Joey Batts in the Fens?

Sandy Leon Trotsky

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Just a rumor from Yahoo Sports that he's "interested...".
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/jose-bautista-interested-signing-red-044517151.html

I'd personally pass on Bautista, as his last season was pretty unspectacular and he's definitely on the downside of his career but I could clearly imagine Dombrowski falling for potential Fenway power. I wouldn't offer more than a 2 year deal for $30M but someone out there will offer a 4 year, yeah?
 

RedOctober3829

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Just a rumor from Yahoo Sports that he's "interested...".
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/jose-bautista-interested-signing-red-044517151.html

I'd personally pass on Bautista, as his last season was pretty unspectacular and he's definitely on the downside of his career but I could clearly imagine Dombrowski falling for potential Fenway power. I wouldn't offer more than a 2 year deal for $30M but someone out there will offer a 4 year, yeah?
I'd rather sign EE than Bautista. EE can rotate between 1st and DH with Hanley. Bautista doesn't really fill a hole besides full-time DH unless they decided to trade one of the OFers.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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This is nothing more than Yahoo practicing the ancient art of click baiting.

Their original source, which they unsurprisingly don't link to, is Cafardo in his Sunday Notes column. And all he's doing is speculating without even a remote implication that he actually spoke to Bautista or someone close to him.

This is what Cafardo wrote: "Boston could be a preferred destination, with Bautista having played for John Farrell and Brian Butterfield in Toronto. Bautista also loves Fenway Park."

This is Yahoo's interpretation: "The Red Sox might not have to look further than AL East rival Jose Bautista, who is reportedly interested in signing with the club this offseason."

Pretty big leap from "Boston could be a preferred destination" to he is "interested in signing with the club".

Obviously the Sox and Bautista are going to be linked in rumors this winter because the Sox are big spenders and could be perceived to have a need, but I wouldn't put stock in it any more than rumors that are sure to come naming the Yankees, Dodgers, Cubs, and a slew of other teams with some cash to burn.
 

moondog80

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I'd rather sign EE than Bautista. EE can rotate between 1st and DH with Hanley. Bautista doesn't really fill a hole besides full-time DH unless they decided to trade one of the OFers.
Would you take EE for 5-6 years ahead of Bautista for 2-3?

Personally I don't want either unless they are at a relative bargain; I think that's more likely to happen with Bautista.
 

RedOctober3829

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Would you take EE for 5-6 years ahead of Bautista for 2-3?

Personally I don't want either unless they are at a relative bargain; I think that's more likely to happen with Bautista.
As much as I dislike long-term deals, yes I'd rather have EE for 5-6 years than JB for 2-3. EE is younger and for the last year or so an overall better hitter than Bautista. Bautista's numbers plummeted this year which would make me think his decline is here.
 

TheoShmeo

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The comments of Edwin Encarcion and Joey Bats this season made it pretty clear that both guys would be interested in replacing Papi.

I would MUCH prefer EE but am guessing he will be too expensive for their tastes. And I hope I am wrong.
 

MikeM

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Name values aside here, I can't really see DD splurging that big to replace Ortiz with a guy who's not another LH batter atm.
 

Hoodie Sleeves

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If all it took was 2/30, I'd be all for it. I doubt that is the price tag though.
If its cheap/short, sure.

He put up a 122 wRC (117 OPS+) this year - going into 2013 Napoli had just put up a 116 wRC(113 OPS+) - both looked to be on the downside of their career.

Napoli was 30, Bautista is 35, which I think offsets some of Napoli's hip issues. Napoli had a couple years of doing a pretty good job of spot starting at 1B, and the Red Sox clearly thought he was going to be pretty good there. Bautista on the other hand is an abysmal first baseman, and isn't really going to be able to spot-start in any sort of useful capacity. Considering the age, I'd be looking at a shorter deal than Napoli, and that doesn't even consider him getting a qualifying offer.

So yeah, unless he's cheap as hell, or you think you can fix something and get him back in that 140+ OPS+ range, I pass hard.
 

simplicio

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He's getting a QO, right? I don't think I'm into giving up picks for a couple years of aged Bautista.
 

reggiecleveland

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Joey Bats in Boston is a pipe dream of the Jays fans. they want to convince themselves EE is coming back. If they give him a qualifying offer does anyone sign JB? Would anybody give up a draft pick for him? He was 1.0 WAR player last year. He is a below average, at best, outfielder. He was one of 100 guys to hit 20 homers last year. I can see the Sox overpaying EE though.
 
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NDame616

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A big name free agent is saying he's interested in coming to a big market team that prints money?

Shocked, I tell ya!

Offer him 3/$9M. See how interested he really is....
 

Mueller Lite

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EE makes all the sense in the world for Boston. Offer him 4 years 80-90 mil. If you have to go to a 5th year then fine. He idolizes Ortiz and would love to be the Boston DH heir along with Hanley. He still enjoys playing defense, so splitting time at DH/1B to keep each player fresh will really help their bats throughout the season. He is worth giving up the draft pick where JB is not.
 

