Not to be argumentative - because I'm not so well versed in the Yankee financial structure - but wouldn't he be replacing Encanarcion? I get that they rejected the $20M option, but there's a big difference between him and Martinez in that lineup.
I don't even know where to start with this post. Somehow you managed to make 3 wrong points in 2 sentences.
My argument still applies as far as the Red Sox are concerned. They're not going to replace those pitchers' production with a cheaper alternative if those guys are healthy. I'm not all that comfortable with the idea of trading David Price, subsidizing a portion of his salary because he's presently damaged goods, and having him put together a healthy season resembling his 2018 campaign while the cheaper alternative, however he's acquired, fails to match what Price does. Especially if the idea is the team is not going to take a step back from being real contenders in the division.
I don't follow your comment. Many posters want JD to opt-out to free up some money for Mookie. If that happens they will have a gaping hole at DH. JD's abilities are comparable to those of Ortiz and the Sox did well by paying top dollar to Ortiz.
$16M for a 40-year old is comparable. JD's contract is close to market so him deciding to opt-out doesn't help out the team financially. Depending on how they want to allocate the savings, they could spend it all on Mookie or a significant portion on a replacement DH.
Or instead of signing/acquiring a replacement DH at all, sign or acquire a player who adds value at the plate and in the field, then use the DH spot to rotate players. They might realize a net gain over having a DH who adds no defensive value (or in Martinez's case, negative defensive value)
Yeah, I've contemplated having four good outfielders rotating through the DH. With the Sox, you have Devers, X, Betts (next year) and Ben10, all of whom are young enough to play everyday. Why would you want to park any of them at DH to get someone like Holt in the line-up?
Perhaps someone like Eric Thames. He just became a FA earlier today. 1B/OF who would seem to offer some flexibility. Reasonable defender at 1B and a bit less than reasonable in the OF. Might be a nice platoon option with Chavis at 1B with DH mixed in. 25hr, 61rbi, .851ops last season (primarily against RHP)
Ha, I was coming here to post exactly this thought about Thames (just saw the news at mlbtraderumors), but you beat me to it. Corey Dickerson is another FA name that comes to mind. Good lefty bat for the outfield/DH mix should they trade Bradley. He'll be coming off a broken foot, so health could be an issue while possibly lowering the price tag.
I know this was at least partly a joke, but JDM and Stanton shouldn't be lumped together defensively. Stanton's defensive metrics have been great the last few years, he has mostly DHd for NY just because they have other OFs who are even better defensively, Judge and Tauchman were both stellar this year and Gardner is always very solid.
I'm lumping them together because it is my guess that, for whatever reason, Stanton will be playing a lot of DH going forward. And JD will be playing a lot of DH going forward. And, in my opinion, they'd be relatively redundant for a team like the Yankees, and a very poor use of their money.
No one is "parked" at DH and who said anything about Holt? Frankly if he comes back (and I'd like to think he will), he's more likely to be the strong-side of a 2B platoon than a jack-of-all-trades guy moving around the field.
Yes. Contracts are always negotiable, but the Red Sox really have no incentive to do that. He's only going to opt-out if he thinks he can get a better deal by doing so. Why would he negotiate to give up that opt-out unless the Red Sox were offering to pay him more? The deal he's on now is very likely the cheapest the Sox can get him.
Sure, but why does he need to renegotiate with the Red Sox now? If he thinks he's worth more, and can get more, I'm sure the Red Sox are one of the teams he'll want to talk to when he's a free agent.
If the Sox don't have a full-time DH it means that a mediocre player will need to replace the position player that takes a semi-day off at DH.
That's the beauty of the opt out; if he sucks you're stuck with him and if he plays great he's gone.
Not gonna happen anytime soon. He's gonna end up a Sox for career. Can't let this one leave.
It's a possibility. But the new guy is smart and predictions are futile. At least they have some certainty to go forward with.
By hitting the free agent market, Betts has made it clear that he considers it to be a business decision. Most players have done the same thing and the Sox have the right to view it the same way and not necessarily be the high bidder.
Of all the things that the FO could do this offseason, trading Xander would be the worst. The guy takes a somewhat team friendly deal because he loves Boston and then we ship him out bc that contract makes him such a valuable asset? I cant imagine they do that but it would be a really bad signal to send to any other player potentially interested in sticking with Boston long term.
Have there been any rumblings about Bogaerts being traded?
I guess more responding to that poster. I would understand trading Betts, JDM, or any of the pitchers. Baseball is a business and Mookie deserves to make all the money in the world. If he is no longer on the Sox after next year or this year, I wont really have any issue declaring Xander and Devers my new favorite Red Sox players and moving on.
My guess is yes. They do need to re-set the clock if only to help out in rebuilding the farm system. The Dodgers seem a pretty good candidate given that they'd be able to satisfy the salary demands while having a really good system to help Boston find inexpensive talent to build around Devers and Bogaerts.
Lopez is cheap and has loads of potential, but he hasn't been good in the majors. He turns 26 in January.
Where are the White Sox generally considered to be in the analytics revolution? Lopez has had absolutely dominant games. That suggests a big breakout opportunity if his inconsistency is due to getting beaten by the IT Teams and not the batters per se.
To the extent they are trading JD, it is going to be almost completely for cost reasons, so I have to think the Sox would just take what they could get when it comes to a return for JD. Put another way, if the Sox were sitting there hoping JD was going to opt out, they can simply trade him now to arrive at the same outcome plus at least some kind of asset back in return.
