March 23: The Red Sox have formally announced the signing of Story to a six-year contract.
March 20: The Red Sox are in agreement with Trevor Story on a six year, $140MM contract. After the fourth year, 2025, Story can opt out of the final two years of the deal. However, Boston can negate that opt-out by picking up a seventh year option for $25MM, or pay a $5MM buyout. If they were to exercise that option, it would add $20MM to the deal, effectively making it a seven-year, $160MM arrangement. Story will not have any no-trade protection as part of the contract. Story is a client of Excel Sports Management.
Story will take over at second base with Xander Bogaerts staying on as the team’s shortstop, per Jim Bowden of The Athletic. Red Sox manager Alex Cora has confirmed that plan, per Marly Rivera of ESPN.
It had been a fairly quiet offseason for the Red Sox up to this point, with the club mostly focused on its pitching staff, adding veterans like Rich Hill, Michael Wacha and Jake Diekman. On the position player side of things, they had only really subtracted since the offseason began, sending Hunter Renfroe to the Brewers for Jackie Bradley Jr. and prospects. Story, however, they have certainly add a tremendous impact bat to their lineup.
After the departure of Troy Tulowitzki, Story took over the everyday shortstop job in Colorado and ran with it. Over the past six seasons, he has played in 745 games and hit 158 home runs, hitting an overall .272/.340/.523, for a wRC+ of 112. He also stole 100 bases and provided excellent defense, accruing 21.6 fWAR in that time.
In addition to helping out the Red Sox this year, the addition of Story makes sense from a long-term view. Xander Bogaerts can opt out of the remainder of his contract at the end of this season, when he will have three years and $60MM left on it, something he seems likely to do. If that should come to pass, they could already have his replacement on the roster. As noted above, the plan for this season is to keep Bogaerts at short and have Story play second, moving Enrique Hernandez to regular outfield duty. Story missed some of last year’s season with an injury to his throwing elbow, and some scouts expressed the belief that he would be best utilized at second base due to that injury impacting his throwing arm. Boston will now have at least one year to see if Story’s arm can rebound in any way before deciding how to proceed beyond 2022.
Although the writing has seemed to be on the wall for quite some time now, this officially ends the Trevor Story era in Colorado. Much like with Nolan Arenado before him, there seemed to be a falling out between the club and their marquee player. Last year, as Story was headed into free agency and the club not in contention, he seemed like an obvious candidate to be traded to a contender. However, the deadline came and went without a deal coming to fruition, something that left Story confused. “I don’t have really anything good to say about the situation and how it unfolded,” Story said in the immediate aftermath of the deadline. During the offseason, there didn’t seem to be any belief that a reunion was in the cards. The club apparently offered him more than the $140MM he got from the Red Sox, with Story preferring his chances of competing in Boston, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network. Between Story and Tulowitzki, the shortstop position in Colorado has been spoken for since 2006. For now, it seems like Jose Iglesias will be taking over, as he signed with the club a week ago. Since the club made a qualifying offer that Story rejected, they will receive a compensatory draft pick after the first round. The Red Sox forfeit their second-highest pick and and will have their international signing bonus pool reduced by $500K.
This deal also closes the book on this year’s mega class of free agent shortstops, which featured Story, Carlos Correa, Corey Seager, Javier Baez and Marcus Semien. Going into the offseason, it was expected by many that the Yankees would be prominent players in this market, given their penchant for high payrolls and obvious need at the position that has been apparent since Gleyber Torres was moved to second base last year. But reports emerged in November that they were considering sitting out the shortstop bidding, content to acquire a stopgap solution as they wait for either of Oswald Peraza or Anthony Volpe to graduate from prospects to big leaguers. That now seems to have been the case, as the club acquired glove-first shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa to man the position, while the big five shortstops all landed with surprising suitors. The rebuilding Rangers grabbed both Seager and Semien, while another rebuilding club, the Tigers, nabbed Baez. Correa shockingly lingered on the market before settling on a short-term deal with the Twins, a team not known for reeling in the top fish in free agency. Now Story has come off the board, landing on a team that didn’t have an obvious fit at the position.
Since Chaim Bloom left the small-market Rays and took over as Boston’s Chief Baseball Officer after the 2019 season, the club has been undergoing a sort of semi-rebuild process. It was a few months into his tenure that they traded Mookie Betts and David Price to the Dodgers as part of a process to strip down payroll, despite winning the World Series in 2018. On the heels of that trade, the club went 24-36 in the pandemic-shortened season, slipping beneath the lowly Orioles and into last place in the AL East. After some modest additions to the club, many went into 2021 expecting they would be unable to compete in such a strong division. However, they rallied for a 92-win season, just edging out the Blue Jays for a Wild Card berth, making it as far as the ALCS before falling to the Astros. On the heels of that surprise campaign, it seemed for the past few months that the club might again opt for only modest upgrades. Instead, the Fenway Faithful have the big splash that they were desperately hoping for, easily the biggest since Bloom took over, as the AL East figures to be a four-headed beast yet again.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today first reported that Boston and Story were in agreement, as well as the $140MM guarantee. (Twitter links) Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic was the first to report the six-year term. The fact that there was an unusual opt-out was first relayed by Jon Heyman of MLB Network. The fourth-year opt-out with the seventh-year option structure was first relayed by Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The $5MM buyout and $25MM salary for the final year were first relayed by Heyman. The lack of a no-trade clause was first reported by Sherman.
Noooo! This is un-Chaim. An .800 OPS in C’oors, not worth a pick, not worth the money.
Giants continue to impress
If the Red Sox are going to do this for their sake it better be a short term deal
That’s exactly what I said. Not a fan at all of this contract. The Sox have a ton of great young infield prospects who are getting closer to graduating to the majors. They should have spent this money on pitching, plain and simple.
And what pitching should they have invested in? Mayer is 3 years away and Yorke is also 3-4 years away. The contract is perfect and is protection in case Bogaerts opts out.
Well, they had to something. It was looking like they’d be closer to the Orioles than the big 3. How does it play out (re: Xander, especially)? TBD.
If this means X is more likely to leave it’s the worst deal since….
https://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/olympics-fourth-place-medal/-loser-keeps-bieber–billboard-gets-sad-and-hilarious-update-after-team-usa-loss-003904934.html
It’s called protecting your team short and long term. I’m assuming opt outs are in this deal too
Did you ever stop and think and that Bogaerts moves to 3B next year and Devers moves to DH? This deal has NO effect on Bogey’s future in Boston, if he wants to stay they will find a place for him to play!
I don’t think that Bogey will move to third. He played third when he first came up and it didn’t go well for him he just didn’t look comfortable maybe he can do it but I think 2nd might be a better long term fit.
Hernandez in CF, Story at 2B, Arroyo in reserve.
Hopefully no more than a three-year deal but he can help right now
The story will unfold soon
6 with a complicated option. $140. So same as Baez got.
This would’ve been a better deal for the Tigers than what Baez got. Story is locked in for at least 4 years.
That makes more sense given their window. Baez can opt out in 2 years.
Gross
Yuck. I don’t like the fit here. I don’t see him making that lineup much better. He’s not the same player away from Coors.
Every single Rockies hitter has home/away splits like Story’s. It doesn’t affect their performance with new teams.
Yes it does… Arenado’s wRC+ was down 15 points…
His wRC+ was 113 compared to a career average of 118 this year. That’s a negligible difference.
also Arenado went to a more pitcher friendly park, as a cards fan i expected a bit of a drop off in nolan’s off. numbers but figured his d and just scariness of a hitter would make up for it. as for story i was hoping my birds would of picked him up because the dejong experiment is a fail, story might not be hitting in col anymore but hitting in the ale is just as good, other than maybe tb every park in the ale is a hitters park.
Fenway is pretty close to a hitter probably. Or as close as they’ll get. And Story is a 30/30 threat.
30 errors and 30 days on the DL?
Has he ever spent 30 days on the DL ?
Similar to Dodger Move vis a vi Trea T and Seager?
100%agree..Turner and seager just to different of a player. Trea doesnt have the wow factor. Now LA has a log jam of Muncy Beli Freeman 1B. Yeah there’s s DH now but I don’t see enough ABs.
throw in Taylor, Justin Turner(DH) and Lutz. just feels to cramped. Sure LA is by far the best lineup in baseball. How long till this backfires or drama from not getting enough ABs?
I guess someone will end up on the DL. Injuries happen. With that much depth what else could go wrong??
Bellinger is an OF and Muncy will play 2B.
Taylor, Pollock will split time in LF, Lux will fill in at 2b, and numerous others will fill in at 3rd when Turner needs rest. No logjam at all.
Taylor played 46 games at 2B, Munch 39 games and 122 st 1B. Freeman to 1B, Taylor to 2B and Muncy to DH/utility – except SS.
acuna
ozuna
rosario
riley
olson
duvall
darnud
swanson
albies
all disagree
Acuna is a big assumption
As is Rosario and dArnud and Duvall…
Scary lineup but so is Philly. Pitching will win that division as it always does. Atlanta has the depth.
Nightengale is always wrong though
This guy will be a disaster in Boston.
this deal comes with considerable risk. not a very good walk year and only 1 year away from 30. now he changes leagues to boot which could easily affect performance.. how soon before he stops running and starts hitting 240-250 as his standard. can’t rule out year 1 of a 6 yr deal
Yeah, and not only is he only 1 year away from 30, he’s only 2 years away from 31!
Can you even imagine how old this guy’s gonna be 3 years from now!? Wait, I got it – he’ll be 8 years younger than 40! 🙂
let me spell it out for you. most major leagues decline after that age.. and most of the time it’s not pretty.. also, most hitters decline moving away from coors as well. and story already has measurables stating that,
What do Astros and Yankees fans have to say about this?
As an Astro fan – good! Competition is a good good thing for fans.
It’s gonna feel odd not having Correa face us at the stadium and whatnot
As an Astros fan, this isn’t good at all. Is Pena even ready?
As a Yankee fan no issue. They are grooming peraza and volpe for shortstop but that’s been obvious for 2 years now
Yankee fans complain about every player that doesn’t sign with them. And at the end of the year they complain about the players that did.
So does every other team. That’s a part of sports.
Yes Perksy, but that’s the only thing the Yankees or their fans can win a championship at.
@Samuel
What are you talking about? I’m sure the Yankees are happy every single day that think about how Jeter gifted them Stanton.
@MFB what happened with Jeter? You know if there’s any truth to the rumors that he wanted to sign Castellanos and they fought him on the money?
@sfes
You know, this is all pretty interesting considering that they now have signed Soler…and may still add more pieces.
To me, considering all of it, this may end up being a stain on Jeter…and be another case of great players make bad executives. Although I do love that we traded Stanton to the Yankees and all the boneheads that wanted to bash the Marlins pushed that whole “Jeter gifted Stanton to the Yankees” narrative.
Perhaps now is a good time to see if we can bring back Conine, Dawson and Perez? That would speak volumes if we did.
Hold up, you think Jeter was wrong for wanting to sign a 30 year old Castellanos over a 30 year old Soler? A guy who had had one good season and got hot late in August through the post season who still hit .227. Versus a guy who has been consistent source of power and offense (.280 avg) for 6 straight years. And you can’t see why Meter eould be upset?
What? Who said that? I asked him if the rumors were accurate.
@cthunder
Who said that? Neither of us said that.
Jeter stated that the Marlins plans with spending changed on him, and insinuated (in the very least) that the Marlins were not going to spend any more money to improve the team. Fact.
