Although Brad Miller said he’s “on the same page” with the Rays about potentially shifting from first base to second, he hasn’t necessarily embraced the move, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. The 30-home run man from 2016 last played second two seasons ago as a member of the Mariners, and he has generally fared poorly as a middle infielder (minus-27 Defensive Runs Saved, minus-12.3 Ultimate Zone Rating as primarily a shortstop in 3,300-plus innings). Should Miller scuffle in his return to the keystone this year, the Rays would likely scrap the experiment and divide his playing time among first, designated hitter and short, per Topkin, who points to Tim Beckham, Nick Franklin and Daniel Robertson as their other in-house second base possibilities.
More from the American League:
- The Astros have been in pursuit of a front-line starter via trade all offseason, though nothing has materialized and general manager Jeff Luhnow doesn’t expect anything to come together this spring, he told MLB Network Radio on Sunday. However, Luhnow mentioned that having two extra draft picks resulting from ex-Cardinals scouting director Chris Correa’s hacking of the Astros and five top 100 prospects could help him swing a deal at some point (Twitter links).
- The idea of converting Dariel Alvarez from an outfielder to a pitcher is intriguing to some members of the Orioles organization, and manager Buck Showalter wouldn’t be against it, writes Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. As it stands, the 28-year-old Alvarez could be in danger of losing his 40-man roster spot, per Kubatko. Alvarez slashed a modest .288/.324/.384 with four home runs in 560 Triple-A plate appearances last season, and trying him on the mound would perhaps enable the Orioles to take advantage of his “plus-plus” arm, Kubatko notes.
- Third baseman Pablo Sandoval, left-hander Drew Pomeranz, right-hander Joe Kelly, first baseman Sam Travis and catcher Christian Vazquez are among the Red Sox who will need strong spring performances this year, opines Jason Mastrodonato of the Boston Herald. If the beleaguered Sandoval is unable to show enough defensively to win the third base job, the lefty-swinger could have trouble finding playing time in Boston, which is likely to deploy Hanley Ramirez as its designated hitter against righties. Vazquez, meanwhile, has no minor league options remaining and will battle with Sandy Leon (also out of options) and Blake Swihart for a roster spot. The Red Sox might attempt to trade Vazquez if he doesn’t crack their roster, or they could send Swihart to the minors, observes Mastrodonato.
I doubt Vasquez would be in risk of losing his spot. He’d be the last of those three catchers of try to send to AAA. At least they know swihart would get there, so I’d say he’s the obvious choice. Maybe sell high on Leon instead though, since there’s no chance he’s replicating last year.
You can’t sell high on Leon if everyone knows last year was a fluke.
I guess lol
Does Vasquez need to show with a bat? Yes, but so does Leon. But you take Ortiz’s bat out of the lineup and you can’t hide anyone. Swihart has bat but has pass ball issues to resolve… no one is going anywhere. Vasquez or Leon to handle the knuckle baller. Dont see Sam Travis making the club outta spring… numbers game and he has options. No way starting staff gets same run support as last year so those boys better bring there A game to the mound this year unlike last year where all of the above except Porcello and Wright stunk it up most of the year…
How does Vazquez go from being a no-miss prospect to out of options and fighting for a roster spot? Sandoval is an interesting. If he doesn’t pan out, and he can’t be traded, I wonder if the Red Sox would try an Allen Craig move–DFA, followed waivers–and if no-one took him out-righting him so as to save the luxury tax implications. Can that work with someone with Sandoval’s service time?
I would like to know more about this no-miss prospect claim you’re making about Vazquez.. This is the first I heard of that rubbish.
The man they call “Mini-Yadi” Here’s a bit from an old MLBTR post–
“Vazquez, praised by most as one of the best defensive catchers in all of baseball, made his big league debut in 2014 and batted .240/.308/.309 in 201 plate appearances. Despite that lack of offensive production, Vazquez provided quite a bit of value, throwing out an incredible 52 percent of opposing base-stealers and rating as one of the game’s best pitch-framers, per both Statcorner.com and Baseball Prospectus.”
“In the meantime, manager John Farrell expresses confidence in another young Red Sox catcher, Christian Vazquez. “Blake is the name that’s always been in the rumors, because of what he potentially could be attached to,” says Farrell. “But the guy who is as good as anybody in the game right now, as far as catching, receiving and throwing, is Christian Vazquez.”
So a players manager talked about the things he does well. Shocking
Yea and that was after his MLB debut. Everyone agrees he is great defenselessly, its his offense that causes problems,
All Red Sox prospects are can’t miss. Didn’t you get the memo?
All three of their catchers are borderline back up catchers. They should have spent on a decent catcher. Their starters won’t be comfortable switching catchers all year. Price and Sale will have the problems. Welcome with open arms!
Sad but true Red Sox prospects are all potential hall of gamers
This isn’t the Yankees blog, FYI.
I can think of one Red Sox prospect who never was “Can’t Miss” , Mookie Betts.
Not only did the Sox miss him but he never made any top 100 list.
The reason everyone, not just the Red Sox, talk about their prospects is that people at MLB, Baseball America, Keith Law, etc. have rated them highly.
A. J . Preller went all in on Marjot, Espinoza etc. If they don’t work out its his job. The White Sox put their “Sale” on the line for Moncada, etc. The Red Sox will start the 4 “B’s” this yr, with Vaz, Swihart, Devers, Sam Travis, expected to contribute soon. The more interesting issue is how have they been so bad at drafting pitchers?
He quite simply is “no-miss” and if you think otherwise you haven’t seen him perform behind the dish for any extended amount of time. He is a once in a generation type of talent defensively, a prototypical backstop in the mold of Pudge Rodriguez.
