SEPT. 25: The Red Sox received “really good news” regarding Rodriguez on Friday, Roenicke told Ian Browne of MLB.com and other reporters. Rodriguez has been cleared to start walking again in a couple of weeks, and the Red Sox are hopeful he’ll be able to have a normal offseason.
SEPT. 24: The Red Sox have gone all season without their two best starters, left-handers Chris Sale and Eduardo Rodriguez, because of health problems. Thanks in part to their absences, the Red Sox have gone a horrible 22-34 – the second-worst record in the American League. However, the hope is that the Red Sox will have one or both of the Sale-Rodriguez tandem back when the 2021 campaign commences.
Manager Ron Roenicke issued updates on Sale and Rodriguez on Thursday, saying (via Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic; Twitter links) that the former is coming along well in his recently started throwing program and the latter will meet with doctors in the coming days to determine next steps. Sale has been on the shelf since undergoing Tommy John surgery in March, while Rodriguez has been down with myocarditis after a bout with the coronavirus.
For Boston’s starting staff, there’s no doubting the importance of Sale or Rodriguez. Sale, a longtime ace, signed a five-year, $145MM extension before the 2019 season, and while his numbers dipped after that, he remained an above-average starter. He still has four guaranteed seasons left on that deal. Rodriguez has given the Red Sox solid production since he debuted in 2015, and with next season being his final year of arbitration eligibility, it could be a crucial campaign for him.
Without Sale and Rodriguez, the Red Sox’s rotation has struggled to the majors’ second-worst ERA and FIP in 2020. They’ve completely lacked solutions beyond Nathan Eovaldi and Martin Perez, who could return to the team next year as complements to Sale and Rodriguez if the latter two are well enough to pitch by then.
That’s good to hear! And what would be even better is for the team to PLEASE STOP winning!
Start**?
Draft pick. Stop.
OMG, the spot in the draft is stupid. Guys hit all over the draft, not just the top 3 like NBA.. This “Tank” culture is awful for sports and it’s beyond stupid for MLB!
rusty.coqbern, The Dodgers are an example of that. They’ve never drafted early in recent years yet have a roster loaded with homegrown talent (16 such players at the moment). They got Smith, Lux, May, and Gonsolin from the 2016 draft alone. Player development in MLB is complex and can take time. There are no short cuts to building a winning baseball team, especially when it comes to the draft. Yet here we have fans hyping amateur prospects they’ve never seen play. These people need to revisit some past drafts to see how imprecise the process is.
I don’t think the Red Sox have been tanking this year I think they were that bad
They were bad because of the lack of pitching in all areas.
The way it’s looking now, Boston will get the 3rd or 4th pick, missing out on the two best pitching prospects in the draft (Rocker & Leiter). It would be just their luck for this to happen. Their draft track record is horrible; just think they took C.J. Chatham instead of Pete Alonso or Bo Bichette, both of whom were ranked much higher than Chatham. Hopefully, Chaim Bloom will break that trend but his first draft in Boston (albeit only 5 rounds) was not overly impressive.
I wouldn’t get onto them about Chatham. Remember they took Groome with the #12 overall pick that year and he was projected to go top 5. Groome falling into their lap meant cutting corners rest of the way some. Chatham was talented, just looked and BA had him at #101, MLB at #61. He signed for 125k underslot 2nd round, where Groome cost them 500k over at 3.65m in 2016.
I personally think they shouldn’t draft any middle infielders with a 1-3 draft pick anyway, unless the guy has outstanding tools. I’ve seen MANY never make it Boston, or anyplace else drafted there by them, outside of Dustin Pedroia, deven marrero and Jed Lowrie since Henry bought this team, it’s the other draft curse on top of all those wasted picks on junkballing pitchers, of which only brian Johnson ever did “much” of anything.
Well said, John!
I second Dorothy, great post. I am still hoping for a miracle to get the second seed, just need to stop winning, n the other teams to win!
position should be irrelevant when it comes to drafting in baseball. Players constantly move from spot on the diamond to another. Take the best available talent.
Exactly! These brain dead sheep seem to think it’s like the NBA draft! The league has seen more #1, #2 and #3’s fail to make it past AA then excel at the big league level.. This “Best Prospect” crap is all hype and it’s a sell job.. Tanking isn’t good for any sport (and someone should let Carrabis know that – he’s another fool that thinks tanking is good).
Seems all E-Rod updates have been he is to “meet with doctors in the coming days”, with no follow up information. That is concerning. Hope he is okay.
is it really? it’s known he has the issue and as of recently was still dealing with it. if something got worse it wouldnt be “in the coming days” but asap. might be just a follow-up.
