Who is the 2015 SS?

Snodgrass'Muff · Jul 9, 2014

I think the earliest we might see Marrero is sometime around the middle of the 2015 season, and only if he keeps hitting well at Pawtucket. I'm guessing they sign a stopgap of some kind for next year, whether it's bringing Drew back again or someone else. Maybe Middlebrooks comes back and mashes down the stretch and they decide to go with Bogearts and Middlebrooks to start the year.

It's going to take an offensive explosion from Marrero to force the issue before then.

Savin Hillbilly · Jul 9, 2014

I think so much depends on the status of WMB and Cecchini. If either one of those guys can come on strong between now and the end of the year, then it's anybody's guess what the left side looks like next year. Could make for a really interesting spring training.

PaulinMyrBch · Jul 9, 2014

Snodgrass'Muff said:
I think the earliest we might see Marrero is sometime around the middle of the 2015 season, and only if he keeps hitting well at Pawtucket. I'm guessing they sign a stopgap of some kind for next year, whether it's bringing Drew back again or someone else. Maybe Middlebrooks comes back and mashes down the stretch and they decide to go with Bogearts and Middlebrooks to start the year.

It's going to take an offensive explosion from Marrero to force the issue before then.

I'm with Snod, Marrero will have approx 200 AAA plate appearances by the end of the AAA season. I'm guessing that is not enough in the eyes of a front office that has seen a few can't miss prospects show up with less and miss out of the gate. So I think we'll see him get close to 350 AAA AB's before he's up, which puts him middle of 2015. And, I'm not sold the offense is there. I hope it is, but he might be a super-U when he finally arrives.

MuzzyField · Jul 9, 2014

As mentioned, WMB is the missing link in this chain. It was his trip to the DL that opened the door for Drew 2.0 and it will be his return that closes it. Stephen Drew's options for 2015, or lack there of, based on his 2014 performance are not the problem of the Boston Red Sox. The Sox are doing Stephen a solid by helping him recover from his own stupidity in the form of $10-million dollars, it was incorrectly assumed he'd actually hit the baseball. Maybe he views the importance of spring training a bit differently now, I hope the Sox do. His opportunity to showcase his skill set for the future payday only he and his agent believe he's worth is closing.

nvalvo · Jul 9, 2014

I would just like to add to this conversation the eye-witness testimony of a guy who, while maybe not a "minor league expert," at least lives near enough to Hadlock to attend games on foot. Marrero is not quite as flashy as Iglesias, but he has some real defensive abilities. The glove is for real.

He's athletic, graceful, composed, and has a plus arm for strength and accuracy. He has good lateral range — I've seen some beautiful plays made deep in the 3B hole — and comes in on the ball well. He's looked confident on popups. I'm not scout enough to know about the arcana of middle infield footwork, but he looks smooth out there.

I wrote about this play in the minor league thread a few weeks ago, but the best I've seen from him was on a bullet to third that glanced up off the heel of Heiker Meneses' glove. Marrero had been headed to cover second, but he was able to reverse course instantaneously, and move quickly to grab the ball out of the air with his throwing hand, before gunning down the (slowish) runner, taking away what seemed a sure infield hit, or at least a tough error. The composure, quick-thinking and situational awareness required to make that play was striking.

someoneanywhere · Jul 9, 2014

Marrero. They would have kept him at AA slightly longer if they didn't feel he could compete for the job in 2015.

Could be wrong -- and there could be an epic trade or two involving prospect depth between now and then -- but that's my reading of the tea leaves.

Brianish · Jul 9, 2014

I'm only about 50% kidding. I don't know if it's strictly likely, but if the FO goes into the season expecting Marrero to join the big club by the all star break, they might decide they've got a reasonable stopgap in Brock Holt. They've shown a tendency to bring up plus defensive players and trust the bat to sort itself out (for example, today) so they might figure on bringing Marrero up as long as he's not completely lost. The benefit of Holt is that, if Marrero does force his way up, they don't have the problem of deciding what to do with the player he's replacing; Holt's been a great utility player this year, he can just go back to that role. I'm not convinced WMB will necessarily be a factor, as they've been working him out in LF. If everyone's hitting, they'l find spots.

johnnywayback · Jul 9, 2014

We may be able to wait and see for another year, but in the long run, there does seem to be one spot open for Cecchini, Marrero, and Middlebrooks. Even if you plug one into LF long-term, at least one of these guys is getting traded. Which one depends on who we're trading with. So I'd think that might help determine how this shakes out.