Yeah but he just can’t hit.
largest
Drinking that Red Sox Cool Aid buddy. Do the Sox ever do anything wrong and wow after what about 100 games in the majors why not skip right to the HOF and put “mini yadi” right in.
Pudge and Yadier earned their rep over countless innings and seasons of excellence….way too early to draw comparisons between this guy and any proven major leaguer.
Further, what would you expect Farrell to say.
And I don’t think you’d get a lot of agreement about 100 games split between 2 seasons behind the dish as an extended amount of time.
Yet thats what people do. They compair up and comers to proven players to try and draw a distinction as to what kind of player they think theyll turn out to be. I think Vaz will be great if he can get hit at or slightly below league average. Clubs will be willing to deal with a slightly anemic bat if hes got great stuff behind the dish. Time will tell though. Hes pretty much got this year to figure it out.
Yadier Molina was an absolutely terrible hitter for the first four seasons of his career. Catchers just have different career arcs because it’s the hardest position on the field.
Sox can NOT DFA Panda. As a 5 yr player he has the right to refuse and get all of his $$$$ which would continue to count against the luxury tax. The difference with Craig is that he still has only 4+ yrs in MLB. Craig and Castillo would have to give up the $$$ to refuse a minor league assignment.
thanks for the explanation
Not too hard really to figure. Lavarnway and Federowiz both were drafted by the sox before Vazquez in that same draft (all 3 top 10 picks in 08). Vazquez was originally drafted out of PR, where some have taken a bit of more training, not to mention as an 18YO catcher.. Which can take longer to develop in the 1st place, over college drafted catchers.
By now.. 8 years later, missing 1 full season of TJ (option there to minors) all 3 were used up. It’s not hard to fathom. Couple that to Boston having aforementioned (at the time) better prospects of ryan lavarnway, Tim federowiz, even UDFA Dan Butler holding him back some?
Leon & Vaz would never clear waivers. Both will have to be on the 25 man roster or DL all yr unless traded. DD has already stated the Sox want Swihardt – who has an option left – to get experience at C at AAA. This also allows him to be recalled if Leon or Vaz needs a DL stint. In 2016 the Sox needed 5 catchers because of DL stints by Hanigan, Swihardt and Vaz. they had to pick up Holoday. Their 4th C this yr is Dan Butler so they will be lucky if they get by with just one of the 3 on the DL at anytime.
I think the Braves are looking for a young catcher……..
AZ called about Vaz. DD told them he is keeping all 3 C’s, a cheap luxury for a team in win now mode. The Sox would be foolish to trade any of the 3. They needed 5 C’s to get through 2016. Their best move is to keep all 3 while Swihardt has an option.
Swihardt can move freely between AAA and the 25 man roster as DL insurance. If Leon or Vaz have a strong 2017 their trade value soars. In the meantime Blake finally gets a full yr. at AAA to develop his catching skills.
Except the DBacks are not the Braves, well at least not prospects wise. Granted, i wouldn’t trade a top prospect, but if the Braves called, I’m almost positive the Sox would listen!
DD would listen to any trade offer. But having 3 catchers – one with an option left — is worth more to a win now team then a rebuilding team. John Hart is not going to grossly over pay. Next winter when the Sox have 3 catchers — none with an option left — DD will trade one. Their values will depend on how they progress or regress this yr.
How do you keep spelling his name wrong when it’s in the story?
I use “Vaz” , DD, Panda, JBJ etc. to save typing space. That’s not a spelling problem. I seem to remember a player named Yastremski sp? who was called Yaz. He never complained that no one spelled his name right. In fact when Yaz appeared on the Match Game show one of the ? was to spell his name. He spelled it “wrong” and got more matches then if he had spelled it right because he was so used to the most common mistake that people made.
Pretty sure he meant Swihart or as you call him Swihardt. Just saying.
Spelling like neatness is the hobgoblin of small minds.
Indifference to one’s ability to communicate clearly is a coven of hobgoblins.
Brad Miller- 30 homer man, is still hard to wrap my brain around.
anyway, he did play over 100 games last year at short., albeit with bad defensive numbers, you figure a move to an easier second base spot would be a good solution for him and for his future earnings; first basemen with his numbers are a dime a dozen.
Yeah, I don’t get why he would have a problem. I do get that he was disappointed in being moved mid season last year. He actually was getting more reliable before they switched him and the season was lost anyway…
Alvarez doesn’t have much choice now. At 28 it looks like his most valuable asset is that arm so throw him in the bullpen and let him throw heat.
Could be a really appealing piece to an NL club IF he’s a solid pitcher. It’s a long shot for him to be a serviceable MLB pitcher by transitioning at this juncture in his career, but you never know.
Kelly deserves a spot in the bullpen
Kelly worries me because of his lack of control. Hes got great heat, and a decent curve if he can get it to move, but his placement was always off as a starter and thats why he got shelled so often. He didnt do too bad as a relief pitcher in his short stint last year but a guy with control problems is a guy that scares the crap out of me late in the game when every hit, run, and walk matter more.
Dariel Alvarez led Internationalm League with 38 doubles and in top 10 in hits while having 12 outfield assists. He just needs to have a good Spring Training.
Agreed
What Alvarez has done looks nice on the surface until you dig a little deeper. Nobody questions his defensive skills but he can’t work a walk if his life depended on it. He can hit a little bit but after three years as a full-timer he’s just not advancing offensively. If anything, he regressed last year at a point where he should have made strides forward given his age and experience. The O’s have been fairly desperate for a quality corner OF since Markakis left town and Alvarez hasn’t shown what it takes to be that guy.