The trade of Shane Victorino to the Angels has opened playing time for Rusney Castillo and allowed the Red Sox’ $72.5MM man to impress his team, writes Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal. Castillo is hitting .333/.375/.444 in his latest recall from Triple-A, and Boston is impressed with his ability to quickly make adjustments based on advice from the coaching staff. Assistant hitting coach Victor Rodriguez has already made slight changes to Castillo’s stance in an effort to shorten his swing, and both player and team feel the results have been positive. There are still greater adjustments to be made, MacPherson continues — Castillo, for instance, was taught in Cuba to swing each time he sees a baserunner in motion regardless of the pitch — but the 28-year-old says his confidence and comfort level are on the rise.
A few more AL East items on a quiet morning…
- Yankees GM Brian Cashman took a big picture approach at the deadline by holding onto his best prospects, writes John Harper of the New York Daily News, but he may end up regretting that decision. The contrast between that approach and the aggressive one taken by Toronto counterpart Alex Anthopoulos is already apparent, as the Blue Jays are 11-1 since acquiring Troy Tulowitzki, Harper continues.
- Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun opines that the Orioles are missing Tommy Hunter following what he calls a “curious” trade. Manager Buck Showalter has already been forced to lean on Chaz Roe in a high-leverage spot for which Hunter would have been better suited. Connolly feels that the reasoning behind the trade made some sense — the team wanted some maneuverability with its bullpen and none of their relievers have minor league options — but they’ve already contradicted that plan by activating Rule 5 right-hander Jason Garcia from the DL and devoting a spot to him. He concludes that the team has effectively weakened its bullpen in order to add a right-handed outfielder (Junior Lake) whose skill set is somewhat redundant with Nolan Reimold already on the roster.
- Cliff Pennington spoke to Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi about his excitement to join a Blue Jays team that is in pursuit of a division title and a postseason berth. Pennington notes that he heard plenty of trade rumors with his name involved prior to the non-waiver deadline but was caught somewhat off guard by his August trade. As Davidi notes, Pennington is plenty familiar with Josh Donaldson from the pair’s days in the minors and Majors with the Athletics, and the pair reached the postseason together with the A’s in 2012.
If Castillo continues to improve, the Sox could have a great outfield next year and for years to come, with Betts in LF, JBJ in CF and Castillo in RF.
They cannot put Hanley at first, that would be an absolute disaster. He is stuck in left for next year and more than likely for the year after that. If JBJ shows anything the rest of the way they will try hard to flip him in the off-season.
What do you mean they can’t out him at first? He’s already a disaster in LF, one of the worst all time.
Who knows if he will play the whole contract with the red sox, but he won’t be in LF. He will either be a DH or 1st base.
I look back to Gonzo and Beltre and I see a couple of championships more than what they got.
They aren’t gonna flip him then. He would make a great 4th OFer if he hits, especially with Hanley and Rusney (somewhat) injury-prone. And Hanley could very well move to first base if JBJ hits. A lot of his problems have come on poor reads while in the OF. If you stick him at first, all he has to do is learn the position-specific fundamentals (and they are quite easy for the position) as he already has infielder instincts.
My only issue with Hanley at first is his lack of focus and hustle in the field . I don’t think that plays any better at first than left field. But I don’t see any reason not to try him out there at this point just to see if he can handle it.
I doubt Papi has much left in the tank after next season. Plus he’s a numbers obsessed guy so unless there’s another milestone he’s close to there’s little reason for him to stick around for his age 41 season.
Papi couldn’t hold A-Rod jock, if it wasn’t for the DH he would be out of baseball along time ago.
He would’ve played first base then. He isn’t terrible there. You are making a “what if” statement when there are many that can be said about A-Rod too. Very hypocritical….
Why not? Hanley can still hit. If he can field at first, they should play him there. It makes more sense than keeping him in left where he has struggled. Realistically, 1B and 3B are the two positions that make most sense for him.
heres hoping jbj finally gets some everyday playing time in the bigs. as he showed before being called back up, he has nothing left to show hitting wise in pawtucket
Middle of the road with no power.
If trading for Tulo would make every team win 11 out of every 12 games, well, there’s no price that shouldn’t be paid for it. But, in reality, we know the Yankees are having a bit of a slump, and Toronto is hot. These “let’s evaluate the trades” articles after a couple of weeks can be tiresome. Let’s see where things end up. The Yankees were never destined to win 95 games–they just aren’t that good.
They are a few games behind the royals for best record in the AL. They were only 2 games behind them before this slump this weekend. The only reason Toronto caught up so fast is because they have won 8 games in a row usually if you win that many you will gain ground. Its still too early to call anything right now about 50 games left.
