Welcome to SoSH, @24Dewey@Cooperstown . We do dark humor here. If you want to chide him for repeating the joke, have at it,
Pick one, closer or RH slugger
- Thread starter TheDogMan
- Start date
I think my favorite SOSH dark humor was inviting Joey Gallo to celebrate his MFY signing at Umberto's
A report this afternoon on Rotoworld that he's seeking/expecting $20M a year
Just signed with TX
I advocate for Santander, only costs money and the Sox are far from the tax threshold. Make him DH for 4 years or so then transition Devers there long term. Jettison Yoshida. Of course as I previously stated I think the shutdown closer is the most important addition. He also can give Tristan a blow every couple of weeks and be the 5th outfielder.
In the abstract, the slugger, every day and all day. But the Sox’ needs and the market dictate closet right now. I don’t think they’ll get a lot of “total” value from a signing but the value of a marginal win could be huge when the playoffs are considered.
Big picture (no matter the type of contact)....RHH pulling in Fenway had the highest numbers of RHHs pulling anywhere, but the Sox lagged in RHH appearances at Fenway.
Seems to push back against the idea that it's "guys who can't hit lefties," but it's at least as much as "just plain old RHH pull-hitters).
Depending on how strictly pull is defined, I'd imagine pull lefties do very well at Fenway also, as do opposite-field lefties.
That article has some interesting info.
Hitting at Fenway is a huge opportunity for RH hitters, the best in baseball.
They were willing to sign Sandoval, who will also miss a lot of this season, so I am hoping they are considering a similar offer to Kim. He'd surely prefer a guaranteed starting job somewhere, but I don't see how he could get that, since he will be missing the first couple months of the season.
Hitting at Fenway is a huge opportunity for RH hitters, the best in baseball.
The Red Sox didn't take advantage of it.
That definitely contributed to the horrible home record, which basically ruined the season.
It's quite the contrast with the Astros, who have a ballpark that also helps RH batters:
The Red Sox know this, and it's part of why they are interested in Arenado and Bregman:
I hope they are at least considering Kim, but the obvious issue with him is his injury, which will cost him a couple months of the season at least. But with his defense, speed, and versatility, he could really help after he gets healthy. I'd much rather add him than take on the years and salaries of Bregman and Arenado, even though both have more power.
They were willing to sign Sandoval, who will also miss a lot of this season, so I am hoping they are considering a similar offer to Kim. He'd surely prefer a guaranteed starting job somewhere, but I don't see how he could get that, since he will be missing the first couple months of the season.
They're adding at least three right-handed hitters to the lineup next year between Story, Grissom, and Campbell.
If their evaluation is that those players are going to be healthy and effective, than that more than addresses the RH hitting problem.
If the Sox don't think they will, they'll need to go shopping. It's about as simple as that.
If their evaluation is that those players are going to be healthy and effective, than that more than addresses the RH hitting problem.
If the Sox don't think they will, they'll need to go shopping. It's about as simple as that.
The Sox had a perfectly cromulent RH power bat that they simply let walk. Now they’re trying to get another guy basically just like him.
I'm talking myself into Profar if they can get him on a 2/yr 26m deal with a mutual option based on incentives hit. He is a switch hitter, which is nice to have, with pretty equal career splits. He could be insurance to get DH at bats early if Yoshida isn't quite ready. He could play some LF, sliding Duran over to CF on some days against a tough SP to keep Rafaela as a late inning defensive replacement. And he is supposedly a great clubhouse guy, who'd be a nice influence on younger guys, especially felloow countryman CR. He'd be there so if one or both of Campbell and Anthony start in AAA.
Yeah, O'Neill was fun. But he only played 113 games, the second most of his career, and the highest number he'd played in three years. I don't want him heading into his 30s.
The likeliest thing now is they acquire a reliever and roll with everything else they've got, unless a really favorable deal emerges to acquire a catcher. Yoshida has little to no trade value post-labrum surgery, so he's not going anywhere, and they've got two really good prospects ready to compete for second base (and David Hamilton), and Ceddanne ready in case Story or Anthony falter, and prospects in The Password and Mayer who will be hitting AAA soon.