Marlins signed Soler at a decent sized contract. Fact that contradicts Jeter’s statements on the way out the door.
As for the comparison, neither Castellanos or Soler fit our needs after we signed Garcia. We need a CF, not another corner OF. With that being the case, it makes more sense to spend $12 million for three years (with opt-outs every season) for a guy that doesn’t really fill a need than it is to spend $20 million for 5 years guaranteed for a guy that doesn’t really fill a need ($8 million more with no opt-out and 2 more years of commitment). I think that speaks for itself.
Again, still wondering where either of us said what you responded to.
“To me, considering all of it, this may end up being a stain on Jeter…and be another case of great players make bad executives”
I was responding to this and while neither maybe and area of need, I would prefer Castellanos over Soler. Also, I thought We Last Cruz was the starting CFer?
@cthunder
First, de la Cruz can’t be the starting CF now that they have more bodies than they have positions.
As for the issue of Castellanos over Soler: While I can agree that Castellanos is a better overall bat, I wouldn’t put him as being worth $8 million more in AAV (75%) than Soler…and for at least 2 more years, which may be 4 if Soler has a big year that makes it worth opting out. For something that is not a need, why spend 75% ($8 million) more when there are more dire needs that can use that $8 million added to the budget to address?
With Jeter, this thing about Castellanos makes him look bad because he either was just spewing sour grapes or was indicating bad decision-making in his message indicating that the Marlins spending plans changed…with his gripe being he wanted Castellanos, but then we go sign Soler thus showing that there was no stop to spending. And it would look worse if the Marlins do add the more needed bullpen piece (say a trade for Lou Trivino or Kimbrel) along with Soler at a price that is comparable to the price of Castellanos. Which makes more sense?
They should be happy the Red Sox were so god damn stupid
Yankees fan here. At least the sox are rolling the dice. The Yankees are just rolling over.
Darryl, I vehemently disagree with you. Hal is afraid rolling over costs money, so they’re staying very, very, very still.
CREDIT TO ITALK STUDIOS, MAN CALLED THIS TWO DAYS AGO
RedSoxStats called it January 5, 2021
I’m guessing similar to Correa in years and opt outs, but significantly less dollars.
Well as of now they are reporting 6 years and nothing about opt outs. I was sort of right about the less dollars, but overall I’ll just grade my guess as incorrect.
There’s a complicated option. 6/$140 though
Yankees still better.
The Yankees have essentially treaded water this offseason. Donaldson is an upgrade over Gio, but they didn’t really do much else, and their offense from the catcher spot is horrifyingly bad
The Yankees are waiting out the bad contracts they can’t move and are in rebuild mode.
Wake up.
IKF at SS > Torres as SS. And still have Torres. Rizzo > Voit.
And Gary Sanchez is in Twinkie Town. Still probably need one more arm, though.
Also, Donaldson > Gio, if we are being honest, in everything except durability that is. But now we have the depth to rest JD.
So who is switching positions? Fenway is a good park to hit in, and that should help him but the defensive alignment is puzzling. One of the two is moving to second obviously
Story to 2B.
Xander is gone next year then
Bye-bye Bogaerts…
Lol. Xander has said he wants to stay but his deal is undervalued based on the new deals since last year. Such is why the 22 opt out was included. He likely would have required much more yearly AAV without it. I’m expecting Story to also have it but do I expect in 22 JDM, Xander, Eovaldi and Story to all be gone with Devers the year after? Of course not. Players want flexibility but teams need it also.
… from the Seager-to-Turner LA-playbook. I’m not pleased if I’m Bogaerts.
It’s a little different, Seager was going to be a free agent whereas Bogaerts is signed but has opt outs. X is expected to exercise the opt out so it’s a protection move by the Sox
So, let’s say, “from the Seager-to-Turner LA-playbook.”
Why? The contract terms will only help him. I would love to see what computer stats would say about Bogaerts’ defense if he played between a real third baseman and the same second baseman year in and year out. Love Devers except his glove and once Pedie got hurt, the must lead the majors in number of second baseman.
Yess!! Now trade Duran and Down for Mota!
trade for who?
trade for who? Montas?
He meant Monta. He thinks that Boston only needs one of him.
Manny Mota
Baggy o’Mota
As long as it’s not Jose
Nice
I’m guessing it’s about 4 years for 100m. I watched highlights of Story and concluded he’s a beast. Great player, hits for power, average, and has great speed. Has tons of triples and stolen bases. Wish the Yankees got him. Can’t stand the abysmal Gleyber Torres for another season
Like I’ve always said, it’s easier to get an honest assessment from a Yankee fan than a RS fan on these matters.
I hope I’m wrong, and that’s my premise:
Cashman has erred in several ways, left a few vulnerabilities & watched as those weaknesses have been exposed to the planned defeat of our club perennially. That was until this year, when he had an opportunity, under the CBT to fill clear needs. He did that, to a degree. He compromised.
Story was available and {may} have put us in a position to have too many good middle infielders in 3 years – oooohhh boy, what a horrible problem.
Anyway, the worst possible outcome of Story’s FA was that he go to Boston (our likeliest competitor for the 3 spot) & kill us in-season & in the postseason. Plus, he’s one of the top defenders in all MLB & provides incredible speed in the base paths too.
Story is always underestimated because of his hitting away from Coors but they always ignore the fact he had *more* HRs away from Coors than at home, therefore, it won’t be a problem. Also, his worst year still puts him at a top-10 SS in MLB, easily!
So, I hope Cashman proves me wrong, Story tanks, & I realize why I never became a GM. But, if Story performs even on par he will be a formidable weapon, and Cashman hurt us twice: by losing an asset at a void; and allowing him to hurt us in the ALE.
Story is going to have a great few seasons with Boston. I still can’t believe the Yankees keep putting these underpeformming hyped prospects that are now in their 3rd or 4th season that still have proven nothing to justify themselves being on the roster despite one monster season. Sanchez, Voit, Severino, Torres, and Hicks are all examples.
Yankees should’ve gotten Correa, and if not, Seager or at least should have signed Story at the bare minimum. The one move Cashman made that was good recently was signing Cole, albeit that was in 2019 but still. They need to spend more and sign players that will put them over the top so they’re not first round exits in the division series year after year.
They should’ve been all in on Scherzer, Stroman, Story, Correa, etc. Hal doesn’t want to spend. He got one great pitcher in Gerrit Cole and the rest of the rotation are question marks. That isn’t building a dynasty to help win a championship
Voit was not and is not a hyped prospect. The Yankees have either the 1st or 2nd highest payroll every year, but they just can’t spend enough to beat the Rays. Maybe throwing money at the problem isn’t the solution.
Yeah true and Hicks came from Minnesota but my point is that either through trades or homegrown talent it’s very rare (except in the case of Judge and more or less Stanton), that Yankee players don’t get injured or have continuously great seasons
Yes, Yanks2, and that’s not to mention Harper, Machado, & several others that would be huge boosts to our club’s defense/offense, especially Harper because he’s a prodigious LH bat, even better than Freeman / Olson. We wouldn’t have needed an$325M RH-DH had we acquired Harper.
And, Realmuto’s contract doesn’t look so bad now. We could’ve been completely set at C with a top-3 catcher as well. It just keep going. If you look at our roster, they spent similar money on DJL as some of these guys, or close thereto anyway, so why not? It’s just a terrible, terrible use of enormous resources to gain minimal ground.
Xander, ya suspect!
So what happens to bogearts? Are the Sox going to let him walk ? Imo they shouldn’t (although I won’t complain if he leaves)
Bogaerts isn’t a free agent until 2026. I don’t see how they can just let him walk
Why did I think he had less control left that than that ? Lol
Pretty positive this is an opt out in his contract after this year.
Maybe that’s what I was thinking of but forgot it was a opt out
He has an opt out after this coming year
He’s opting out after the season though
isn’t there a opt out?
Yes, there’s an opt out after 2022 that he’ll most likely take. He’ll make $20M/season through 2026 (includes a vesting option of 535 PA). He’ll be seeking 30-33M/season, even at age-30. It’ll be interesting how much he’s willing to sacrifice to stick at SS.
To the rangers to play SS seager to third next year! Genius
He has an option to opt-out and it’s optional – although really it’s up to him.
It’s a good move…I really hope Volpe is the real deal for Yanks.. because we let 4 great ss slip through out stingy hands. This better work or adios Cashman
I’m skeptical as to if Volpe will pan out. See Torres, Sanchez, Severino for examples. All highly touted prospects that were supposed to be the next core four (including Judge) and 3 out of 4 of them have either been injured or below average baseball players. So it’s hard to tell lol
Lots of times we have stuck with these prospects that don’t pan out. Then you are in a situation like we are with Gleyber he’s got no worth.. we need a number 2 starter and we will get robbed in any trade just like Sonny gray for a what if pitcher. Yanks need to start spending again. We at least need a World Series appearance
Your prospects are overpublicized. Your coaching staff at the ML level doesn’t bring players along. Your FO and owner are impatient and (like the fans) look to replace a guy as soon as he goes a little bad, unless they’re on a long-term contract where no other team will take it on.
Every prospect is different my friend. You gotta play them and see if they succeed or not
I get it.. but this strategy has not worked for the Yanks for 12 years. To not even show up in a World Series since 2009 is not how the Yankee operate. Or actually it is how we are doing things. Under the new regime of ownership. I think we got used to being in the mix every year since 1996. But those days are long gone. I’m hoping Donaldson can light a fire under this team. And get them to be hungry to win not just to collect a paycheck
Hopefully Donaldson is still doing the routine he was doing in Atlanta to keep his calf’s healthy. It was some mix of a diet and stretching each day to help keep the issues away.
Otherwise, I don’t know if he’s going to be around enough to be the spark for the Yankees.
I have mixed feelings about Volpe. He’s from about a mile or so from my backyard (near where Dr. And Ms. Jeter used to live) so I kind of root for him. A couple of his peers (top NJ HS hitters) were a little leery of his going in the first round, but he has acquitted himself well so far. Too early to tell but he could be legit.
I said the same thing to family members Cashman is laying all his eggs on Volpe i think he will be a good MLB Player but not the hype that Cashman is trying to put on him to bypass in a year where you literally had your pickings from one of the best Shortstop Free Agent Class in history. The Yankees prospects are really good most of them what sucks is the Yankees front office if they are so good why not bring him up or others the Yankees don’t need to manipulate the system their window is closing and probably closed last year. My issue with Cashman is he stresses the importance of developing the minor leagues yet he freaking won’t give the kids the confidence to showcase their talent at the MLB Level because he wants to continue to bring in veterans after veterans. Under Cashman the young guys have all regressed with the exception of Judge but Cashman messed up Torres, he messed up D.Garcia, Florial and countless others they continue to want to stick analytics so far up the brains of these players that they are malfunctioning. Case in point Gary Sanchez was a good defensive catcher when they had Tony Pena & Joe Girardi then the Genius (Cashman) decided lets fire them and bring in an analytical catching instructor and make him stay low on one knee.
This is not a bad signing for the Red Sox because if Bogey leaves they have his replacement at Shortstop the Correa signing was a slap to the face of Cashman he got too cute in thinking he outsmarted his Twins counterpart and he still has D.Jeter’s ear because of the comments that Correa said about Jeter who is not even with the Yankees so now he put all his eggs on Volpe and he better pray that Volpe doesnt struggle in Double A because if he does and the Yankees dont make the playoffs he is good and thankfully and hopefully a new GM with no ties to the Yankees will go after Correa if he has a good year he will opt out.
punctuate much?
