Are they pinching pennies? I expect the Red Sox to spend pretty liberally at least by next year.The way these guys are pinching pennies, $7m a year for a utility player who has had an OPS+ over 100 once since 2015 strikes me as excessive.
Definitely this. He can play a lot of positions, some of them well, and has more pop in his bat than one would expect. Should become a crowd favorite early on. He's getting like a 12x bump in pay though so hopefully not to many Burger King Johnnys out there. And let's hope everyone properly pronounces his name.Rather have him at 2/$14 than Profar at 3/$21
I’m really curious about his role too. Handing him the starting 2B job carries the opportunity cost of developing Arroyo, and all but assures Chavis is off the 26-man. And then we’d still need a CF.Like him. Yes, more than Profar at 3/21. But I fear this means no JBJ. Hope I’m wrong. He could be the starting 2Bman and back-up SS.
Bloom really seems to value versatility and roster flexibility. Hernandez? Could be a main dish. Could be a side dish (but this deal is big enough $ to suggest otherwise; he should start at this price). We could still resign JBJ. Could sign Ozuna. Hernandez still fits.I’m really curious about his role too. Handing him the starting 2B job carries the opportunity cost of developing Arroyo, and all but assures Chavis is off the 26-man. And then we’d still need a CF.
I think we should give Hernandez a shot at being the full-time CF. Then sign a 400 PA kind of guy who’s solid vs. RHP and can play 2B/1B and a corner outfield position, pushing Verdugo to CF once a week or so. A guy like Danny Santana, Jonathan Villar or Brad Miller would make a lot of sense right now unless there are major moves to come (Ozuna, Semien, Beni trade).
But what if his agent wanted to max the deal his client signed?Apparently he wants to play one position.
It’s unusual to have a guy who isn’t a transcendent athlete like Mookie yet can capably play both 2B and CF. But Hernandez is a better option at either position than anyone else currently on the roster (assuming Verdugo is staying in RF), so my assumption is they’ll sign someone else to play one of those two positions and hand the other to Hernandez. His positional flexibility gives the Sox options to salvage some value if he isn’t good enough to play every day, but Hernandez is not getting 2/14 with the expectation that he’ll be a utility guy.The way these guys are pinching pennies, $7m a year for a utility player who has had an OPS+ over 100 once since 2015 strikes me as excessive.
I mean, yeah.I’m really curious about his role too. Handing him the starting 2B job carries the opportunity cost of developing Arroyo, and all but assures Chavis is off the 26-man. And then we’d still need a CF.
I think we should give Hernandez a shot at being the full-time CF. Then sign a 400 PA kind of guy who’s solid vs. RHP and can play 2B/1B and a corner outfield position, pushing Verdugo to CF once a week or so. A guy like Danny Santana, Jonathan Villar or Brad Miller would make a lot of sense right now unless there are major moves to come (Ozuna, Semien, Beni trade).
Or just have SoSH auto-correct it, Buchholz-style?Also, time for everyone on this board to familiarize themselves with how they add an accent to the letter é on their devices.
(On a Macintosh computer, you can either hold down the e key to get a selection of diacritics, or else type opt-e followed by the letter you wish to place the accent over.)
Alt+0233 on Windows PC.Also, time for everyone on this board to familiarize themselves with how they add an accent to the letter é on their devices.
(On a Macintosh computer, you can either hold down the e key to get a selection of diacritics, or else type opt-e followed by the letter you wish to place the accent over.)
A Semien deal still seems possible. If so-so athletes like Arroyo, Chavis and Moustakas can learn to play a passable second base in the era of heavy shifting, it doesn’t seem like a great use of resources to sign a plus center fielder like Hernandez to man the keystone full time.I was hoping for Semien, but will take it.
The Globe should run this as a sidebar.Also, time for everyone on this board to familiarize themselves with how they add an accent to the letter é on their devices.
(On a Macintosh computer, you can either hold down the e key to get a selection of diacritics, or else type opt-e followed by the letter you wish to place the accent over.)
I like this suggestion, because then the Anti-Semities get some flare.Or just have SoSH auto-correct it, Buchholz-style?
So assuming that this wasn't something the player requested, how common is it for a short, comparatively low money contract to have a deferral in it, especially for a player who isn't injured? I don't recall any instances. This seems especially frugal for management to resort to this. I wonder if this condition is something that the Sox have insisted on in their failed efforts with any of the players they "tried really hard" to sign?Deferrals are in the deal, oddly.
View: https://twitter.com/Ken_Rosenthal/status/1352823859511242753?s=20
The last decade that includes two World Series championships? Wow, tough crowd here!Kiké is a good player, and the Sox need more RHH. His flexibility will help fill out the lineup each day no matter what the circumstance, and I suppose there's some non-zero chance that playing every day in the same position in a more hitter friendly park might rocket his OPS up to the 750-800 level he flashed in 2018. He'd be a tidy value if he could be close to 800.
That said, this offseason is perhaps the least exciting one in my memory. Even last year's pain was at least engaging. I suppose that's pretty much what I expected from the Bloom era in general, but given the absolute shit-kicking the team's image has taken over the last 15 months or so part of me was expecting a splash this offseason of some kind, even if it was a poorly conceived one.
