What does 2023 look like?

SouthernBoSox

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Yoshida's first 13 games: 58 PA, 1 2b, 1 hr, 6 rbi, .167/.310/.250/.560
Yoshida's last 10 games: 44 PA, 3 2b, 3 hr, 10 rbi, .410/.455/.718/1.172

Looks like he's made the necessary adjustments. Now let's see the league adjust to him. And back and forth. Pretty clearly the guy knows what he's doing out there.
He was getting a ton of elevated fastballs away that he was driving into the ground with great frequency. He has since corrected that pattern and is sending that offering on a line drive to left field and his xOBA has exploded.

64254
 

nvalvo

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The more walks than strikeouts thing is what has me really excited, but I also expect that there's more power in there as the weather warms up and he sees more pitchers for a subsequent time.

He has a chance to be a .300/.400/.500 guy.
 

Yo La Tengo

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Good point. I don't know that there's much of a difference between SS and RF, you still have to trust your arm to make a violent, unnatural effort. But if Bryce is DHing only, then that's not as much of a milestone as it may appear.
I think the plan is for Harper to DH, potentially not returning to right field until 2024.
 

Yo La Tengo

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There has also been talk of him playing first base, particularly with Hoskins out for the year.
I read that as well but I'm not sure how the logistics would work. He needs to get cleared to throw before playing anywhere in the field. Once he is medically cleared to throw, the Phillies might think that it would be helpful to have Harper at first base so that Castellanos or Schwarber can DH (funny that Schwarber to first base is less appealing than Harper, who has never played the position). But it appears that decision is months away.

Here's a quote from the Athletic: "Harper will be the DH for a period of months; he will continue to learn first base with pregame drills, but clearance to throw without restrictions will take time. The Phillies do not want to rush that aspect of this recovery."

As for how this relates to Story, he might be available to return early as a DH too, but the Sox would have to weigh if that is a helpful option with the current roster makeup, or if a more traditional rehab process is a smarter approach.
 

azsoxpatsfan

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The 2022 offense was a top ten offense in baseball. I think upgrades at certain positions and improvement from guys like Devers and Verdugo has more than offset the loss of X, so I expect this team to finish top ten again (currently third in runs). The team will go as far as the pitching can take them.

To that end, I’m a hopeless optimist so my opinions are biased, but I’m very encouraged by what I’ve seen from Sale the past three starts. Two were fantastic, and the one against Baltimore was so bizarre with the complete lack of swing and miss stuff that I have to think he was tipping pitches. The stuff has been there, people have been saying for awhile that it comes down to refining his control after being away for so long. These past few starts have been a huge step in that direction. If he can be even 80% of what he was, that solves a massive problem.

Pivetta is a stereotypical 5. Maybe better options emerge, but at worst we have a very decent fifth starter. Houck hasn’t been amazing, but has shown flashes, and at worst has shown he probably belongs in a MLB rotation. Bello has so so much potential. Then there’s Whitlock, Paxton, Kluber, and even guys like Wincowski and Crawford who have shown potential in long relief. One doesn’t have to squint too hard to see the upside of this team
 
I started typing a reply about how Devers is actually dragging a bit despite the power only to look up his March/April numbers from last year and find that his wOBA and wRC+ are actually better this year. He had a slow first month last year and then really took off as the season progressed. Here's hoping for the same this year!
 

Sandy Leon Trotsky

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The 2022 offense was a top ten offense in baseball. I think upgrades at certain positions and improvement from guys like Devers and Verdugo has more than offset the loss of X, so I expect this team to finish top ten again (currently third in runs). The team will go as far as the pitching can take them.

To that end, I’m a hopeless optimist so my opinions are biased, but I’m very encouraged by what I’ve seen from Sale the past three starts. Two were fantastic, and the one against Baltimore was so bizarre with the complete lack of swing and miss stuff that I have to think he was tipping pitches. The stuff has been there, people have been saying for awhile that it comes down to refining his control after being away for so long. These past few starts have been a huge step in that direction. If he can be even 80% of what he was, that solves a massive problem.

Pivetta is a stereotypical 5. Maybe better options emerge, but at worst we have a very decent fifth starter. Houck hasn’t been amazing, but has shown flashes, and at worst has shown he probably belongs in a MLB rotation. Bello has so so much potential. Then there’s Whitlock, Paxton, Kluber, and even guys like Wincowski and Crawford who have shown potential in long relief. One doesn’t have to squint too hard to see the upside of this team
I don't know how someone right now could NOT be excited by the Red Sox. They're deeply flawed and raw (and old in certain spots) but it's not crazy to see how they could turn into an elite team... and IMO, 1-2 years before they really should be.
 

