That's one more bench player than they've carried on a regular basis as I believe the have opted to carry 14 pitchers for the majority of the season. Houck riding the WOOster express has afforded them 4 ATM but he's soon to be up for good.
Red Sox bring back Travis Shaw
- Thread starter soxhop411
- Start date
Yes, that's true, though Arroyo not up yet ... when he's ready there might be a tricky problem, but only for a few days. Maybe we see the bench expand a position player at that point, but we will also be near September when two can come up. In the playoffs they will almost certainly carry 4 man bench. So - the issue of 3 vs 4 man bench is only an issue for 12 more games (extra player up for doubleheader against Yanks) and Arroyo may not be ready for most of them ....
EDIT: (if they make the playoffs pu pu pu) ...
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Which is the exact reason that I've been advocating in this and other threads that Duran go down and try to work a few things out while he's able to play on a daily basis. REGULAR play in the field and REGULAR ABs as he plies the things that he's trying to improve upon. There are 14 games left in August, 3 vs NY and 2 vs TB. The rest see 3 vs each of Texas, Minnesota and Cleveland. There are no automatic wins, but given the amount of OF available players on this team ATM is he really needed here before Sept.? FWIW, Arroyo is slated to start rehab on Tues. and could be back by week's end. Also, the extra player coming up for the NY double header is Houck at which point I expect he'll stay necessitating someone else to be sent down.
https://www.bostonherald.com/2021/08/13/red-sox-christian-arroyo-expected-to-begin-rehab-assignment-next-week-uncertain-if-hell-return-to-first-base/
Cora says managing Travis Shaw will make him "finally feel old" b/c he played with his father:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mlb/boston-red-sox-adding-travis-shaw-makes-manager-alex-cora-e2-80-98finally-feel-old-e2-80-99/ar-AANlSzM?ocid=uxbndlbing
Though you must agree YTF, that Duran is a better player than Codero or Santana or even Shaw (though Shaw fills a positional need on the bench) ...Methinks after the doubleheader Cordero goes down, because he becomes VERY useless on the team with Shaw added. If they don't want a 4 man bench before September, THEN I think you might see Duran sent down when Arroyo is added ....
And to reiterate, Duran's been squaring up a lot of balls lately ...I'm not so sure I don't want him to see some action on the ML team if Schwarber can play first ...
And to reiterate, Duran's been squaring up a lot of balls lately ...I'm not so sure I don't want him to see some action on the ML team if Schwarber can play first ...
Agree here. Despite Duran’s lack of overall production, I think he’s slowly adjusting to the difference between AAA and ML pitching.
This has nothing to do with Cordero or Santana, they'll both be gone very soon. Someone goes to accommodate both Shaw and Houck. Also the Sox are down to just 12 pitchers on the 26 man as Josh Taylor has not been replaced yet. If you return to 14 pitchers, three guys have to go. Wong is surely one of them and IMO Cordero is likely another. That pretty much leaves Arauz (who is taking Arroyo's spot) or Duran IF Shaw is with the team in the next couple of days. Shaw's 2B experience might make Arauz expendable, but is the team better of with his glove in the infield or Duran's in the OF? If they haven't gone with a four man bench thus far, they're not going to drop a pitcher at a time when the bullpen has struggled. Two days off next week, but you've got a double header against the team that your trying to fend off for a playoff spot. I suspect Cora plans to have a full compliment of arms ready for use.
Shaw bats left handed and Cora seems to think he might be with the team for the double header.
https://nesn.com/2021/08/travis-shaw-feels-really-good-health-wise-upon-joining-red-sox/
I wonder if Shaw is going to be a way to have Schwarber or whoever pinch hit for Dalbec, but not have to play first. As soon as Dalbec comes up in a situation with any significant leverage, Schwarber PHs, then goes to LF, Renfroe to RF, Verdugo to CF, Kike to 2B, and Shaw takes Arroyo’s spot in the lineup at 1B.
