Poll: Who Will Play the Most Games at Shortstop for the '23 Red Sox?

Who Will Play the Most Games at Short for the '23 Red Sox?


  • Total voters
    321

Pozo the Clown

New Member
Sep 13, 2006
744
What say you SoSHers?

If you choose "Other" please specify the identity of that player.
 
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Blizzard of 1978

@drballs
Sep 12, 2022
503
New Hampshire
I really want Jose Iglesias. His fielding is better than X who I will miss more than Betts. He would be the perfect stopgap until Mayer or Romero are ready.
If we could have a second vote than Elvis Andrus. He can still field and would hit homeruns over the Green Monster.
 

streeter88

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 2, 2006
1,807
Melbourne, Australia
Apparently you can't change your vote. Would be great if the Sox could find someone amongst the remaining free agent SS to take over. I have zero confidence they will be able to get that right.
 

Dewey'sCannon

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
869
Maryland
Glad to see that I wasn't the only one who voted for Elvis Costello. He is a fan favorite, after all.

It's important to keep a sense of humor in times like these.

And there wan't a choice for "who f'ing cares?" At this point, I have no confidence that the team won't suck. I hope they prove me wrong.
 

Hank Scorpio

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 1, 2013
6,915
Salem, NH
I really want Jose Iglesias. His fielding is better than X who I will miss more than Betts. He would be the perfect stopgap until Mayer or Romero are ready.
If we could have a second vote than Elvis Andrus. He can still field and would hit homeruns over the Green Monster.
Wasn’t there a lot of noise about how much Iggy’s defense had fallen off when we traded for him a couple of years ago?
 

ehaz

Member
SoSH Member
Sep 30, 2007
4,948
I picked other. I think it's an outside acquisition, the internal options are really not ideal. Story's arm is fucked and I think they'll want to keep him at 2B. I'd hope the organization isn't stupid enough to trust Christian Arroyo to play SS for a whole season. He's perfect in his utility/bench role, but even there he consistently misses games. Not good defensively at SS either in ~200 career innings. Kike is a much better defensive CF than he is an infielder. And the OF holes are as big as the SS hole and there are multiple of them. Also not exactly a paragon of health.

Then you have Jeter Downs. That would just be openly admitting to tanking. They're not going to sign Correa or Swanson, but they're at least going to give the appearance of being competitive.

That leaves Iglesias/Elvis. I'll take the field over those two but they're realistic options.
 

grimshaw

Member
SoSH Member
May 16, 2007
4,220
Portland
The Giants seem like the best Correa fit now but they'd probably have to do something like Turner's deal.
They do also have Crawford for one more season. Not that that should hold anything up.
 

Beomoose

is insoxicated
SoSH Member
May 28, 2006
21,388
Exiled
I'm going all-in on irrational Jeter Downs hype for 2023. Win the job, kid, make it yours.
 

Big Papi's Mango Salsa

Member
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Dec 7, 2022
1,175
I voted “other”.

We won’t come close to paying what Correa or Swanson will land. Arroyo has never been healthy enough to play 90 games in a season in his career, and I can think of no reason to assume he will miraculously get healthier as he gets older. Downs doesn’t look like a major league starter.

I think the most likely answers are Hoy Park or “whatever utility man we sign to back up Arroyo whom ends up having to start 100 games because injured players tend to keep getting injured”; I’ll call that Danny Mendick but it could be any manner of equally unappealing option.

Maybe Trevor Story is the right answer, however if so just cut and paste my above paragraph to apply to second base.
 
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Hee Sox Choi

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 27, 2006
6,133
People wanting Jose Iglesias -- you guys do know that he put up an 85 wRC+ last year, right? His D is nowhere near where it used to be. 3.6% walk rate. He's fine as a back-up but no way he should be starting for the Red Sox.
 

simplicio

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 11, 2012
4,719
I'm probably most interested in a trade for Kim, but I have no idea what the Padres are planning to do with him. I don't think 2022 shortstop money for Correa/Swanson makes sense with Mayer/Romero in the pipeline.

I suppose I'm still interested in C/S if the league runs out of teams willing to pay stupid money and either can be had for regular market rates.
 