That said, it really does seem like the team is down on Bogaerts at SS -- hence Brock Holt playing there tonight. I assume they have reasons that aren't obvious to me, and if that's true, it points to either Marrero becoming the SS in 2015 or a stop-gap for a year whom Marrero can displace when he's ready.

Rasputin · Jul 9, 2014

I haven't read the thread yet, but it seems obvious to me that you start with Bogaerts at short and Middlebrooks at third, but you recognize that Middlebrooks is pretty much on his last chance and if, somewhere around the middle of the season, it looks like Bogaerts/Marrero would work better than Middlebrooks/Bogaerts, you make the change and you don't look back.

If Middlebrooks and Marrero both do very well, it complicates things, but in a good way.

jscola85 · Jul 9, 2014

Given all the struggles that WMB, JBJ and Bogaerts have had recently after being handed the keys to a position, I have a hard time believing the FO will just hand over SS to Marrero or Bogaerts for 2015. If they think 2015's team can be a true contender (and I believe that to be the case), it's probably not prudent to hand over the most important defensive position outside of catcher to a guy like Marrero with 28 PAs in AAA. It was only a year ago that Marrero was in Salem hitting for a sub-.700 OPS.

Savin Hillbilly · Jul 9, 2014

jscola85 said:
Given all the struggles that WMB, JBJ and Bogaerts have had recently after being handed the keys to a position, I have a hard time believing the FO will just hand over SS to Marrero or Bogaerts for 2015.

Are you saying that they're going to go out and get a veteran starting shortstop this winter? I seriously doubt it. If the 2015 team is going to be a contender, it's going to be because the kids are making strides forward. Not to say that they may not pick up a few veterans to fill holes, but I think starting SS is not going to be one of those holes unless they are 100% convinced that Bogaerts can't do that job, even for a year, and Marrero is so far from ready they can't throw him into the fire yet.

Hoplite · Jul 9, 2014

If the Red Sox, with nearly $80 million in yearly salary to spend, go in to next year with some combination of Bogaerts, Middlebrooks, Holt or Marrero as two of their infielders, I'm going to be very disappointed. I'm not sure the Red Sox know what position Bogaerts will play next year and I could see him at either third or shortstop depending on the free agent prices of Sandoval, Headley, Hardy, Lowrie, etc.

PaulinMyrBch · Jul 9, 2014

We might see Drew DFA'd in a week with X back at short to pick up where he left off, which was an improvement over the early season issues. I don't see much of a difference between AJP and Drew when you think about developing players they are blocking.

MrNewEngland · Jul 9, 2014

johnnywayback said:
We may be able to wait and see for another year, but in the long run, there does seem to be one spot open for Cecchini, Marrero, and Middlebrooks. Even if you plug one into LF long-term, at least one of these guys is getting traded. Which one depends on who we're trading with. So I'd think that might help determine how this shakes out.

That said, it really does seem like the team is down on Bogaerts at SS -- hence Brock Holt playing there tonight. I assume they have reasons that aren't obvious to me, and if that's true, it points to either Marrero becoming the SS in 2015 or a stop-gap for a year whom Marrero can displace when he's ready.

I know that no one wants to think this but David Ortiz won't be around forever. I don't have a link but didn't the Red Sox want their philosophy to be to use the DH spot to rotate players through to keep everyone fresh. Didn't happen because we have the greatest DH of all time... but there may very well be a spot for everyone. Although at this point I would be surprised if everyone panned out - but it would be a nice problem to have.

BosRedSox5 · Jul 9, 2014

The way I see it, Bogaerts is already a third baseman. Moving him back to short and over to third again later doesn't seem like what's best for his development. The book on him has always been that he'd probably outgrow short anyway. If third base is his ultimate destination and we've got a hot prospect at AAA with Jose Iglesias' glove and a halfway decent bat, then why not just keep X at third and refine his defense there?

Third is a tough position to play and a lot different than shortstop. He's got the skills to be a really decent 3B, but he's obviously still got some work to do as evidenced by the fact he will alternately make brilliant and then boneheaded plays. Let's keep him at third and teach him the nuances of the position. Next season we can see if Marerro wins SS the job, if not, Holt has a ton of experience at short.

