Red Sox acquire SS/3B Adalberto Mondesi for Josh Taylor

Cumberland Blues

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Adalberto has something in common with Brandon Workman.

He got his first MLB at bat in a World Series game.
 

DJnVa

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Dec 16, 2010
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Looking forward to Mondesi breaking down at some point during the season and then apologists for the front office lamenting the terrible injury luck that has beset the team.
Or we can get our shots in at the FO now before the guy even plays a game. Six of one, half dozen of the other.
 

nvalvo

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Hard to evaluate the Mondesi acquisition without knowing what the prospect price was for Kim. I would be much more optimistic about Kim, but this is also much more affordable.

Lion man was saying Kim for Houck and Dalbec, but there were other rumors that Houck was to be the centerpiece of a package that also included Dalbec, Mata, and another player. Yeah, no. I could see dealing Houck or Mata, but both?
 

GlucoDoc

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Dec 19, 2005
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Agree with above. (We cannot say for sure, but Chaim does!!) And think about the sequencing of this. There was talk about Kim. Speculation about who might be in a trade, including Houck, and concern that the price was too high in this mode of “Waiting for Mayer.” That assessment likely prompted the Mondesi trade. That somewhat eased the shortage through the middle. With that, it was clearer that Houck would NOT be in a trade for Kim (which we cannot be totally sure won’t happen, but very much less likely now). Thus, now, Houck, as others have speculated, will end up as a key piece in our bullpen. Once that was established, Barnes could be DFA’s. Barnes, being the piece they were most concerned about per discussion in the Barnes thread. Sequencing of events makes sense. Once the decision was made to do the Mondesi trade and (probably) not Kim, the other dominos fell and likely may continue to fall.
 

bosockboy

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Agree with above. (We cannot say for sure, but Chaim does!!) And think about the sequencing of this. There was talk about Kim. Speculation about who might be in a trade, including Houck, and concern that the price was too high in this mode of “Waiting for Mayer.” That assessment likely prompted the Mondesi trade. That somewhat eased the shortage through the middle. With that, it was clearer that Houck would NOT be in a trade for Kim (which we cannot be totally sure won’t happen, but very much less likely now). Thus, now, Houck, as others have speculated, will end up as a key piece in our bullpen. Once that was established, Barnes could be DFA’s. Barnes, being the piece they were most concerned about per discussion in the Barnes thread. Sequencing of events makes sense. Once the decision was made to do the Mondesi trade and (probably) not Kim, the other dominos fell and likely may continue to fall.
Nice post. Agree 100%.
 

budcrew08

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There is a middle ground between dumpster diving and spending like Steve Cohen, though.

In this instance, after losing X, there really were not a ton of options for the Sox to fill the void at SS, especially with the Story news breaking later in the off-season. They have a hole at SS and there wasn't anybody left in FA (outside of Correa) who could make that big of a difference, so you might as well see in Mondesi can get it together. It's a bad situation but they had to get someone and Mondesi is at least a lottery ticket.
totally understand there's a middle ground. It just seems like Bloom is more interested in the lottery tickets and older platoon guys for now.
 

PrometheusWakefield

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Hard to evaluate the Mondesi acquisition without knowing what the prospect price was for Kim. I would be much more optimistic about Kim, but this is also much more affordable.

Lion man was saying Kim for Houck and Dalbec, but there were other rumors that Houck was to be the centerpiece of a package that also included Dalbec, Mata, and another player. Yeah, no. I could see dealing Houck or Mata, but both?
I think it's pretty obvious from San Diego's offseason posture and current roster that if they trade Kim, it will be for someone to help the 2023 roster and that the best way to upgrade their current roster is to add another starting pitcher. I doubt there was any way they were going to trade Kim without Houck or Whitlock being part of the return. Realistically I think we are pretty safe in assuming that the choice we faced was either Mondesi and Houck or Kim and Taylor and within that it's pretty obvious we made the better move. I was desperate enough for Kim's up the middle defense that I was willing to depart with Houck, but getting that defensive ability without giving up a major asset in return is way better.
 

