Evan Drellich @EvanDrellich 3m3 minutes ago
Sources: Red Sox, Brewers have agreed on a trade. Red Sox expected to land relief pitching.
Sources: Red Sox, Brewers have agreed on a trade. Red Sox expected to land relief pitching.
Prior to the 2016 season, the Brewers decided to make Thornburg a full-time reliever rather than the swing man role he had occupied up to that point in his career.[22] Thornburg became the Brewers' setup-man and displayed career-best fastball velocity, reaching as high as 96 mph with his heater. He set the Brewers franchise record for consecutive innings without allowing a baserunner for a relief pitcher.
I have to think there is more than that, if not wow.It appears to be Thornburg for Shaw and Pennington, which, if that's the trade, I love.
And Shaw. I think Shaw is a nice bench option who can offer some pop and backs up both 1st and 3rd adequately, so he's the real "prize" in the deal for the Brewers. Dubon is Holt-lite which is also nice, but nothing to get excited about (or upset about losing) IMO.Selling high in Dubon. Me likey.
Because of the excellence of his changeup, Thornburg has always been better against lefties than righties, even though he’s a right-handed pitcher. While platoon splits can be deceptive, especially in small samples, Jared Cross identified Thornburg as having the largest projected reverse platoon split of any RHP last year, and with his velocity spike this year, he’s been even better than usual against lefties; they’re hitting just .123/.194/.193 against him, and he has the second highest strikeout rate against LHBs in baseball this year, sandwiched between Betances and Clayton Kershaw.
The key for Thornburg this year has been the ability to hold his own against right-handed batters; he’s still not great against them, but thanks to the swing-and-miss curveball, he’s getting enough whiffs against them to be a decent right-on-right guy, which combined with dominance of lefties, that has made him a very effective reliever for the Brewers. And because of his reverse-platoon splits, Thornburg doesn’t need to be a match-up specialist; you can bring him in for multiple innings, and let him face whoever is coming up, especially if the opposing manager isn’t going to buck tradition by sending up an RHB to pinch-hit for an LHB with a righty on the mound.
Couple things.Wow. One good year in the NL with a noncontender and already 28. Yikes. Seems like competition for the 10th or 11th spots with Heath Hembree more than anything else.
I guess they've determined Travis Shaw is who he was in the second half of 2016. If Shaw bounces back at all, this is a huge overpay. And giving up Dubon as well? That's insanity.
And he's already halfway to TJ surgery apparently, with the PRP injection two years ago.
How many times are the Red Sox going to get hosed bringing in middle reliveres from the NL Central before they realize that the NL is really a AAAA league?
This has disaster written all over it. Dombrowski's questionable history of building bullpens doesn't inspire confidence.
A buddy on mine is in Ft Myers this week and ran into Panda at the ST complex, posted a pic to his FB page. Panda looks terrific, totally in shape with no evidence of a belly at all. It's actually fairly remarkable.This really just leaves Panda, Marco, Marrero and Moncada for 3B. They must really like what they see out of Panda right now.
If you think about it. DD has done a very good job (injuries aside) in building a cheap bullpen. Kimbrel Thornburg Smith is not a bad 7-9. Not exactly Miller Betances and Chapman but in theory if all 3 are healthy it should get the job done.Couple things.
1.
Alex Speier @alexspeier 42s43 seconds ago
Tyler Thornburg was an elite, elite reliever last year. RHP had huge K rates vs LHH (40.2%) while holding them to .130/.223/.190 line.
You can argue that we shouldn't take that as prediction of future performance, but to compare him to Hembree is insane. He's our 8th-inning guy, and he's dirt-cheap, and we have him for three years.
2. I think they determined that Travis Shaw is who he was all of 2016: a very streaky hitter with holes in his swing who would be a decent option for a corner infielder on a team that didn't have Sandoval, Holt, Moncada, and Devers all either under contract or on the way.
3. Dubon is Marco Hernandez is Brock Holt. He's worth more to a team that is bad enough to consider starting him at SS.
A buddy on mine is in Ft Myers this week and ran into Panda at the ST complex, posted a pic to his FB page. Panda looks terrific, totally in shape with no evidence of a belly at all. It's actually fairly remarkable.
