drewski6

I think its cuz Duran has a higher % of PAs vs lefties. Duran had an .850 vs righty OPS last year. Understand Abreu has a higher HR rate, but Duran gets 15 triples to Abreus 0, so thats the equiv of 12 extra HRs from a slg perspective. I love em both dont get me wrong, but I think that people who think of Duran as expendable overlook the doubles and triples. I think Duran will lead the team in RBIs this year and I think hes a better choice to hit 3rd than RA (at least vs righties, vs lefties you can make a case to even sit Duran).

They wouldnt, except maybe if a lefty was on the mound. I was just wondering if Abreu had a higher OPS because he faced almost exclusively righties. If someone has to sit against a righty because everyone is healthy, for me , in a game 7 situation, I prob do put Contreras at catcher. I certainly wouldnt take my 3 hitter out. But >90% someone will be hurt, so im happy to have the options/depth/versatility.

Abreu platooning vs Duran not platooning? Anthony granted, but lets see it full season. Duran is not superfluous on this team. He'll hit third most nights.

One thing about Bregman that gets overlooked but applies to Contreras also is that they are both bilingual. I think bilingual guys can really help a clubhouse/chemistry

And if that comes to fruition and Casas, Duran, Abreu all have similar OPS and all are healthy and its game 7 of ALCS, Contreras might catch for a single game.

I think the Red Sox are at or near the top of the tier 2 MLB teams. WIthout Contreras, we may lose an entire tier and be more comparable to the tier 3 teams (Rangers, Royals, Astros Reds)

My uncle at 73 is still working and has a new girlfriend, and travels , and works out and still looks great. My father was in the dementia nursing home at 73. When I meant that Contreras has aged, I did not mean relatively. He inarguably has aged very well. Hes good value at 17m, which is why we had to give up value to trade for that contract (as opposed to it being salary dumped to us). Thats very rare for a 34 yr old to have surpluss value on a multi-year at 17.5 AAV. More power to him, good for him. Really, all I meant was that hes 34 and no longer playing the position he played in his prime. And I may have over-atrributed the positional switch to age.

Good post, I think the only thing I would point out is that by #1 , I think you mean: a better bat who plays 2b,3b, or ss and not just "a better bat". I also think thats number of players in all of baseball is single digits. I think people are undervaluing 2025 Duran. He had a lot of doubles and triples last year.

I expected it to drop to the average of his '22,'23'24 seasons, maybe a tick under due to his age. It dropped more. It also seemed like the baseball universe was no longer considering him a catcher. I dont think its cray to say that contreras has aged significantly. You aint getting him for that package, with the cards eating money, if hes prime Contreras.

Hard to compare because WAR gives Bregman too much of a positional edge. Offensively, I can see it. I can see Contreras having more RBIs or more offensive WAR. When I said that Contreras has aged more than Bregman that was a lot because Bregman is still playing 3b and is 2 yrs younger. If the order of operations were different. Lets say we signed Ranger first, then failed to ink Bregman, then traded for Contreras (so flip the dates of the contreras and suarez acquisition) then people would be saying pivot even more than they are saying it now. Its a pivot to sign Ranger on the heels but it would be inarguably a pivot if it was corner infielder/bat acquisition on teh heels of Bregman signing with the cubs. I have a hard time saying great pivot to Ranger. I think we had the best rotation in baseball before we signed Ranger. I would have no issue saying great pivot to Contreras (if you flipped the dates of the contreras and ranger acquisitions).

I did make the mistake at looking at OPS vs OPS+. Could be that Contreras decline is OPS was due to the league taking another step towards becoming a pitcher's era and not him being another year older.

I think it is very disrespectful to say that Duran is a worse overall OF'er than Cedanne, unless you mean strictly defensively. But I dont prioritize defense over hitting, personally. There is a reason why Duran keeps leading this team in extra base hits and why he has more trade value than Cedanne despite less control.

Defense is just higher on your priority list. I want my defense to not be bad. I want my hitting to be great. Its fine, no disrespect intended....But in a Duran vs Cedanne battle, I can see how we are on opposite sides. Duran is my #2 untouchable behind only Crochet.

MVP: Id trade Duran for prospects Drewski (to MVP): I dont get the Duran disrespect Moonslav: How is it disrespectful to want to get Kmarte for him, nobody said trade Duran for prospects (except MVP)

I trust you realize that our 2025 MVP's name ends with a "shea" sound?