My gut reaction is they want his lefty fly ball bat for three games at Yankee Stadium. I don’t know where to find those batted ball overlays. Can somebody post his hit chart overlaid on the Toilet?
To me Shaw's acquisition bodes not so well for either A. Schwarber's health and capacity to take the field, or B. Schwarber's ability to acclimate to playing first in practice ... They don't need Shaw's bat. At all. Not only because it's not good anymore, but because Schwarber WAS the added bat hitting from the left side.
The best interpretation (if neither A nor B motivated the team to claim Shaw) is that Shaw will be able to serve as a defensive replacement at first at the end of games the team is ahead? ...
Which is sorta what you're saying.
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Ah - I didn't see that they had sent Houck down to make him the 27th man for the doubleheader. Clever move by Bloom, they then can bring back up for his next start after the doubleheader (8/24?) ....
My guess/dime store GM-ing:
- With Shaw and Houck added for doubleheader they have 28 players (13 pitchers and 15 position players) - one too many. My guess is Cordero is sent down before Tuesday's games to give them 27 (13 pitchers and 14 position players) .
- After the doubleheader Houck goes back down and I think Wong goes with him, and Taylor comes back assuming his COVID test is negative. If it's positive, maybe we see Seabold for cup of a coffee since Valdez and Rios gotta wait to be brought back up (13 pitchers, 13 position players)
- I'm assuming Arroyo returns before Houck's next start and when Arroyo comes up Aaruz goes down (13 pitchers, 13 position players)
- When Houck comes back up, then, indeed, you might see Duran down for a week as you had suggested, assuming no one injured at that point (14 pitchers, 12 position players)
- When rosters expand, Duran and Wong back (14 pitchers, 14 position players)
- When Darwinzon back ?? Someone in the pen gets DFA'd pick yer guy ....
What to make of Rios and Valdez being able to come back up I'm not sure who stays and who goes in the pen at that point ....I guess since they have options they stay put in AAA unless injury ...
Seems like Santana cooked and Cordero's roster spot on the ML team - save injury - is over for 2021 ....
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What if Shaw’s acquisition bodes absolutely nothing at all for Schwarber? They claimed Shaw off waivers. It costs them nothing except a roster spot. He can potentially provide insurance and a bit of roster/lineup flexibility. If he doesn’t, or if that insurance proves unnecessary, they can do what Milwaukee just did and cut him. If Bloom has shown us anything in the time he’s been with the Red Sox it’s that he is constantly looking to improve the last few spots on the roster. It doesn’t always work, of course, and when it doesn’t he can move on, as I expect we’ll see soon with Danny Santana. Shaw appears to be just another no-cost, no-risk example of that.
I’m happy to see that you have come around to the cleverness of this bit of roster manipulation. I was surprised when, after they did the same thing a couple of weeks ago, you characterized it as evidence that Bloom wasn’t committed to winning because he was wasting Houck starts in the minors. I agree with you that, in actuality, this is a smart strategy that gives the Sox an advantage with the roster.
This is the opposite of my impression. 2021 Bloom/Cora are better characterized as having a sloth-like unwillingness to move on from their stable of preferred solutions. Often it seems they just can't admit that two units of eminently-predictable suck won't be followed by a third.
They're not completely irrational. Sometimes, like with Dalbec, this over-lengthy commitment might be fostered by an idea there's real talent that needs ML development time. Sometimes like with Franchy, it seems a fair gamble at first but goes on too long. But at other times, like with Chavis, or Santana, or Marwin, or Workman, it's just inexplicable after a certain point, and they're not to be lauded for finally doing what everyone knew ought to have been done long ago.
I hope Shaw has something in the tank. I'd love that. Man, how I'd love that.
But if Bloom really had been "constantly looking to improve the last few spots on the roster" we wouldn't be in the situation we're in now - signing another team's DFAs in mid August to address what still seems to be a glaring hole at first base.