Snodgrass'Muff · Jul 9, 2014

Hoplite said:
If the Red Sox, with nearly $80 million in yearly salary to spend, go in to next year with some combination of Bogaerts, Middlebrooks, Holt or Marrero as two of their infielders, I'm going to be very disappointed. I'm not sure the Red Sox know what position Bogaerts will play next year and I could see him at either third or shortstop depending on the free agent prices of Sandoval, Headley, Hardy, Lowrie, etc.

I don't see how any of those guys are necessarily a better bet than a combination of Middlebrooks, Holt and Bogaerts. Lowrie has an 86 wRC+ this year. Sandoval is at 105 but his OBP is pretty shitty. He's probably average at best defensively, so best case scenario, he's a neutral player at the hot corner. Headley has an 88 wRC+ as does Hardy.

For comparison, even struggling as much as he is, Xander has an 86 wRC+ as a rookie and we haven't even seen his power stroke yet. Finding something better than the above out of a combination of Middlebrooks, Holt, Marrero, Cecchini and maybe even Betts next year is the higher upside play. Middlebrooks had an 83 wRC+ last year in a season riddled with injuries and slumps. He was at 122 in 2012. I'd probably take a chance on him alone over any of the others above except Lowrie, but none of the guys you mentioned are at ages you can expect improvement from, so chances are what you see is what you get.

curly2 · Jul 9, 2014

I think it will be Marrero.

I've never seen him play, but I do know for a while he was considered a possible No. 1 overall pick in 2012 before his bad junior season at the plate at Arizona State. He'll also turn 24 next month, so while he doesn't have a ton of professional at-bats, I don't think it would be a case of "rushing" him.

If Marrero is as good defensively as billed, then can live with the offense not being great provided they can make offensive upgrades elsewhere.

geoduck no quahog · Jul 9, 2014

My gut says Drew, with Marerro coming up as a utility infielder (or full time SS) after the trade deadline.

Hoplite · Jul 9, 2014

Snodgrass'Muff said:
I don't see how any of those guys are necessarily a better bet than a combination of Middlebrooks, Holt and Bogaerts. Lowrie has an 86 wRC+ this year. Sandoval is at 105 but his OBP is pretty shitty. He's probably average at best defensively, so best case scenario, he's a neutral player at the hot corner. Headley has an 88 wRC+ as does Hardy.

For comparison, even struggling as much as he is, Xander has an 86 wRC+ as a rookie and we haven't even seen his power stroke yet. Finding something better than the above out of a combination of Middlebrooks, Holt, Marrero, Cecchini and maybe even Betts next year is the higher upside play. Middlebrooks had an 83 wRC+ last year in a season riddled with injuries and slumps. He was at 122 in 2012. I'd probably take a chance on him alone over any of the others above except Lowrie, but none of the guys you mentioned are at ages you can expect improvement from, so chances are what you see is what you get.

Most of the guys I mentioned would be buy low options who probably wouldn't be all that expensive. Headley's obviously having a down year offensively and he's dealt with some injuries. But the three previous years he's had a 128 wRC+ and he's still an 8 UZR/150 defensive player. He could be Beltre-lite. I'd much rather have him in the fold than go with Middlebrooks, who's been a disaster offensively the last two years and has been inconsistent at best defensively. And I'd be surprised if Holt finishes the season with a wRC+ over 100 once his .380 BABIP normalizes. I don't see him as a serious option.

LoweTek · Jul 9, 2014

I think WMB still has to prove he can sustain himself as an MLB caliber player both in terms of health and performance, offense and defense, before we are speaking of him as a presumptive member of the RS future. For the time being, I'm not blocking a Holt, X, Mookie or Marerro on account of WMB. I believe they are trying to find WMB a position to give him the opportunity to do so. An opportunity which arguably, he deserves and is worth the risk/effort. If he can play competent LF for a while and get some ABs it's not like he's displacing Yastrzemski out there.

Brock Holt may well be a flash in the pan, SSS, etc. but he is in there somewhere until he stops producing. Lately it seems he IS the offense.

