Downs up, Norwood wide right

Ferm Sheller

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Downs is 4/33 with two doubles, two HRs and a walk in his last 10 games. Despite that, I'm excited to see him, too.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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Downs is only a placeholder until Arroyo or Kike are ready to come off the IL. I really don't think the Sox are expecting much out of him, if he even plays at all.

It's also representative of how thin the 40-man is for position players. It could only have been Downs or one of the two catchers, Wong or Hernandez. The other 9 options to call up from the 40-man are pitchers.
 

E5 Yaz

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Downs is only a placeholder until Arroyo or Kike are ready to come off the IL. I really don't think the Sox are expecting much out of him, if he even plays at all.

It's also representative of how thin the 40-man is for position players. It could only have been Downs or one of the two catchers, Wong or Hernandez. The other 9 options to call up from the 40-man are pitchers.
Yikes?
 

Coachster

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Would somebody really have picked Downs up on waivers if we had removed him from the 40 and added Fitzgerald?

It seems pretty evident that Downs can't even hit minor league pitching. It doesn't make much sense to me.
 

YTF

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Downs is only a placeholder until Arroyo or Kike are ready to come off the IL. I really don't think the Sox are expecting much out of him, if he even plays at all.

It's also representative of how thin the 40-man is for position players. It could only have been Downs or one of the two catchers, Wong or Hernandez. The other 9 options to call up from the 40-man are pitchers.
I wondering if/when the time will come where the team chooses to cut bait with one of those pitcher to make room for Fitzgerald on the 40 man. Great spring, playing well in WOOstah and flexible. He just turned 28, it would be great if the team could find a way to see if he can play in the majors. Perhaps his greatest contribution might be to keep putting up numbers in AAA and draw a bit of interest from other teams.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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Would somebody really have picked Downs up on waivers if we had removed him from the 40 and added Fitzgerald?

It seems pretty evident that Downs can't even hit minor league pitching. It doesn't make much sense to me.
Downs being just 23 probably makes him likely to be grabbed by someone. He's not fully formed yet, even with his struggles. I think if they were to add Fitzgerald, it would be at the expense of one of the pitchers. Counting Arroyo as part of the 40-man (he's technically off the roster on COVID IL), they have 17 position players and 23 pitchers. No reason they can't jettison a pitcher to make room (Brasier and Valdez strike me as candidates since they're on their last option year anyway, and Robles and Diekman don't seem to have long futures here either).
 

E5 Yaz

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Downs being just 23 probably makes him likely to be grabbed by someone. He's not fully formed yet, even with his struggles. I think if they were to add Fitzgerald, it would be at the expense of one of the pitchers. Counting Arroyo as part of the 40-man (he's technically off the roster on COVID IL), they have 17 position players and 23 pitchers. No reason they can't jettison a pitcher to make room (Brasier and Valdez strike me as candidates since they're on their last option year anyway, and Robles and Diekman don't seem to have long futures here either).
I guess the question becomes whether Duran is the second players sent out when Kike' and Arroyo come back. It's the easiest move, but maybe it's time he got a full shot
 

Sandy Leon Trotsky

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Will Middlebrooks thinks "Jeter Downs is being called up so potential trade partners can see if he’s able to compete at the big league level."

But if he can't do well in minors... how will he look in majors?
Maybe he’s one of those types that just underperform in the minors but still get the call-up (usually due to “pedigree”) and then shine… maybe…?
I can’t think of anyone but I’ve heard they exist. I feel like Youk way overperformed his expectations
 

Philip Jeff Frye

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I can't believe anybody is excited to see Jeter Downs play at this point in his career. If he ends up getting significant at bats for us, that's going to mean something has gone badly wrong.
 

santadevil

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I'm rooting for a surprise breakout, where he hits the crap out of everything and becomes so awesome we can't trade him
 

mauidano

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Will Middlebrooks thinks "Jeter Downs is being called up so potential trade partners can see if he’s able to compete at the big league level."

But if he can't do well in minors... how will he look in majors?
Hopefully good enough! Probably true that he’s being “displayed” for the Trade Deadline but still what a moment in this kid’s life! Dream come true.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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Maybe he’s one of those types that just underperform in the minors but still get the call-up (usually due to “pedigree”) and then shine… maybe…?
I can’t think of anyone but I’ve heard they exist. I feel like Youk way overperformed his expectations
There used to be a theory that some guys were able to outperform their minor league stats because of the higher quality lighting in big league ballparks. Though I would think that kind of thing would bear out in day versus night game splits regardless of level.