The new update says “start walking again in a couple weeks”! I didn’t know he couldn’t walk
Me either. What’s the story there?
If he took care of himself he should be fine. I know cardiology.
Does he look like a player that takes care of himself? He’s always been soft, he doesn’t take strength & conditioning seriously – probably won’t until he’s looking at the end of his career and decides to amp it up to keep playing.
He’s good but I know he can be better.. Will this be a wake up call?
You guys are pathetic. He got cleared to start WALKING soon. Not Corona, nope, he’s just soft. Do you hear yourselves?
He should be fine if he took care of himself which I think he has.
Red Sox get these two arms healthy next year, get a pitcher this offseason and another bat and they are back in the hunt with a good draft position in 2021.
Are you kidding. They need another solid starter not the throwaways that Bloom picks up. They need to straighten out Benintendi which I am worried about, they need another center fielder and about 3 relief pitchers. Sale is not going to be Sale until later in the year. EROD worries me as well. This team is not going to contend much next year. Get use to it !
Benintendi worries you? The 50 plate appearances this year are worrying you. We just going to ignore the 2000 other PAs he has before then?
Yes he does worry me. He is a mess at the plate right now and that is why the Red Sox kept him out the rest of the year. I think there philosophy is to start fresh next year and hopefully he gets back on track! I am concerned about him
Bennie at the plate has been overrated so if he’s not dealt, it is a concern because the position commands production. ERod? Pitching again comes after health. While it appears most recover, such is no guarantee. Add in the recovery is normally labeled for just anyone. He’s a big kid and endurance could easily become a resulting issue. I’m no doc but he could end up being the team’s closer if he’s able to return. No guarantees on anything.
I would have to agree. The problems extend well beyond the these pitchers. There’s no guarantee Sale is the same, especially with the way he throws. He will need to adjust.
And ERod is still far from a proven success. He had one great season. The others are good but he is not an ace by any means.
And then there’s the bullpen.
And Benintendi has always lived under the hype. We could do without him.
Am I kidding? Well, can you read? My quote “get a pitcher this offseason”.
Go get Bauer or Stroman. Red Sox grab a bat, OF preferably.
I am a Blue Jays fan. I’ve watched the Red Sox enough to know despite their awful season they can return to contention in 2021 if they want.
Why this is mindblowing to you tells me you aren’t paying close attention. Nothing I said was controversial. Meanwhile you are worried about Benintendi yet not worried elsewhere? Hyperbolic-much?
I wouldn’t count a season on Stroman or Bauer. Neither of those are aces. As Dorothy says, 5 to 6 players are needed, especially in the bullpen.
I don’t know about that.. We have offense (look at this years team numbers, bats aren’t really an issue) and week could use some arms too but having Sale and Erod at 50% each is much better than what we watched this year.
At least one good starter added to the mix, with some of the youth we’ve seen lately, with Sale / Erod gets Boston sniffing playoffs.
Biggest problem on the roster that I see is JD Martinez. Paying him 20m to hit under .700 OPS in 2021 is a guy punch. But even with him we still ranked high Offensively across the board in 2020.
The Red Sox need to add 5 or 6 impact players next year to become relevant again. They need a legit SP (maybe 2), 2 new bullpen arms, a second baseman, a center fielder and an above average 4th OF. There’s a chance 2 or 3 of these could be filled internally (Arroyo or Downs at 2B, Duran as 4th OF) but Chaim has a lot of work to do this off season to get this team back on track. Benny’s multi-year downturn is concerning, JDM’s struggles this year are concerning and Raffy taking two steps backwards defensively is also concerning. Houck & Pivetta bring a little hope but they really can’t count on either one being a permanent part of next year’s rotation quite yet. While Martín Perez had some nice games this year, his last start is concerning as that’s how he has been his entire career: good game, decent game, awful game. On the positive side, Verdugo is a stud and Dalbec should be able to stick with the team all year and hit 30+ HRs if he stays healthy. There’s certainly a path back to winning baseball for Boston, but Chaim is going to have to hit much more than he misses on any acquisitions he makes.
Martin Perez can never be counted on to be anything more than a 4 starter. He’s been that consistently for years.
Boston has a decision to make. Have Chris start with the team beginning of the season and probably be garbage for the first two months, oh well let him continue rehabbing and bring him back in June which is what they should do and at that point will probably be close to 100%. The problem is the owners of the team do not see what everyone else sees that this is a rebuilding team and they will probably insist Chris has the ball opening day. Complete and total mistake.
