Swihart traded to Dbacks

MikeM

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The Sox may have jerked him around and mismanaged him, but if they weren't going to get anything out of him, then let him go. He has been nothing but a legitimately awful baseball player
Agreed. A lot easier to get upset here about giving up on the (very drawn out) idea of Blake as a player then it is the player himself. That he's probably going for absolutely nothing at this point is also not worth being upset at either imo, as that essentially was price you paid to get a longer look instead of dealing him off a year ago.

Call it whatever you want, but I'm in the minority camp that is pretty ok with the call to get Sandy back behind the plate at this point. Not the biggest Sandy fan in the world when I see him stepping up to plate either...but yeah. I'll take the throw crap at the wall odds at Sandy helping to turn our pitching staff around over Blake Swihart ever amounting to noteworthy MLB piece I'll find myself mourning the cut bait loss over.
 

joe dokes

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I love the Red Sox, but the Red Sox organization baffles me sometimes.
Me, too. But if they don't occasionally baffle the (relatively) know-nothing couch-sitters like us, then they probably suck. The people running our favorite teams *should* baffle us from time to time, considering that they probably know more than us and are probably better at the job than we would be.
But this move at this time is baffling.
 

Mueller's Twin Grannies

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Can't/won't DFA them, though.
They could pretty easily let Porcello go at this point. He's having his typical down year after a good year and will have far less value at the deadline when he's lost 10 games and has an ERA around 6. They're not going to extend him or they would have already while it was still all the rage for MLB teams to be handing out extensions a week or two ago. Regardless of what Sale wants, he ain't coming back. That would have sent the message to the staff much more effectively than trading the guy who's been behind the plate for half their wins on the season and caught their most impressive one in the process (oh, and has hit better than the other guy and the guy who will be replacing him).

But I get that they are going with something that might get ALL the pitchers going. It better pay off, because that's the only possible upside to the entire situation.
 

phardenbrook

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I am hesitant to overreact if I don’t know all the facts. I would feel the same as the consensus without the facts, but I suspect that there is more that needs to be known here.

With all of the space on the 40 man roster, they could easily execute a trade or bring in an unsigned free agent without Blake’s spot. It may be as simple as the Red Sox brass thinks this team is better with Sandy and this is the best way to grab league attention and get a return for Blake.
 

jon abbey

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Me, too. But if they don't occasionally baffle the (relatively) know-nothing couch-sitters like us, then they probably suck. The people running our favorite teams *should* baffle us from time to time, considering that they know more than us and are likely better at the job than we would be.
But this move at this time is baffling.
Yep, the most baffling move NY made all winter was LeMahieu at 2/24 (a lot of his value was in playing 2B, where Gleyber looked to be set for the next decade or so), and once the season started, it became evident very quickly that they know a lot more than we do.
 

Mueller's Twin Grannies

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Dude was a shortstop in college and got converted to catcher.

So why wasn't he at 2B yesterday and Xander at SS? If he didn't want to play LF, as some of SPECULATED, wouldn't it have been better to have Vaz catch (since he's better defensively, barely) and put him in a middle IF role that he has some familiarity with? I realize Vaz didn't embarrass himself out there but...what a head-scratcher.

Just wait until he joins the Cubs for nothing. Just you wait.
He was drafted by Theo...
 

E5 Yaz

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I just hope that it doesn't come out that the veteran starting pitchers were behind this move. As PeteAbe said, middle-middle gets clobbered
 

Ale Xander

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They could pretty easily let Porcello go at this point. He's having his typical down year after a good year and will have far less value at the deadline when he's lost 10 games and has an ERA around 6. They're not going to extend him or they would have already while it was still all the rage for MLB teams to be handing out extensions a week or two ago. Regardless of what Sale wants, he ain't coming back. That would have sent the message to the staff much more effectively than trading the guy who's been behind the plate for half their wins on the season and caught their most impressive one in the process (oh, and has hit better than the other guy and the guy who will be replacing him).

But I get that they are going with something that might get ALL the pitchers going. It better pay off, because that's the only possible upside to the entire situation.
I would go Hembree or BJ or Thorn before, but point taken
 

geoduck no quahog

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I also think there's more to this than we can know. If so, something will eventually leak out. I was a fan of keeping him over Vazquez, but the team's invested themselves in Christian. I'm pro-Leon. The team can hit .150 with Swihart on the bench, or .140 without him [\exaggeration for effect\].
 

