Red Sox acquire SS/3B Adalberto Mondesi for Josh Taylor

[chawson]

Feinsand reporting it's done.

View: https://twitter.com/feinsand/status/1617936358970134531?s=46&t=BGjorGisjK-u5GTJQ7Pqlg

Tweet from Mark Feinsand:
Adalberto Mondesi is being traded to the Red Sox, per source. The Royals will receive Josh Taylor in exchange, while Boston will also receive a player to be named later.

 

[DeadlySplitter]

OK that injury history I referenced in the other thread led to a very low price. I'm fine with this as a result.

 

[Bread of Yaz]

Excellent buy low opportunity, Houck kept in the fold.

 

[LesterFan]

Outside of 2020, he's missed a bunch of games over the years with numerous injuries. In particular the last two seasons has dealt with knee, hamstring, and oblique injuries. Free agent after the season.

 

[chawson]

Here's a post I wrote a bit ago clamoring for him.

How would people feel if we traded for Adalberto Mondesi? He's in his last arb year set to make $3M for the Royals, and has lost the shortstop job to Bobby Witt Jr.

On the plus side, he's blazing fast, hits the ball really hard and is a plus defensive shortstop when he's on the field. He hits lefties really well, putting up a .293/.323/.630 line (150 wRC+) against them in 2020-21 (over a mere 96 PA). He's been less good as a left-handed batter, but there's also reason to think he'd be better without the shift.

On the minus, he whiffs a ton (roughly a 20 percent strikeout rate) and is almost comically injury prone.

People were writing about Mondesi as a change-of-scenery candidate five years ago. He's like the Byron Buxton of shortstops, except his durability issues make Buxton look good. But he's only 27, and there's still has a lot of upside, and maybe someone who could benefit from a team led by Alex Cora and Rafael Devers, and a different coaching/conditioning staff.

There are several shortstop scenarios I prefer over Mondesi, but I think I'd rather roll with him and Arroyo than a guy on his way out, like Elvis Andrus, José Iglesias or Miguel Rojas.

Gonna be a polarizing figure but I'm glad we're taking the upside route over settling for Andrus or Iggy.

 

[JM3]

I'm ok with it. Time to sign Andrew Chafin to replace Taylor & call it an off-season?

 

[JM3]

Here's a post I wrote a bit ago clamoring for him.



Gonna be a polarizing figure but I'm glad we're taking the upside route over settling for Andrus or Iggy.

Quoting one's own posts rather than having to rethink thoughts is pretty pretty genius. I'm in...

Mondesi is an odd one. He was 3rd in MLB in sprint speed in 2016 & top 12 through 2020. Then in '21 he dropped to 99th & then missed most of '22 with a torn ACL going back to the base on a pickoff throw.

He hasn't had a good hitting season since his age 22 season in 2018. Over his career he has a 4.4% walk rate & a 30.2% strikeout rate.

He would have to be back to being super fast for me to want to take a flyer on someone with that hitting profile. He's making $3m this year & is a free agent next year, so there's not a ton of upside even if he does get it together. But if the price is right (like basically free), & the medicals are good, sure.

 

[Mugsy's Jock]

I'm excited by this. He's had stretches of exceptional intriguing MLB performance, and allows Kike to remain in CF so long as Adalberto can remain in the line-up.

As importantly, we still have Houck and still have room to reset the cap (a challenge if they signed Andrus).

Edit: "Exceptional" was hyperbolic. Career .280 OBP means bottom-of-the-order bat, enticing speed notwithstanding. But I'm still on board.

 

[manny]

How is his fielding? I'd imagine hard to draw much of a conclusion from stats given all his injuries, but does anyone know his reputation or from watching him?

 

[staz]

The range of outcomes for this team continues to grow… in both directions.

 

[JM3]

How is his fielding? I'd imagine hard to draw much of a conclusion from stats given all his injuries, but does anyone know his reputation or from watching him?

Depends on which metric you use...in 2,126 career innings at SS, he is -1 DRS but 23 OAA. He was a pretty elite fielder in 2019, though (5 & 11) & good in 2020 (4 & 3), so if he's healthy he should probably be fine.

 

[bloodysox]

I don’t hate the trade but I actually liked Taylor a lot and he managed an impressive 2.83 FIP last season.