BaseballJones

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Right now Boston is 3rd in MLB in runs per game at 5.62. They're 7th in ops at .769, and 8th in ops+ at 108. Ninth in homers with 37, second in doubles with 62. Seventh in walks with 103.

So the offense is definitely doing its job.
 

Martin and Woods

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Yet CHB insists on calling Yoshida soft in his column in last Sunday's Globe. I guess Dan hasn't apologized for that prerogative. I looked for a retraction in yesterday's newspaper but of course his column wasn't there..
I haven't read CHB for years, so I can only assume he's still as intolerable as ever - sounds like that's the case. I highly recommend just skipping right past any story with his name on it. Cheers.
 

simplicio

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I started typing a reply about how Devers is actually dragging a bit despite the power only to look up his March/April numbers from last year and find that his wOBA and wRC+ are actually better this year. He had a slow first month last year and then really took off as the season progressed. Here's hoping for the same this year!
Just without the month+ mid-season where he's playing through injury and absolute garbage, please.
 

Niastri

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I read that as well but I'm not sure how the logistics would work. He needs to get cleared to throw before playing anywhere in the field. Once he is medically cleared to throw, the Phillies might think that it would be helpful to have Harper at first base so that Castellanos or Schwarber can DH (funny that Schwarber to first base is less appealing than Harper, who has never played the position). But it appears that decision is months away.

Here's a quote from the Athletic: "Harper will be the DH for a period of months; he will continue to learn first base with pregame drills, but clearance to throw without restrictions will take time. The Phillies do not want to rush that aspect of this recovery."

As for how this relates to Story, he might be available to return early as a DH too, but the Sox would have to weigh if that is a helpful option with the current roster makeup, or if a more traditional rehab process is a smarter approach.
If you had a first baseman who was absolutely not allowed to overhand throw, how many runs would that cost over a season?

I'm assuming he can underhand toss to a pitcher covering first, but throwing any other base would be out.
 

Yo La Tengo

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If you had a first baseman who was absolutely not allowed to overhand throw, how many runs would that cost over a season?

I'm assuming he can underhand toss to a pitcher covering first, but throwing any other base would be out.
A team would have to reassign cut-offs from CF and RF to the plate, but, I think a 2B could do that. The bigger issue would be holding a runner on first- the runner could take a huge lead and break for second as soon as the pitcher moves. Not being able to turn a double play would be a lesser issue and defense with a runner on third base would be compromised. No idea how many runs that translates to over a season but I think keeping Schwarber in left would be less harmful than Harper at first if he is not able to throw.
 

azsoxpatsfan

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I started typing a reply about how Devers is actually dragging a bit despite the power only to look up his March/April numbers from last year and find that his wOBA and wRC+ are actually better this year. He had a slow first month last year and then really took off as the season progressed. Here's hoping for the same this year!
He’s had some really bad luck. Super low BABIP, his exit velo, hard hit %, and barrel% are all among the best of his career. His xBA and xSLG are higher than his actual average and slugging, average by like 40 points iirc (I was just looking at his numbers on Fangraphs this morning, too busy to find the specifics atm)
 

iddoc

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Harper isn't expected to play shortstop. I don't see any need to rush Story back to play DH, so they should wait until he's comfortable playing defense.
Unless perhaps if Casas is still struggling a month from now and is returned to AAA, with Turner moving to 1B. I hope not.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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Unless perhaps if Casas is still struggling a month from now and is returned to AAA, with Turner moving to 1B. I hope not.
If all else is going as it is now, I can't see why they'd feel the need to rush Story back to DH just to upgrade Casas's spot in the lineup. They're 3rd in baseball in runs scored as is. They need Story's glove more than they need his bat (though his bat certainly would be a welcome addition). If bringing him back to DH hinders his progress toward taking the field, it's not worth it.
 

Petagine in a Bottle

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First month seems pretty encouraging to me. Yoshida looks good, Duran has showed a lot of development, Wong, Winckowski and Crawford seem useful (or better), some ups and downs from Bello, Houck, and Whitlock but lots of promise, etc etc. I don’t know how, overall, anyone could be disappointed so far. They have been competitive.
 

