Kelly Johnson activated off DL; Mookie Betts optioned to AAA

[mabrowndog]

Maureen Mullen ‏@MaureenaMullen 41m
Kelly Johnson to be activated, Mookie Betts back to Pawtucket today.
 
That eases some of the outfield crunch while allowing Mookie everyday ABs, but only adds to the congestion at 1B & 3B.
 
I assume they'll look to move Johnson in a waiver deal.

 

[soxfan121]

Roster crunch is over in 23 days. They might get lucky and move Johnson for a bag of balls but more likely he takes up space on the bench for the rest of August and gathers more dust during September. 

 

[Morgan's Magic Snowplow]

Meh.  They should just DFA Johnson and actually play Mookie 5-6 times a week in the majors.

 

[StuckOnYouk]

Why the hell don't they just release him and thank NY for saving them 4 mil?

 

[E5 Yaz]

Meh.  They should just DFA Johnson and actually play Mookie 5-6 times a week in the majors.

 
These two things don't appear to be related. Mookie wasn't getting that kind of action before Johnson was acquired. His playing time would come at the expense of Nava, JBJ and Holt

 

[joe dokes]

Maureen Mullen ‏@MaureenaMullen 41m
Kelly Johnson to be activated, Mookie Betts back to Pawtucket today.
 
That eases some of the outfield crunch while allowing Mookie everyday ABs, but only adds to the congestion at 1B & 3B.
 
I assume they'll look to move Johnson in a waiver deal.

 
 
Doesn't addd to any congestion because there's no reason to play Johnson.  The "problem," such as it was, was too many players who should be playing -- either due to quality or need to get some MLB AB's.  Johnson is neither.

 

[lexrageorge]

Betts getting regular at bats in AAA can only be a good thing.  

 

[benhogan]

Betts getting regular at bats in AAA can only be a good thing.  

I wanted to see him get more at bats at the major league level, he looks ready with the bat.  
 
But Farrell was only going to play him sparingly so you are correct, let him continue to crush AAA pitching and develop CF instincts.

 

[Morgan's Magic Snowplow]

 
These two things don't appear to be related. Mookie wasn't getting that kind of action before Johnson was acquired. His playing time would come at the expense of Nava, JBJ and Holt

 
That was my point, which may not have been well expressed beforehand.  Farrell should have been playing Mookie nearly every day this past week and we should just get rid Johnson, who is totally useless in every way.

 

[Red(s)HawksFan]

 
That was my point, which may not have been well expressed beforehand.  Farrell should have been playing Mookie nearly every day this past week and we should just get rid Johnson, who is totally useless in every way.

 
Thing is, Johnson's the perfect guy to let sit on the bench 6 out of 7 games while JBJ, Holt, WMB, and Nava all get regular playing time.  He's a sunk cost in which the Sox have no future invested.  Better him sitting there than Betts rotting away (or WMB or JBJ or whomever is the odd man out).  The guys who have any sort of potential future with the team all need to be getting regular playing time.  That's really impossible if they're all on the big league roster.

 

[jscola85]

Betts getting regular at bats in AAA can only be a good thing.  

 
I'm not sure that Betts has much of anything left to prove at AAA, but if he can't get any PT in Boston he might as well play in Pawtucket instead of collect dust at Fenway.

 

[Red(s)HawksFan]

 
I'm not sure that Betts has much of anything left to prove at AAA, but if he can't get any PT in Boston he might as well play in Pawtucket instead of collect dust at Fenway.

 
157 plate appearances isn't a lot to prove anything, let alone leave him nothing to prove in AAA.  I think there's plenty left for him to prove (or improve) defensively in AAA, particularly at positions for which he has less than 50 games of professional experience.  Reps are good anywhere he can get him.

 

[lexrageorge]

 
I'm not sure that Betts has much of anything left to prove at AAA, but if he can't get any PT in Boston he might as well play in Pawtucket instead of collect dust at Fenway.

He's 21, and has barely broken 350 at-bats at AA/AAA combined.  I'd rather let him rake in Pawtucket for the next month, and then see him in September once the AAA season ends.  

 

[TomRicardo]

 
I'm not sure that Betts has much of anything left to prove at AAA, but if he can't get any PT in Boston he might as well play in Pawtucket instead of collect dust at Fenway.