The odds that Tulo lights it up now, wrecks his legs again and is out again after labor day are also much higher than with typical super star players. They need to get lightning in a bottle with Tulo now…the longer he’s healthy…the more his injury risk goes up. That’s not pessimism… It’s the facts of his career history.
Even if Toronto isn’t the best place to play if you’re injury prone, Colorado might be the worst place in MLB history. There have been way too many studies that say the higher elevation has an effect on slowing the body’s recovery.
It would explain why every single Rockie is beyond injury prone and why very few of them play more than 140 games going back 5-6 years in a row.
Any of these studies done by the US Olympic Team which headquarters and trains in Colorado Springs?
I just find it interesting that prior to the trade Tulo was viewed as this sketchy player because of injury risk and that teams wouldn’t take on the contract…. And now that injury risk is being shunted aside because he’s on a tear. Hes been on MANY tears in Colorado as well.
You take whatever study you want…he goes down between now and the end of the season and he’s done for the season.
How many games did Dante Bichette, Larry Walker, Vinny Castilla, and Ubaldo Jimenez average? This same health theory would also seem to wreck havoc on the Broncos…but they seem to get on the field and win. No…it’s more about inferior roster as well as possible medical staff issues. It could also be the chronic nature or injuries… Baseball itself is seeing them…pitchers are more likely now than ever to hit the DL. The elevation in Denver has not changed in 5-6 years
Nice rant but you should exclude every player who played in an era where HGH and other PEDS that promotes the recovery process was the norm.
How many guys play 150 games nowadays? It’s rare for a Rockies player to play more than 140 which is laughable. Is everyone of their players injury prone?
How many guys in Colorado average 150 games a season? Better question recently would be to ask how many mlb caliber players they’ve been able to cycle through to GET to 150. I’m not totally denying there could be altitude issues…I don’t know… But they’ve had some bad rosters. I’m just not going for this…Tulo is Saved By Toronto non sense. I understand the euphoria right now… But the Jays will have this guy on the roster for a LONG time… I’d also have to ask if performance enhancing drugs really are out of the game. Matt Holliday played at altitude… Making a blanket statement on hgh and steroids is just extreme
Unfortunately HGH and steroids have been known to speed up the recovery of many injuries so it’s not really a blanket statement. It’s like saying offense is down from 1999. Which is obviously true for obvious reasons.
PED’s aren’t out of the game completely, let’s not forget A-Rod, Cruz and Peralta all never actually tested positive for the stuff they got caught over the biogenesis scandal.
Tulo’s probably not going to be saved by just getting out of Colorado, if anything the successful surgery on his labrum which was causing his many leg and groin related injuries.
Anyways here’s many quotes from an article I googled stating how they believe the altitude is a reason for their injuries.
Trainer Keith Dugger said there’s no question playing at high altitude takes a toll on the body, even for a well-conditioned athlete.
“Oh, altitude is a real issue, no question,” Dugger said. “Your body feels different. You get dehydrated here faster. You have to pay much closer attention to nutrition. You have to be more vigilant, absolutely.”
Dr. Peter Hackett, director of the Institute for Altitude Medicine in Telluride, has studied extensively how altitude affects elite distance runners and mountaineers. He said he’s not aware of any research specifically targeting how altitude affects baseball players.
“There is a change in muscle performance at extreme altitude, but I would think it would only be a slight detriment to people living at about 5,000 feet,” Hackett said.
He’s not about to dismiss that playing baseball day after day at altitude affects the body.
“If a lot of players have the perception that altitude is affecting their body, then it’s probably true,” he said.
Michael Cuddyer spent his first 14 seasons in the Minnesota Twins organization before signing a three-year, free-agent deal with the Rockies last December. He anticipated there would be challenges living and playing at mile high, but he was surprised at how taxing it has been.
“It does beat you up, so you have play very close attention to your body,” said Cuddyer, on the disabled list with a strained right oblique muscle. “The thing is, you can never get used to it, because you go out on the road just as your body is starting to get used to it (at home). Let’s just say it’s a challenge.”
I would say if anything it exacerbates preexisting conditions…of which Cuddyer had…and of which have followed him to New York. The doctor from Telluride is correct in stating the difference between the front range and the higher mountains… the oxygen quality at 8-9000 feet is much different than at 5,000. At 5 a person can run around freely and generally not feel exhaustion…not so going higher. Simply going from Colorado Springs to Woodland Park is a different environment. I’m just not sure a professional athlete and a professional medical staff can’t offset the 81 game difference at 5,000 feet. I’m just not ready to make a claim that their struggle us altitude related as much as quality player related. We’ll see when they build a team again. Hydration is an issue for any athlete… That’s not a medical issue, and its one that the staff and athlete can surmount. It’s hard to say that these injury issues wouldn’t happen elsewhere…Morneau brought his concussion issues with him..Cuddyer…Tulos leg issues are likley built into his DNA. Will getting out of Colorado make it easier to treat? Possibly…but it won’t be a magic elixir. Injuries are rampant in the game everywhere. I’d lay the greatest player physiology of the modern player than simply altitude. I’d say were both describing percentages of the issue
I think we also have to consider the balance. While I know from experience playing at altitude has its challenges… So does playing at sea level in humid conditions. But I fully understand what Cuddyer is saying. All in all he loved playing in Colorado, though, I believe. In reality there aren’t really too many places with a pristine athletic environment. San Diego perhaps. Any Midwest or NE city goes from cold to humid summer swelter.
