The Red Sox have made the long awaited move to bring up outfielder Rusney Castillo, according to multiple reports. He will take the roster spot of Jackie Bradley Jr., who has been optioned back to Triple-A, and be in the lineup tonight.
Castillo, 27, received a brief promotion late last year after signing a seven-year, $72.5MM deal with Boston in late August. His first forty MLB plate appearances went well — .333/.400/.528 with two home runs and three stolen bases — but an outfield logjam and minor injury this spring had left Castillo patrolling the grass for Pawtucket in 2015.
Now that he has returned to health and begun putting up solid numbers again at Triple-A, Castillo was the obvious choice to be called upon in hopes of spurring a surprisingly listless offense. Boston’s most robust batting line, that of Hanley Ramirez, does not even crack an .800 OPS, and a number of regulars and reserves have not quite lived up to expectations.
In terms of contract status, the move doesn’t mean as much as it would for other players who lack significant big league experience. Though no public reports seem to confirm the point, it is likely that his deal includes a provision allowing him to reach free agency when it ends, regardless of service time. In any event, the deal gives him the right to opt out after the 2019 season (though he’d have to forego a $13.5MM payday for the following year to do so).
In terms of impact, then, the call-up is notable more for where it could take the Boston front office the rest of the way. If Castillo looks like an everyday player, and Mookie Betts and Hanley Ramirez aren’t sidetracked by injury, then the status of Shane Victorino and/or Daniel Nava could increasingly be in question. Either player could theoretically be traded, but Victorino is expensive and Nava has not hit at all this year. And, of course, the Red Sox have already dealt with the most significant outfield overcrowding issue by outrighting Allen Craig.
Let the R-Castillo hype talk begin…..
No one hyped him so please. While sox ‘prospects’ do get hyped they arent like the cubs.
You’re right. They’re much worse. Some Cubs prospects actually deserve the hype.
SOME though not all of them just like the redsox.
I can’t think of a recent Red Sox prospect that deserved hype.
That could be said for a lot of team’s prospects though, I mean most touted prospects just don’t pan out as hoped. Boston just jumps out because of the massive media attention put onto these guys.
Yep, they’re all hyped. I guess the Red Sox organization pays major scouting corporations like Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus to hype up all their prospects. That must be the reason.
It’s not scouting corporations that generate hype. The fans and media do. The Red Sox have a large, loyal fan base. So ESPN and other sellout corporations cover them more for higher ratings, which allows them to command more for advertising. So indirectly, yeah they do. Nomar and Hanley are the most recent Red Sox prospects that deserve hype that I can think of.
Pedroia and Ellsbury and Lester are all more recent and all definitely deserved hype. Also, Anthony Rizzo is doing pretty well in Chicago. The big names of late have been Middlebrooks, JBJ, Xander, and Mookie. The former two earned it in the minors and couldn’t make the transition. We’ll see about the latter two.
Most of the hype for Cuban players is generated before they even sign in this country. It has nothing to do with which team they eventually sign with. You see that with Cespedes, Abreu, Puig, Moncada, Tomas, Castillo. Not all of those guys signed with large market teams, and yet they were all hyped. Because they played really well in Cuba, and scouts liked what they saw. There’s no need to make a Red Sox thing about it. That’s just how it happens.
Yes, you’re right. Cuban plays are different in that they have professional experience, and I don’t think the hype for Castillo has been out of line. I do think Cespedes has been and still is over-hyped. If prospects like Middlebrooks, JBJ, Xander, or Mookie were on the Padres or Rockies, you wouldn’t have heard about them anywhere. So, it is a Red Sox thing. That’s isn’t to say that eventually a Red Sox prospect will deserve the hype, but only a few per decade deserve actual hype. Not every one of the top five prospects every single year.
Go back and look at the top Red Sox prospects from 10 years ago and tell me only one of the top 5 made it. Here’s the top 6 from 2005. Hanley Ramirez, SS, A- Jon Papelbon, RHP, B+
Brandon Moss, OF, B+ Anibal Sanchez, RHP, B Jon Lester, LHP, B Dustin Pedroia, SS, B. Not exactly a 1/5 situation there is it?
Ah, the memories…a lot nicer than the current reality.
Prove it. I’m sure in 2006 and 2007 no knew what was going to become of those players either. The current reality is the team is 3.5 games out of first place with an exciting player playing his first game at the ML level this year. Nothing wrong with that reality.
as JBJ returns to the minors.