Snodgrass'Muff · Jul 9, 2014

Hoplite said:
Most of the guys I mentioned would be buy low options who probably wouldn't be all that expensive. Headley's obviously having a down year offensively and he's dealt with some injuries. But the three previous years he's had a 128 wRC+ and he's still an 8 UZR/150 defensive player. He could be Beltre-lite. I'd much rather have him in the fold than go with Middlebrooks, who's been a disaster offensively the last two years and has been inconsistent at best defensively. And I'd be surprised if Holt finishes the season with a wRC+ over 100 once his .380 BABIP normalizes. I don't see him as a serious option.

The problem with Headley is that he's old enough and had enough injuries that he may just be declining. I don't see a lot of upside there. Same with Lowrie. Sandoval is probably the safest bet but he's more of a high floor, low ceiling option at this point and his defense is likely to get worse as he ages, considering his size. I agree Holt isn't a long term starter option, but using platoons and matchups with a mix of Middlebrooks, Holt, Betts and Marrero later in the season (hell, maybe even Cecchini), I think you have a pretty good chance to exceed the production you'd get out of the position with one of the names you listed. The only advantage I see with those guys is name recognition.

I also don't like the idea of blocking third base long term because I think we're more likely to see Bogaerts/Marrero work out than Bogaerts/Middlebrooks or Bogaerts/Cecchini, mostly because of Marrero's defensive prowess. He needs to be able to produce something like a .680-.700 OPS in this hitting environment to be comfortably above average overall if his glove is to be believed. He won't get there right away, but I think we might see that kind of production out of him by the end of 2015 or maybe early in 2016.

curly2 said:
If Marrero is as good defensively as billed, then can live with the offense not being great provided they can make offensive upgrades elsewhere.

This would be true if they weren't breaking in rookies at multiple positions at the same time. I think Bogaerts will be performing consistently at the plate by the start of next year and hope JBJ will be posting a 340ish OBP by then. But they still have Vazquez at catcher and while he's made the adjustment at every level, I don't think we can count on him to be there yet by next April. If we end the season with all three of those guys tearing the cover off the ball, letting Marrero work it out at the major league level is less difficult to swallow, but we also have to wonder how Betts will be hitting. He's figured it out at every level, and he's got another half season to get comfortable with major league pitching, but he's another question mark.

I can't see them going into the season with that many question marks in the line up if they can avoid it. Sad as it is, Middlebrooks is a better bet to hit in the short term and leaving Marrero in Pawtucket to start the year allows them to carry a decent bat bench in case things go badly with the kids.

Red(s)HawksFan · Jul 9, 2014

I read that as saying as long as Drew's still on the roster, how X is deployed is up to Farrell.

Cherington also said that Bogaerts is not playing SS at all right now because they want him to fix his hitting slump first. Something about only wanting him to worry about one thing at a time.

MuzzyField · Jul 9, 2014

Time to make Drew disappear... Farrell can't play him or protect him if he's not here.

Rasputin · Jul 9, 2014

Hoplite said:
If the Red Sox, with nearly $80 million in yearly salary to spend, go in to next year with some combination of Bogaerts, Middlebrooks, Holt or Marrero as two of their infielders, I'm going to be very disappointed. I'm not sure the Red Sox know what position Bogaerts will play next year and I could see him at either third or shortstop depending on the free agent prices of Sandoval, Headley, Hardy, Lowrie, etc.

If the Red Sox don't go into next year with some combination of Bogaerts, Middlebrooks, and Marrero, I'm going to be disappointed. And probably pissed off.

As far as I am concerned, next year's roster should have as many kids on it as they think are ready.

Rasputin · Jul 9, 2014

nattysez said:
WTF? It's up to Farrell whether or not Bogaerts plays SS? I hope Ben's lying, because otherwise I'm really concerned about how this team is handling X.

https://twitter.com/SmittyOnMLB/status/487000959726272513

I think you're completely overreacting. That's a GM telling you they're going to move Bogaerts back to short after Drew goes bye bye while trying not to say something that sounds like he's undermining his manager.

Byrdbrain · Jul 9, 2014

MuzzyField said:
Time to make Drew disappear... Farrell can't play him or protect him if he's not here.

It's been said a few times already but I think they need to keep throwing Drew out there the rest of this month and hope he heats up at least a little so they can get some sort of deal for him.
If he still sucks then you might DFA him and move on but I don't think they can bury/get rid of Drew just yet.

