210 replies to this topic

[OttoC]

...Both Kalish and Iglesias have struggled at AAA to date. It seems sensible to me to let them prove they can perform at that level before just handing them major league jobs.

Why was Iglesias able to hit .275/.324/.420/.745 with two home runs in 69 at bats as a 19-year-old in the Arizona Fall League with no previous professional experience? It seems like there was something there at one time. Where did it go? Maybe he was put on too fast of a track. Ciriaco, as a 24-year-old, hit .258/.296.318/.614 in 66 AB that same fall.

[Edelpeddle]

I guess I'm mostly surprised that Drew is commanding a $9.5 salary with incentives. Sure, the free agent market for shortstops is really bad, but that just seems expensive to me. I'd rather have him than not have him and in the end, it's not my money, so why should I care? I just hope this doesn't prevent us from acquiring a starter pitching this offseason or at the trade deadline.

BTW - Upon further inspection I did find an abnormality in his statistics. He had a crazy high 27% line drive rate last year and only a .275 BABIP, so he was unlucky. I'm just not convinced the decline in hitting is all due to the ankle injury. He had a .321 wOBA in 2009 and a .315 wOBA in 2011 before he got hurt.

Edited by Edelpeddle, 17 December 2012 - 06:29 PM.

[Red(s)HawksFan]

I guess I'm mostly surprised that Drew is commanding a $9.5 salary with incentives. Sure, the free agent market for shortstops is really bad, but that just seems expensive to me. I'd rather have him than not have him and in the end, it's not my money, so why should I care? I just hope this doesn't prevent us from acquiring a starter pitching this offseason or at the trade deadline.

He was rumored to be looking for a two year deal, and the A's apparently had a one plus an option offer on the table. The A's declined a $10M option to make him a free agent, buying him out for $1.35M. It seems to be fairly common that a player looking at a make good deal would seek to make up the difference lost by the declined option. For example, Kevin Youkilis got a $1M buyout of his $13M option for 2013, then made up the loss by getting $12M from the Yankees. Essentially he hits the free agent market again next winter when he originally expected to do so having not really lost a dime.

Getting $9.5M from the Red Sox essentially does the same thing for Drew, and the "overpay" by the Red Sox (i.e. maybe they could have bartered him down a bit) is mitigated by not having to give him the second year he reportedly was seeking.

Edited by Red(s)HawksFan, 17 December 2012 - 06:33 PM.

[Drek717]

Who said a shortstop would cost a prospect? Why not trade one of our 3/4 catchers and one of our extra bullpen arms without options for a shortstop?

We could instead trade those additional assets for more prospects who would have the potential for greater long term pay off as well. Then we aren't limiting our market of teams even further than it likely already is and we aren't using player assets for a journeyman we can instead buy for nothing more than money.

We aren't getting an upgrade over Drew out of Salty or some extra bullpen arms. We might get an ok mid-tier prospect though. I'd gladly take that and pay Drew $9.5M for a single season, hoping for a return to past production and the deadline deal or qualifying offer payoff that would come as a result.

[Edelpeddle]

Assuming Napoli's medicals check out, this will likely be our last significant acquisition. We're now within roughly $9 million of the luxury tax threshold.

[Snodgrass'Muff]

Yeah, barring an Ellsbury trade (which I'm guessing is unlikely at this point) the roster looks pretty close to set. I'll be honest, I feel better about this team than I thought I would in early November. I still have no idea how to make a guess about their record next year with any measure of confidence, but I think I'd classify this as a good off season considering the circumstances.

Edited by Snodgrass'Muff, 17 December 2012 - 06:54 PM.

[Edelpeddle]

I'm usually a pretty optimistic person, but I feel less optimistic about this team then I did entering the off-season. I like the Dempster and Uehara signings, I was just hoping we'd do more to improve the pitching. Maybe there's one more trade up Cherington's sleeve? A Floyd for Salty+ swap would not increase our salary much more than $1-2 million.

Edited by Edelpeddle, 17 December 2012 - 07:02 PM.