So what?
Just another example of the current reality.
I didn’t say 1 out of five. I said NOT EVERY ONE of the top five, meaning every single prospect of the top five. Basically, on average, less than five prospects should be hyped per decade. By hyped I mean expected to do extraordinary things. Players like Bryant, Buxton, Correia should be hyped. Betts, JBJ, Middlebrooks shouldn’t be. To be fair, neither should any A’s prospect for the past five years other than Addison Russell.
Why is Cespedes over-hyped? Tigers fans can’t believe they got him. A’s went south after they traded him.
Money player.
The A’s went South before they traded him, not after. He’s good, just not great. Last year he got a lot of attention for a handful of throws in a two-week period, but wouldn’t have had to make any of those throws if he defended the ball properly. He does fit great on the Tigers though.
There was that Lester guy. And Papelbon. Buchholz. Rizzo. Pedroia. Ellsbury.
They definitely have some good prospects, no doubt about it. However many prospects don’t make the impact they’re expected to at the big league level. Meanwhile the last several years many (not all) Sox fans were busy getting HOF plaques ready for Middlebrooks, JBJ, Bogaerts, Betts, Swihart, Owens, E-Rod, etc. etc. before they played a major league game.
Not to mention many of their other pitching prospects that were supposed to help last year.. De La Rosa, Webster, Ranaudo didn’t pan out, and Barnes is now a reliever.
Incorrect. RDLR was well hyped in LA, before he had his TJ as a rotation Ace.
Scoreboard.
and their not making 72 million.
I think Rusney will become a very good player…by the way…
Must have been SOME reason it took 7/72m to get his services. Doubt Cherrington would have paid him that much out of the goodness of his heart otherwise, unless at least one and probably a handful of other teams were sold he was a legit solid future MLB player for the considerable future.
He was hyped when he was looking to sign coming out of Cuba. But I’m sure the scouts just did that because they knew he was going to sign with the Sox. Same with Moncada really.
Seems like a waste of an option for JBJ. Shouldn’t have brought him up in the first place if they didn’t intend on using him long term this season
I don’t think you get how options work.
Options don’t work like that. His option this year was used before the season, they don’t lose another for optioning him again this year.
And of course, JBJ is out of options in 2016, and will have to make the Red Sox or face waivers, where he would almost certainly be claimed, as many teams are interested in him.
Red Sox will trade him before that point. Just not for anything significant.
That’s the opposite of how options work. You burn them when you are assigned to minor league camp, not called up to the majors. He has two remaining. So he’s the Red Sox property through the 2017 season unless they decide otherwise.
TY for that Victoria. It’s like knowledge of other things around here for many.. Woefully short..
It’s a hard concept to understand. Luckily the information is out there for people if they want it. Most don’t.
If Castillo struggles, the front office will be undergoing major changes.. with Cherington gone, along with most of the coaching staff. It’s inexcusable that Boston has regressed every year since that World Series win, and have 2 losing seasons since Cherington took over, which didn’t happen when Theo was there.
Castillo can be as good as hyped and it won’t matter unless Boston gets some starting pitching. I think Ben forgot about that part of the game when he assembled this roster. Hanley, Panda and Castillo were all large signings that help the offense, but Masterson was their big signing among FA pitchers last offseason.
if they won’t sign SP’s or trade some of their top prospects for TOR arms they don’t have a chance. Sox fans seem to think pitchers like Hamels, Cueto and/or Zimmerman can be had for their scraps. That’s not happening.
Yeah, cause players like Margot, Owens, Johnson, Devers and E-Rod are “scraps”. Just cause some of us are not comfortable offering Mookie and Swihart for a 31 year old pitcher doesn’t mean we’re unwilling to trade good prospects, so don’t generalize an entire fan base.
We’ll see at the deadline what teams will have to pay for any of the three pitchers I named. Two of them are rentals and one is signed to a team friendly contract. Not one of them is coming cheap. The Nats may even hold onto to Zimmerman and trade Fister instead, reducing the amount of number of 1’s available. Besides I thought E-Rod and Owens were part of that untouchable group, as they’re the future of Boston’s starting staff.
I have never seen any one call Owns and E rod untouchable. The only guys that were called untouchable are already on the MLB roster.
