The Red Sox added some much-needed middle infield help Tuesday, acquiring shortstop Adalberto Mondesi and a player to be named later from the Royals in exchange for left-handed reliever Josh Taylor. Both teams have announced the trade.
In Mondesi, Boston is acquiring an immensely talented 27-year-old infielder — but also one of the most frequently injured players in MLB over the past few seasons. Dating back to the 2018 season, Mondesi has appeared in only 40% of the Royals’ possible games, missing time due to a right shoulder impingement, a groin strain, a pair of left shoulder subluxations, a left hamstring strain, an oblique strain and, most recently, a torn ACL that wiped out his 2022 season. Both the left shoulder injury and ACL tear required surgery.
It’s a daunting list of injuries for Mondesi, but it’s nevertheless difficult not to be enticed by Mondesi’s blend of power, speed and defense. In 1366 Major League plate appearances, Mondesi has 38 home runs, 54 doubles, 20 triples and 133 stolen bases. He’s also amassed 23 Outs Above Average and a 13.3 Ultimate Zone Rating in 2126 career innings at shortstop.
Beyond the injuries, that combination of raw skills is also undercut by an aggressive approach and sub-par bat-to-ball skills that regularly lead to sub-par OBPs. Mondesi has fanned in 30.2% of his plate appearances against just a 4.4% walk rate, and he’s a career .244/.280/.408 hitter in the big leagues. That includes a rough .140/.204/.140 showing in 2022, though that came in a tiny sample of just 54 plate appearances.
Mondesi has tantalized scouts, fans and evaluators for years now, but the Red Sox will be the first team other than the Royals to try to both keep Mondesi healthy and maximize the return on those raw tools. They’re only acquiring a year of his services, as despite his struggles to remain on the field, Mondesi has racked up over five years of Major League service time through his various stints on the injured list. He and the Royals avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $3.045MM salary back in December.
Boston’s need for up-the-middle help has skyrocketed over the offseason, with Xander Bogaerts heading to the Padres via free agency and Trevor Story now sidelined for at least a significant portion of the 2023 campaign following internal brace surgery in his right elbow. Boston signed Adam Duvall to play center field, thereby pushing Enrique Hernandez to the middle infield. With Mondesi now on board, he can likely handle the bulk of the workload at shortstop, when healthy, while Hernandez slides over to second base. Christian Arroyo remains on hand as a utility option who could play second base regularly, should Hernandez need to slide over to shortstop in the event of a Mondesi injury.
As for the Royals, the trade of Mondesi represents a disappointing outcome regarding a player they once viewed as a potential foundational piece. The long-term outlook of the infield now contains a new cast of characters, highlighted by Bobby Witt Jr. and defensive standout Nicky Lopez. The trade of Mondesi should open up some additional playing time for 24-year-old Michael Massey, whom the organization hopes can be a prominent piece of the infield for years to come.
Kansas City is acquiring three years of Taylor, an affordable and talented lefty reliever who missed the 2022 season due to a back injury. When he’s been healthy, Taylor has pitched 102 1/3 innings at the MLB level, logging a 3.69 ERA with an impressive 29.4% strikeout rate against a more troubling 10% walk rate. Taylor averages nearly 95 mph on his heater, has average ground-ball tendencies and owns a hefty 15% swinging-strike rate in his career — a possible portent for even more strikeout upside. He’s set to earn $1.025MM in 2023 and is controllable through 2025 via arbitration.
Talented as Taylor is, he’s had his own share of health troubles in his pro career. The lefty missed time with shoulder tendinitis in 2020 before dealing with a back strain late in 2021 and then missing the 2022 season due to a continuation of that back issue. He’s also struggled against right-handed hitters, yielding a .283/.375/.429 batting line as opposed to a .173/.247/.228 slash against lefties.
It’s the second trade in as many days for the Royals, who’ve now trimmed a bit more than $6.5MM off their 2023 payroll by trading Mondesi and center fielder Michael A. Taylor. The newly acquired Josh Taylor and lefty Evan Sisk, acquired in last night’s trade with the Twins, give Kansas City a pair of lefties who could impact the bullpen this season. It also frees up some additional resources for the Royals to continue their reported pursuit of a Zack Greinke reunion or perhaps another bat to add elsewhere in the lineup.
Univision’s Mike Rodriguez first reported that the two sides were getting close to a Mondesi trade. Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reported that a deal sending Mondesi and a PTBNL to the Red Sox in exchange for Taylor was in place (Twitter link).
