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Red Sox Hot Stove And Related News

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The Red Sox Hot Stove has burned out.  Dave Dombrowski recently noted that the free-agent market has slowed down significantly the past two years.  He’s in favor of a free-agency deadline of some sort to spurn action.  Dave Dombrowski is right.  With that in mind, here is some recent interesting MLB news, and how it affects the Red Sox.

Red Sox Transactions

You are forgiven if unfamiliar with recent Red Sox transactions Gorkys Hernandez and Zach Putnam.

Hernandez is a 30 year old outfielder.  He played 142 games last year with the San Francisco Giants.  That was the most games he has played in a year in his career.  He hit .234 with a .676 OPS last year.

Putnam is a 31 year old reliever.  He saved 6 games with a 1.98 ERA four years ago for the White Sox.  Last year he got into 7 games for a total of 8.2 innings.  Yes, he had a 1.04 ERA, but his injuries have limited him to 32 games in relief over the past two years.

These guys are AAA roster filler.  They’re just as likely to spend the year in AAA, or be injured, as they are to make any kind of impact on the Red Sox this year.

That being said, at least the Sox signed Eovaldi, not exactly a pillar of consistency himself.  Here are some other teams making moves.

Starting Pitchers

Matt Harvey got a one-year 11 million, with $3 million incentives, from the Angels.  Lance Lynn signed a three-year $30 Million deal with the Rangers.  Harvey, formally the Dark Knight of the Mets, went 7-7 with a 4.50 ERA for the Reds last year.  Lance Lynn went 10-10 between the Twins and Yankees, with a 4.77 ERA.

There are some making the argument the Red Sox overpaid for Eovaldi based on these deals.  Neither Harvey nor Lynn had a three week stretch like Eovaldi showed in the Postseason.  Time will tell, but Harvey has looked cooked, and Lynn in decline.  Starting pitching is expensive.

The Runnin’ Royals

Remember when Billy Hamilton was the next big thing?  Way back in 2013 he was a highly touted prospect.  He got a cup of coffee with the Reds that year, and flashed a .902 OPS in 13 games.  People thought he would hit a ton of doubles, steal 80 bags a year, and be a gold glover.  Since then he has lead the the league in one thing: caught stealing.  He’s managed 277 steals, but a lowly .631 OPS, in his career so far.  And he’s not sniffing gold glove caliber defense.

All through the mid to late 90s, and the first leg of the this Century’s Red Sox Championship teams, the Royal’s Kauffman Stadium was a house of horrors for the Sox.  But considering the arguments for the Royals moves include phrases like “…may not produce much in the way of offense…”, it’s safe to say the Royals won’t be much of the threat to the Sox, or any other opponent, in 2019.

Oh Those Mets

Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen, with a name right out of The Sound Of Music, is showing why there was hope he could be had in a deal for Noah Syndergaard.  The Mets just gave Wilson Ramos a 2-year $19 million deal.  The 30 year old has two All Star nods, including last year.  But after being a stalwart for the Phillies and Nationals for several years, he’s been getting nicked up a little more each year.

He missed the All Star game last year with a hamstring injury from running the bases.  Catchers, for the most part, do not get better after 30.  Maybe if Christian Vazguez was 30 and injury prone, instead of 27 and coming off a great postseason, the Mets would’ve wanted him.  $9.5 million a year for Ramos is another head-scratching move.

A Dearth Of Big Name Deals

La Stella, Torreyes and Descalso.  Now there’s some big time talent, so exciting!  Can we get a Marwin Gonzalez deal at the very least?

How About A Former Big Name?

The artist formally known as Tulo is causing a stir.  This five-time All Star is so bad, the Blue Jays paid $38 million to release him last week.  That’s Pablo ‘Panda’ Sandoval territory.  Now a third of all teams are clambering to overpay him.

Let’s a hope an AL East team grabs him, so Red Sox pitching can rack up more strikeouts.