Feels more like analysts trying to dress this move up, but it really is just a seat filler situation. No one is going to be convinced of anything based on what might be at most a couple games.
 

Sad Sam Jones

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I wondering if/when the time will come where the team chooses to cut bait with one of those pitcher to make room for Fitzgerald on the 40 man. Great spring, playing well in WOOstah and flexible. He just turned 28, it would be great if the team could find a way to see if he can play in the majors. Perhaps his greatest contribution might be to keep putting up numbers in AAA and draw a bit of interest from other teams.
If you think a 28 year old with zero MLB experience might actually have trade value, that's the exact opposite of what you should do.
 

Petagine in a Bottle

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Major re2pect for this move
It’s the only move they could make, really. He’s been terrible, but he probably would have been claimed if removed from the 40 (Arauz, the same age and the same middling performance with less of a pedigree, was).

Seems to me like they could drop one of the catchers or Valdez and bring up a more capable backup; but I would imagine they’d have to just drop that person whenever they activate Sale or Taylor, anyways.
 

E5 Yaz

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I would imagine they’d have to just drop that person whenever they activate Sale or Taylor, anyways.
As was explained earlier when I was confused, Downs is only here until Kike'/Arroyo get back ... nothing to do with Sale or Taylor
 

Petagine in a Bottle

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As was explained earlier when I was confused, Downs is only here until Kike'/Arroyo get back ... nothing to do with Sale or Taylor
I’m talking about the 40-man. It would be nice to have “legit infield backup” in place of Valdez, to be recalled now, but then “legit infield backup” would likely to have be removed from the 40-man once / if Sale and / or Taylor is activated. But yes, you are right that this is clearly just a very temporary role which is another reason why it didn’t make sense to bother adding anyone else to the 40.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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I’m talking about the 40-man. It would be nice to have “legit infield backup” in place of Valdez, to be recalled now, but then “legit infield backup” would likely to have be removed from the 40-man once / if Sale and / or Taylor is activated. But yes, you are right that this is clearly just a very temporary role which is another reason why it didn’t make sense to bother adding anyone else to the 40.
I imagine the front office thinks their "legit infield backup" are the two guys currently on the IL, at least one of which should be back by the end of the week. Having Kike and Arroyo (and for the moment, Refsnyder) around means that an injury to just about any position player outside of catcher can be replaced on the roster by Duran. The problem, as we're seeing now, is that with two of them out, it necessitates Downs being up as well.
 

sean1562

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Ryan Fitzgerald has a .234/.305/.399/.704 batting line in AAA since the beginning of May. IDK why he is viewed as a major league player worthy of a 40 man spot.
 

Sad Sam Jones

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It's an option if he doesn't find his way on to the 40 man.
Leaving him in AAA to "draw a bit of interest from other teams" as you said is not an option. Every organization has 28-year-olds who put up good numbers in AAA. They aren't giving up anything to acquire some other organization's, especially one without a major league track record. If his own organization that's developed him for over four years doesn't show enough confidence to give him a chance, they aren't getting anything in return from another organization to give him that chance. This may or may not be the best time to get him at-bats in Boston, but guys at his point of their career don't build trade value playing in the minors.
 

YTF

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Leaving him in AAA to "draw a bit of interest from other teams" as you said is not an option. Every organization has 28-year-olds who put up good numbers in AAA. They aren't giving up anything to acquire some other organization's, especially one without a major league track record. If his own organization that's developed him for over four years doesn't show enough confidence to give him a chance, they aren't getting anything in return from another organization to give him that chance. This may or may not be the best time to get him at-bats in Boston, but guys at his point of their career don't build trade value playing in the minors.
Not every trade is a one for one deal or a block buster. Someone might see some upside in Fitzgerald and his versatility as a guy to round out a deal.
 