TheYellowDart5

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First month seems pretty encouraging to me. Yoshida looks good, Duran has showed a lot of development, Wong, Winckowski and Crawford seem useful (or better), some ups and downs from Bello, Houck, and Whitlock but lots of promise, etc etc. I don’t know how, overall, anyone could be disappointed so far. They have been competitive.
Agreed, I'd feel better if 40% of the starts right now weren't going to Sale and Kluber and if Whitlock were healthy, but it's otherwise been a fine month, and the play since the Tampa sweep has been noticeably better, lots of good wins and rallies in that mix. With better pitching, there's good potential to stay above .500.
 

chrisfont9

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Toronto should be a real test. Last year the Blue Jays went 16-3 vs the Sox, and I bet you a lot of guys in the Sox' clubhouse are looking to make a statement tonight. Obviously this isn't the NFL, you still have to just go out and play baseball, but they've been a team of battlers the first month and this week should show us more of what they are made of.
 

Cassvt2023

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Is anyone else wondering if it makes sense to send Casas down for a couple weeks and bring up Dalbec or even Goodrum? It doesn't seem like he is a guy that would have his confidence shattered. He is hitting .128 with a .281 OBP and .282 Slugging, with only 6 extra base hits. The lineup right now skews pretty drastically LHH. Dalbec has a .354 OBP, a .792 OPS and is hitting 90 points higher. Goodrum has .447 OBP, (24 walks in 61 PA!) a .742 OPS, is a switch hitter, is more of an athlete on the bases, and can play all over the field, including 1B. I know it'd require a roster spot, but I have two words for that: Brasier and Ort. I like Casas for the long term, but I think he needs to clear his head and play loose for a couple weeks.
 

simplicio

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I assume if they thought sending him down would be valuable to his growth they'd do that. But given how well the rest of the offense has been going (4th in the league in team WRC+), they have the luxury of letting his development happen in Boston.
 

Sandy Leon Trotsky

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Is anyone else wondering if it makes sense to send Casas down for a couple weeks and bring up Dalbec or even Goodrum? It doesn't seem like he is a guy that would have his confidence shattered. He is hitting .128 with a .281 OBP and .282 Slugging, with only 6 extra base hits. The lineup right now skews pretty drastically LHH. Dalbec has a .354 OBP, a .792 OPS and is hitting 90 points higher. Goodrum has .447 OBP, (24 walks in 61 PA!) a .742 OPS, is a switch hitter, is more of an athlete on the bases, and can play all over the field, including 1B. I know it'd require a roster spot, but I have two words for that: Brasier and Ort. I like Casas for the long term, but I think he needs to clear his head and play loose for a couple weeks.
For the most part, after hitters excel at AAA, it doesn't really help them to continue to hit weaker pitching... might even hurt their timing. I don't know if there's been any studies for this and I'm using mostly memories of Youk back in maybe '05 going to AAA and looking just horrible (always good BB skills though, of course) and him saying that it didn't help him and made him feel poorly adjusted after getting back up to ML. Yeah, as long as he's not an automatic out... and he still has relatively good AB's despite the lack of production.... I think it makes sense to keep him out there.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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Casas is sitting again today, his third game off in four days. It appears that he's reached the stage where the coaching staff thinks he'll benefit from a break to catch his breath and re-focus. Hopefully it works. I don't think sending him down is going to be helpful, and as others have said, as long as the rest of the lineup is productive, they can afford to let him figure things out with the big club.
 

Cassvt2023

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Casas is sitting again today, his third game off in four days. It appears that he's reached the stage where the coaching staff thinks he'll benefit from a break to catch his breath and re-focus. Hopefully it works. I don't think sending him down is going to be helpful, and as others have said, as long as the rest of the lineup is productive, they can afford to let him figure things out with the big club.
They are facing a LHP tonight, so it makes sense.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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They are facing a LHP tonight, so it makes sense.
True. But they weren't on Saturday and he sat then too. Three days off in four games seems significant to me. It didn't happen when they faced eight lefties in nine games (he sat three of those games, with 2 games between the first two and 4 games between the second and third off day).
 

Cassvt2023

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True. But they weren't on Saturday and he sat then too. Three days off in four games seems significant to me. It didn't happen when they faced eight lefties in nine games (he sat three of those games, with 2 games between the first two and 4 games between the second and third off day).
Yes, that was about two weeks ago, so a much smaller sample size. Now we are into the second month of the season and he is hitting .128. It's clear that they are trying to give him some time to work out whatever his struggles are, albeit in the majors and not AAA. They seem quite comfortable having Turner at 1st and Yoshida at DH now that they are carrying 5 OF's.
 

