2023 Plate Appearances by Position

A Bad Man

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Dec 12, 2016
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This might be a touch premature with a signing or trade to come, but I put this rough sketch together and wondered what others were thinking. I gave C 650 PA and the rest 700 PA for convenience. I'm predicting 200 PA from Story.

60205
 

LogansDad

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I really think the team is going to try their best to keep Verdugo in RF the whole season. I don't think bouncing around has helped him at all, and Refsnyder can spell Yoshida when needed.

I also think that if Story makes it back he will be at 2B with Hernandez as SS (assuming Duvall isn't a black hole of suck in CF).

I hope they focus on getting Casas plate appearances against LHP's, as long as he is hitting well against RHP's.

Otherwise, I think you are probably pretty close to what the plan is going out the door.

Also, this team is going to score a lot of runs.

And be fun. I know there's some people who don't want to hear that, but there it is.
 

grimshaw

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I also want to see Casas in there against lefties until he proves feeble. It doesn't seem as though highly regarded prospects are platooned to start their careers.

There has never been any strong indication Story will play anywhere other than 2b. I'm not sure why this keeps getting floated. He didn't play a single inning at SS last season.

I also think Verdugo will be fine in right, or at least playable though I am disappointed how they are going with defense out there.
 

scottyno

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I can't really see any circumstance where I would want Dalbec playing 3rd over Turner
 

JM3

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Dec 14, 2019
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Using the 650/700 metric I guess I'll go...

C McGuire 450/Wong 150/Alfaro 50
1B Casas 600/Turner 100
2B Valdez 250/Story 200/Arroyo 150/Hernandez 100
SS Andrus 550/Arroyo 150
3B Devers 650/Valdez 50
LF Yoshida 600/Refsnyder 100
CF Hernandez 500/Duvall 200
RF Verdugo 450/Duvall 200/Refsnyder 50
DH Turner 450/Verdugo 100/Valdez 50/Duvall 50/Alfaro 50

So...

Devers 650
Casas 600
Yoshida 600
Hernandez 600
Verdugo 550
Andrus 550
Turner 550
Duvall 450
McGuire 450
Valdez 350
Arroyo 300
Story 200
Wong 150
Refsnyder 150
Alfaro 100
 

JM3

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The 26 man roster and options should probably be considered in this sort of thing.
I obviously don't really expect it to go like this because people get injured. I also believe there should be closer to 750 PAs available per position.

But I mostly used a 4-man bench + Story starting the year on IL + a bonus catcher (Alfaro is on a minor league contract + Wong has an option).

I also did it in like 5 minutes so yeahhh it's probably flawed in several other ways (including the fact that we don't currently employ Andrus).
 

Toe Nash

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I obviously don't really expect it to go like this because people get injured. I also believe there should be closer to 750 PAs available per position.
MLB teams ranged from 651-694 PA per position last year (total PAs divided by 9 since everyone has a DH now). So unless you think league offense is going to jump, 700 should be a limit for a team average. Obviously guys higher in the lineup can get more and lower in the lineup less, so there will be some players who get over 700 but not at every position.

There will also be a lot of PA from guys in the minors or not on the team now as you mentioned. Last year the Red Sox had 5629 PA from their top 15 players and an additional 515 PAs from the 11 players with the lowest number of PAs.
 

simplicio

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Apr 11, 2012
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If Arroyo is getting 500 PA between 2B and SS, we are in for a long season...
If Arroyo is getting 500 PA that's great news! He's a good baseball player who hasn't managed to stay healthy. I'd sign him up to be our starting 2B right now but it would be foolish to not have a real backup plan.
 

Cassvt2023

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Jan 17, 2023
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Also, I think you will see the PA at DH to be much more evenly distributed with JD gone. Turner should have the most, but Raffy, Yoshida, Casas, and others should get their share to keep their legs fresh and bats in lineup.
 

Cassvt2023

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If Arroyo is getting 500 PA that's great news! He's a good baseball player who hasn't managed to stay healthy. I'd sign him up to be our starting 2B right now but it would be foolish to not have a real backup plan.
I see where you're coming from with this, simplicio...it means he can stay healthy. However, I believe he gets exposed as an everyday player. He was released twice for a reason. Good ball player, but a utility one, which is fine.
 