Al Zarilla

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Showing my age here, but the Sox are doing this on a night Sale is pitching against the Yankees. Very reminiscent of the Sox re-acquring Mirabelli from SD in a "panic" trade and rushing to get him to the park in time to catch Wake against...the Yankees.
Showing your age? That was 2006. You could be 20 and remember that.
 

E5 Yaz

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So why wasn't he at 2B yesterday and Xander at SS? If he didn't want to play LF, as some of SPECULATED, wouldn't it have been better to have Vaz catch (since he's better defensively, barely) and put him in a middle IF role that he has some familiarity with? I realize Vaz didn't embarrass himself out there but...what a head-scratcher.
Speculation or not, this needs to be shut down unless and until it is confirmed.

And have, not of
 

Jeff Van GULLY

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You would think winning a title last year would allow for some more patience. Swihart is not the problem with the Red Sox nonperformance.

Leon 2 for 25 in Pawtucket so far.
 

Buck Showalter

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The Sox may have jerked him around and mismanaged him, but if they weren't going to get anything out of him, then let him go. He has been nothing but a legitimately awful baseball player
Totally agree.

He's not a contributor for a World Series Contender (of course this team isn't playing like one)…….

For him personally....he can still remain in MLB for the next 3-5 years, make a nice living while bouncing around as a utility-guy with some of the franchises that will be under the radar.

There are worse career paths.
 

Mueller's Twin Grannies

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i'm correcting "s some of SPECULATED"
Ah, I didn't even realize I did that. I was looking at the next part of the sentence. I would say I was going to write something else and changed my mind midway through but I don't even know what that would have been, so I'll just fall on my sword.

Funny, because I'm that guy who corrects random people on the Internet about that too. I've become everything I hate!

To stay on topic...what happens if Sale gets bombed again tonight with León catching? Who gets let go then?
 

moondog80

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The last time Swihart put up good numbers at any level was Portland in 2014. Maybe they could have handled him better, but more likely he just isn't very good.
 

Mueller's Twin Grannies

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Erasmo Ramírez called up too... is there another move coming? They didn't have a 24-man roster and they aren't playing a double-header, so is someone headed for the IL?
 

RedOctober3829

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The only logical explanation for getting rid of Swihart and not Vazquez is that ownership suddenly didn't want to eat another contract. Vazquez is just starting his 3 year, $13.55 million contract while Swihart is arbitration-eligible for the next 3 years.
 

dhappy42

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So how does DFA work? If a team with a poor waiver ranking wants Swihart they can propose a trade, right? Not expecting much back, but something would be better than nothing.
 

Van Everyman

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I’m not reading all 81 posts but isn’t the answer here that they think Vaz is coming up short but that Leon is better positioned to take Vaz’s load than Swi?
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

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The bottom line is that Swihart was incredibly valuable for the Sox when he had options. But he's a more difficult guy to squeeze into a 24-man roster.

It all worked out really well last year when they were comfortable with an 11-man staff. Kelly and Kimbrel are gone, and Wright is gone for much of the year and they no longer have Pom. There is nobody who can work long innings except Velazquez.

Once they committed to a 12-man staff, and Dustin appeared that he could really play, it always had to be Swihart or Sandy for that last spot. Once you take away Swihart's swiss army value, you end up with the problem that he really doesn't do anything above average. The key problem seems to be that many view that as the Sox fault. True or false, what does it really matter at this precise moment in time? It is what it is.

On the 2019 Red Sox, Swihart and Sandy were both the 24 1/2th man.

I get that everyone here really thinks it should have been Swihart over Sandy and it looks as though the Sox felt that way too initially. But I really trust those in the building more than those outside the building to make that call.

I'm fine with this.

