And he'll continue to be a part of the organization until his spot on the roster is determined to be blocking another player or until they feel that they can match up well with another team who has a player that they see change of scenery candidate.
Yeah, I'm personally not high on Bobby being likely to contribute with the bat.
What are they going to say? Dalbec has hit ML pitching. He has hit MiL pitching. He's not doing it now. They wish he would and they're trying to work with him to make that happen. I'm sure all of that is 100% true.
"Is there a better option for a 40 man spot?"
I doubt anybody is going to ask Breslow to comment on the lowest totem-pole guys on the 40 man, and I doubt Breslow would say anything substantive (and he shouldn't). Likewise, Cora's not going to talk about roster construction in that way.
He's played 4 times in the last 5 days, and might go again tonight. This isn't like asking why Tyler Heineman is on the 40. He's occupying a bat-first position on the roster and hasn't hit ML pitching since 2021.
So, let's assume you're a reporter and you ask, "Is there a better option for a 40 man spot?"
"We're always looking for ways to improve the team, obviously. At the same time we don't think it's fair to anyone to speculate about what might or might not happen with regard to the status of individual players."
It doesn't have to be in a public forum. You privately text Breslow (or an underling) with the resulting statement being "the Red Sox are exploring the market for organizational hitting depth at the corner spots". Or that they are not.
It doesn't have to be in a public forum, but isn't it nearly 100% likely that the response will be made public?
I would expect such an answer wouldn't even be specific to "the corner spots." If he's admitting that the team is exploring the market at all, it would likely be phrased as a routine activity, i.e. "we're always exploring ways to improve all parts of the organization."
Ultimately no, but that's something that can be addressed without a public dragging of the guy in the media.
How does Devers' status change the answer?
Beyond just the new leg issue, unfortunately it seems like Raffy might be missing more than his normal share of games this year with the shoulder. Because of that, I think it would be helpful to have a 2nd or even 3rd option better than Dalbec. He is beyond lost up there. Seems like a nice enough guy, but he shouldn't be in the MLB right now.
| Evan Longoria | 3B | 38.5 | R | R | ARI | TBD | Market Value: $7,034,077 |
| Jean Segura | 3B | 34.1 | R | R | CLE | TBD | - |
| Edwin Rios | 3B | 29.9 | L | R | CHC | TBD | - |
| Jason Vosler | 3B | 30.6 | L | R | CIN | TBD | - |
| Josh Donaldson | 3B | 38.3 | R | R | MIL | TBD | - |
| Matt Beaty | 3B | 30.9 | L | R | KC | TBD | - |
| Drew Ellis | 3B | 28.3 | R | R | PHI | TBD | - |
| Charlie Culberson | 3B | 35.0 | R | R | ATL | TBD | - |
| Hudson Potts | 3B | 25.4 | R | R | ATL | TBD | - |
| Will Toffey | 3B | 29.2 | PHI | TBD | - | ||
| Shane Matheny | 3B | 27.8 | SF | TBD | - | ||
| Jake Scheiner | 3B | 28.7 | SEA | TBD | - | ||
| Ty Kelly | 3B | 35.7 | R | SEA | TBD | - | |
| Robbie Tenerowicz | 3B | 29.2 | SEA | TBD | - | ||
| Ryan Dorow | 3B | 28.6 | TEX | TBD |
So you’re OK with him occupying the slot he has on the 40 man roster? You don’t want them to have a better plan C if things go sideways? Because it’s April 17 and they’ve already had to deploy him twice.
Yes.
That’s true, but if the confluence of events needed for him to get called up has already happened, it can happen again in July or whenever. Be prepared.
Also. They are currently unsigned for a reason. If they could hit even an an average clip someone would have signed them by now.
I think it’s understood that you aren’t getting a league average bat off the scrap heap. But for the guy I wand to replace, the bar isn’t anywhere near “average”.
Brandon Belt is unsigned still, he had an OPS+ of 136 in the AL East last season.
It's at least in part tied to his position, somehow GMs refuse to pay first basemen, similar to RBs in the NFL. ATL let Freddie Freeman go (although instantly replaced him with the younger Olsen), Pete Alonso is in his walk year for the Mets even with deep pockets Steve in charge, and personally I will be surprised if BOS and Casas ever finalize something. The Cubs let Rizzo go, the A's let Olsen go (although the A's let everyone go), etc, etc.
Holy crap.
I think it's the age of the 13 man pitching staff. There are only 4 bench spots available and you need a backup catcher, backup middle infielder, and fourth outfielder. There just isn't room for someone who can't play anything other than first base if they're not a starter.
Mostly just thinking out loud here...Other than being left handed, I'm wondering what other cons there are to signing Belt outside of the potential cost. Ultimately to take him on there will need to be a correlating 40 man roster move. Belt would likely need 3-4 weeks to get ready. Maybe you wait until Refsnyder and Grissom return, option Dalbec and then make a signing with Dalbec still in the fold until Belt or anyone else is prepared to take his place. In time perhaps Meidroth might be able to find his way onto the 40 man to be an optioable CI piece.
I think this is the most logical explanation. 1095 of his 1171 MLB innings have been at 1B.
Interesting, and makes sense thanks. I’ve been pondering the impact of the innings/pitcher ratio continuing to drop (heading to a roster once for example) and that’s a place where it could be manifesting.
He's a 36 year old LHH 1B with bad legs ( https://www.thebaseballcube.com/content/player/122656/tranx/ ) who will hit worse than Casas and maybe (at this point) only field a little bit better.
He's made $144M and lives on the west coast. So unless he still has the "baseball no matter what" itch, I have to imagine it would have to be a pretty sweet offer from a few select clubs. And guys like that normally find somewhere to play to stay sharp.
Also worth noting that his performance last year was partially fueled by a career-high BABIP of .370. The last time he had a BABIP within 50 points of that - other than the Covid-shortened 2020 - was in 2016. He'd be a prime candidate for regression unless he's discovered some sort of BABIP magic in his late 30's.
If they put a mannequin at home plate, it would be a better major league hitter than Dalbec in 2024. Belt would have a low bar to clear. They are just committed to playing and paying young and/or cheap guys these days. I think they keep Bobby up until Grissom or Gonzalez is back.
I generally agree, but does the presence of a guy like Rafaela, who can play plus-D anywhere, make it possible to keep a bat-only 1B on the bench? Assume for the sake of argument that Rafaela's bat will be good enough to keep him in the starting lineup.
I think so. But the 1B-only provision complicates this.
You don't sign a Turner if you're planning on parking Masa at DH though, they needed a more dedicated utility guy.
Well first off, Justin Turner sucks at 3B. Which has been pointed out at least 20 times in these threads. So you might acknowledge that and factor it into the equation.
I honestly don’t think it’s that amazing. Seems expected to me. This is why I was more concerned with signing Soler instead of Montgomery even after Giolito went down. But it seems the Red Sox have basically given up on Yoshida in LF when I was willing to give him another chance. At least at home and on the road vs RHP.
