Drew is walking through that door
- Thread starter jsinger121
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Assuming Drew settles in relatively quickly, I really don't understand the anger here. The Red Sox got better today.
Xander WILL GET TO PLAY SHORTSTOP AGAIN. This is by no means them giving up on him defensively, whatsoever. Hell, maybe playing alongside an elite defensive SS for 4 months could help him when he moves back there next year, right? Because he is going to move back there unless Mookie or Marrero surge to the bigs. And there's a real good chance he's more relaxed & focused out at short after getting a year of big league pitching at the plate under his belt.
So then the only problem I see is WMB losing development time. He's had roughly 2 years of that since his big league debut. Personally, I think we've been getting close to the point where moving on from him might not be a bad idea. Ideally, I would've given him 2-3 more months. But he's hurt and could be out that long, and this team can't afford to play Holt/Herrera for that long when they're still in the race for a mediocre AL East. Not to mention you have Cecchini, Marrero, and Betts coming up in the next year or two. Odds are, one of them can play the left side of the infield when Drew leaves.
Xander WILL GET TO PLAY SHORTSTOP AGAIN. This is by no means them giving up on him defensively, whatsoever. Hell, maybe playing alongside an elite defensive SS for 4 months could help him when he moves back there next year, right? Because he is going to move back there unless Mookie or Marrero surge to the bigs. And there's a real good chance he's more relaxed & focused out at short after getting a year of big league pitching at the plate under his belt.
So then the only problem I see is WMB losing development time. He's had roughly 2 years of that since his big league debut. Personally, I think we've been getting close to the point where moving on from him might not be a bad idea. Ideally, I would've given him 2-3 more months. But he's hurt and could be out that long, and this team can't afford to play Holt/Herrera for that long when they're still in the race for a mediocre AL East. Not to mention you have Cecchini, Marrero, and Betts coming up in the next year or two. Odds are, one of them can play the left side of the infield when Drew leaves.
Chad Finn @GlobeChadFinn now
I'm not saying the two hours' of meetings I just had at NESN are why Drew is back. Not saying they aren't, either
hmmmm
I'm not saying the two hours' of meetings I just had at NESN are why Drew is back. Not saying they aren't, either
hmmmm
I cant find the article, but I remember reading something about how the Sox, Yanks, Rays and Orioles all project to have the exact same record. If Drew provides only one extra win, it might be enough
BoSoxLady said:
I'm on the opposite end of the spectrum. Drew caved here, not the Sox. They got him for what they were willing to pay him in the off season, less than a month before the draft. If Drew had waited another 3 weeks or so, he could have signed long term with someone else and the Sox would have gotten nothing for his departure. Now they get Drew back and no other team in the league can get stronger by signing him. The offense gets better, not worse (Drew at short and Bogaerts at 3rd is better than Bogaerts at short and Holt at 3rd), the defense gets much better and they still aren't on the hook beyond the end of the year with Drew, so if they want to walk away from him in 2015 they can. They can also make another qualifying offer, assuming there isn't a handshake deal not to. Regardless, the 2014 Sox just got better while the rest of the majors stood pat.
That's a good day. And I would describe this as a great decision by the Sox. I'm wondering why Drew's camp caved, though. With a little more patience, he gets a bigger pay day. Maybe he really wanted to be back and has had players on the team in contact with him pushing him to return?
Bygones be bygones. Kiss and make-up. Drew is walking through that door but what kind of impact can he make in the near future? He hasn't been in a game situation since October. Sure he's got leather but can he hit? That was then, this is now.
Smiling Joe Hesketh said:
I think they still believe in him. He's 21 years old. Lets pump these breaks.
This immediately a) improves the left IF defense, b) our 3B offensive production and c) gives Boston a much better offense vs RHP.BoSoxLady said:
Ben's plan is to win. This move makes this team better for 2014 and does little if anything to prevent future building. Missing 5-6 months of SS improvement at 22 for Xander will not kill his importance to this team now or then.
Hendu for Kutch said:
When WMB is ready, if they add him to the 25 man, who the hell is the backup 2B?
I think it's fine. I don't think they're "giving up" on Xander at SS, but the reality is that what they have there is a future offensive star (and present offensive above-average-guy) who plays the left side of the infield competently, but not so well that it's a priority to keep him at one position or the other. Like Rico Petrocelli or A-Rod, his bat will play fine at either position, so where he ends up in the short-to-medium term is going to be a matter of the best pieces they can find to put alongside him. Right now, that's a shortstop, so he goes to third. Next year it could very well be a 3B, so he goes back to short. He's young and he should be able to handle the changes as long as they're not asking him to bounce back and forth on a day-by-day basis.
DrewDawg said:
This also plays a huge role. Just a few games out of first place with offensive and defensive issues on the left side of the infield....... It makes sense. Even if it might not be the most popular option to some of us it's probably the best available right now in terms of short term money and no sacrifice of prospects. I'm thinking this is followed up with another move (don't ask me what or with who) to get a solid bat to play corner OF.