Edit

amn just noticed this was the 2015 SS thread. OK I'll add something regarding that then.
It's all really up in the air at this point and will really depend on how several guys end up this season. Just to be different I'll throw out X at short and Betts at third with Holt backing both of them up. It could be WMB at third but he really needs to show something at the end of this season after disappointing the last two years when the position has been given to him. If either of them can't handle the position by mid-year and Marrero is doing well in Pawtucket he comes up and X shifts back to third.

Hoplite · Jul 9, 2014

Farrell's a pitching guy and the pitcher's love Drew. His defense is noticeably better than Xander's.

Savin Hillbilly · Jul 10, 2014

nattysez said:
WTF? It's up to Farrell whether or not Bogaerts plays SS? I hope Ben's lying, because otherwise I'm really concerned about how this team is handling X.

https://twitter.com/SmittyOnMLB/status/487000959726272513

I don't understand. Of course it's up to Farrell whether or not Bogaerts plays SS. He's the manager. It's his job to decide who plays what position each night.

Of course, presumably he and Cherington have plenty of conversations and Farrell has a pretty good idea of what the FO sees as the best use of the talent they've assembled, but still, ultimately he decides. Or should.

Plympton91 · Jul 10, 2014

Read Farrell's quotes about Marrero. He's the team's long term future at SS and might arrive as early as September.

bosockboy · Jul 10, 2014

I'll go another route here. Troy Tulowitzki.
He's very likely getting moved this winter and the Red Sox need an aircraft carrier bat, position bedamned.

Rasputin · Jul 10, 2014

nattysez said:
My post was an overreaction, I'll grant you. I'm probably overprotective of X. But I think a 21 year-old who may be the key to the team's future should not be jerked around. He was shaky at SS for a few weeks, then seemed to steady himself. As soon as he was playing better, they moved him to 3b. Now they're talking about potentially moving him back and forth between positions. On the one hand, I think positional flexibility is tremendously positive, and this team's future could be really interesting if Holt, Betts and X can all hit and play multiple positions. On the other hand, X has been shaky at times at SS, and I think he needs steady reps there to get confident. It doesn't strike me as the best possible move for his development to have him moving between positions, and I have little faith in Farrell doing so judiciously. Hopefully I'm wrong.

The kid's in one of the most horrific slumps anyone he's ever seen and though think the position change is going to fuck him up?

Here's what I think is going to happen. Bogaerts is going to go home over the break, get laid, get drunk, kill a hobo, maybe all three and he's going to get his mind completely off baseball. Then he's going to come back in the second half and year the everloving cap out of the ball for such seven games, most of which will be played at short. Then he's going to come in as the shortstop in 2015 and murderize the ball.

Then Middlebrooks is going to stick, Bogaerts will move to third, Marrero will play short and Bogaerts will have to settle for being a hall of fame third baseman.

And the lineup for the first team to ever go worst to first to worst to first will look like this:

JBJ CF
Pedroia 2b
Papi DH
Napoli, 1b
Bogaerts, 3b
Tomas, LF
Betts, RF
Marrero, ss
Vazquez, C

It's a little lacking in lefties but we'll muddle through on the way to 100 wins and the fourth championship this century.

Someone mentioned it before, but the thought of having Vazquez, Marrero, Pedroia, and Bradley up the middle is damn near intoxicating.

Granite Sox · Jul 10, 2014

The Red Sox have tried to force an offensive bat at the SS position since Nomar was mashing.

Post '04 (Nomie/O-Cab), it seems like the club has actually played better when a glove-first (Seabass, Scutaro, Drew) player has occupied the position as opposed to a theoretical bat-first (Renteria, Lugo (!), Lowrie, Aviles, X) player.

curly2 said:
I think it will be Marrero.

I've never seen him play, but I do know for a while he was considered a possible No. 1 overall pick in 2012 before his bad junior season at the plate at Arizona State. He'll also turn 24 next month, so while he doesn't have a ton of professional at-bats, I don't think it would be a case of "rushing" him.

If Marrero is as good defensively as billed, then can live with the offense not being great provided they can make offensive upgrades elsewhere.

I agree. Given age, glove performance, overall progress, and manager/FO sound bites, I think he competes for the starting job in Spring Training.

Additionally, if X had come out of his funk a little sooner, the team may have given him a chance to return to SS. Given his continued issues at the plate, I don't think the team wants to further mess with him by returning him to SS.