But clearly middle infield is a much bigger priority right now so I’m pretty happy we were able to get someone at minimal cost. I imagine we’re going to see another trade before spring training.

 

[SouthernBoSox]

How is his fielding? I'd imagine hard to draw much of a conclusion from stats given all his injuries, but does anyone know his reputation or from watching him?

He’s very good at short, given health.

He’s a poor hitter who can be an above average player based on athleticism. It’s all about how he comes back from that ACL.

 

[BaseballJones]

So I guess no on Kim, right?

Mondesi becomes the regular SS and hopefully he can stay healthy. But.... is he even all that good?

He's been in the majors for seven years. He's had an ops+ over 92 just ONCE in his entire career. Now to be fair, he came into the majors at a very young age (20), so it would be expected that he'd struggle some. But the last four years combined (211 games): 0 seasons of an ops+ over 92, and combined his slash line over these last four seasons is: .248/.283/.409/.692, 82 ops+.

So someone convince me please that Mondesi is a good player.

 

[TheYellowDart5]

Hard to be upset with an acquisition cost that low, and if nothing else, Mondesi should be an ideal defensive replacement for either of Hernandez or Arroyo (and also allows them to do essentially a double switch with Duvall where Mondesi can run for him and then move to shortstop with Hernandez moving to the OF). I don't think he's ever gonna hit, but who knows, maybe the change of scenery and some new voices will help. There's upside, at least, and if they can get his swing from the left side untracked, he'd make for a good platoon option with both Hernandez and Arroyo.

EDIT: I have a hard time seeing Mondesi as the starter unless he hits the cover off the ball in camp, I don't think this team will want to sacrifice offense by having him start over (essentially) Duvall.

 

[JM3]

So I guess no on Kim, right?

Mondesi becomes the regular SS and hopefully he can stay healthy. But.... is he even all that good?

He's been in the majors for seven years. He's had an ops+ over 92 just ONCE in his entire career. Now to be fair, he came into the majors at a very young age (20), so it would be expected that he'd struggle some. But the last four years combined (211 games): 0 seasons of an ops+ over 92, and combined his slash line over these last four seasons is: .248/.283/.409/.692, 82 ops+.

So someone convince me please that Mondesi is a good player.

I think he's more of an option than a guaranteed every day starter. If he earns being the every day starter, though, that's probably a good result.

 

[E5 Yaz]

Mondesi seems like a believe-it-when-I-see-it acquisition. He's missed a lot of time, so expecting him to be a regular is, for me, a hope rather than anything to count on

 

[johnnywayback]

Meh. Certainly a good value to get him for Taylor, but this tells me they're planning to have Arroyo and Duvall play most days -- you don't want to give Mondesi 600 PA, I don't think.

 

[8slim]

Mondesi seems like a believe-it-when-I-see-it acquisition. He's missed a lot of time, so expecting him to be a regular is, for me, a hope rather than anything to count on

Yup. I'm assuming the initial plan is for him to be a middle IF backup/defensive replacement/pinch runner.

 

[SouthernBoSox]

So I guess no on Kim, right?

Mondesi becomes the regular SS and hopefully he can stay healthy. But.... is he even all that good?

He's been in the majors for seven years. He's had an ops+ over 92 just ONCE in his entire career. Now to be fair, he came into the majors at a very young age (20), so it would be expected that he'd struggle some. But the last four years combined (211 games): 0 seasons of an ops+ over 92, and combined his slash line over these last four seasons is: .248/.283/.409/.692, 82 ops+.

So someone convince me please that Mondesi is a good player.

View: https://twitter.com/chrishenrique/status/1617939683690049536?s=46&t=qW_d8gh4o3PBJHoJaYQNFg

 

[moondog80]

I'm not super optimistic but the cost was low so whatever. The one thing I like is that he's a year from FA, so he has an extra incentive to be crazy dedicated to rehab and conditioning.

 

[SouthernBoSox]

Yup. I'm assuming the initial plan is for him to be a middle IF backup/defensive replacement/pinch runner.

Basically, you are looking at Kike, Duvall, Mondesi, and Arroyo at SS, 2B, CF. The left handed bat plus SS ability makes him a good fit.

 

[Petagine in a Bottle]

Feinsand reporting it's done.

