Sean Casey on MLB said Pete Alonso was ”the best in the biz at picking errant throws,” and they even quoted a metric that he lead for picks that backed it up. They joked and said he was a “Super Scooper.”
Alonso is an interesting guy to me. Just turned 30 so the power figures to be elite for a few more years but is he now the .230/.324 guy he’s been the past couple of years? He’s been incredibly durable, which is nice. Adding him to 1B and making Casas DH gives you some serious power in the middle of the lineup. Doesn’t have a meaningful split but hits LHP fine.
Exactly. And a lot of those bigger deals worked briefly and then blew up in our faces. I'd much rather the more sustainable approach of drafting really well, acquiring young players entering their prime, and building a winning team I can root for for a number of years over watching the inevitable and rapid deterioration of Corbin Burnes.
A Hernandez or Santander signing surely would squeeze someone out, as soon as this coming season. In fact, I think the only way it will happen is if it's in tandem with a trade of at least one the guys currently in the outfield mix (maybe two if we're counting Yoshida in there). A short-term signing would probably do the same, but the urgency to move someone would be less given that Anthony and Campbell aren't even on the 40-man roster yet.
Embarrassed to admit that I forgot about the QO attached to Santander. Probably not worth losing a pick and giving the Orioles an extra one. Maybe Goldschmidt for 1 year makes more sense. Gleyber probably wants multiple years and to start at 2B. Ugh, I would like get an explanation from Breslow regarding why they didn't even QO O'Neil. Are they convinced Campbell is ready and they are not saying so. Use the DH slot for rest and work in Campbell at multiple positions? Doesn't seem to be the greatest approach for his defensive development.
The individual deals tend to look a bit dopey in isolation, but the roster rules and the 60-day IL incentivize the practice.
I agree, and think as far as depth goes we're currently well ahead of last year, but wouldn't mind one more high lev arm.
I might be alone in this, but I think this team needs to see what it has in Anthony and Campbell. They've proven all they need to in the minors. Barring a horrific spring, I think they're destined for the major league roster. For that reason, I really don't see us wanting to bring in Teoscar or Santander on 3-4 year deals. I don't see us splurging on Alonso or even Goldschmidt either. I mean, in an ideal world, I'd like that, but what's more likely, and what makes more sense, given this team's financial constraints, is to sign another relief pitcher and maybe another starter, and extend our young guys where appropriate. Get Campbell and Anthony and Crochet locked down.Campbell's bat is totally can't miss, IMO, and I'd be surprised if the FO wasn't thinking the same.
It's an 87-91 win team IMO already if they get healthy years out of Casas and Story. If 2 out of 3 of Campbell, Anthony, and Grissom all come out guns glazing , well, sky is the limit.
Yeah, there's the rub. Cubs haven't made a habit under Ricketts of doling out contracts the size Tucker could get
If so, I think he's a good fit.
He’d be great, but all reports suggest that they are much more interested in trading Bellinger.
Yea but they are gonna have to eat some costs and they won’t get anything for Bellinger.
Suzuki also has a no-trade, so it may be easier to move Bellinger who does not.
You are far from alone! I’m fine with someone they can give a 1-2 year deal to, you can always trade a decent player and if you just gave up cash for him, it won’t hurt to move off him if Anthony or Campbell force your hand.
That’s why a boring signing like Goldschmidt or Canha might make the most sense. If Torres could be had on a reasonable 2yr deal he’d be ideal - but it’s highly unlikely he’d be okay with a DH/bench role, so he’s probably out.
I think if you assume Antony and Campbell come up at some point this year, and that they add Hernandez or Santander, the first person squeezed is Yoshida. I think he gets moved. Then Rafaels becomes the 10th man super sub. And Grissom and Campbell compete to start at second. If Campbell eventually beats him out (which he will), then Grissom goes to the bench or you trade him - so that last spot would be between Grissom and Gonzalez.
Right, but don’t sign an aging, expensive player like Santander, Hernandez or Bregman just to make sure you have enough depth?
Not sure if there's space for him without moving some other pieces around, but I like the idea of Goldschmidt as a 1B/DH, if he's amenable to that. He's 37 and coming off his worst season, so I doubt he's going to be too picky.
This is where I’m at. I really don’t see any of the QO carrying vets being talked about significantly outperforming these three enough in 2025 to be worth losing the draft picks. And if they do struggle out of the gate, the sooner they’re thrown into the deep end, the sooner they can find their footing in MLB.
That would bring the team back down to about .500 team. Why would they do that?
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/12/13/sports/red-sox-starting-pitching/
Santander is only 30. You wouldn’t be signing him just for depth; it’s because he’s a good player. As far as expensive goes, don’t we want the team to flex their financial muscle?
I think the two pretty much went hand in hand. The lack of that 6th, 7th and possible 8th starter waiting in the wings in WOOstah to take the ball when needed seemed to have over-taxed the pen when they were going decent and then injuries and fatigue really exposed the lack of capable arms in WOOstah.
Good stuff. Thanks. Without giving up too much of the article / paid content, was there any mention as to what happened after the Ms discussion (as in if it was granted, are they still talking, or did they reach an impasse, etc)?
Edited down for content, but you're certainly not alone in this.
He made $26M last year. I wonder if he might consider two years and what that cost might be.
He's a pretty decent baseball player. Maybe a good one. Good power for sure, though this past year was an outlier. But bad OBP (career OBP of .307) and a bad glove (last 4 years with negative dWAR). Not a good baserunner either. Not much speed, doesn't steal bases. So he's basically got the one good tool - power. Which is valuable, and when he's on, he's got legit terrific home run numbers.
He’s Yoshida with more balanced splits and a slightly better glove (he’s merely a bad fielder while Yoshida is terrible) and there are projections that he might get 5 years/$100 million. Even if he only gets four years that’s a lot of money to take on for a fairly mediocre player. Presumably signing him might also lead to the Sox shipping out a subsidized Yoshida in a trade. It’s a lot to give up for a moderate upgrade. Instead, you could sign Canha who plays a similar LF and a good 1b for small money on a one year deal and possibly get more production out of the DH slot with a Yoshida/Canha platoon.
He's also a "balanced" baseball player (ie pretty darn good against both RHPs and LHPs). You need some guys like that because the Red Sox are pretty much limited to carrying 13 position players on the roster and not 23. The guys that provide that balance right now on the roster (at least using career numbers with OPS against RHP/LHP) are:
To me, he's more of a "spare part," *here*, and I dont think you sign those to 5year deals. (I dont think you sign non-regulars to more than 2, but that's just me).
I wouldn’t be surprised if Torres could play as good a LF as Santander and he’s expected to get a shorter deal. Don’t know if he’s up for being a super utility type though.