LoweTek said:
...

Brock Holt may well be a flash in the pan, SSS, etc. but he is in there somewhere until he stops producing. Lately it seems he IS the offense.

If Brock can sustain his Holt-iness into Spring Training, I think there are worse things than a Holt/Marrero combo.

BosRedSox5 · Jul 10, 2014

The Red Sox have lacked stability from the SS position for a long time. Maybe it's an argument for another thread but the refusal to re-sign Cabrera after the 2004 season has to be seen as one of Theo's bigger mistakes. IIRC Cabrera was signed to a 4 year deal at a pretty fair market rate. He had WAR's of 1.4, 3.1, 3.7 and 2.2 (BBRef). Not only was his play on the field very good, but he was well known for being a high character guy who was loved by his teammates. During the same span Red Sox shortstops put up WAR's of 1.5, 1.1, 0.6, 0.1 (Renteria, Seabass, Lugo x2). Also, Cabrera was durable and played 610 games during that span. The other guys mustered 493 between them.

Savin Hillbilly · Jul 10, 2014

Rasputin said:
Here's what I think is going to happen. Bogaerts is going to go home over the break, get laid, get drunk, kill a hobo, maybe all three and he's going to get his mind completely off baseball. Then he's going to come back in the second half and year the everloving cap out of the ball for such seven games, most of which will be played at short. Then he's going to come in as the shortstop in 2015 and murderize the ball.

I nominate this for Drunk Post of the Year.

Someone mentioned it before, but the thought of having Vazquez, Marrero, Pedroia, and Bradley up the middle is damn near intoxicating.

Yes. Yes it is.

As you note, though, the 2015 lineup as it currently appears to be coalescing could be righthanded to a fault. It'll be interesting to see what, if anything, they do about that.

bosockboy · Jul 10, 2014

BosRedSox5 said:
but he was well known for being a high character guy who was loved by his teammates.

Especially Keith Foulke.

Otis Foster · Jul 10, 2014

bosockboy said:
Especially Keith Foulke.

Well played, sir.

Crazy Puppy · Jul 10, 2014

BosRedSox5 said:
Maybe it's an argument for another thread but the refusal to re-sign Cabrera after the 2004 season has to be seen as one of Theo's bigger mistakes.

Letting O-Cab walk netted them two draft picks that brought them Jacoby Ellsbury and Jed Lowrie.

Rasputin · Jul 10, 2014

Savin Hillbilly said:
I nominate this for Drunk Post of the year.

Percocet is a he'll of a drug.

soxhop411 · Jul 11, 2014

“@nickcafardo: 3 things learned: Red Sox would prefer to keep Bogearts at 3rd. They also want to keep Uehara for next season. Can deal Drew if he hits.”

I take that to mean not just this season?

https://twitter.com/nickcafardo/status/487732722807209984

Darnell's Son · Jul 11, 2014

Correct, because Marrero should be ready next season to take over. Might as well leave X at third so he can hone his skills there.

Rovin Romine · Jul 12, 2014

BosRedSox5 said:
The Red Sox have lacked stability from the SS position for a long time. Maybe it's an argument for another thread but the refusal to re-sign Cabrera after the 2004 season has to be seen as one of Theo's bigger mistakes. IIRC Cabrera was signed to a 4 year deal at a pretty fair market rate. He had WAR's of 1.4, 3.1, 3.7 and 2.2 (BBRef). Not only was his play on the field very good, but he was well known for being a high character guy who was loved by his teammates. During the same span Red Sox shortstops put up WAR's of 1.5, 1.1, 0.6, 0.1 (Renteria, Seabass, Lugo x2). Also, Cabrera was durable and played 610 games during that span. The other guys mustered 493 between them.

I'm not sure it was a mistake per se. It was more of an unfortunate result/return on what seemed to be a very rational decision. Was anyone saying that Cabrera going to outproduce Renteria? When we obtained him, he was 28, coming off of .803, .874 .728 OPS seasons. Cabrera was going to be 30 and was a step down offensively.

BosRedSox5 · Jul 12, 2014

Maybe you're right, and I had forgotten that Theo's strategy was to stockpile picks. Letting Cabrera walk, getting two picks and getting what he thought was an upgrade in Renteria was definitely a justifiable move at the time. As a fan, it hurt to see Cabrera go, but it's just business. No one could have predicted how terribly unhappy Renteria was playing in Boston which prompted a trade for Andy Marte who was flipped for Crisp.

