Tag Archives: MLB Offseason

Red Sox Offseason Lacking Fireworks…And That’s Okay

Leave a reply

I was making the rounds on the Red Sox news circuit yesterday when I came to a sudden realization. This is going to be a boring offseason.

Granted, it’s still incredibly early on. The non-tender deadline for arbitration-eligible players (the first major offseason date) is later tonight at 8 pm ET. The Winter Meetings don’t kick off until December 9th. MLB’s hot stove has been relatively cool thus far, outside of a handful of moves ranging from “Indifferent Shrug” to “Okay, That’s Interesting”. Both New York teams have led the charge by shopping at the Great Seattle Mariners Fire Sale of 2018. The Yankees acquired lefty James Paxton on November 20. Meanwhile, the Mets traded for Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz. The Red Sox, for their part, haven’t really been involved in much of the early action. There haven’t been any rumors of that changing any time soon.

That makes total sense for a 108-win champion coming off of the best season in franchise history. Boston will likely be returning most of the core group that led 2018’s title run. It has already brought back World Series MVP Steve Pearce on a team friendly 1-year deal and restructured/extended Alex Cora’s current deal through 2021. Both moves were no-brainers, and the Sox moved quickly to tie up those loose ends. The Red Sox also took a flyer on 25-year-old reliever Colten Brewer. Beyond that, the only real questions with this roster involve Craig Kimbrel, Nathan Eovaldi, and which of their homegrown core they can lock up long-term.

It’s a change of pace from last year’s eons-long pursuit of JD Martinez. It’s also a far cry from splashy offseasons like 2014 and 2015. I didn’t hear any reports of Dave Dombrowski sitting down for Thanksgiving dinner with Madison Bumgarner like Theo Epstein did with Curt Schilling in 2003. Trying to decide which sub-70 OPS+ catcher to move on isn’t a fun conversation to have on sports talk radio. The minutiae of sussing out a 6th or 7th reliever don’t really move the needle for many fans. There is some intrigue around second base and Dustin Pedroia’s status moving forward. And, while I personally think first base is an area to upgrade, the team seems happy with their Peace/Mitch Moreland platoon.

Winter can be fickle, and Dombrowski has never been shy about making blockbusters happen. Standing pat after a season where nearly everything went right can be risky, too. However, should the Sox choose to mostly shuffle some minor pieces around while keeping most of a championship roster intact, it will be hard to complain. This team doesn’t feel quite as one-hit-wonder-y as 2013, and doesn’t have as many players set to depart as 2004. The best comparison is 2007. That offseason, a strong mix of young, homegrown talent and veteran stars made it easy to roll things over to 2008.

Besides, next offseason looms large. Some key players that are up for extensions in 2019: Moreland, Martinez (player option) Chris Sale, Rick Porcello, and Xander Bogaerts. Mookie Betts and Jackie Bradley become unrestricted free agents the following year. It may be best for Boston to keep its books as clean as possible, with that in mind. That is unless they plan on acquiring a player with the intent to replace one of those guys over the long term.

As is always the case, we’ll have no choice to wait and see what happens. But if push comes to shove, I’m fine if the only offseason addition the Red Sox make is another World Series trophy to their display case.

Eduardo Nunez Is a Safe Sign

Leave a reply

Eduardo Nunez Is a Safe Sign

This whole offseason we have been waiting for the day when JD or our “Plan B” Logan Morrison signs. We seemed to forget about a free agent who’s a familiar face and can be a HUGE help for the club. Yeah, that Eduardo Nunez guy, that’s who I’m talking about. Nunez and the Sox reportedly have signed a one-year deal with a second year option. The 30 year-old infielder is back, and to be honest I would be fine with Eduardo if we don’t get either Martinez or Morrison.

Nunez came to Boston last season in a deal with San Francisco. He spent the second half in Boston doing what he does best: balling out. At the time of the deal he was hitting .308 with four ding dongs and 31 RBI’s. He finished the year hitting .313 with twelve dingers and fifty-eight RBI’s.