I think it’s more Hal’s fault than Cashman
@ dimelotitony;
Baseball is not a one man sport. Volpe could be the next Honus Wagner but that won’t bring the Yankees a championship.
The ML team is old with few players having future upside. The ridiculous long-term contracts they have are unmovable unless they pay a part of the salary and add a decent player in trade. So they’re waiting those out while trying to build up the farm system. Meanwhile, they’re going to make the same mistake by (over)paying Judge whose production has gone steadily down for 3-4 years now.
Hal means well. Cashman is nowhere near not just the upper level of Baseball Ops heads, but even the next tier. The 2 of them are trying to play catch up to those that are talented and have worked hard for years. They’ve both been spoiled by being a part of a system that just threw money at players, and if they had a bad contract….so what….just throw more money at another player. (Which is what their fans are accustomed to doing as well.) That doesn’t work anymore. Opposing FO’s are too smart
Hal needs to step aside, hire a quality baseball person, and give him/her time to rebuild the entire Baseball Ops infrastructure and rethink their baseball philosophy.
Won’t happen.
Not just that but there are those who already think that Volpe will need to move to 2B. How are we a win-now club if we have three critical vacancies?! Even if they’re the real deal, the SS prospects don’t help us win now or next year. That’s simply a stupid assessment.
Show me any team that’s won with a replacement level CF, SS & C starting at the same time for your season?
Wow! Now every team in the AL East (except possibly the Orioles) has made a move(s) to make themselves better except the Yankees.
The Yankees Increased their lineup’s overall contact rate, upgraded at third and boosted the teams’s defense. While not sexy moves you can’t say they aren’t better. How much better remains to be seen of course
This aging team is one year older and definitely not better.
Removing Sanchez from the field is worth 5 wins
THIS !
The Yankees replaced already a known defender at third base who is younger and salary wise cheaper for a veteran that although is a better hitter has a history of leg issues and therefore the trade makes no sense whatsoever, they got Rizzo that pushes them well above the second penalty so in reality with the addition by subtraction that you are stating they let go of Gary because they really don’t have a catching instructor that can teach to the strengths of the player and now they have to monitor the NYC mandate with Rizzo, Judge and others not being able to play in NY HOmes games. Volpe is a good player but not someone that holds you back from getting any of the shortstops that were available at the time again Yankees are banking on this kid but where in Cashman’s history have you seen the Yankees give a shot to their kids without shuffling them back and forth between majors and minors? What will happen if Volpe struggles mightily in double AA then what move him back down?
Urshelas defense took a big drop last season
You are not going to know if Volpe is anything until the end of this year. Every year tcan’t miss 19-20 year olds miss. He’s probably 1.5 years away if he continues on his same trajectory. He struggles at higher levels probably 3.
@Joseph. Agree with everything you said above, except your conclusion. I don’t think they are better at this point.
They have improved in the areas you mentioned, but the offense is worse and unless Severino comes back the starting pitching is worse. They lost starters Kluber and Heaney. Heaney was admitted poor in his short time on the Yanks, but he ate up some innings and still could have developed into a helpful yet unspectacular starter. Dodgers couldn’t wait to sign him. Kluber also ate up innings and he and Heaney would have provided some badly needed experienced depth. Hope I’m wrong and you are right!!!
Donaldson is an upgrade for sure.
Nice story, happy ending.
WOW. Phenomenal signing
You may be the only one here who thinks so.
Does this indicate X to 3rd at some point?
Nope story to second and bogey leaves after this year because he is a bad shortstop.
Pure guess is yes, but in 2023 after JD moves. We don’t really have any strong prospects at 3rd, and once/if Bogaerts gets re-signed, I don’t think he’ll be concerned about moving.
Dalbec to 3b — Casas to 1b — Devers to DH in 2023
WOAH WOAH WOAH.
PARK THE CAR. PUT IT IN REVERSE….
Meh, Yankees are probably announcing a long term deal with Judge before the season starts and can hopefully sign another pitcher.
I think you have the wrong article
For some Yankees fans, every article is about the Yankees, either directly or indirectly.
Well, baseball only exists because of the Yankees so…….
Yeah, but it’s only because of existence, that the Yankees exist so….. 🙂
There’s no pitching left……basically….except by trade.
I don’t think this is how Story envisioned his off-season going and it will be interesting to see the terms. Obviously, Boston is a better team then the Rockies, but there are a lot of questions on this deal for both Boston and Story IMO. At least for Story he is outta CO. it was a lot of fun watching him play everyday… guess I will be a red Sox fan now?
Excel sports management strikes again.
Oh wow it’s a 6 year 140 mill deal. Way more than I expected. If this is a opt out year I wonder if the Sox expect bogearts to use it. Did the Sox try to extend Xander before doing this as well ?
Why would story switch to 2nd base when he’s better at ss than X
He has been a great SS, but he had throwing issues due to an injury last year. We’ll have to see what the arm looks like.
Besides Story’s arm issues Bogaerts basically said he’s a SS and will continue to play SS. So, that’s the end of Story….. at least right now.
That’s the correct move. I’d like to have signed Suzuki, but this is about as good.
1-Need a #4 RH OF.
2-Maybe, just maybe, need a closer.
Kiki becomes their RH hitting OFer now. I’m still puzzled over the JBJ deal, unless they somehow saw a big decline coming from Renfroe. The prospects they got back in the deal aren’t enough to offset the difference in salaries and performance.
I think the plan was to sign Suzuki for RF and have Arroyo platoon with JBJ — Kike rotating 2b/CF. Now the platoon still works with JD in the OF vs LHP’s and Arroyo at DH or giving a regular IFer a day at DH.
I think the thinking was that JBJ’s 2021 was an outlier. I’d bet (smallish) that JBJ has a higher WAR/$$$ than Starling Marte. Not a lot of true CFs out there.
Joe I think JBJ plays right field this year with Kike in center. Right field is the tougher field to play in Fenway and besides Kike was elite defensively in center last year.
If JBJ plays RF and is platooned, he wins a gold glove. and his WAR /per PA will be off the charts.
I read that Bloom likely figured that Renfroe had just had his career season at the plate in 2021, and with the defense being as weird as it was, Renfroe was at peak value for a move. I have no idea what they were really expecting from JBJ, but I think you are underestimating Binelas and Hamilton. This is not a repeat of bringing in Rosario and Potts. Binelas had killer power and was derailed from his expected first round selection in the draft by surgery to remove the hamate bone, which led to the usual unsteady recovery, but he slammed back last year in high A in his first pro season, which was only less than half a season, so he is just getting started.. Hamilton has ridiculous speed and enough natural ability to progress in the other tools.
I suspect that they view Renfroe’s year last year as an outlier.
Their OF defense got much better. Renfroe was great at throwing guys out but also lead the league in OF errors. Even with Renfroe’s year he was only had an OPS+ of 112. Sell high.
Bottom line is if they keep JBJ or release him they’re on the hook for about 18 million. Renfroe will approximately make the same and maybe even more.
Boston is will paying the same amount of money but now they have 2 prospects that may or may not pan out. This season may suffer a bit but it’s Bloom looking at the future of the organization.
Dang, did not expect Story to get that much.
6 years and $140! Wow. Not Boras money for sure. Good player but pretty average outside of Colorado.
Every Coors player does worse away from Coors. Playing in Coors makes it harder to play at sea level. Leaving Coors will fix that. Full time beast now.
Outside of Colorado doesn’t include the Green Monster.. As he increased his pull numbers last season it should be interesting to see how he approaches the wall.
His expected HR stat is {38} @ Fenway… That’s not too shabby. Not quite as good as other ballparks, but certainly not bad by any stretch. This stat is based solely on BP dimensions, so takes wall distances and wall heights into accounts with the player’s HRs from ‘21 in this particular case.
Career OPS is over 200 points lower away from Coors. I wouldn’t have the highest hopes on this one
That is a bizarre opt out clause
Boy, how bad does that Lindor deal look now for the Mets? I thought it was a mistake when they signed him at the time, but I didn’t think it would end up this epically bad.
Hopefully if the Yankees finish in 4th place it’s the wake up call they need. Right now either the Yankees don’t care about or the Yankees only care about making a profit. To all Yankees fans stop going to the games show your anger and frustration. Hurt the Yankees in the pockets and maybe Steinbrener will get angry as well and finally make changes.
I get it that Yankee fans are upset after not signing any of the SS but if they believe Volpe is the real deal, they have to give him a chance. They can’t have everyone at every position have a $100 million contract. They don’t really need more offense. What they do need to do is get one of the A’s pitchers because that’s their biggest need. Torres at 2b is better than Torres at SS. If Hicks gives then ANYTHING is good. Not sure why where Story fit with the Yankees.
He doesn’t fit in New York and was never an option there the Sox can have him and his below average numbers away from Coors. As a Yankee fan I’m not upset in any way that they didn’t get an over priced SS. I’d rather take my chances that one of the many SS prospects they have will pan out. Volpe, Peraza, Sweeney, and now Arias. One of them might just be good. I agree they need to get one of the A’s arms though preferably Montas.
Problem is Montas will cost NY one of their SS prospects.
Story will hit just fine in AL East and he is a defensive upgrade, with last year being a bit of an outlier. It’ll be interesting to see if/how infield chemistry develops, with X knowing his probable replacement is across the bag from him.
They paid Josh Donaldson Story money…who do you think would impact our club better?
And, I agree, IF we were to acquire pitching it would change the overall conversation, but it looks like $16M is all they’re spending in FA after getting under the CBT. If they finish 3 or 4 this year, they have to be the worst run club in MLB; why? Because they have the payroll to fill all positions with good players, they don’t/didn’t. They have too many of one type of player; too many of one position of player; none of another position(s) of player(s); & we seriously need to consider how good the Rays & Blue Jays will be.
Here’s what to expect from Trevor Story in 2022: .280, 40 doubles, 20 HRs, 20 Steals, 85 RBI and plus defense at the keystone. I think this deal ends up working out well for Boston, especially if Story opts out after year 4. The Sox have a ton of money coming off the books at the end of this season. Even by adding Story, they will have less than $100M committed to players in 2023, so Chaim has positioned the Sox well for next season to make wholesale changes where needed. I’m guessing that Xander will walk next season while Boston extends Devers, brings Kiki back and also reshapes their starting pitching. I’d much rather be in this position than where they Yankees are today with a bunch of long term deals on the books for players on the wrong side of 30. The future is bright in Boston.
While Story costs them their second highest draft pick, Boston won’t lose their replacement pick for Jud Fabian not signing last season so they’ll still have a Top 5 second rounder because of this. They will lose their standard second round pick which should be somewhere in the 65-75 range.
They also gain one from the Tigers signing Eddie so they had it to play with they will still have two picks in the second round I believe.
I agree other than what Story’s numbers will look like this year. i don’t expect those numbers in his first season. Hopefully I’m wrong.
Boston is in a position they don’t find themselves in very often. Bloom basically has a blank canvas to paint this team going forward. Sale could be considered the only “bad contract” and even that isn’t cemented as of yet.
They do need to make sure they keep Devers to make this work.
I think the BA will be a bit lower than .280 but should be more like 30 HR.
I’m guessing the opt-out/RS option deal is that if X doesn’t opt-out, Story can. If he does, then RS have the option of keeping him at a higher rate.
Edit: Nevermind. Just saw the added details.