View: https://twitter.com/feinsand/status/1617936358970134531?s=46&t=BGjorGisjK-u5GTJQ7Pqlg

Tweet from Mark Feinsand:
Adalberto Mondesi is being traded to the Red Sox, per source. The Royals will receive Josh Taylor in exchange, while Boston will also receive a player to be named later.

Damn, you’ve been calling this one for a while!

 

[E5 Yaz]

Basically, you are looking at Kike, Duvall, Mondesi, and Arroyo at SS, 2B, CF. The left handed bat plus SS ability makes him a good fit.

View: https://twitter.com/ChrisCotillo/status/1617939587770511360?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet

 

[BaseballJones]

I've always wondered what it would be like to be traded. It's like, you're working at Ford, and then all of a sudden you're told that you've been traded to GM.

(I know many people here have had to move to new offices in different parts of the country, so maybe that's roughly the same. But this is getting traded to a different company altogether.)

 

[Diamond Don Aase]

Tweet from Mark Feinsand:
Adalberto Mondesi is being traded to the Red Sox, per source. The Royals will receive Josh Taylor in exchange, while Boston will also receive a player to be named later.

In the absence of progress I am willing to accept chaos, so here’s hoping that the player to be named later is Tony Ruiz.

 

[8slim]

Basically, you are looking at Kike, Duvall, Mondesi, and Arroyo at SS, 2B, CF. The left handed bat plus SS ability makes him a good fit.

Yep. Defensively that should be good. Offensively that's likely to be pretty rough.

*edit* I'll amend that to say offensively it could be rough unless we see rebounds from all of them.

 

[johnnywayback]

Yoshida LF
Devers 3B
Turner DH
Casas 1B
Duvall CF
Verdugo RF
Hernandez SS
McGuire C
Arroyo 2B

And then thanks to Kiké's versatility, Mondesi becomes the backup at 2B, SS, LF, CF, and RF. Against lefties, Refsnyder subs in for one of Verdugo/Yoshida/Casas. It's not a great lineup, but it's a decently flexible roster with the potential to be defensively solid and Story lurking for mid-season.

 

[Kliq]

It's another Bloom lottery ticket, which is fine given the current SS situation and Story's injury.

 

[Whoop-La White]

I hope he can stay healthy enough to have an impact, but his injuries have been all over the body--oblique, hamstring, shoulder, groin and torn ACL last year.

 

[moondog80]

I've always wondered what it would be like to be traded. It's like, you're working at Ford, and then all of a sudden you're told that you've been traded to GM.

(I know many people here have had to move to new offices in different parts of the country, so maybe that's roughly the same. But this is getting traded to a different company altogether.)

Nobody needs to hold a bake sale for MLB players. Nonetheless, "Your new job is in Seattle, staring tomorrow" has to suck.

 

[E5 Yaz]

And then thanks to Kiké's versatility, Mondesi becomes the backup at 2B, SS, LF, CF, and RF.

Mondesi has never played a major league game in the outfield

 

[pedro1999mvp]

It's a risk because of the injury history, but I like the upside. Plus, the cost was low. And it should still allow us to reset the cap. Plus, if he gets injured, you can always play Kike more at SS and Duvall in CF.

 

[8slim]

And then thanks to Kiké's versatility, Mondesi becomes the backup at 2B, SS, LF, CF, and RF.

Modesi hasn't played OF in the majors. Is he likely to do it for the Sox?

 

[JM3]

I've always wondered what it would be like to be traded. It's like, you're working at Ford, and then all of a sudden you're told that you've been traded to GM.

(I know many people here have had to move to new offices in different parts of the country, so maybe that's roughly the same. But this is getting traded to a different company altogether.)

I think the different teams are more like different branches of the same company (MLB) more so than different companies. They do the exact same type of work, they're just based in a different location & have different co-workers in that office & a different local management structure.

 

[johnnywayback]

Mondesi has never played a major league game in the outfield

Right, but the idea is that, if an outfielder needs a blow, you put Mondesi at SS and Hernandez in the OF.

 

[Max Power]

I don’t hate the trade but I actually liked Taylor a lot and he managed an impressive 2.83 FIP last season.

Even more impressive since he didn't pitch at all least season.

Having another person in the organization who can play a respectable shortstop is nice when the starter is a guy who's never played a full season there. The bench becomes Mondesi, Refsnyder, Wong, and either Tapia or Dalbec.

 

[JM3]

Modesi hasn't played OF in the majors. Is he likely to do it for the Sox?

