Hanley DFA'd (5/25 Update)

SouthernBoSox

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It does save them because its tied to either plate appearances or at-bats and he won't get these in Boston.
But if he does it somewhere else the vesting option is the responsibility of the team he's on at the time?

If that' the case Hanley isn't going to be on a major league roster.
 

nvalvo

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Why couldn't they just make the obvious move of dumping Swihart (genuine question)?
Swihart is basically the entirety of our catching depth. Our next catchers who are even the ghosts of prospects are in A ball.

If you could trade Swihart for a AAA catcher with options, that might make some sense, but...
 

RedOctober3829

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deep inside Guido territory
But if he does it somewhere else the vesting option is the responsibility of the team he's on at the time?

If that' the case Hanley isn't going to be on a major league roster.
Yes, if traded the team assumes the contract and all options on it. If he passes the threshold, then it's on that team.

Is there anything of value that Hanley could fetch back in trade?
 

Adrian's Dome

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Why couldn't they just make the obvious move of dumping Swihart (genuine question)?
Probably because Swihart is still Leon/Vaz insurance, can play a couple positions, and they may still think there's potential there whereas they believe what Hanley was offering is exactly what they're going to get.
 

chawson

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There’s no way the Sox would DFA him if they were on the hook for his 2019 option from another team giving him PAs.

I’m honestly hoping for a bad contract swap with an NL team, but I can’t see it with anyone else but the Dodgers or Rockies. Otherwise, it’s going to feel awful seeing Hanley on the Yanks, Astros, Angels or Clevelanders.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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Yes, if traded the team assumes the contract and all options on it. If he passes the threshold, then it's on that team.

Is there anything of value that Hanley could fetch back in trade?
No one's trading for him. If there's genuine interest in him, they're going to wait until he's released and sign him for the league minimum (and no obligation for 2019).
 

cromulence

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Otherwise, it’s going to feel awful seeing Hanley on the Yanks, Astros, Angels or Clevelanders.
Bird is almost back, Neil Walker is hitting, and Adam Lind is chilling in AAA. The Yankees aren't signing Hanley.
 

ToeKneeArmAss

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They have three long relievers in the bullpen (Johnson, Velazquez, and Wright). And instead of pruning the obvious redundancy there, they DFA Hanley?

Edit: And unless I'm mistaken, JBJ has an option left and is looking up wistfully at the Mendoza line.

Someone will get hurt within the next week and they will be rueful of this decision.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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Not that this adds anything to the conversation. I just kinda forgot the account existed until it popped up on my feed and gave me a laugh.
 

jon abbey

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Otherwise, it’s going to feel awful seeing Hanley on the Yanks, Astros, Angels or Clevelanders.
Bird is back tomorrow, NY has their own personnel issues (although they have guys with options and likely won't DFA anyone), but they're not adding Hanley.
 

jon abbey

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The Rockies make sense as a fit, no production from their 1B currently and a good place for Hanley to put together some numbers before the winter.
 

GreyisGone

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Great move. At some point you can’t keep a guy around because of name recognition and Salary. He hasn’t been good for a long while and they have equal or better options hanging around.
 

chawson

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Bird is almost back, Neil Walker is hitting, and Adam Lind is chilling in AAA. The Yankees aren't signing Hanley.
I agree they're the least likely destination. Tyler Austin is filling that role fine — and besides, Hanley would never do that to his hair.
 

sean1562

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but is Travis even a prospect anymore? i guess he can probably be just as valuable as Hanley at this point. Just not a whole lot there anymore.
 

Tyrone Biggums

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Yeah, I'd be totally unsurprised if this was the team getting out in front of a failed PED test.
Could be possible too. I would think that MLB would stop it from happening though if that was the case. I understand stopping the vesting but why May 25th as opposed to June 25th? Not like he’s getting to 497 in a month
 

chawson

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The Rockies make sense as a fit, no production from their 1B currently and a good place for Hanley to put together some numbers before the winter.
The Rockies have deadweight in Cargo, Ian Desmond, and Mike Dunn. None of whom the Sox have any use for, but if taking on Desmond's salary can get us a decent prospect, it's not the worst outcome given our situation.
 

nvalvo

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This is a good move. The team is a lot better with Martinez at DH and Bradley in the OF, even when he's struggling with the bat.

That said, it's pretty weird to DFA your #3 hitter. I think that's what's fueling the concern that Cora and Dombrowski aren't on the same page.
 

bluefenderstrat

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I suppose it's possible he gets picked up and mashes for 2/3 of a season, but he looks like a guy who's finished as an impact bat. I won't cry about it if he's useful someplace else, but it's more likely he's in Sandoval territory a year from now.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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Could be possible too. I would think that MLB would stop it from happening though if that was the case. I understand stopping the vesting but why May 25th as opposed to June 25th? Not like he’s getting to 497 in a month
The "why now?" seems obvious to me. They needed the roster spot. If Pedroia was still another month away, this probably doesn't happen until then.
 

cromulence

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The Rockies have deadweight in Cargo, Ian Desmond, and Mike Dunn. None of whom the Sox have any use for, but if taking on Desmond's salary can get us a decent prospect, it's not the worst outcome given our situation.
I can't imagine anyone wants to take on Hanley's current contract and have to worry about his option vesting. Seems like wherever he goes, it'll be for the pro-rated minimum.
 