 
I would like him to prove he can play RF, LF, CF, 3B, and SS as well as 2B

 

[Green Monster]

 
I'm not sure that Betts has much of anything left to prove at AAA, but if he can't get any PT in Boston he might as well play in Pawtucket instead of collect dust at Fenway.

 
Betts is a good athlete who plays in the outfield......He is not yet a good outfielder. There is a difference. If the Sox are serious about him switching to the outfield then he needs to be out there regularly to refine his jump and path to flyballs.

 

[Drek717]

Why the hell don't they just release him and thank NY for saving them 4 mil?

Because Cherrington wants Betts getting regular PAs in AAA while also forcing Farrell to play WMB, because surely WMB will play over Johnson (right?)

 

[Vermonter At Large]

I think Betts is best served to move back to 2B and get some regular PA's in AAA.  I think that for now, the OF is pretty well stocked and his primary role for this season would probably be to replace Petey if he hurts himself playing like himself over the next few months.  Johnson's a decent bench guy, who can ride the pine without much complaint, probably.  
 
I do think that with the OF situation, part of the equation for the remainder of 2014 is as much to find out who can't play, as well as who can.  Nava must surely be playing for his future role with the team and it would be good to see if Holt continues to hit the ball well, or reverts back toward the average guy he was predicted to be.  With Craig and Cespedes about, there seems to be no real reason to keep the Betts outfield experiment going any longer.  Even if they give up on JBJ, I can't see Betts figured into the starting CF equation for next season at this juncture.

 

[Paradigm]

Why does Daniel Nahvver need to continue receiving AB's?

 

[Hee Sox Choi]

Hopefully we can jettison Kelly Johnson to the Giants who are still playing bad AAA players at 2b.  Then Hassan can come up to find out if he can take Jonny Gomes' role as OF Lefty Crusher. 
 
OF vs R now:  YC, JBJ, Nava + Brockholt
OF vs L now:  YC and no one else who hits Ls other than Brockholt.  Hassan would fit well here after dumping Kelly Johnson.
 
Johnson has no future on this team so trade him to SF for some garlic fries and call up Hassan to hit Ls ('14: .326/.414/.505).  Bryce Brentz could be an option if he continues to hit as he's crushing Ls now too.

 

[lexrageorge]

Why does Daniel Nahvver need to continue receiving AB's?

Nava is useful against RHP's (career 0.386 OBP), so he should have value to the team in 2015.  I can't imagine the team just DFA'ing him or letting him go on a waiver claim for nothing; he is a serviceable platoon player.  
 
Nava should never be receiving at bats when there's a left handed starter on the mound; would be better off with Buchholz in that case.

 

[Rasputin]

Nava is useful against RHP's (career 0.386 OBP), so he should have value to the team in 2015.  I can't imagine the team just DFA'ing him or letting him go on a waiver claim for nothing; he is a serviceable platoon player.  

 
What if we have three outfielders better than him that don't need platooned? He's not versatile enough to be a fourth outfielder so you're looking at a fifth outfielder/backup first baseman, and that's not a tremendous value.

 

[lexrageorge]

 
What if we have three outfielders better than him that don't need platooned? He's not versatile enough to be a fourth outfielder so you're looking at a fifth outfielder/backup first baseman, and that's not a tremendous value.

Except we don't know if the team will be in that situation in 2105 just yet.  Beyond Cespedes, I'd say 2015 outfield is still a rather large puzzle that still needs time to sort itself out.  In the interim, Nava is very cheap to hold on to. 

 

[Jack Rabbit Slim]

Nava seems like the perfect guy to keep on the bench for next season.  He can play LF and RF and has a major league bat, even though it is nothing special.  He wouldn't be a black hole in a full time role and he doesn't seem like he would have a bad attitude if relegated to back up.  With 2 huge question marks in Victorino and Craig, having Nava as an option to pair with Cespedes in the corners gives the Sox a lot of depth that they lacked this year.  

 

[Plympton91]

Why does Daniel Nahvver need to continue receiving AB's?

He's currently the 2nd best healthy outfielder on the team, and likely to be back in a still important, if somewhat reduced role next saason, assuming Victorino and Craig can recover from injuries that are often career threatening.

There's also the whole crazy idea that "merit" should play some role in determining playing time. Though I realize that in today's America determining things based on merit is often heavily discouraged in aspects of life more important than a child's game played by millionaires

 

[MakMan44]

Jesus, the guy makes a point that maybe Mookie should be receiving Nava's ABs and you go all V&N on him?  

