2019-20 Offseason Discussion

Cesar Crespo

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Dec 22, 2002
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Dominos are obviously yet to fall, but here’s the Sox depth chart as of this second:

C - Vaz, Plawecki
1B - Moreland, Chavis, (Dalbec)
2B - Peraza, Chavis, Arauz, Lin
3B - Devers, Chavis, Arauz, Lin
SS - Bogaerts, Arauz, Lin
LF - Benintendi, Chavis, Martinez
CF - Bradley, Benintendi, Lin(?)
RF - Betts, Bradley, Martinez, Andreoli(?)
DH - Martinez

Strengths:
- Lots of versatility among INF utility men
- Catching defense

Weaknesses:
- Lack of outfield depth (JDM is a disaster and injury risk out there)
- Vulnerability to LHP
- Redundant utility infielders without options
- 1B platoon

Notes:

- Bloom intimated that Chavis could be the team’s super utility guy. It seems like posturing to me, Chavis is hardly the defensive player Holt is, and two of his positions (3B/LF) are manned by regulars. But we’ll see.
- Chavis had trouble with LHP last year and makes an awkward platoon with Moreland at first base, though maybe Dalbec solves that in the spring.
- Speaking of vulnerability to southpaws, that distinction was true to some extent of Devers, Moreland, Bradley, and Chavis last year. Benintendi improved against them last year but was average overall.
- I doubt John Andreoli will get any meaningful time in 2020, but no one else on the team but Bradley can handle right field for the Red Sox in the case of a Betts trade, and putting Bradley there opens a hole in center that it doesn’t seem Benny can fill. JDM hits like Bonds when he plays the outfield (1.150 OPS) and only like Bonilla when he’s DH-ing (.900 OPS), but he’s a disaster and injury risk.
- Unless they sign one of the few remaining FA outfielders (Puig, Pillar, Dyson, Zobrist, Holt) or somehow have a separate deal lined up, a Betts trade would almost have to bring back a credible right fielder (Verdugo, Fowler, ) or center fielder (Margot, Cordero). Whoever it is probably shouldn’t need to be platooned against LHP.
Chavis is right handed and showed pretty much no splits in the minors and wasn't really all that much worse vs lefties than righties last year. I'm not convinced he's going to be a reverse split player. He hit for considerably more power against lefties but that bb/K is pretty ugly too. He also had BAbip luck vs righties.

vs RHP: 271 PA, .266/.347/.427, 10 HR, 28bb/90k, .383 BAbip, .161 ISO.
vs LHP: 111 PA, .226/.261/.481, 8 HR, 3bb/37k, .262 BAbip, .255 ISO.


Thanks to your post I actually just noticed Andrew Benintendi was better vs LHP than RHP last year. The BB/K ratio especially. If he continues to hit lefties as well as he did in 2019 and rebounds vs righties... he's in for a career year. I have a much more positive outlook on Andrew Benintendi now than I did 5 minutes ago.

vs RHP: 427 PA, .265/.336/.428, .335 BAbip, 38bb/97k
vs LHP: 188 PA, .269/.358/.438, .330 BAbip, 21bb/43k
 

Lavinius

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Same. I love me a lobster roll. Just not an embroidered one I'd have to plop down $40 to wear..
 

Cumberland Blues

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"I wish there were a picture of George Washington riding a horse on my favorite baseball team's cap." Said no one, ever.
 

YTF

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brandonchristensen

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Sorry, wasn't sure if there was a better place to ask this...

Me, my brother and my dad are going to do an east coast trip this summer (Baltimore, Philly, NYC and Boston) and are going to go to Fenway on AUGUST 10th. I looked at StubHub and the like, but thought I'd ask if anyone on here had a good hookup for tickets that wasn't Stubhub. Also, how do you do Green Monster tickets? I saw standing room only, but not anything else.
 

In my lifetime

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Minneapolis Millers

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Seriously who the fuck buys this shit? Eventually Fanatics will have it discounted down to $9.99 and it with still be $15.00 too much.
Honestly? Tourists. It's the type of thing a desperate aunt who forgot to buy something for her favorite nephew picks up at the airport "on sale" for $25. Because it has, you know, everything Boston on it. Tacky crap.

And yes, to E5's point, the statue is of Boston's own Paul Revere (the one in Paul Revere Mall), not that other, Virginia guy. Jeezus. Great adverstising... :rolleyes:
 

Savin Hillbilly

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Jul 10, 2007
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The wrong side of the bridge....
And yes, to E5's point, the statue is of Boston's own Paul Revere (the one in Paul Revere Mall), not that other, Virginia guy. Jeezus. Great adverstising... :rolleyes:
Well, to be fair, the GW statue in the Public Garden is a very similar pose (right arm splayed out, horse with head down & left leg up). So not that hard a mistake to make.
 

snowmanny

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Washington did have a Boston connection. You know: Evacuation Day. Granted, not as good as Revere's Patriots Day...
 

nighthob

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George Washington lost every battle in New England, and didn't win till Trenton, a Yankee AA Farm Team.
Not true, Washington used some corked cannons to scare the British out of Boston. General Howe lodged a protest with the Commissioner of Major Revolutions, but the colonials ignored the rulings of Lord Manfred.
 