YTF

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Generally speaking I agree with the thought of letting him work things out in Boston As stated previously, the rest of the offense is clicking right now and his bat doesn't hurt the team ATM, but if there is evidence that this becomes mentally fatiguing for him then it might be beneficial him go Woostah for a reset. I know that the Sox have Gedman in Woostah and Fatse in Boston, but would it make sense for the team to perhaps reach out to someone like Wade Boggs to offer some advice?
 

KillerBs

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With the emergence of Valdez and Duran, there is a squeeze for playing time all over, making it easier for Cora to sit Casas and let him (hopefully) reset. I still think Casas deserves to be on big league team, as part of a platoon at 1B, at least he gets going vs RHPers.

Is Valdez the starting 2b vs RHPs now?
 

Yo La Tengo

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At 17 wins, the 4th place Sox have the same number of victories as the Twins and Dodgers, both in first place, and are one game back of the first place Rangers. Boston has more wins than four of the six second place teams across MLB (and are one back of MIL which is in 2nd place in the NL central with 18 wins).
 

Apisith

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The Yankees have been decimated by injuries to their rotation - quite similar to us last year - and predictably their lack of depth is showing. It's a big chance for us to get on a good run and stay in the playoff race. Surprisingly their offense has also been terrible and also decimated by injuries.

Man, if we get in the playoffs while operating under the tax threshold and also integrate 3-4 cost-controlled players (out of Wong, Duran, Winckowski, Bello, Casas, Valdez), this would be a good year for Bloom.

Out of the current 26-man, only Kike, Turner and Brasier are FAs next year. Including guys on the DL, we can add Mondesi and Paxton. Our window is opening.
 

Heating up in the bullpen

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At 17 wins, the 4th place Sox have the same number of victories as the Twins and Dodgers, both in first place, and are one game back of the first place Rangers. Boston has more wins than four of the six second place teams across MLB (and are one back of MIL which is in 2nd place in the NL central with 18 wins).
At this moment, 9 teams in the AL have winning records, as do 9 in the NL. So only 6 in each league have losing records, with a handful of teams absorbing the lions share of losses. A's, Royals, White Sox, Cardinals and Rockies all have 20+ losses with win percentages of .333 or below.
 

Leskanic's Thread

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Had to triple check that it's true, but the Sox have the third Wild Card spot right now. It is beyond insane to look at such things so early, but I'm amazed to see them in that position.
 

soxhop411

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At 17 wins, the 4th place Sox have the same number of victories as the Twins and Dodgers, both in first place, and are one game back of the first place Rangers. Boston has more wins than four of the six second place teams across MLB (and are one back of MIL which is in 2nd place in the NL central with 18 wins).
Dont get me started on this.
I will go to my grave believing they should base seeding via best records in AL and the NL. And with the balanced schedule, the “divisional rivalry” argument means a whole lot less than it used to.

if you based your playoffs on the top records in the AL and NL and that resulted in the entire AL East making the playoffs then oh well.
Because we know whats going to happen if the AL East continues to be a powerhouse especially with the balanced schedule.

There will be a 90+ win team in the AL East that misses the playoffs because there were 2+ other teams that also had 90+ wins in the AL East. But then we will have a team in the AL central or west that makes the playoffs with 80 wins because the rest of that division was dogshit.
 
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grimshaw

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The Sox outfielders haven't performed poorly.

Verdugo .317/.373/.508 wRC+ 141
Yoshida .298/.391/.511 wRC+ 147
Duran .404/.421/.692 wRC+ 197
Duvall .455/.514/1.030 wRC+ 313

Refsnyder and Tapia have been fine for bench guys too.
 

bosockboy

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If they can hang around another month, then you get Mondesi back and can squint and see Story and Duvall in the distance. If Sale/Paxton/Kluber stabilize then we might have something.
 

Yo La Tengo

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Some follow-up on a couple of moves: Diekman and German cut by White Sox- "German struggled with control at Triple-A Charlotte to start this season, walking nine batters and allowing 19 hits in just 11 ⅓ innings. He pitched to a 7.15 ERA. Denlinger has pitched well (0.87 ERA in 10 ⅓ innings) so far at Double-A Portland."