Amazing trade for the Red Sox makes so much sense
Amazing trade? Give up bullpen depth when you could just sign Andrus or Iglesias? It’s a terrible trade for Boston lol
Mondesi brings a different skill set than those guys. I don’t know why people always say “just sign player x” instead. If they wanted player x they would have signed player x. Clearly they see something specific in Mondesi.
Something specific about Mondesi? Yeah, like his ability to sit on the IL for 50% of the year? You don’t give up one of your only good relievers for this…. Especially when there are BETTER alternatives on the market
Maybe his 90th+ percentile sprint speed, plus baserunning skills, and glove that now rates better than Iglesias (diminishing skills, now a poor defender) and Andrus combined?
And bold to think Taylor, who was average before, would’ve been one of their best relievers after missing a full season.
Umm have you seen their bullpen? And any edge that Mondesi has in terms of speed/defense is given right back when you consider health/availability which is exactly what Boston needs…. You’ve gotta really jump through some hoops to convince yourself that Mondesi is better than a Taylor/Andrus combo…
Also Mondesi was 51st percentile sprint speed in 2022…wasn’t above 90th percentile in 2021 either…. Maybe get your facts straight?
I’m not trying to convince you of any option being better than the other; I’m just trying to get you to understand that even though you think an option is better, that option might not be the skill set or fit that an organization believes it needs.
For the record: I’d rather have Iglesias.
The skill set that the team needs is a shortstop who can play every day…. That is NOT Mondesi…
I didn’t research his past season, I was just listing historical reasons a team may want him; he used to be 90th percentile and could easily get back to that when not injured. All I’m doing is explaining to you why the Sox may prefer Mondesi over Andrus or Iglesias. Contrary to popular belief, people don’t become GMs or PoBO by being a complete imbecile.
You should probably start putting in your application for all the future openings for GM jobs, you just know team needs too well. I’m sure you would do fantastic.
“One of your only good relievers”? Are you high? You realize the Red Sox completely rebuilt their bullpen, right? Jansen, Houck, Schreiber, Martin, Rodriguez, etc,
Dude. Everyone in the universe knows the Red Sox need an everyday shortstop, this isn’t some mystery…. An injury ravaged below average hitter is just not a solution to that problem unless you get ridiculously lucky…
So do you think this move will allow them to contend this year? If not, offering the same $3MM and a starting job to a free agent, who would jump at the offer, saves prospect depth for the future. Of course, Mondesi will sell more tickets.
The fact that you used Joely Rodriguez as an attempt to show off their bullpen is just not the flex you think it is…. Not to mention Jansen had literally the slowest delivery in the entire league last year…. You really want to bet on him maintaining his performance, which was already a drop off from his peak? Chris Martin is 37 years old…. Schreiber has no track record and usually wasn’t even used in super high leverage last year. Plus Strahm is gone and Whitlock probably moves to the rotation. So that’s multiple subtractions…. Their pen is NOT good…. Lol
@myaccount
Bloom: Hold my beer!
And like I’m trying to say, maybe they know something the public doesn’t. Maybe he’s fully healthy and has fixed a specific issue. Some of this stuff comes out later to the public that the org knew all along.
before the ACL injury…he was fast…now?
acl….duh!
You don’t give up one of your only good relievers for this….
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C’mon, don’t be so hyperbolic. Taylor is maybe the #6 RP on the team, roughly tied with Brasier, and missed 2022 altogether.
You;re acting as if we gave up a major player.
rols1026
Umm have you seen their bullpen?
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Umm:
Jansen
Schreiber
Barnes
Houck
Martin
Maybe Whitlock
Then Brasier & Taylor and Rodriguez.
Taylor is somewhere between 6th and 8th in the BP. And I like Taylor, but we don’t even know if he is healthy.
Mondesi will sell more tickets? Sarcasm?
You think Taylor is as good as Brasier. Taylors a lefty and is under 30. Brasier had a 5 ERA last season and is going on 36. Anything else?
Barnes should not be higher than houck
He’s not going to stay healthy
Joe – Agreed that Taylor would have been the 6th – 8th best (if he is actually healthy). In 2023, IMO, he will be passed by: Mata, Walter, Murphy, Crawford, and probably Winckowski for a spot in the bullpen making Taylor 11th to 13th, so not warranting a 40-man spot.
