Fan_since_Boggs

I've developed such a man crush on T-W Lin. I want my future daughter to marry him. I'm concerned they are going to send Lin back to the minors when Holt returns. I don't like Holt very much, never did. At this point, I would rather stick with Lin but they have to make room for Holt somehow.

This might explain the increase in HRs throughout the league. Though, no one seems to want to talk about it very much. Instead, people are coming up with other explanations, i.e., different ball, increased velocity, etc. Amazing, after all these years, baseball might be at the brink of another another steroids era. This would be Steroids Era Part II.

It is my understanding that Frazier will be a LF or RF -- he doesn't profile as a starting CF. Thus, we have to think of Frazier as a corner outfield bat rather than starting CF. Obviously, if he could play CF full time, his value would increase.

I think Velazquez has moved in front of Owens in terms of SP pitching depth. Thus, Owens would be dumped from the 40-man before Velazquez. But Owens might be a higher priority than guys like Ysla and Martin.

It's amazing: the Brew Crew added Shaw and E.Thames to the offense without losing any significant players in the process.. Nice work by the GM. Such moves help explain why the Brewers--a team that wasn't expected to contend--are 6 over .500 and in first place.

They should have made this move a year or two ago. I wonder if it is now too late. In other news, Owens is completely terrible in his Double A start. He lasted 2/3 of an inning, yielding 6 BBs, 3 Rs, 15 strikes (42 pitches). If the Red Sox need to open a spot on the 40 man roster, Owens could be the guy that is removed. A great start for Groome at Greenville. In his last two starts combined: 10 IP, 1H, 0R, 3 BB, 13K. OH BABY!

I've been watching the Yankees-Toronto series and I've never seen J.Donaldson look this bad. Not sure what is wrong with him--maybe he is just going through a bad stretch. He can't lay off pitches out of the zone and he throws the bat at the ball (literally). I would not trade Devers or Groome for him. This isn't the J.Donaldson from last year or the year before that. Based on how he looks now, Donaldson will not be much of a solution to the black hole at 3b. The drop-off is so noticeable, perhaps he is playing through an injury of some sort. If he is injured, that isn't going to help the Red Sox.

Cameron doesn't seem to like Dombrowski all that much -- his latest chat: I'm surprised Cameron takes on the Sale trade. Right now, that trade is looking pretty sweet for the Red Sox. (1) Where would the 2017 Red Sox be without Sale? (2) After getting off to a hot start in AAA, Moncada has slowed down--the power numbers aren't great and he is striking out too much. (3) Kopech's walk ratio is outrageously bad. He won't even profile as a relief pitcher if he doesn't get that fixed. Of course, it is way too early to draw definitive conclusions on Moncada and Kopech, but I would say that both players have been slight disappointments in terms of performance thus far. Cameron criticized the Shaw trade at the time it was made. He was right--you don't trade a position player like Shaw for a relief pitcher with a history of arm issues.

Interesting. I'm starting to wonder if the Red Sox plan to play start Devers at 3b toward the end of the season and into the playoffs. Thus, Devers would pretty much finish out the minor league season and then would be brought up and would get some experience in major league games, with the idea of starting him at 3b in the playoffs. The idea behind this: minimize Devers' exposure to major league pitching so that pitchers don't adjust and exploit his weaknesses this season. I'm just not sure if his bat is ever going to be good enough....

