Brandon Belt has a .844 career OPS versus righties, is 36 years old, and hasn't had a spring training. He might be useful by the end of May and it wouldn't hurt to reach out of him. But if Casas is back in 2 months, he might not want to come out of retirement just to fill in for a month.
The trouble with either of them is that they are 1B only, which if they aren't hitting enough to be full time (and let's be honest, if they could, they'd have a job already), is a drain on the roster. As much as most of us don't like Dalbec, I don't see him going anywhere as long as there are question marks about Devers as well. Cora's already shown this weekend he prefers Bobby's defense at 3B over Reyes. If Devers can play 8-9 games out of every 10 going forward, then you live with Reyes (or Valdez or Grissom) playing 3B once in a while. If not, weird as it sounds, Dalbec has a role and roster space is limited.
BTW Dalbec's OPS against righties in '22 was.606 (the last year he had a significant number of at bats).
The only consistent thing about Bobby in his career at this point is that he strikes out a lot. His career mark vs LHP, supposedly his strong side, is a 36.8 K%, 4 points higher than any qualified hitter's overall rate last year. The only full season overall mark higher than that this century is 2017 Chris Davis.
I simply refuse to accept that they can't find someone better than Dalbec. I get it in a pinch, which is certainly what they have been in. But for the situation you describe, where they would need him on the roster for an extended period? No. His line over the last 3 years of 200/269/338 is simply not adequate for anyone not playing up the middle, and even then the player would have to be gold-glove caliber. And that's giving Dalbec the benefit of the doubt to even hit that well, given that those numbers are dragged "up" by his 2021, which was only really bad as opposed to what he offered in 2022/2023. Does anyone here want to take the over an OPS+ of 607 for Dalbec if he's given another 100 PA?
Beyond the fact that he's probably a month away (best case), the limitations with Belt are these:
I didn't say they can't find someone better than Dalbec. I'm saying that signing a 1B-only FA like Cron or Belt doesn't go far enough if they need to be platooned and semi-frequent coverage at 3B is needed as well. If they can find someone who plays all the same defensive positions Dalbec can AND can hit, that's the best case scenario.
There's no need to cherry pick this stuff to make your point. Dalbec has been awful with the bat at the ML level for some time now. He's been a viable (but high-K) monster at AAA during that same time.
Strikeouts are just outs, not sure why'd you'd fixate on that versus any other kind of out. Beats grounding into double plays every time he comes up. I like WRC+ because it weights the value of the different batting outcomes. Anyways, for a platoon player on the taxi squad that can play all over the diamond (albeit, roughly) there's at least some predictable value here. If this was against righties, we'd have a nice MLB player. He's not, which is why he's on the depth chart.
I wonder if Donovan Solano - who was picked up by the Padres last week - would have been a decent all-around fit. He just played his first AAA game, but can cover 1B, 2B, 3B, and has a decent enough bat for who he is (not much power, decent contact, will take a walk).
1) Well, all the more reason to act now? A month seems too long -- JD Martinez, also signed as a free agent who missed Spring Training by the Mets, was on his way to the majors in roughly 2 weeks before he hurt his back, right? And we're saying 2 months for Casas, but the reality is it could be more like 3 months. We just don't know.
I guess I just think this is letting the perfect be the enemy of the good.
Neither do I.
Looking at it now, of course Solano would be a good fit. There have been some around here who have been beating his drum since before spring training. I suspect that when he was in the process of signing, the Sox weren't all that attractive to him. Not with Casas presumably healthy, Devers seemingly headed toward health (shoulder was questionable, knee wasn't an issue), and Grissom not far off from at least platooning with Valdez if not taking over entirely. The Padres, on the other hand, have a clear need for a 3B with Machado DHing full time and Tyler Wade not really lighting the world on fire. There's a path to playing time there that wasn't necessarily apparent with the Sox 7 days ago.
Strikeouts are outs, but they’re unproductive outs. Obviously they’re better than double play balls (almost always), but they’re not remotely as good as sac flies or grounders that move runners up a base. And putting the ball in play, even when hit right at fielders, always opens the possibility of an error or misplay. So no, they’re not “just” outs.
FTFY.
Yeah, sold. He's ramped up, been hitting fine, not a big commitment, Bobby/Pablo upgrade.
The strong, silent type. Love it!
Of course, but that's not yet happened and some people are posting as if it is it's currently an option.
Yeah, he was on the wish list this winter. Has played both 1B and LF this year, not well in the OF, but he does have over 600 innings of MLB time out there. Also, he is a right-handed bat which would be a nice addition.
From the Manager's perspective, that's probably the right thing to say. He isn't the one potentially looking to acquire someone else.
Agreed. No sense in undermining the guys he has to play in the short-term, especially since overall results have been positive since Casas went down (yeah, it was the Pirates but still, they've won every game). A small vote of confidence in Dalbec doesn't prevent Breslow from scouring the free agent and trade market for an upgrade.
I agree. Provided they actually do search for a replacement. The Cooper situation will be telling, so we will know in a few days.
"Sale is our ace for 2024"- Cora before the start of the season...
There's no point in publicly undermining Dalbec until there's a better option available.
Or maybe perhaps don't come out and say that they are actively looking for Dabec's replacement. Dude's a fucking mess at the plate and they are looking to get what they can from him in the interim. But I guess it's just easier to shit on the team hours after getting a definitive diagnosis on Casas.
I didn't mention Cora. Obviously it's been an organizational decision to hang on to this guy for years longer than they should have. Should have released him years ago and fill the spot with somebody who can be a contributor. They didn't have to be a star just a contributor. You guys really think it hasn't occured to Dalbec that his days are numbered? He knows his numbers better than anybody. I think we have passed the point of publicly undermining Dalbec or trying to build up his confidence. That ship sailed years ago.
Is that Colonel Sanders Jr.?
Cora made the statement. Cora is like RR's "what we currently have" threads: he has to talk about the current roster and he's not allowed to say "oh Triston's out so I really hope Craig trades for Freddie Freeman."
What's he supposed to say? "We are trying to acquire [insert] from [team] but until then I guess we are stuck with Dalbec"? I get that people are sensitive about all the roster constrictions but this seems like an assumption based on a public pronouncement, which isn't necessarily reality.
That's obviously nonsense. He debuted in 2020 and was quite good for part of 2021, so the only "years ago" that they should even have considered releasing him is 2022. He's not even arb eligible until 2025. You don't cut many guys who aren't even arb eligible yet.
Because two guys are out? It's baseball, lots of things can happen. Right now they are built more around speed, and it's been working OK. Offense is a lot more resilient than the starting rotation when it comes to clusters of injuries. We can generate runs still. Obviously it's not a lineup you want to beat the best pitching in a playoff, but that's ages from now. Hell, even Story could be back by then?
I watched I think an episode and a half and it was the saddest thing I've seen since Watership Down. I can't do sad.
Yes but. . .maybe Cora is running scared here.