Heading into yesterday’s game, Dalbec was hitting 286/357/571 in 70 PAs since the break. I’m not suggesting that’s sustainable or that Bloom foresaw it, but if you think Dalbec is good for even a low 700s OPS the rest of the way, then 1B isn’t such a black hole, and it makes sense to throw shit at the wall (work out Schwarber at 1B, pluck Shaw off the scrap heap, etc.) and see if you can find Dalbec a platoon partner, rather than giving up prospects for a guy like Anthony Rizzo who wasn’t a sure thing either.
Totally agree there’s a big difference between making a big move and churning the bottom of the roster. And frankly, I’m not sure I agree that Bloom has done the latter as well as @BringBackMo thinks he has. It shouldn’t have taken 271 PAs of 202/281/285 “hitting” to move on from Marwin Gonzalez; Cordero and Santana have gotten too much rope as well.
I understand that you believe that they have been stubborn in refusing to admit what you believe are obvious mistakes. You made that point repeatedly in the lead-up to sending Franchy down. Your comments here get us back to the same old trade-deadline discussion of those who wanted Bloom to spend more to invest fully in this team, and those, including me, who did not.
What players from the system would you have liked for them to call up to replace Franchy, Gonzalez, Santana, Dalbec, and Chavis? There was plenty of outrage that Duran wasn’t up NOW to improve the lineup. How has that worked out? As I argued at the time, he was going to have the ups and downs of all rookies and should not have been counted on to significantly out-perform the players on the current MLB roster. So what other players did you want Bloom to add to the mlb roster? Or are you suggesting they Bloom should have been trading away prospects to fill all those underperforming positions on the major league roster, and that his unwillingness to do so amounts to a stubborn unwillingness to let go of players? As I have argued many, many times, anyone paying attention understood that he was not going to trade his better prospects this year to invest in this team. That was simply never going to happen.
Bringing up Workman as an example of stubbornly hanging onto a player is a point I just don’t understand. He was, like Shaw, picked up off waivers and cost the team nothing. He struggled mightily in, for the most part, low-leverage situations, and was eventually cut. Perhaps you wanted Ort up instead, which is defensible, but it’s worth noting that they STILL haven’t called him up, which seems to indicate that they don’t feel his stuff will translate rather than that they are keeping him down out of a stubborn loyalty to an undeserving player on the major league roster.
Bloom has been here for more than just this season. He has repeatedly added and dropped players at the end of the 40 man roster in an attempt to continually improve it. Dombrowski all but ignored the 40 man, and the Rule 5 draft. Bloom has continued to add players, Arauz, Whitlock, Santana, and so on. Sometimes it has worked spectacularly, and sometimes it has not. Where you see a stubborn refusal to move on from underperforming players, I see a calculation that, when you factor in acquisition costs, riding it out with those players was, net-net, the better longterm strategic approach for the organization. You may disagree with that calculation. In the end, I am enormously encouraged by what Bloom and Cora are up to.
What players from the system would you have liked for them to call up to replace Franchy, Gonzalez, Santana, Dalbec, and Chavis? There was plenty of outrage that Duran wasn’t up NOW to improve the lineup. How has that worked out? As I argued at the time, he was going to have the ups and downs of all rookies and should not have been counted on to significantly out-perform the players on the current MLB roster. So what other players did you want Bloom to add to the mlb roster? Or are you suggesting they Bloom should have been trading away prospects to fill all those underperforming positions on the major league roster, and that his unwillingness to do so amounts to a stubborn unwillingness to let go of players? As I have argued many, many times, anyone paying attention understood that he was not going to trade his better prospects this year to invest in this team. That was simply never going to happen.
Bringing up Workman as an example of stubbornly hanging onto a player is a point I just don’t understand. He was, like Shaw, picked up off waivers and cost the team nothing. He struggled mightily in, for the most part, low-leverage situations, and was eventually cut. Perhaps you wanted Ort up instead, which is defensible, but it’s worth noting that they STILL haven’t called him up, which seems to indicate that they don’t feel his stuff will translate rather than that they are keeping him down out of a stubborn loyalty to an undeserving player on the major league roster.
