Fan_since_Boggs

The Tigers are high on Dingler and have been ever since they invested 2 million in him. I have him at 22 years old, not 23, and he is hitting for power at AA. His BA AVG was better a few weeks ago, but has now dropped to .255. He still has 10 HR in a little over 200 at bats. The Tigers like his defense too.

Two trades: 1. Downs and R.Hernandez (based on my look at the Rockies team and farm system, they have a need for a young catcher) to the Rockies for J.Gray. The Red Sox try to extend Gray prior to free agency. 2. J.Winckowski and H.Potts to the Tigers for J.Schoop. Lineup after trade: Hernandez 2b Duran CF Bogaerts SS Devers 3b Martinez DH Schoop 1b Verdugo LF Renfroe RF Vazquez C Postseason rotation: Eovaldi Sale Gray E-Rod or Pivetta Postseason Bullpen: Barnes Ottavino Whitlock Houck Taylor Sawamura E-Rod or Pivetta Perez or Richards Hernandez???

The Tigers won't be interested in R.Hernandez -- they already have an excellent catching prospect, a player who is much better than Hernandez. I'm hoping the Red Sox can trade Dalbec somewhere, he isn't worth a 40 man roster spot next year, and a rebuilding team might be willing to give Dalbec a look. I think he has limited trade value, though. He is not much more than a throw in, he can't be the centerpiece of a trade. I think the Red Sox should pursue a Boyd/Schoop package -- the price will be high but the Red Sox need to upgrade and it would be a mistake to go into October with the current roster construction. Kimbrel hasn't been shaky this year, but dominant. Moreover, the Red Sox's closer is Barnes and I think Barnes remains the closer throughout the rest of the season and into October with or without Kimbrel. Also, based on what Cora is saying, the plan is for Sale to return as a starting pitcher. Assuming Sale does indeed start, there is zero chance the Red Sox would also give him bullpen duty in October. Since he is coming off TJ Surgery, the Red Sox will manage Sale conservatively.

Nope, and I can't find it.

Kiimbrel is on pace to finish with a WAR around 4.0 and that is great for a reliever, Mariano Rivera territory. Moreover, the idea behind acquiring Kimbrel would be to help the Red Sox win a 7-game postseason series. Kimbrel could be used to get pivotal outs and could easily change the course of a playoff series. The Red Sox lost the W.S. in 1986 because they didn't have a reliever like Kimbrel, and there are many other examples of this. Relief pitchers become so important in playoff games, and carry much greater importance in a 7 game series than they do over the course of an entire season. With that said, if the Red Sox walk away with Jon Gray and J.Schoop I would be pretty happy. I want the SP and I want the starting 1b more than the relief pitcher.

Look at Cron's home/road splits, though. And Cron isn't even having a great year, but if not for Coors Field he would totally suck. For me, Gray yes, Cron no. I would rather make a separate trade with the Tigers for Schoop.

He hasn't been "Cardiac Craig" in 2021. Instead, he has been "Historic Season Craig" in 2021: BB/9=2.9, SO/9=15.5, ERA+=750, FIP=1.09

Danny Duffy was placed on the IL, reducing the chances he gets moved. I'm starting to like Jon Gray as a trade target for the Red Sox (Moon's suggestion) and I'm hearing that the Dodgers and Rays are interested in Gray, two really good organizations. The plan: (1) Trade for Gray and resign him to a 3-4 year deal. (2) Trade for a starting 1b. Disco!

Still, 5 walks in 8 IP is problematic and asking for trouble. Workman allows too many baserunners and he can't be counted on in any high leverage situation. He has no role at all in playoff baseball. He can be cut/released whenever his spot is needed, maybe when Sale is activated.

Jeter Downs is approaching the dreaded "Mendoza Line." He has struck out 64 times so far (31%). His road OPS is .551. It is becoming clearer why two organizations were willing to trade Downs. I'm always a little skeptical of prospects who have been looked over by two organizations and included in trade packages.

Fangraphs:

I would trade for Gray, but I wouldn't want CJ Cron at all, I don't like his home/road splits. I would expect the Red Sox to find a better starting 1b. Gray will be a rental but some team will acquire him at the deadline. He is interesting, very talented arm, and could have a few big seasons in front of him. I would hate to trade Groome for Gray, but I would definitely be on the phone with the Rockies trying to get something done. The Red Sox might be better off signing Gray in the offseason than resigning E-Rod....