Compared to JD and Lo-Mo

Now you can say, “Well JD and Lo-Mo get on base more and drive in more runs!” Well yeah, you can say that, but the hits and average matter. In the situation the Sox are in right now, it’s time to just play it safe, they’ve signed Eduardo, and now we can go from there. With Pedroia out for the start of the season it would only make sense that in a time were you are getting no deals done, you needed to go forward with fixing the needed gaps on the field. After coming to Boston he hit .321 with eight homers and twenty-seven RBI’s. Adding on his speed and fielding ability, Nunez brings the pioneer baseball talent and knowledge that can help the Sox not only in the beginning of the season, but in the long run.

Nunez finished the season in a poor way by injuring his knee during the ALDS against Houston. I personally didn’t agree with the decision to play him and I can say almost every knowledgeable Red Sox fan can attest to as well. It’s alright, because John Farrell’s gone so we don’t have to worry about that happening again. I love the signing and everything about it. Eduardo is a straight up baller and it’s a solid move regardless if we get JD or Lo-Mo.

Darvish Signs, What Does This Mean for MLB?

Leave a reply

Finally. Another big name comes off the free agent board as Yu Darvish pens a six-year $126M deal with the Chicago Cubs. The deal comes with an opt-out clause in 2019 and the deal will go through his age 36 year. Darvish had been drawing interest from teams such as the Twins, Dodgers, Yankees, Astros, and the Brewers. He is coming off a season having posted a 3.86 ERA, 209 punch outs and ending with a 10-12 record (career worst). He was still considered the top pitcher in the free agent market ahead of Jake Arrieta. This comes despite performances in both the regular season and the postseason.

Darvish is joining a Cubs pitching staff that is heavily stacked with Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks, Jose Quintana, and new addition Tyler Chatwood. With the squad Chi-Town has this season, they are yet again favorites to win the NL Central, despite Milwaukee stocking up. The Brewers hauled in Christian Yelich and Lorenzo Cain. They are now more of a threat at the plate with Thames and Braun. So now we leave ourselves with the question:

Where does this leave the MLB?

Only time will tell when the current free agents that are left are going to find a home. Hopefully the Darvish signing will spark the free agent board and we’ll begin to start seeing more signings. We’re still waiting on whether Eric Hosmer is going to be the new face of San Diego or if he will stay with Kansas City. JD still hasn’t signed and I personally don’t want to get into that at the moment. Jake Arrieta hasn’t signed with ANYBODY yet. Anything can happen really now that pitchers and catchers are reporting for Spring Training and other position players are making their way down there. We could see multiple big signings in the next week or two. However the way this offseason is going I’m not getting my hopes up.

My predictions: Arrieta to Milwaukee or Washington, Hosmer to KC and JD….. Honestly I don’t really care where he goes. I’m over it at this point.

MLB FREE AGENCY: Top Five Hitters Remain

Leave a reply

 

Most major headline deals have already been wrapped up this winter.  But a fair share of impact players remain unsigned to an MLB contender. With names like Ohtani, Stanton, and Wade Davis all finding new homes, other contending teams are scrambling.  Hitting was king in 2017.  Right now, five top sluggers still need homes. Who do you think tops the list?

Honorable Mentions

Jonathon Lucroy

Lucroy heading into his age-31 season may have been more appealing two years ago. Only recording six HR in 2017, it seems the power hitting righty needs to make some adjustments at the plate. The Rockies bulking their bullpen shows their ‘win now’ mentality. Completely realistic considering last year’s run with some true superstar names on the roster. Although home runs of years past are a glaring non-predictive statistic, it is hard to lose all faith in Lucroy.  In 142 at-bats, Lucroy managed to hit a solid .310 BA with a .866 OPS in the cold mountains. In an ERA of batting statistics with not many true hitting catchers, Lucroy could find himself behind a new dish this coming spring.

