We should probably start a thread about what happens with Hernández going forward. Does he finish the year in Boston?
I nominate @nvalvoWe should probably start a thread about what happens with Hernández going forward. Does he finish the year in Boston?
Probably?We should probably start a thread about what happens with Hernández going forward. Does he finish the year in Boston?
File this under trenchant.Right now, his Red Sox career arc is looking a lot like Shane Victorino’s. Under-the-radar signing a lot of people criticized, tremendous first season anchored by exceptional defense and postseason heroics followed by 1.5-2 seasons of injury and ineffectiveness (and in Shane’s case, a DFA-ish trade.
I agree with all of this. Clearly, we’d be paying his paychecks in any trade scenario, and a team that would be interested would be a club that needed defensive help in the outfield, had a deep system to trade from but a limited budget, and valued his playoff experience.If we're dumping assets and we are already under the salary cap, the amount of money a team we trade Kiké to would have to pay is about zero. He might be worth a lottery ticket or two or maybe even a real prospect to a team who needs a good defensive center fielder. The Sox need prospects more than money.
Kiké's not far off from a great season (5 bWAR in '21), and we were happy to sign him for $10 million not long ago. Even as bad as his SS defense has been, he's at neutral dWAR because he's good in center.
I disagree on Chang, he is a good enough defensive SS that the improvement at that position over Kiké would be massive for this pitching staff. I think some combination of Duran/Kiké in CF (maybe a straight platoon, but I prefer Duran at this point), Chang at SS and Arroyo at 2B is their best option this year (or at least until Story/Mondesi come back, which I am not counting on at this point).I had thoughts in a different thread about defensive alignment but was stuck when it got to Duran, making my post utterly useless.
Knowing how the Sox operate about hoarding resources and having patience with veterans, they could tread water for a bit and keep Chang down as long as possible. He is a marginal upgrade. I would think Reyes would be the first DFA when Duvall comes back and he also has at least a shot at clearing waivers. They could do the same with Chang through waivers via DFA. He really isn't a savior for this or any team given how much he bas bounced around and still makes a major league salary. And if he were DFA'd and traded, would fetch something comparable or perhaps a bit better than what Hernandez could bring back.
Bottom line - I believe it would be very unlikely they DFA Hernandez because he is a "culture changer" guy, anyone replacing him would not be impactful, and will not return much anyhow. He is also less useless as a super sub and vs lefties unless he grumbles about playing time. My hunch is, Chang stays down as long as possible to buy some time.
The Pirates are a great suggestion if they move him.
Where's Duvall in this mix? He's returning as soon as this weekend whereas Chang's return is still TBD.I disagree on Chang, he is a good enough defensive SS that the improvement at that position over Kiké would be massive for this pitching staff. I think some combination of Duran/Kiké in CF (maybe a straight platoon, but I prefer Duran at this point), Chang at SS and Arroyo at 2B is their best option this year (or at least until Story/Mondesi come back, which I am not counting on at this point).
I think the Sox take at least on extra game from Cinci and probably another game from Tampa is Chang is at SS over Kiké, his defense has been that bad. It is really, really hard to put up a -9 OAA in only 154 attempts at a position, but he has done that.
This team can still compete for the Wild Card, but the margin for error is paper thin. They need to field the best team they can as often as possible, and Chang is a part of that.
He will be there somewhere, but I think we need to remember that he is definitely not going to be as good as he was before the injury (and wouldn't have been even without the injury). He has a career OBP of .292, and I worry about his power returning with the wrist injury (he had a really down year last year coming back from another wrist injury). Hopefully he settles somewhere in the .775-.825 OPS range while playing average defense in CF. I really don't know what to expect from him, though, and I think an 8 game sample size is too small to judge.Where's Duvall in this mix? He's returning as soon as this weekend whereas Chang's return is still TBD.
I don't see it. Chang has been a net +2 in DRS in his career at SS. At most we're talking about a few runs on defense before factoring in the offensive gap and the time it takes Story to return.I disagree on Chang, he is a good enough defensive SS that the improvement at that position over Kiké would be massive for this pitching staff. I think some combination of Duran/Kiké in CF (maybe a straight platoon, but I prefer Duran at this point), Chang at SS and Arroyo at 2B is their best option this year (or at least until Story/Mondesi come back, which I am not counting on at this point).
I think the Sox take at least on extra game from Cinci and probably another game from Tampa is Chang is at SS over Kiké, his defense has been that bad. It is really, really hard to put up a -9 OAA in only 154 attempts at a position, but he has done that.
This team can still compete for the Wild Card, but the margin for error is paper thin. They need to field the best team they can as often as possible, and Chang is a part of that.
Fair enough, and I just looked and Chang's offense is way worse than I thought, so my bad there.I don't see it. Chang has been a net +2 in DRS in his career at SS. At most we're talking about a few runs on defense before factoring in the offensive gap and the time it takes Story to return.
I would even argue that if you feel Arroyo is an improvement at SS you could move Hernandez to 2b (who is a +17 in his career) , it would be a wash over activating Chang.
I'm not disagreeing Chang is an improvement, but I don't think the impact will be felt in the short period of time.
Ah ... Casas also made an error, in the 10th, that allowed the 4th run to score in a 4-3 game.While moving Kiké of SS is 100% the right move, even making the statement that Casas should see less time at 1B is ridiculous.
It implies that Kiké's woes are somehow attributable to him, and it also will have diminishing returns on the kid's development. He hasn't been Keith Hernandez over there but I don't see a glaring weakness like Kiké's throws. Unlike Kiké he has a future at the position he is currently playing and like Devers should be given every opportunity and rep to improve upon his play.
I know Casas DRS numbers are as bad as Kiké's but I don't see how the situations are at all the same.
In the pouring rain? Yeah. I saw that.Ah ... Casas also made an error, in the 10th, that allowed the 4th run to score in a 4-3 game.
They can be unrelated. Theyve both sucked. Kike will never be a good SS. Cora said they'll work with casas to get better. Which is a good idea. Not sure why anyone would object to a guy who's sucking at something getting some time away from that to work on getting better at it.While moving Kiké of SS is 100% the right move, even making the statement that Casas should see less time at 1B is ridiculous.
It implies that Kiké's woes are somehow attributable to him, and it also will have diminishing returns on the kid's development. He hasn't been Keith Hernandez over there but I don't see a glaring weakness like Kiké's throws. Unlike Kiké he has a future at the position he is currently playing and like Devers should be given every opportunity and rep to improve upon his play.
I know Casas DRS numbers are as bad as Kiké's but I don't see how the situations are at all the same.
I think that is it 100% They mentioned on the broadcast that Cora is trying to get him to eliminate some portions of his pregame routine because of how overly complex he was making things.They could also be doing this move off 1B with Casas to see if the move will help him at the plate. One less thing for him to think about.
I agreed with you.They can be unrelated. Theyve both sucked. Kike will never be a good SS. Cora said they'll work with casas to get better. Which is a good idea. Not sure why anyone would object to a guy who's sucking at something getting some time away from that to work on getting better at it.
Gee, that will probably hurt his feelings.Kiké no longer the starting SS
They're probably just telling him he can't sunbathe any more.I think that is it 100% They mentioned on the broadcast that Cora is trying to get him to eliminate some portions of his pregame routine because of how overly complex he was making things.
Expecting Dalbec to increase his trade value playing in Boston seems a bit naive at this point.Frankly I'd rather Casas work on his defense in Worcester rather than just DHing here for a few weeks. Bring up Dalbec and give him a chance to showcase himself for a future trade.