Who plays 1B next year?
- Thread starter johnnywayback
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The Mets with Mets pitching maybe should have worried about first base, or at least a late inning sub like a Mientkiewcz.Fireball Fred said:
I can't have been the only one who thought about Hanley when Duda made that awful throw. I know he's been an infielder, but if he's still all bulked up, it might be ugly.Al Zarilla said:
How projectable are Korean hitters? I'm a little skeptical Dombrowski is going to spend much on a guy who is yet another "who the hell knows" option, when we already have an expensive, out-of-position Hanley, Shaw and his befuddling track record, and potentially out-of-position Sandoval. I'm for sticking with Shaw and not blowing big dollars but if they are going to spend I'd guess Dombrowski will want to know (more or less) what he's getting, e.g. Davis, or someone cheaper.
Fireball Fred said:
Brian Daubach's Red Sox career began in 1999, as the replacement for Mo Vaughn, after having played 1B almost exclusively during his final minor league seasons. You're either thinking of someone else, perhaps Jeremy Giambi, or just completely confused about Daubach.
chrisfont9 said:
Well, Jung Ho Kang had a very solid 2015 for the Pirates, hitting 287/355/461. He had hit 356/459/739 in the KBO in 2014, and is a 298/383/504 career hitter, but he was a starter at 21 and has been on a fairly upward trajectory. As mentioned, Park hit 343/436/714 in the KBO in 2015, so that seems fairly comparable, at least stat-wise. Hee-Seop Choi had some limited success in MLB.
Of course, famous Americans who crushed the KBO include former Red Sox sluggers Yamaico Navarro (287/393/596), and Andy Marte (348/414/569) and the immortal (Eric Thames (381/497/790). Maybe those guys would be solid hitters in MLB right now, but I have my doubts.
Dae-ho Lee is another Korean 1B, although he's actually playing in NPB, which is a more competitive league, and is now a free agent (.282/.364/.524 last year). He's older, but he might take a short, cheap deal. He also has a bit of a...Ruthian physique, which is not going to sell a lot of jeans. Probably not a great fit for the Red Sox.
It's hard to say how well guys from the Asian leagues are going to translate to MLB, though. It's sort of like predicting which college quarterbacks are going to be successful in the NFL (non-Andrew Luck division).
Yes, confused on circumstances. But Daubach was in fact awful, or looked awful after Clark - especially with sidearmers at SS and 3B. Couldn't stretch while keeping foot on the bag.Plympton91 said:
I guess I'm cautiously optimistic at the upper end and not dreading too much Hanley at first at the lower end. He has fielded thousands of grounders to his left and to his right, and thrown to all the bases and to home, albeit from the other side of the IF. I guess his back could give out and he can't bend over, but if not, I think he'll be passable. Is it February yet?InsideTheParker said:
Thanks for this. Seems like there's a case to make based on past production, but it's thin, and real judgment will come down to the usual things scouts do when trying to project a foreign player.alwyn96 said:
InsideTheParker said:
Fear not, there's no doubt that David Leslie Stapleton would've been inserted for defensive purposes at that stage of the game.
Why not Park? The power looks legit and is not a product of the small KBO parks where line-drive hitters like Kang can eek out HR's 315-325 feet down the lines.
@blackwings2011: The exact amount of the high bidding on Byung Ho Park : $12,850,000
http://m.sports.naver.com/general/news/read.nhn?oid=109&aid=0003196014
http://m.sports.naver.com/general/news/read.nhn?oid=109&aid=0003196014
I have a hard time seeing Park make sense for the Sox at this point: unless they already have a taker for Hanley lined up the timing is too constricted to move one and bring the other in.
so far its been confirmed that the Indians, Tigers, Rangers and Orioles did not place the winning bid for Byung-ho Park.
Dennis Lin @dennistlin 1m1 minute ago
The Padres are not the team that won the negotiating rights for Byung-ho Park.
Dennis Lin @dennistlin 1m1 minute ago
The Padres are not the team that won the negotiating rights for Byung-ho Park.
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LAA out
Ken Rosenthal @Ken_Rosenthal 5m5 minutes ago
Sources: The #Rockies have discussed internally the possibility of signing free agent Daniel Murphy to play first base.
COL out?
This is like when Jesse Ventura would tell a different manager every week they were out of the running for Bam Bam Bigelow.
This is like an episode of Maury Povich. You are NOT the father!
Seriously, I hope the Red Sox are the winners for Park. It would fix the 1b hole at a bargain compared to signing Chris Davis. It would keep Travis Shaw in the 1B/3B utility role off the bench or in AAA getting regular ABs.
Seriously, I hope the Red Sox are the winners for Park. It would fix the 1b hole at a bargain compared to signing Chris Davis. It would keep Travis Shaw in the 1B/3B utility role off the bench or in AAA getting regular ABs.
And it would give them a monsterously expensive bat on the bench with no position.
Sell Hanley off for whatever you can get from him and pay whatever you have to. At this point, chalk it up to a massively expensive mistake by the previous management team and move on.
Jeff Passan @JeffPassan 2m2 minutes ago
Red Sox have working agreement with Nexen Heroes, Park's Korean team. Pirates, Cardinals and Rockies make sense. Seattle didn't scout much.
Red Sox have working agreement with Nexen Heroes, Park's Korean team. Pirates, Cardinals and Rockies make sense. Seattle didn't scout much.
It looks like Passan was looking at an apple and calling it an orange. That the Sox have this agreement with the team doesn't make them a logical fit to be the team that bid the most for Park.
They might be, but the agreement would have nothing to do with a sealed bidding process
They might be, but the agreement would have nothing to do with a sealed bidding process
The working agreement has nothing to do with the bids, but it is known that the Red Sox have big interest in Park.
