Cherington seemed to have lots of upside moves post 2012 that were the exact opposite -- drafting Ball, trading a cost-controlled Lackey for Craig & Kelly, signing Panda, signing Hanley, signing Rusney Castillo, trading for Porcello and then giving him a huge contract early in the season, signing Masterson, etc.He was a tall high school lefty with huge potential. He was never billed as a sure thing; it was an upside move.
(it was the 7th pick)
A very smart man with a lot of information at his disposal and the opinion of other smart people decided on a course of moves.Cherington seemed to have lots of upside moves post 2012 that were the exact opposite -- drafting Ball, trading a cost-controlled Lackey for Craig & Kelly, signing Panda, signing Hanley, signing Rusney Castillo, trading for Porcello and then giving him a huge contract early in the season, signing Masterson, etc.
No wonder the Mets are kicking the tires on him!
A "huge" contract (actually a pretty middling one) that has proved a good one so far. In fact, using Fangraphs' WAR and $/WAR numbers, Porcello is going to come remarkably close to earning all four years' worth of salary in the first three (total $82.5M; current earnings $77.2M). Even using BBref's less flattering WAR formula, he's keeping pace nicely: $62M worth of performance so far vs. $61.4M in salary.Cherington seemed to have lots of upside moves post 2012 that were the exact opposite -- drafting Ball, trading a cost-controlled Lackey for Craig & Kelly, signing Panda, signing Hanley, signing Rusney Castillo, trading for Porcello and then giving him a huge contract early in the season, signing Masterson, etc.
A "huge" contract (actually a pretty middling one) that has proved a good one so far. In fact, using Fangraphs' WAR and $/WAR numbers, Porcello is going to come remarkably close to earning all four years' worth of salary in the first three (total $82.5M; current earnings $77.2M). Even using BBref's less flattering WAR formula, he's keeping pace nicely: $62M worth of performance so far vs. $61.4M in salary.
I mean, it wasn't a steal, but it's certainly not the "opposite" of an upside move. It was a solid, conservative investment that has paid off as such.
The answer may turn out to be that Ball is not a major league baseball player of any kind. Still, only one way to find out.Looks like a reality check for Ball today, striking out 4 times during an 0-5. Nonetheless, the long overdue conversion to position (or DH) player seems to be officially underway