Who is deserving of the second LHR bullpen spot behind Ross Jr? Olmos has been lights out while Abad would have to be DFA'd. Personally, I'd rather take a chance on Olmos.
The problem is, given the way Abad is pitching , he could cost the Sox a game or two while "evaluating" his spot on the roster. Given the above financial incentive to cut his ass one has to assume the choice is between Scott and Olmos.Scott's Olmos Abad as the other options!
No seriously, the Sox can afford to keep all three, because Olmos signed a minor league deal.
Keep Abad and have him take the 2nd LHRP spot out of Spring training. Then, if he continues to suck, DFA him then and call up Scott or Olmos, depending on who's showing the hotter arm at the moment.
If that one doesn't work out, try the other one.
Really, the biggest problems coming out of Spring Training is that the starters haven't hit their stride yet, and it's still damn cold at 10 pm in early April. There will be lots of opportunities for trying out all the bullpen arms.
They may as well keep as many of them around as possible.
Well, RR will certainly be the first lefty out of the pen - it shouldn't be that hard to find a low-leverage situation to plug Abad in for a few batters.The problem is, given the way Abad is pitching , he could cost the Sox a game or two while "evaluating" his spot on the roster. Given the above financial incentive to cut his ass one has to assume the choice is between Scott and Olmos.
Both showed good progress in AAA in 2016 .. I don't think Scott's impressive debut last year in Boston will have much effect on the decision. This should be a pretty good ST battle.
Unless he's done this over the objections of the FO, I don't see Abad getting dinged for pitching in the WBC. It would really look bad for Bogaerts to be given the a-okay (and with a position switch!) while Abad loses his job over playing in it.And Abad is playing in the WBC so the team can't see him as well or manage his usage.
He was atrocious in August. In Sep, albeit in low-leverage innings, he had 5 clean appearances out of 6. In 5 appearances he pitched 2 1/3 IP and allowed 1H no BB and had 1K. In the 6th, against the MFY, he gave up a BB and a Billy Butler HR in the 9th to turn a laugher into a 7-4 game which required Kimbrel to close out.Guess it depends whether you look at his full-season stats from last year or just his stats with the Red Sox. Over the whole season, he had a 118 ERA+ and a 3.98 FIP, which is not great for a reliever but is serviceable I would think for a second lefty out of the pen. But he was atrocious, obviously, during his time with the Sox - 73 ERA+ and a 5.44 FIP. In general throughout his career his stats have swung pretty wildly between being a solid BP arm to pretty terrible, but given he switched between two AL teams I don't see any obvious reason why his stats should have taken such a dive after coming to the Red Sox (Target Field isn't a huge pitcher's park, for example).
So I tend to agree there's little downside in keeping him initially to see whether the terrible performance last season with the Sox was a statistical blip or emblematic of something more long-term. I doubt that the $1.5m owed to him post-March 29 would make much of a difference in the decision.
... I doubt that the $1.5m owed to him post-March 29 would make much of a difference in the decision.
I agree the financial considerations are not large, but they could be the difference if the Sox think Scott and/or Olmos are equal bets to be a serviceable 2nd lefty as Abad. Plus those guys have options, and it's nice to have a couple guys with options to provide some roster flexibility.... The CBT savings of cutting Abad before 3/29 is only $1.5M, and last I checked the Sox had about a $10MM cushion including Abad's full salary. So that's peanuts.
His August was horrendous, but it was also a matter of three really bad outings wildly overshadowing the other nine (which ranged from good to blah).He was atrocious in August. In Sep, albeit in low-leverage innings, he had 5 clean appearances out of 6. In 5 appearances he pitched 2 1/3 IP and allowed 1H no BB and had 1K. In the 6th, against the MFY, he gave up a BB and a Billy Butler HR in the 9th to turn a laugher into a 7-4 game which required Kimbrel to close out.
August was horrendous - but we are talking 1 frickin' month!
But they have the roster flexibility regardless of whether Olmos or Scott start the season in the majors or minors as, worst-case, they can simply DFA Abad and call one of those guys up. If they keep Abad to start the season they have three options for the 2nd lefty spot; if they cut Abad they only have two.... it's nice to have a couple guys with options to provide some roster flexibility.
That's true, but then they have ~$1.5M less in funds to address potential needs at the trading deadline. (Assuming they insist on staying under the luxury tax.) Plus, the possibility exists that at some point the Sox may have six healthy starters and Pomeranz may be sent to the pen. Is having Scott or Olmos as 4th or 5th on the depth chart for second bullpen lefty worth ~$1.5M? I think the answer to that question lies in how much confidence the Sox have in these guys. If they clearly have more confidence in Abad I have no doubt they'll keep him. If not, I think he's gone March 29th.But they have the roster flexibility regardless of whether Olmos or Scott start the season in the majors or minors as, worst-case, they can simply DFA Abad and call one of those guys up. If they keep Abad to start the season they have three options for the 2nd lefty spot; if they cut Abad they only have two.