Marrero is young and has options remaining. Stashing him in Pawtucket isn't the end of the world. Deep depth.
Sure.
Just like he was last year until Pedroia got hurt. Not sure why that's a surprise or a problem.
He wasn't going to be on the bench in any event. Shaw, Holt, Hanigan, 4th OF. Every position is covered.
Came on here to post the same thing. Obviously Young has a smaller sample size (318 ab's vs 542) and largely in a platoon role, but used correctly, there is a lot to like about this move.
I'm getting a Cody Ross feeling - an early 30s lefty masher with some power. Mostly a corner OF guy but can play CF in a pinch.
I really hope they have no plans to trade an OF and use Young as a starter given his splits.
If he was a better all around player, he'd be signing somewhere else to be a starter. As a fourth outfielder for whom they can pick his spots, he'll be fine. Last season a .327/.397/.575 line in 175 PA against lefties. No reason he can't improve on those platoon numbers hitting more often at Fenway.
Who did Gomes take ABs away from in LF? Young had more ABs in 2015 than Gomes did in 2013. Gomes also faced LHP more than RHP, even though he was needed against some righties due to Victorino's injury.
Mostly Nava, who was a far better hitter against RHP. That was a perfect platoon situation he didn't play perfectly (especially in the playoffs, regardless of the result.)
In the post-season...Daniel Nava. Famously so. But that's as far as it went, IMO. I'd wager that a good deal of Gomes' plate appearances versus RHP during the regular season came when he was DHing in place of Ortiz (April 2013) or when Nava was pressed into action in RF because Victorino was hurt. When everyone was relatively healthy, Gomes was a true platoon player (save for the ALCS/World Series).
I love this comp for a variety of reasons. Obviously, it doesn't make a lot of sense here in terms of projecting Young's value. Upton had a down year with the padres relative to his career, and Upton is 4 years younger than Young. However, the comp does point out that the OF FA market has risks this year. Upton may be more difficult to project than people think.
Gomes last winter was (1) two years older than Young is now, (2) a much, much worse defensive player, and (3) coming off an 86 OPS+ season as opposed to Young's 112. And Young, too, is known as a great clubhouse guy. There is every reason to think Young will get a much, much better contract than Gomes did. 2 years in the $12-$15M range seems likely.
Ogando is a free agent. Is there any evidence the Sox are going to make him an offer? Have they no consideration for my blood pressure?
Passan's a moron.
His home run totals may be inflated because of this, but both those mop-up pitchers throw right handed. Thus his fantastic numbers against LHP are unaffected by those at bats.
Oops, sorry, I saw he was arb-eligible and just assumed, but you are correct.