LogansDad

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I like it. Happy for Downs, get him a taste of The Show, even if it's a very temporary thing. Maybe a closer look at him, or a chat with the MLB coaches/players will help him get his bat back alive when he goes back down. It's way too early to give up on him as a future player, I think, as there is obviously talent there. And who knows, maybe he's one of those guys that the bright lights will help get back on track.
 

richgedman'sghost

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Would somebody really have picked Downs up on waivers if we had removed him from the 40 and added Fitzgerald?

It seems pretty evident that Downs can't even hit minor league pitching. It doesn't make much sense to me.
Gee whiz! It seems iin every single player transaction thread; a poster has to bring up Fitzgerald's name. Calm down. Fitzgerald is batting 234 since May 1st. Guy has a career upside of a utility player not a Hall of Famer. I'm sure Jeter Downs will only be up for a few days until Kike is ready. The difference between Downs and Fitzgerald is insignificant.
 
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Philip Jeff Frye

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Gee whiz! It seems iin every single player transaction thread; a poster has to bring up Fitzgerald's name. Calm down. The guy has a career upside of a utility player nor a Hall of Famer.
New to this site? You could probably find quotes in the archives from 20ish years ago replacing Fitzgerald's name with Morgan Burkhart's or Izzy Alcantara's. If SoSH had been around in the 1970s, we would have been hot for Sam Bowen. It's what we do!
 

Yelling At Clouds

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I don’t know too much about Downs beyond his numbers, but it seems fair to conclude that the lack of a minor-league season in 2020 really derailed his development. Putting him in AAA last year was a bit aggressive. Too bad, really; not to relitigate the Mookie trade yet again, but I remember the consensus being that he was a pretty good get all things considered.
 

reggiecleveland

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New to this site? You could probably find quotes in the archives from 20ish years ago replacing Fitzgerald's name with Morgan Burkhart's or Izzy Alcantara's. If SoSH had been around in the 1970s, we would have been hot for Sam Bowen. It's what we do!
I still remember the "Romeo Langford: Mount Rushmore of Celtics hoops or just a simple HOFer?" thread.
 

Coachster

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Gee whiz! It seems iin every single player transaction thread; a poster has to bring up Fitzgerald's name. Calm down. Fitzgerald is batting 234 since May 1st. Guy has a career upside of a utility player not a Hall of Famer. I'm sure Jeter Downs will only be up for a few days until Kike is ready. The difference between Downs and Fitzgerald is insignificant.
Let me be clear. I don't care if it's Ryan Fitzgerald or John Fitzgerald Kennedy, or Adam Kennedy, who retired in 2012.

I just don't understand Jeter Downs ever making it to a major league roster. Downs is at a solid .180 since May. Drop him off the 40 and bring somebody up to the show who at least has a chance of helping till Kike or Arroyo get back.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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Let me be clear. I don't care if it's Ryan Fitzgerald or John Fitzgerald Kennedy, or Adam Kennedy, who retired in 2012.

I just don't understand Jeter Downs ever making it to a major league roster. Downs is at a solid .180 since May. Drop him off the 40 and bring somebody up to the show who at least has a chance of helping till Kike or Arroyo get back.
Arroyo's in the clubhouse this afternoon, which suggests he's no longer isolating or contagious. Stands to reason he'll be activated tomorrow or Wednesday. Downs is only up due to rules and as a break glass emergency option. It really doesn't matter if it's him or anyone else in that spot. It's temporary and very unlikely to impact any games at all.
 

LogansDad

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I just don't understand Jeter Downs ever making it to a major league roster. Downs is at a solid .180 since May. Drop him off the 40 and bring somebody up to the show who at least has a chance of helping till Kike or Arroyo get back.
I understand your first sentence at this point in time. I'm willing to be he won't see a lot of playing time this week, but, as mentioned above, he's the only INF available on the 40 man who they can call up.

As to your second point... there's just no way that is going to happen. .180 since May or not, he's 23 years old and missed an entire season in 2020, when he would have likely been in A+ ball, and then got moved (irresponsibly, IMHO) to AAA where he was almost 5 years younger than the average player at the time (3.5 now, and yes, I do understand that the age of AAA players is inflated due to the fact that a lot of the players are MLB fodder and no true "prospects", the older players tend to be MLB capable players). If they try to drop Downs off of the 40, there is no chance he makes it through waivers, and there is no chance that the organization has given up on him as a prospect at this point, either.