 

[mabrowndog]

Just a thought, but perhaps there's another young Red Sox OF who should have been optioned instead of Betts.

 

[ScubaSteveAvery]

He's currently the 2nd best healthy outfielder on the team, and likely to be back in a still important, if somewhat reduced role next saason, assuming Victorino and Craig can recover from injuries that are often career threatening.

There's also the whole crazy idea that "merit" should play some role in determining playing time. Though I realize that in today's America determining things based on merit is often heavily discouraged in aspects of life more important than a child's game played by millionaires

 
#Obamasamerica

 

[CaskNFappin]

 
#Obamasamerica

Yeah, all of a sudden in 2009, the whole country went from merit based to communism, right?! Please keep the Fox News viewpoints for the prepper message boards.

 

[absintheofmalaise]

He's currently the 2nd best healthy outfielder on the team, and likely to be back in a still important, if somewhat reduced role next saason, assuming Victorino and Craig can recover from injuries that are often career threatening.

There's also the whole crazy idea that "merit" should play some role in determining playing time. Though I realize that in today's America determining things based on merit is often heavily discouraged in aspects of life more important than a child's game played by millionaires

You made your point in the first sentence. This isn't V&N. Don't post on it like it is.

 

[derekson]

If they're going to send Betts to AAA, they should at least see if he can play third base. The acquisitions of Craig and Cespedes along with the continued presence of Victorino (if healthy), JBJ, and Nava mean there's not a lot of OF playing time to go around in 2015 and obviously second base isn't opening up any time soon. Meanwhile Middlebrooks continues to prove he can't actually make contact with any consistency or play solid defense or even keep his head in the game (hello not covering third on a steal). Third base is the biggest hole assuming that Bogaerts can stay at SS, so throw Betts into some games at 3B and see how he does. His arm's apparently borderline good enough for SS, probably not quite there, so it should be fine at third base. Many people seem to think 3B requires more arm than SS, but if you actually look at a baseball diamond from overhead you'll see that SS has to make the longest throws on the infield. He won't be Beltre over there whipping throws across the diamond flat-footed, but he should be perfectly capable of playing the position. And the bar to clear to be better on defense than Middlebrooks isn't exactly sky high.

 

[Tyrone Biggums]

I'm probably in the minority here but the more I think about this deal the more it makes sense. If you think about it Holt is hitting around .200 since the ASB. His success was largely due to pitchers seeing him for the first time. Here you have a veteran utility guy who can play anywhere on the diamond incase of injury. If the Sox feel like they can contend next year and also if they feel Holt has trade value in the offseason then it doesn't hurt to get a closer look at a Brock replacement.

As for optioning Bradley instead of Betts. What is there left to gain by doing that? Pawtucket only has a few weeks left and Bradley has played a gold glove centerfield this year. I figure that the pressure of being Jacoby Ellsbury version 2 has to be one of his issues. The hitting coach being out for most of the season had to put him out of whack as well. I like what he brings to the table and for a rookie the guy seems well respected. Love him or hate him but if Torii Hunter feels he can be one of the best centerfielders and wants to mentor him I think that's a guy you keep.

 

[Rasputin]

Except we don't know if the team will be in that situation in 2105 just yet.  Beyond Cespedes, I'd say 2015 outfield is still a rather large puzzle that still needs time to sort itself out.  In the interim, Nava is very cheap to hold on to. 

 
Yeah, but we're not going to DFA him today. If we end up DFAing him, it will come in the spring when we have some confidence that Craig is healthy. A healthy Craig makes Nava pretty useless.

 

[Plympton91]

You made your point in the first sentence. This isn't V&N. Don't post on it like it is.

Well, without the foray into politics, I think the Red Sox, with lots of depth now and most of it quite young, will have healthy competition for quite a few spots next year and perhaps another after that before it all sorts out. To me, you undermine a "culture of competition" if you don't award playing time based primarily on merit. You can't tell a young player, "Do well and play the game right and you'll get your chance," if you follow that up by benching Holt and not playing Nava against right handed starters.

 

[Rasputin]

Well, without the foray into politics, I think the Red Sox, with lots of depth now and most of it quite young, will have healthy competition for quite a few spots next year and perhaps another after that before it all sorts out. To me, you undermine a "culture of competition" if you don't award playing time based primarily on merit. You can't tell a young player, "Do well and play the game right and you'll get your chance," if you follow that up by benching Holt and not playing Nava against right handed starters.