[reggiecleveland]

Why was Iglesias able to hit .275/.324/.420/.745 with two home runs in 69 at bats as a 19-year-old in the Arizona Fall League with no previous professional experience? It seems like there was something there at one time. Where did it go? Maybe he was put on too fast of a track. Ciriaco, as a 24-year-old, hit .258/.296.318/.614 in 66 AB that same fall.

Maybe less than 70 at bats doesn't mean much.

[Red(s)HawksFan]

I'm usually a pretty optimistic person, but I feel less optimistic about this team then I did entering the off-season. I like the Dempster and Uehara signings, I was just hoping we'd do more to improve the pitching. Maybe there's one more trade up Cherington's sleeve? A Floyd for Salty+ swap would not increase our salary much more than $1-2 million.

I think it's roster construction at this point that will determine if they add any other players or make any other deals, at least more so than salary considerations. They've got six rotation candidates already that can't be optioned. it doesn't really make much sense to add yet another, especially when the bullpen situation is getting rather crowded as well without adding in the odd man/men out from the rotation. I would imagine that Salty is going to get moved for prospects to free up 40-man space rather than for another major leaguer. Frankly, I think if Salty for Floyd was a realistic option, it would have been done before the Dempster signing.

[Drek717]

I'm usually a pretty optimistic person, but I feel less optimistic about this team then I did entering the off-season. I like the Dempster and Uehara signings, I was just hoping we'd do more to improve the pitching. Maybe there's one more trade up Cherington's sleeve? A Floyd for Salty+ swap would not increase our salary much more than $1-2 million.

We only have so many starts to hand out though. Lester and Buchholz are obviously inked in as starters. Lackey's salary pretty much means the team needs to leave a spot for him. Doubront is only 25 next season and had strong peripherals for his rookie season, he's what we should be looking to cultivate in our starting rotation.

So that's 5 starters already on the roster when you add Dempster. We can't really go into spring training with someone like Floyd as the 6th starter, and the current starting 5 aren't guys who can really bump down to 6th starter either.

The best options we're going to find for 6th starter are already on our roster - Franklin Morales who had some nice starts last year and will be only 27 next season, Alfredo Aceves who was solid in a rubber armed reliever/spot starter role in 2011, and then we dig into the AAA reserves with a nice pool of young prospects (like RDLR and Webster) and AAAA types who can also eat innings and potentially catch lightning in a bottle (Steve Wright, Chris Hernandez, probably some unsigned minor league contract guys).

We can't build an elite rotation off of the FA market, the talent just isn't there. Avoiding huge commitments and letting young talent like Doubront work to earn permanent roles while we see if Lester can rebound is all the team can really do while the next wave of pitching prospects comes along.

[Rasputin]

I'm usually a pretty optimistic person, but I feel less optimistic about this team then I did entering the off-season.

Then it looks to me like your earlier optimism was way off base. The team did not have major league bodies at left, right, or first, the DH was a free agent, the SS was extremely glove only, and the fifth starter threw less than fifteen innings last year.

The team filled all of those holes with guys who are likely to be at least average AND brought in a catcher who is more OBP centric which, you will recall, was a teamwide problem last year.

They've done a pretty good job filling a lot of holes with decent players without giving up talent or committing to long term contracts. The result isn't a team that's going to go into the season as the favorite for anything, but isn't going to suck, either.

[Edelpeddle]

Then it looks to me like your earlier optimism was way off base. The team did not have major league bodies at left, right, or first, the DH was a free agent, the SS was extremely glove only, and the fifth starter threw less than fifteen innings last year.

The team filled all of those holes with guys who are likely to be at least average AND brought in a catcher who is more OBP centric which, you will recall, was a teamwide problem last year.

They've done a pretty good job filling a lot of holes with decent players without giving up talent or committing to long term contracts. The result isn't a team that's going to go into the season as the favorite for anything, but isn't going to suck, either.