Red Sox will be looking to move this deal by the All
Star break in year 2
“After four years, Story can opt out of the deal, but then Boston is allowed to negate the opt-out by picking up a seventh-year option and making it a seven-year, $160MM deal, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post.”
If there isn’t something more that hasn’t been reported yet, those are weird terms. The AAV of the main deal is $23.3M. So if Story wanted to bet on himself based on his performance in the first four years and go back on the free-agent market, the Red Sox could lock him back into the contract by giving him only 1 more year at a lower rate?
Giants lose out again !!!
This means that Xander is going next year, I don’t see RedSox retaining him next year.
Its not the Red Sox” option. Its Boegarts. The RS want him to stay at the contract signed. The RS no longer have incentive to pay overpay him, as his value diminishes at any other postition, and he should no longer be playing SS. They are honoring his past time by letting him stay at SS this year, to try to up his price in FA.. If he declines to Opt out, he will be at 2B or 3B in 2023.
Here’s the Story…
Of an unretired Brady…
I stand corrected on Chaim Bloom. Maybe he is doing this so they have some type of semi leverage with Boggaerts. The only thing that scares me with Story is that he hits in Coors Field with the thin air.
Please pick up a good starting pitcher.
LOL
Of course he’s using the leverage.
You think for one minute that Bogarts and Boras wouldn’t demand another $10m a year for him to stay in 2023?
I respect the fact that you are willing to admit when you’ve been wrong.
Bahahahahaha 140/6
Soxs fans better hope there’s lots of club options in this deal
I do not like this signing at all. I’m hoping to get proved wrong.
I hated it, but hate it less once reading the terms. If he plays second base until X opts out, it’s fine. I hope Xander stays, but good insurance, and not horrible terms.
X ain’t goin anywhere. If this signing doesn’t work out well for the Sox, Story and his deal are very tradeable. 2 years from now X will be playing 2 nd, and Marcelo Mayer will be playing short. Unfortunately this takes at bats away from Christian Arroyo, but maybe he can learn to play the outfield? Fingers crossed!
If Story doesn’t work out he is not easily tradeable. If redsox don’t want his huge contract why would any other team want it? Redsox better hope he comes back into all star stats or they will regret spending all that money.
@ spitball;
2 yrs is a long time to project players and prospects. But my guess is that Boras will find a desperate owner/FO that will overpay X, and while Bloom will not like losing his O and leadership, X’s defense combined with a yet even larger long-term contact would offset the leadership and D. That money can be put to better use.
Boras will have Cashman on speed dial, unless Cash is faster with the phone call.
Yes……
And then they can throw that $30m-plus multi-year contact on the pile with Stanton’s and the others.
LOL
Or X could be traded .
Well he would be the 6th or 7th best 2B in the league stat wise, versus 4th or 5th at SS. Its 23M per year so idk why you guys are going all woe is me in Sox land acting like hes 35 yrs old.
It could also be that Arroyo becomes part of the trade for an Oakland pitcher, and we hear about that this afternoon.
I didn’t want Story. I’m upset Yankees keeping and having Stanton and Judge is restricting them from getting a different maker either Scherzer, Freeman, etc.
How about Cole? That contract won’t age well.
Oakland doesnt want anyone with less than 5 years of control coming back. Arroyo is not going anywhere.. Not even in a rumor.
“ Arroyo is not going anywhere.. Not even in a rumor.”
I don’t know if you intended for this to read as funny as it did, but it cracked me up, man…lol. He’s not even going anywhere in a rumor!
Wow. You Sox fans need to step back from the ledge. This is a great signing for Boston.
Bogaerts is a fine player, but primarily as a hitter. Statcast Outs Above Average makes him the third-worst defensive shortstop since 2019 with -22 OAA, even worse — much worse — than Gleyber Torres. Like Torres, Xander will benefit from a move to second base, and so will the infield defense as a whole. Torres even hit better when he was relieved of the stress of playing a position he couldn’t handle.
Forget about the Coors splits. That narrative is so old and simplistic. Go look at Story’s spray chart: he’s going to love the Monstah.
For the second season in a row, Bloom outmanaged Cashman. Do you know who’s taxed with -7 OAA at short since 2019? Isiah Kiner-Falefa, whom Cashman is going to play out of position at short — just like he did Gleyber. Genius.
P.S.
I can’t believe Bloom is dumb enough to put Story at second and keep Bogaerts at short. I’ll believe that when I see it.
BTW, if it needs mentioning, Story is credited with +12 OAA at short since 2019.
Bloom doesn’t put players at any positions that is Cora’s job.
Story is the better defensive shortstop I’m pretty sure we can all agree on that but Bogey is the incumbent but if Bogey wants to stay long term he is going to have to be fine with being a 2nd baseman after this year. I’m not sure if he is willing to do that but my guess if he gets his long term money it won’t matter. I’m hopeful that Bogey wants to stay but the reality is Bogey’s defense isn’t going to get better his range isn’t going to go up as he ages and if he wants to be paid like an elite offensive and defensive shortstop he’s gone.
Bloom doesn’t make acquisitions without considering where the player is going to play.
I agree with the rest of your post.
X man would mope and be upset if he lost out @SS. Remember when they re-signsd Stephen Drew? X threw a fit.
Story is at 2B because he had an arm injury that hurt his throws. Bogy is staying at SS.
Expect that to change then, when Story’s arm is 100%.
Correct, now you’re on the same page.
someone want to do a wellness check on KD 17 and Fever Pitch Guy after this signing…
They’re not allowed to be on their cellphones at Boston Market…
ah touche!
Trevor Story is an excellent player he is a very strong defender and he has pop in that bat. This is a good signing by Bloom. This signing also indicates that Boston is not going to become Tampa North. I was beginning to worry that might be the case but this signing will put Boston right up to the Lux Tax line and as long as Boston keeps doing that everything will be fine. I think this will turn out to be a solid signing.
This Red Sox team looks pretty solid as well the outfield might be a little thin since JBJ is going to be a everyday player in right but at least the outfield defense is going to be excellent.
I don’t think this precludes the Red Sox from signing Bogey and I agree that if Bogey doesn’t opt out and signs a long term extension he won’t mind playing 2nd his range is better suited for 2nd anyway. No question that this signing strengthened the Red Sox team this year. Good signing Bloom!
I agree it was a good signing. Story should do well in Boston. HRs may go down but he’ll be able to take advantage of the wall. OF defense will more than solid and hopefully JBJ can hit at least league average.
Last week X said he’s the SS and that’s it. Story said he wouldn’t mind playing a different position for a year but he’s a SS. I agree Bogaerts is better suited for 2B but I don’t think he agrees right now. That’s the only issue I see with an extension.
From what I’ve seen Boston is still under the line by about 10 million. They still have some room to take on payroll if they choose.
2023 when JD leaves: Dalbec to 3b – Casas 1b, Devers DH,
2022 — Arroyo platoons with JBJ — JDM to OF vs LHP’s.
Arroyo is going to be the super utility guy he can fill in at many positions. That alone makes this team stronger instead of counting on him as the everyday 2nd baseman.
Bruin10128 mins ago
This signing also indicates that Boston is not going to become Tampa North.
===================================
That was never going to happen. That’s just something the haters came up with. Henry has spent up to, or beyond, 18 years in a row.
Good pickup for Boston, but that rotation is bad, with Rich Hill and Michael Wacha as the 3rd & 4th starters yuk
Hill is good when healthy.
I don’t think the rotation is really that bad. Sale, Eovaldi, Pivetta, Houck, Wacha, Whitlock, Hill and later in the year the Big Maple joins the mix. I wouldn’t call it the most durable rotation but it has the chance to be pretty solid. Wacha was really quite good in the last dozen games or so after changing his pitch mix. This rotation is relying quite heavily on Sale fronting it and if Sale and Evo go down well then it’s going to be a long year but you can say that about most teams if they lose there top 2.
the problem your going to have with wacha is his health, i loved him as a cardinal he had great stuff and gave you innings, but after the as game the wheels would fall off. if wacha figured out his stress fracture issues then he is a solid pick up for the rs.
Bruin, I completely agree. There’s a lot of depth there to keep the rotation competitive every game of the year, plus a couple prospects that might be ready for a cameo if worse-case scenario hits with injuries. The upside is rather limited, but that’s okay with the lineup they have. Depth is super underrated and the Red Sox have it.
The key to the pitching is all of the bad innings pitched by Perez, Richards, Andriese, etc. Even E Rod –who could be great at times — had a 4.74 ERA being removed.
Seems like the Red Sox bid against themselves
Fred2 hours ago
Seems like the Red Sox bid against themselves
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I seriously doubt it. Houston was likely in all the way, and still have cash. I assumed that we’d lose out to them if they offered Story the same deal as they offered Correa.
Ooof that’s a lot of money for a guy with serious question marks with both health and ability outside of coors. Guess we will see how it plays out
Why not just trade Boegarts
Not much value when he can opt out at seasons end, and he is not an upgrade defensively at SS for most teams. If you are looking for lottery tickets, sure.
He has a no trade clause so they would need his approval.
Because he’s a tremendous hitter and a serviceable fielder at a team friendly price. They dont have a more cost effective solution to replace his production.
Nice job Farhan. I’m sure the shareholders appreciate your approach.
Sad face.
I’m stoked. 5+ win player baseline – includes 2020 if prorated to a third season. Well above 3 in a year playing through injury. Story’s gonna summon Larry Walker, and keep hitting away from Coors.
Fenway is basically the Coors of the AL, so his offensive profile shouldn’t take much of a hit. Should be a solid signing if he maintains his plus glove transitioning to 2B and puts up a 110-115 OPS+.
Boegaert’s days @SS are numbered. Perhaps he’s moved before the regular season.
opt outs should be banned
Teams could just not offer them. Should Team options be banned as well?
Great Job, Red Sox. At worst, this is $23M per for 7 years or a 4-year deal while Story is still in his prime-ish years. I think the fans will still be pretty happy if he opts-out after four. Cashman fail.
Raise your hand if you predicted that Story’s contract would be bigger than Correa’s contract.
Otherwise, this is a fascinating signing. It will either go very well (at least early on) or be a gigantic misstep. It all depends on how Story’s game translates away from Coors to Fenway.
On an annual basis it is not a bigger impact on the lux tax his impact is 35.1 million while Story’s is 23 million that’s a pretty big difference and let’s face it that’s all the big market clubs care about.
I’d rather have Story than Felaffa.
I’d rather have a cheeseburger than a Felaffa.
I have to agree with you both on this one
Rather have Story than Donaldson.
Remember Hanley Ramirez signing and playing out of position. Ugh
Hanley was never a good fielder. Story is.
Story is a way better athlete.
By the time Hanley came back to Boston his best days were clearly behind him as the injuries piled up for him in Miami/LA. Also, the Sox didn’t know what to do with Hanley when they signed him, hence Farrell playing him in LF his first year, 1B his second year, and DH when Ortiz retired
my favorite part is him saying ‘ i wanna leave the Rockies who are a horrendous, bad organization and go a team thats actually run right’ lol, smart move, thank god i dont live in Denver. Welcome to boston! you’ll have fun being on a team that actually cares. They remind me of the detriot lions, a complete disregard towards fans and never trying to improve and every season being ok being terrible hoping fans will be bored enough to still wanna go to games. I dont get Colorado’s games, i live on the east coast, do people even go?
I might be mistaken but I think their average attendance is actually pretty decent.
Even when they suck, they win at home a lot – for, you know, reasons.
