|
Post by Kimmi on Aug 31, 2020 6:32:08 GMT -5
Red Sox Stats @redsoxstats · 8h Wasn't sure when this actually happens but it looks like right at 4. "Once the trade deadline passes at 4 p.m. Eastern, the season will be considered official as far as resetting the penalties for the luxury tax." bostonglobe.com/2020/08/29/spo Woohoo! We made it to the deadline!
Someone brought up a good point about not going over the luxury tax limit this year, even though we're resetting. I'm not saying the team should punt, but sign your Mitch Moreland types - quality players on short term deals. Then next offseason, the team can go over if they want. They'll also have some other money coming off the books, like Price's and Pedroia's, I believe.
|
|
|
Post by Kimmi on Aug 31, 2020 6:34:40 GMT -5
Dan Maher @coachdanmaher · 7h Replying to @loumerloni Lou, I won’t ask you who we should target in return, because the answer could be limitless. What do you think about tanking for draft position? Kumar Rocker? Jack Leiter?
Lou Merloni @loumerloni · 6h I worry Manfred will combine these last 2 years and Sox would be in 8-9-10 range I am still not happy about this. I guess Manfred is trying to prevent teams from tanking this year, but the Sox might actually have a chance to draft #1 this year, and Manfred is going to take that away from us.
I'm still wondering what his "formula" is.
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 31, 2020 6:42:42 GMT -5
Chaim Bloom’s opportunity is now for the Red Sox Andy Hart August 31, 2020 - 6:10 am To hear Eminem so eloquently tell it, you only have “one shot or one opportunity.”
For Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom, Monday’s 4 p.m. 2020 Major League Baseball trade deadline may be that shot. Listen Live Now on WEEI
Sure, in the 10 months since the 37-year-old landed in Boston Bloom has made his share of meaningful moves. Heck, he traded away MVP Mookie Betts and like the rest of Red Sox Nation is watching the smiling superstar light it up in L.A.
But that was an organizational move. That was a hand that was forced by finances and past mistakes. A resetting of the accounting books if you buy entirety of the well-told narrative.
Now, though, Bloom is on the cusp of true baseball moves, of working HIS way through HIS plan to return HIS team from the depths of its current state of pandemic short-season irrelevance.
It’s no longer about competitive balance taxes but finding a way to return to some form of competitive balance.
That’s all on Bloom’s youthful, confident shoulders.
If he hasn’t already realized it to his core, he’s not in Tampa anymore. He’s certainly not in Kansas. He’s in Boston, where time tables are expedited and expectations are sky high, even when the current winning percentage is cellar-dwellerly low.
“I don’t subscribe to the concept of a long-term rebuild. It’s just not in our ethos,” Red Sox CEO and President Sam Kennedy said recently told the Boston Globe.
In the next few hours Bloom will likely wheel and deal his way through the day. In doing so he’ll not only chart the course for the Red Sox future but begin to write his own lasting legacy in Boston.
Bloom actually began the process last week, sending relievers Brandon Workman and Heath Hembree to the Phillies. Added to that by shipping Mitch Moreland to the Padres.
Those are deals that, in the long haul, can and likely will be easily forgotten. Unless one of the now somewhat nameless returns in those trades becomes a star, it will be water on the annual trade deadline bridge, even in this crazy, coronavirus-controlled year. Maybe not much gained, but also not much lost.
But if we’re to believe speculation and rumors, Bloom may just be considering other more significant dealings that won’t be so easily swept away into the history books. Deals that might include needle-moving mainstays like shortstop Xander Bogaerts, DH J.D. Martinez or catcher Christian Vazquez.
Those are the types of franchise-shifting considerations that you don’t come back from. They either jumpstart a relatively quick return to winning ways or dig a deeper hole.
How Bloom handles the trade deadline may also bring insight into his overall plan for the franchise.
Despite Kennedy’s comments, we may know by the end of Monday whether Bloom sees a competitive team in 2021, 2022 or not.
Moving the likes of Bogaerts – who can opt out of his team-friendly contract in 2022 – or even Vazquez – who’s declared a desire to be a career Red Sox player now that he’s developed into one of the best all-around catchers in MLB – would certainly signal that Bloom doesn’t foresee a swift return to being a contender.
Standing pat with those core stars, though, might indicate that Bloom projects the potential for 2021 returns from topline pitchers Chris Sale and Eduardo Rodriguez combined with more financial flexibility as a way to jump right get back into the swing of things in the AL East.