It's not the Red Sox.
Jeff Passan @JeffPassan 17s18 seconds ago
Taking it one step further: Source says Red Sox are not the team with winning Byung-Ho Park bid, plan to stick with Hanley Ramirez at 1B.
Jeff Passan @JeffPassan 17s18 seconds ago
Taking it one step further: Source says Red Sox are not the team with winning Byung-Ho Park bid, plan to stick with Hanley Ramirez at 1B.
Paying whatever you have to completes negates obtaining a bargain on Park. Frankly, both are something of a crap shoot and I'd rather roll the dice counting on Hanley being able to play 1B than Park's hitting making the transition - other than Choo, there's no track record of positional players making the move successfully. Kang looks like he might be the second guy, but he's had one year.
I'm glad they passed on Park. Paying some other team $10M+ a year to employ Hanley, then paying Park an equal amount could easily turn into sinkhole and for a longer term than just seeing what Hanely gives you this year and seeing how much longer Papi sticks around.
Choo never played in the KBO. He signed with the Mariners as an international free agent straight out of high school.
Didn't realize that, thanks. So we have one season of history to work with. Didn't mention it before, but given the reverse sample, where Eric Thames and Yamaico Navarro put up 48 HRs this year in the KBO, color me not all that confident in Park being the answer, at least to the point where I'd be comfortable on a long deal combined with subsidizing Hanley.
Pete AbrahamVerified account@PeteAbe 2h2 hours ago
#RedSox 1B Travis Shaw has an impingement in his right shoulder. No surgery needed, but shut down from winter ball.
#RedSox 1B Travis Shaw has an impingement in his right shoulder. No surgery needed, but shut down from winter ball.
Dombrowski said club officials met with Ramirez and his agent, Adam Katz, for 45 minutes at the Boca Raton Resort and Club, site of the MLB general managers' meetings. Dombrowski requested the meeting to make sure everyone is on the "same page'' as the Red Sox prepare for the 2016 season.
"I told Hanley we're counting on him for big things next year," Dombrowski said. "I said, 'We're counting on you to be our first baseman,' and I asked him if he can play first base. He said, 'I can play shortstop. I can play first base. I can play third base.' He seemed comfortable with it.''
http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/14093690/hanley-ramirez-boston-red-sox-president-baseball-operations-david-dombrowski-meet-gm-meetings
"I told Hanley we're counting on him for big things next year," Dombrowski said. "I said, 'We're counting on you to be our first baseman,' and I asked him if he can play first base. He said, 'I can play shortstop. I can play first base. I can play third base.' He seemed comfortable with it.''
http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/14093690/hanley-ramirez-boston-red-sox-president-baseball-operations-david-dombrowski-meet-gm-meetings
This seems good:
"Ramirez's shoulder is pain-free, according to Dombrowski. Dan Dyrek, Boston's director of sports medicine services, met with Ramirez's conditioning consultant, and Ramirez will be working out with Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz in the Dominican Republic."
http://weei.stats.com/mlb/story.asp?i=20151109201030805276908&ref=rec&tm=2&src=MLB
"Ramirez's shoulder is pain-free, according to Dombrowski. Dan Dyrek, Boston's director of sports medicine services, met with Ramirez's conditioning consultant, and Ramirez will be working out with Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz in the Dominican Republic."
http://weei.stats.com/mlb/story.asp?i=20151109201030805276908&ref=rec&tm=2&src=MLB
This is encouraging.
Hanley slims down. I had no faith in him being a good first baseman with his bulked-up frame from last year. THIS guy might be able to do it.
Hanley slims down. I had no faith in him being a good first baseman with his bulked-up frame from last year. THIS guy might be able to do it.
He looks like he could even be in playing shape for 3b by next spring. It would be sweet if they could dump Sandoval.
I juan to believe, too! Encouraged by the photo but still anxious about actually seeing him over there.
Hanley is going to play in the Dominican League for the Licey Tigers (ESPN Deportes link, so Spanish). Apparently, he's primarily going to DH but seems reasonable to think he'll get some time at 1B as well.
Here's an English-language article: http://www.masslive.com/redsox/index.ssf/2015/11/hanley_ramirez_to_play_first_b.html#incart_story_package
Probably even less than that. Assuming days off, Hanley's annual DL stint, filling in at DH, and Travis Shaw playing the final inning or two of many games, I'm thinking, like, a maximum of 100 games' worth of innings at first base.
Joel Sherman @Joelsherman1 7m7 minutes ago
Dombrowski said “no plan in place for (Hanley) to play Winter Ball.” Said been discussed in past, but “presently this is only a rumor”
Dombrowski said “no plan in place for (Hanley) to play Winter Ball.” Said been discussed in past, but “presently this is only a rumor”
I hope he doesn't play winter ball. He doesn't need that wear and tear at his age. I would rather he just get the shoulder stronger and his body less bulky and more flexible. Based on the photo posted above, he is obviously taking his off season workouts seriously.
I also don't get all the angst about his being able to field the position. He was a ML shortstop. I doubt he forgot how to field a grounder or that he needs more than spring training to figure out the footwork. I think he will be at least an average defensive first baseman who can bring a much needed right handed power bat to the line up.
I also don't get all the angst about his being able to field the position. He was a ML shortstop. I doubt he forgot how to field a grounder or that he needs more than spring training to figure out the footwork. I think he will be at least an average defensive first baseman who can bring a much needed right handed power bat to the line up.
It's the position least likely to result in injury too. If April Hanley can stay on the field he's valuable to the team, even if he's got some growing pains at 1B.