Big picture, the Diekman/McGuire trade was fantastic. Winckowski has been terrific this year (although I'm still going through Franchy withdrawal) and Yoshida is outperforming Benintendi. And, obviously, Verdugo and Wong have thrived so far this season. Not dumping Duran has paid off thus far too. So, pretty good grades for Bloom thus far, with a couple of big question marks:

Can Mondesi stabilize shortstop? And will the pitching staff come together?
 

jezza1918

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If they can hang around another month, then you get Mondesi back and can squint and see Story and Duvall in the distance. If Sale/Paxton/Kluber stabilize then we might have something.
Even without all that stuff happening they are still on pace for 89 wins right now (although Duvall was a factor for first couple weeks obviously), which meets my definition of "might have something". Sox are 17-7 against all competition that aren't the current two best teams in baseball. Tampa/Pitt are a combined 38-16 against teams that aren't the red sox. Including Pittsburgh in this discussion approximately 20% into the season is kind of wild...o/u win total was 67. Old friend Ben Cherrington doing something right apparently.
 

TFisNEXT

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Some follow-up on a couple of moves: Diekman and German cut by White Sox- "German struggled with control at Triple-A Charlotte to start this season, walking nine batters and allowing 19 hits in just 11 ⅓ innings. He pitched to a 7.15 ERA. Denlinger has pitched well (0.87 ERA in 10 ⅓ innings) so far at Double-A Portland."

Big picture, the Diekman/McGuire trade was fantastic. Winckowski has been terrific this year (although I'm still going through Franchy withdrawal) and Yoshida is outperforming Benintendi. And, obviously, Verdugo and Wong have thrived so far this season. Not dumping Duran has paid off thus far too. So, pretty good grades for Bloom thus far, with a couple of big question marks:

Can Mondesi stabilize shortstop? And will the pitching staff come together?
The lineup becomes a lot deeper and the defense becomes a lot better if we somehow can get Mondesi/Story at SS/2B respectively by the ASB. Mondesi should be back sooner than that, but Story probably won't be.

The pitching is the key though if this team is going to make a serious run at the playoffs. If they can get 2 out of Bello/Sale/Paxton/Kluber/Whitlock to stabilize the rotation some, I think having Pivetta/Houck anchoring the back end would be enough. The rotation still feels like an ace short to me right now though, but I'm hoping someone can take on that role of 2021 Eovaldi should they make a run at the playoffs.

They do have luxury cap room to trade for an expensive starter if need be down the stretch. Maybe they can grab a rental on an expiring contract for relatively cheap if they are paying the $$.
 

Big Papi's Mango Salsa

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I think the biggest April takeaway is that the new core for beyond ‘23 looks stronger now than it did prior to the season.

Yoshida being very legitimate while adjusting to the league: Verdugo taking the next steps: Wong looking like a very viable two way catcher: Duran emerging….

I said before the season that while of course I’d like to win a ton of game, the underlying players under control are much more important than the difference between winning 82 or 85 games.

I agree entirely with this. Bravo.



For me the entire success / failure of this season (and 2024) hangs in terms of establishing and retaining a solid core to build upon for the 2025-2030 window. Devers was obviously the biggest factor here (extending him) but then the biggest things were how Yoshida looked (really good so far) and finding some more key middle of the line up pieces because we looked pretty devoid of them starting the season. I'm not going to in any way hold Story's injury against Bloom as the guy had played pretty much 160 games his entire career and looked for all the world like a core piece, and he might still be, but I don't think it would have been fair to expect Bloom to see his injury coming.

Verdugo looks like a he's made a leap (there was some talk of him wanting an extension in the off-season, and hopefully something can get done here). Casas has really struggled, but that's been mitigated by the emergence of Duran looking like a totally different player (albeit for two weeks), but the entire season has been about 4 weeks, so SSS applies across the board.

I remain exactly where I was on the pitching (it's not good, and there are too many questions marks to assume it'll be good) but the line up is looking more and more like something that could be sustainable with pieces of the long term core.

I'll also say this, the team appears to - if nothing else - have some huevos, which always make a team more fun to watch / root for, even if this is ancillary or difficult to quantify beyond "come from behind wins". Of which there will be a lot of opportunities for with this pitching staff, but they're doing it and that is a credit to the line up and make up of the team.


If the season continues on this trend and we get close to the deadline and are still a few games over .500 (even if out of the playoffs at the time AND 11th in terms of odds, as we appear to be now) AND it's because of the performance of pieces that could be here for the long term (ie Devers, Yoshida, Verdugo, Duran, Casas, Valdez, Bello, Whitlock) then I'd like to see a move made for landing (and extending) a legitimate long term starting pitcher to front the rotation, kind of like Seattle did last year with Castillo or Toronto did two years ago with Berrios (just to give an example of a situation that has worked our really well short term and not so well, but I like the idea).

