Unless you are signing stopgap relievers to one year deals, the problem with making Lakins, Feltman and Hernandez force their way into the plan is they are now blocked. Being a big farm guy, the one thing that's infuriated me the most about the Sox over the last decade or so is their reluctance to use their minor league relief pitchers although it's been better since DD arrived.
That's part of the reason I think they won't be signing any relievers to three or four year deals, because they think some of these guys can contribute, cost-effectively, within that timeframe, and they like the pieces they already have. The other part being that they will want to use that money on at least some of the upcoming FAs in 2020 and 2021. So I think they are looking for one year deals whenever possible, or two years at most. So I think Brach is a definite possibility on that kind of deal, but probably not Ottavino. If Kimbrel would take 1/18, then I think that's a possibility - I don't get the impression that staying below the top CBT threshold is of paramount importance.
I'm curious, are there specific relievers that you feel weren't given an opportunity that you can cite as examples? Thanks.
They traded the vast majority of them away and some got very small chances, I guess. I'm not saying they would have been great but they deserved a chance to fail. Noe Ramirez, Ty Buttrey, Williams Jerez, and Alex Wilson come to mind in recent years. I think they've also been slow to convert SP to bullpen arms but those guys haven't done anything in Webster and Ranaudo.
Buttrey you could make an argument, but given we needed to solidify 2B defense and we won the WS...
How is that group all that different than Brandon Workman and Heath Hembree? They are cheap and cost nothing. It's really not that different than Joe Kelly unless you think he turned a corner in the playoffs.
Alex Wilson is about the only one that fits the "didn't give him a chance" in Boston, but the guy they got for him has been a pretty damn solid contributor and easily exceeds what Wilson would have provided.
Noe Ramirez is so tantalizing, but the sample size is getting pretty large and he just can’t keep the baseball in the park. Career FIP of 4.94. Hembree 4.09 and Workman 4.27.
Other than Workman and Hembree being better than the lot of them? Nothing else, I guess.
He's already jumped 2 levels in one season, so I don't see why he couldn't do it again. He allowed zero baserunners while striking out 7 in 4 innings in Lowell, got a quick promotion to Greenville, struck out 14 while walking 1 in 7 innings there, got a quick promotion to Salem, and there struck out 15 while walking 3 in 12.1 innings with a 2.19 ERA. On none of these stops did he allow a home run.
A major college player doesn’t even belong below high-A in the first place, so I totally discount anything at Lowell or Greenville. 2.19 for a reliever in high-A in a small sample is good, I’m sure there have been myriads who did better, and never made it past AAA (Cesar Cabral in 2011, Michael Olmstead in 2013)
Show me where I said the Red Sox "should expect him to succeed immediately." I said I assumed that he was "in the plan", meaning that they are thinking of him as a puzzle piece who might turn out to be both needed and useful before 2019 is over. I certainly don't expect him to break camp with the big club, and it's probably at best a 50/50 shot that he sees the major leagues at all this year. But it's not a long shot.
:Bangs head against desk:
Right, and that’s a big clue DD is not done. You can’t go into the year with Barnes, Brasier, Hembree, Workman, Johnson, Thornburg, and Wright because the only guys you can send down are the two best arms in your pen.
Good deal for them. What's the point where Kimbrel on a one year deal looks as good that? 13 or 14 mil?
Welcome to the dark side.
We obviously have a very different definition of “high upside.” He’s stockpiling people whose upside is 10th man — that’s all somebody like Putnam ever was, even before his elbow blew up. They need set up men, and they’re just stockpiling the absolute best mop up men available.
It's a risky play. Presently, Barnes is by far the closest thing to a sure bet in that pen. Is that a comforting thought? Is Brasier the guy we saw last year or a guy who was in the Japanese minor leagues the year before? Will Wright's knee hold up? If (God-forbid) Barnes succumbs to injury, Wright continues to have knee issues and Brasier's 2018 was a mirage, we could be looking at the likes of Heath Hembree as the closer.
Personally, I have absolutely no interest in "winning the offseason." My interest is in winning another Championship ASAP. As presently constructed, the Sox roster's largest weakest in attaining that goal is the vulnerability of the bullpen. If pointing this out constitutes "woe is me" behaviour, then I suggest you guzzle down some more Kool-Aid as you fantasize about the "upside" of the flotsam and jetsam relievers that have been added so far this offseason.
Tell me, if Barnes goes down and Brasier fails to repeat last year's performance, who is the closer (from the present roster)?
NY will be moving Gray’s $7.5M shortly, maybe even today, so that would leave them the room under $246M to add Machado, potentially anyway.
I'm not in panic mode. I hope we add at least a bit more depth now and are aggressive at the deadline if there is a closer out there.
As an outside observer, IMO there is zero percent chance of this happening. If this was ever a consideration, DD would have spent that money on two relievers instead. Eovaldi as a SP is one of the best weapons you have against NY, who couldn't touch him last year.
Anyone can manipulate their starters as extra relief in the postseason and that's certainly something the Sox and probably even the Yankees could look to do. The issue is that last year the Red Sox were incredibly rested going into the playoffs and theoretically, the division will be much tougher this year. I fully expect the Rays to put up a good fight as well.
2019: from a trophy to atrophy?
Things Matt Barnes was better than Nathan Eovaldi at in 2018:
Exactly.
A year ago? Hell, this kvetching and handwringing continued through the season and heading into the playoffs.
But to be fair, it is 100% wrong.
So 4 is not several?