Bloom has been here for more than just this season. He has repeatedly added and dropped players at the end of the 40 man roster in an attempt to continually improve it. Dombrowski all but ignored the 40 man, and the Rule 5 draft. Bloom has continued to add players, Arauz, Whitlock, Santana, and so on. Sometimes it has worked spectacularly, and sometimes it has not. Where you see a stubborn refusal to move on from underperforming players, I see a calculation that, when you factor in acquisition costs, riding it out with those players was, net-net, the better longterm strategic approach for the organization. You may disagree with that calculation. In the end, I am enormously encouraged by what Bloom and Cora are up to.
Who would you have liked Bloom to replace Gonzalez, Cordero, and Santana with?
For the record, I should have been clearer in my original post that I’m not talking specifically about the 26-man when I say that Bloom has worked relentlessly improve the roster. I’m talking about the 40-man, which of course feeds the 26-man. Replacements for all those underperforming players may not have come from Bloom’s work on the 40 man, but Whitlock, Arauz, Valdez, and others have all contributed to the major league team this year.
I’m not sure. I was just reacting to the idea that he had done a good job with the bottom of the roster.
I’ll give Bloom a mulligan on Dalbec — his 2020 performance earned him a long look, and as I noted above, he has shown signs of life. But that still leaves 520 PAs to date for Gonzalez, Cordero, and Santana, two of whom are still on the roster.
Signing Marwin was obviously a mistake in what was otherwise a stellar offseason for Bloom. I think he was too patient with Cordero; by the end of April, it was painfully clear that whatever we thought was there, wasn’t. I don’t really fault Bloom for Santana; you could argue that a team that hasn’t had particularly bad injury luck shouldn’t have needed to press a replacement-level guy like Santana into service, but if he was the only scrub who got too much run on this team, we wouldn’t be having this discussion.
As mentioned by others, the gap between AAA and MLB seems to be wider this season. I have come around to agreeing that improving the bottom of the roster internally wasn't much of an option. Marcus Wilson - who I was curious about getting a look at, wasn't able to fetch anything via trade which shows his perceived value around the league and Duran hasn't adjusted yet. Munoz maybe was an option, but with the roster crunch combined with him not really hitting much until his recent streak I can see them holding off unless there was a major injury. Downs not taking two steps forward and Arroyo's injury has also hurt, but that's baseball.
That said, bringing in below replacement level guys like Santana, Cordero, and Gonzalez in were individual mini whiffs and that is on Bloom. When you have13 or 14 pitchers, the bench has to play more than usual in critical spots and their rancidity combined with the closeness of the race has magnified that.
I have no idea if Shaw will positively impact the team. I'm betting no, but resources weren't used so it can't hurt.
That said, bringing in below replacement level guys like Santana, Cordero, and Gonzalez in were individual mini whiffs and that is on Bloom. When you have13 or 14 pitchers, the bench has to play more than usual in critical spots and their rancidity combined with the closeness of the race has magnified that.
I have no idea if Shaw will positively impact the team. I'm betting no, but resources weren't used so it can't hurt.
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Such a good memory! That was actually a bit different, because they had Houck skip a turn through the rotation the last time, when they were desperate for good starts ... in this case, he's not missing a turn.
EDIT: Also, to rebut your characterization of my characterization of Bloom. It's bit more nuanced then I didn't feel "Bloom was committed to winning." I felt Bloom was not operating with sufficient URGENCY and it baffled and angered me. I said in a different thread around the deadline that I don't question Bloom's intentions (of course he wants to win), merely his judgement in roster moves around the deadline, BECAUSE A. The team had obvious holes but with some additions could compete with anyone, and B. There were clear signs by 7/29 the team was heading for a slide - and one that was coming at a critical juncture in the schedule. Given B, to not get a bat that could play immediately, and to skip Houck for a start (and to seemingly pitch Sale one more time in AAA when he could have been with the big club), all seemed awfully passive.