The real problem is that TJ surgery does not guarantee that you’re the same pitcher you were before the surgery….the common narrative is is that TJ surgery is the magic fix to be back to your self or even better and that is just not true….you don’t know how or when and of course the adjustments that have to be made just to get back to pitching in the majors.
After TJ surgery, most pitchers do not hit the floor running. What they may get back in 2021 could be a shadow of who he is. He’s much more likely to come back in 2022 and be effective than 2021.
Won’t know until he’s on the mound consistently for real. Hopefully ownership will leave the decision to the medical people especially the surgeon and rehab team. Rocky, thanks for posting objectively on a Sox article.
except they arent rebuilding. All the trades they made have been retooling trades. the only player they traded from their core was Mookie who was a rental.
Will come down to the pitching. If the staff competes at championship level, the roster can be tweaked to make a run. 2013 proved that. I can easily see JDM returning to form and have a Papi type leadership at the plate role. He doesn’t have to have the unreal WS at bats Papi had then, just the big time ones when it counts most. Looking forward to being able to say “told you so” to those that believe JDM is done.
Let’s just hope MLB allows video again next year. That is JDM’s elixir. He was lost all year without being able to review his ABs. His swing is very fluid and he relies on video to make in game adjustments. If they take the video away again next year, JDM will certainly be better than he was in 2020 but I’m worried he won’t come close to his 2019 production, let alone his dominant 2018 season.
I think it’s all but guaranteed that Sale will not be on the opening day roster. Hopefully, he can rejoin the team sometime in May but it really depends on how he’s throwing and what the doctors tell him. Sale is a pitbull so I’m sure he’s putting in a ton of work already on the rest of his body and following doctors orders to a T when it comes to his elbow rehab. I’m optimistic that he can make a full recovery and pitch meaningful games for Boston for more than half the season.
Boston now finds themselves in the same position the White Sox were in when they had Sale. If I were them, I would consider trading Sale for an assortment of good young players/pitchers. They could rapidly improve their roster with younger players and free up money at the same time.
While trading Sale is a possibility but probably doubtful given his contract you’re not going to get an assortment of “good, young player/pitchers in return for an older player who is coming off this type of surgery. The biggest question is the new Sale going to be mimic the old Sale? That doesn’t spell well for any trade.
You’d be surprised what an Ace-type pitcher can get you these days. Teams are desperate for starters, and Sale still has that “new car smell”, despite the injury and mediocre performance last year. A few top prospects plus an MLB-ready player in exchange for a perennial Cy Young candidate wouldn’t shock anybody.
If we’re being realistic here, it’s doubtful that Boston could get any team to take on Sale’s entire contract with even a bare minimum return at this point. Even if Boston were to pick up a hefty portion of Sale’s remaining salary, I don’t think any big name prospects come back in that deal. Sale has a lot to prove before he and his large price tag become even somewhat palatable to a prospective buyer.
I agree on the top prospects, and certainly wasn’t suggesting that Boston would that kind of return. But a team’s top 2 or 3 prospects and/or a “rosterable” big leaguer is doable.
NO team is going to give up their top 2-3 prospects…..
But beyond the whole point and mine specifically….you don’t know if he will be an “Ace-Type pitcher” from this point forward…..And when you combine that with the contract extension Boston gave him…there are more questions than answers.
Again TJ surgery isn’t the magic pill to success equal to or better than who you were before.
No it isn’t. They’d get a team’s worst prospects and probably still have to pay half the contract or more.
@chisoxcity
Yeah, look at what Cleveland got back for an expensive Kluber, coming off an injury. Keep telling yourself that!
Like a broken clock Rocky’s right twice twice in one day Or of course we’re both wrong as I more or less agree with Rocky. Given that, the real decision comes next July if Sales has shown enough AND the Sox don’t as a team rebound. My guess is even then offers will not be sufficient and will involve the Sox having to eat 50% of his remaining deal like Price to get real talent back. To much risk for most teams as many have scouts who thought his motion would leave to one injury or another. He’s still a risk for another hip injury like at the end of 2018.
I agree. Trading Sale next season would not get the Sox much in return. Fresh off of TJ and with his contract not many teams would be willing to give up much. The Red Sox should just be patient and hope that he can come back successfully.
Not to mention that Chris Sale has a full no trade clause, so they can’t simply trade him. The whole idea of trading a pitcher rehabbing from a serious surgery is preposterous to begin with.