Considering his tweet from a bit earlier "Told ya" I'm more inclined to think he's pretending that his meetings with NESN today convinced ownership to sign Drew, or something like that.nattysez said:
I've thoroughly overestimated this organization if they're making moves based on ratings.
Nothing wrong with this move IF they plan on playing Bogaerts at 3rd and Drew at SS. This improves the offense as well as the defense.
soxfan121 said:
I don't think it's a problem. Generally, ratings are going to correspond with ratings, so if we have an ownership group whose general reaction is to make the team better when ratings are low, I think that's just how the system should work. If these guys were rolling in the money and putting mediocre team after mediocre team on the field, that would be one thing, but I think results under these guys is about all that we could have asked for.
They can't make a QO, he has to be on the team for the entire year.Snodgrass'Muff said:
Alex Speier @alexspeier 17s
Source confirms Drew major league deal for prorated qual offer. Deal came together over last roughly 48 hours.
So I take this to mean the news on WMB is not good?
Source confirms Drew major league deal for prorated qual offer. Deal came together over last roughly 48 hours.
So I take this to mean the news on WMB is not good?
Ken Rosenthal @Ken_Rosenthal 54s
Drew will NOT be in uniform for #RedSox tonight but will be at Fenway.
I am sure Drew has been running, throwing, and hitting in the cage, but isn't he going to need to get some live at bats? I mean last year when he had his concussion it took him several weeks and we were constantly reminded that he missed spring training, etc. Realistically how long before he contributes offensively??
Drew will NOT be in uniform for #RedSox tonight but will be at Fenway.
I am sure Drew has been running, throwing, and hitting in the cage, but isn't he going to need to get some live at bats? I mean last year when he had his concussion it took him several weeks and we were constantly reminded that he missed spring training, etc. Realistically how long before he contributes offensively??
MakMan44 said:
Good point on the QO. I still don't see any downside for the Sox, though.
Edit: Not saying you are making the case for downside on the Sox part. Just don't see a downside in general...
MakMan44 said:
I think the "who caved more" needle points slightly in Drew's direction, as he is forced (yeah, I know, poor baby) to take another pillow contract.
But he is taking the risk that all pillow contracts carry. Not having as a good a year as he had last year/sucking/getting hurt.
patinorange said:
As I sort of alluded to a few posts back, I think there is more in the works here and think WMB will be part of that. His stock not as high as we might like it to be but I don't see him as a total throw in to any deal, but rather an enhancement.
Corsi said:
I disagree. Especially if the "came together in the last 48 hours" part is true. If WMB is healthy, this move probably doesn't happen today. Not saying it doesn't happen at all, but it doesn't happen today. There's no way this wasn't at least hastened by WMB's injury, if not totally motivated by it.
It'll get lost in the churn, but my $.02:
This works if:
(1) 3b is a lower-pressure position for X and he hits better with the pressure of playing SS off his back;
(2) X getting comfortable/confident v. major league pitching this year makes it easier to transition back to SS, since his overall confidence won't be as impacted by any defensive bumps in the road;
(3) the team was done with WMB and will trade him for Denorfia after he hits in AAA for a couple of weeks of rehab;
(4) Cecchini needed a full year in the minors, especially defensively; and
(5) Drew can hit and field competently after a week in the minors
This works if:
(1) 3b is a lower-pressure position for X and he hits better with the pressure of playing SS off his back;
(2) X getting comfortable/confident v. major league pitching this year makes it easier to transition back to SS, since his overall confidence won't be as impacted by any defensive bumps in the road;
(3) the team was done with WMB and will trade him for Denorfia after he hits in AAA for a couple of weeks of rehab;
(4) Cecchini needed a full year in the minors, especially defensively; and
(5) Drew can hit and field competently after a week in the minors
They've known WMB would be out long-term for a while now. They signed Drew because the hole at 3B is huge and it upgrades the left side.soxhop411 said:
I pointed it above but the only downside I see is if Buch, Peavy and Doobie don't turn it around, they've sort of hamstrung what they can do in July. Even that is mitigated if the AAA depth comes up and makes an impact.Snodgrass'Muff said:
EDIT: And actually if BC100Y is correct, they're way further from the luxury tax line than I thought.
I like this move a lot. "Have you seen the AL East?" is right. The playoffs are definitely within reach, and while I don't think we know the team's budget for sure (please link me if we do), $10 million leaves us a good $23 million below the luxury tax threshold, so if someone expensive does become available at the deadline it doesn't seem that it will be a problem to fit him in. In any case, a left side of the infield of Drew and Xander is a much better bet in 2014 than Xander and WMB/Cecchini/whoever. Also, an obvious point but Drew has over two more months to impact the season that any deadline acquisition would. Always tough to balance the future against the present, and you can't rule out the possibility that depriving Bogaerts of four months of reps at SS (and doing whatever they're going to do with WMB) will have an adverse effect on future seasons that outweighs anything Drew will bring to the table this year, but I find it hard to see it that way.
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