I would be pretty surprised to see R.Hernandez removed from the 40 man roster. Bloom traded for him and thus probably likes him, and it looks like he can hit a little. Bloom traded for him for a reason. Like many teams, the Red Sox have lousy farm system depth at catcher, and this is why some of us wanted Henry Davis. Maybe Nathan Hickey can develop into something, although he sounds like a bat-first catcher. I would be a little more incredulous when it comes to soxprospects' scouting reports. They aren't professional reports, written by professional scouts, but reports that someone on the internet (like us) wrote up. Soxprospects is kind of like reading Fansided or any internet forum--you get some interesting perspectives but we don't really know what the professional people in the Red Sox organization think about Hernandez's defense. Perhaps his defense has fixable flaws or perhaps his defense isn't as bad as soxprospects makes it out to be.

I agree that 1b has turned into a crucial black hole for the Red Sox. If the Red Sox could get 1b fixed, they would (1) dump a fringe player in Dalbec and not waste a roster spot on him, (2) improve the offense, (3) divert depth like Cordero and Arroyo (when he returns) to other areas. Thus, if the Red Sox had C.Santana at 1b, they would immediately upgrade the offense and could use a player like Cordero to help out Hunter Renfroe (against RHP) and improve the offense at a second position. For me, 1b is turning into greatest need #1. On the pitching front, an improved E-Rod, Sale's return, and Houck provide optimism, whereas 1b continues to be a clown show. It would be nice to upgrade the pitching staff too, but 1b should be the top priority. I'm going to revisit the 40 man roster issue after the deadline. After making a few deals, the Red Sox can open up space. I would think that Scherff is making a strong case. Hunter Crawford is an interesting guy too with fantastic ratios. The question for Crawford concerns his transition to the bullpen. If his stuff plays up in shorter stints, he could turn into a really good bullpen arm. He seems to have impeccable control.

Just looking over the last 3 games. If Cora turns to Whitlock in game 2 instead of Sawamura, the Red Sox probably win game two and walk out of the Bronx winning 2 out of 3. Instead, Cora turned to Whitlock in game 3.

One problem is that Downs is having such a crappy season and has probably lost some of his trade value. At this point, the Red Sox might be better off holding on to Downs than trading him and getting less in return. I would be willing to trade Downs, but I would expect a pretty big return for him. The Red Sox have some other nice prospects that can be moved including Jimenez, Wilson, Winckowski, Groome, and a few others. When I think about it, Wilson is redundant--he is another Hunter Renfroe (in the best scenario) a guy who hits LHP but is less effective against RHP. There are certain prospects that I wouldn't trade including Yorke, Houck, and Duran. I really don't want to trade Bello or Groome but I would listen and consider it if the right offer came along. I would like to see the Red Sox get first base figured out, acquire a starting 1b, whether that player is C.Santana or J.Schoop. Once the Red Sox acquire a legitimate starting 1b, they can look internally (Cordero) to give some help to Renfroe. When Arroyo returns, the Red Sox will have the option of playing Arroyo at 2b and moving Hernandez to the OF for some games.

LOL. Or Arroyo would get hurt walking to the bathroom at night--tear a hamstring. He is injury prone, he is like glass. It is time to bring up Cordero (assuming Arroyo goes on the IL) and hope he can put up some numbers against RHP. They can't go back to Dalbec at 1b as a full time player. Thus, it is time for the miserable platoon of Cordero and Dalbec to commence! The Red Sox problems right now extend beyond Dalbec--Verdugo and Renfroe in particular are going through a rough stretch. Thus, a better strategy: trade for a starting 1b like J.Schoop and promote Cordero to give him some at bats against RHP while Renfroe sits. Cordero takes Arroyo's roster spot (IL) and Schoop takes Dalbec's roster spot (demote to AAA if the Tigers don't want him).

It's official: Bobby D. will no longer start against RHP. I'm not surprised this change was made a day after Dalbec failed to hustle in attempting to catch a foul ball in game 2 against the Yankees. Ultimately, however, this decision was made (or must have been made) due to his lack of offensive production.