Of course none of those pitchers will come cheap, but the prospects I just mentioned are not throw-ins. Are they elite prospects? No, not one of them is. But they do have a lot of value and in my opinion would make a fair trade for Hamels or Cueto. I actually like E-Rod more than Owens, but no I don’t think either one is the next Pedro Martinez and I would be happy if them leaving meant Hamels coming over.
Washington is contending. Why would they trade the pitching that is making them contenders? They are more likely to move prospects in a Win Now attempt.
Where does it say the Nationals have to trade a starting pitcher?
Margot and Devers are a long way from contributing, being only in A ball. Owens, Johnson and E-Rod are not sure things..
But those players are far from scraps! Four of the five guys you named are census top 100 prospects. They have a ton of value.
They may be far away from contributing but I don’t see why that would hurt their value (I don’t think the Phillies will be contending for a couple of years if they trade Hamels). And no one in the minors is a sure thing, but all 3 have potential.
The distance from the majors increases the risk, and lowers the value. A player ranked #45, for example, would have more value in a trade if they were at AAA than if they were in low A ball.
I agree about the increased risk, but not with the decreased value. If anything, that hypothetical prospect has already shown to be one of the top 50 prospects in baseball while playing less than the rest (for the most part).
How can increased risk NOT decrease the value?
Higher risk, but also bigger reward. Someone like Margot (borderline top 100 prospect) today wouldn’t headline a deal for someone like Hamels. But in a year or two if he develops as expected he could be much more highly regarded. If the phillies (or any other team) believe in that development and his tools then they could get a steal.
Its not a steal if you pay full price. The key words are “if he develops.” Most prospects don’t. Some don’t develop as projected. Go back and look at projections for Delmon Young or Tim Beckham or JBJ. In a year or two if they develop as expected, their value will have INCREASED where he may headline for a player like Hamels. I’m sure he will be “untouchable” though.
He also mentioned signings, though. You don’t have to give up any prospects for that. Just money.
I think the gripe is that they spent so much money on bats, when they could have not signed one position player and instead used that money for a pitcher.
Look at what was available via FA this past year to me gives him a partial pass on not signing anyone to a significant contract. Now.. This coming year, if he doesn’t go out and sign Cueto the heat will be on.
I don’t know your definition of significant, but James Shields signed for 75m. Ervin Santana signed for 55m. Point being, there were options other than spending 200m for Scherzer. You guys are too lax. The heat would have been on first week of the season if this happened in New York. This is a failure of a plan if I’ve ever seen one. Relying on question marks like Masterson and Buch, or relying on sub par pitchers like Kelly and Miley, then having a middle rotation arm like Porcello “leading” the staff… it doesn’t take a genius to figure out something was going to go wrong, and go wrong horribly. They should have brought in a front line pitcher to anchor that rotation, whether by trade or FA signing.
Not doing so has resulted in… well, you watch the games, you see the score, you know how to read stats. It’s not pretty.
Shields would’ve been terrible in Fenway. I don’t believe in signing someone just because they’re available. Red Sox management has their eyes set on 2016 much more than this year. Why lock up someone for 4 years you don’t really want, when there are much better options available next winter.
And Ervin Santana? Seriously? That moved wouldve been ripped apart far more than no move.
Sure. I can follow that line of thinking. Personally, I think Shields would have been great in Fenway. However, that is just one option. Are you going to run down the multiple other options they could have explored, also?
My post was less about Shields, and more about the Red Sox not prioritizing a solid pitching staff.
My point is your talking like ’15, is all that matters. Lots of teams didn’t make every move they could’ve, look at Braves, they certainly didn’t do everything they could have, to compete in ’15. Nor should they have. Red Sox have a plan, it depends heavily on young players. If it doesn’t work out this year, Sox fans are fine with it, 2016 they’ll be much better. It’s just the haters that have a problem with it.
Oh so now I’m a hater? haha ok. And why would I have a problem with it? I’m ecstatic the Red Sox have one of the worst rotations in the league and did nothing to make it better. =)
I’m pointing out a glaring flaw in your team’s philosophy. If you want to ignore it and see the world with rose colored glasses, knock yourself out. It’s just painfully obvious to anyone, within or out of Boston, that this was a failed plan.