BaseballJones

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Ok, Mookie has been traded. Price has been traded. Verdugo and Graterol are on board. With the rest of the signings and deals so far this offseason, here's what we're looking at....

Starters
C - Vazquez - 103 ops+
1b - Moreland - 112 ops+
2b - Chavis - 96 ops+
3b - Devers - 133 ops+
SS - Bogaerts - 140 ops+
LF - Benintendi - 100 ops+
CF - Bradley - 90 ops+
RF - Verdugo - 114 ops+
DH - Martinez - 140 ops+

Reserves
C - Plawecki - 64 ops+
IF - Hernandez - 60 ops+
IF - Peraza - 62 ops+
IF - Lin - 49 ops+
OF -

Pitchers
SP - Sale - 109 era+
SP - Rodriguez - 126 era+
SP - Eovaldi - 81 era+
SP - Perez - 90 era+
SP - Graterol (?)
RP - Walden - 127 era+, 8.8 k/9
RP - Barnes - 128 era+, 15.4 k/9
RP - Workman - 256 era+, 13.1 k/9
RP - Brasier - 100 era+, 9.9 k/9
RP - Hembree - 125 era+, 10. 4k/9
RP - Brice - 124 era+, 9.3 k/9
RP - Springs - 82 era+, 8.9 k/9
RP - Osich - 99 era+, 8.1 k/9
RP - Hernandez - 109 era+, 16.9 k/9

Other relievers include: Hall, Hart, Brewer, Aybar, Shawaryn, Taylor, and Weber. Also, Dalbec could be arriving early this season to platoon at 1b.

So offensively, they should still score runs. Three guys who were .300/30/100 last year. Pretty solid up and down the lineup. Obviously the delta between Mookie and Verdugo is pretty large, but I expect Benintendi to have a better season, and we could also see improvement from Chavis. I think the offense should be fine.

The pitching is obviously the concern here. Will Sale hold up? Will ERod continue his development? Will Eovaldi stay healthy, and if so, will he be effective? Is Perez an actual capable MLB starter? Who's the fifth guy in the rotation? Or will they stack up on relievers and play the "opener" deal like Tampa did? Will the bullpen be solid or is this just a bunch of mish-mash that's gonna make us all pull our hair out?

I think they need to add another good bat for the bench at least (maybe Hunter Pence at age 36 wouldn't cost much, and he still has something left in the tank; and he helps in the OF where there's a need still, or Kevin Pillar maybe?), and probably another legitimate starting pitcher. Now that they're under the luxury tax threshold, they have some space available, I think.
 

jon abbey

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BOS could probably get Brock Holt back pretty easily now if they wanted.
 

DeadlySplitter

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they'll still have a shot at a WC if all breaks right. time to move forward... and Bloom is going to do more in 2020 to redo the roster, maybe not now but later.

I am curious who leads off... Benny was straight up bad in the spot. Or will it be Verdugo?
 

Cesar Crespo

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Dec 22, 2002
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So much Dead Money...
View: https://twitter.com/bostonsportsinf/status/1224911139294892034

Red Sox will spend $50,409,418 in CASH for players that will not or are highly unlikely to bat or throw a pitch in Boston this year
David Price - $16,000,000
Rusney Castillo - $14,271,428
Dustin Pedroia - $13,125,000
Pablo Sandoval - $5,000,000
Manny Ramirez - $2,013,418
It's far, far more likely we see Rusney Castillo in 2020 now that the sox are under the cap. That's assuming they don't spend that money on other players anyway.
 

RedOctober3829

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deep inside Guido territory
It's far, far more likely we see Rusney Castillo in 2020 now that the sox are under the cap. That's assuming they don't spend that money on other players anyway.
Why would Castillo end up in the majors this year while they need to stay under the CBT? Castillo's $14.2 million does not currently count against the tax so why would they all of a sudden add that to the payroll?
 

E5 Yaz

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Why would Castillo end up in the majors this year while they need to stay under the CBT? Castillo's $14.2 million does not currently count against the tax so why would they all of a sudden add that to the payroll?
Your reality runs in direct opposition of their fantasy
 

Cesar Crespo

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Dec 22, 2002
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Why would Castillo end up in the majors this year while they need to stay under the CBT? Castillo's $14.2 million does not currently count against the tax so why would they all of a sudden add that to the payroll?
Because they are already under and they have to pay him anyway. They wouldn't be paying any tax on his contract.

