.

Hoping Devers has a career year. (I keep saying that.)

In all likelihood, injuries and poor showings by a few players will help make some of the roster choices easier to make for Cora and Brez, but we could see some difficult decisions having to be made. One could be optioning Yoshida to AAA or some "rehab" assignment. The biggest logjam seems to be at 2B, although many "contenders" are not going to break anyone's hearts if demoted, traded or otherwise. If Bregman plays 3B 90+% of the time, then the choices get tougher. It gets tough (or easy, however you want to look at it) if Campbell is raking this spring. Even if he is added to the 40, 26 and starting line-up, the choices for back-up infield could get difficult. It helps to have Rafaela able to play SS & 2B on the 26. I figure a catcher and refsnyder take 2 of the 4 slots on the 26, so (assuming Campbell wins the 2B job) the last 2 slots could come down to.... DHam: Maybe the best defensive 2Bman of this group and a decent batter vs RHPs, but our need is vs LHPs. He is a minus on D at SS and 3B. He could steal 60+ bases per 650 PAs, if given the chance and a decent OBP. Romy: Maybe the best bat vs LHPs on the team, behind Ref. He can also play 1B and a decent 2B, SS and 3B. Word is he can play some OF, too, but I doubt we need him there. He might have the best shot. Grissom: Two years ago, he looked very promising. A slump and then an injury soured many against him, while he'll be forever known as the guy we got for Sale, but we should not write this just turned 24 year old. (He's 3-4 years younger than DHam & Romy.) He's not good on D at SS, and looked bad at 2B, in the limited time he played there in '24. He bats RH'd but unless he shows he can hit, that might not matter. Yoshida: His injury could be used as an excuse to delay the choice, especially if Devers is looking like the near FT DH in '25. He can hit better than Rafaela L & R, and better than Duran & Abreu v L, but his D is so much worse, it looks like the best he can do is come out equal to Rafaela (and better than Abreu vs lefties.) I'm not sure even the $18M a year is enough to give him the nod. Anthony may win a slot, but it might take an OF injury. That's not to say he's not as good as Rafaela and Abreu v lefties, but they may hold back this choice to see how the OF starts the season. He could gain that extra year of control by waiting, too, so maybe that plays into the choice. Seeing if Yoshida can build back value or earn a slot in the line-up may be the biggest factor in choosing Anthony for the 26. (He will not be on the 26 in a bench role.) I don't see Sogard as a choice, unless we see multiple injuries, and he won't be a longtime fix, anywhere.

Likewise.