“Failed plan” Dang it, did the season already end? Let me look. . . Oh wait, they’re 3.5 games out of first with 121 games to go. Yep, only a hater would declare victory at this point.
Shields is leading the NL in home runs allowed. In Petco. How do you think that would translate in Fenway?
Doesn’t affect it one bit. Once again, we are talking about last off season, and future telling technology had not been invented. And because of that fact, you can’t make a decision already knowing the results.
At the time, Shields was a great option. Much better option than Hanley/Panda given the needs of the team and his price. One of Hanley/Panda, with Moncada, with Castillo, with an already strong core of Papi, Pedroia, and Napoli, would have sufficed.
So unless you were saying in the off season that Shields will lead the league in HR allowed for the length of his contract (next 4 years), your comment changes nothing.
In his defense though, young season, small sample size, blahblahblah. You know the rhetoric.
True. I also know that Shields is 33 and 33-year-old pitchers rarely improve. I think his homer rate will regress, but I think a guy like Cueto is probably a better option.
Boston is not New York and I think the fan base is very happy with how the team has gone over the last decade. Shields is 33 so Id rather spend that money on a 26 year old Porcello. Ervin Santana is not the type of pitcher that the Red Sox would go after.
But we’re talking about this year. And again, the point is that you cannot go into the season (this year) with that rotation of question marks and poor performers.
This is not a “hindsight is 20/20” thing. As these concerns were evident before the season began. Why was it not addressed then? Did they seriously not see this as a possibility? Especially when almost everyone saw it as a very high probability…
Well the last couple weeks, the pitchering has improved a ton. The offense has been the big problem the last couple weeks. I agree that they probably should have traded for someone not named Cole Hamiels, but I think that this rotation is not as bad it looked in April. Beside a 33 year old Sheilds and the mega Max S there really wasnt any good options. As someone who watched Lester his whole Career, He is not and never was an ace. Masterson was the only one that didnt show anything and I think it will be only a short time untill Erod is taking his already vacated spot. That said Id like to see them go after Kazmir or Cueto. Make no mistake about it though, if this season doesnt turn around, then I think there will be big changes.
There will be times the pitching staff looks good. There will be times the pitching staff looks bad. We can’t point fingers or give praise on the results, because we didn’t have a crystal ball back then. We can only evaluate their transactions based on the information that was given at that time. So, with that being said, at the start of the season, this rotation looked like it was going to be one of the worst rotations in the league based on past indications.
The offense, I wouldn’t be worried about. It’s a top 3 offense in the AL if they play to their potential.
I agree with you about E-Rod coming up, but disagree hard about Lester not being an ace.
I may be biased as the only game that has bothered me since the Aaron Boone Home run was when Lester lost in the 2008 playoffs to the Rays. I just feel that Lester never was someone who I was excited to see pitch. I agree that the rotation was a weak spot but I just dont know beside the free agents, who would have been available to trade. Most teams felt they had a shot this year. Maybe they should have made a run at Jeff Samazjzia?
Santanna I doubt anyone thought was anything but a back end NL starter on the end ropes of his career and Shields wasn’t much at fenway throughout his career, with Maddon skipping his turn there if possible on occasion. That’s what I meant. same with Liriano, another back end NL starter who was bound to get overpaid in terms of both years and salary.
Last winter looked like a big year to get bit with another Dempster type deal. This year, before the season at least it seemed as if they could targer either Cueto, or Zimmerman as both being legit aces tho more expensive and be safe in giving out money to either. Tho Zimmerman has faded, Cueto is still there in safety mode, even Grienke if the dollars aren’t massive. Plenty of SP, all of which are superior to anyone, other than lester where were realistacly available to Boston last year.
I believe you are alone in your thinking. Back end NL starters don’t make 55m, and definitely not 75m. Not to mention, Santana went to the Twins, an AL team, for 4 years. So I’m confused where that line of thinking comes from.
You’re also doing the Sox hitters a disservice if you think Maddon [allegedly] didn’t play Shields just based on the park. The Red Sox having a beast of a lineup had a lot more to do with pitchers’ success/failures than Fenway.
The easiest way to avoid a Dempster type contract is to avoid giving Dempster type money to a Dempster type pitcher. haha it’s true though. His numbers never warranted that contract.
Right, there were other names that got traded in the off season and many more that may have been available. I’m just saying, this rotation should not have started the season together. You don’t take a chance on 4/5 of your rotation.