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Ferm Sheller

Member
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Mar 5, 2007
20,404
I'm probably most interested in a trade for Kim, but I have no idea what the Padres are planning to do with him. I don't think 2022 shortstop money for Correa/Swanson makes sense with Mayer/Romero in the pipeline.
And I wonder whether they're going to give Rafaela a chance to stick at SS, too.
 

E5 Yaz

Transcends message boarding
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Apr 25, 2002
90,017
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I could see signing a Jean Segura for a year or two with Story at short, especially if they do make a big push to sign Devers
 

Petagine in a Bottle

Member
SoSH Member
Jan 13, 2021
11,921
Segura makes a lot of sense. He can play multiple positions, should come on a short deal and is a good stop gap. Between he, Arroyo, and Story there’s enough depth there to figure out the middle IF. I think I’d try to sign him, Jacob Turner, Conforto, and Eovaldi (would prefer Rodon but that seems unlikely). I guess trade Verdugo and Hosmer.

Yoshida- LF
Hernandez- CF
Devers- 3B
Story-SS
Conforto- RF
Turner-DH
Casas-1B
Segura- 2B
McGuire-C

Bench- Arroyo, Wong, Dalbec, Refsnyder

Sale, Eovaldi, Pivetta, Whitlock, Bello
Jansen, Houck, Schreiber, Martin, Barnes, Brasier, Rodriguez, Taylor (Paxton)

That’s not a terrible team. Don’t assume any terrible contracts, and enough talent to be competitive, I think.
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
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SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
70,713
Segura was the conclusion I came to this AM also, after the Bogaerts news went down.
 

jon abbey

Shanghai Warrior
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Jul 15, 2005
70,713
Just that he made the most sense for how I think BOS will pivot, he can play both 2B and SS, has playoff experience, had a solid year, and shouldn't be too pricy (although who knows at this point).
 

E5 Yaz

Transcends message boarding
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Apr 25, 2002
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Just that he made the most sense for how I think BOS will pivot, he can play both 2B and SS, has playoff experience, had a solid year, and shouldn't be too pricy (although who knows at this point).
Agreed
 

Yo La Tengo

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 21, 2005
912
I mentioned Amed Rosario in another thread. He's 27, has one more year of arbitration, is getting expensive for Cleveland, and they have a number of middle infielders who are waiting in the wings.

Does anyone think Ceddanne Raphael could make the jump this year? I didn't realize he was already 22 years old. Reports are that he is ready now to play defense at shortstop or centerfield but what needs to improve his plate discipline. That is a skill that probably can't be developed as a young player at the pro level, and throwing him in to the fire might hamper his development.

I don't think it is going to happen to start the season, but, looking at Mookie's trajectory through the minors, and debuting with the Sox at age 22, makes me wonder how aggressively the front office might move Ceddanne. Playing centerfield in 2024 is probably the most realistic timeline.

Side note: Ceddanne grew up in Curacoa, which is just 70 miles east of Aruba, where Xander grew up.
 

Maximus

Member
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Jul 18, 2005
5,774
I prefer Correa but that is very unlikely to happen with this front office.
 

hellborn

Member
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Jul 17, 2005
265
I love Iglesias. He’s played well for the Sox in both of his stints here. Bring him back as a backup sometime starter.
 

koufax32

He'll cry if he wants to...
SoSH Member
Dec 8, 2006
9,092
Duval
I voted other because I’ll take the field instead of one of the listed players.

What if Bloom offered Correa a 3 year, $120m? Would he take it?
 

John Marzano Olympic Hero

has fancy plans, and pants to match
Dope
SoSH Member
Apr 12, 2001
24,537
I think they’ll get Correa on a one year deal again.
Why do you think that Correa will go for another pillow contract? He had a pretty decent year last season for the Twins, why would he take a one-year deal if he didn't need to post some big numbers and lift up his value?
 

