Fan_since_Boggs

Not only should the Red Sox trade for a starting 3b, e.g., Nunez, Lowrie, or Frazier, but they should seriously consider upgrading the DH spot at the trade deadline. A guy like Jay Bruce could be available. I don't know where that would leave Hanley, but I really don't care. Give me Nunez at 3b and Bruce at DH and the Red Sox lineup would be a lot better than it is now. Hanley is so inconsistent and injury prone--I'm not confident that he has a big second half in him. Alternatively, to minimize the trading of prospects, the Red Sox could trade for a DH (let's say Jay Bruce) but not trade for a 3b. Instead, the Red Sox would promote Devers for 3b. Bruce and Devers would infuse some power (lefthanded) into the lineup.

Agreed. He has already been mentioned, but Eduardo Nunez isn't a bad option until Devers is ready. (1) Nunez currently has hamstring tightness but the situation is not overly serious and he is expected to avoid the DL. (2) Nunez has a functional bat (should be able to give you a .280 BA though not great on-base) with some speed (40 stolen bases last year) and thus he is a guy who could bat leadoff, moving Betts to the cleanup spot. (3) The Giants have a future 3b in C.Arroyo -- thus, Nunez isn't part of the Giants long term plans. (4) Does anyone know anything about Nunez's defense at 3b? I found a few links where Bochy praises his defense at 3b. (5) The Giants must realize their season is over. They have the second worst record in baseball and are 18 games out of first place. They have a thin farm system--the Red Sox could bolster it a little without trading Devers or Groome. While I would prefer a lefty bat, Nunez would augment the Red Sox's speed and I like the idea of moving Betts into the cleanup spot. He might be a better choice than Jed Lowrie.

I'm not against promoting Devers. I just prefer a trade as a first option (Lowrie or Frazier) with the idea that Devers can always be brought up later in the season if 3b continues to be a problem. Lowrie and Frazier aren't exactly models of consistency. Jason Mastrodonato addressed the situation. He made a good point when he said the Red Sox ignored Sandoval's four year decline on his way out of San Francisco. That decline continued in Boston--Sandoval's lack of plate discipline slowly but surely caught up to him. Some people saw it coming and some people (the Red Sox front office) did not.

I agree with Cameron--it is time to release Sandoval. Rutledge is a fringy player who doesn't belong in the major leagues. Therefore, it is now incumbent on Dombrowski to make a trade for a legitimate starting 3b. There is no point in waiting anymore and it doesn't make sense to wait until the trade deadline. An upgrade is needed now. The underlying problems are not going away. Simply put, Sandoval doesn't make enough contact anymore to be a quality offensive player. He also can't beat the shift. His fielding has declined over time. In other words, he isn't going to turn it around. The underlying metric--the decline in contact percentage--is the red flag.

I'm wondering why the Red Sox have Rutledge on the team over Marrero. Maybe Marrero has an option and Rutledge doesn't? With Marrero, at least you get elite defense at 3b and really good defense at SS if you give Bogaerts a day off. Rutledge hasn't hit a HR since 2015 and currently has a .615 OPS. I don't know about his defensive metrics, but Rutledge isn't a spectacular defender. I wouldn't give him too many at-bats going forward. He hurts you more than helps you.

The Rays acquired Plouffe. Of course, the A's had to throw in cash to make it happen. Like Peralta, Plouffe was never a real solution for the Red Sox's problems at 3b: So, Plouffe can't hit or field. Awesome.

Great piece by Dave Cameron. He pretty much sums up the major problem facing Sandoval and why it might be unrealistic to think that Sandoval can turn it around. Cameron's solution is to release Sandoval and to either bring up Devers or make a trade. LINK: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/its-time-to-pull-the-plug-on-pablo-sandoval/ I highly respect Cameron. I think it is time to release Sandoval. I would try to trade for Frazier, while continuing to groom Devers in the minors. If Frazier doesn't get the job done, they can always promote Devers later in the season. It's time to take action. Alternatively, I would call the A's about Lowrie. Lowrie has an OPS above .900 this year against right handed pitchers. The Red Sox could platoon Lowrie with Marrerro at 3b. Not only would I release Sandoval, but I would also get rid of Rutledge. With Lowrie in the lineup: Lowrie 3b Pedroia 2b Bogaerts SS Betts RF Moreland 1b Ramirez DH Benintendi LF Vazquez C Bradley CF

The Royals have now won 6 in a row. Lowrie has been so inconsistent. He had an excellent year in 2013, was not-so-good in 2014, was not-so-good in 2016. He is having a solid year this season thus far. I would rather have Frazier, but Lowrie definitely warrants consideration. Too bad J.Reyes isn't hitting this year--the Mets will probably be sellers at the deadline and Reyes can handle third base defensively. A pretty good article that sums up the situation: http://www.weei.com/blogs/rob-bradford/phillies-1-red-sox-0-pablo-sandoval-making-things-difficult

