Red Sox Offseason 2019 | Syracusefan.com

Red Sox Offseason 2019

So really the only question mark is who will be the closer.
I think by the postseason Nathan Eovaldi will be the closer.
The rotatjon
Sale-Price-Porcello-Rodriguez-Eovaldi is really good.
The bullpen minus a closer looks fine.
Lineup is rock solid.
Bientienndi-LF
Betts-RF
Martinez-DH
Moreland/Pearce 1B
Bogaerts- SS
Devers- 3B
Pedroia/Nunez/Holt- 2B
Leon/Swihart/Vazquez- C
Bradley Jr- CF
 
Since I'm looking for any excuse to look at my 2019 Baseball Prospectus book. Here are each player's 2018 WARP and his PECOTA* projection for 2019 in parenthesis.

*These are always conservative

Sale: 5.6 (4.6)
Price: 3.2 (2.1)
Porcello: 2.8 (2.2)
Rodriguez: 2.3 (1.6)
Eovaldi: 1.3 (1.9)

Benintendi: 4.0 (3.3)
Betts: 8.7 (8.7)
Martinez: 6.0 (4.6)
Moreland: 1.0 (0.9)
Bogaerts: 4.5 (3.0)
Devers: 2.9 (2.4)
Pedroia: 0.0 (1.2)
Vazquez: 1.4 (1.8)
Bradley: 2.0 (2.6)

Pearce: 0.6 (1.5)
Nunez: 0.1 (0.7)
Holt: 0.1 (0.4)
Leon: 1.3 (1.1)
Swihart: -0.1 (-0.1)
 
Here are the Yankees for comparisons sake:

Severino: 5.6 (3.8)
Paxton: 4.9 (3.4)
Tanaka: 2.5 (2.5)
Happ: 2.9 (1.9)
Sabathia: 1.6 (1.0)

Hicks: 3.5 (3.1)
Judge: 4.5 (5.2)
Stanton: 2.5 (4.0)
Sanchez: 1.3 (4.4)
Andujar: 1.6 (0.1)
Torres: 3.9 (2.7)
Voit: 1.3 (3.2)
Tulowitzki: (1.0)
Gardner: 3.1 (3.4)

Gregorious: 4.9 (1.4)
Bird: 0.1 (0.1)
LeMahieu: 4.8 (4.2)
Frazier: -0.1 (0.3)
Wade: 0.0 (0.2)
 
Since I'm looking for any excuse to look at my 2019 Baseball Prospectus book. Here are each player's 2018 WARP and his PECOTA* projection for 2019 in parenthesis.

*These are always conservative

Sale: 5.6 (4.6)
Price: 3.2 (2.1)
Porcello: 2.8 (2.2)
Rodriguez: 2.3 (1.6)
Eovaldi: 1.3 (1.9)

Benintendi: 4.0 (3.3)
Betts: 8.7 (8.7)
Martinez: 6.0 (4.6)
Moreland: 1.0 (0.9)
Bogaerts: 4.5 (3.0)
Devers: 2.9 (2.4)
Pedroia: 0.0 (1.2)
Vazquez: 1.4 (1.8)
Bradley: 2.0 (2.6)

Pearce: 0.6 (1.5)
Nunez: 0.1 (0.7)
Holt: 0.1 (0.4)
Leon: 1.3 (1.1)
Swihart: -0.1 (-0.1)

Predicting what pitchers will do is a very tricky business. Nobody exemplifies that better than Porcello who alternates between very good and very bad on a year to year basis. Severino is another guy that I think could have some serious volatility in terms of eventual outcome from year to year. But the two guys rated so lowly here at the bottom of the Red Sox rotation (ERod and Eovaldi) have enormous upside due to their electric stuff. Health is the key.
 
I am very concerned. Sox hitting has been atrocious this preseason. 24th overall in hits, 29th in average. Yes, it's spring training, but it looks like only Devers is performing offensively. JD Martinez has only 5 hits in 10 games (25 ABs). Championship hangover? I think there have been articles about the Sox trying new things with their hitting coach. I hope it's just taking a little time to work some things out, but without a proven bullpen, no closer, and another strong yankees team, this may be rough.
 
I am very concerned. Sox hitting has been atrocious this preseason. 24th overall in hits, 29th in average. Yes, it's spring training, but it looks like only Devers is performing offensively. JD Martinez has only 5 hits in 10 games (25 ABs). Championship hangover? I think there have been articles about the Sox trying new things with their hitting coach. I hope it's just taking a little time to work some things out, but without a proven bullpen, no closer, and another strong yankees team, this may be rough.