I wasn't optimistic about the team we had on paper in October, I was optimistic that we'd be able to fix our pitching with nearly $100 million in yearly salary to spend. We've already gone out and spent more than $70 million in yearly salary and the only pitchers we have to show for it are Dempster and Uehara.

[Div School Sox Fan]

Assuming Napoli's medicals check out, this will likely be our last significant acquisition. We're now within roughly $9 million of the luxury tax threshold.

By my math, including estimates for arb-eligible players, we're at a little under $150M in luxury tax payroll, which would leave us $15-20M shy of the threshold.

[bosockboy]

I'm usually a pretty optimistic person, but I feel less optimistic about this team then I did entering the off-season. I like the Dempster and Uehara signings, I was just hoping we'd do more to improve the pitching. Maybe there's one more trade up Cherington's sleeve? A Floyd for Salty+ swap would not increase our salary much more than $1-2 million.

I think the only way we add another pitcher outside the organization is if there was a Ellsbury/Doubront deal for a frontline starter out there. I'll admit I thought Ben had more in mind than Dempster/Uehara for the pitching staff, but hopefully Lester bouncing back will make up the difference.

[Edelpeddle]

I don't want to sidetrack the discussion too much, but I don't see why we couldn't have Doubront and Lackey compete for the fifth spot. I'd say the chances of Lester, Buchholz, Dempster, Doubront and Lackey being healthy and effective are pretty slim. That means we might have to trade, option or release someone like Andrew Miller but I'd rather have a solid rotation than someone like Andrew Miller.

[Edelpeddle]

By my math, including estimates for arb-eligible players, we're at a little under $150M in luxury tax payroll, which would leave us $15-20M shy of the threshold.

http://fullcount.wee...ayroll-2013-15/

[Rasputin]

I wasn't optimistic about the team we had on paper in October, I was optimistic that we'd be able to fix our pitching with nearly $100 million in yearly salary to spend. We've already gone out and spent more than $70 million in yearly salary and the only pitchers we have to show for it are Dempster and Uehara.

The pitching is gonna get fixed by Lester pitching better, by Buchholz not taking six weeks to get back into form, by not having a failed Daniel Bard as starter, by Felix Doubront getting incrementally better, and by not giving 29 starts to the likes of Daisuke Matsuzaka and Aaron Cook. I mean, Christ, Beckett, Cook, and Matsuzaka make fifty starts and all of them had an ERA over five, and all of them are gone.

Shit can always happen, the last three years have demonstrated that far more forcefully than anyone is really comfortable with, but a top five of Lester, Buchholz, Lackey, Doubront, and Dempster isn't bad. Morales for spot starts is fine. De la Rosa for longer term needs is fine considering we want to work him in.

Holy fuck, we had 62 starts made by pitchers with an ERA over 5.

[Rasputin]

I don't want to sidetrack the discussion too much, but I don't see why we couldn't have Doubront and Lackey compete for the fifth spot.

Because you can't dump Lackey and you don't want to dump Doubront.

[Red(s)HawksFan]

I don't want to sidetrack the discussion too much, but I don't see why we couldn't have Doubront and Lackey compete for the fifth spot. I'd say the chances of Lester, Buchholz, Dempster, Doubront and Lackey being healthy and effective are pretty slim. That means we might have to trade, option or release someone like Andrew Miller but I'd rather have a solid rotation than someone like Andrew Miller.

As much as we all like to hate on Lackey, he quite simply is not going to be someone they're going to make "compete" for a job in spring training. Not with his salary and not coming off an injury from which he should be more than recovered (by Opening Day, he will be 17-18 months removed from surgery), He'll be given every chance to do what they signed him to do three years ago.

[Div School Sox Fan]

Edelpeddle -

$169M is based on the maximum projected arb awards - Speier projects arb awards totaling $30-35M, but then gives a projected payroll based on the top estimate. The calculations there project a payroll $164-169M. I think Speier's estimates are generally too high, and I'd guess a total of $25M is more likely, which would put our total luxury tax payroll around $160M. That's the difference.