jon abbey

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The Rockies have deadweight in Cargo, Ian Desmond, and Mike Dunn. None of whom the Sox have any use for, but if taking on Desmond's salary can get us a decent prospect, it's not the worst outcome given our situation.
Oh, not as a trade, I don't think this can be a trade because then the 497 clause is preserved and no team will want that. COL should want him after he is a FA, like Sandoval and SF.
 

simplicio

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Could be possible too. I would think that MLB would stop it from happening though if that was the case. I understand stopping the vesting but why May 25th as opposed to June 25th? Not like he’s getting to 497 in a month
Why/how would MLB stop a dfa? Isn't the team within their rights to dfa anyone whenever they see fit?
 

cromulence

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Oh, not as a trade, I don't think this can be a trade because then the 497 clause is preserved and no team will want that. COL should want him after he is a FA, like Sandoval and SF.
Step up your game, I keep beating you to the punch in this thread.
 

Tyrone Biggums

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Why/how would MLB stop a dfa? Isn't the team within their rights to dfa anyone whenever they see fit?
If he’s going on the suspended list they might be able to. I’m not sure the protocol for suspended players for PEDs. That was the hypothetical
 

Merkle's Boner

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Dombrowski not fucking around.

And I assume Pedey replaces him on the 25? Does it mean more 1B for Holt/Nunez?
 

OurF'ingCity

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Could be possible too. I would think that MLB would stop it from happening though if that was the case.
Yeah I assume there are protocols in place to prevent that kind of gaming.

Since the Sox have to assume that no team is going to pick up Hanley's contract and the vesting option that goes with it, this move is obviously designed to have him clear waivers and become a free agent. Sox are on the hook for his salary this year but they get out of the potential vesting option. I am a bit confused by the timing, though - what is the downside of waiting a few more months to see if he can turn it around? The timing does, I guess, suggest there is more to the story.
 

chawson

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Oh, not as a trade, I don't think this can be a trade because then the 497 clause is preserved and no team will want that. COL should want him after he is a FA, like Sandoval and SF.
Half the league will want him when he's a league-minimum FA. The Rockies may want him now if it's an exchange of salaries, since they should probably DFA Cargo, Desmond, or Dunn themselves.

If he puts up 300 PAs of 90 wRC+ in Colorado by July, they can release him too. But right now they're in first place and have nothing to lose by plugging Hanley in.

There's incentive for DD to pursue this route because it decreases the likelihood we see Hanley on an AL competitor.
 
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Bosox1528

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Yeah I assume there are protocols in place to prevent that kind of gaming.

Since the Sox have to assume that no team is going to pick up Hanley's contract and the vesting option that goes with it, this move is obvioTusly designed to have him clear waivers and become a free agent. Sox are on the hook for his salary this year but they get out of the potential vesting option. I am a bit confused by the timing, though - what is the downside of waiting a few more months to see if he can turn it around? The timing does, I guess, suggest there is more to the story.
The downside is clearly having to cut someone else because Pedroia has to come back.
Swihart doesn't cost 22 million dollars next year if he's played and has slightly more potential than Hanley
Nunez doesn't cost 22 million dollars next year if he's played and was better than Hanley last year
It sucks to have a 6 man bullpen, and cutting a reliever also won't save 22 million dollars next year
 

DeadlySplitter

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They have three long relievers in the bullpen (Johnson, Velazquez, and Wright). And instead of pruning the obvious redundancy there, they DFA Hanley?

Edit: And unless I'm mistaken, JBJ has an option left and is looking up wistfully at the Mendoza line.

Someone will get hurt within the next week and they will be rueful of this decision.
And all 3 contributed to save the real bullpen in a lost cause last night.

6-7 starter depth as long relief is a good trend
 

OCST

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Taking the medium- to long-term view, this makes sense. Hanley is not the future. You can play around with lineup configurations and roster moves to maybe find something that makes more sense short-term IF Hanley hits like he has been capable of. Between his age, the option vesting, his pattern of decline, and his defensive liabilities, I don't see that his positives merit keeping him around. This is the time to cut bait. No point in vesting the option if he's not in the long-term plan.

Kind of sucks because I like the guy, and he is capable of mashing still when he's hitting well.
 

OurF'ingCity

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The downside is clearly having to cut someone else because Pedroia has to come back.
Swihart doesn't cost 22 million dollars next year if he's played and has slightly more potential than Hanley
Nunez doesn't cost 22 million dollars next year if he's played and was better than Hanley last year
It sucks to have a 6 man bullpen, and cutting a reliever also won't save 22 million dollars next year
Yeah that's fair. I still would have thought they would cut Brian Johnson instead of Hanley, but I guess factoring in the option Hanley was the DFA that made sense. And, of course, if Thornburg ever puts it together they'll probably still have to cut Johnson (or Wright) anyway.
 

Savin Hillbilly

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The wrong side of the bridge....
Travis doesn't hit unfortunately. Moreland is under contract in 2019.
He doesn't hit RHP, to be more precise. LHP is another story. Even with the awful start he's had, he's OPSing a semi-respectable .767 vs. LHP so far this year. Not good enough, of course, but he's always hit LHP well (over .900 at most of his stops) so I'd expect it to improve. I doubt we'll see him unless/until he gets hot, but put it this way: the downside of Travis would probably more or less replicate what Hanley has been doing, only without the vesting-clause gotcha. The Hanley DFA converts him from a semi-blocked spare part to a useful puzzle piece.

Can we just say how smart the Moreland signing looks now?