No no your right. Look it up. They were SOMEHOW I think 6 or 7 in attendance last year. Not much going on in Denver in the summer I guess.
That ballpark and surrounding area is fantastic. It’s a pretty easy in out as well. I can see why they have a high attendance.
I was told in the past that a lot of Coors Field includes other fans in the division as well and not just Rockies.
he ALSO chose here and not Houston, who actually needs a shortstop, makes ya think.
He didn’t go to Houston because click has made it very clear he won’t offer contacts longer than 5 years. Don’t worry the astros will still beat the Red Sox in the playoffs just like last year
Ranked 31 defense.. 2nd dubious chaim move.. bogarts is ranked 37th, so where is the benefit ? ESSENCE of costly mediocrity! = 4th place! Maybe Cora magic can redeem the bonehead contract ?
Better with rookies …
He was injured last year. Over the previous four years he’s credited with 20 Outs Above Average.
Excellent deal. Go Red Sox!!
They’re going with the Kid. Fair play to them. Worked with DJ. Who knows???
Isnt Conforto left?
The more I think about this the more I really like this signing good job Bloom.
Facts. Sure he Ks a lot and won’t be a .300 guy, but he’ll hit 30 HRs, get on base an okay amount and play good defense. Don’t mind the AAV considering the other SS signings and he’s young enough to make an impact late in his contract.
Why are people worried about AVV? $23M AVV is relatively cheap for an above average player in this market.
Seems like a great signing/fit for both Beantown and Story. All I really know is I’m ecstatic to see Story leave the NLW!! Happy trails good sir, enjoy the ALE.
Weird how Red Sox fans seem not to believe in their front office.. they weren’t even projected to contend last year and won 90 games, whatever the amount was. They’re rebuilding the farm while trying to stay competitive, judging by last years outcome it’s clearly working. They obviously have a plan.
Mario931 hour ago
Weird how Red Sox fans seem not to believe in their front office.
==================================
That’s mostly KD, 30Parks, AL34, and Fever pitch. Even Georgia Sox fan toned down his negativity when he saw he was wrong.
are no where to be found today… and notice how the majority of those guys are no where to be found today
woah that post got wonky. what I meant to say was that a majority of those guys are no where to be found.
I saw that as I was scrolling down and stand corrected. My apologies to AL34.
Not all are like that. I doubted Bloom in the beginning but have recently accepted his creativity. On a certain level, the Renfroe trade was smart to get back defense and prospects. Not sure if Bloom is done either.
agreed. I feel like people have a short memory. Renfroe was great last year but that might have been his peak and he was as bad if not worse than JBJ at the plate the previous two seasons.
acell101 hour ago
agreed. I feel like people have a short memory. Renfroe was great last year but that might have been his peak and he was as bad if not worse than JBJ at the plate the previous two seasons.
============================================
That’s the difference sometimes. Bloom saw that Renfroe was undervalued and picked him up. Now that he reverted back to his norm, he is cashing in his chips. Same with JBJ, imo. He didn’t like him enough to match Milwaukee’s offer.
But one year later, with a significant mark-down, suddenly JBJ becomes a lot more attractive.
I doubted Bloom in the beginning but have recently accepted his creativity.
==========================
That’s the difference between “perceived smart people” and regular folks. Most people are about average. The ones that look smart are the people that can recognize their mistakes. I thought hiring Tito was a big mistake. After 2004, I was okay, but still didn’t think that much of him. After 2005, I had no problem admitting I was wrong.
Well if there was a rinky-dink stadium that could negate his Coors field bias it would be the green monster of fenway.
He would have sucked playing at Yankee stadium.
Pot meet kettle. Yankee stadium is a joke to right a complete joke.
Some posters on here should try to take over a team, that’s forced to trade their best player, a depleted farm, and about to be in the tax penalty. Yet the new front office still managed to make the team a legit contender. You don’t win that many games as they did on accident.
Well fellow Fenway faithful, we got the big splash many of you have been clamoring for. In terms of production, probably Story’s tenure with Boston will be more J.D. Drew than Stephen Drew, more Manny than Hanley. But time will tell.
What I really hope, though, is that this doesn’t mean the end of Bogaerts’ tenure in Boston. I hope it’s been clearly communicated to him that the Sox want him to remain a cornerstone for the rest of his career. I hope the Sox don’t let this commitment to Story cut into their budget for Bogaerts. And I hope Bogaerts believes them when they tell him that, and they show it when it’s time to talk dollars.
That’s not to say he should be signed at any cost. But let’s hope this doesn’t become a Jon Lester situation, where the front office deludes themselves into a lowball offer because they’ve got their eye on another player (Price) to take his place.
bcjd:They already showed Xander Bogaerts that they were committed to him when they signed him to his last contract. The main question is: Will Xander “be committed” to the team & play out the contract that he ALREADY SIGNED or will he opt out to chase more MILLIONS of dollars. The choice is his & his alone.
Nonsense. There’s nothing stopping the Sox from offering an extension with higher salary, or if he opts out, from participating in his FA market. He knows, and they know, that he’s currently getting paid well under market value. If they show him they’re serious, he’ll stay. He might even do it under market value again, but surely not as much as the current deal.
Yes, Xander could chose not to opt out. But it doesn’t mean that if he does he’s going to bolt out the door.
Depends on if Xander is willing to move off of SS. Any extension will certainly have a prerequisite of a move to 3B or 2B for him. If they can agree on that and Xander is happy in Boston, no reason an extension cant be agreed upon.
Mostly agree. I’m not sure Bogaerts will have to agree to a move. But it would help if he was ok with that.
I hope they can make it happen, and I hope this contract with Story isn’t an impediment. That’s all I’m saying.
I hope it wouldn’t mean the end of Bogaerts’ tenure as well BCJD, but unless he doesn’t opt out – I can’t see how it couldn’t.
Or maybe I can see how it couldn’t…. But is it worth it?
To me, having a player of his caliber play his whole career with the Red Sox is worth a lot. It’s worth more dollars than the exact equivalent free agent. I’m not sure exactly how many more dollars, but some.
I agree. Folks like me grew up with Yaz. 24 years with the same team. Others have and Evans, Pedroia, Papi (not quite the same thing). But I think it’s the glue that binds the fans to the team.
I think that’s the issue with the Rays. They have to flip to be able to compete, but you need some life long players to develop a sense of loyalty.
Bogie is my guy since I was 13 to 22 rn mans made me look forward to it every year just because of him.
For me it was Dewey and Greenwell, and it would have been Clemens, if not for, well, you know.
And then it was Wakefield and Varitek, and then Papi and Pedey, and it should have been Lester.
It should have been Betts, and if it’s not Bogaerts next, it’ll hurt.
Rice and Dewey for me. And I agree it’s worth a lot to have a quality guy like Xander spend his entire career in Boston… and they will have a lot of money coming off the books. I only asked about whether it’s worth it because honestly, I think it’s probably going to be only one of he or Devers in the next two years getting that big extension now.
Maybe it’s him, because if he’s extended he could probably play all infield positions adequately if need be… and with his bat that’s worthy of another 6/$150M or so. Or maybe it’s Devers who even as a DH in two years, is then still only 27 and maybe has a top 5 bat in the league too.
Or sign both within the next two years?
I hope both, but Bogaerts strikes me as having the character to be a franchise player. Devers I’m not as sure about. Bogaerts is Papi to Devers’ Manny.
Also, can we dispense with the silly Bloom is a cheapskate nonsense?
Like every GM, he has a budget. And the budget can go farther if it’s not being taxed high rates for repeated luxury tax excesses. So he had to dip below to make sure future dollars weren’t suffering from a multiplier. But if the asset is the right value, he’ll go over again when it’s called for.
Patience and perspective. This team will spend when it fits their vision, but won’t let themselves get stuck in a tar pit of massive bad contracts and high tax rates.
Interesting they pay all that $$$ and have really no pitching to speak of. Should be a fun season for runs
Without looking, guess where the RS finished last year in Road ERA and Road OPSa?
I would rather have the Twins deal for Correa than the Red Sox deal with Story. He may be a good glove guy but his bat his slash line away from Coors for his career is: .241/.310/.448.
Who wouldn’t. Can’t believe other gms let that happen.
Eh, remember he’ll be hitting in Fenway. If he learns to use the Monster to his advantage then it won’t really matter.
I don’t think that’s something many players can learn. Wade Boggs was one of a kind.
Yankees didn’t improve much this off-season. Our competition did. Hope we can make a run for 3rd place in AL East this year. Still can’t believe how high our payroll is and still feels like just an above average team.
Rizzo Gallo Donaldson Falefa seems like upgrades. Should contend for division.
Not impressed with rest of division moves compared to NY. Can’t even remember what rays even did.
They’re upgrading their IBM Watson Deep AI analytics computer systems
On top of the fact Gallo and the other pull hitters won’t have to deal with the shift anymore….
The new rules on Shifts goes into effect next year.
Was completely unaware of that thank you!
Hate signing qualify offer guys. Could should bounce back but definitely not any kind of a bargain for a weak 2021.
Do you that stats from a down year due to injury, club turmoil, and and a bad team are more indicative of future production compared to the career stats?
I thought that KD, AL34, Fever Pitch, and 30 Parks would be in here celebrating:)
AL34 did write above that he “stand(s) corrected on Chaim Bloom.”
As noted when Ace also reminded me. I saw that as I was scrolling down and stand corrected. My apologies to AL34.
Fun fact, Nick Castellanos’ career slash line on the road is .259/.309/.455. Very similar to Story’s. And last year Castellanos’ OPS was .300+ lower on the road. I don’t remember people having a problem with Castellanos’ home/road splits. Another fun fact, Castellanos can’t play defense.
The move to 2B might be helpful if the issues with his throwing remain. Obviously, he loses the advantage of Coors, but gains Fenway. Not all SS’s who have moved to 2B have found the transition easy, even though it’s moving down the defensive spectrum, so it will be interesting to see how he adapts to the new position and to playing full time away from Coors. He should be fine, though.
Now, what the heck the Rockies are doing letting Story leave at 6/140 and signing Bryant at 7/182 is yet another mystery. It does, however, take two to tango. Maybe there was no price for him to return.
Wonderful, Red Sox just paid huge bucks to get worse!
Yea that an uninformed comment.
Starting 2B?
I think the length is long but I like that we signed him. Goes against those who say Bloom has only nitpicked.
darn it, good signing. improves their atrocious infield defense and gives them a plan b if they can’t resign bogaerts. credit to bloom for this one
I like it. Sox needed a big move and offensive boost after trading Renfroe and missing out on Schwarber and Suzuki. I wouldn’t mind the Sox taking a shot at Conforto either. Verdugo in LF, Hernandez in CF, Conforto in RF, and JBJ as 4th Outfielder/defensive replacement sounds good to me
Conforto would be interesting but I’m not sure they’re willing to lose another draft pick.
Mercy, there’s more Spankees fans reacting to this move than Red Sox fans!
Look, for any team in the Sox’ financial position, the ONLY question should be: is Trevor Story better than Christian Arroyo. Answer: Yes. The money is irrelevant, the impact on Xander is irrelevant. (FWIW, I’ll agree with Heyman, who thinks Xander will use his opt-out to get a better contract, but stay in Boston). In a 2023 shift-restricted universe, they’ll have to do something about that hideous IF defense anyway. However they shuffle the deck is TBD.
It’s a good move, not great but good, in any circumstance.
bob – Money is irrelevant only for teams like the Dodgers who seem to have an unlimited budget.
