First, that defensive difference in that small of a time frame is meaningless, as once again, it's too small of a sample to analyze. On top of the fact that yes, he has a good glove, but generational? No. Lin is a perfectly acceptable fielder for the period of time Devers will need to heal up.
I don't know what counts as "generational", but from 2015-now (he missed 2014, so I started after that to be fair) he has been the 4th best defensive SS by dWar on fangraphs, with about half the UZR/150 of Andrelton Simmons, and fitting comfortably behind Brandon Crawford and Francisco Lindor and ahead of Adeiny Hechavarria and Addison Russell. He's 5th by zone rating, 8th by DRS, and 13th by rPM. By the definition of one player in a generation who is way better than everyone else, I would say Andrelton Simmons is that guy defensively. Iglesias seems like just another good glove no bat SS. He is 34th out of 45 qualified SS in that same time period with a WRC+ of 81.
Iglesias is much better defensively than any middle infielder the Red Sox have. On a postseason roster, having him as a defensive replacement to move Devers or Nunez out of the game would be very useful.
More useful than going over the luxury tax, having to make a roster move, and giving up a player? When we already have a perfectly good noodle-bat utility IF sitting right there in Pawtucket ready to be used?
They were presumably in the market for infield help before last night, so it’s hard to believe they wouldn’t be now. Set Iglesias aside then, they are very likely going to acquire somebody. And that somebody will put them over the tax which they said they were willing to do. If Henry is willing to pay it I’m not sure why it would bother us. And the bump from 33-43 in the draft is pretty negligible.
They were presumably in the market for potential infield upgrades. Getting a guy like Iglesias would be a lateral move in performance at increased cost, and devalue one of your other (very similar) assets in Lin.
Are we presuming that they were in the market based on anything more than message board GMing?
They’re over the LT according to Evan Drellich so not worried. Worried about sending Lin back down? No. Whether it’s Iglesias or someone else, they need to get another infielder.
Certainly since Devers was saying this morning that it isn't bad and he thinks he'd be fine to go in a few days.
I’m not worried about the regular season. Any move made has to have the postseason in mind given their status. Does the bench have the necessary pieces for the playoffs? Do you want Blake Swihart in a spot where he has to play a position he’s not suited for? Do you want to upgrade Swihart’s spot altogether to someone who is more useful? If they have to pinch hit for Holt late, is Nunez who you want replacing him especially defensively? Dont think short-sightedly on how it affects the regular season. Think about the playoff roster.
I'm all for upgrading 2B period if an actual opportunity is out there. But it's worth noting that Iglesias looks to have only logged a total of 12 innings at 2B in his pro career, and all of those came back in 2013. Which kind of limits his overall targeted guy appeal imo in the event Devers absence isn't going to be an extended one.
Yes, I understand that. Responding to the discussion about getting him in an August waiver trade.
Jerry Crasnick @jcrasnick 5m5 minutes ago
Dave Dombrowski confirmed that they were over the luxury tax in this article.
I don't read DD's statement as a confirmation that they have already exceeded 237 - only an indication that they would if necessary. The article is based on information from "sources" with knowledge of the team's payroll. So probably a team source. But not definitive info, IMO.
I thought the point of the Eovaldi trade was he was the best talent-to-dollar ratio, allowing us to stay under while upgrading the back-end rotation spot.
Yes, it’s their year-end total that matters.
End of the season. Which is why everything at this point, even from the Red Sox themselves, is an estimation. They budget X amount for the pro-rated salary on guys like Lin and Poyner and Workman who are up and down during the year. That budgeted amount could be under or over what the actual spending ends up being. Plus, yes, they could get salary relief if they trade higher salaries for lesser ones during the year.
I take it as he acknowledges that they've gone over and that while they don't like it they didn't see it as a deterrent to make the team better.
The article specifically says as currently constituted they are over the tax. Could they send out salary in a deal that takes them under? Sure, but unlikely.
I believe Craig is not counted against the cap, just like Castillo, because they're not on the roster. Therefore there's no value to be had for trading him.
Since Craig doesn't cost them anything against the luxury tax in the first place, I don't think any salary saved on him would make any difference at all. The only way to save salary is to move someone off the 40-man roster, not dead money already paid or owed to departed players.
I could see the MFYs acquiring Osuna (not that they have any pressing need for another bullpen arm). NY didn't hesitate to trade for Chapman when the Sox and other teams away from him as a result of his domestic incident(s).