Am I wrong?
 

Cesar Crespo

79
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Dec 22, 2002
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His contract was outrighted off the 40 man roster so he counts for $0 currently. If you want him in Boston, you need to add him and his $14 million to the CBT payroll. It’s simply not going to happen.
Yeah, but they will be paying him $14 million regardless of whether he's on the 40 man or not. It doesn't matter if he's on the payroll as long as they aren't over.

Before, $14 mil would have really been $21 million or something, right?
 

RedOctober3829

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Yeah, but they will be paying him $14 million regardless of whether he's on the 40 man or not. It doesn't matter if he's on the payroll as long as they aren't over.
They’ll be at or around $185. Add 14 and that’s 199 so that gives them 9 million in space. They will most likely add money to the payroll before the season. So no they won’t put him on the 40 man.
 

Cesar Crespo

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Dec 22, 2002
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I'm not saying it's likely, just more likely now that they can call him up and not have to pay the tax. Are they more than $14 million below the thresh hold?

edit: What he said ^^
 

chawson

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Aug 1, 2006
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Ben Zobrist and Hunter Pence now seem like very good fits with our all-LHH outfield, with Zobrist’s additional expertise at second being pretty useful to us.

I’m very interested to see what Bloom is going to do now that his hands aren’t tied.

I simply cannot handle another Rusney Castillo conversation.
 

bosockboy

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Mentioned last night but would be surprised if Holt isn’t signed now. They can afford it and he’s a fan favorite. Holt/Peraza 2B platoon, Moreland/Chavis 1B platoon. Add another SP and a RHH 4th OF.
 

johnnywayback

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The bench seems like it's shaping up to be

Plawecki (C)
Chavis (1B/2B)
RHH outfielder TK

Which leaves one spot (unless they go with 12 pitchers, in which case it's two spots). I gotta think Jonathan Arauz has first crack at it, since they lose him if he doesn't make the team. Then there's Tzu-Wei Lin, who, unlike Holt, can play CF. Marco Hernandez is still in the organization, too, along with CJ Chatham.

I guess they could bring back Holt just because they like him, but I don't think infield depth is at the top of our worry list. Ideally, your fourth bench spot would give you another outfield option in case Verdugo needs to take it easy because of his back. I know Holt can play corner OF in a pinch, but I'd be curious about guys like Brad Miller (who has a ton of position versatility), Domingo Santana, and Cameron Maybin.
 

mr_smith02

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Mentioned last night but would be surprised if Holt isn’t signed now. They can afford it and he’s a fan favorite. Holt/Peraza 2B platoon, Moreland/Chavis 1B platoon. Add another SP and a RHH 4th OF.
You are aware this means simply nothing to the current ownership, right?
 

chawson

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The bench seems like it's shaping up to be

Plawecki (C)
Chavis (1B/2B)
RHH outfielder TK

Which leaves one spot (unless they go with 12 pitchers, in which case it's two spots). I gotta think Jonathan Arauz has first crack at it, since they lose him if he doesn't make the team. Then there's Tzu-Wei Lin, who, unlike Holt, can play CF. Marco Hernandez is still in the organization, too, along with CJ Chatham.

I guess they could bring back Holt just because they like him, but I don't think infield depth is at the top of our worry list. Ideally, your fourth bench spot would give you another outfield option in case Verdugo needs to take it easy because of his back. I know Holt can play corner OF in a pinch, but I'd be curious about guys like Brad Miller (who has a ton of position versatility), Domingo Santana, and Cameron Maybin.
The bench is weird, since Arauz and Lin are pretty redundant and both have to stay on the 25-man. I suspect one of them might be outrighted soon with the hope they don’t get claimed.

It’s possible they take a crack at Santana but it’s worth noting he’s been absolutely terrible against LHP the last couple years, so doesn’t make a terrific platoon guy for our all-lefty outfield. He’s also a very bad outfielder. Maybin has more defensive value, but he’s been similarly not great against lefties the last couple years, fwiw.

Pence has limited range but could be useful. Zobrist seems like a complicated case, reportedly going through a messy divorce last year, but he’d be my pick on a small deal, since it looks like he might still be able to play an average right field. Holt also seems possible now — it doesn’t solve the LHH/RHH breakdown but he’s had reverse splits in the past, plus it might buy back some goodwill for the fan base.
 

chrisfont9

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Sox should probably kick the tires on Taijuan Walker, no? He's apparently working out for teams. Definitely high upside, though apparently his FB was in the mid 80s last week. You'd think if he's getting only minor league level offers, Boston would be more intriguing to him with a rotation need.