The Royals have won 5 in a row. The AL is somewhat weak this year, meaning that the Royals might be able to stay in the race for at least the second wild card. I think there is a reasonable chance that Moustakas never becomes available. Let's say the Royals do not become sellers at the deadline, is there anyone else besides Frazier? Let's forget Devers for now, and forget Peralta (not a serious alternative), and let's even write off Plouffe who wasn't playing well offensively or defensively for the A's. Is there anyone else besides the players I just mentioned? Y.Escobar of the Angels (don't like it). Seager of the Mariners isn't having the best year, but he probably won't be traded. Nunez of the Giants (don't like it). I would prefer Seager over Frazier but there is no evidence to suggest the Mariners are willing to trade Seager. Other names: David Freese. Can Josh Harrison play 3b?

Assuming Johnson is going on the DL, I'd give Hector Velazquez an opportunity to hold down the 5th spot in the rotation. He was pitching well in AAA.

I don't see a lot of similarities, though. Cashman gave up basically nothing for Chapman, DD, Castro, and Hicks. Dombrowski gave up the best prospect in the game and a top pitching prospect for Sale. Dombrowski gave up a top OF prospect for Kimbrel. In other words, where is the Red Sox version of S.Castro, a player Dombrowski acquired for basically nothing and got some high WAR seasons out of him? Actually, I guess Moreland would be our best example of that (albeit through free agency) and Dombrowski does deserve credit for signing him.

Many of Cashman's recent moves have been golden. The A.Hicks trade. The S.Castro trade. The D.Gregorius trade. He acquired Chapman for nothing, stole him from the Reds, then traded him to the Cubs for a stud prospect and then resigned him in free agency. Matt Holliday has been a great fit. He rebuilt the team around three stud players: Judge, Sanchez, and Severino. Compare these moves to the string of bad moves Cherington made that led to his firing and this helps explain why the Yankees are in first place. The jury is still out on Dombrowski, but it is hard to be overly impressed at this juncture. The one major negative concerning the Yankees: I'm not sure if they are built to win in October. I don't trust their starting pitching. Based on performance, it looks like Tanaka will need TJ surgery sooner rather than later.

The Red Sox look like a wild card team this year. Maybe they can overtake the Yankees, but the Red Sox don't match up particularly well against them (the Red Sox's left handed starters versus the Yankees right handed power bats). But the Red Sox are all in and a pitcher like Chris Sale can be the difference in a playoff series. I don't think this is the time to hoard prospects. The Red Sox have a three year window and they might as well go full charge. They can always rebuild and develop within after this three year window is up. Moustakas is the appropriate fit--a power left handed bat and a clean up hitter, two things the Red Sox need--and so it is incumbent on Dombrowski to acquire him. I like the idea of signing Moustakas and keeping him beyond this season. Devers can spend next season in AAA.

Dombrowski traded a top MLB pitching prospect for a bottom of the rotation starter--a terrible use of a valuable trade chip.

Would you support trading Chavis for him or would that be giving up too much?

The thing is, these guys don't bring back first round draft compensation anymore and so they should be easier to acquire in a trade. With that said, if a few teams are competing for Moustakas, the asking price will go up. The one thing we know about Dombrowski is that he is not shy about overpaying. . . . I'm open to trading pretty much any player in the system for Moustakas with the exception of Devers and Groome. The problem is, I could see the Royals taking a stand and demanding Devers or no deal at all. Then again, if Dombrowski refuses to trade Devers, a player like Chavis would be a nice acquisition for the Royals, preferable to draft compensation.

If your team has a chance to win a championship, I don't think you obtain a washed up player like Peralta and start him at 3b. The idea is to get better and improve your odds of winning. I think Frazier is target number 2 behind Moustakas. I think a lefty bat is a better fit for this lineup. At present, the Red Sox don't have a lefty bat that scares anyone. Moustakas would likely be the Red Sox cleanup hitter, pushing Moreland down a few spots.

I don't consider Peralta a serious option and so won't go there. As far Plouffe and Moustakas go, the latter is having a significantly better season with the bat and is left handed.

I agree; I wouldn't trade Devers. Would you guys trade Travis, Chavis, or Ockimey for Moustakas? The Royals might demand Devers, but with the change in draft compensation you would think the Royals would be happy to acquire something less than Devers, no?