Cmon let’s be realistic no team and I mean no team is taking on the rest of Sale’s contract which equates to 29 million a year and send back any prospects until they see if he can come back from TJ surgery. I would be surprised if any team would take on Sale at all right now without seeing how he comes back from TJ surgery. Chisoxcity you are just flat wrong on this one. This is coming from a diehard Red Sox fan Sale’s contract is just not movable at this point. If he comes back strong then yes it would be movable. If he does though Boston probably won’t move him then unless it’s a gross overpay which means of all the guys on the Red Sox Sale is probably the least likely to be traded. There is also the the full no trade clause but that’s just semantics at this point.
The difference between when he was with the White Sox and now is the fact that he was on a team-friendly deal back then and not so much now. Also, if you deal him now you won’t get back nearly as much as you would’ve when the White Sox traded him, as he is coming off TJS and his numbers aren’t even close to what they were at that time. You’d be selling extremely low on a pitcher that may or may not come back as the pitcher he once was. Sounds easy enough to trade him for young assets, but the reality is much different.
Yeah, I don’t think there’s even a chance they’re looking at trading him for that very reason.
Chris Sale´s middle name is “For”
Best of luck to Eduardo. Between the lines I always root against the sux but this is much bigger than baseball.
“Rodriguez has been cleared to start walking again in a couple of weeks, and the Red Sox are hopeful he’ll be able to have a normal offseason.“
What am I missing? The dude is just now able to go for a walk but Sox think a normal offseason is coming?
I have no idea, I didn’t know he wasn’t able to even walk. Unless I’ve somehow been oblivious.
Luckily for him, he’s a young and healthy professional athlete, so Covid will have absolutely no effect on him…I’ve been told.
One pitcher who has a legit shot of making the opening day roster and putting up surprisingly good results next season is Bryan Mata. He was an absolute beast down at the alternate site this year. His fastball was constantly in the mid to upper 90’s, even hitting 100 a couple of times. He has a wipeout slider, decent curve and a vastly improved change up too. He’ll only be 22 next year but if he has a great spring training, I could easily see him breaking camp with the team (especially if Sale and/or E-Rod aren’t ready yet) and pitching well enough to stay with the team once everyone gets healthy. Jay Groome isn’t too far behind him either but probably won’t be ready until late 2021 or 2022.
While I love the guy, I could see Boston trying to move Eovaldi in the off season. He had a great, short season this year and his value has never been higher. He has 2 years left on his deal at ~$18M/yr. so most playoff worthy teams would be able to afford him (except Tampa or Cleveland). I just don’t think he’ll be able to put these same numbers up again for a full season, not to mention stay healthy, so this would be the time for Boston to consider moving him, especially if they feel Mata is ready to step in and contribute. Here’s to the next championship Red Sox team!
How do you get cleared to start walking in a couple weeks.? You get cleared to walk or you don’t.
sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/padres/story/2020-…
Padres > Red Sox
ERod, Eovaldi, and Houck are a nice front until Sale is ready but we need at least one legitimate starter and one stop gap (Webb and Godley shoukd not be considered). Mazza is interesting but may be better suited for the bullpen. The bullpen will need a Closer, Mychel Givens, Alex Colome, Kirby Yates someone who can get three outs in the 9th inning.
The lineup is solid but we need a 2B. Cesar Hernandez, Tommy La Stella, Jonathan Schoop all should be afordable options. If Bloom decides to keep Bradley i hope its not a gross overpay, if not an OF bat with power would be nice. I doubt Martinez opts out after the terrible season he had
Will the Red Sox tender Eduardo Rodriguez a 2021 contract working off his 2020 salary of $8.3 million?
If the Sox don’t tender Rodriguez a contract, will the lefthander look elsewhere or negotiate a lower salary with the Sox?
Does Rodriguez harbor ill feelings after losing in arbitration last offseason when the panel went with the team’s $8.3 million number over the $8.975 million proposed by Rodriguez? MLB Trade Rumors had projected Rodriguez with a $9.5 million salary coming off his 19-win season.
The Sox will 100% tender a contract to E-Rod. The only way they do not is if the doctors say he has a damaged heart and can never play again. Myocarditis is a fairly common, highly treatable condition so it seems very unlikely that it will prevent E-Rod from playing again. Given that he didn’t play all season, I would assume that if they go to arbitration, he’ll be in line to get the exact same salary he was awarded for 2020. E-Rod for $8.3M is a bargain in this day and age so Boston will gladly sign him to this amount and perhaps even look into extending him if they receive a positive medical evaluation of course.
Sox will almkst certainly tender a contract to Rodriguez this winter. They would be very hard pressed to find a better starter for the money, even if ERod were to get a raise.
That assumes Eduardo Rodriguez will return to health.
The Red Sox will have medical updates before making a decision before the December 2 non-tender deadline.