Edit: 24, not 25 -- subtract 1 from everything! (Fixed)
 

E5 Yaz

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Evan Drellich‏Verified account @EvanDrellich 56m56 minutes ago
The Red Sox are probably due to win a few games, at which point the move away from Blake Swihart will be credited. Make no mistake: this is a reactionary move, lacking vision or a sense of the big picture

Evan Drellich‏Verified account @EvanDrellich
You have a win-now pres of baseball operations Dombrowski who can be reactionary and has not received an extension beyond next year, but did just give out two big contracts, including one to Chris Sale. *Of course* by mid-April one of the team's few cost-controlled assets is gone
 

chrisfont9

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Do we really think this was a hasty, overnight decision? Sox mgmt aren't just a bunch of baseball bloggers and fantasy players. I'd guess they were trying to get something for him and wanted to showcase his bat early on, but other teams figured it out so it came time to move on. I'd also guess that the feedback they are getting from pitchers on his receiving isn't good, as in he hasn't made needed improvements. Just guessing though, along with the people who are assuming it was a hasty decision. Maybe we will find out more as the day goes on.
 

flymrfreakjar

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It feels absolutely inevitable that Swihart will flourish elsewhere. I’m definitely hoping that’s the case, not a fan about how he’s been handled (fully admitting I know nothing at all).
 

moondog80

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The only logical explanation for getting rid of Swihart and not Vazquez is that ownership suddenly didn't want to eat another contract. Vazquez is just starting his 3 year, $13.55 million contract while Swihart is arbitration-eligible for the next 3 years.
The only explanation? What about "Vazquez can't hit but is good defensively, Swihart sucks at both?"
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

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Do we really think this was a hasty, overnight decision? Sox mgmt aren't just a bunch of baseball bloggers and fantasy players. I'd guess they were trying to get something for him and wanted to showcase his bat early on, but other teams figured it out so it came time to move on. I'd also guess that the feedback they are getting from pitchers on his receiving isn't good, as in he hasn't made needed improvements. Just guessing though, along with the people who are assuming it was a hasty decision. Maybe we will find out more as the day goes on.
I guess it feels hasty in part, since they DFA'd Leon. Maybe they always knew he was highly likely to clear waivers. But at least at one point they had to be comfortable with at least the possibility that they'd have Swihart and Vaz for the whole year.
 

E5 Yaz

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The last time Swihart put up good numbers at any level was Portland in 2014..
He had a decent rookie season in 15 in the majors. Since then, he's not been given the sort of consistent at-bats to make this sort of statement
 

Humphrey

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Leon was 19 for 170 the last 3 months of the year. 9 for 100 the last 2 months. If he is that poor in 2019 you are playing every American League game with a National League lineup; and having two pitchers in the lineup in NL parks.

I just don't see how you can accept that in exchange for (alleged) better pitch calling. That's not putting a bad hitter in a lineup, it's conceding outs. There's a difference.

And having no third catcher means you can't pinch hit as much.
 

amfox1

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They could pretty easily let Porcello go at this point. He's having his typical down year after a good year and will have far less value at the deadline when he's lost 10 games and has an ERA around 6. They're not going to extend him or they would have already while it was still all the rage for MLB teams to be handing out extensions a week or two ago. Regardless of what Sale wants, he ain't coming back. That would have sent the message to the staff much more effectively than trading the guy who's been behind the plate for half their wins on the season and caught their most impressive one in the process (oh, and has hit better than the other guy and the guy who will be replacing him).

But I get that they are going with something that might get ALL the pitchers going. It better pay off, because that's the only possible upside to the entire situation.
Porcello will be the first one thrown overboard when/if the white flag is flown. If this team is .500, give or take, in late-July, I'd expect a massive amount of trades to free up salary room (ie, cash for the owners), replenish a fairly weak farm system and make room for D.Hernandez, Chavis and Feltman.

Swihart was mismanaged as a prospect, but there is no reason to think he was going to take the leap on this team. If there was a market for him, Swihart would have been traded in the offseason. I thought he was going to be DFA'd before the season but his decent spring training just postponed that move for three weeks. I wish him well, wherever he lands.
 

geoduck no quahog

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The Cubs picked up Ross and he hit .176 (he did substantially better his second year). Employing a pitch-whisperer is not totally unique.
 

E5 Yaz

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I just don't see how you can accept that in exchange for (alleged) better pitch calling.
It's not just better pitch-calling. Swihart was the reason the pitchers were missing their spots ... and he's personally responsible for Sale's drop in velocity
 

Mueller's Twin Grannies

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The only explanation? What about "Vazquez can't hit but is good defensively, Swihart sucks at both?"
Swihart career (573 AB, 146 hits): .255/.314/.365, OPS+ 82, 0.3 WAR
Vázquez career (963 AB, 235 hits): .244/.294/.632, OPS+ 69, 1.0 WAR

There's not much difference there in hitting ability but Swihart has the edge in two categories in basically half as many ABs. He also has 9 career HR in that span vs. Christian's 12.