Jay Bruce

With 36 HR in 2017, it seems like Jay Bruce is not a bad bat to have in the middle of the order. Although a .254 BA cannot be overlooked when it comes to Bruce, he still brings value to a ball club. It seems like most teams Bruce would audition for a DH role. And in venues that favor this lefty, he could provide quite the impact for a contending ball club. What is impressive is this 30-year-old slugger saw the peak of his career in the homerun statistics at later stages in his prime. Look for those adjustments to land him a decent contract for a contending ball club in 2018.

 

Top Five

5) Mike Moustakas

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LY8Ufc-DzQI]
For many teams, Mike Moustakas popped on the radar well before this off season. Moustakas was seen as a hot commodity at the 2017 trade deadline for his unbelievable power and his improving glove in the field. In presumably his prime year at age 29, Moustakas hit 38 HR with a .272 BA. The sweeping, swinging lefty came eight at-bats shy of his season record 563, this in his second full season of major league play.  As the years go on he hasn’t slowed down, just improved and taken on more. It seemed like the writing was on the wall for a good chunk of Royals players at the end of the 2017 season. Although on a lot of teams’ Christmas lists, this gift may never leave the workshop. Moustakas showed no interest in leaving KC last season and has stated he wants no part in leaving.

Top Suitors: KC, NYY, STL

 

4)Eric Hosmer

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdXKEqoPglw]

One of the top players in this group would be Eric Hosmer, a solid player all over the diamond. Hitting his peak in WAR last season at 4.0, Hosmer provided defense/offense and experience/leadership. Many managers in the MLB praise his clubhouse presence which has been talked about for a majority of his career. Hosmer duplicated his 25 home run season of 2016 in 2017 and with that brought a .318 batting average(.266 in 2016). It’s clear Hosmer is a weapon, with a contract that may be the only scary aspect of the 28-year-old.

When Scott Boras sits across from you at the negotiation table you’ll end up with two things. An empty wallet, but a mighty fine player. It is estimated by most Hosmer will ask for six or more years with a dollar amount over $120M USD.   He has intangibles and tangibles to bolster his resume. It’s just about finding the team to go all in.

Top Suitors: COL, MIL, KC

 

3)Eduardo Nunez

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIUvlnMHWv0]
To get my personal Eduardo Nunez feelings out of the way now, I will be very upset to see him leave Boston if he does. Nunez was one of the stand-out deadline deals in the second half of the season, creating an instant impact for the Red Sox. He fulfilled a role trading the contact swing for power that Boston desperately needed going into the postseason. Nunez batted a .313 BA in 2017 with 24 steals and a .892 OPS for Boston in the second half. The 30-year-old posted a career high in doubles for 2017 with almost 100 fewer at-bats than the year prior. Not to mention Nunez is comfortable playing almost any position on the diamond, providing the flexibility any team needs. Watching Eduardo go down in game one of the ALDS against Houston was heartbreaking. How he bounces back from this injury and surgery is still to be determined, which may hurt or improve his chances of landing a large deal. Personally, I believe a Nunez deal will all be dependent on if Manny Machado is in a different clubhouse this coming season.

Top Suitors: NYY, BOS

 

2)Lorenzo Cain

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFCQ-t1y5Y4]

This past season Lorenzo Cain made his case as a top free agent known with a stand-out season. Cain hit a clean .300 in BA and came one long ball from hitting his career high of 16.  Although compared to the rest, this may not be an impressive number.  But Cain is a complete player. Bringing in a WAR of 5.3, he brought in 26 stolen bases and took a free pass to first a personal record of 54 times.

Cain continues to grow into a veteran presence at the plate, opting for selectivity when racking in his career high 175  hits in 2017. Along with all of this, Cain seems just to be a more realistic option for most teams who need a spot filled in the outfield. The center fielder is likely to receive a deal from $60M- $70M USD for what most suspect to be four years. By the end of his contract, Cain would be playing in  his age 35 season.

