Ben Cherington, who recently stepped down as GM of the Red Sox, spoke at Saberseminar in Boston on Saturday (joking that the forum was “a progressive event that even invites the unemployed“) and was unusually candid about his work with the Sox and about being an executive for a big-league team. Here’s a bit of what he had to say, via Alex Speier of the Boston Globe and Tim Britton of the Providence Journal (Twitter links: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9).
- Cherington says he misjudged how Hanley Ramirez would transition from the infield to the outfield. “We didn’t know what he would be defensively,” Cherington says. “We made a bet based on the history of what players look like going from middle infield to outfield. … It hasn’t gone well.” Ramirez has rated as well below average in left field, and his defensive struggles this season have coincided with a decline on offense, arguably making Ramirez one of MLB’s worst position players while still in the first year of his contract.
- Cherington adds that the Red Sox contacted Billy Beane and the Athletics about trading Josh Donaldson last offseason, only to be told the A’s weren’t interested in dealing Donaldson. They did, of course, ultimately trade him to Toronto, and Cherington says he credits the Blue Jays for their persistence.
- Instead, the Red Sox signed Pablo Sandoval to play third, a move that hasn’t worked out thus far. Cherington says he didn’t necessarily expect the run-scoring environment at Fenway Park to be a boon for Sandoval, but instead was mostly focused on filling what had been a “black hole” at third. Sandoval has hit fairly well at home this season, batting .304/.347/.451. But he’s batted just .216/.271/.337 on the road.
- Some of Cherington’s mistakes as GM came as a result of rushing decisions, he says.
- One of the most crucial aspects of being a GM is interacting with team ownership, Cherington says, noting that it’s a sensible and necessary part of the job.
- Cherington seems happy with the state in which he left the Red Sox’ farm system, saying that there are prospects who can turn out to be special players and also areas of organizational depth.
- One decision Cherington says he won’t rush is determining the next step in his career. Instead, he’ll take his time in making that decision.
Hard for me to imagine how Cherington could not have seen this outcome from Ramirez or Pablo… Pablo has been in decline for years now, and Ramirez’s defense has always been a known issue. The Dodgers didn’t even give Ramirez an offer… Shouldn’t that have been a red flag?
You can live with Hanley’s defense if he hits like he did in LA. His bat disappeared, and that’s why it’s a disastrous contract.
Did you account for regression due to age? Even with an above average bat, I still don’t think it was a good deal for the Red Sox.
It’s a four year deal. Age regression shouldn’t have been much of an issue.
Even if he hits like he did in LA, you cannot live with that D. It is literally that bad – good hitting will not offset it.
Fortunately, some teams are starting to educate themselves and move away from the “if he hits, his D doesn’t matter” mentality.
Unfortunately for Red Sox fans though..oh, and Padres fans..
The big question… Trout or Donaldson for MVP?
Trout is having a slightly better season, but I’d pick Donaldson if the Jays get to the postseason. I know some people don’t think that should be a factor, but the Jays have been such a heartbreak story year after year.
Plus it also highlights what a stupid decision Beane made in trading him as discretely as he did.
I agree. Trout is the obvious better player, and will probably have the better season, but the impact JD has had on the Jays has been unmatched. Don’t really care for the Jays, but I hope they make the playoffs. They deserve it.
We all got downvoted. I think we offended a Mike Trout fan 🙁
Gotta go with Donaldson. Overall numbers seem to give a slight edge to Trout but I think Donaldson has more of an impact on his team than Trout has.
Agreed. Donaldsons basic stats are better but Trout is definitely the better player but Donaldson’s impact on his team is unmatched. The one thing in Trout’s favor is he’s the king (last years winner) and is statistically better to date this year. Will take something special to dethrone him.
He said the only reason they signed Pablo was to fill the black hole at 3rd. Meanwhile he signed Hanley to fill which hole? The outfield was packed with decent options. When he signed Hanley I thought it was for 3B not LF. It was really unnecessary to give out two long term deals.
His biggest fault is that he should have just signed Hanley to play 3b. Signing Pablo was completely unnecessary. Pablo’s contract could have signed Shields which, as sad as it is to say, he would have been the ace of the Red Sox staff this season.
What about the Reddick deal? Had they kept Reddick, there would be no need for Hanley Ramirez.
The reason he didn’t trade for Donaldson is the price it would have cost. The A’s got 4 quality players for Donaldson. When Cherington announced he would not trade Betts there was no way they could get Donaldson.
Maybe you didn’t read……
Cherington said Beane told him Donaldson wasn’t available. I’ve read quotes from 2 other GM’s that said they called Beane about Donaldson and got the same response. Players were never discussed.
Beans is known as a guy that is fully aware of other teams players. If they don’t have any that he wants, he simply moves on. The way it should be.
The blue jays made Beane the offer he couldn’t refuse because Beane said the same thing he said to the others that Donaldson wasn’t available. Donaldson would not make them a winner the redsox needs starting pitching.
“The blue jays made Beane the offer he couldn’t refuse because Beane said the same thing he said to the others that Donaldson wasn’t available.”
They didn’t even give up a lot.
Yea the Red Sox and many teams could have easily beat that offer even without Betts. In fact, non of the players the A’s got are as good as Betts.
Lawrie has pretty much the same stats as Betts just a fraction lower in OBA. Graveman has pitched better than most redsox pitchers. Nolin has been hurt but has a great arm. Barreto is the A’s top prospect now at ss. 19 y o and hit well in A+. No the redsox could not beat that offer without Betts in it.
The second signing (of either of Hanley and Panda) was the mistake, because you just didn’t have the room on the roster, especially with Ortiz manning the DH. But, as easy as it is to criticized, remember both were thought to be highly sought after. and both rated highly on the MLBTR rankings of free agents. I don’t think anyone could have expected both to tank, and coverage after the signings was largely positive.
“We made a bet”? That doesn’t exactly give fans a good feeling. It;s like “Well, he’s a pretty good hitter. We’ll bury him someplace where he’ll do the least amount of damage”. Sorry, but I can’t see the Red Sox missing this guy too much.
Making a bet based on how other infielders have moved to the outfield, and signing Hanley accordingly, is flat out madness. He was a statue at SS – zero range, injury prone and a constantly questioned level of effort. He only played SS to keep his ego stroked so he wouldn’t give up hitting (thanks Donnie).
Ben Cherington got what he deserved with this one. There were many, many happy Dodgers fans when Hanley wasn’t re-signed.