Ganthem

a ray of sunshine
SoSH Member
Apr 7, 2022
914
Why do you think that Correa will go for another pillow contract? He had a pretty decent year last season for the Twins, why would he take a one-year deal if he didn't need to post some big numbers and lift up his value?
I will add to that, Nimmo who is an oft injured outfielder just signed an eight year 180 million dollar deal. That seems like the floor for Correa at this point.
 

chawson

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 1, 2006
4,660
I voted Correa. I think Rodón stays in San Francisco and Swanson goes to Chicago, but I’m not brimming with optimism.

I have fond memories of Iglesias, but one option I’d prefer to him at this point is Miguel Rojas, who has 1/$5M left on a deal with the Marlins. Similar hitters, but Rojas grades out much better defensively (+20 DRS at shortstop over ‘21-22, compared with -26 DRS for Iglesias). Not sure if he's available though.

Rojas had a worse than average 2022 at the plate, battling jaw, foot, calf, neck, back and wrist issues (the latter he had surgery for). Probably a wash with Iglesias at the plate, but it's Rojas who seems to have the superior defense these days.
 

pedro1999mvp

New Member
Dec 9, 2022
46
I voted other, even though I have no idea who the "other" would be.
Story - arm is shot, needs to stay at 2B
Arroyo - injury prone even in a UT role, can't see him playing everyday, and not a good defensive SS
Hernandez - better in CF and unless we trade for one, we have no other good CF options
Downs - can't hit
Iglesias - decent option, almost voted for him as a short term stopgag to get us to Meyer
Swanson - if they won't "block" Meyer with a contract for X, why would they block him for a lesser player?
Correa - younger than X and X got an 11 year contract, can't see Bloom going big here
Andrus - weired career path the past couple of years. Looks like he's done, then bounces back and shows some power. Not the speed threat he used to be.
Costello - intriguing but probably past his prime
 

phineas gage

New Member
Jan 2, 2009
96
JH is filing his nails while Chaim's dragging the lake.

I voted Swanson, but it will most likely be other, and worse than we can imagine.
 

Pozo the Clown

New Member
Sep 13, 2006
744
I wonder what the Tigers would want for Javy Baez. He's got 5 years left on the 6-year, $140M deal he signed last offseason. He had the worst full season of his career last year by a significant margin (.671 OPS) but is only 30, so the decline may be due to factors other than aging (e.g. playing in Detroit for a team that's going nowhere). He seems like the type of high-energy player that may fare better in a more intense baseball market. He put up good numbers during his time with the Mets (.886 OPS).

Is $116,666,667/5 too rich for the Sox front office's Pessimism-thinned blood?
 

OCD SS

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Lifetime Member
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I was thinking about Baez, who following his Mets stint was my secret SS crush (who I hoped no one would sign and we’d get in a “Story scenario”), but the plate discipline he showed with the Mets evaporated and I’m not sure the Sox as presently constituted are a good bet to get him to bring it back…

You could probably get the Tigers to eat a lot of the deal, but he might not even be worth that payroll hit.
 

Brianish

Member
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Dec 11, 2008
5,556
I have a sneaking suspicion that they're looking to improve defensively and are hoping to do with Swanson what they did with Story last offseason. (Whether that's a good idea and/or whether it works out is a separate question).
 

nvalvo

Member
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Jul 16, 2005
21,479
Rogers Park
I was thinking about Baez, who following his Mets stint was my secret SS crush (who I hoped no one would sign and we’d get in a “Story scenario”), but the plate discipline he showed with the Mets evaporated and I’m not sure the Sox as presently constituted are a good bet to get him to bring it back…

You could probably get the Tigers to eat a lot of the deal, but he might not even be worth that payroll hit.
This is intriguing as a bounce back candidate, if the Tigers would eat like 40% of that deal.

It would certainly be fun. Baez is one of the most watchable players I have ever seen, but really just a mystifying collection of strengths and weaknesses: things like being really, really good at unmeasured skills like applying tags, but also having a completely bizarre and uneven approach at the plate. Sometimes the whole package adds up to more than the sum of its parts, and sometimes it adds up to much less. He's a weird player: I feel like he was at once huge part of what was good about those recent Cubs teams and also a major reason for their chronic underperformance.
 

Ale Xander

Hamilton
SoSH Member
Oct 31, 2013
72,432
This question is better posed in late February when we see if they have Dalbec fielding grounders at SS