Now, I know many folks disagree with my assessment, and maybe I was wrong and too reactive. But - the team did tumble in the standings and these two weeks may well have cost the division. So, for the sake of argument let's say I was right: insufficient urgency/too frugal with the prospects. Why was Bloom operating like this? Not because he doesn't want to win, but maybe because ...just spitballing here: He overvalued prospects/fetishized the future ...he overvalued the current squad and thought they could weather the storm ... he undervalued the current squad and thought they didn't have what it took in 2021... ...he was caught by surprise by the team's success and couldn't quite adjust his season strategy plan ...he had never negotiated to GFIN at the deadline before and was simply out negotiated by other GMs .....this team is still not HIS, and on a subconscious level his ego wants to GFIN when he can say it is ...he lacks a killer instinct ...Henry told him DO NOT go over the luxury tax ...who knows. But I still feel he didn't act with sufficient urgency, for whatever reason or reasons ..... Meanwhile, I DO think he's terrific and will guide the organization well (doesn't mean he can't make mistakes)....
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For what it's worth, I think Marwin had two things going for him that maybe got him a little more rope than he deserved: 1) he truly did play excellent defense at a number of positions, including at SS, where we didn't really have a decent backup option if Bogaerts twisted an ankle and had to miss a few games, and 2) Alex Cora seems to absolutely adore him. Still on Bloom that he didn't work out in the first place, but I can understand his staying power a bit better than Santana's.
Post season roster (26) needs to be set by 31 Aug (2 weeks).
I assume that impacts where Duran (or Shaw, or...) is sitting that day.
I assume that impacts where Duran (or Shaw, or...) is sitting that day.
Agreed. In that sense in some ways surprised Gonzalez DFA'd rather than Aaruz sent down (that would maximize roster options) ....There is a place for Gonzalez, especially if the team used a four man bench. He's simply the last guy on the bench, a defensive stop gap to cover all over the diamond in the event of injury or as an end of game defensive replacement ...
I believe if you are on the 40 man roster or 60 day IL on Aug. 31 you are eligible for the playoff roster. The actual 26 man not due until the day before or even day of I believe ...
Postseason Roster Rules & Eligibility
Definition
In a typical season*, any player who is on the 40-man roster or 60-day injured list as of 11:59 p.m. ET on Aug. 31 is eligible for the postseason.
Those on the restricted list at that point are also eligible if they haven't been suspended for performance-enhancing drugs during that season. (All players who have served a suspension for PEDs in a given season are ineligible for postseason play that year.)
A player who doesn't meet said criteria for postseason eligibility can still be added to a team's roster in the postseason via petition to the Commissioner's Office if the player was in the organization on Aug. 31 and is replacing someone who is on the injured list and has served the minimum amount of time required for activation. (For example, a player on the 10-day injured list who has been on it for at least 10 days, or a player who has been on the 60-day injured list for at least 60 days.) Players who are acquired in September or after are ineligible.
Postseason roster rules
Teams submit a 26-man roster (it was 25, prior to 2020) prior to each round of the postseason comprised of postseason-eligible players. A club may request permission from the Commissioner's Office to replace a player who is injured during the course of a series, but that player is then ineligible for the rest of that round and the subsequent round, if there is one. A pitcher may be replaced only by another pitcher, and a position player only by another position player.
Teams carry extra players throughout the postseason in the event of injuries, and those players, as well as players on the injured list, can be in the dugout during games, within reason.
*"typical season" was added in 2020, since the COVID shortened season had different roster rules ...
Definition
In a typical season*, any player who is on the 40-man roster or 60-day injured list as of 11:59 p.m. ET on Aug. 31 is eligible for the postseason.
Those on the restricted list at that point are also eligible if they haven't been suspended for performance-enhancing drugs during that season. (All players who have served a suspension for PEDs in a given season are ineligible for postseason play that year.)
A player who doesn't meet said criteria for postseason eligibility can still be added to a team's roster in the postseason via petition to the Commissioner's Office if the player was in the organization on Aug. 31 and is replacing someone who is on the injured list and has served the minimum amount of time required for activation. (For example, a player on the 10-day injured list who has been on it for at least 10 days, or a player who has been on the 60-day injured list for at least 60 days.) Players who are acquired in September or after are ineligible.