Top Suitors: TOR, NYY, KC, COL

 

1)J.D. Martinez

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pex6NsyKwh0]

Coming off the year of the home run, it is hard to make a case J.D. Martinez isn’t the top in his class right now in free agency. As the offseason goes by and teams watch top hitters go by, Scott Boras and his client continue to drool. The money Martinez will be looking for is not something you’ll find under in you couch during your spring cleaning spree. No, no, no.  For this money you can buy a 29-bedroom Hamptons mansion (America’s Largest) or a private island in the Bahama’s or even the Playboy mansion. The contract will be somewhere north of $200M for eight years from a 30-year-old Miami man.

Although it may seem annoying to see J.D. get that payday, the facts stand.  J.D. roped in 45 long balls last season, hitting an average of .303. Martinez was all general managers dream for in the trade deadline for years to come. Martinez brought in 29 of the 45 home runs in the second half of the season for Arizona. All this makes Mike Hazen look like a pretty smart man for orchestrating that trade at the deadline for his NL Wild Card champions. J.D. does have incredible value, and will probably get his money. Now it’s about who is signing the check? The only realistic rumbles in this man’s future have come from Boston. If Boston can not clear up the space needed to provide him a home, look for a top contender to sweep in.

Top Suitors: BOS/ If Not BOS: HOUS, LAD, STL

 

 

Despite Popular Opinion, Dave Dombrowski Is Doing the Right Thing

Leave a reply

On December 9th, the Yankees and Marlins officially agreed on a deal to send slugger Giancarlo Stanton to the Bronx. There were mixed opinions from Red Sox fans on whether or not they wanted Stanton because of the idea of trading pieces and his huge contract.

One thing for sure is whether or not Red Sox nation wanted him, they certainly did not want him to join Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez who slugged their way to one game from the World Series.

The Pressure

Dave Dombrowski had to immediately feel the pressure as soon as he found out that the Yankees had acquired Stanton. Not only because of the fact that the Marlins got a weak haul that the Red Sox could have matched, but also because their arch-rivals now have two giants in their lineup.

Embed from Getty Images

The attention immediately focused to what “Dealin Dave” would do to counter the Yankees’ move. Many believed he was going to try and sign both Eric Hosmer and JD Martinez. Not only did fans want this to happen, they wanted it to happen as soon as possible.

However, Dave has stayed calm under pressure, which is surprising because he is usually a gunslinger.

Financial Situation

One thing to take into consideration is the financial situation of the Red Sox. They currently have some huge contracts on the table, including Hanley Ramirez, Rick Porcello, and Rusney Castillo. The Average Annual Value (AAV) of those contracts alone is a colossal chunk of the payroll.

Splurging just to splurge is not the answer here, and going after just JD Martinez instead of both him and Hosmer is also the right idea. One big contract added to the payroll will already be a burden, never mind two. Fans who also want to see the massive extensions of Mookie Betts and Chris Sale whe nthey hit the market should also take this into consideration.

Scott Boras

A lot of people know who Scott Boras is at this point. Boras is an infamous sports agent whose notorious for getting giant contracts for his clients. JD Martinez is a Boras client, and was originally seeing a 7 year deal worth $200 million+ going into the offseason. Obviously he will not end up getting that deal, but he will be making a lot of money.

What is happening right now is a stare down between Scott Boras and Dave Dombrowski. This is a staredown that is actually benefiting Boston though. Right now, the only real market for Martinez currently is the Red Sox. They have already been linked to him and are desperately seeking a middle of the order bat.

Fans who are begging for DD to make a move and sign Martinez are not using their brains properly. It is common sense that the longer Dave milks this out, Boras and Martinez will eventually get desperate and take a deal for less.

The offseason can be a very long and painful process, but Dave Dombrowski is a smart man. It may be boring right now, but the waiting game will be worth it in the long run.