So if I put my rosiest glasses on, I can sell myself that it's a good thing we haven't thrown a bankroll at somebody just to do it. Given how poorly that's gone for the team over the last decade, perhaps they've learned a lesson... and/or Bloom's cautious, win-on-the-margins style is being given a real chance to work even when the PR move might be to lean out of it. That's a good thing. The whole appeal of Bloom (as I saw it) was that he would find all this extra value in strategic roster construction, flex the bankroll on premium secondary players, and then eventually also write someone a giant check. No giant check this year... large scale it is a good thing... but at the same time, bleh, y'know? I'm not excited to race back to the park to see Hunter and Kiké. I don't envy the Red Sox marketing department having to sell us this mediocrity.
I just hope they don't do the frugal thing for 2-3 off-seasons, then get impatient, throw money at the Pablo/Hanley of the week and waste these excruciatingly boring seasons.
Pretty weak free agent class this year, why make a big splash just because? Especially for a team that’s more than 1-2 players from contending. Throwing a ton of money around this offseason seems like a Pablo/Hanley move.Kiké is a good player, and the Sox need more RHH. His flexibility will help fill out the lineup each day no matter what the circumstance, and I suppose there's some non-zero chance that playing every day in the same position in a more hitter friendly park might rocket his OPS up to the 750-800 level he flashed in 2018. He'd be a tidy value if he could be close to 800.
That said, this offseason is perhaps the least exciting one in my memory. Even last year's pain was at least engaging. I suppose that's pretty much what I expected from the Bloom era in general, but given the absolute shit-kicking the team's image has taken over the last 15 months or so part of me was expecting a splash this offseason of some kind, even if it was a poorly conceived one.
So if I put my rosiest glasses on, I can sell myself that it's a good thing we haven't thrown a bankroll at somebody just to do it. Given how poorly that's gone for the team over the last decade, perhaps they've learned a lesson... and/or Bloom's cautious, win-on-the-margins style is being given a real chance to work even when the PR move might be to lean out of it. That's a good thing. The whole appeal of Bloom (as I saw it) was that he would find all this extra value in strategic roster construction, flex the bankroll on premium secondary players, and then eventually also write someone a giant check. No giant check this year... large scale it is a good thing... but at the same time, bleh, y'know? I'm not excited to race back to the park to see Hunter and Kiké. I don't envy the Red Sox marketing department having to sell us this mediocrity.
I just hope they don't do the frugal thing for 2-3 off-seasons, then get impatient, throw money at the Pablo/Hanley of the week and waste these excruciatingly boring seasons.
It could just be a matter of the Bloom thinking he wasn't really worth a straight 2/14 (maybe 2/12, for example), so to resolve the difference they made the extra money deferred. The details on the deferrals should give us some insight into the gap they were trying to bridge.So assuming that this wasn't something the player requested, how common is it for a short, comparatively low money contract to have a deferral in it, especially for a player who isn't injured? I don't recall any instances. This seems especially frugal for management to resort to this. I wonder if this condition is something that the Sox have insisted on in their failed efforts with any of the players they "tried really hard" to sign?
One thing that gives me some hope is confidence that Cora will be better willing and able to maximize the flexibility than Roenicke was. I suspect he sees it as a challenge (in a good way), rather than a burden.It shouldn't be surprising, but it seems like Bloom is building the lineup like the Rays. He's collecting a bunch of guys with positional flexibility with big platoon splits. If you can collect enough of those guys, the whole of the offense will be greater than the sum of its parts.
With some luck, the rotation could be good. I just don't see how the team competes with the bullpen as it is now. They need at least two impact arms out there and I don't know where they're coming from.
I think he's attributing the championships to the home-grown core, rather than Free Agent signings.The last decade that includes two World Series championships? Wow, tough crowd here!
my only guess is the pandemic really has affected things for John H. Or he thinks it has.So assuming that this wasn't something the player requested, how common is it for a short, comparatively low money contract to have a deferral in it, especially for a player who isn't injured? I don't recall any instances. This seems especially frugal for management to resort to this. I wonder if this condition is something that the Sox have insisted on in their failed efforts with any of the players they "tried really hard" to sign?
Wait...it's not Keekay?His nickname is pronounced "Kee-kuh"... not, uh.... the other way.
I was under the impression it was Kee-kay as well.Wait...it's not Keekay?
His nickname is pronounced "Kee-kuh"... not, uh.... the other way.
Wait...it's not Keekay?
I was under the impression it was Kee-kay as well.
https://dodgers.mlblogs.com/dude-smile-an-introduction-to-enrique-kiké-hernandez-95fe06c19763What happens when the name you go by is a derogatory slur? That’s the funny story of Miami Marlins’ new utility youngster Enrique “Kiké” Hernandez, whose nickname is also a derogatory term for Jewish people.
Hernandez is born and raised from San Juan, Puerto Rico, so the nickname Kiké is actually pronounced KEE-Kay. It doesn’t come with an accent mark, but it got one during a minor league broadcast when Hernandez was playing in the short season Single-A New York-Penn League.
“Teams started using an accent to avoid controversy,” Hernandez said. “I don’t mind it. It’s in Spanish. If you don’t read it in Spanish, it can be offensive.”