I thought I had read it isnt in the plans at all right now, but that doesnt mean it wont be in the plans should Narvaez get hurt or struggle.

Fair point. But the point Im trying to make is the reason why when we acquired Contreras , we considered him a first baseman. Why he didnt catch last year. My only point is this is a lot because of Contreras age. There are other reasons too. But a 28 yr old Contreras is catching somewhere in MLB, and doing it at an all start level. This started with people calling me crazy for saying Contreras has aged significantly. You didnt disagree, you implied that sure Contreras is further aged than people 3 yrs younger that never had to catch, sure - but his positional fit and ST contract make you thankful we got him over 5 yrs of Alonoso. A comment I didnt see an issue with. Look, if everyone is telling me (and I dont mean to group all of your positions together) but if people are telling me that Im wrong that Contreras has aged too much to catch.....This is great news. If we're in a game 7, I can see Narvaez being the odd man out. Not saying its likely or will happen because I dont know who will be healthy at that point in time, but I think versatility and depth are good and if Contreras can still catch thats great news. I do believe that if he can catch, he should (at least sometimes)

I agree. Im very glad we didnt trade Duran, Abreu, Anthony. I am glad we didnt trade Cedanne. I never really saw the need to trade any. The argument for trading Cedanne would be the bat could regress then his value is kinda shot. But I dont think Cedanne had a ton of value this offseason (not sayiing he didnt have a significant amount) Im a hoarder of talent. I think you and I are both fine with things not being super clean. I respect you for this (among other things). Some people want one left-fielder, one center-fielder, one right - fielder, one third baseman....Im more like a stay flexible, stay versatile, have depth kinda guy. I expect twists and turns. I dont love making decisions right now that cant be undone (e.g. trading an outfielder), im more about how can we hoard the most talent.

Im fine with this, because a lot of things would have to line up. A position we need more would be Mayer falling on his face or Story getting hurt or Mayer getting hurt. But its not really a thing right now, as in there is no starter of our 9 who I see as a "hole". SO if theres an infield hold at the deadline, but all 4 OF'ers are healthy and productive, then you would trade Duran for an infielder who is a better hitter than Duran.....Im okay with this but.....I dont think that universe of players is as big as you think it is. Infielder who can field the position reasonably well and outhit Duran. Marte, sure. Paredes - no.

#1 is correctable and #2 doesnt apply to the 2026 Red Sox. Why is he not catching (even part time) for the 2026 Red Sox? You can be a 1b/C, see Ben Rice.

Bregman is still playing third base and Contreras can no longer catch. Contreras is also 2 years older. Bregman had his best OPS last year of the last four years. Contreras had his worst OPS last year of the last four years. My point is that I said that Contreras is further along in the aging process than Bregman. You gave me an all caps "OMG" and a sea exclamation points. Are you sure what I said was so wild? Other people are saying yeah but I like the positional fit better or I like the contract better. Which are valid points. And you may say that Contreras may not be as washed up as one might think considering his age. You may say that Bregman is more washed than one might think considering his age. And you wouldnt get an "OMG!!!!!!" from me for saying or thinking those things. But I dont think that saying the 34 yr old who can no longer play his position is more aged than the 32 yr old who can still play his position is some kind of wild statement.

YOu keep saying decline, im saying aging. Im saying that Contreras is aging and aging hard. Why is he no longer catching?

Doesnt Duran already have a double off Crochet THIS YEAR? WHere did Duran rank in doubles last year? Year before that? How about triples? Year before that? My point is more about Duran than it is about Cedanne, who I like also. But the fact that Duran is so many peoples first name as odd man out leads me to believe that people are understimatig the importance of doubles and triples. There is a reason why Duran will hit third and Anthony lead off (extra base hits).

Right now, Im glad Cedanne is still here because I think the injuries will solve this too many outfielder problem for us. And I do think he adds a lot with his CF defense. But I think we need Durans doubles and triples so much, that hes untouchable right now. I dont think hes going to get traded. And if Casas is tearing the cover off the ball in May and Contreras is playing well and everyone is heathy.....I expect Cedanne to either play infield (if like Mayer is struggling or hurt) or I expect Cedanne to come off the bench.

I said what I said, and that was that Im very glad that we didnt trade Duran, Abreu, Anthony. Cedanne not being on that list was not an oversight, you are correct to read into why I didnt include him.