Postseason roster rules
Teams submit a 26-man roster (it was 25, prior to 2020) prior to each round of the postseason comprised of postseason-eligible players. A club may request permission from the Commissioner's Office to replace a player who is injured during the course of a series, but that player is then ineligible for the rest of that round and the subsequent round, if there is one. A pitcher may be replaced only by another pitcher, and a position player only by another position player.
Teams carry extra players throughout the postseason in the event of injuries, and those players, as well as players on the injured list, can be in the dugout during games, within reason.
*"typical season" was added in 2020, since the COVID shortened season had different roster rules ...
Oops.
I was confusing the historical signing of waived guys by the end of August with the active post season bench on that day.
Did he actually skip a start or was it pushed back a few days when he was sent town to manipulate the roster during the trade deadline? I believe it was the latter knowing that they could bring him up just a couple of days after what would have been his turn as the 27th man for that Toronto DH. It also also made way for Sawamaura to return from the IL while leaving a slot open for possible deadline additions. One other thing this roster manipulation was intended to do was to try to ease some pressure on the pitching staff during a stretch where I believe that they played 13 games in 11 days. Houck has options and that, coupled with the 27th man consideration for double headers has allowed some roster flexibility as Houck prepares to make his third consecutive start as the starter in one half of a double header.
If they had kept Houck up at that time, Richards or Perez could have gone to the pen, and Rios or Valdez sent down, keeping the same number of arms. Which is what happened anyway, just a little later. Sending Houck down then DID mean another start from one of the dynamic Richards/Perez duo ...it doesn't have that consequence this time.
I was responding to the idea that Bloom had been "constantly looking to improve the last few spots on the roster." YMMV, but I think we'd have seen more turnover, or better results, were that the case, as I'll explain below.
I don't really have a strong opinion on Bloom other than the bottom line, and unlike some here, I'm not trying to argue to an end, or make any particular decision of Bloom's a proxy to judge his entire tenure by. (Nor do I honestly care how he "ranks" vis-a-vis departed GMs. Nor do I care, one iota, what any other posters have opined - in the sense that I have a vested interest in trying to argue anyone was wrong or right about anything baseball-related all.)
I know I (and just about everyone else here) simply don't have the insight into the organizational constraints and individual player's makeup that Bloom has. I know Bloom has some latitude to develop players and take risks. That said, there are a few things that are public knowledge, like the results of Bloom's choices.
Bloom's been in charge of the 2020 season and the 2021 season (since Nov. 2019). The 2020 season saw injuries, a new manager, and Bloom bringing in a bunch of dreck to sift through. I don't think we can expect much in that situation, but I don't think it was in any way a successful season in the sense that Bloom fielded a competitive club. They were epicly, laughably bad. Some of those players were in development, some were lottery tickets, some were placeholders. That was a time to vet, looking forward. Pick good tickets and scratch them.
Going into 2021, there was a lot of uncertainty from the pundits. Bloom probably had a better idea (one hopes) that the team could be competitive if things went well. The bottom of the 2021 25/6 man roster contained significant unknowns and quickly identified problems that persisted. Nevertheless, the team won. One hopes Bloom had an idea that those problem areas wouldn't magically solve themselves (one hopes) and so acted to acquire/develop actually useful depth (instead of more lottery tickets, or merely whistling past the graveyard.)
We have some idea what Bloom hoped might happen through his signings and his subsequent retention of players/lack of trade activity. I mean, it's pretty clear he hoped Franchy would hit. Was that irrational? No. He hoped Santana would provide 1b/of power. Again not irrational. He hoped Dalbec would continue to hit. Again. . .
But at some point we have to ackowledge that a lot of his plans simply didn't work. Despite his insider knowledge.
When I look at the 2020/21 teams I ask, "Keeping in mind it's OK to get lucky, and it's OK to have a lottery ticket or two or three, and he's not responsible for the vicissitudes of fate, where did a Bloom talent evaluation/scratching pan out?" (Like at the ML level.)