I can’t believe O’s sportswriters and fans are all up in arms about having to use Chaz Roe in the 11th inning of a game instead of Mychal Givens (who was sent to the minors to make room for Garcia) or the departed Hunter (who really wasn’t all that spectacular this year himself). Can we focus on Miguel Gonzalez and how for the 10th time in 21 starts this year pitched 5 innings or less? If Chaz isn’t good enough to be in the situations he’s being put in, then he needs to go. It shouldn’t be about Garcia. And, to paraphrase Van Halen, have you seen Junior’s stats? Maybe he’s a 4A player, but he’s only 25, he’s been a good minor league hitter, and he’s never missed parts of five different seasons with injuries.
That loss was all on Showalter yesterday
And Duquette’s free agent signings and off-season trades were #AWFUL
PS No, I won’t miss Hunter even a little bit.
I’m not sure that “didn’t work out” and “awful” are the same thing. I liked the Snider deal at the time. I had expected that he would be somewhat close to the same player he was in Pittsburgh. That didn’t happen. We also need to look at Pearce not being anywhere close to the same player he was last year, same with DeAza,
Well, I think I know I was complaining as much as I could complain about the off-season moves and to what end.
The only one left from the off-season moves on the 25 man roster is Chaz Roe. What does that say about the job DD is doing, much less the scouts are doing????
You hit on something that I have serious concerns about in Baltimore — the scouting department. This team seems to have below average ability when it comes to two types of scouting — advance scouting of games and scouting of amateur talent. The O’s aren’t a great team this year but how often have you seen them fumble through a pitcher that has a well-established way of working and the hitters attack like they don’t know what the pitcher’s going to bring. In addition, look back at the drafts for the last decade and count up the number of MLB players they’ve drafted and produced. It’s less than 2 a year. For a team that avoids the free agent market, they need to produce a lot more than one or two guys per draft.
When one move goes bad you can say it “didn’t work out” – but when basically every off-season move fails I think it’s safe to say it was an “awful” off-season. OK, not resigning Markakis was the right move but also was a no-brainer. Letting Cruz go and hoping that some combination of Snider, Young, and DeAza would somehow fill the void was idiotic. So was making the trade for Parra – what’s the point? He isn’t going to make any real difference over the next 2 months and they gave away another SP.
i guess we should have let dd do?
The Yankees taking this approach benefits them anytime beyond this season with almost certainty. Blue Jays could win the battle this season and still lose the long range war. Toronto looks to be back strong offensively next season, but with a diminished pitching staff once again, and fewer chips to deal for it.
It’s all about winning rings. If the Jays win it this year (obviously a big if, but for argument’s sake), even if the Yankees are the better team for the next five years but don’t win one of their own, I’d say the Jays won the battle and the war.
You should take your shot when you have it; you never know what the future will bring. Yeah, they may develop a few decent prospects, but who says the Yankees will be able to surround them with a good enough team to contend when those prospects are good players? Was it not worth one of them to take a better shot at a ring this year, when their team was cruising at the time? Instead, they’re deflated now and may not even make the playoffs.
As for the Jays, clearly they gave up a lot of young pitching from their system, but tales of them gutting it are greatly exaggerated. They held onto Alford, Pentecost, Reid-Foley, and Pompey, among others, and have a solid young group of players in Sanchez, Stroman, Travis, Osuna, and Hutchison to surround their core for the next 3-4 years, which now looks like Donaldson, Tulo, and Martin. I don’t think the Jays will fall off the map all of a sudden after 2016, simply from potentially losing Bautista and EE.
I also wouldn’t be surprised if ownership gave the green light to make a real push at resigning Price. A record 1.39 million people watched his first start, and ticket and merch sales are going through the roof after the deals. A lot of money is coming off the books next offseason, and they should have no qualms about raising payroll some anyway. I guess we’ll see. Price, Stroman, Sanchez, Hutchison, Dickey (whose reasonable option looks more and more likely to be picked up as he has a strong second half) should be more than enough starting pitching next year for what will likely be the best offense in baseball again.
