The off-season

Savin Hillbilly

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Jul 10, 2007
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The wrong side of the bridge....
Beyond the where would he even get full time starts factor, I don't think Trumbo is the more likely option there over a Chris Carter.
Interesting point. Trumbo is pretty clearly the better player of the two--if only because his defense is mediocre rather than awful--but if all the Sox are looking for is a weak-side platoon 1B and occasional pinch hitter, the fact that Carter doesn't come with a QO, and can therefore be signed for a one-year deal without regret, might make the difference.

My question is, can they afford such a one-dimensional player on a four-man bench? Maybe Holt's versatility means they can.
 

MikeM

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I think an argument can be made that Holt allows you to get away with it, but that also kinda leaves us going a lot more all in on Panda then I'm personally comfortable with (no room to carry a RH platoon partner latter).

Other then Chris Carter I'm drawing a blank on potential options that might fit the bill. Although the guy did hit 41 homeruns last year (granted 2016's gigantic spike in league HRs might not leave it looking *as* sexy as it might otherwise be). Does his market really slip to the point that he doesn't find a starting gig somewhere else?
 

Snodgrass'Muff

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What's the price point where losing the 1rst round pick for an entirely one dimensional Trumbo would make sense for Sox ?
1) League has 1 WAR at about 8 mill per year
2) We know they want to be under the lux tax which they are by 10ish mill factoring in in season money freedom.

I'd bet Trumbo is fishing for 3/30 with option at this point. I doubt the Sox would entertain the idea without getting the APY at 8 or 9 maybe even lower.

I'd probably look more at Valbuena but it's a mildly interesting idea IF he can be had at 8/9m over 3 .
It's worth pointing out that at no point in the article is it specified that Farrell believes they will sign a middle of the order bat this winter. It's not ruled out, of course, but he could well have meant that at some point they'll need to find a solid replacement for what Papi brought to the lineup and maybe that happens next winter instead of this one. Or maybe they trade for a guy this summer.

Next winter they could target Todd Frazier or maybe Jonathan Lucroy if none of the catching options work out this year. They could look to convert an outfield bat to 1st base or sign one as a DH/4th outfielder while moving Hanley back to 1st. JD Martinez and Justin Upton will both probably be on the market. Carlos Beltran will be back on the market, and Carlos Gonzalez, too, who could benefit greatly from spending a chunk of the year DHing instead of in the field.

And we all know the following winter is loaded with talent like Harper, Machado, Dozier, Donaldson, Blackmon, Adam Jones, AJ Pollock, and maybe Yasmany Tomas. So I'm sure they absolutely intend to sign a big bat at some point in the near future. I'm just not seeing a reason to assume Farrell had to mean before spring training.
 

Cesar Crespo

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My question is, can they afford such a one-dimensional player on a four-man bench? Maybe Holt's versatility means they can.
Other then Chris Carter I'm drawing a blank on potential options that might fit the bill. Although the guy did hit 41 homeruns last year (granted 2016's gigantic spike in league HRs might not leave it looking *as* sexy as it might otherwise be). Does his market really slip to the point that he doesn't find a starting gig somewhere else?

Chris Carter made 2.5mil last year and was released to avoid arbitration. Who knows what his market is. I've been mentioning all off season that a Chris Carter or Pedro Alvarez type could end up in Pawtucket. There are a lot of low average, high slugging bats out there. You'd think there would be a better job for both of them but how many teams go with a full DH or need a poor 1b?
 

grimshaw

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May 16, 2007
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Pass on Carter as much as I enjoy his Rob Deer-like bombs. If he's in the field, the power and low .obp for a 1B is a marginal upgrade at best over his cruelty to baseballs. If he were a weak half platoon guy at DH, sure, but there is some logjammin' with Hanley and Chris Young potentially there.
 
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MikeM

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Seems free agency has really tightened up lately on it's previously bankable spend stupid factor.

Lot of reality slaps in face going around for the non-young or elite.
 

Bob Montgomerys Helmet Hat

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A couple interesting notes from Lauber(no, I don't know how to link tweets)


Scott Lauber ESPN Staff Writer
Red Sox rookie LF Andrew Benintendi has put on about 20 pounds and is up to 185, "the most I've ever weighed," in preparation for first full big-league season.


Scott Lauber ESPN Staff Writer
Porcello on WBC, cont'd: "Knowing the pace I took spring training last year and the pace I intend to take it this year, I'm not going to be prepared to pitch in those games. I wouldn't be doing United States team any justice and Boston Red Sox any justice by going out there."
 

Snodgrass'Muff

oppresses WARmongers
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Good news on Porcello.

And to embed a tweet, you just click the minute/hour/day indicator to the right of the account name in the tweet you want to embed. It will open up the tweet and the URL will become one specifically for that tweet. Just copy it and paste it in the post window and it the board will do the rest.
 

vadertime

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I don't see that much of an upgrade. Assuming its Brentz that goes is this simply swapping one guy out for another because the other (Selsky) has options and Brentz doesn't.
 

johnnywayback

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Signed Mike Olt presumably to a minor league deal
Devastating day for Matt Dominguez.

Olt joins Selsky and Kendrick as guys who, if they factor into the major league team's plans this year, things will have gone very much awry. But I'd rather have Olt get a few emergency PAs than Dominguez, rather have Selsky spend a week as our OF5 than Brentz, and rather have Kendrick come up to make a spot start than Shawn Haviland. These moves are all good uses of the front office's time and the team's resources, and occasionally they really pay off.
 

grimshaw

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Mike Olt has a real crack at the Three True Outcome title (BB + HR + K's divided by PA).
Adam Dunn was at 49% for his career.
In 2014 Olt did one of those three things in 53% of his plate appearances. 100 k's in 258 PA is truly mythical.

So we have that going for us.
 

MikeM

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Chris Carter made 2.5mil last year and was released to avoid arbitration. Who knows what his market is.
$3.5m. Not bad if he's coming in there as a RHH platoon guy.

Guess chicks just don't dig the long ball as much as they used to.
 

Cesar Crespo

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Dec 22, 2002
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I was thinking maybe JBJ would be reason to be optimistic about Olt but Olt is 2 years older and didn't have Jackie's success at the AAA level.
 

foulkehampshire

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Feb 25, 2007
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BA had him 22nd in 2012.
He was a pretty well regarded player in the Texas system. At one point he was projected to be a Dan Uggla type hitter (mediocre BA, +power and patience) with above average defense.

Bad cups of coffee and mediocre results in the upper minors the last 2 years have made him an afterthought. He'd have to have a Brandon Moss type resurgence to be crack a major league roster again. Definitely worth a look at, but I wouldn't expect much unless he learns how to tap into his swing for power and/or cut down on the K's.