The Sox also have more arbitration eligible players than they're going to keep. It's likely that one of Aceves and Morales, plus Saltalamacchia, will be moved before the end of the offseason. That will clear off several million in projected payroll.

[Bigpupp]

http://fullcount.wee...ayroll-2013-15/

The problem with that article is that Speier just throws out 30-35 million for arbitration without going into specifics. While that number might end up being right Matt Swartz through MLBTradeRumors.com estimates player by player and comes up with only 25.3 million for arbitration (on the phone so I can't link).

[Edelpeddle]

Because you can't dump Lackey and you don't want to dump Doubront.

You wouldn't have to...

[bosockboy]

Assuming Napoli's medicals check out, this will likely be our last significant acquisition. We're now within roughly $9 million of the luxury tax threshold.

Should have one more notable transaction....Gomes platoon partner/backup 1B. Hoping its Garrett Jones.

[Drek717]

I don't want to sidetrack the discussion too much, but I don't see why we couldn't have Doubront and Lackey compete for the fifth spot. I'd say the chances of Lester, Buchholz, Dempster, Doubront and Lackey being healthy and effective are pretty slim. That means we might have to trade, option or release someone like Andrew Miller but I'd rather have a solid rotation than someone like Andrew Miller.

You seriously think we should have Doubront competing for a starting spot as a 25 year old lefty who as a 24 year old in his first real season of ML pitching had a K/9 of 9.34 and a FIP of 4.37 despite an aberrantly high HR/FB rate and above league average BABIP of 0.312?

Doubront should be inked into the 2013 lineup just as strongly as Lester and Buchholz. If we can't give someone like Doubront every bit of slack we can to develop into a quality cost controlled starter for us then what's the point of even having a farm system, period? He's basically exactly what you want to see come from a second tier prospect - continued maturation resulting in significantly better stuff than originally projected.

[Rasputin]

You wouldn't have to...

Allow me to be more clear.

You want Doubront in the rotation. It is what he requires to move forward as a pitcher. The organization wants him to move forward as a pitcher.

[Cellar-Door]

Should have one more notable transaction....Gomes platoon partner/backup 1B. Hoping its Garrett Jones.

I think we already have it in Nava/Kalish, to play LF and Kalish is supposedly working at 1B.

Edit- also I would think unless traded one or both of Lavarnway and Salty can play a bit of 1B

Edited by Cellar-Door, 17 December 2012 - 10:16 PM.

[DanoooME]

This Drew deal is Adrian Beltre 2.0 (guy coming off of serious injury taking a 1 year re-establish value contract). Let's hope it works out as well.

[Edelpeddle]

You seriously think we should have Doubront competing for a starting spot as a 25 year old lefty who as a 24 year old in his first real season of ML pitching had a K/9 of 9.34 and a FIP of 4.37 despite an aberrantly high HR/FB rate and above league average BABIP of 0.312?

Doubront should be inked into the 2013 lineup just as strongly as Lester and Buchholz. If we can't give someone like Doubront every bit of slack we can to develop into a quality cost controlled starter for us then what's the point of even having a farm system, period? He's basically exactly what you want to see come from a second tier prospect - continued maturation resulting in significantly better stuff than originally projected.

You really want to just hand a rotation spot to John Lackey? I don't see what the downside would be in letting them compete for a spot. If all things are even, put Lackey in the bullpen to limit the stress on his arm coming off of surgery and allow Doubront to develop further. If Lackey suddenty pitches like a Cy Young caliber pitcher again, we'd have an ace at the top of the rotation and Doubront could either pitch out of the bullpen or go down to the minors the for the month it would take someone to get hurt. If neither pitcher does well, we won't be stuck with both of them in the rotation.

[mauidano]

If Pedey's okay with it, I'm good...
http://espn.go.com/b...s-jose-iglesias

[Edelpeddle]

Nevermind, Doubront doesn't have any more options. In the unlikely scenario that Lester, Buchholz, Dempster, Floyd, Doubront and Lackey were all healthy and pitching well to start the season, we could go with a six man rotation for the month it would take someone to get hurt. Having too many quality starters is never a problem.