This is the key. There's a pretty good chance they have 2 of the 3 down the stretch. I'd guess Kimbrell and Smith if I had to bet on a pair, but if they get lucky, then yes this is a very nice back end of the pen. Joe Kelly is probably also in that mix.If you think about it. DD has done a very good job (injuries aside) in building a cheap bullpen. Kimbrel Thornburg Smith is not a bad 7-9. Not exactly Miller Betances and Chapman but in theory if all 3 are healthy it should get the job done.
Dude, come on.Wow. One good year in the NL with a noncontender and already 28. Yikes. Seems like competition for the 10th or 11th spots with Heath Hembree more than anything else.
I guess they've determined Travis Shaw is who he was in the second half of 2016. If Shaw bounces back at all, this is a huge overpay. And giving up Dubon as well? That's insanity.
And he's already halfway to TJ surgery apparently, with the PRP injection two years ago.
How many times are the Red Sox going to get hosed bringing in middle reliveres from the NL Central before they realize that the NL is really a AAAA league?
This has disaster written all over it. Dombrowski's questionable history of building bullpens doesn't inspire confidence.
This was taken yesterday. I understand it's tough to think, OK this time he's really in shape, but he looks great as of right now.I swear we saw that picture last December too.
That's one more good year than Travis Shaw has ever had with anybody. I mean he was fine last year but lets face it, average is his ceiling and he probably won't quite get there. There's certainly nothing in his minor league history or scouting that suggests he will ever be better then he was last year. I'm much more interested in seeing what Moncada can do with that playing time.Wow. One good year in the NL with a noncontender and already 28.
I would love it if the Sox social media department would photoshop a skinnier panda every year in different settings. Just to troll everyone for when he reports.This was taken yesterday. I understand it's tough to think, OK this time he's really in shape, but he looks great as of right now.
Probably could spin him for a decent LOOGY. Can't have enough bullpen depth.They also need to figure out what Moncada is going to be and where.
I would say this is more than a flier. Dude was straight up lights out last year. He's not perfect, but considering the outrageous prices that RPs have gone for...I'll take moves like this every time.Shaw can't hit or lay off an above-the-belt fastball. That's a major league problem.
This is another deal-from-positions-of-depth move to acquire a needed piece. Agree with others; if you're not going to shell out the big money for a top FA arm, then you have to cash in trade chips or settle on flyers. Thornburg seems like a smart target and good get.
I think its more like they thought Shaw was not an answer, and they put him to his highest and best use -- part of a trade.This really just leaves Panda, Marco, Marrero and Moncada for 3B. They must really like what they see out of Panda right now.
Is this one good year 2013 or 2016?Wow. One good year in the NL with a noncontender and already 28.
He's also under team control until the end of 2018.Is this one good year 2013 or 2016?
Probably could spin him for a decent LOOGY. Can't have enough bullpen depth.
2019, right? This is his first arb year, so we have three years of control going forward.He's also under team control until the end of 2018.
Anything's possible, but I think Shaw already bounced back. In 2016, he bounced back to the player he was for the entirety of his career before a red-hot August 2015 and April/May 2016.I guess they've determined Travis Shaw is who he was in the second half of 2016. If Shaw bounces back at all, this is a huge overpay.
Don't forget Devers who could get a cup of coffee this year too.This really just leaves Panda, Marco, Marrero and Moncada for 3B. They must really like what they see out of Panda right now.
This is correct. Projected 2017 salary is $2.2 million per both MLBTradeRumors and BleacherReport2019, right? This is his first arb year, so we have three years of control going forward.
Yes, you're right. My bad. Rosenthal had it correct. 3 years.2019, right? This is his first arb year, so we have three years of control going forward.
Late May to June is the hopeIs Carson Smith on schedule to be ready for spring training? Or more like June?
Even with this acquisition, the bullpen is still a little bit light. I hope they re-sign Koji. Even if he's only good for 30 innings I think there's still a lot of value there.