JM3

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MLB teams ranged from 651-694 PA per position last year (total PAs divided by 9 since everyone has a DH now). So unless you think league offense is going to jump, 700 should be a limit for a team average. Obviously guys higher in the lineup can get more and lower in the lineup less, so there will be some players who get over 700 but not at every position.

There will also be a lot of PA from guys in the minors or not on the team now as you mentioned. Last year the Red Sox had 5629 PA from their top 15 players and an additional 515 PAs from the 11 players with the lowest number of PAs.
That's fair. I just looked at the league leaders having 770+, figured no one was taking all the PAs these days, & half-heartedly mathed. But yeah, the Red Sox averaged 683 per position last year, so it was a sily take.
 

scottyno

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I see where you're coming from with this, simplicio...it means he can stay healthy. However, I believe he gets exposed as an everyday player. He was released twice for a reason. Good ball player, but a utility one, which is fine.
He's been largely an every day player for the last 2 seasons when he was healthy
 

kazuneko

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Nov 10, 2006
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Using the 650/700 metric I guess I'll go...

C mMcGuire 450/Wong 150/Alfaro 50
1B Casas 600/Turner 100
2B Valdez 250/Story 200/Arroyo 150/Hernandez 100
SS Andrus 550/Arroyo 150
3B Devers 650/Valdez 50
LF Yoshida 600/Refsnyder 100
CF Hernandez 500/Duvall 200
RF Verdugo 450/Duvall 200/Refsnyder 50
DH Turner 450/Verdugo 100/Valdez 50/Duvall 50/Alfaro 50

So...

Devers 650
Casas 600
Yoshida 600
Hernandez 600
Verdugo 550
Andrus 550
Turner 550
Duvall 450
McGuire 450
Valdez 350
Arroyo 300
Story 200
Wong 150
Refsnyder 150
Alfaro 100
I know there are a lot of people who want to imagine that Duvall was signed to be a back-up but reportedly he would have chosen the Mets over the Sox but didn’t because they saw his as a 4th OF and the Sox were offering him a starting role. So yeah, I think that should be considered when people propose how ABs are going to be distributed..
Andrus is reportedly looking for at least 2 years 15 million and that takes the Sox precariously close to the luxury cap. Are the Sox really going to risk going over the cap for a 23’ team that is unlikely to compete for a banner? I’d imagine they’d leave some room and only consider spending more at the trade deadline - and that would only be if the team surprises everyone and looks like a contender. To start the season, I’d imagine they’re going to choose someone cheaper than Andrus, who is more likely to be willing to accept a bench role.
Ideally we’d be looking at someone like a Josh Harrison, but I’d imagine they’d also back away from him if the price tag gets too high.
So who is going to be the SS? Presumably Kike, who reportedly prefers to not be moved around and has a chance to be elite defensively at the position.
Considering this, I’d imagine the lineup might look something like the following - barring injuries (though we all know there will be injuries):
C McGuire/ 450/Wong 150/Alfaro 50
1B Casas 600/Dalbec 100
2B Arroyo 450/ yet-to-be-signed backup INF 150/ Story 100
SS Hernandez 500/ yet-to-be signed backup INF 150/ Arroyo 50
3B Devers 650/Turner 50
LF Yoshida 600/Refsnyder 100/ Verdugo 50
CF Duvall 550/ Hernandez 150
RF Verdugo 500/ Refsnyder 100/ Duvall 50
DH Turner 550/ Yoshida/ 50/ Verdugo 50/ Story 50
 
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JM3

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I know there are a lot of people who want to imagine that Duvall was signed to be a back-up but reportedly he would have chosen the Mets over the Sox but didn’t because they saw his as a 4th OF and the Sox were offering him a starting role. So yeah, I think that should be considered when people propose how ABs are going to be distributed..
Maybe. There's no guarantee he's going to be healthy to start the season, though, or like, good. My breakdown also assumes an Andrus signing which is apparently getting less likely.

The Canha/Nimmo/Marte outfield would seem much tougher to infiltrate than the Red Sox one, though.