Hope, In This Season Of Hope

The tails of Yasiel Puig and Rusney Castillo, and all the Cuban defectors, are harrowing stories of heartbreak and despair.  Three cheers for MLB, trying to make this a better process.

Can You Imagine This In The Winter Of 2004?

I’m pretty sure the excitement was at a Fever Pitch in the early winter of 2004.  This team just put down a historic run to a World Championship.  The Red Sox raised ticket prices in advance of putting them on sale.  Of course, marketing is important for any organization.  But to not be mostly sold out at this point is a part of the problem Dave Dombrowski pointed out.  There is a distinct lack of buzz out there.

How To Be A Great Friend

https://twitter.com/RockWalkLondon/status/1074914135048159233

Happy belated Birthday to Keith Richards, who recently turned 75.  He showed us all how to stand up for our friends.

May we all be there for each other in the coming year.

 

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MLB Winter Meetings Wrap-Up

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The 2018 Baseball Winter Meetings have ended.  Here is a Red Sox focused roundup, and other related notes.

Rule Changes

Before the meetings, there was a lot of buzz about a pitch clock to speed up the game.  Once the meetings began it was all about The Shift.

https://twitter.com/megrowler/status/1073012029437296640

2018 resulted in a league wide .248 batting average, the lowest since 1972.  Singles are also in a five years decline.  Apparently, according to Jason Stark of the Athletic, the Commissioner, owners, batters, and pitchers are all for shift reform.

Of course there’s backlash.  People are decrying unintended consequences.  The debate rages on.

Eovaldi’s Back

The Red Sox led off the Winter Meetings by agreeing with Nathan Eovaldi for 4 years and $67.5 Million.  It seemed like a reasonable deal at the time.  Little did we know something like this would happen, seemingly within hours of the signing becoming official:

The Red Sox Crying Poor Mouth

https://twitter.com/SportsRaid365/status/1072984889681698817

Could this be true?

It seems incredible, with the Red Sox coming off a World Series title and raising ticket prices, that they need to clear salary space.  Dave Dombrowski threw some cold water on this story, but didn’t deny it.

A Red Sox Bullpen In Flux

Early this morning, new broke that Fightin’ Joe Kelly is going west.

Kelly was one of the stalwarts of a transformed bullpen, that turned into a bunch of vintage Ecks, in the 2018 playoffs.  With Kelly gone, could a reunion that seemed impossible happen?

It seems incredible, with reports of Kimbrel seeking a six-year deal for nine figures, that he could come back.  Apparently, the Red Sox are playing chicken and waiting for the price to come down.

Other than Kelly and Jeurys Familia, more on him in a minute, the reliever market has been quiet.  The Sox probably need two more relievers this off-season.

2019 Lineup Changes

Mookie has been known to resist moving out of the leadoff spot, and he can be stubborn, so Cora is planting the seed early.

It makes sense to move the more powerful Betts behind Benintendi.  More RBIs for Mookie, a two-three of Mookie and JD is pretty formidable.  This will lead to a right handed heavy 2-3-4, with Xander behind JD Martinez or vice versa.

Not every lineup can have Papi and Manny back to back.

Too Many Catchers

The Red Sox having one too many catchers has been an open question for some time.  Alex Cora spoke about the possibility of a trade at the Winter Meetings:

The Winter Meetings were anti-climatic in terms of moves being made by the Red Sox.  But there was one team that lead off the Meetings with a bang:

The Mets Making Moves

They started by acquiring Cano and Diaz from the Mariners.  They ended the meetings by bringing back Jeurys Familia.

https://twitter.com/TheCouchGMs/status/1073202870646923264

The Red Sox have the assets to almost perfectly match up with the Mets.  If the Red Sox are truly considering moving Jackie Bradley, would the Mets consider a left handed bat in the outfield?  The Red Sox have extra catchers.

Noah Syndergaard is rumored to be available.  Stay tuned.

 

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