Yeah, I would want him to re-sign. The guy is a crazy good hitter. Obviously he's been hot, but watching his command of the zone, and his ability to hit the ball the other way when he needs to ...if he can rotate between first, left, and DH ... would be lovely to have him stick around.
I would love to have him back. You can't have enough hitters like him. Patient with power and can hit for average? Definitely try to re-sign him. It may free up Verdugo to be used in a possible trade for pitching. Your OF could be Schwarber/Duran/Renfroe with Kike rotating in there at CF.
It will also determine how the CBA negotiations go and if they end up imposing a lower CBT threshold level. If the CBT threshold comes down to where MLB wants it($180 million) or near there, the Sox will be right up against the tax. Currently, Cot's has them at $136,725,000 and that is not including arbitration raises. Devers, Renfroe, and Verdugo should get hefty raises or in Devers' case a huge extension. What originally would be a ton of room in which to work with may shrink considerably depending on how those negotiations go.
Yes, you are correct. He was non tendered in his final arbitration year with Chicago, putting him on the market a year earlier than he would have been and then Washington signed him to a one year $7 MIL deal with a mutual $11 MIL option for next season and a $3 MIL buyout.
If possible, with an off season to work at it, I'd rather see Schwarber as a 1B/DH who has the ability to go into the outfield ONLY when needed. Duran is young and may improve, but ATM, I'm not getting the warm fuzzies with Schwarber and Duran playing side by side in the outfield. I also like the idea of Schwarber being around some of the younger guys on this team and perhaps share some of his hitting approach with them. I know that JD has been credited with helping out teammates, IIRC Devers has given him a great amount of credit for the success that he's been having. Right now this team desperately needs to learn some plate discipline.
I would think if he doesn't want to play 1B, he would have said no when they asked him to try (and he's managed a start there without incident so far). That doesn't rule out him deciding after experiencing it that he doesn't want to do it any more. I''d say it's too early to make that call one way or the other.
His barrel rate and ability to control the strike zone have so improved that I don’t find his career OBP mark to be all that indicative of the type of hitter going forward.
Why are they trading probably their best cost-controlled young talent to open up a position for a guy that has never played that position who might not even still be on the team? Unless you get a crazy offer Verdugo is pretty untradable to me.
Because this year anyway, he’s been a platoon hitter (.534 OPS vs. LHP) with a 50% groundball rate and power numbers better suited for a middle infielder (.143 ISO, which ranks 42nd among 52 qualified outfielders).
Renfroe will be 30 years old by next year, he's not young. He's also having a worse year than Verdugo and has a worse track record. Verdugo has played 3 years as at least a semi regular player and all 3 are better than any year Renfroe has had in his 5 year career, it's great that they got him for nothing and he's having a very good year, but I don't see any case for him being better than Verdugo over the next several years.
Verdugo Duran Renfroe is a very viable 2023 outfield, Hernandez will be a free agent by then or he could end up at 2nd depending on if Downs looks like he could be a contributor by then.
I'm hesitant to pencil Duran in for 2023 until he shows more than he's shown so far. Shit, I don't want him presumed to be in the 2022 lineup yet.
I’m sure he would’ve been happier catching a homer from Rizzo or Gallo. Sorry, kid.the kid who caught his home run ball today seems very happy
I'm warming to this (though I suspect the cost might not be quite so high). Just make it work with one year of JD and then DH will always be there for him.
I think Bloom is confident enough to move JD for peanuts (or a better snack if he pays some of the freight) if he thinks that having both is unworkable.
Must sign him. He’s been my favorite non-Sox player since he came up. He’s Papi, Jr. I think he’s going to get better.
He does seem to have that Napoli-Moreland vibe. Trotsky has a point, though, it's not just a binary him-or-JD question, even if you think his bat will keep playing.
Jake Peavy comes to mind.
Steve "2018 World Series MVP" Pearce would like to be added to this conversation.
Rewatching these HRs is a good way to celebrate YED
I’m not talking about guys who merely performed well for us in August and September.
There's a big difference to be "apart" of something and "a part" of something. I'm suspicious!!!
Casas is, and will be, a fine first baseman. If he were still playing third, he'd be limited. And at his size he shouldn't be playing the OF. But he's actually a good 1B. And his arrival turns Dalbec into a hugely valuable trade chip. Especially as Casas would be both an offensive and defensive upgrade. That's a win win in my book. The more interesting problem is where do you play Jordan as he blazes his way through the minors?