The Red Sox do not have an unlimited budget, therefore it’s important for them to spend wisely. They’ve been hamstrung for years because of Sale’s albatross of a contract extension. Now they have given a massive contract to a guy whose career road OPS is 220 points below his home OPS … AND his ability to throw will be scrutinized because he’s coming off an arm injury.
The money could have been better spent IMO.
he’s also shifting to a less strenuous position so the throwing should be less of an issue. As for the OPS let’s wait and see how he responds and adjusts outside of Coors. ESPN and others have discussed the Coors field effect today and how it might not be as big deal as it’s made out to be.
And how would you have spent the money this offseason then? outside Suzuki there weren’t many other options that fit the Sox this well.
acell1023 hours ago
And how would you have spent the money this offseason then?
===================================
He and KD are cut from the same cloth. They don’t have opinions; they have criticisms.
Fever Pitch Guy23 hours ago
The money could have been better spent IMO.
==============================================
When did you come to this epiphany? There have been numerous threads about Story. I don’t recall you ever saying that he would be a bad signing. In fact, your only pertinent comment was:
“There’s other teams competing for Story, which means the Sox have no chance of getting him.”
So you were castigating the RS & Bloom for their inability to sign Story. And, once they did sign Story, you then decided that you don’t want him.
Very childish.
I said from the beginning that I wanted Suzuki or Story; never strayed once.
You spent the winter saying Henry was too cheap to sign them. And once we did, you said don’t like them anyway. I predicted that you guys would do this.
Joe – You’ve really gone off the rails recently buddy. You call me childish, and yet all you’ve been doing is aggressively chest thumping because your idol FINALLY after 2+ years spent some money. Never mind the fact that Story and his contract will just be a replacement for Xander and his future contract within the year.
In the interest of time I’ll just address a few things now:
1) How could I have said Story would be a bad signing if I had no clue how much he would sign for? For the right price and length, I’d have approved of the trade. It’s childish to say “yes sign this guy” or “no don’t sign that guy” regardless of price. I’ve said it many times before and I’ll say it again, Story’s splits are scary and his arm strength after the injury has yet to be determined. That’s why I think it was an overpay.
Learn the difference between castigating for something that was done, and mocking for what has been done. I was mocking the Red Sox for not spending more than $14M on a free agent during the past 2+ years. The history justified the mocking. And it’s never been an “inability” to not spend money, it’s been an “unwillingness”. Again, please learn the difference.
So Joe, you never said you wanted Freeman? Hmmm ….
I spent the winter holding out hope for Suzuki, with Schwarber as a fallback. Heck, I even had hope of them signing Semien until the Rangers nabbed him early. Because I gave them the benefit of the doubt that they would spend SOME of the money they’ve saved over the past 2+ years. And that’s exactly why I kept saying I’d reserve judgment on the offseason until the regular season begins.
Do I need to provide multiple links to prove you wrong? Or will you pull a Denny by refusing to acknowledge after I provide the proof?
I’m beginning to wonder, after your recent refusal to even acknowledge Bloom’s directive from Henry to reduce payroll from the Dombrowski days by getting below the CBT threshold.
You’re still off the rails.
1-This very site predicts how much the top-50 free agents project to make. That’s what I used to say I had no interest in Schwarber, Castellanos, Freeman, etc.
2-‘finally spending some money’? He had no money to spend. He spent up to the payroll cap. He had no room. If your budget is $210M, and you have $200M committed, you cannot sign a $20M FA.
3-IRT to ‘Henry’s directive to reduce payroll’, once again, we have increased the payroll. Repeat that a few times so it sinks in.
we have increased the payroll
we have increased the payroll
we have increased the payroll
Where is KD17?
Hope Trevor is a hit.
Red Sox fans, I promise, you’re going to love Story. For those that haven’t seen him play much, you’re going to be surprised. Story adds value on offense, defense and on the bases.
What makes this a good signing is that it allows fans to hope Bloom isn’t the complete screw=up that he has looked like for 2 1/2 years. I’m guessing that’s why it happened. A late attempt to save his job.
Think about no all-star level player acquired in 2 1/2 years for a team that won 4 rings in 15 years. That doesn’t sit well with the fan base. Bloom needed this deal far more than Story did or the Red Sox did. Good for him. FINALLY he made an impact move.
But in typical Bloom decision making fashion, he’s going to minimize the impact of this move by NOT taking the Butcher and putting him at DH to save the pitchers all the head aches. Don’t you love a team sport where one selfish player gets to dictate the fate of the team?
Story at 3B was a suggestion months ago and I’m very happy to see they got Story since he’s an all-star quality player, the first procured by Bloom. So now just like the Schwarber plan, Bloom plans on sticking a round peg in a square hole so he doesn’t have to address the elephant in the room. Brilliant. Bloom should write a book on how to minimize the impact of every move you make.
Either turn around and trade JD for an outfielder and move Story to 3B and Kiki to 2B or at least move Dalbec to 3B, Story to 2B, JD to 1B and Devers to DH. Anything to remove the 48 miscues by Devers. Yes, 48 not 24 since balls that hit Devers in the right foot may not count as errors to the Boston Score Keeper but they still put a runner on base and hurt the pitcher from a pitch count, ERA and WHIP perspective.
That stuff has got to stop!!!
Give the pitching staff a break. It’s bad enough they have a bench jockey telling them how to pitch, the least the team could do is improve the overall defense by 1/3 by removing Devers’ glove and burning it.
How can a man’s job be threatened when he got the to within 2 games of the WS?
Bobby boy – That’s like asking how can the NE Patriots lose to the Bears in the 1985 Superbowl when they went up 3-0!!!
There was no chance of winning against HOU. It was a heavy weight fighter versus a bantam weight fighter. Do you seriously think Boston had a 1% chance of winning a ring last year? If so, you are delusional.
Also, how does Bloom get credit for the win when DD’s guys did all the work? Name ONE all-star quality player than Bloom pulled from Free Agency to add to the Red Sox during the year and a half before he signed Story?
Face it. Last year was PURE LUCK.
What are the odds Toronto would not finish the season well and not make the playoffs? Remote but it happened.
What are the odds of the Yankees collapsing in Sept and the one game playoff? Remote but it happened.
How many over the top lucky events needed to align to even have a .500 year? LOTS. No injuries except the Sale return from TJ Surgery but that was a given prior to the season which lowered expectations. Worst manager in baseball setting the line-up, making the pitching changes and babying Devers by letting him give up yet another 2 dozen errors yet the DD boys pounded the crap out of the ball and won games and Eovaldi was stellar, the kid draft by DD (Houck) was excellent and the team overcame as many issues as they could to make the playoffs. Take that moral victory. It was beyond anyone’s expectations and for good reason.
Bottom line, 2 years, no Div Titles and no Rings and more money spent than DD spent. The man should have been fired for mishandling the Mookie deal. The man should have been fired for no actions at the trade deadline except grabbing a 3rd DH when pitching was needed. He’s hanging by a thread and desperately needed the Story deal to buy himself some time.
Seriously, if you really consider 2021 a success because the team got better rather than they simply won more games than expected you need to study up on the game of baseball. The talent is way down since Bloom arrived and now with Story it’s getting closer to the level it was at before he arrived. He needs another big add to right the boat BUT he’s spent so much more than DD it’s not funny. So no matter how you look at it, Bloom is failing badly. Thank goodness he inherited so many stud players.
Ignore KD. He’s a troll pedaling the same BS that led him to say the Sox wouldn’t win 70 gms last yr and Cora was so bad that it was only luck they won 92; and beat both the Yanks & TB in the playoffs.
Why the hell would they trade Devers or move him to the DH spot he’s still young and can hit.yes his defense could use some work but like i said above he’s still young
KD has it out for Devers along with Bloom. When he is right about anything related to the Red Sox will be the first time he is right about anything related to the Red Sox
soxfan1990 – YOUNG? He’s played 8 seasons. That’s nearly a decade. Experience is how players improve over time not age. Did you even play baseball if you don’t know that?
In 8 years of professional baseball in the minors and majors he’s made 166 errors. That’s an average of just over 20 per year. In 2021, he made 22 that were counted and another 2 dozen misplays that didn’t count as errors. That’s worse than when he broke in. His fielding percentage is .935 for 5 seasons in the majors and was roughly the same in the minors for 3 years. League average is .959 over his 5 seasons. People complain about Bogey and his fielding percentage is over league average not 24 points below it. Devers is the butcher of Boston and always will be.
As far as trading Devers, a one dimensional player that has had hot hitting years in 2017, 2019 and 2021 and cold years in 2018 and 2020, why wouldn’t you unload all the shortcomings and find another comparable hitter that can actually field and doesn’t insist on playing a position he isn’t qualified to play?
Devers is going to expect Bogey money and he deserves roughly 60 to 75% of Bogeys money since he’s one dimensional with no defense and great offense every other year. Let his fielding be someone else’s problem. He’s the opposite of JBJ who is all field no hit. One dimensional players are nowhere near as valuable as equally talented two dimensional players. That’s why a controllable 3B like Ke”Bryan Hayes represents the type of player Boston needs at 3B. An outstanding fielder who is controllable for several years and an excellent hitter who will develop power as he matures. In a few years, he’ll surpass Devers as an all-star and cost 1/25th the price.
That’s why you trade Devers.
Clearly, you must never have pitched and had bad defense behind you. It’s infuriating when the coach’s son can’t field but gets to lead the league in errors. Devers is treated like Cora’s son. The preferential treatment is incredibly unfair to the other players on the team because he hurts the team EVERY TIME he puts on a baseball glove. Wake up, he won’t get better he will only get older and worse!!! If that’s possible.
Needs some work!! hahaha The guys a joke and an embarrassment since he’s not willing to move. Most selfish player I’ve seen in many, many years..
you are such a hypocrite. You know you can’t win an argument so now you are just making stuff up. When has Devers every publicly said he wasn’t willing to switch positions if asked? You keep bashing him for something he hasn’t done yet Boegarts is the one who has publicly refused to change positions when a superior defender is on the roster. I don’t believe either is being selfish but this pathetic rant against Devers is getting incredibly tired.
Ignore KD and Fever they are trolls.
While I agree that Devers is a poor defensive third baseman and that he should probably be a DH moving forward I think his every other year hitting is a weak argument.
I think Devers really only had one poor season in his second season when he was a 21 year old and big league pitchers adjusted to him. I really don’t consider 2020 a down year offensively and the reasons are simple:
1) It was a 60 game season and he started slow even though he caught fire in the the last 20 or so games.
2)) He did finish so strong that is likely with just another 15 or so games he would of had relatively normal Devers numbers.
3) He came out in 2021 and raked if anything he is getting better offensively.
In short I believe making the argument that he takes one year off and one year in is false he is just a good hitter. Maybe we can revisit this argument if he has a down year offensively this year which I don’t think he will barring an injury.
Bruin1012 – You realize that I didn’t make up the stats I presented, right? He actually performed badly in the years I said and performed well in the years I said. It wasn’t my opinion it was a statement of fact.
If your opinion is that facts don’t count, then, I guess I’m going to have to disagree.and point out that in 2019 Devers was hot until July then tailed off dramatically and if the season had gone on longer it would not have been considered a good season. That’s pretty much the same argument but you are anchoring your argument on a set number of games not the performance in the year. You also assume the first part of the season started in July and if they played 162 it would have picked up after September to complete the 162 games. Since Devers historically isn’t great early in the season by starting in July his numbers based on other seasons would be artificially higher. So your conjecture is based on a way that helps your argument but doesn’t consider other scenarios that could have occurred as well. We don’t know if 2020 started in April whether he would have started slowly or quickly. We can look at history but is that any different than saying if we played past the end of September he would have had an acceptable year? Seems arbitrary to me. We simply don’t know if you add roughly 100 games to 2020 whether his numbers would be better, worse or the same. .