PrometheusWakefield

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totally understand there's a middle ground. It just seems like Bloom is more interested in the lottery tickets and older platoon guys for now.
More like he's interested in acquisitions that don't require long term financial commitments or departing with top prospects or young assets and doing the best he can within those constraints.
 

budcrew08

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Mondesi saw an average of 3.96 pitches per PA in 2021 and 3.98 P/PA in a very short '22, which would be about middle of the pack for us.

2022 Pitches/PA
Casas 4.29
Dalbec 4.18
Refsnyder 4.14
Turner 4.04 (LAD)
JDM 4.00
Story 4.00
Cordero 3.98
Bogaerts 3.97
Duran 3.95
Wong 3.95
Hosmer 3.90 (SD+BOS)
Verdugo 3.87
Duvall 3.86 (ATL)
Devers 3.71
Kiké 3.70
Alfaro 3.65 (SD)
Tapia 3.64 (TOR)
McGuire 3.53 (CWS+BOS)
Arroyo 3.50
I love how Bobby Dalbec is second on the team in this category, and then I remember that you have to see at least three pitches to strike out with the frequency he does.
 

jbupstate

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I love how Bobby Dalbec is second on the team in this category, and then I remember that you have to see at least three pitches to strike out with the frequency he does.
Does anyone know the MLB avg pitches per K? Seems obvious it’s very close to 4.00. Adding a pitch to chase each strikeout. Also would be interesting to know looking vs swinging.
 

Pozo the Clown

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Sep 13, 2006
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FWIW, Jim Bowden in an article in The Athletic analyzing 10 off-season trades (link below) grades the Sox favorably on this transaction. Here's what he wrote:

"Trade grades: Red Sox — B-plus; Royals — C
The Red Sox took a good gamble in acquiring Mondesi, the human injured list, who when healthy is one of the most dynamic base stealers in the sport. He has 133 career stolen bases in 358 games, and with MLB’s new rules, including bigger bases and limits on stepoffs and pickoffs, he’ll become even more valuable. He’s a tremendous athlete who has above-average raw power and — yes, I’ll say it — All-Star potential. But he’s played more than 75 games in a season only once, never had 450 plate appearances in a season, and he’s coming off ACL surgery. It’s likely Mondesi, 27, spends more time on the injured list than the active roster, but given Trevor Story’s injury and the loss of Xander Bogaerts, it makes sense to take the risk. In return, the Royals got Taylor, a solid left-handed reliever who is also a health risk after missing all of last season because of back issues. However, he did record a 3.40 ERA with 11.3 strikeouts per nine innings over 47 2/3 frames in 2021. It will be interesting to see which team comes out ahead in this trade — but it likely boils down to which player spends more time on the active roster."

https://theathletic.com/4125557/2023/01/26/mlb-trades-offseason-ranking-grades/
 

A Bad Man

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Dec 12, 2016
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Short Jennings piece on Mondesi's rehab:
Mondesi said he’s been hitting in the cage for weeks, and his swing feels basically back to normal, especially from the right side. His left-handed swing came back more slowly. He’s been running, but mostly in a straight line. On Monday, he did his usual cage work, then took his four rounds of batting practice before taking a few groundballs at shortstop. Assistant general manager Eddie Romero watched from the dugout while multiple coaches stood on the field. One muttered the word “smooth” to no one in particular.
“I had (ACL surgery) in ’05,” said Red Sox infielder instructor Carlos Febles, himself a former big league middle infielder, “And I remember my first day taking groundballs, it wasn’t that fluid like he did today. He moved like he never had surgery on it. I was really impressed with the way he worked, and the way he was moving around the baseball. Big step forward for him.”
“I can say I’m close (to playing in games),” Mondesi said. “But it all depends on what (the Red Sox) say. I’ve been feeling good and every day doing a little bit more, a little bit more. … That’s the plan, to be ready for Opening Day. That’s the mindset and we’ve been working for that.”
 

TonyPenaNeverJuiced

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Fishy1

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A small sample and a very young league, but... some nice numbers in the Dominican Summer League. Big strikeout rate but lots of walks. Lottery ticket indeed.
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