This teams bullpen was awful last year. Shore that up with an elite reliever and you have a team that should win 85-90 games, IMO.
Yes O'Neil was fun, but those 31 HR ring sort of hollow, as so many of them were 440 foot solo shots, which don't necessarily help you win games. The good news on the reliever front is there are still several good options out there. It seems like many teams, not jut the Sox are waiting until the years and/or dollars come down. I trust Breslow to have a good handle on relief pitching.
He had a 1.281 OPS in 'late and close' situations (71 PAs) and an .866 OPS with RISP (107 PAs).
That's mostly a luck thing, I think. He can't control whether the guys in front of him got on base.
Fair enough, I know you always do your research thoroughly. But only 18 2B in that park with 61 RBI from 31 HR ain't a lot. And I watched almost every game and i think i remember almost all of those 159 K's which this team should be trying to reduce. I know #'s are what they are, but they don't always tell the whole story.
edit: It's a bit telling, and maybe a mistake in hindsight that they didn't QO him.
I come not to denigrate O'Neil c.2024, despite the slipping defense and nagging injury absences. He was a force.
But I do think it's reasonable to question whether he'll do it again. I don't think it's likely.
Assuming you mean Bregman or Arenado, they aren't really that much like him.
Not that I am advocating for long term deals for either of them, but they are far superior hitters to O'Neill, IMHO.
I think they didn't feel comfortable QO'ing both of them because if both had accepted it would have constricted their budget considerably. Just a guess.
I get this, but with all the information they have at their disposal, they should be able to make a very, very educated guess it what those 2 guys market would be. Especially Boras repping TO, i don't think he was going to settle for a 1 yr deal. And with Pivetta, look how valuable a league average, durable, SP with his stuff is. Buehler basically got Pivetta's $$.
Breslow says specifically mentioned the ballpark factor when talking about adding a right handed bat.
The only problem with Arenado though is that, while it might make him a better hitter, this is so much wood to chop on his quality of contact in just can’t envision him being a middle of the order bat at this stage of his career.
The only problem with Arenado though is that, while it might make him a better hitter, this is so much wood to chop on his quality of contact in just can’t envision him being a middle of the order bat at this stage of his career.
Man, all I know is, 2024 Tyler O'Neill was my son's favorite Red Sox player, and now for like the fourth season in a row, he's going to have to find a new favorite Red Sox player.
What this overlooks is that while two of these hitters are clearly in decline, one is both significantly younger and coming off one of his best seasons. It’s not what they’ve done in the last three years but what they’ll produce in the next three.
Obviously injuries are a big concern for O’Neil, but if he stays healthy he’s an easy bet to outhit Arenado and probably even Bregman.
I guess. I like O'Neill, but a 33% strikeout rate is really, really bad, and strikeouts were probably the biggest issue with the Red Sox offense in 2024. It doesn't surprise me that they would target players who strikeout less than half the amount that TON does.
Again, I do not endorse trading for Arenado, nor signing Bregman to a 5 year deal, but this team absolutely has to cut down on the strikeouts this year.
But there are also serious concerns with both Bregman and Arenado’s hitting that suggest age related decline. I don’t see either of them being great hitters going forward and I’d be concerned that Arenado could be subpar as soon as next year.
I agree, which is why i'll be ok if none of the three are with the sox in 25. And i'll hope for the best if they are.
In the take fwiw department, the Arenado trade talk, to the extent that it was ever really A Thing, has reportedly cooled.
In Baltimore he will play 81 games in a very unfriendly hitters pRk for rh pull hitters.
The assumption that TO gets anything like his current deal through a qualifying offer is a stretch IMO. He's a great guy to have come up to the plate against 1/4 of the pitching in the league, and everything he does outside of that is negative value. He's repeatedly demonstrated that he likely won't even be available to face that full quarter. If he still had a strong defensive floor that would be another matter but his fielding (and running) fell off.
They're moving the LF wall back in this winter, splitting the difference between the old and new depths.