That’s why I don’t like what-if arguments. Facts are accurate and telling and what-ifs are opinions only..
This is why I don’t like modern metrics. While I don’t necessarily disagree with your assessment of what might have happened, it’s not guaranteed. It might not of happened like you think. Likewise, modern metrics like Runs Saved or even range suggest a theoretical event happening that is deduced very much like you deduced what Devers might do if the season had been longer. It’s conjecture and therefore not the same as a fact like batting average or fielding percentage.
Assuming something would have happened a specific way and then calling it a stat doesn’t sit well with me. It’s more like a forecast not a fact.
And unlike the factual stats that I like, the modern metric assumptions could be wrong rendering the metric nothing more than a guess not a factual stat.
So believe it or not I think we often agree on things that might have happened but I can’t throw out the facts like you did in this case. You feel strongly that the fact is misleading but it’s a fact it’s not intended to be a predictor of the future. It’s documentation of an event.
Denying facts seems like a dangerous slope to go down. That’s why I always present numbers and not so much opinions except when it comes to Bloom and Cora I will use my life experiences to comment on their behavior when stats aren’t relevant.. A perfect example – I have no issue with Devers beyond his unwillingness to admit he’s a terrible fielder and stepping down from his 3B position. The stats completely support my comment and therefore to me they are irrefutable. As irrefutable stats they also document how much his decision to not move to DH hurts the Boston Red Sox.
If people want to get mad at the facts I present there is nothing I can do about it. I just hate that so many bold people who are anonymous take cheap shots because they disagree with the facts presented and need to feel better about themselves by insulting someone else..
My stats are presented in hopes of a discussion like this one. While Devers may have had a good 2020 under different circumstances the fact remains he didn’t so the UP during odd years and DOWN during even years is a fact as of today. 2020 may change that fact or it may support it. We won’t know until the year concludes. Clearly, your opinion is he will. I am comfortable saying I have no idea. I prefer to look at things after they happen so there is no guesswork..
FYI… that leads to a bigger discussion about whether he is inconsistent but we won’t go there right now!!
KD- We are absolutely going to disagree about the 2020 season. I have discounted all numbers in 2020 for more then one reason first it was a 60 game season second it was a start stop season and third there was a pandemic happening. It does not matter how you, I or anyone else looked at it its impossible to know how it affected some of these young men. It was hardly just Raffy that had a poor 2020 there were numerous guys that simply struggled in 2020 and then came right back in 2021. It matters not ultimately KD because barring injury Raffy will have another outstanding offensive season this year and put this argument to bed I would bet my last dollar on it. Now the defense that is whole another story.
KD-One other thing the fact does remain that even though Devers didn’t have a great 2020 offensively he was still above average even with the slow start. So I wouldn’t say overall he sucked in 2020 just wasn’t his typical Devers self offensively.
The Phillies went out and bought three “All Star level players” two years ago and haven’t made the playoffs with them. “All Star level players” doesn’t guarantee success,
Kiki, Ottavino, Renfroe, Sawamura, were all good pickups last winter. Pivetta looks like a sneaky good acquisition. Robles, Iglesias, and Shaw all contributed big down the stretch on top of the Schwarber acquisition.
2020 was a throwaway season, Bloom has done alright
Rsox – As a fan, I always look forward to throw away seasons. We have an awful lot of them in the future until Bloom is gone.
I guess I’m just an anamolie of a fan since evey year I want to think our team has a legitimate chance of winning the world series.
With DD I thought that. With Bloom it never crosses my mind.
If that satisfies you as a fan, GREAT! It doesn’t for me. I like watching the Red Sox as a contender since I spent four decades not seeing that and what time that’s left should have more optimism in it. I can’t pretend that we were close last year when we didn’t even belong in the playoffs. That works for some but not for me.
The 2010s were filled with great players and great teams that always had a chance to win a ring. That has NEVER happened since DD got fired and Bloom hired. If he can make deals and raise the level of talent back to where it was when he arrived I will have far greater optimism but until that happens I’m not going to pretend things are ok in the Red Sox organization.
What’s unreasonable about wanting a winning team that is loaded with talent when the owners are making a fortune owning the team and forcing the fans to pay a fortune to support their team?
All Stars don’t equate to winning. A solid team dynamic and great team chemistry goes a long way. You probably remember the great players the Sox had in the 1970’s, and the fact they couldn’t stand eachother
Rsox – I absolutely agree with you about chemistry and part of the chemistry comes from the leaders. Part comes from the organization. And often chemistry gets enhanced by events that bring team mates together. Mutual hatred of another team, a tragedy that has nothing to do with baseball and so many other world circumstances that can bond a locker room. The culture has changed as well. I played in 70s in HS and college and the make-up of the team had lots to do with the chemistry. I played on a sophomore team in HS with the best manager in the school, we went 24-3. The same guys went to Varsity with a terrible manager and we never came close to winning the conference because the manager made bad decisions like I see Cora make with respect to the line-up, pitching rotation and situational relief choices. We graduated and played for the American Legion team with the same guys and went to the state finals because the Sophomore manager led the American Legion team. That’s why I am so hard on Cora. I’ve seen his mistakes way too many times. I’ve seen favoritism where he bats Kiki at the top of the order or plays Devers at 3B even though it hurts the team. You have far more to overcome as a team when your manager is not good.
All-Stars need to equate to a superior talent level so expensive doesn’t mean an all-star necessarily. In 2018, our elite players were JD, Sale, Price, Bogey and Benny. JD joining the team changed the clubhouse. He gave advice to the young guys. Heck he helped them build training programs customized for them. He was the closest thing to Papi that could be hoped for and that really took Boston from a third ranked team to winning it. The addition of Sale boosted the pitching in a similar way because he’s a team guy as well.
I agree that all-stars don’t necessarily equate to winning but they are the most important ingredient because you don’t win with a close knit group with no talent. TB is a perfect example. They fall short every year despite having a great manager and several inexpensive all-star players. They simply don’t have enough all-stars to win. And they never will until they can afford them. Pick the wrong all-star and it’s no different than picking a league average player except it costs more. Pick the right all-star and you can climb on his shoulders and let him carry you to the finish line like Papi and JD have done. That’s why I hated losing Betts. He has that certain something that allows him to carry a team. I don’t see that in Devers. I see a player playing for himself. He wants to be the hero but not because of the impact to the team, it’s pure ego. That’s not a leader.
I am hoping that Story will be the new guy that helps bring chemistry to the team. He appears to be an easy going guy and my guess is he probably relates to JD because they seem to have similar personalities based on interviews and watching them play. Humble and team oriented.
This year will be interesting. 2020 was a disaster and last year was an over-achievement so this year will tip the scale towards one of the two years being representative of the team. Let’s hope it’s not 2020.
Ignore KD, he is a troll.
His sarcasm is too on point and his grammar a bit too savvy for your standard-rate troll.
If by sarcasm you mean:
1. when he stated Bloom should have signed Mookie to a long term extension after DD spent 3 yrs failing to get that extension done;
2. in the spring of 2021 dismissing all of Bloom’s signings and predicting the Sox would win less than 70 gms.
3. in Sept. 2021 dismissing trading for Schwarber.
You can call that sarcasm, I call it trolling. I do agree he isn’t a standard -rate troll, more like a super sized troll.
Oh, I didn’t include all of the abuse KD heaps on Cora for his bad managing that turned Bloom’s 68 win roster into a 92 win playoff team.
You have to admit that KD does have good grammar. He got every single prediction wrong, but he knows how to write.
That’s like saying Dracula is a good dresser.
he’s also a massive hypocrite but that comes with the territory with trolls
Dracula also had a great set of teeth.
Thanks — I needed a laugh.
He’s a competent, but mediocre writer. His pieces are organized and coherent, but lean too heavily on hyperbole and name-calling to be persuasive. The rhetorical tricks are transparent, and make it hard to take his arguments seriously. That’s not good writing.
Along with all the things you said he over punctuates (specifically exclamation points) in vain attempt to add emphasis to points that are poorly made.
Congrats Red Sox nation on getting a very good hitting and fielding shortstop. Was hoping the Cardinals would’ve been in on him, but for some idiotic reason Mozeliak believes Paul DeJong will have a bounce back season this year LOL! I wouldn’t be shocked if DeJong’s numbers are close to something like .220 BA with 8-12 Homeruns and 30-40 RBI’s, but just my opinion.
I have no confidence in STL pitching. The entire staff is questionable. I’m disappointed with STL front office for being oblivious to this obvious fact. They’re going to waste this near perfect team.
I’m worried about two things re: Boston. That starting rotation is -old- and -rickety- … I hope it can hold up. One or two major injuries to that starting rotation and this is a .500 club at best.
The other thing is clubhouse cohesion/morale with Boegarts in the awkward position of having his replacement, who is the superior defender by far, playing out of position right next to him as his double play partner. AWKWARD !!!! YIKES!
This isn’t middle school.
Pivetta (28), Houck (25) and Whitlock (25) are hardly old. Eovaldi is 31. Barnes is 31. Yes, all the lefties are older, but know-it-alls think lefties can’t pitch at Fenway. Or something.
Bogaerts has the option of not opting out of his contract and thus not feeling awkward. Story could end up being a solid 2B so things could work out pretty well
Career at Coors – OPS .972. Career at sea level – OPS .752. Just saying…isn’t Fenway at sea level? 😉
There is very little statistical correlation between how players do playing for the Rockies and how they do when they go to another team. Good players do well and bad players don’t do well. The statistics themselves are almost irrelevant.
The idea that Rockie players disappear outside of Mile High is a bit of a lazy take. Playing at Mile High enhances their home statistics. But having to re-adjust to breaking balls depresses their road statistics.
Arenado, Holliday, Walker, and DJLM all did fine when they left.
Maybe one of the things for people to think about is the fact that the Rockies pitching performed better at home than they did on the road.
Arenado’s wRC+ dropped 15 points from 2019 to to 2021 (was awful in 2020)…so not sure he’s as great of an example as people think he is
The Sox seem primed to make a serious challenge for last place in the AL East.
The Orioles clinched that, though 4th looks like a lock. The Sox could have used Correa on the Twins deal and how do they pass up on a guy like Jansen when they need quality bullpen help? I am convinced Bloom is sticking to his original plan with ownership. Build the farm, shed older players and big contracts and then put themselves into a position in 2025 or 2026 to compete. Last year was a lucky break, like 2013.
Ownership that has a higher percentage rate of championships than the late great George Steinbrenner doesn’t rely on stinking luck.
They’re that good. Deal with it.
2013 was a lucky year. Deal with it.
Yup, we finished 2nd, added Story, and you came to the conclusion that this will cause us to finish last?
I think he didn’t read a few chapters. 😉
1 game up on 4th . Perspective is a wonderful thing .
So is context. The ALE is an outstanding division. We finished #7 in the MLB. In a rebuild year, that’s pretty good.
FWIW, I still have us as #3 in the division. But #3 in the ALE might mean #4 in all of BB.
It is looking more likely that the Jays will win the East this year.
Who is winning the off season so far?