Cesar Crespo

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Might Mike Napoli make sense?
Another former Redsox player that makes sense at 1b/DH/OF is Brandon Moss who I'm guessing wouldn't require that many years or dollars. Go into the season with a combination of Shaw, Holt and Pablo at 3b until Moncada is ready. With a full year of Benintendi, it will help offset some of the left handed power lost with Ortiz's retirement. Brandon Moss, and later on Moncada, can help offset even more of that. A Brandon Moss/Chris Young platoon allows line up flexibility even after Moncada is called up.

When Moncada is called up, you can platoon him or Moss with Pablo or possibly trade Pablo if there's another 3b vs L option (Marco? Dubon?) You can also potentially call up Sam Travis at some point to platoon with Brandon Moss or DH vs L. This allows you to platoon JBJ or Ben 10 with Chris Young against tough lefties. Travis Shaw would be useless, tho. And Travis Shaw is kinda Brandon Moss light.
 

rembrat

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DD traded for Kimbrel and signed Price to fill huge holes. Something tells me he isn't going to go dumpster diving to replace Papi's power and presence in the middle of the order.
 

Cesar Crespo

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DD traded for Kimbrel and signed Price to fill huge holes. Something tells me he isn't going to go dumpster diving to replace Papi's power and presence in the middle of the order.
Unless you want to sign EE or trade for Votto, aren't you kinda stuck with a Kendry Morales, Napoli, Moss type bat that there seem to be an abundance of this FA? Who are the other choices?
 

rembrat

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Unless you want to sign EE or trade for Votto, aren't you kinda stuck with a Kendry Morales, Napoli, Moss type bat that there seem to be an abundance of this FA? Who are the other choices?
Yea, I'm saying DD would prefer an EE type over rolling the dice on production from a Morales/Napoli/Moss.
 

Savin Hillbilly

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The wrong side of the bridge....
And Travis Shaw is kinda Brandon Moss light.
Maybe in terms of overall value, though that remains to be seen (for better and for worse). But it's an odd comp. Shaw is a decent contact hitter and a solid defender, both things that Moss is mediocre-to-terrible at. OTOH, Shaw is pretty bad (so far) at the one thing Moss is really good at: hitting the ball hard when he does make contact. They were players of similar value this year (Moss slightly better per unit playing time), but with quite distinct skill sets.
 

InsideTheParker

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Why are there two "t"s in the title name of the player? His surname is Bautista, his nickname is Joey Bats.
I am always against paying big bucks for what looks to be the down-side of a career, so I say no. How does one get guys like Ramirez or Santana of the Indians? I'd like a guy like that. I don't expect any one person to replace David Ortiz.
 

reggiecleveland

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Why are there two "t"s in the title name of the player? His surname is Bautista, his nickname is Joey Bats.
I am always against paying big bucks for what looks to be the down-side of a career, so I say no. How does one get guys like Ramirez or Santana of the Indians? I'd like a guy like that. I don't expect any one person to replace David Ortiz.
 

sfmainer

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Just say no to either one of Joey Bats or EE -- the core is solid, just build around it for a 4-5 year run.
 

Minneapolis Millers

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I'd like them to find a way to add cost-effective LH power. I agree that Moss as a platoon guy with Young and some defensive flexibility seems like a good target. And earlier in the thread, the mention of old friend Victor Martinez as a trade target from a now-cost-conscious Tigers team also makes sense. I wouldn't go near a 4-year deal for Bautista, and would be pretty nervous about a 5-6 year deal for EE at market a Chris Davis-level of pay. I'd rather they take that money and start extending one or more of the B's...
 

the moops

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Along similar lines of Moss, might be worth a look at Adam Lind. Unless of course there is reason to believe that his play in 2016 is indicative of his #'s going forward.
 

Dewey'sCannon

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If he gets a QO, I would stay far, far away from Joey Bats. I think they'll look at EE, but I wouldn't go more than 4 years, and less than 20 per. I don't think that'll be enough, which is fine. Either fill from within, or get a vet (preferably LH, like Moss or Beltran (SH), or maybe look at Napoli) as a short-term plug until some of the minor league bats are ready.
 

koufax37

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I spoke to someone inside the 2016 Blue Jays who I trust, and for a couple reasons I won't go into in too much detail for confidentiality, I am not confident that Bautista in the future will be more than 2016 version of him (.234/.366/.452). I think someone overpays him in dollars and years for his 2010-2015 averages, and misses that that player is a thing of the past. Not an auction I want to win.

Similarly, I think, with secret undisclosed source again, EE really wants to stay in Toronto, and with Joey Bats leaving and the team coming off the revenue bump of back to back ALCS appearances, it will be tough to outbid the Blue Jays, and if we did so we would be spending more than I think he is worth. Although it seems like DD's type of signing, so while I won't like the back end of the contract if we win the bidding war, I'll enjoy the production if it happens.

So in short, I don't think either of the Blue Jays sluggers is the right fit for Boston in the market they will have, and Shaw/Panda/Napoli/Beltran or something similarly low profile will be a much better fit than a big splash from the Blue Jays.