He's saying that figuratively, not literally. Mondesi is the backup SS/2B/3B, but he frees Hernandez up to go to CF, which frees Duvall up to go to RF, which frees Verdugo up to go to LF.

 

[E5 Yaz]

Right, but the idea is that, if an outfielder needs a blow, you put Mondesi at SS and Hernandez in the OF.

I see what you're saying, but the initial wording made that point confusing

 

[mauidano]

View: https://twitter.com/KingSherriff/status/1617585032016842752

Not seeing this anywhere else....trade one oft-injured LHP and sign another oft-injured LHP.

 

[PrometheusWakefield]

HOLY CRAP I LOVE THIS SO MUCH

 

[Granite Sox]

View: https://twitter.com/ChrisCotillo/status/1617939587770511360?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet

Isn’t that what the new Sheriff in town is all about?

edit: crap!

 

[JM3]

Sheriff was a minor league deal I'm pretty sure. There's still room for a guy like Chafin or...other players I'm not thinking of...if they want to go that route.

 

[mauidano]

Sheriff was a minor league deal I'm pretty sure. There's still room for a guy like Chafin or...other players I'm not thinking of...if they want to go that route.

It is. But LHP in the pen are hard to find lately. He'll get a good look.

 

[chawson]

So I guess no on Kim, right?

Mondesi becomes the regular SS and hopefully he can stay healthy. But.... is he even all that good?

He's been in the majors for seven years. He's had an ops+ over 92 just ONCE in his entire career. Now to be fair, he came into the majors at a very young age (20), so it would be expected that he'd struggle some. But the last four years combined (211 games): 0 seasons of an ops+ over 92, and combined his slash line over these last four seasons is: .248/.283/.409/.692, 82 ops+.

So someone convince me please that Mondesi is a good player.

Can't say that he's a good player after a 54 PA season, but there's plenty to be intrigued by. He was Baseball America's #29 prospect in 2016, and he's only 27. Injuries have been the story, and I wonder whether KC's development system was the best spot for him as a hitter.

Here's a good piece on him from September 2018 by Jeff Sullivan (now of the Rays org) when he was still with Fangraphs.

Pullquote: In terms of sprint speed this season, Mondesi ranks in the 98th percentile. He’s clearly one of the fastest runners in either league. And then, in terms of xwOBA on contact, Mondesi ranks in the 79th percentile. The dots up there to his right are Ronald Acuna and Trevor Story. Mondesi is very, very fast, and he’s also capable of hitting the ball hard. That establishes a potential star-player foundation. What’s missing, of course, is the discipline component.

Here's another that compares him to Byron Buxton.

If you were to prorate his 2021 season in which he played 35 games, he'd be worth 4.1 fWAR. But you can't really do that.

 

[BaseballJones]

So deal LH relief pitcher Taylor to get the MI backup. Then sign a new LH relief pitcher to replace Taylor. That works....as long as the new guys stay healthy.

FWIW, from 2017-2022, Sherriff pitched a whopping 44.1 innings at the major league level. At a 3.65 era, 1.31 whip, and 7.3 k/9.

In other words, hardly ever healthy, and not even very good when he has been healthy.

But we're talking about backup IF and end of the bullpen lefty, so it's not a huge deal.

 

[ngruz25]

Mondesi is coming off a left ACL tear, having undergone season ending surgery in May 2022. His 2021 was cut short at 35 games due to left hamstring and oblique injuries.

I'm not optimistic that his speed is still going to be 99th percentile in 2023. He'll probably still be faster than anyone else on the roster, but still.

 

[mauidano]

Mondesi seems like a believe-it-when-I-see-it acquisition. He's missed a lot of time, so expecting him to be a regular is, for me, a hope rather than anything to count on

What do you think the likelihood that Mondesi even makes the Opening Day Roster in Boston. AAA probably to get some work in?

 

[GB5]

Cotillo suggests Mondesi for 2b, has he played much 2b?

Also what in the world are the Royals doing in trading for an aging oft injured left handed 7th inning guy? That’s a contender move. Additionally they just signed Chapman, who I know is a 8/9 th inning guy.

 

[Sandy Leon Trotsky]

I didn't even consider Taylor as part of the team any longer as it seems he's been injured forever and at this point is basically an afterthought in the bullpen construction. Seems like they just added Mondesi for nothing in a way.