[Rasputin]

You really want to just hand a rotation spot to John Lackey? I don't see what the downside would be in letting them compete for a spot. If all things are even, put Lackey in the bullpen to limit the stress on his arm coming off of surgery and allow Doubront to develop further. If Lackey suddenty pitches like a Cy Young caliber pitcher again, we'd have an ace at the top of the rotation and Doubront could either pitch out of the bullpen or go down to the minors the for the month it would take someone to get hurt. If neither pitcher does well, we won't be stuck with both of them in the rotation.

We try to deal with the real world here.

Lackey is going to be in the rotation. Period. We don't want to put Doubront in the pen or in Pawtucket. Those would be bad things.

This is not hard, please understand it this time.

[Snodgrass'Muff]

Nevermind, Doubront doesn't have any more options. In the unlikely scenario that Lester, Buchholz, Dempster, Floyd, Doubront and Lackey were all healthy and pitching well to start the season, we could go with a six man rotation for the month it would take someone to get hurt. Having too many quality starters is never a problem.

How many teams have ever actually gone with a 6 man rotation? It sounds great on the surface, but realistically you hope that Lester and Buchholz start off strong and in that case you don't want to minimize their starts to squeeze both Lackey and Doubront into the rotation because you also went out and picked up a Gavin Floyd or something.

The rotation is full. Unless you have an opportunity to pick up something more than an above average innings eater like Floyd, I don't think the marginal upgrade you'd see over over Doubront or Lackey is likely to be worth the expense of acquiring them or the draft pick you might lose signing a free agent. Signing a Marcum over a Dempster might have been a good move, but they signed Dempster so Marcum is probably not a realistic option anymore. He's not likely to be that much better than the back end of the rotation anyway.

And I don't see how it's even remotely realistic to suggest Lackey start the season in the pen. You might be able to convince Doubront to deal with being there for a season or a half season or whatever, but that would be a poor decision based on the nice steps he took forward last season. You want to capitalize on his progress, not shunt it with a middle reliever pen role.

This team isn't going to light the world on fire, but they have a decent chance to be pretty good. Considering where we finished the season, I think that's pretty impressive.

Edited by Snodgrass'Muff, 18 December 2012 - 01:08 AM.

[redsoxstiff]

The funny thing about the team roster construction strategy for this offseason is that it seems designed to be logical, while making neither type of extreme fan happy. The "I want STARS! I want them NOW!" types are not satisfied by short-term (relatively speaking) deals to middle tier players like Napoli and Victorino, while the Prospect Fanboys can be angry that guys like Iglesias and Kalish are losing playing time to those same middle tier, proven MLB players. The roster is being patched to be functional, but exciting for absolutely nobody. It makes sense, but I'd hate to have to try to market this team.

Marketing this team is going to be hell...there are many,many wait and see fans ...Papi and Middlebrooks [or Napoli ] need monster years...Farrell must right crappy SPs...Enthusiasm may not be a word for 2013...

[nvalvo]

Back to Drew, the nominal subject of the thread.

If the Red Sox surprise and contend, that would be great. Sounds fun — sign me up. It's entirely plausible: we need only a few key players to have bounce-back seasons (Lester, Lackey, and Ellsbury at the top of the list), and everybody else to play more or less as expected. Could happen.

If those stars don't align and they are more the 80-win type team I think they probably are, Drew could be a useful trade chip at the deadline. Hell, we could send him back to Oakland for their playoff run.

This plan requires a different set of stars to align, as we would want to bring Iglesias to Boston and Bogaerts to Pawtucket.

[Drek717]

You really want to just hand a rotation spot to John Lackey? I don't see what the downside would be in letting them compete for a spot. If all things are even, put Lackey in the bullpen to limit the stress on his arm coming off of surgery and allow Doubront to develop further. If Lackey suddenty pitches like a Cy Young caliber pitcher again, we'd have an ace at the top of the rotation and Doubront could either pitch out of the bullpen or go down to the minors the for the month it would take someone to get hurt. If neither pitcher does well, we won't be stuck with both of them in the rotation.