Either way, it’s all on Bloom. His time to shine is now.
Today we will begin to find out if Bloom is potentially the next great, championship-winning personnel man in the City of Boston or the latest example of the Peter Principle in professional sports.
This is why he makes the big bucks.
Let’s hope he doesn’t blow what may be his “one shot.”
“His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy
There's vomit on his sweater already, mom's spaghetti
He's nervous, but on the surface he looks calm and ready”
--Eminem, “Lose Yourself”
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 31, 2020 6:43:49 GMT -5
Remembering the very important story of how Mitch Moreland came to the Red Sox Rob Bradford August 31, 2020 - 6:36 am
During the few moments Dave Dombrowski took to reflect on Mitch Moreland's time with the Red Sox he couldn't let one key piece of the equation slip by.
"In 2018 if he doesn’t hit that three-run homer against the Dodgers who knows what happens?" Listen Live Now on WEEI
The former Red Sox President of Baseball Operations continued, "We had a great year of course and we were up two games to one but we were down 4-0 after losing a tough game the day before. We really were struggling scoring runs all of a sudden and he stepped up and hit that pinch-hit three-run homer and all of a sudden the momentum changed in our regard. Of course, a lot of people produced, but who knows if he doesn’t come up with that what ends up happening?"
Dombrowski was right to surface that seventh-inning pinch-hit homer, drawing the Sox to within a run of the Dodgers before ultimately going on to win that Game 4 of the 2018 World Series.
This was the defining moment for a journey set out on by the executive and the player nearly two years before when Dombrowski identified the then-31-year-old to be the Red Sox' first baseman. It was a partnership that proved so important in so many ways, ending with Morelabnd's trade to San Diego Sunday.
"I can’t say I was surprised to the extent that I had been told so much about him as a person from my times when I was in Detroit," recalled Dombrowski when looking back at Moreland's tenure with the Sos during a phone conversation with WEEI.com Sunday evening. "One of our scouts there at that point was Dick Egan and he watched them play all the time with the Rangers. Now, I’m going back to 2011, 2012, that time period where he would just say, ‘Dave, I know have a lot of good players, but this guy is a championship player. He’s a quality player. He knows how to play the game. He always played hard. He gives his effort. He may not be as talented all-around as some of those guys, but just keep him in mind if you can ever get him he should be a guy you should try and get.’ Now, when you get a guy and he’s as solid as advertised sometimes you’re surprised. He was as advertised.
"I guess the one thing that surprised was that he continued to play. We signed him to a one-year contract and then a two-year contract. But he just kept playing and playing well. He really didn’t slip at all. He ended up being good player all-around."
The importance of acquiring Moreland when the Red Sox did for what they did stretches well beyond that moment in Dodger Stadium.
He was the guy who Dombrowski re-upped with prior to the 2018 season instead of the big-ticket-item at the time, free-agent first baseman Eric Hosmer. The final tally prior to the two ultimately becoming teammates in San Diego is Moreland totaling a .806 OPS with 65 home runs to go along with that World Series title during his three-plus seasons in Boston, with Hosmer managing a .741 OPS since signing that eight-year, $144 million contract with the Padres.
The one-year, $5.7 million signed with the Red Sox prior to the 2017 season had worked out just fine. But now, heading into the 2018 campaign, there was every expectation Dombrowski was going to make a big slash for power hitter either for first base or designated hitter, and Hosmer seemed to fit the bill. As it turned out the correct answer was already right in front of the then-Sox executive.
"I think you explore a lot of different things, which we were doing at that point," Dombrowski said. "Of course, we inquired on Hosmer at that point, as we were inquiring about all the players who fit for us at that time. But we were looking for a first baseman/DH in particular. In Mitch’s case, we liked him a lot. And once it became apparent we weren’t going to sign Hosmer we turned the page very quickly because we really liked him as a player, we liked his all-around abilities offensively and defensively. Quality make-up. Our people with the Red Sox liked him a great deal. We just felt he was a really good fit for our ballclub based upon him being an all-around player. We thought he would play well at Fenway. We thought one of the things he could play well at times in his career. We talked about how he always hit well in Fenway. He just ended up playing very well for us, being steady and being a leader just as we had hoped.