You’re reasonable…but I’ll say they say they need this to pan out to not really effect them negatively next season. I also don’t feel they have a real shot at Price. He’ll have some heavy hitters after him, and I’d expect the Jays would have to solidly overpay to get that done.
Jays are interesting right now though.
If Castillo can prove himself to be a solid hitter then the Red Sox will have one less issue going into next year. Other things they have to figure out.
1. Where to play Hanley? 3B? 1B? DH?
2. Who is the starting catcher? and can Swihart or Vazquez be used as a good trading piece?
3. How to fill out the rotation?
4. Is there any way to trade Panda?
5. What to do with bullpen?
Hanley is too good a hitter to just write off. You have to either find a place for him, or you have to buy down his contract and send him elsewhere for a useful part. Panda is an above-average player who is in a slump, but he’s really about a 3 WAR player when healthy and playing up to his capabilities. 2011 looks like a fluke–he’s not that good. But 3WAR players have value–if they stay at that level. He’s young enough–the question I suppose is his fit enough, because if he’s not, you are just buying yourself four more years and more than $77M with the buy-out. He could also be traded, if you bought his contract down, but he’s not the hitter Hanley is, so the acquiring team would need to be comfortable that this year was a fluke and his glove is better than this.
I despise all things Red Sox this year, as the Front Office and Manager of this team scream idiocy. With that said here is my take on your questions:
1) Hanley should move to a corner infield spot depending upon how the roster shakes up.
2. I imagine the starting Catcher will be Swihart with Vazquez platooning against lefties. Swihart is thought to have more upside but I would expect a 100:62 split in Swihart’s favor.
3. The rotation is a nightmare. Hopefully part of the answer to this question also entails question 4. Panda could be traded for Shields in a swap of bad contracts. Kimbrel could be included in the deal with prospects going to San Diego. Maybe Boston goes Tazawa, Uehara and Kimbrel to shorten games. Boston should also look into signing a primetime free agent pitcher who won’t be attached to a draft pick (Price, Cueto). Obviously Porcello and Kelly are there to stay, as they have either no value or negative value.
What I would do is propose a 3 team deal where Bos gets Kimbrel, Shields, and Dan Vogelbsch, SD gets Panda, Marrero, Baez and Pat Light while the Cubs get Clay Bucholz. Then Boston should sign one of the aforementioned pitchers and have a rotation of: Ace, Shields, Erod, Porcello, Miley. Hopefully one of the young guys could supplant Porcello but Boston is really SOL with that guy.
5. As for the bullpen, trading for Kimbrel would help but not solve everything. Kelly should be a swing starter, as he is proven there. Maybe Brian Johnson can serve as a lefty specialist.
Marrero is the 11th ranked Sox prospect. I doubt the Sox can move 30 million annually and a non-elite prospect and get back Kimbrel, Shields and a prospect.
They’d be trading Buchholz however, and he has an extremely friendly contract. They would still have to give somebody better than Marrero I think, but not somebody significantly better. If I were Boston, I’d just look at signing O’Day or Clippard instead.
I’m not sure that you understand how the money works in this deal. SD obtains Panda, a starting shortstop in Marrero, a 2B in Baez and a minor league P, all while clearing 12 million off payroll. Bos gets Shields, Kimbrel and Vogelbach for Bucholz, Panda, Marrero and Light, while Chicago gets Bucholz for Baez and Vogelbach. Maybe SD should get a better prospect than Light but not much better, as they would be asking another team to absorb all the money from their traded players
It was a huge mistake paying the money they did for Hanley without a position.
Pablo they can trade or he would be willing to try 1 B.
The question how much worse defensively can Hanley be at 3 B. The consensus is Hanley would be worse at 1B than LF. For the teams sake Hanley plays 3 B,Pablo at 1B and a league leading defensive OF–Betts-JBJ and Castillo.
The only hope is Ortiz reaches 500 HR and passes several more H of Famers on the RBI List. Ortiz retires with a community service contract with the Sox comparable to what he would get a s a full time player next season.
Then make Hanley your full time DH.
The whole point of a big picture approach is to pay dividends in the future…So, they won’t soon regret that decision because it’s impossible to evaluate “soon”.
Like a true Daily News writer he only cares about this year.. Obviously Cashman could have done the same thing and gone for broke this season. But that would have contradicted everything he has tried to build the last 3 years.. Face it Daily News, the Yankees are finally playing it smart and trying to develop their own players.. The days of them going for broke every year are over for the next couple of years. They will still throw a ton of money at free agents but they will finally have a few players of their own.. Besides, had Cashman gone for it the Daily News would be attacking him relentlessly for giving up the prospects he has tried so hard to develop..
Cashman made the right move not giving up top prospects for Price or Cueto. The season is a marathon, let’s wait and see how they end up.