I wouldn't say we're just handing it to him. He's low man on the totem poll at this point.

A healthy Buchholz is probably our best starter as he looked a lot more like 2010/2011 Buch from the end of May on than the guy we saw to start last season. He was healthy pretty much all last year, I see little reason to be skeptical on that front in 2013.

Jon Lester has been a 200 IP, ERA+ between 124-144 starter for 4 seasons prior to last year and will be 29 next season. The team is not going to give up on him without damn near another full year as bad as 2012. Given that he had a massive home/road split that he's never had before there is some legitimate reason for optimism here too.

Felix Doubront (as we've covered already) is young, makes people miss, and already took one big step forward last season. He's the exact kind of guy we should be looking forward to taking another step forward in 2013.

Ryan Dempster isn't my favorite pitcher in the world but we just signed him. He's locked in to the 2013 rotation and a big part of why the FO signed him is specifically because he does show up and throw 30-35 starts year after year.

That makes John Lackey and his $15M contract our #5 starter. He'll be given more rope than probably any other #5 starter in the league because of that contract, so he likely won't face real competition from Morales and Aceves in spring training, but he's clearly the bottom rung on the starting rotation ladder that our young guys are trying to climb. For example, if Ruby shows up to AAA and starts torching people all through April, May, and into June then Lackey is the first guy the FO will look to unload, even if that includes a good bit of contract subsidy. Lackey pitching well would make that scenario much more possible/palette-able though.

[phrenile]

Does the new CBA allow the player and club to agree that no QO be extended at the end of the contract?

It's forbidden under Article XX(B.)(5)(с):

(с) A Club and Player (or their designated representatives) shall not enter into any agreement, understanding or contract, or make any representation, promise or commitment, whether implied or explicit, either orally or in writing, that the Club will not make a Qualifying Offer to a Player, or that a Player will not accept a Qualifying Offer if one is tendered to him. Any Club or Club employee that violates this provision will be subject to discipline by the Commissioner, including the potential forfeiture of draft selections.

[Dewy4PrezII]

The pitching is gonna get fixed by Lester pitching better, by Buchholz not taking six weeks to get back into form, by not having a failed Daniel Bard as starter, by Felix Doubront getting incrementally better, and by not giving 29 starts to the likes of Daisuke Matsuzaka and Aaron Cook. I mean, Christ, Beckett, Cook, and Matsuzaka make fifty starts and all of them had an ERA over five, and all of them are gone.

Shit can always happen, the last three years have demonstrated that far more forcefully than anyone is really comfortable with, but a top five of Lester, Buchholz, Lackey, Doubront, and Dempster isn't bad. Morales for spot starts is fine. De la Rosa for longer term needs is fine considering we want to work him in.

Holy fuck, we had 62 starts made by pitchers with an ERA over 5.

I was surprised Christ was so ineffective. I had hight hopes.

[snowmanny]

Are you saying Christ can'tthrow a curveball?

[Savin Hillbilly]

Are you saying Christ can'tthrow a curveball?

He tries to get a good drop on it, but for some reason it always rises again before it gets to the plate.

[Rough Carrigan]

Are you saying Christ can'tthrow a curveball?

It's not that. He's got no deception to his delivery.

[ToeKneeArmAss]

I was surprised Christ was so ineffective. I had hight hopes.

I just assumed he was talking about Andrew Miller, but couldn't remember him making a start.

[doc]

Are you saying Christ can'tthrow a curveball?

He's a closer, so he only needs the heat. Jesus saves.

[E5 Yaz]

Buster_ESPN Buster Olney
RT @ScottLauber: Cherington said he wants Jose Iglesias to play every day, regardless of the level. Hello, Pawtucket #RedSox

[lexrageorge]

Buster_ESPN Buster Olney
RT @ScottLauber: Cherington said he wants Jose Iglesias to play every day, regardless of the level. Hello, Pawtucket #RedSox

This should be taken as a good sign. Cafardo's bleatings to the contrary, until Iglesias shows he can hit passably in Pawtucket, it makes little sense for him to see big league pitching.

