If you listened to their podcast, you'd know that they think Rafaela needs about 400-600 ABs in AAA to work on his approach. He chases a lot and doesn't recognize pitches well. He has the bat speed and hands to be a good hitter but he has a lot of work to do. And yes, I know he's had better results the last couple of weeks.
I also read that it appears at times like he's taking pitches by guessing on balls, rather than recognizing them as such but he is very aware he needs to work on it.
Guessing it was related to coming out of the break and giving players extra time to get back.
I don't know why the Sox would do this, unless it's a preamble to a Duvall trade...
The way things are trending it may be about catching Baltimore.
I think it's easy to say this right now, while we're on a hot streak. It's unlikely to continue at this pace. In addition, the teams you mention above are veteran teams, whose players have longer track records of producing. We're still playing a bunch of young guys who are likely to experience some valleys over the year. That being said, the talent is as good as it's been in 5 years. Stay the course, wait for your injured players to return, and see if you can stay hot.
Has there been any whisper whatsoever on Mondesi? He’d fix the Arroyo problem. I’m guessing he never suits up for us.
While I certainly get your perspective, especially based on the relative "streakiness" of the team this year, I really do think they should look into "buying" a top half of the rotation starter with term to go along with Bello to anchor the rotation for the 2024+ window.
I'd be shocked if we see Kiké at SS anymore. Maybe once every two weeks. Not saying Chang's numbers are any better, but I'll take it, until Story is back.
Understand your reasoning, but I just think getting a top half of the rotation starter with multiple years of control you're looking at Meyer to start, and I want no part of that. Sending off 40-man repetitive pieces makes sense, but what do Bobby Dalbec and David Hamilton bring back? Maybe a back end of the rotation starter, which isn't nothing, and I'd be fine with it, but I'd rather wait, and make a run at Stroman, Hendricks, and Ryu this offseason.
Yep, trying to trade for a higher caliber starter at the deadline versus just opening the checkbook during the offseason is going to cost an awful lot in terms of prospects which may be detrimental to the 2024-2026 window. It's temping to do because they are right in the race but I think any fantasy of a deep playoff run is going to start and end with Chris Sale/Tanner Houck getting healthy.
I think a 2021 type deadline would not be surprising assuming they are still right in it. They are not going to go "Full sell" mode if they are sitting in or just barely out of one of the wildcards. They will likely go the route of "lets grab something to stabilize the rotation a bit and hopefully Chris Sale is back healthy and the rust is shaken off by the September push". I could see them grabbing a supplemental bat too, though that may depend on what Trevor Story looks like in a couple weeks.
Players who have been important to a team winning a World Series (I may be missing a few):
Tapia is on the Brewers (& has a .620 OPS for them).
You'd think. . .but Chang came back on July 7.
That's a trick question, isn't it?
By definition it's not a top of the rotation arm though. It's an arm that throws a plus live fastball with marginal command - great for low minors hitters. 105 Ks in 63 innings at Greenville!!!! - with a 5.14 ERA.
I feel like you argue for the sake of arguing. I had originally written "top of the rotation stuff" but believe "arm" is a better way to put it since his current stuff would not play in the Majors. I also stated that he "would need to make a few leaps to get there"...which I'm pretty sure is the same thing you are saying in terms of a lack of guaranteed progression?
I mean, I do feel a bit bad for the guy. He has + CF defense to his credit, and probably can hit better than this. OPS by Month: April - .716; May - .590; June - .555; July - .294.
Hmm. You know, nobody has ever said that to me.
Sometimes it's just about brake-pumping the semantics so as not to rile up the more trollish fans.
So Story would be displacing Chang.... are you going with Arroyo at 2B as the regular? I'd rather see Story just stick at 2B and Chang stay at SS. Arroyo or Reyes is a better bet there as the backup/break guy (I guess with Turner but I'd rather avoid him there).
Fair. I try to keep my in-depth prospect stuff to the Minor League thread, so my description here was probably lazy.
He will play SS, because having a guy there who can hit and field makes the team better. At least that's my underlying assumption.
Does it matter if he's at 2B or SS? Either Arroyo or Chang will have to play the other position and I'm more comfortable with Chang at SS than either of them at 2B. And while Story's elbow may be "fixed"... I'd still prefer to take it a little cautiously and have him at 2B where his defense was outstanding last season
I can't remember where I saw it (one of the beat guys on twitter) but they made the point that throughout 2022, Trevor Story exclusively worked out at 2B. He never even fielded balls at SS during BP. But this year, in his recovery/rehab, he's been working out exclusively at SS. When he returns, there should be zero doubt he will be the SS for the team.