Yes!:
Verdugo. (Mookie Trade)
Whitlock. (Rule 5.)
Plawecki. (FA 2020.)
Pivetta. (Trade 2020 w Seabold for Hembree/Workman.)
Renfroe. (FA 2021)
Ottavino. (Trade 2021)
E.Hernandez. (FA 2021)
Sawamura (FA 2021)
Maybe-ish:
Christian Arroyo. (Waivers 2020.)
Martin Perez. (FA 2020.)
Not signing JBJ (kind of a no-brainer though.)
Trading Benni for a lottery ticket (that failed).
Arauz (Rule 5)
Yacksel Rios (purchased 2021)
Austin Davis (Trade 2021)
Meh:
Kelly (Wavers 2019)
Philips Valdez (Waivers 2020)
Kickham (FA 2020)
Maza (Waivers 2020)
Gonsalves (Waivers 2020)
Stock (Waivers 2020)
Godley (FA 2020)
Osich (FA 2020)
Triggs (Waivers 2020)
Austin Brice (Trade 2020)
Springs (Trade 2020)
Springs (Traded, now good)
Kevin Pillar. (FA 2020 - Douchebag, traded for fodder.)
Andriese (FA 2021)
Franchy Cordero (Beni Trade 2021)
Martin Perez (FA 2021)
Marwin Gonzalez (FA 2021)
Danny Santana (FA 2021)
Garret Richards (FA 2021)
Workman (Waivers 2021)
Hansel Robles (Trade 2021)
He likes to play on the waiver wire, and sign marginal guys and retreds, but there's not a lot of "stick" there, or true under-the-radar surprises, apart from Whitlock.
Agreed with your breakdown but all the “meh” that he checked into in 2020 gets a pass from me. That team and honestly, that season (even if they somehow won) mean nothing. Dodgers have an asterisk next to their title.
It was a great opportunity to fling everything at the wall and see what stuck…. So some of those from 2020 that are still around could move up in your rankings over time still
Shaw officially activated to the 26-man roster. Franchy and Wong optioned. Still an open spot on the 26-man presumably for Josh Taylor once he's cleared from the Covid IL.
View: https://twitter.com/IanMBrowne/status/1427405262344892418
View: https://twitter.com/IanMBrowne/status/1427405262344892418
There's an open spot on the 26-man but a 40-man spot will have to made. Can get that by dumping Andreise or Santana.
Can't add him to the 26 if he's not on the 40. Apparently, COVID IL is the same as 60-day IL and the player is removed from the 40-man. Which means someone does still have to go for Taylor.
Most likely Houck is taking that slot for tomorrow's start. Also curious who #27 with be for the double header given Franchy and Wong both went down.
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Houck is already announced as the planned #27. The presumption is Taylor is #26.
View: https://twitter.com/IanMBrowne/status/1427405757847326724
I expected this note would be waiting for me. I'm so weary from playing roster roulette all day in various threads that I was thinking Houck had to be #26 or he'd have to go back down for ten days which wouldn't be the case as he was already off the 26 man for a sufficient amount of time given he's a frequent flyer on the #27 express. I expect the Sox will manipulate that spot one more time and send him down until his next start and then he'll stay on the 26 man. Out of curiosity what's the word on Ottavino after being hit yesterday?
Okay - not bad, kinda two for two, except Wong sent down before the doubleheader with Taylor presumably up now ...
I think, maybe obviously, Shaw replaces Cordero rather than Gonzalez. Though not sure why Gonzalez DFA'd before Arroyo was healthy, if for no other reason than to offer a little insurance on D all over the diamond. I guess the reason might be that Shaw could start at YS and maybe his (what was once three years ago for a couple years) power will play there? ... But do we really want to him taking at bats away from Schwarber or a surging Dalbec, or from JD? ...hmmm.
His WAR is worse than Gonzalez this year, and he plays fewer positions. And he hasn't hit in like 3 years. I'm not sure what this brings ... but hope Shaw feels revitalized being back with the Sox or something ...