"We were looking at a lot of different things at that point, but when we went to the winter meetings I remember coming back and we conversed with (Hosmer's agent) Scott (Boras) about what he was looking for in regards to Hosmer and we just knew it wasn’t going to be a fit for us as that point. We felt that rather than play that on and go on through the wintertime we liked Mitch so we felt, ‘OK, let’s make this move quickly.’ We don’t mean to say he was Hosmer because Hosmer was younger and was coming off a world championship and been an All-Star type player at times, but we thought Mitch was comparable in many regards. So we weren’t going to wait and sit on the Hosmer situation and extend that. We thought, ‘Let’s go sign Mitch,’ because liked him."
There was another important part of the equation when choosing Moreland over Hosmer: It ultimately led the Red Sox to J.D. Martinez.
"We thought it was a possibility," said Dombrowski regarding the idea of ultimately ending up with Martinez after saving money with Moreland. "You never knew what was going to go on at that point. I remember the numbers they were looking for at that point with J.D., we weren’t in that ballpark either because that was right after the winter meetings when we first heard numbers. We figured we would just play it out. We waited a long time on that one and played with the market and fortunately, it worked out that he fell down to us where we could afford him. We knew it would set us up potentially to have some finances to spend. But we also wanted to solidify our club because we had a good ballclub and we wanted to add that left-handed bat if we could and that ended up being Mitch."
The commitments to Moreland throughout the years (he would sign three free agent contracts with Boston) proved to be key elements in so many bits of success for the organization, all the way up to Sunday's deal with San Diego that brought back two minor-leaguers who may be part of the Red Sox next solution.
When it was all said and done, the Red Sox paid just about $20 million for almost four seasons of Moreland, one of which included pictures of the first baseman hoisting a World Series trophy. It is the same price tag Hosmer reels in each of his first five years with San Diego.
Looking back, the Moreland decision seems like it was ultimately a pretty big deal.
"He was such a clutch player for us," Dombrowski said. "Just superb."
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 31, 2020 6:49:28 GMT -5
How Ron Roenicke delivered his signature moment as Boston Red Sox manager from a back room in Buffalo | Chris Cotillo (MLB Notebook) Today 6:30 AM Ron Roenicke
By Chris Cotillo | ccotillo@MassLive.com
BOSTON -- Ron Roenicke doesn’t figure to be the Red Sox’ manager for long. Even if Boston played well this year, it was more likely than not that the club would move on when Roenicke’s contract expires this fall.
When Roenicke’s term expires, it’s likely he’ll be remembered as an agreeable placeholder who was sandwiched between different eras of Red Sox baseball. Maybe he’ll be the guy who bridged the gap from Alex Cora to the next great Red Sox manager. Maybe he’ll be the guy who bridged the gap from Cora: Part I to Cora: Part II.
History might remember Roenicke as the unlucky guy who inherited a scandal-ridden team at the beginning of spring training, lost Mookie Betts and Chris Sale, was tasked with managing in the middle of a pandemic and then had to maneuver perhaps the worst Sox pitching staff in history. I’ll choose to remember him as the guy who stood tall in a historic moment for the franchise.
No matter what happens in the final month of this lost season, Roenicke has already had his signature moment as Red Sox manager. It came shortly after 6 p.m. Thursday evening in the wake of his team’s decision to not play its game against the Blue Jays to protest racial injustice and namely, the police shooting of 29-year-old Jacob Blake in Wisconsin.
For nearly 24 minutes, Roenicke took questions from reporters on Zoom. Sitting in front of a Red Sox backdrop at Sahlen Field in Buffalo, Roenicke delivered raw, thoughtful answers to questions about race, discussing a variety of emotional, difficult topics with grace.
Virtually everybody who occupies a position of power in sports is being asked the same questions and some answers -- (Doc Rivers and Dominic Smith come to mind as two of many examples in recent days -- stand out above the others. In baseball, the raw emotion from the usual stoic Roenicke caught the attention of the national audience almost immediately.
For me, one specific point Roenicke made was particularly powerful. In just a few sentences, he summed up exactly why the Red Sox -- and other teams throughout sports -- felt it was necessary to protest.
“If you’re a kid, and you turn on the TV today and you don’t see we’re playing. You ask your parents, ‘Why aren’t the Red Sox playing?’ Roenicke said. “I hope the parents have a serious discussion with their kids and tell them what’s going on. Explain what’s going on because we need to discuss these things more. We need to listen more. That’s the only way we’re going to change.