 
I'm pretty sure even a ballplayer is smart enough to figure out that at the end of a lost season, a team is trying to figure out what it has in certain players while putting as competitive a team as possible on the field, especially against the contenders. We pretty much know what we have in Holt and Nava. 
 
Also, playing time isn't based on merit, it's based on projected merit. Sometimes those projections are off. 

 

[Average Reds]

Why the hell don't they just release him and thank NY for saving them 4 mil?

 
I cynically assumed he had been acquired for this purpose and was surprised when I heard he was being activated.

 

[lexrageorge]

Well, without the foray into politics, I think the Red Sox, with lots of depth now and most of it quite young, will have healthy competition for quite a few spots next year and perhaps another after that before it all sorts out. To me, you undermine a "culture of competition" if you don't award playing time based primarily on merit. You can't tell a young player, "Do well and play the game right and you'll get your chance," if you follow that up by benching Holt and not playing Nava against right handed starters.

Merit is not based solely on performance at the plate.  Defense matters, so that will be taken into account.  
 

We pretty much know what we have in Holt and Nava. 

 
I've seen this a couple of times.  I'd like to counter with the following:
 
- While we like to think we "know" what we have in Holt, it's not entirely true.  He's done well over his last 362 plate appearances, but it's not clear his 0.759 OPS is sustainable.  
 
- Understanding "what we have" should not be the only or even the primary criteria for determining playing time this season.  To expand on P91's point, the manager could easily lose a clubhouse if he benches a guy like Nava or Holt for the majority of the remaining games just to "see what we have" in other players.  To some extent, playing time will still need to be earned.  
 
If we want to see Middlebrooks get more at bats, then he'll need to produce during the at bats he's given.  I don't see how a manager could be asked to manage a team any other way.  

 

[rundugrun]

Am I the only one who wants Mookie to get CF reps in Pawtucket because JBJ might just be who he seems to be? A great defender who cannot hit ML pitching? The best way to get Betts into the Red Sox lineup next year may be CF...

 

[Larry Gardner]

Major bummer here....I'm in Nashville, and my daughter and 2 grandkids are in Detroit, and I have tickets for all of us to see the 2 games in Cincy on Tuesday and Wednesday.  I know Mookie's mom pretty well-- she is the "social butterfly travel tournament bowling queen" here in Nashville, and I had it arranged to get to meet Mookie (and others) at the game Wednesday with my grandkids.....it would be cool if he's back by next week, but wouldn't wish anyone's demise...except maybe a waiver or DFA for KJ......

 

[jimbobim]

Kelly Johnson should have been DFA'd as soon as that deal was done. Completely useless. 
 
Nava- I don't think anyone disagrees with the fact we know what Daniel Nava is at this point. He hits RHP well  has no power and draws some walks to keep up a healthy OBP. Instead of causing a clubhouse mutiny Napoli should go to the DL until his finger is fully healed( i was stunned when they mentioned on one of the tv broadcasts it still has to get taped before every AB )and Nava can play 1b while we find out whose bat finishes last amongst the combo of Holt, Betts, and Bradley in the OF position not occupied by Cespedes. 
 
Priorities to find out in the lineup and thus should be playing close to everyday 
 
1) Holt- the only way you find out if he can be sustainable is to continue playing him all over and everyday and  I don't think Farrell is going to bench him anyway so this will happen. 
 
2) Bradley and WMB- Two of the most painful to find out about but needs to be done. WMB could play 1rst against lefties and third against RHP if Napoli goes to the DL and Bradley should get the rest of August to show some noticeable improvement.
 
3) Mookie-  In a lost season I'd like to see him taking Nava's OF at bats because I think he can be more useful and dynamic to next years team then Nava's ultimate ceiling of being the competant  Lefty side of a  platoon.  

 

[Rasputin]

Merit is not based solely on performance at the plate.  Defense matters, so that will be taken into account.  
 
 
 
I've seen this a couple of times.  I'd like to counter with the following:
 
- While we like to think we "know" what we have in Holt, it's not entirely true.  He's done well over his last 362 plate appearances, but it's not clear his 0.759 OPS is sustainable.  
 

 
I'm pretty suer we know that the .759 OPS isn't sustainable. 
 

- Understanding "what we have" should not be the only or even the primary criteria for determining playing time this season.  To expand on P91's point, the manager could easily lose a clubhouse if he benches a guy like Nava or Holt for the majority of the remaining games just to "see what we have" in other players.  To some extent, playing time will still need to be earned.  
 