It would seem like the offense is the problem. Boston decided to allocate its money on the offense side of the ball and hope the pitching would be good enough. The offense has underperformed. Spending big money on pitching doesn’t often work out great, as a lot of teams are finding out with the rash of TJ surgeries. It seems that most teams are moving away from that model.
I understand where you are coming from… but that means you will never sign a pitcher to a significant contract? It will be really hard to win that way. And this is Boston, not Oakland. They have the funds to take on the risk. That’s the biggest asset of a big market team: the ability to absorb risk.
I think the offense will be fine. Better than fine, actually. Those players are too good, and have too good of a track record to perform this poorly for a long stretch.
The offense is the problem, right now. If we look back at the season when it is over, I doubt we will blame the offense much.
San Francisco won the world series last year without a significant long-term pitcher contract. Kansas City, who lost, has no significant pitcher contracts. Boston won the WS in 2013 without a significant long-term pitching contract. St. Louis, who lost the WS in 2013, didn’t carry a significant pitcher contract, unless you count Wainwright, a pitcher they developed and was signed under market value. In 2012 SF won the WS without a significant pitcher contract on the books, beating Detroit, who had Verlander but no other long-term pitching contracts on the books. It seems like teams are moving away from these deals.
Usually, teams who sign pitchers to a significant contract is because they are ace caliber pitchers. Or very close to it. Nobody is saying Boston needs a long term pitching contract. Everyone is saying Boston needs an ace. Or a top of rotation arm.
That is the difference.
San Fran had MadBum. KC had Shields. Boston had Lester. Cards had Waino. Detroit, Verlander or Scherzer depending on when.
All of these teams had a pitcher that gave you results of the top10% of baseball pitchers. You can rely on them. That’s what an ace does. So, it doesn’t have to be a significant contract, but they need someone who can anchor that staff as a number one, not Porcello, whose results deem him more of a number 3 pitcher than anything else.
Orioles are the only team to have done well neglecting above philosophy. But they’re the outlier, not the norm.
Except Kansas City is thriving this season without an “ace.” Baltimore has been terrific for years without an ace, as you note. Perhaps this is the new market inefficiency? I think Boston needs at least one better arm, period, because Msterson has been useless, but I don’t know that an “ace” is necessary to win these days.
First off, two teams make an exception, not the rule. Baltimore is the only team really doing it.
Royals have played two months of games. Let’s not get a head of ourselves. Plus, the Royals philosophy is to just get by with starters (for the most part) then let the best bullpen in the league do its job. Their ace is the bullpen. Boston doesn’t have that.
Baltimore is the only team, and once again, that does not make it a new direction… just an exception to the rule.
Perhaps. Here’s other teams without an “ace” – Cardinals, Pirates, Brewers, Anaheim, Braves, Blue Jays, Oakland, Yankees, Astros, Rangers, Twins, Diamondbacks, Rockies, Marlins, Phillies. Some of these teams are in last place and some are in first; most are hovering around .500.
Disingenuous comment. You’re trying too hard to make a point which isn’t there.
First off, young season. This means it is way too early to go off of standings to rank if a team is doing well or not. It would be wiser to check last season, or last 3 seasons.
Second, the teams above .500 this year do have aces. Just do some research and you’ll see. Cards had Waino, now have Wacha. Yanks have Tanaka. Astros have Keuchel. Twins are above .500, but won’t end the season as such. If you need an answer for this year so far, Gibson. But again, this is why this study is so flawed. Too small sample size.
The rest of the teams are at or below .500. But since it’s early, it’s probably most teams.
This is a really poorly done study to link a myriad of teams, variously placed, to having an ace pitcher. The sample size is way too small.
Exactly; it’s only 10 starts, which is why I’m loathe to call Keuchel or Wacha “aces”. Wainwright’s done for the year, Tanaka’s started, what, two games? 4? Gibson’s a Radke-type soft-tosser/low-strikeout guy. I think i this lower-offense era the need for an “ace” is less important. I think a team can win without a Price/Lester/Kershaw-type.
And yet, the numbers show that they haven’t.
So… who would you have me believe? The numbers, or a guy on a baseball blog?
Last year, Wacha pitched like an ace. Tanaka pitched like an ace. Hughes (for Twins) pitched like an ace. Keuchel pitched like an ace.