“If you own a business and you know the Red Sox aren’t playing... Why? You should have those discussions with your employees and explain the things that are going on and the things that maybe you haven’t talked about before because it is a touchy subject,” he said. “These are things that, hopefully what we do here and what has been done, leads to. There needs to be a change in this great country that we live in.”
Roenicke, who is 64 and white, has admitted on numerous occasions that he’s not inherently comfortable discussing race and other sensitive topics publicly. Earlier this season, he was awkward at times answering questions about players kneeling during the national anthem, though it was clear he was trying to educate himself on the roots of those protests.
On Thursday, he shed some light on his personal journey.
“These are hard questions for me because they’re deep, they’re hard to answer and they mean a lot to me,” Roenicke said, choking up. “I hope they mean a lot to everybody.”
Roenicke has sought guidance from Black friends throughout baseball, mentioning Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, former Twins and Angels outfielder Torii Hunter and former Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia as particularly influential. He has also leaned on outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. -- Boston’s lone African-American player -- at times this season.
Appearing on MLB Network Radio on Thursday morning, he spoke poignantly about those conversations.
“These are people that I respect immensely, and when I read some of the comments and some of the stories, as a White American, it really bothers you that we have these freedoms in our country, and yet, the same freedoms don’t apply to everybody,” Roenicke said. “That’s a shame. This has gone on too long.”
It’s clear that Roenicke has really tried to learn in recent months, putting aside his beloved Louis L’Amour Westerns to delve into some unfamiliar topics. By doing so, he’s making the Red Sox proud and making a profound off-the-field impact in a season the organization would otherwise want to forget.
“I know I listen, certainly, a lot more than maybe before,” Roenicke said. “I knew there was issues before, but I’m really listening now. I think it’s important.”
***
10 observations from the last week in baseball:
1. Monday at 4 p.m. marks the moment the moment the Red Sox have been waiting for. Their CBT standing will reset, meaning the Mookie Betts trade wasn’t for naught.
2. I’ve been impressed with the returns Chaim Bloom has gotten for Brandon Workman, Heath Hembree and Mitch Moreland. Boston was able to capitalize on a strong Padres’ farm system and get two strong prospects (Hudson Potts and Jeisson Rosario) in the Moreland deal.
3. Moreland was phenomenal to deal with in the clubhouse. Always accommodating and pleasurable to reporters.
4. My favorite Mitch Moreland moment came last June in the home clubhouse at Fenway Park. MassLive columnist Matt Vautour asked him about supporting the Bruins in the Stanley Cup Finals when the Mississippi native delivered this classic response: “Back where I come from, the only ice we’ve got is in our sweet tea.”
5. Kevin Pillar’s emergence as a clubhouse leader has been swift in Boston. While it’s nice to see a newcomer can assume an influential role with a young team, I wonder if some guys who have been with the Sox longer find that to be off-putting.
6. Point No. 5 won’t matter by the end of the day if Pillar is traded. My prediction: He is, along with Matt Barnes, another reliever or two (Josh Osich? Austin Brice? Phillips Valdez?) and maybe even Christian Vazquez.
7. The list of players who have been traded so far is very uninspiring. Who’s the best one? Trevor Rosenthal? Moreland? Mychal Givens? Austin Nola?
8. I’m convinced the Red Sox are going to extract another year of service time out of Nick Pivetta by keeping him in Pawtucket through Sept. 18. Why not?
9. Don’t see the Red Sox as a fit for Mike Clevinger, even if his value has dropped in light of recent events. Bloom is likely targeting guys with more than two years of control.
10. Early September brings the weirdest stretch of Red Sox scheduling... maybe ever. On Sept. 4, they’ll play a seven-inning doubleheader against the Blue Jays with Toronto serving as the home team for one of the games at Fenway Park. After two regular game (Sept. 5 and 6) and off day (Sept. 7), Boston will spend one day in Philadelphia, taking on the Phillies in a seven-inning doubleheader. Boston is then off the next day (Sept. 9). So that’s six games in six days... including two off days. Got it.
