A few random thoughts on this this morning...
1. I don't think JDM goes anywhere. In order for him to go elsewhere, someone will need to top 3/62.45 (just under $21m/yr). That is possible, but it would have to be an AL-team (no NL team wants him in their OF, I couldn't imagine) with a need for a DH, that's in contention (or believes that they are), and has that kind of money to spend. There just aren't many teams on that list. Not saying it's not possible, but it's not likely. And I think they'd have to overpay him by plenty to get him to leave Boston.
2. I don't think anyone should expect Workman to duplicate this season. He's been terrific, no doubt. But this has been his best season by FAR in virtually every way imaginable. Here are some stats looking at his 2019 versus his career high (numbers don't include last night's game):
ERA: 2.14 - previous best was 3.18 in 2017
WHIP: 1.032 - previous best was 1.210 in both 2017 and 2018
K/9: 12.9 - previous best was 10.2 in 2013
BAA: .125 - previous best was .230 in 2018
OPS: .440 - previous best was .705 in 2018
BABIP: .210 - previous best was .259 in 2018
His overall career numbers suggest that he's a solid bullpen guy - not at all someone you expect to dominate, but not at all someone you hesitate to throw out there. He's solid. Perfectly capable major league reliever. I would be shocked if he's THIS guy again in 2020. So long story short...I think they need more bullpen help next year.
3. However, that bullpen help may come in the form of Hernandez and Taylor. Again, not including last night's game, here are their numbers:
Taylor: 3.00 era, 1.24 whip, 11.6 k/9
Hernandez: 2.93 era, 1.59 whip, 17.2 k/9
You can tolerate Hernandez' high whip (due to his awful bb/9 numbers) because he strikes out so many damned guys. Having not one but TWO quality left-handed power pitchers coming out of the bullpen may be an enormous boost to the team for 2020. Their emergence - if it's real - may be one of the best things to come out of the 2019 season.
1. I don't think JDM goes anywhere. In order for him to go elsewhere, someone will need to top 3/62.45 (just under $21m/yr). That is possible, but it would have to be an AL-team (no NL team wants him in their OF, I couldn't imagine) with a need for a DH, that's in contention (or believes that they are), and has that kind of money to spend. There just aren't many teams on that list. Not saying it's not possible, but it's not likely. And I think they'd have to overpay him by plenty to get him to leave Boston.
2. I don't think anyone should expect Workman to duplicate this season. He's been terrific, no doubt. But this has been his best season by FAR in virtually every way imaginable. Here are some stats looking at his 2019 versus his career high (numbers don't include last night's game):
ERA: 2.14 - previous best was 3.18 in 2017
WHIP: 1.032 - previous best was 1.210 in both 2017 and 2018
K/9: 12.9 - previous best was 10.2 in 2013
BAA: .125 - previous best was .230 in 2018
OPS: .440 - previous best was .705 in 2018
BABIP: .210 - previous best was .259 in 2018
His overall career numbers suggest that he's a solid bullpen guy - not at all someone you expect to dominate, but not at all someone you hesitate to throw out there. He's solid. Perfectly capable major league reliever. I would be shocked if he's THIS guy again in 2020. So long story short...I think they need more bullpen help next year.
3. However, that bullpen help may come in the form of Hernandez and Taylor. Again, not including last night's game, here are their numbers:
Taylor: 3.00 era, 1.24 whip, 11.6 k/9
Hernandez: 2.93 era, 1.59 whip, 17.2 k/9
You can tolerate Hernandez' high whip (due to his awful bb/9 numbers) because he strikes out so many damned guys. Having not one but TWO quality left-handed power pitchers coming out of the bullpen may be an enormous boost to the team for 2020. Their emergence - if it's real - may be one of the best things to come out of the 2019 season.