In rough order:
Detroit
Seattle
Oakland
Minny
Cubs
Red Sox
Even as a Tiger fan not sure I would put them as “winning” the off season. They had a good off season though, so pretty happy.
To me, it was the value and fit of who they signed. I find that some rebuild programs go off the rail when teams try to go over the top. I think the 5 guys they got (ERod, Pineda, Baez, Barnhart Chafin) are really good fits, at reasonable prices, particularly Baez.
And their payroll is well-managed going forward. I don’t think they can catch the WS, but I would be surprised if they weren’t in contention until at least August. Unfortunately for them, the ALE has four teams that are capable of winning 90, as well as Seattle.
@ JoeBrady;
You’re a numbers guy……
What are the chances of 4 ALE teams winning 90 games when each plays almost half the season against one another?
As for the Orioles – I believe they went 8-9 vs. the Yankees last year. They’re getting better. Doubt any ALE team is going to go 15-4 against them.
Additionally, I believe the 2022 Yankees may well be the 2021 Twins. Whatever. But they have as much of a chance of winning 90 as their old guys do of staying healthy and playing 150 games each this year.
Fairly unlikely they can all win 90, but possible (all won > 90 last year).
On the math side, the averaged 14 wins against BA last year. If do that this year, and assuming they split 57 games against each other, then their winning % against the rest of BB needs to be .552.
I see nothing to suggest that TB can’t win 90. They won a legit 100 last year, and suffered no real losses in the off-season.
TO only won 91, but their Py W/L was 99 wins.
The RS won 92 but their Py W/L was only 88. They’ve made some improvements, but just like last year, they are a bit thin, and Barnes remains a wildcard.
The NYY won 92 but a Py W/L of only 86 games, and they have some holes. I expect Cole to return to the elite status, and Montgomery is pretty decent. I like Taillon, but he is out. German is decent, but he is also out. Cortes is a fine fill-in, but I wouldn’t count on him as a l/t starter. Gil has a live arm, but if often wild.
The BP is excellent, and the fielding is improved. But they have holes in the lineup. Both IKF and the catchers project to poor OPS’. And Torres is no sure thing. Hicks is playing, but no one knows how is wrist will react at age 32. If he struggles, then what is plan B? Gallo to CF and Stanton to LF? They could hit 100 HRs between them, and maybe still not be as good as the RS OF.
I never take the under on the Yankees, but this feels a bit like last year, where they went into the season with obvious holes, and did nothing to address them.
Why do you say Detroit? Al Avila did what he said he would do and he didn’t break from his plan but, I’m in the minority of those who dislikes the Javy Baez signing for a rebuilding club. This is the exception in breaking with the plan. All those IF acquisitions and they can’t even develop one.
Just imho, but I cannot imagine Baez not being worth his contract. Over the past four years, he’s averaged 6.0 fWAR/650 PAs. IRT Avila’s plan, I don’t see this breaking any plans. The objective of a rebuild is to get heap, picks up pieces and prospects, and then start spending when you start winning.
And Detroit was 28th in SS WAR last year, so it is a perfect fit.
With Story signing all the top 10 free agents on MLBTR’s list have signed, and 48 out of 50 total, with the only unsigned player being Comforto (Kyle Seager retired).
As it sits right now the whole AL East is a tossup. It’s going to come down to managing injuries if injuries strike all the teams then the far superior depth of Tampa will probably win out. If all teams stay healthy then this division is a tossup.
Bruin1012 – Seriously? Have you compared the Red Sox to Toronto?
Vazquez vs Jansen PUSH
Vlad vs Casas/Dalbec SCALE tips heavily to TOR
Biggio vs Story SCALE tips significantly to BOS but not as much as 1B to TOR
Bichette vs Bogey Slight advantage TOR
Chapman vs Devers PUSH (not comparing offense only!)
Gurriel vs Verdugo Advantage TOR
Springer vs Kiki HUGE advantage TOR
Grichuk vs JBJ HUGE advantage TOR
T Hernandez vs JD PUSH
Bench hitters PUSH?
Overall Offense TOR
Gausman vs Sale PUSH based on uncertainty of Sale
Berrios vs Eovaldi PUSH
Ryu vs Pivetta Slight edge TOR
Manoah vs Wacha Big edge TOR
Kikuchi vs Houck Edge BOS
Closer Romano vs Barnes Big edge TOR
Stress Inning Y Garcia vs Whitlock PUSH but BOS could win if Whitlock improves
Remaining relievers PUSH
Overall Pitching TOR
Manager TOR
GM TOR
So how exactly do you see these two teams as comparable?
Best player TOR Best SP Sale if healthy otherwise TOR Best CL TOR
ON PAPER, this match-up is much closer than it was before Story but the distance behind TOR is still very sizable. TB not so much and BOS passed the Yankees who are struggling to stay ahead of Baltimore right now.
I’ll be curious to see where you would tip the scales more to Boston in these match-ups. If Story was at 3B not Devers the match-up grows significantly closer because team defense jumps from the bottom of the pack to roughly 10th in baseball. Two dozen errors is a lot to absorb for pitchers. Devers makes 25% of all errors made by the team at 9 positions. Historically, the next closest player in errors is 10 or more behind Devers and in 2020 with 60 game the next closest was 9 behind him!!!
It’s really important to do whats best for the team and move Devers even if it means JD playing left field until he is traded. Story may have a bad arm but as long as they don’t amputate it, he’s still tons better than Devers at 3B.
I sure hope JD gets moved quickly for something needed. An OF who can play CF would be nice or a #3 SP or a Closer. Moving Devers and fixing a hole would have a huge impact on the team. I might even say nice things about Bloom if it happens!!!
KD, I don’t play the position by position game instead I look at Toronto as maybe slightly better but certainly within a margin of error region. I think all 4 of those teams are very close, close enough that injuries will most likely determine who wins the division.
The Red Sox outfield is going to be elite defensively as it sits right now. I think Bloom wanted to get Suzuki for right field but it didn’t happen. He did an excellent job of pivoting and adding Story who I believe is an excellent add. The infield defense should be somewhat better I expect that Bobby D will improve greatly on his first base defense and I also expect that Story will help with Bogeys lack of range. I think that Boston has a deeper rotation then Toronto too to bottom but this rotation also comes with significant risk.
When I right it down like this it really reinforces to me that this division is very close. It may come down to the superior of Tampa again who seemingly has endless players in the minors. One things for sure it should be another very competitive season.
FWIW, I have the RS #3 with 94 wins. TB won 100 and i am not sure they lost anyone. But their rotation is not bullet-proof.
TO had a Py W/L of 99 wins. They signed Gausman & Kikuchi, but that seems like a solid downgrade from Ray & Matz of 2021. Manoah & Berrios seem like the real deal, but Ryu is a little questionable. Romano looks good, but the rest of the BP looks a little light.
I think maybe TB & TO are maybe two games better, and the NYY maybe two games worse.
Like I said easily within a margin of error injuries will determine the division if all teams get significant injuries then Tampa with there depth in the minors will probably win the division.
Bruin1012 – I always need a measuring stick and that is always stats. On paper, I have Boston with Story ahead of the Yankees and behind Toronto. Paper doesn’t really help with TB because they never play to their skill. I do, however, fear Wander Franco like I fear Vlad Jr.
We don’t have anyone with their skillset. Bogey is closest and I think Franco will blow by Bogey during 2022. He and Vlad to me are the best two ballplayers in baseball. Tatis, Bichette and Acuna are in the conversation for young guys and Harper, Betts and Trout are still studs too but Vlad Jr looks to rewrite some HR records and Franco looks to win multiple MVPs like Bonds.
The Toronto pitching staff is a bit of an enigma with Gausman a long time journeyman pitcher who suddenly jumped a tier, Berrios a young stud who faded and then got some spring back in this step, Ryu a solid above average pitcher, Manoah a potential dominant ace and Kikuchi a ho hum import that doesn’t stand out usually but can on any given day.
I am biased about our staff so I rate Sale higher than most, Nate is a nice tier 2 type starter, Houck has Manoah’s potential, Pivetta is a solid pitcher who has yet to put things together and jump to the next level, Wacha to me is like hoping Miguel Cabrera has good year, you know he had talent but you are never sure how much he’ll show, and Hill is a nice pitcher who gets hurt all the time so make hay while the sun shines and pitch him as much as possible and get good results, then sit and watch him recover from his latest injury. Paxton probably won’t be seen much this season since his surgery from a calendar perspective took place a year and two months after Sale’s did and Sale made it back by late July.
So, I like our top end better than theirs but I like their bottom end better than ours so call it a draw except their closer is much, much better than ours, even if it’s Whitlock.
I am really interested in the Yankees because so many years they look so good on paper and aren’t thanks to Boone. This year, I don’t think they look good on paper so maybe they will over-perform expectations like we did last year. Guys like Severino could have a good year, I like Gil and think he’s one of their best SPs, but guys like Taillon don’t impress me and I’ve always considered Montgomery over-rated but he’s like E-Rod he’s not consistently good but on any given day he could have a good game. I’m so glad we don’t have to live through E-Rod’s starts this year. I feel like that’s the biggest bonus of the pitching staff this year, it looks much more consistent and predictable except Wacha.
Last thing to worry about is injuries thanks to not having any last year. You are right injuries will impact these teams. If TOR lost Guerrero or TB lost Franco it would be more devastating than us losing Devers. Hecik our defense would automatically get better to offset the lost of hitting production. Sorry couldn’t help myself!! haha.
Good talk. Thanks.
Toronto will win the AL East and, in the end, lose to Atlanta in a classic seven-game World Series.
Sale compared to Gausman? You’ve got to be kidding me. Gausman has one good full season and that’s it. Sale has a career of good seasons, though injuries hampered.
I do agree Toronto will be a force but I don’t think they are nearly as good without Ray.
Story will do well in Boston.
At Long Last this STORY has an ending.
OR DOES IT ?
I like story , but looking at him home and away stats. Boston is getting a league avg hitter.
Career .240 avg, .750 ops with avg power away from Coors. Hopefully the green monster will get him more hits.
Fenway is a hitter’s ballpark too you know.
A smaller contract and less annual value than what Kris Bryant got from Story’s old team.
Bryant: 7yrs/ $182M – ages 30-37
Story: 6yrs/ $149M – ages 28-34
KD17
Bruin1012 – I always need a measuring stick and that is always stats. On paper, I have Boston with Story ahead of the Yankees and behind Toronto.
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Amazing. He predicted 65 wins last year. Criticized every move Bloom made, except for Story. And now he rates us ahead of the Yankees, who won 92 last year.
it’s because he’s a massive hypocrite.
This doesn’t mean Bogey is gone either. Mayer and Yorke aren’t knocking on the door and may not even pan out, so I don’t think those guys need to be heavily considered when negotiating a new contract. I imagine Bloom tries to resign Bogey at a fair value and if he can’t then he won’t. This signing gives Bloom options. I love Bogey and hope he wants to stay, but not at $30-$35mil. Maybe he’ll just be happy making his $20mil/year? I mean, that IS a LOT of money.
Also I want to know how owners make money. If a team is worth $1 billion and you pay a single player $150 over ~5 years, that’s 15% of their total worth spent in 5 years. Like Bogey, Sale, Eovaldi, and Story are gonna cost like $500mil with their total contracts which is 50% of the value of a $1billion team gone over ~5 years. I guess signing a player is like signing a business partner. Pretty sure this is why ticket prices keep increasing and everything gets more expensive… food, apparel, the whole 9