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 31, 2020 9:17:23 GMT -5
Mitch Moreland became an improbable Red Sox lifer 5 comments
He wasn’t here long, and he wasn’t a heralded addition, but he left his mark and then some. By Matt_Collins@MattRyCollins Aug 31, 2020, 9:01am EDT
In case you missed it while enjoying a Sunday afternoon doing something other than sitting around on the internet — crazy, I know — the Red Sox made a trade on Sunday. Just about 24 hours before the league’s trade deadline Boston sent first baseman Mitch Moreland out west to the Padres in exchange for a pair of prospects in Hudson Potts and Jession Rosario. This was a very good return for the Red Sox by all accounts, including my own. We’ll have more on the prospects later this morning, but it is a good return. Heading into the deadline I was on the fence about dealing Moreland, but with this kind of package coming back it was something that had to be done. Chaim Bloom was able to use a player who probably wasn’t going to play a major role on the next good Red Sox team and send him to a team facing a 40-man crunch in the coming winter to get an impressive return. It was what you want as a seller at the deadline.
All of that can be true, and one can still be extremely bummed out. It’s sort of a strange juxtaposition, being clearly in favor of the deal that was made but still partially wishing the departing player was sticking around. Of course, that is simply part of rooting for a team year in and year out. You grow attached to players, and in an era with as much player movement as ever, you see players you grew to really enjoy rooting for head to other clubs. That sort of attachment certainly grew for Moreland, and it was a fairly unlikely attachment that, in a way, came out of nowhere.
Moreland’s original signing with the team prior to the 2017 season was not exactly one that was beloved by many, myself included. I was extremely underwhelmed with this addition as the team was looking to move into the post-David Ortiz era. Hanley Ramirez was moving over to the DH spot, and they needed a new first baseman. That they brought in Moreland, who had been below-average by OPS+ in three of his previous four seasons with Texas, did not have me excited. I was fairly vocal in my disappointment with the deal. World Series - Boston Red Sox v Los Angeles Dodgers - Game Five
The Red Sox did end up winning a second straight division title in that 2017 season, and Moreland became something of a fan favorite in part due to the Mitchy Two-Bags moniker as the season went on. However, that team was built on pitching and Moreland again was below-average by OPS+, granted just barely with a mark of 99. Still it was not the performance you are looking for from your first baseman, so the hope from me was they’d find an upgrade for the next year. Instead, they brought Moreland back for two more years, and I was even more vocal with my displeasure this time around.
This is when the tide started to turn. Just like in 2017, Moreland got off to a huge start in 2018 before injuries and fatigue caught up to him in the second half. Still, he finished that season with a solid 102 OPS+, and of course the season did not end in September. This was the best team in franchise history, and Moreland was a big part of that postseason run. Over the entire run he hit an impressive .294/.368/.529. It was the final game for which we’ll most remember him in that run, too. With the Red Sox trailing 4-0 in Game Four, Moreland came to the plate with two outs in the seventh and his a monster three-run home run, putting much-needed momentum into the pockets of the Red Sox, not just for the game but for the series. They’d continue to roll from there and eventually the next night.
Moreland, of course, came back or 2019 as well. That season wasn’t quite as enjoyable, but remember the start of that season. It was as brutal as the start of this season, but when they were able to pick up wins it was almost always on the back of clutch hits from Moreland. It took a while for me to come around on it, but that was who he became for this team. He was never the guy the opponent feared most in the Red Sox lineup, but he seemingly always came up when it mattered most — partially because he was always trusted as a pinch hitter in big spots — and he came through more often than not.
In a way, it is extremely fitting that he was able to fill that role without really standing out to other teams, because that was just who he seemed to be. As he heads out to San Diego, the thing we hear the most is regarding his leadership. It’s not terribly surprising that a veteran is a leader in the clubhouse, but Moreland has never really stood out on camera as a guy who is leading anybody. He is more of the quiet type who will pull people aside and give them the guidance they need without being noticed. Just like his presence in the clubhouse. The one that always sticks out to me in this regard, and probably the moment I started really coming around on Moreland, was this story from The Athletic about his mentoring relationship with Rafael Devers when the latter first came up. Fairly or not, that is not the mentor you’d be expecting for Devers, but it proved to be an impactful relationship for this franchise.
And even beyond the field and the clubhouse, Moreland ended up being a very important member of the community. Like Brock Holt, who of course was not re-signed this past winter, Moreland was a big supporter of the Jimmy Fund. They gave him a farewell on Twitter on Sunday. Beyond that, Moreland and his wife Susannah organized a Christmas in July charity for the Boston Children’s Hospital, and more recently he called for the organization to create some sort of charity to help with the race-related issues that sparked protests across sports last week. To put it more succinctly, he truly embraced being a part of this community and genuinely did what he could to make it a better place.