– Paxton will be used in the bullpen to start the season due to his injuries the last few years, and he will be the 2nd lefty in the pen.
The rotation will include Sale, Kluber, Bello, Whitlock, Pivetta, and Houck. Crawford and Winckowski are more likely to be used in the pen at the MLB level as Mata and Walter are higher ceiling starters (all the AAA starters are likely to be used in the pen if there is a need, but 2023 pitchering staff is much deeper than the last few years due to the farm system guys moving up and being nearly MLB ready).
“Mondesi will sell more tickets? Sarcasm?:
As many as Taylor would have, Joe.
Many of your breathern on here are all bent out of shape over trading a relief pitcher that eeked out 12 innings pitched at AAA in 2022.
LOL
One of our only good relievers? This post is wrong ona lot of levels, myaccount2. Firstly, Taylor was out all last year. Who knows what we get out of him. Maybe Mondesi is injured but he’s an additional option to what we already have that won’t cost us much more money. There’s a chance he performs better than whats out there.
There are a lot of if”s but something might click.
I doubt Mondesi makes or breaks any ticket sales….
And how are those speeds grading out after you know, his surgical outcomes last year? I don’t think hes run any combines or anything since then, and, he may not have the same.mentality either if he holds back on the jump a little, doesn’t dig as hard….
How is Taylor’s arm? You can literally ask the same thing.
GA = Mondesi is a great pick-up because he’s the highest upside we could have hoped for from Bloom, he costs $3MM, he’s by far the best defensive SS on the team, he has had so many small samples it’s hard to tell what his real skill level is but his old man was an excellent player and I’m guessing he got lots of “extra” training as a child of a former MLB player. Maybe he has his mother’s baseball skills but if he has his father’s physique and arm strength then he might be the best player on the team since Devers can’t play defense. He’s ONLY going to be 27 so he’s one year older than Devers!! I keep reading about how young Devers is so Mondesi must be pretty young too if Devers is.
Worst case, he starts at SS ahead of Kiki, gets hurt and is out for the year. Best case, he’s an all-star with 65 SBs over 10 triples, 30 doubles and 15 to 25 home runs. He’s on a bad team but could score 100 runs if he bats lead off with Yoshida and Devers behind him. The rest of the order might stink but at least there are 3 potential offensive threats on the team. That’s more than I expected for 2023.
I love this move whether it works out or not. It’s smart baseball. I never thought I would say that about a Bloom move.
Pwndroia– I wasn’t the one who called him one of your only good relievers, I was one saying Taylor isn’t that good. Think you meant to direct that to someone else.
myaccount2–yeah Bloom sees his pretty low contract and likes the fact tht he is on a 1 yr deal like all the others he’s brought in this offseason.
Barnes and Taylor are gone.
Schreiber pitched in high leverage at bats in 45 games 119 plate appearances, medium leverage 42 games 70 plate appearances, low leverage 29 games 69 plate appearances. Held batters to a ,181 batting average in high leverage. The rest of this is nonsense. Jansen had an era+ of 121 last season, which is still pretty good. He also struck out 12/9 which puts him in the 93rd percentage for strikeout percentage and was in the 88th percentage for hard hit %. Yeah that dude is trash, surely not as good, as who even was the Red Sox closer last year? Chris Martin was signed because he never walks anyone. The Sox walked everyone last year. Now they have the guy who was the absolute best at not doing that. To say the Sox pen isn’t better this year on paper is nonsense. Matt Strahm, Yeah surely they will miss him and his 44.2 innings of beautiful flowing locks. He’s fine, He was easily in the top 130 most valuable relievers last year. Whatever will we do to replace his *checks notes* 4 saves. His 138th ranked era for all ML relievers will surely be missed as well. How could we possibly replace such a gem? I guess we’ll just have to carry on.
And how are those speeds grading out after you know, his surgical outcomes last year?
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This is from the NIH and used to study the effect of ACL surgery on FB players at the NFL combines. The players at the combine are younger, so that might make a difference, but theoretically, there is almost no speed decline.
“This study suggests that after ACL reconstruction, high-caliber athletes can achieve equivalent levels of performance with no statistically significant differences compared with matched controls.
mookie is smrt-I never said anything at all about Martin and said I wanted to see IF schrieber could repeat his 2022 performance–didn’t say he wouldn’t. also didn’t say Strahm or Diekman were great–just compared him to Rodriguez. I will stand on my views of Janssen but I agree he is better than what we had last yr,
Why do people think teams can just sign players because they want to? Andrus or Iglesias would have to want to sign with Boston also. They COULD want to, but it’s not an automatic.