What to Make of the Mitch Moreland Signing

Leave a reply

Mar 21, 2017; Tampa, FL, USA; Boston Red Sox first baseman Sam Travis (59) is tagged out by New York Yankees third baseman Ronald Torreyes (74) as he tries to steal second base in the third inning of a baseball game during spring training at George M. Steinbrenner Field. Mandatory Credit: Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports

The Red Sox’s biggest splash of the off-season thus far has been signing Mitch Moreland to a 2 year, $13 million-dollar deal. The former Gold Glover hit .246 with an OPS of .769. “Mitchy 2 Bags” became a fan favorite and seems like a great guy to have in the club house. Fans are up in arms because of Dave Dombrowski’s “failure” to add a bat like Giancarlo Stanton or Eric Hosmer in this offseason. However, there is more than meets the eye with the extension of Mitch Moreland.

Eric Hosmer

Eric Hosmer is a name the Red Sox keep hearing this offseason. Many fans would love to see him added to the roster this season. Unfortunately, Hosmer is a Scott Boras client and will likely demand over $100 million-dollars, and could possibly receive $200 million. Do I believe Hosmer deserves that much money? Yes and no. I believe he deserves around $100 million, but $200 is far too much. Hosmer was the dictionary definition of consistent this season. He hit .318 with an OPS of .882 while playing in every single game. Hosmer capped it all off with a Gold Glove and a Silver Slugger.

Hosmer is a better player than Mitch Moreland. There is no debate, but is he head and shoulders above Moreland? I don’t think so. While Hosmer is able to drive in more RBI’s and hit for a higher average, they both hit over 20 homers and play Gold Glove worthy defense. They are both grinders who play through injuries. They are both very similar players with very different price tags. Dave Dombrowski is saving $14 million dollars a year by signing Moreland instead of Hosmer.

Scott Boras

Both Dave Dombrowski and Red Sox fans are familiar with Scott Boras. Boras makes his clients money, most times more than what they deserve. Multiple Red Sox players have Scott Boras as their agent, including Rick Porcello, Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, and Jackie Bradley Jr. Boras got Porcello $20 Million/ 4 years before Porcello even picked his number for the Red Sox. You can bet your bottom dollar that Boras will be getting above top dollar for Bogaerts and Betts. He might have to settle a little bit with Bradley, but that is a story for another time. Boras is already demanding $200 million for free agent target J.D. Martinez, and he will likely do the same for Hosmer.

Boras is no friend to the Red Sox or Dombrowski. Dombrowski inked Prince Fielder to a 9 year, $214 Million deal. Playing less than 90 games in two of the five years he served and being forced to retire makes that contract hard to swallow. Boras brings Boston into bidding wars that only the Yankees can win. He was able to secure big Red Sox contracts, such as Daisuke Matsuzaka (6 year/ $52 Million), J.D. Drew (5 Year/ $70 Million), and Jason Varitek ($ year/ $40 Million). Boras has led clients such as Johnny Damon, Jacoby Ellsbury, Mark Teixeria, and Alex Rodriguez to the Yankees.

All of those names, besides Johnny Damon, did more harm for the Yankees than good. As well as those contracts, Scott Boras has also manufactured overpriced contracts for Jayson Werth, Barry Zito, and Shin-Soo Choo. While it will be impossible to not deal with Scott Boras, having one less player to deal with is not such a bad thing.

Sam Travis

This season, Red Sox fans got a glimpse of Sam Travis in the majors. For anyone who frequents McCoy Stadium or Spring Training, like myself, they know how well Sam Travis can hit the ball.  Before tearing his ACL last season, Travis looked like he was the clear-cut future of 1st base for Boston. He certainly came back strong, but the future is a little murky. Just look at him mash this ball.

In the brief 83 plate appearances this season, Travis slashed a line of .263, .325, and .342. Travis’ lack of homeruns was the most notable part of his call up. However, in his minor league career, Travis has only hit 29 long balls. Sam Travis could become a 20 homerun a season type of player if he could play everyday. By passing on Hosmer, the Red Sox are going to look to platoon Moreland and Travis at 1st base together. They are grooming Travis to be the future first basemen. Having a class act like Mitch Moreland as teacher is a great position to be in.

 

Follow Matt McGurn on Twitter: @MickGurn