I am confident the Sox will have a top flight offense this year. Too many strong hitters not to. Bullpen is an issue no doubt. I think their theory is let's try some of these dudes out and if it's not working by July we'll bolster it with some trades. Assuming good health the starters should be pretty good. On paper anyway the starters look better than NY's starters and I'd much rather have better starters than relievers.
 
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John M. Henry just lost the wrong kind of load in his pants, with the Trout contract, knowing he's going to be tasked with re-signing Mookie Betts.
 
They can afford it.
How? We just saw how they were unwilling to even engage in talks with Kimbrel, leaving a pretty significant hole at the pen, just because they didn't want to exceed a luxury tax threshold. We also have to sign Xander and a Sale extension is impending. They can pay Mookie, but then who do we lose from the rest of the squad. And we don't have a good/deep minors program anymore.
 
How? We just saw how they were unwilling to even engage in talks with Kimbrel, leaving a pretty significant hole at the pen, just because they didn't want to exceed a luxury tax threshold. We also have to sign Xander and a Sale extension is impending. They can pay Mookie, but then who do we lose from the rest of the squad. And we don't have a good/deep minors program anymore.
Regardless of what they might claim, no MLB franchises are actually hurting financially.
 
Regardless of what they might claim, no MLB franchises are actually hurting financially.
I wasn’t suggesting that they were. But “hurting” versus ‘unwilling to spend more’ is an important distinction. And in the practical sense, it’s certain that giving Mookie the contract commensurate with his production/performance means we lose from other positions.
 
..it’s certain that giving Mookie the contract commensurate with his production/performance means we lose from other positions.
If that is the case, then that is pathetic considering how much revenue the Sox generate each year.
 
If that is the case, then that is pathetic considering how much revenue the Sox generate each year.
The Red Sox have the highest payroll in baseball.
They spent.
I wouldn’t want to give any player 10 years 400 million.
I don’t like paying players who are over 35 years old when they lose athleticism.
The Red Sox don’t hestiate to spend.
Let the Yankees do what they did for Ellsbury when Mookie is a FA.
 
The Red Sox have the highest payroll in baseball.
They spent.
Yes, of course. I wasn't claiming that the Sox were penny-pinchers. Zelda implied that the Sox would struggle to fill their other positions if they devoted significant money to Betts, which is silly.
 
Yes, of course. I wasn't claiming that the Sox were penny-pinchers. Zelda implied that the Sox would struggle to fill their other positions if they devoted significant money to Betts, which is silly.
You're ignoring the luxury tax thresholds. For example—i can't remember the exact numbers—but if they wanted to pay Kimbrel just 10 million this year, it would have actually cost them 28 million. There's a reason they were trying to trade Bogaerts this offseason—just to save some salary to fill the pen with other/better pieces. It's a balancing act, even if there is no actual salary 'cap.' The Yankees could have afforded Machado or Harper, but decided it wasn't prudent. Even with their vast coffers.
 
Sox tried to extend Mookie with a major pre-arb contract:

Details On Prior Red Sox Attempts At Extending Mookie Betts
He is gone from Boston after next year.
I am okay with it as I know the Sox will pay to contend. Mookie won’t take 10 years 350 he wants closer to Trout.
I love Betts but the guy when he is 33-38 won’t be the same and I don’t want him at 35 million a year for those years.
Let the Yankees do what they did when they signed Ellsbury.
The only teams that can afford Mookie are the Cubs, Red Sox, Phillies, Giants, White Sox.

Dodgers won’t give him the years.
Yankees will have Judge to have to pay.
 
re: Trout —
Amazing amount of money. He may be the best player in the game, but he has never won a playoff game, and was 1-12 in his only series. It's a team game. I wonder if the Angels will actually be contenders during this contract.
 
Chris Sale 5 years 130 dollar extension.
Not a fan.
The Sox are going to lose Xander and JD after the year unless they trade Eovaldi.
Porcello is done after this year as well.
David Price contract is a killer.
 
Sale: something you had to do. I trust the team is well-informed on the medicals.
If they didn't do it, the Yankees have CC and maybe Matsuzaka coming off the books soon, and they could have nabbed him. And there's always the Dodgers, Phillies, Cubs... Someone would have paid him, and we'd have been left with Price as the ace, something i just would be cool with.
 

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