True, but Dombrowski was willing to trade better prospects than J.Beeks: the Sale trade, the Kimbrel trade, and the Pomeranz trade. Interestingly, one of Dombrowski's greatest moves was acquiring Sale without giving up Devers. The White Sox wanted Devers but Dombrowski refused. Thus, prospect hugging is sometimes justified, but we also know that so many prospects fall short of expectations. Can we find a starting pitcher on the 2021 trade market who will be a big time contributor in the postseason while only costing a middling prospect? The Eovaldi trade was absolutely brilliant.

True, but he may need to change or alter that approach somewhat, similar to A.Friedman, who runs the Dodgers differently than how he ran the Rays. Also, even though we all praise the Rays for what they accomplish, we can't overlook an important factor: the Rays have won ZERO championships. They won zero championships under Friedman and they won zero championships during Bloom's tenure.

The price will be high for an SP upgrade or a top relief arm but the price will also be high if the Red Sox lose in a 7th game because they didn't give up some precious prospect, who may never develop or live up to expectations, for a shutdown reliever or upgrade to the rotation. A playoff series can sometimes swing one way or the other based on one pitcher. For example, if the Yankees had Andy Pettitte in 2004, maybe they don't lose to the Red Sox in the championship series. I think prospect hugging can sometimes be dangerous--we don't want Bloom to be like Brian Cashman. I like following Red Sox prospects as much as anyone, but prospects should sometimes be used as assets to acquire players to help you win a championship (or increase your odds of winning one).

We can probably forget about Jose Berrios: I'm starting to go back to the idea of trading for C.Kimbrel and not a starting pitcher. The postseason rotation would be something like this: 1. Sale 2. Eovaldi 3. ??? 4. ??? With Houck, Pivetta, E-Rod, and Perez competing against each other for the third and fourth postseason rotation spots. I'm in general agreement with the idea that the Red Sox need a starting pitcher more than a relief arm, but if the available trade market SPs don't represent a clear upgrade why bother trading for one? I realize that Kyle Gibson would be an upgrade based on current statistics but do we have total confidence in Kyle Gibson? I could see Gibosn having a less impressive second half more in line with his career numbers. I would also expect Gibson to be a coveted player on the trade market, requiring multiple prospects and at least one high end prospect. Then again, I suppose C.Kimbrel will be a costly trade acquisition as well. To be sure, the pressure is on Bloom to deliver. A few years ago, Dombrowski made a brilliant move by trading for Eovaldi. Can Bloom do something similar?

Carlos Rodon will likely get the biggest free agent contract for SP. Somewhere in the 200 million range? Rodon is having a big year and has youth on his side, he is only 28 and that is young compared to many other free agent starters. E-Rod is relatively young too. If he has a big second half, he could elevate his price in free agency. It'll be interesting to see what the Red Sox do with him. While I want E-Rod to return, I don't want the Red Sox to overpay for a guy who is ultimately a middle-of-the-rotation starter (at his best). I don't see E-Rod as a top of the rotation pitcher but maybe someone would disagree with that assessment.

Carlos Rodon will likely get the biggest free agent contract for SP. Somewhere in the 200 million range? Rodon is having a big year and has youth on his side, he is only 28 and that is young compared to many other free agent starters. E-Rod is relatively young too. If he has a big second half, he could elevate his price in free agency. It'll be interesting to see what the Red Sox do with him. While I want E-Rod to return, I don't want the Red Sox to overpay for a guy who is ultimately a middle-of-the-rotation starter (at his best). I don't see E-Rod as a top of the rotation pitcher but maybe someone would disagree with that assessment.

I thought that Dalbec's effort on that foul territory fly ball from earlier in the game left something to be desired. It was a tough play, but he wasn't going all out. I don't recall the inning but it was early in the game. The ball just eluded him as he was nearing the stands in foul territory. Sure, he doesn't want to kill himself by running into the wall, but he had some extra room to maneuver. Kind of strange -- you would think he would go all out on defense to make to make up for his woes on offense. Also, I'll need up look up the data, but as far as the eye test goes, he seems to hit too many balls on the ground. The Red Sox need him to elevate the ball, hit the ball in the air to take advantage of his power.