I'm not seeing the love for Travis. There is a huge drop-off from Devers and Groome to Travis, IMO. I wouldn't hesitate to trade Travis for a starting 3b. I'm not convinced Travis is in the Red Sox's long term plans--he might not be good enough to be a starting 1b for a big market team with championship aspirations. I see Travis, Chavis, and Ockimey as the Red Sox's main trade chips. 3b is confusing in that the Red Sox have to weigh trading for a Lowrie-Frazier type versus giving the starting job to Devers (I think it is clear that Moustakas will not be made available). The other interesting twist: could a player like J.Donaldson or M.Machado be made available if the Jays or Orioles decide to enter a rebuild phase? That would be interesting, but the Red Sox would have to pony up a prospect like Devers for that kind of talent (I presume). This is probably a long shot--the Jays and Orioles can still aim for the second wild card this year. If they decide to enter a rebuild phase, that decision will likely be made in the off-season. I think the Red Sox are done with Sandoval as a starting 3b. Right now, they are trying to determine if they should keep Sandoval as a bench player or release him. If he doesn't hit in AAA during his rehab assignment, I think they release him. As was mentioned above, Marrero actually contributes more than Sandoval in that Marrero helps the Red Sox with run prevention; Sandoval doesn't help in any capacity. In other words, Marrero is actually a better player than Sandoval. Maybe the Red Sox should play some combination of Holt (AAA rehab) and Marrero at third base until they promote Devers later in the season? In this scenario, the Red Sox could use their trade chips to reinforce another area of the club. I'm not a huge believer in B.Holt, though. As such, maybe platoon Lin and Marrero until Devers takes over later in the season.

He has done OK. But his development does not resemble that of an elite hitter. It is worth noting that his strong May (in AAA) was followed by a disappointing and pretty mediocre June (in AAA). I'm seeing good production but not the kind of production that I would consider exceptional for a guy who is about to turn 23. That's the criticism of Cashman. The Yankees are contending this year but they don't have Andrew Miller to help them. Instead, they have a prospect who is about to turn 23 and has not yet produced at a high level offensively. For the sake of comparison, compare Frazier to a prospect like Devers. Devers is 20 years old (21 in Oct) and is already producing a 900+ OPS in AA. As if knowing things about prospects is something laudatory. LOL.

Frazier is 22 years old, just about 23, and he hasn't produced at a very high level in the minors leagues. He certainly hasn't produced to the extent that would suggest a future middle of the order bat. A 22-23 year old whose AAA OPS hovers around .800 isn't exactly setting the world on fire. He was pretty mediocre in AA last year as well. I know he is ranked quite high, but Lars Anderson was ranked high, as were a million other prospects who never made it. I think the exaggerated opinion people have of Frazier is due to how highly he was drafted and the pre-draft perception of Frazier. I think he has some sort of major league career in front of him, but I don't believe he will be a special player or a future middle of the order bat. I don't see the production at this point to make me think he has higher upside. The Guardians sold high on him. There is value in average or mediocre baseball players like Frazier, but you can find mediocre players pretty easily without trading away one of the most dominant relievers in the game today. I don't think you will find anyone projecting Sheffield to be a top of the rotation starter. He doesn't fit the profile. How many 5'10 or 5'11 dominant aces are out there? His Double A ratios certainly don't scream top of the rotation starter. Sure, if he develops into a middle of the rotation starter, that would be a positive thing for the Yankees--such starters are extremely valuable--but so much can and often does go wrong when it comes to developing starting pitchers. The odds are always against it. I respect Cashman. But when it comes to this deal, I think the Guardians did a nice job enticing Cashman into some fool's gold. The Guardians acquired a dominant reliever and didn't give up a high ceiling prospect in return.

Great post--I think this is a valid criticism. The Yankees would have a better record right now if they kept Miller--we are seeing some weakness from their bullpen; meanwhile, Miller continues to be dominant. I like what the Guardians did in this trade. They gave up Frazier, a good prospect, but not an elite one, and not a guy who has put up elite offensive numbers in the upper-minors. Frazier has looked pretty mediocre in Scranton this year thus far. Sheffield has upside, but he profiles as a middle-of-the-rotation starter at best and the odds are against Sheffield even reaching that level. So, for Miller, the Yankees obtained two pretty good prospects, but neither one has a high ceiling. In other words, the Yankees should have kept A.Miller!

If Marrero can hit a little, he would profile as a starting MLB SS due to his glove. His bat has been so futile in the minor leagues--it is hard to take his recent performance seriously, but stranger things have happened. Maybe he made an adjustment at the plate or something like that. If Marrero can hit a little, the Red Sox would have a nice trade chip for the off-season.

The Royals are 3 behind the Guardians for first place; 2 and 1/2 behind the Yankees for the first wild card; 1/2 behind the Rays for the second wild card. I think we can forget about Moustakas. The Royals will probably be buyers at the trade deadline--not sellers.