 
There's a certain responsibility to put the best team on the field when playing against teams that are contending, but in other games, I think you're dead wrong. Figuring out what we have with Middlebrooks, the starting pitchers, and some of the relievers is easily the primary criterion.
 

Am I the only one who wants Mookie to get CF reps in Pawtucket because JBJ might just be who he seems to be? A great defender who cannot hit ML pitching? The best way to get Betts into the Red Sox lineup next year may be CF... 
 

 
Nope, not remotely. Before the trades, I was thinking of him as the future right fielder. With the trades, I'm wondering if there's a chance they're going to not sign Napoli past 2015 and move Craig to first and Cespedes to left opening up right for Betts.

 

[mabrowndog]

Why the hell don't they just release him and thank NY for saving them 4 mil?

I cynically assumed he had been acquired for this purpose and was surprised when I heard he was being activated.

 
If Johnson's injury were projected to keep him out through late August, then I'd agree completely. There would have been no chance whatsoever to recover any value for him. But because he was activated with 3+ weeks left in the month, the Sox can at least hope he shows signs of being a decent LHH bench option with positional flexibility for a contending club that might have a player go down with an injury in the interim. He's no Brock Holt, but he's played every IF spot except SS this year along with both OF corners.
 
Yes, it's an extremely long shot, and I'm certainly not advocating playing Johnson frequently just to showcase him for this purpose. But if you're Ben Cherington, you treat him as a potential asset. At worst you end up dumping him for the same cost he had when acquired (~$1M). At best, a deal gets worked out for a lower-level minor leaguer or a PTBNL. At middle, a team claims him off waivers and you let that club assume the final month+ of his contract, saving the Sox $500k or so.
 
And before anyone tells me a guy like Johnson has zero value, please explain how -- rather than being discarded by the sport -- he's managed to play for four (soon to be five) different MLB teams in four years (with three of those clubs signing him as a free agent for a combined $11,825,000) despite successive lines of:
 
2011 - .222 .304 .413 .717
2012 - .225 .313 .365 .678
2013 - .235 .305 .410 .715
2014 - .219 .304 .373 .677
 
Those four years produced an ugly aggregate 91 OPS+, yet he's averaged about 1.0 fWAR over that span. Even while averaging less than 100 games the past two years with TB & NYY, he's still been worth 0.9 fWAR per season.

 

[Super Nomario]

There's a certain responsibility to put the best team on the field when playing against teams that are contending, but in other games, I think you're dead wrong. Figuring out what we have with Middlebrooks, the starting pitchers, and some of the relievers is easily the primary criterion.

What kind of performance would help us figure out what we have? Middlebrooks could easily hit .288/.325/.509 in his next 140 PA or so - after all, he put up that line in twice as many PAs in 2012 - but we're not really going to know if he's made an adjustment or turned a corner or if it's just a hot streak and he's teasing us again. I'm not sure there's any line he can put up from here on out that's going to make me comfortable handing him a starting job in 2015 (and the same is probably true of Betts, Bradley, and Vazquez). And if he continues to hit like crap, I'm not sure that tells us anything either, especially since he may not be 100% healthy.
 

Nope, not remotely. Before the trades, I was thinking of him as the future right fielder. With the trades, I'm wondering if there's a chance they're going to not sign Napoli past 2015 and move Craig to first and Cespedes to left opening up right for Betts.

That would be for 2016?

 

[MakMan44]

Could be next season actually, if they think Craig is healthy and Betts is ready. 

 

[Super Nomario]

Could be next season actually, if they think Craig is healthy and Betts is ready. 

What are you doing with Napoli in that scenario?

 

[MakMan44]

What are you doing with Napoli in that scenario?

Trade him. 
 
It's not likely, given that Betts will only be 22 for most of next season, but it's another option afforded to them going into next season. 

 

[Super Nomario]

Trade him. 
 
It's not likely, given that Betts will only be 22 for most of next season, but it's another option afforded to them going into next season. 

That's dumb though, right? Napoli's been the team's best hitter this year by most measures, and he certainly projects as a better hitter than Betts next year.

 

[MakMan44]

That's dumb though, right? Napoli's been the team's best hitter this year by most measures, and he certainly projects as a better hitter than Betts next year.

From a maximizing your assets standpoint, I agree, it's probably better to have Mookie in AAA for most of next season.