So… again, all the evidence against your claim, and yet, here we are…
Keuchel struck out 6.6 batters/9 with a 3.21 FIP. That’s a good pitcher, not an ace. Hughes was very good, but had not been for several years and hasn’t been great this year. Wacha only threw 107 innings in 2014. I think all these guys have great stuff, but, as you wrote above, they need more than the tiny track record they have to prove they are “aces,” and, more importantly, that an ace is “necessary” in this diminished offensive era. That’s the crux of my argument (if it even is an argument) : should teams be spending money on an “ace” when offense is at a premium in 2015? Pitching can be found everywhere, it seems; offense, not so much.
Right. But Wacha wasn’t the ace last year. He pitched well to be a good pitcher. But Waino was the ace. This year, different story. If you look at his career numbers, including last year and this year, he looks like a great pitcher.
Hughes was a good pitcher, but Yankees Stadium just didn’t work with his style. He blossomed into an ace, or at least something close to it, in Minny.
Keuchel is an ace. Yes, 3.21 is good not great. However, he LEAD the league in GB%. He is not a strikeout pitcher. He is a GB pitcher. He was number 1 in GB% last year. And will probably be again this year.
In comparison, here are the division winners last season:
Orioles, none
Tigers, Scherzer
Angels, Richards
Nationals, Zim
Cardinals, Waino
Dodgers, Kershaw
That’s pretty compelling, although a) I’d hardly call Richards an ace and B) All of those teams lost in the postseason, when an “ace” is supposed to make a difference.
What you “call” Richards doesn’t really matter. His numbers show he pitched like an ace. Objectively, he’s in the top percentile of all pitchers. And he’s only repeated his performance this year. Same goes for Keuchel who you didn’t deem worthy of ace either. The numbers tell a different story.
PS: All teams besides one lose in the post season. And which one was that? The one with Madison Bumgarner as its ace.
You can, of course, make the same argument for Tyson Ross and Ian Kennedy; both pitched like aces last year but, even as a fan of the Padres, I’d hardly call either an ace. I think of the aces in major league baseball like this: Felix, Kershaw, Hamels, Lester, Scherzer, Strasburg, Zimmermann, Tanaka (when healthy), Greinke, Kluber, Price, Sale, Cueto, Wainwright, Bumgarner, Darvish….seems reasonable, right? I think the notion of an “Ace” is overblown in the diminished offense of this era. It’s nice too have one, but not necessary. Baltimore is certainly proof of this.
Haha.
You just listed 16 teams that have Aces. And one team that doesn’t.
Then proceeded to make the argument that the one team that doesn’t is the norm?
PS: I think there are more aces than you listed, but our definitions may vary, so I’ll leave it. Also, being an ace, and pitching like an ace is different. Last year, Kennedy and Ross definitely pitched like aces.
I don’t think any pitcher last offseason would’ve been a big upgrade honestly (beside Scherzer). I do agree we shouldn’t have spent so much on bats and should’ve saved some money to go after someone like Zimmermann next offseason, that will probably come back to bite us.
The problem is that none of the “sure thing” pitchers fit Boston’s requirements, either in being under 30, or being willing to sign for limited years. None of the big names this winter will meet those requirements either. Since Boston is not willing to pay what it takes to get the “sure thing” free agent, why save the money? They can spend it on hitters, where they don’t have the same requirements.
You’re basically saying that the team made these guidelines, and now it is hurting the team trying to stick to them. Why not change the guidelines, then? Finding a pitcher under 30 or finding a pitcher willing to cut down years is hard. Very hard! It’s not just Boston’s goal; it is every team’s goal to do that.
I agree that Boston should change their guidelines. Getting Boston to agree is the problem. I don’t know how the Phillies managed to sign Hamels only thru age 34. Guessing it had to do with him coming up thru their system. Boston can offer short contracts, but some other team will offer the 6-7 year for 150-200MM, and they will be the ones getting them. Boston can laugh later if the player declines badly at the end, but other teams are laughing at Boston’s pitching NOW.
I don’t know about Cherington yet, but Chili Davis and John Farrell should probably update their resumes. Again, a Red Sox team that can’t hit? It doesn’t make a lick of sense. Granted, they have a few holes, but even when they get 8 or 9 hits in a game, which is rare, they can’t score. They can’t/don’t steal bases and leave too many runners on. A sub-.500 season is going to call for a teardown.