Well....the Red Sox need a starting 3b and Moustakas is one of the better 3b in baseball this year. He is exactly what the Red Sox need and he would significantly upgrade the position. But I don't think the Royals are going to make him available. The Royals are in striking distance of the playoffs. I think D.Moore wants to make one more run this year, knowing the rebuild begins next year. If the Royals hold on to Moustakas, they will get a draft pick in free agency. J.Donaldson's name has been thrown around. But he will probably cost Devers or Groome if not both. I'm not sure why the Red Sox have not yet made a trade for a 3b--a Lowrie or Nunez, for example. Perhaps they are waiting for the Royals to take a definite position on Moustakas? I would like to see the Red Sox acquire a starting 3b now, and then wait until the trade deadline to decide if they need to upgrade the DH spot with a guy like J.Bruce. Even though Moustakas is the player I want, I don't think the Royals are trading him.

I hope the Red Sox hold on to Devers and Groome. I don't feel that way about Travis, however. Travis seems pretty mediocre to me, with mediocre upside. He has never put up an OPS above .900 in the minors. It sounds like he is OK defensively, but he is no Keith Hernandez with the glove. I just don't see a lot of upside in Travis. I would be willing to trade him, knowing that I can sign someone in free agency who will be just as good if not better.

I wonder if the Red Sox should stretch out B.Workman as a starter in AAA for depth purposes? On the other hand, if E.Rodriguez and B.Johnson get a clean bill of health, they will probably have enough SP depth with Fister in the bullpen and B.Johnson and H.Velazquez in AAA. I hope Dombrowski isn't serious about acquiring S.Gray and is just trying to drive up his price. It looks like H.Owens is pretty much off the Red Sox radar now with his demotion to AA. They should include him in a trade, maybe another organization can fix him.

You call these "moves"? Just joking.

Rotoworld's most recent update on B.Holt. Maybe Dombrowski isn't making a trade because he is counting on B.Holt? If that is true, I'm not a big fan of that strategy. I would rather find a starting 3b elsewhere and return Holt to that super-utility role. They have the roster room. For example, J.Lowrie/Nunez would replace Rutledge and Holt would replace Marrero.

Just looked it up. According to ESPN, Kendrick has played a total of 18 games at 3b in his career. That isn't much. 17 of those games occurred in 2016 with the Dodgers. The fact that he has played so little at 3b suggests that he doesn't profile at 3b very well. He might not have the arm for it, for example.

Can Kendrick play 3b? If he can, I would definitely pursue him in a trade as well. If he can't play 3b, I don't want him--Pedroia is not expected to be out long term.

I would play hardball with Hanley. (1) There is no way I would allow his 2019 option to vest. (2) I would try to acquire a guy like J.Bruce at the deadline and would play Bruce against righties, Hanley against lefties. (3) He won't like it, but I would platoon Hanley in 2018. I would release him if he acts up. I'm assuming that if the Red Sox release Hanley next year, the 2019 option would not vest, correct? There is no way the Red Sox can pay Hanley 22 million in 2019--that would be a joke. I would rather release him next season and accept the sunk cost than pay him 22 million in 2019.

How hard is it to trade for a guy like J.Lowrie or E.Nunez? If I have to watch another J.Rutledge at-bat, I think I'll puke. Does J.Rutledge have pics of David Dombrowski doing something he shouldn't be doing?

This was my reaction too. It doesn't happen very often. Perhaps the Red Sox are trying to buy more time here and want to see Sandoval hit in AAA (rehab assignment) before promoting him again. If Sandoval can't hit in AAA, he isn't going to hit in the majors either, and so perhaps this will play out in AAA when he begins his rehab assignment. The division might come down to 1 or 2 games. In that scenario, the Red Sox could lose or win the division based on how many at-bats they give to fringy J.Rutledge. I think Dombrowski needs to make a trade, call the A's for Lowrie or the Giants for Nunez, and get some infield help. They can't keep giving valuable at-bats to Rutledge. We really needed Marco Hernandez to stay healthy this year.....