[WinRemmerswaal]

This should be taken as a good sign. Cafardo's bleatings to the contrary, until Iglesias shows he can hit passably in Pawtucket, it makes little sense for him to see big league pitching.

Agree with this on the hitting, but raises a question about development: could you argue that it is better or at least not harmful for Iglesias's development defensively to be at AAA? I don't imagine grounders are hit much less hard at that level and if anything the field conditions and skill of other fielders would be less than in the majors, presumably forcing him to make plays of more difficulty and/or better throws. If you buy that argument, then the Drew deal makes even more sense (assuming a favorable view of the Drew deal).

[Drek717]

This should be taken as a good sign. Cafardo's bleatings to the contrary, until Iglesias shows he can hit passably in Pawtucket, it makes little sense for him to see big league pitching.

I don't think the goal here is to wait and see if Iglesias can hit at Pawtucket. He's got a ML contract and only one option year left, so after 2013 he's in the majors for keeps unless they think he can make it through waivers.

Signing Drew and sending Iggy to AAA is basically the FO giving him every last bit of seasoning they can before he's thrown into the deep end of the pool by mid-2013 or start of 2014, depending on what happens with Drew (deadline deal or leaves via FA). The only way they kick the tires on another SS option for 2014 would be if Iglesias is just horrible offensively this season, otherwise he's the guy and they'll give him at least a few hundred ABs to prove it before dumping him. That's probably about enough time into the 2014 season to see if Bogaerts' defense plays at AAA and is ready for the job himself.

[Savin Hillbilly]

I don't think the goal here is to wait and see if Iglesias can hit at Pawtucket. He's got a ML contract and only one option year left, so after 2013 he's in the majors for keeps unless they think he can make it through waivers.

Signing Drew and sending Iggy to AAA is basically the FO giving him every last bit of seasoning they can before he's thrown into the deep end of the pool by mid-2013 or start of 2014, depending on what happens with Drew (deadline deal or leaves via FA). The only way they kick the tires on another SS option for 2014 would be if Iglesias is just horrible offensively this season, otherwise he's the guy and they'll give him at least a few hundred ABs to prove it before dumping him. That's probably about enough time into the 2014 season to see if Bogaerts' defense plays at AAA and is ready for the job himself.

I'm not sure I see any difference between the statement you're contradicting in the first bolded part and the statement you're making in the second.

Nobody thinks we're waiting to see if Iglesias can suddenly become Cal Ripken or Honus Wagner. By "wait and see if Iglesias can hit at Pawtucket," we mean precisely "wait and see if he can be better than just horrible," because so far that's all he's been. If he's better than that next year--if he shows signs of being capable of an OPS of .650 or better at the ML level--then sure, you pencil him in for Opening Day 2014. But right now that's still a huge question awaiting an answer, and if it's answered negatively, I certainly hope they look for other options if Bogaerts isn't ready.

[lexrageorge]

The alternative is having Iglesias playing a utility role on the big club. There are 2 downsides: we'll never know if he can hit major league pitching, and he'll get no chance to work on things at the AAA level. And the upside is practically nil.

[Sprowl]

Meh. Watching Iglesias in the field was one of the few reasons to be excited about the 2013 Red Sox. This move should make them a slightly better team overall, but a distinctly less entertaining one. A good hitter for the position and once a good fielder, Drew is better than acquiring Yunel Escobar, that's for sure. I can't say I'm excited about watching Drew in the field, but he probably be on the DL for several stretches, so Iglesias will get a few chances to take over the job.

[Jed Zeppelin]

Drew actually looks like a pretty reliable player aside from his one horrific injury. In '09 he played 135 but his other three seasons as a full-timer he played 150. Once he returned last season he didn't have any physical setbacks, playing straight through from the end of June to October.