I actually stopped by the stadium (the "Joe") today hoping to see the Sox working out (which I've seen in previous years but they weren't today) and people confirmed Song hitting 96 the night before
Not much in there, but due to Lowell's visit here there's an article in today's TU about Song
Just to add to the above on McGrath, here is from SoxProspects about his last outing.
With the Sox bullpen problems, kind of tell you how he's been pitching. But still in the organization as of last Thursday.
For those thirsting for more knowledge on our latest Red Sox (tl;dr - utility infielder with a lot of Ks with some power.):
Tiny blurb on Rafaela from Sox Prospects, sans a complete scouting report.
They list him at 135 pounds. For the record, that's more than twice as much as 65-pounder Eddie Gaedel and his career 1.000 OPS.
As Nat King Cole might have sung after reading your comment:
A day short of two full years since the last time he took the mound in a game (8/22/17). Good to see him progressing.
It looks like he had the surgery around May 15th, so a 15-month rehab, which seems nice and conservative. Hopefully, he can start a couple more games before the end of the minor league season.
I'd say that's likely, either this season, next (can a player go twice?). He needs innings desperately.
The comments on the tweet I saw were a parade of "FREE RUSNEY!!!!" suggestions. I'm sure his .328 OBP would play up in the majors.
Asking in all seriousness.... would he be a worse hitter than JBJ? Can an outfield adjustment that had Betts in CF, Russ in RF and 10D in LF be any better defensively and offensively combined? I realize that the cost shift (adding Rus' $$$ to the payroll, taking off JBJ expected arb.... $15M???) is pretty lateral, but would the Sox be able to get anything of value from JBJ for one season if they packaged him with say.... Dalbec and Duran... for a young starter still in arb (I have absolutely no idea who....).
No chance JBJ is getting $15M next year. His salary the last three years (all arbitration years) has gone from $3.6M to $6.1M to $8.55M. $15M would be a huge jump for a guy who hasn't been significantly better this year than the last couple. I think $12M is closer to reality, and swapping that for Castillo's $10.3M hit isn't saving much. I don't think anyone is trading a cost-controlled starter for JBJ no matter who you sweeten the pot with. If they are, they're just as likely to move that pitcher for the prospects alone. Shit, they might be able to get the same sort of return trading Castillo at this point...he's only got one year left on his deal then he's got five years of team control left. Even at 32, that could have more value to someone than a year of JBJ.
I'd guess JBJ gets similar money to Rusney, and that the Redsox could do better than both at a cheaper price point given Betts or Benny can play CF.
I'm curious who you're seeing on the FA market this winter who could be had for $12M a year or less that you think is a legit upgrade over even age 30-31 JBJ. The only OFs I'm seeing that I would describe that way are Castellanos and Ozuna, and they sure as hell aren't going to be had for $12M a year.
I'd add, I don't think you casually dump JBJ for a lateral move (actually freeing Rusney or whomever). Bradley has been an important starter, the ALCS MVP, and a generationally-talented defensive CF who the pitchers obviously love. At some point you have to consider the less measurable things like relationships and familiarity in the field etc. in any move that isn't an obvious upgrade offensively.
The Sox *can't* eat money without adding AAV. Unless the Orioles or Tigers decide they actually want to pay him his contract, he's just going to have to play out the string as a wildly well-paid AAA OF.
You'd only have to replace his bat and I don't think that would be hard. Chavis in LF would be just as productive offensively and they could sign a 1b. Or they could go with Dalbec.
Saying "you'd only have to replace his bat" ignores the fact that his defense is a significant part of his contribution -- less so than it used to be, and getting less so with each passing year, but still important. Putting Benintendi in CF and replacing him in LF with Chavis is a downgrade at both positions (and remember what happened the last time we put an infielder in LF because "how hard can it be?" -- yes, Hanley is a special case, but so is Fenway's LF).
Where, exactly? Can you name a specific free agent who will likely be obtainable for $2.5M per year or less who is likely to provide "80-90%" of JBJ's production -- i.e., between 1.5 and 2 WAR?
We would never agree because I think JBJ's defense is superfluous on the Sox and I think Hanley is an exception. Plus they could always just stick Brock Holt (assuming they re-sign him) out there if they like Marco at 2b. I don't think they even have to sign someone to replace JBJ.
There's more than hitting to consider when deciding how to value a starting OFer. As discussed in the assigning blame thread, the OF defense this year has shown indications of taking a step backwards from 2018. Given the likely age impacts on defensive range for the entire starting trio of OFers to begin with, making the entire situation even worse by removing JBJ for Rusney without any real assurance that his bat will actually be measurably better than JBJ's seems like an awful idea to me.