No idea whom that is just yet, obviously, but I think there is a difference to investing in a team just outside the playoffs that is being led by a young core and a team that is just outside the playoffs, but because a lot of short term contracts giving you juuuuuuust enough.
 

chrisfont9

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I agree entirely with this. Bravo.



For me the entire success / failure of this season (and 2024) hangs in terms of establishing and retaining a solid core to build upon for the 2025-2030 window. Devers was obviously the biggest factor here (extending him) but then the biggest things were how Yoshida looked (really good so far) and finding some more key middle of the line up pieces because we looked pretty devoid of them starting the season. I'm not going to in any way hold Story's injury against Bloom as the guy had played pretty much 160 games his entire career and looked for all the world like a core piece, and he might still be, but I don't think it would have been fair to expect Bloom to see his injury coming.

Verdugo looks like a he's made a leap (there was some talk of him wanting an extension in the off-season, and hopefully something can get done here). Casas has really struggled, but that's been mitigated by the emergence of Duran looking like a totally different player (albeit for two weeks), but the entire season has been about 4 weeks, so SSS applies across the board.

I remain exactly where I was on the pitching (it's not good, and there are too many questions marks to assume it'll be good) but the line up is looking more and more like something that could be sustainable with pieces of the long term core.

I'll also say this, the team appears to - if nothing else - have some huevos, which always make a team more fun to watch / root for, even if this is ancillary or difficult to quantify beyond "come from behind wins". Of which there will be a lot of opportunities for with this pitching staff, but they're doing it and that is a credit to the line up and make up of the team.


If the season continues on this trend and we get close to the deadline and are still a few games over .500 (even if out of the playoffs at the time AND 11th in terms of odds, as we appear to be now) AND it's because of the performance of pieces that could be here for the long term (ie Devers, Yoshida, Verdugo, Duran, Casas, Valdez, Bello, Whitlock) then I'd like to see a move made for landing (and extending) a legitimate long term starting pitcher to front the rotation, kind of like Seattle did last year with Castillo or Toronto did two years ago with Berrios (just to give an example of a situation that has worked our really well short term and not so well, but I like the idea).

No idea whom that is just yet, obviously, but I think there is a difference to investing in a team just outside the playoffs that is being led by a young core and a team that is just outside the playoffs, but because a lot of short term contracts giving you juuuuuuust enough.
For in-season pickups of 2024 free agents, I don't see a potential Castillo. Julio Urias is the prize, IMO, being so young, but the Dodgers won't be sellers. The White Sox will, but I'm not sure Lucas Giolito quite fits the bill here. Lots of decent dudes but not the types you'd plan around for the long term due to age. Well, Otani too, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.
 

Yo La Tengo

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For in-season pickups of 2024 free agents, I don't see a potential Castillo. Julio Urias is the prize, IMO, being so young, but the Dodgers won't be sellers. The White Sox will, but I'm not sure Lucas Giolito quite fits the bill here. Lots of decent dudes but not the types you'd plan around for the long term due to age. Well, Otani too, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.
Woodruff and Burnes both have one year remaining of arbitration and it seems likely the Brewers are not going to extend both. Depending on their health status, one might be available if the Brewers fade from contention.
 

Van Everyman

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There are other threads for this, but you don't have to squint too much to see what Bloom may have been thinking with this year, at least with the lineup.
 

Big Papi's Mango Salsa

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Dec 7, 2022
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Woodruff and Burnes both have one year remaining of arbitration and it seems likely the Brewers are not going to extend both. Depending on their health status, one might be available if the Brewers fade from contention.
I also believe Bieber would be in there as well. Gallen is up in 2026 and I think will be starting to get "expensive" for Arizona next year. Cease will be up then as well, and Chicago is really struggling.

Truth be told, it's admittedly too early to really start thinking of names, I was just talking in general.

Whereas I think we should have sold pretty drastically last year (even with a 33% chance to make the playoffs) it's more that I think last year's team was a lot of guys coming due and we were, generally speaking, under-performing to be at that point.

The flip side is, just as a hypothetical if the trade deadline were May 15th and in the exact place the team is in now (either just in or just out, depending on the way percentages fill out), I'd be advocating to buy exactly the kind of pitcher mentioned above BECAUSE we're here due to the performance of young, long term control players such as Devers, Yoshida, Verdugo and Duran.

I do believe there is a distinction that good organizations make between not only where they are, but why they're there, so to speak.