Plympton91 · Jul 15, 2014

For those who don't frequent the minor league forums, Marrero finished the first half in style on Sunday, going 4-5 with two doubles and 6 RBI. He's hitting .328 in his first month of AAA, with power and plate discipline constant from AA.

If they keep Marrero, I think Bogaerts needs to get himself comfortable at 3B. But, if he keeps hitting like that in AAA, he's got to fly up the prospect rankings to the point that Marrero is the centerpiece of a Tulo or Stanton deal, assuming one exists from the Rox or Fish side.

Rasputin · Jul 15, 2014

Plympton91 said:
For those who don't frequent the minor league forums, Marrero finished the first half in style on Sunday, going 4-5 with two doubles and 6 RBI. He's hitting .328 in his first month of AAA, with power and plate discipline constant from AA.

If they keep Marrero, I think Bogaerts needs to get himself comfortable at 3B. But, if he keeps hitting like that in AAA, he's got to fly up the prospect rankings to the point that Marrero is the centerpiece of a Tulo or Stanton deal, assuming one exists from the Rox or Fish side.

Or, we could keep him, play him, and sign a free agent to play left.

Plympton91 · Jul 15, 2014

Rasputin said:
Or, we could keep him, play him, and sign a free agent to play left.

Or Middlebrooks can play left, or Brock Holt.

There's about 15 roster spots not filled by out-of-options veterans I want back in 2015 (Lester, Buchholz, Lackey, Uehara, Doubront, Miller, Napoli, Victorino, Ortiz, and Pedroia), and they've actually got more prospects than that on the cusp of contributing.

It's really quite remarkable, though going the prospect route may require more patience that I don't have in 2015.

Rasputin · Jul 15, 2014

Plympton91 said:
Or Middlebrooks can play left, or Brock Holt.

There's about 15 roster spots not filled by out-of-options veterans I want back in 2015 (Lester, Buchholz, Lackey, Uehara, Doubront, Miller, Napoli, Victorino, Ortiz, and Pedroia), and they've actually got more prospects than that on the cusp of contributing.

It's really quite remarkable, though going the prospect route may require more patience that I don't have in 2015.

I think we can go the prospect route and win in 2015.

alwyn96 · Jul 15, 2014

Plympton91 said:
Or Middlebrooks can play left, or Brock Holt.

There's about 15 roster spots not filled by out-of-options veterans I want back in 2015 (Lester, Buchholz, Lackey, Uehara, Doubront, Miller, Napoli, Victorino, Ortiz, and Pedroia), and they've actually got more prospects than that on the cusp of contributing.

It's really quite remarkable, though going the prospect route may require more patience that I don't have in 2015.

I wonder how much patience the FO has, or how much pressure they feel like they're under. I feel like after watching the 2014 offense struggle, the FO may go with a slightly more veteran-like substance direction with their 2015 additions. I could see a trade for...I don't know, Carlos Quentin, and signing a Lowrie/Panda/Headley on a 1 year, make-good contract.

If they're more patient than I think they are, then I think a lot depends on Middlebrooks. If he can come back and hit in the 2nd half, he may save a job for himself and push Bogaerts back to SS. If he doesn't, then I think he may have to go back to AAA until he forces his way back onto the roster again.

Who is the 2015 SS?

Member

oppresses WARmongers

loves the secret sauce

Don't touch his dog food

Well-Known Member

Member

Well-Known Member

Member

Member

Will outlive SeanBerry

Member

loves the secret sauce

New Member

Don't touch his dog food

New Member

what's an original thought?

oppresses WARmongers

Member

not particularly consistent

New Member

Well-Known Member

oppresses WARmongers

Member

Member

Well-Known Member

Will outlive SeanBerry

Will outlive SeanBerry

Member

New Member

loves the secret sauce

Member

bubble burster

Member

Will outlive SeanBerry

Member

what's an original thought?

loves the secret sauce

Member

rex ryan's podiatrist

Member

Will outlive SeanBerry

news aggravator

He's a machine.

Johnny Rico

what's an original thought?

bubble burster

Will outlive SeanBerry

bubble burster

Will outlive SeanBerry

Member