Effectively though, Bloom has created a bench (albeit with platoon players) of Duran, Arroyo (soon), and Shaw, replacing, Gonzalez, Santana and Cordero, with Plawecki the constant ...(I know it's been a 3 man bench, just listing the basic rotation of bench players) - the totality of that renovation is certainly a net positive.
His WAR is worse than Gonzalez this year, and he plays fewer positions. And he hasn't hit in like 3 years. I'm not sure what this brings ... but hope Shaw feels revitalized being back with the Sox or something ...
Effectively though, Bloom has created a bench (albeit with platoon players) of Duran, Arroyo (soon), and Shaw, replacing, Gonzalez, Santana and Cordero, with Plawecki the constant ...(I know it's been a 3 man bench, just listing the basic rotation of bench players) - the totality of that renovation is certainly a net positive.
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With another off day thursday could the team play with “only” 26 players for the doubleheader to see if a roster spot works it’s way out?
Doubtful. If Taylor isn't coming off the COVID IL, they'll just activate someone else for the doubleheader (Valdez?) and send them back down after.
Taylor activated. Andriese DFA. Houck up as 27th man.
View: https://twitter.com/RedSox/status/1427656571077734401
View: https://twitter.com/RedSox/status/1427656571077734401
This is a very good and well-argued post. There are some key parts that I simply disagree with, but overall I think it’s a case of reasonable people being able to disagree.
Let me add that it was sloppy of me to not have explicitly said that Bloom has been aggressive with working and reworking the *40 man* rather than the 26 man roster. They are not the same thing, and he has definitely not made as many tweaks to the major league roster as he has to the 40 man and the entire minor league system. It was fair of you to point that out. I think those changes will be coming starting next season, which is when I believe has always planned to begin contending in earnest, but we shall see.
One last thing to point out: I didn’t bring up Dombrowski’s approach to the minor league system as a way of being dismissive of the job he did with the Sox. He is an outstanding baseball executive who will go into the HoF, and he did a terrific job of maximizing the 2018 and (sadly underperforming) 2019 teams. I do think that there are some crucial ways that Bloom and Dombrowski differ as executives, though, and I believe that the game has already evolved in a way that rewards Bloom’s approach and penalizes Dombrowski’s.
Bloom seems to be aggressively making moves after the deadline, in these past few weeks, he’s brought in four players with big league experience to the system (Deshields, Shaw, Claudio and the other pitcher whose name I don’t recall). Kinda just feels like tinkering and just hoping to catch lightning in a bottle with some new faces but it sort of seems like they haven’t done the best job managing and maximizing the 25 and 40 man roster this year (and obviously the two are connected, there wasn’t much in the way of depth which resulted in call ups of Arauz, Wong, Brice types who weren’t terribly helpful).
I understand the gist of what you're saying, but in fairness Wong has 13 ABs and Arauz just 28. Relying on Marwin and Santana as the multi-positional depth pieces has really hurt the team.
That’s true. I think they have played so little when called up partly because they aren’t really good players- I mean, there were many situations which called for a PH (for a Cordero, Dalbec, or Duran) and the only options were one of those guys, Wong, Arauz, etc. But you are right the primary problems were all the at bats given to the Marwin Gonzalez’s / Danny Santana’s of the world.
It’s frustrating, but it also seems like that’s how the game is these days- during the Yankees struggles they were giving lots of at bats to terrible players and as much as we hate Gardner, he’s been pretty brutal yet sucked up a ton of plate appearances.
is it just harder to find good depth guys now? Offensive stats are down but it seems like the best players are better than they’ve ever been…so are the changes in the game impacting the average or lesser players more? The gap between AAA and the bigs seems larger than ever- even the best prospects seem to be struggling a lot at least initially.
No minor league baseball last season had to have had some affect, but I can't imagine that's something that can be measured. I'm also curious to see moving forward how the purging of the lower minor leagues might affect things. In that I mean do some guys get elevated slightly sooner as there aren't enough lower levels for guys with promise to develop in?