Sandoval looks so terrible at the plate and in the field. It is amazing to think how far he has fallen, from a 100 million dollar contract to marginal MLB player. If the Red Sox don't think they are serious competitors for a championship, they might as well keep Sandoval at 3b all year. On the other hand, if they believe the team can compete for a championship, it would make sense to trade for Moustakas, a left-handed bat, a perfect fit for the lineup. What would the Red Sox be willing to give up for Moustakas, a guy the Royals won't resign in offseason? The Royals will probably want one of the following: Sam Travis, Devers, Chavis, Ockimey. I wouldn't trade Devers but I wouldn't be surprised to see Dombrowski move him.

Good news on Johnson:

I guess it is all about upside. Marrero and Rutledge will never hit whereas Sandoval has a track record of producing offensively and maybe he can get back to that. If he stays healthy, maybe he will have a big second half and greatly improve the Red Sox offense. I don't think they are going to bring up Devers this year--he probably isn't ready. I think there is a better chance that Dombrowski will trade Devers than promote him to the major league level.

To win a W.S. this year, the Red Sox will need Hanley and Sandoval to produce (with no Ortiz). As far as Sandoval goes, Wednesday night was very encouraging. I would definitely platoon Sandoval, keep him out of the lineup against lefties and start him exclusively against righties. By platooning Sandoval, the Red Sox increase the odds of keeping him healthy. And it sounds like Farrell plans to platoon him--Sandoval is out of the lineup tonight against the lefty. Smart decision.

Keith Law ranked the top 25 MLB players who are under 25 years old. Betts is at 6, Benintendi at 11, and Bogaerts at 12. Margot was ranked 16th. That's pretty good for a 22 year old kid. The thing that bothered me about the Kimbrel trade was not necessarily the inclusion of Margot, but the extra sweeteners that were thrown in including, most importantly, Logan Allen. At some point, you have to walk away from a trade when the asking price is too high and find another way to obtain a closer. DD didn't demonstrate the flexibility to do that.

I wouldn't have made the Kimbrel trade either. I have not with impressed with DD at all. I know Ben Cherington went through a rough stretch--failing to resign Lester, signing Sandoval, trading Lackey, acquiring Craig, signing Castillo--but maybe he would have learned from his mistakes and been a better GM going forward. Looking back at it now, I would have preferred keeping Cherington over the decision to hire DD. It should also be pointed out that some of those Ben Cherington mistakes may have been the responsibility of ownership--failing to pony up the money for Lester, for example. DD's trades with the Red Sox have not been shrewd. He has generally overpaid in most of his moves and he has decimated the farm system. He is responsible for one draft and even though it is too early to reach a definitive conclusion about that draft, the results have not been promising. Groome fell into his lap and I agree with that pick--it was an easy choice--but none of the other picks have played particularly well. Though, again, it is too early to draw definitive conclusions. Margot is a terrific all around player--he is only 22 years old. It is worth noting that the Red Sox traded Logan Allen in that deal as well. Right now, Logan Allen would be the Red Sox's second best pitching prospect after Groome--that's not a small thing. I thought Cashman handled the closer situation much better than DD. Cashman acquired Chapman in the same offseason and gave away B prospects. The Yankees then traded Chapman to the Cubs for Torres, one of the better prospects in the game. In turn, the Yankees resigned Chapman without giving up a draft pick. There is risk here--Chapman cost the Yankees a lot of money, but the Yankees did not part with any valuable chips in their farm system. The Yankees handled the closer situation like a true big market team--the Red Sox did not. What is there to say about the Pomeranz deal? I realize that Espinoza is hurt right now, but he was a valuable trade chip--one of the best pitching prospects in the game and DD traded him for Pomeranz who has been completely useless. That's a bad use of resources. If the Red Sox are going to trade Espinoza, get someone who will help your big league team. OK, Chris Sale has been great, but DD may have traded a future middle of the order bat (at 2b) for 3 years of Sale, not to mention the upside of a guy like Kopech. To justify that trade, not only must Sale perform, but the Red Sox have to compete for a championship and they are playing .500 baseball right now. The Travis Shaw trade (Dubon too) for a guy who was recently moved to the 60-day DL. Not only do the Red Sox need Shaw at 3b, but they could use him at 1b as well--he is better than Moreland. It looks like the Red Sox may have failed to bring in enough offense in the offseason. They traded away their 3b backup plans in case Sandoval didn't work out, i.e., Moncada and Shaw. What is next for DD--trade Devers for some offense, the lack of which DD is directly responsible for, with the hope that the Red Sox can rise above their .500 record and make a run in the playoffs? DD will need to win a World Series over the next 3 seasons to justify these moves. If he comes up short, we might indeed look back at DD's tenure as a total disaster, a time when the GM emptied out the farm system to chase a phantom championship.