The Red Sox reportedly have picked up outfielder Ramon Flores from the Arizona Diamondbacks:
https://www.overthemonster.com/2018/3/26/17165750/red-sox-diamondbacks-trade-ramon-flores-outfield-depth
Flores, who turned 26 years old today, is a former Yankees international signee who, according to Roster Resource, has no options remaining:
https://www.rosterresource.com/mlb-boston-red-sox/
Although Flores apparently has cleared waivers more than once:
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/ramon-flores
FanGraphs ranks the Red Sox starting rotation eighth in projected WAR:
https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/2018-positional-power-rankings-starting-rotation-1-15/
... and second in projected WAR at designated hitter:
https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/2018-positional-power-rankings-designated-hitter/
... and seventh in projected WAR in center field:
https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/2018-positional-power-rankings-center-field/
The court has not dropped the matter. The matter has been "retired." According to a Tennessee attorney:
https://www.mckinneylawfirm.com/Articles/Arrested-for-Domestic-Assault-in-Franklin-or-Brentwood-Tennessee.shtml
Employers discipline employees all the time for behaviors that do not rise to the level of a crime.
To repeat a question: If a domestic abuser proclaims his innocence should the matter be dropped?
I suspect Major League Baseball considered Steven Wright's proclamation that he never touched his wife -- as well as a wealth of other information -- in reaching its decision on the suspension.
How can you say that Steven Wright never laid a hand on his wife? Is a suspension bogus if a domestic abuser never laid a hand on his partner?
If a domestic abuser proclaims his innocence should the matter be dropped?
Do you have more information on the incident than the MLB investigators did?
I suspect the timing of the disabled list and the suspension was part of a negotiated settlement.
Steven Wright's injury status was no secret. I highly doubt MLB gave the Red Sox the option of running the disabled list and the suspension concurrently.
Steven Wright to start the season on the disabled list before serving a 15-game suspension:
http://www.nbcsports.com/boston/red-sox/wright-suspended-15-games-violation-domestic-violence-policy
Not to mention Clay Buchholz, who was called up in August of that year and pitched a no-hitter in his second start:
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.fcgi?id=buchhcl01&t=p&year=2007
The 2009 team had Jon Lester, Josh Beckett, Brad Penny, Tim Wakefield, Clay Buchholz, Daisuke Matsuzaka, John Smoltz, Justin Masterson, Michael Bowden and Daniel Bard.
To be precise FanGraphs projects the Red Sox to tie for the third-best record in baseball:
https://www.fangraphs.com/depthcharts.aspx?position=Standings
... with the sixth-highest projected WAR:
https://www.fangraphs.com/depthcharts.aspx?position=ALL&teamid=3
The Phillies have released left-hander Fernando Abad and the Diamondbacks have released lefty Antonio Bastardo:
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2018/03/phillies-release-fernando-abad.html
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2018/03/diamondbacks-release-antonio-bastardo.html
Bryce Harper and Aaron Judge notwithstanding, FanGraphs ranks the Red Sox first in projected WAR from right field:
https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/2018-positional-power-rankings-right-field/
FanGraphs ranks the Red Sox in the Top 5 in left field and I suspect the Sox will rank well at other outfield positions, starting pitching and relief pitching.
I've posted the FanGraphs rankings in chronological order of their release and by chance the lower Red Sox rankings were released first.
Be patient. The Sox rank sixth out of 30 in projected total WAR:
https://www.fangraphs.com/depthcharts.aspx?position=ALL&teamid=3
I'll take the under.
FanGraphs has the Red Sox at 93 wins:
https://www.fangraphs.com/depthcharts.aspx?position=Standings
92 wins by another FanGraphs measure:
https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/your-stance-on-the-team-projections/
FanGraphs ranks the Red Sox 14th in projected WAR at third base and 22nd in projected WAR at first base:
https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/2018-positional-power-rankings-third-base/
https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/2018-positional-power-rankings-first-base/
Marcel projects 2018 OPS of .746 for Blake Swihart, .718 for Christian Vazquez and .715 for Sandy Leon, but FanGraphs Depth Charts projects Swihart at the bottom of the catcher OPS pile:
https://www.fangraphs.com/depthcharts.aspx?position=ALL&teamid=3#C
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/swihabl01.shtml
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/v/vazquch01.shtml
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/l/leonsa01.shtml
For what it's worth, FanGraphs ranks the Red Sox 21st in projected WAR from the catching position:
https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/2018-positional-power-rankings-catcher/
I assume the vague pronoun refers to Sam Travis, who received this note in a scouting report last May:
https://www.minorleagueball.com/2017/5/23/15682370/sam-travis-1b-boston-red-sox
Coincidentally, Dan Vogelbach's defense has received positive reviews this spring:
https://www.lookoutlanding.com/2018/3/14/17123240/daniel-vogelbachs-defense-saves-the-day-mariners-win-5-4-shortstopbach-forever
https://sodomojo.com/2018/03/17/sodo-mojos-seattle-mariners-round-table-spring-training/