It’s kind of hard to put a concise definition on what it means to be a “Red Sox lifer.” It kind of makes me feel like a WEEI caller even uttering the phrase. But it’s also really the only way I can describe what Moreland became to this organization and this community in just over three years playing here. He came in as an underwhelming signing, and then an underwhelming re-signing, but he became a clutch leader on the field, in the clubhouse and in the community. Most of the players who come to Boston in the fashion Moreland arrived come and go after a couple of years and it’s just part of the ebb and flow of the franchise. Moreland made his mark here, and became one of those guys who is always going to get an ovation and an interview on NESN when he comes to Fenway. And it’s a well-deserved distinction.
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 31, 2020 9:19:51 GMT -5
OverTheMonster @overthemonster · 58m Excited for the "luxury tax penalties reset" banner dropping at Fenway tonight. This is why we watch day in and day out. #ILiveForThis
I've acknowledged that this ownership has spent and likely will spend again. The issue is that the owners at large have won the narrative that the luxury tax is a penalty we're supposed to care about as fans, and it sucks. I don't accept that and never will
And the idea that we should ever sit back and be grateful for a billionaire owner of a highly profitable private company is some truly dystopian shit
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 31, 2020 9:20:34 GMT -5
CJ Kaltenbach @theseigedfs · 50m Love how Henry has made one cheap move in a decade and the fans won’t stop blasting him... be careful for maybe he’ll just be cheap if you aren’t gonna be grateful twitter.com/overthemonster…
OverTheMonster @overthemonster · 49m Be grateful for what the billionaire owner who will cash out at an absurd rate whenever he wants to sell the team and in the meantime rakes in huge profits at your expense does for you, you peasants
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 31, 2020 9:21:14 GMT -5
OverTheMonster @overthemonster · 7m After seeing what the Mariners got for Nola last night I'm less wary of trading Vázquez than I had been before, but I hope there would be a plan in place beyond "sign Realmuto" because I still don't see the Phillies letting him go.
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 31, 2020 9:31:05 GMT -5
Red Sox remain active as trade deadline looms By Alex Speier Globe Staff,Updated August 31, 2020, 40 minutes ago 1
With today’s 4 p.m. trade deadline looming, the Red Sox remain active in looking at potential deals in what has been a relatively busy market over the last couple of days.
Already, the team has dealt Brandon Workman, Heath Hembree, and Mitch Moreland for four players – pitchers Nick Pivetta and Connor Seabold, third baseman Hudson Potts, and outfielder Jeisson Rosario. Of those, Pivetta is the only one expected to contribute in the big leagues in the relatively near-term, either later this year or early in 2021.
Seabold, Potts, and Rosario all are further away, with the Sox looking for players with the greatest long-term impact (or trade value) rather than near-term big league contributions. The approach represents a contrast to the flurry of Red Sox moves when they were last sellers in 2014, when the team brought back almost exclusively players – Yoenis Cespedes, Allen Craig, Joe Kelly, Edwin Escobar, Heath Hembree, and Eduardo Rodriguez – who were within a year of being able to contribute in the big leagues. Get 108 Stitches in your inboxGet everything baseball from the Globe's Red Sox reporters every Monday-Friday during baseball season, and weekly in the off season.
According to major league sources, the Sox have discussed catcher Christian Vazquez with multiple teams – among them, the Padres (who found the asking price too high and traded for catchers Jason Castro and Austin Nola), Mets, and Rays. However, Vazquez is an above-average player at a premium position who is under team control on an affordable contract through 2022, so the team won’t move him unless it gets a significant return.
Advertisement The Red Sox would trade Christian Vazquez if they received a big haul in return. The Red Sox would trade Christian Vazquez if they received a big haul in return.Matthew J. Lee/Globe staff
One evaluator characterized the Sox as seeking “a silly price that means they’re keeping [Vazquez].” But one team’s “silly price” can be another team’s fair cost of doing business.
The Sox are likely to be most engaged on the bullpen market and in discussions of rental outfielders.
In terms of relievers, Matt Barnes may represents the most significant chip as a pitcher with a track record of success, two pitches that have still proven capable of getting swings and misses this year, and an additional year of team control beyond 2020. The market for bullpen help is considerable, as the Orioles dealt righthander Mychal Givens (under team control, like Barnes, through 2021) to the Rockies for two highly regarded prospects and a player to be named.