Dude, players go where they get paid the most 99% of the time. If Boston offers them a good deal, they’d be there. Don’t kid yourself.
Even though I doubt your 99% figure, last time I checked, 99% is not 100%. The point is that they don’t get them just because they want them. They are not a spoiled rich kid at Christmas.
If they want them, they get them by paying them the most money…. That’s literally how free agency works dude…
That’s not literally how free agency works. Players do not always go to the team offering the most money. Just ask the Padres. Players go where they want to play for whatever reason. Could be money, could be location, could be competitiveness, could be playing time, could be school system for their kids. Who knows? But it is not always whoever offers the most money. And stop calling me dude. I am not your drinking buddy.
@hiflew – THANK YOU!!
It is so annoy8ng seeing people say why didn’t they just sign [Player A]. Obviously, if the money is roughly the same, and player A is equal to or better than the player they acquired, then I’m sure any GM would have already contacted player A.
There are a myriad of reasons why a particular player would or would NOT want to play for a specific team, it is their choice. As a GM, regardless whether they fit your need or not, you cannot force them to sign with your team. Now, with that being said, often times you can convince them to sign by overpaying for their services, but that isn’t always the smartest move either.
Sometimes it isn’t even just about the money. Often times Player A just doesn’t fit into your time-line, and they want more years than you’re comfortable giving them..
Either way, in the end, it is ignorant to just assume that a GM didn’t make an effort, just because they did not end up signing a particular player.
So you’re trying to tell me the Red Sox couldn’t just sign Elvis Andrus or Jose Iglesias if they wanted to? Two guys who are barely hanging on the fringes of a job? And you’re comparing that to Judge and Trea Turner???? What a clueless take, dude.
No I am trying to tell you that Elvis Andrus is already a millionaire many times over, so maybe future money is not as important to him as it is to you. Iglesias has not made as much money as Andrus, but I would wager that he is also living a very comfortable life and maybe money is not the #1 reason for him either.
Just looked it up
Andrus 130M career earnings.
Iglesias 30M career earnings. Yeah, these guys probably don’t GAF about a whole lot.
Totally disagree – The Red Sox could afford to let Taylor go to fill a glaring need. Now the Royals have Taylor to go along with Chapman in the pen. Sox have a potential superstar – Good trade for both teams.
Potential superstar??? LOL you can’t be serious…. He’s never been an above average hitter but he’s a potential superstar? Good joke man!
Yeah, because there are a lot of guys that are elite defenders and capable of 20 hr, 30 doubles, 10 triple, and 50+ stolen base years a year? You’re a clown!
In what universe is Mondesi capable of that?? What is that his 99th percentile outcome for this year? By that definition almost any player is capable of an elite season…. What a ridiculous comment
Mondesi is not remotely capable of putting up those numbers. No way. Never.
“He’s never been an above average hitter…”
His OPS+ in 2018 was 115. But thanks for playing…..
If you think Andrus and Iglesias are going to hit better, you’ll be surprised. Mondesi might not hit better but he can steal bases, play multiple positions and probably hit just as well.
I can’t fathom signing Elvis Andrus. I don’t think you realize his health could be just as bad or worse than Mondesi at his age.
Kevin, Mondesi is a below average defensive player. In 7 seasons he has a -1 DRS at SS. 0 is average.
He played 102 games in the juiced ball 2019 season and hit 9 HR and 20 DBL. You think he will do more than that now?
His legs have had multiple injuries which is why his sprint speeds have plummeted. He is not the 50 SB guy anymore.
Mondesi has played in 40% of the games his team has played in in his career. Why would you expect him to exceed his previous bests in games played and production>
At least get the basic facts correct before you call someone else a name.
Andrus had a 103 OPS+ last season and 87 for his career.
Mondesi had a 0 OPS+ last season and 82 for his career.
Yeah, I would expect Andrus to hit better than Mondesi. So do all the projections on Fangraphs.
Andrus has played in 324 games the last 3 seasons.
Mondesi has played in 109.
Boston was able to acquire a highly talented SS that has a tremendous ceiling, and one that could use a change of scenery. Boston also didn’t have to give up very much for Mondesi, but that’s also because of his injury history.