Davis was a mistake hire initially in the 1st place and think he may have been one of those “hire him to please Selig/the league” kind of guys. I’d like the see Dwight Evans back as the hitting instructor, but not sure how many would go with his modified Hriniak style he likes to teach, it made Evans into the borderline HOF he became, starting in 1980.
With Henry and his stats and Lucchino and his well-documented interference, what makes you think Cherington is making all the personnel decisions? He may be the one held responsible, but that’s a different thing.
This Kid will make it, He doesn’t stike out much and the park is perfect for his swing. 250 BA average with a little bit of power.
I’m happy to see Castillo. I think he can become a 20/30 guy if he plays a full season while providing above-average defence in the outfield. The only question marks I have with him is his batting average and OBP. He likes to swing a lot and I think it is possible pitchers may take advantage of that. Regardless, I think he’ll be a nice player.
All of the Sox “untouchable” prospects over the last two seasons have seen their trade value plummet. Great job Cherington! Way to hold on too long and hurt the franchise. They’re called prospects for a reason, most don’t pan out. Bravo!
Swihart’s value has dropped as he struggles in the bigs.. and Owens is struggling in AAA with control. There’s also questions with Ed.Rod and Johnson..
Swihart hasn’t played nearly enough for his MLB performance to affect his value.
Can’t handle fastball inside !
He’s had 49 major league PAs….
Which means after 81 more PAs, his trade value will plummet.
Thats insanely arbitrary
I think it’s far too early to say Swihart’s value has dropped. Bogaerts however was the 2nd highest rated prospect by just about everyone prior to the 2014 season. Two hundred games into his career he doesn’t look like one of the best young players in the game. He still has value, but not what he had as the 2nd highest rated prospect in baseball.
He’s 22. Yes, he hasn’t been quite as much of a hitter as expected but he’s at an age where most guys are playing in AA. I’ll be worried about Bogaerts when he’s 25 and still hasn’t made any progress.
That’s a big problem everywhere in baseball. Many top prospects aren’t getting enough higher level MiL AB’s before there’s pressure to call them up. Bogaerts only had 356 AA AB’s and 256 AAA AB’s before getting the call. LIke I said he still has value, just not what it was when he was the 2nd rated prospect. He may be a great player one day. Today he’s not.
How will you feel when he’s 27 and just come into his own as he’s leaving as a FA? I don’t understand the “rush” to get prospects to the big leagues. Once they are up, the clock starts ticking towards free agency. Wouldn’t it make more sense to not call the player up until they have had a “thorough development?” If they still have basics to learn, let them learn it in the minors. Boegarts would have still been a solid prospect if he spent a full year at AAA to work on his defense, and may have been more prepared offensively as well. Maybe the jump to the majors wouldn’t be quite so difficult with more development time.
Been a long time since they had a All Star homegrown player from the system after striking the mother lode with Pedroia, Ellsbury and Papelbon 8- 10 years ago . They could have had Rizzo at 1B but they traded him for Agon which got them as it turns out in the end, not much
It’s about time.
You said it for me. The delay was mind boggling. Let this be a lesson, quantity is not quality. Most of the Red Sox surplus of OFers could not be traded for a bag of balls, or even taken for nothing on waivers (Craig)
When will the Red Sox actually give Jackie Bradley Jr. an actual shot? It would benefit them, especially if they’re looking to improve his trade value.
Unfortunately, they already gave him his shot, and have now written him off. Can’t develop for the future, when you’re playing for now. JBJ is just on the wrong team at the wrong time.
More exposure at this point is death knell, The dudes is a Minor League Star Fourth or Fifth outfielder on major league team .
Cherington called RAJ’s bluff and lost, offering spare parts off the ML roster and second tier prospects for Hamels, an established ace at a bargain rate. Now that the trade values of his prized prospects has gone down, it is going to cost even more to get a deal done. Maybe Cherington can wait until the offseason and sign Price for $200MM and lose their first round pick to boot.
Ruben not really calling the shots on potential Hamels Trade the Old GM and Monty are, Rube is just doing the drudge work.
It’s possible that the Red Sox aren’t asin love with Hamels as people assume they are. I don’t know if any trade was formally offered. I think Cueto is the better firt, if Boston is going to acquire a pitcher. But I think the offense is the real issue.