Advertisement
That said, evaluators from two teams in search of bullpen help both suggested that Barnes – who generated many inquiries at last year’s trade deadline – may not be as sought-after as he was in 2019. His velocity and strikeout rate are down and his walks are up. Still, at a time when most recent impressions matter, Barnes’s last outing on Saturday was a strong one in which he exhibited good command of his 95-97 mph fastball and curveball. The Sox could explore other candidates as well, with virtually anyone open for discussion. Contending teams could be interested in adding reliever Matt Barnes. Contending teams could be interested in adding reliever Matt Barnes.John Tlumacki/Globe Staff
In Kevin Pillar and Jackie Bradley Jr., the Sox feature a pair of outfielders who are eligible for free agency after this year. The fact that both would be pure rentals – particularly in a season whose conclusion is not a guarantee – will cap their values, but as contenders look to round out their rosters for the postseason, both are defensive difference-makers that suggest the ability to contribute in some role.
Pillar has excellent numbers this year against lefties (.286/.340/.551), and while Bradley’s overall numbers this year are below-average (.245/.308/.351), he’s been hitting well of late (.297/.357/.514 in his last 11 games), and a contending team might be willing to take a chance on trying to capture one of his hot streaks while knowing that, at the least, his defense would be an asset.
Advertisement
Lefthander Martin Perez could also be a consideration for teams in search of starting pitching help, though the blister he developed in his most recent start could affect his value. Moreover, given the state of their rotation, the Sox may be reluctant to sacrifice future rotation depth on a pitcher who has performed well for much of this season and who has an affordable team option for 2021.
Where does all of that go? To be determined, but given the team’s moves to date under chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom, it seems unlikely that the Sox are done dealing.
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 31, 2020 9:37:37 GMT -5
Red Sox Stats @redsoxstats · 2h Not really sure what to expect today, could see 1 trade or 5. Obviously seems like the main focus is does someone meet their price on Vaz and Barnes. Could see a Chavis or Valdez mild surprise to increase the return somewhere. Also eyes on Pillar, JBJ, Brasier, Osich.
Today's the last day the Sox really have control over Bogaerts future, no-trade kicks in next week and can opt-out after 2022. I'll go 3% chance he gets traded today for a good established player and a #1 prospect.
Here's Vazquez's offense numbers. wOBA is an all-encompassing number based on every actual results. xwOBA includes everything like BB, HBP, K etc but with quality of contact instead of actual hit outcomes.
The catcher Seattle traded last night is at .374/.382 this season.
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 31, 2020 9:41:07 GMT -5
Alex Speier @alexspeier · 1m Once the trade deadline passes at 4 p.m., MLB's luxury tax rates will reset for 2021 based on what teams spend in 2020. So: technically the luxury tax rates *don't* reset today, but the *possibility* of rates resetting based on 2020 luxury tax payroll will exist.
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 31, 2020 9:54:26 GMT -5
Chris Hatfield @spchrishatfield · 42m My hope for today: blow it up as much as possible, but keep Bogaerts, Devers, Verdugo and yes, JDM (I can't see him opting out in this market) in place. Have liked Bloom's moves so far and I'm very interested in what kind of depth they can build.
I would expect Bloom to target minor leaguers in the upper minors, a significant hole in the Red Sox system he's already focused on (Downs, Wong, Potts, Rosario, Seabold). They have plenty of low-minors lottery tickets already (potential playing time logjams).
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 31, 2020 10:28:17 GMT -5
JBJ might be safe now.... and the Padres are going for it
Jeff Passan @jeffpassan · 4m Right-hander Cal Quantrill and shortstop Gabriel Arias are part of a larger package going back to Cleveland as Mike Clevinger heads to San Diego, sources tell ESPN.
Outfielder Josh Naylor is going to Cleveland in the Clevinger deal, too. He’ll immediately slot in to left field.
Ken Rosenthal @ken_Rosenthal · 8m Source: Deal is Clevinger, Greg Allen and PTBN to Padres; Quantrill, Arias, Cantillo, Hedges, Naylor and Miller to Indians.
|
|
|
Post by CP_Jon_GoSox on Aug 31, 2020 10:30:04 GMT -5
Rob Bradford @bradfo 6m I will miss those 'Red Sox-are-interested-in-Cal Quantrill' posts that got us through late February and early March
|
|