Clearly they did their homework, and if I were a Red Sox fan I’d be excited at even the possibility of them being able to unlock Mondesi’s potential.
As far as the cost of what they gave up, relief pitchers are a dime a dozen, and can be found anywhere. Often times teams stumble upon new relief arms each year, but bullpens change so often also because relief arms are so volatile.
Even the best relief pitchers can show levels of inconsistencies from one year to the next, but especially a guy that’s just missed a year due to an injury.
He might be missed, but I assure you they can just as easily find a replacement for him. You do not find talents like Mondesi available everyday, regardless of his injury history. He’s definitely worth the gamble.
Mondesi stinks!
If he smells badly Devers can buy him a bottle of cologne with his outlandish contract!! The Red Sox need Mondesi to keep Kiki from playing SS as a .lifetime .241 hitter.
Richard, Its hard to find players that only play in 40% of their teams games while being an 82 OPS+ hitter and a -1 DRS fielder.
You know why? Because the team has to be truly awful to allow a guy like that to stay on the roster. The Royals, who have not had a season above .500 while Mondesi has been on their roster, and now the Red Sox.
Taylor didn’t pitch all last year and wasn’t even hitting 90 in his rehab appearances. I wouldn’t even count on him for bullpen depth
Amazing.. This dude has barely played in 2 years and his career was falling off already prior.. One year of control… And lost an above average MLB reliever… when there were FA options who will likely be more valuable if 23….
So Mondesi was hurt last year, but still played and you hold it against him. Taylor missed the entire 2022 season and he is and above average reliever?
Mondesi hasnt been productive in 3 years… Taylor has been a 1 WAR RP 2 of the last 4…
Its a bad odds bet on a low odd player to give you anything.
One key sentence missing is that Taylor missed all of last season so that wasn’t one of them, plus the metrics were not exactly loving him in 2021 despite being worth 1 WAR. FIP liked him; xFIP, xERA, and SIERA not so much.
Im aware.
IM arguing against this amazing sentiment for a player like Mondesi… Its a meh deal.. that even if Mondesi somehow reaches close to his upside is countered by he has 1 year of control..
Red Sox would look better going to 23 likely just signing one of the leftover SS’ than what Mondesi is likely to give you and losing one of your highest upside RPs..
Right, I get that. I’m just saying the 1 WAR sentiment, while true, is a bit misleading. I agree it’s a meh trade.
losing one of your highest upside RPs..
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I had no idea that Taylor was such a star.
I agree it’s a meh trade.
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Of course. I think the problem is (on both sides) that folks want to take sides, and some just want to argue. Mondesi is your prototypical UIF. Taylor is a solid LOOGY, with a .801 OPS v righties, and who was hurt all last year, and who pitched poorly in limited minor league innings.
It’s kind of a last guy in the BP for your last guy on the bench exchange. If you want one alternate view of this, it is that this is a salary dump by KC to save $2M.
Wadz – How many years ago was 2020? Not productive in 3 years. Check you stats.
Also, he’s the son of a good MLB player who has been highly rated his whole life but has had injury issues recently that have severely limited his action. He’s got more WS rings than nearly every person in the Bloom Administration. He was good enough to push Bobby Witt to 3B until he got hurt. His upside is very, very good. If he doesn’t work out then it’s still a great shot at very, very high potential. $3MM is in the rounding of the money wasted by Bloom on guys with little to no upside.
Be happy. Bloom did something right FINALLY!!
Pulled – I would expect you, more than anyone, to understand the 2020 stats count for NOTHING.
All stars played like replacement level players. Replacement level players made themselves look better due to comparative drops in production and the odd mix of cy-level pitchers playing like they were in a-ball and silver sluggers channeling mendoza.
When 2020 comes up I pretend it didn’t happen for predictive reasons with players. No normal ST. No season long grind. Lack of schedule diversity. Player production out of whack.
I’ll give credit to the extent you think Bloom would’ve DFa’d Taylor for any SS pickup, making this a free player at no net cost. Beyond that, doesn’t move the SS vacancy needle, unless you’re gambling he can last long enough, and return from the ACL good enough, to cover until Story is full strength. (Except the whole Story doesn’t even belong at SS to begin with issue)
GASoxFan
12 hours ago
Pulled – I would expect you, more than anyone, to understand the 2020 stats count for NOTHING.
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All stats count, to varying degrees. 2020 especially counts since it shows continuity of results from 2019-2021. That consistency strongly suggests that his OPS of .715 is a reasonable target. As is his 3.0 bWAR/650 PAs.
Actually, if his knee is healthy, I would ask his price for a small extension.
but when he does play, he’s on like a 20/60 yearly pace. If he pulls off one fully healthy season before he’s 30, it could be a historic one.
Bloom is an idiot
.263avg, 20 doubles, 10 triples, 9hrs and 43 sbs in 105 games while playing ELITE defense is “falling off”?
But look at OPS and the fact that was a career year for him
This dude keep referencing a season he did 4 years ago… as the only possible argument… The logical counter is hes played more than half a season once.. Hes been an above average hitter in a season.. once..
And hes calling others clowns.
Kevin, It was an 85 OPS+. 15% below league average. He ranked 11th in DRS among SS. That is no where near elite. Elite for his position was a 31 DRS. He had a 5 DRS He missed a third of the season on the IL. That was the best season of his career and it was 4 years ago.
I hoped we’d get him, but it sucks to lose Taylor
Maybe the PBNL ends up being a LH RP
It’ll be an A-level prospect who won’t even sniff the majors
Interesting. I’d rather have kept Taylor and signed Jose Iglesias. Good upside with Mondesi, but he hasn’t been healthy for two years. Sox trying to run an all IL team…
It’s almost impressive how many oft-injured players the Sox seem to be collecting. I guess if one or two of them manage to stay healthy it’ll be considered a “steal,” but I have my doubts at their success. Mondesi might be made out of something weaker than glass.
The Sox will have success!!! With this many candidates, how can the Sox not have the “Come Back Player of the Year”?
The odds are truly in the Sox’ favor!!!
He’s super talented but just always injured. Wouldn’t be surprised if he finished in MLB voting or didn’t play a single game for them.
Oh snap! Big one! I like it for Boston. Xander is gone and you got Story up in the air….Berto could become a nice post hype regular for them. Let’s hope his body holds up
There’s your shortstop
all it took to get him was a guy you didn’t have last year. cant really be mad about that.
IF he’s healthy…….
Sox fans are gong to love him.
Let Xander walk…Story possibly done for 2023…trade for this trash.
Nice offseason Boston
28 walks in his last 55 innings is not what you’d want for Taylor-made
It’s funny you talk trash about Boston but the brewers traded Hader because they couldn’t afford what he was going to make in arbitration lol. Other than Contreras the brewers have had a worse off-season. The red Sox got a NPB great, Janson, martin, Mondesi, Duvall, Kluber, Extended Devers to be the face of the franchise, and more. Boston can afford to make additions via free agency while the brewers are broke. Have fun with that albatross Yelli contract. I don’t even like the red Sox but it’s astounding that you are hating on Boston’s off-season while the brewers are in a far dire circumstance.
the brewers traded Hader because they couldn’t afford what he was going to make in arbitration
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They traded him because he was getting shelled and they were going to make Williams the closer.
I love Xander – I really do – I’ve been to Fenway hundreds of times. Love watching that guy play BUT even I wouldn’t have signed him to an 11 year deal. If they had signed him to a ridiculous 11 year deal you’d be bitching about that. So I ask you – when does some of this money-driven drivel fall on a player’s shoulders? How much money do you need? The Red Sox have made Xander a multimillionaire several times over – yet no one ever questions a player’s loyalty – it’s always “They let him walk.” No – the player walked. XMan will be in his 40s when the Padres contract expires –
I can’t fault Bogaerts for taking the deal San Diego gave him. If a team wants to offer you a stupid 11 year deal of course you take it. Alex Cora said essentially that last weekend at the Sox Winter Weekend event in Springfield. But at the same time I’m glad the Sox didn’t try to match that. It was, and will be, a stupid contract. A lot of Sox fans will complain about it this year but in 5 years when Bogey is playing 2B, hitting 12 HRs for the season and driving in 50 or so they’ll have moved on to something else to complain about and completely ignore the shell that’s left of the player in SD and the fact that they still have to pay him for 6 more years.
You know you are wasting your breath. Your statements are totally rational and right on the money. You make sense but that sense won’t have any effect on the legion of Bloom Derangement Syndrome Sufferers that dominate this comments section.
Did Cora say that while he was being booed?
Jose is so loyal he took way less money AND put a no trade case in his contract so Cleveland can’t trade him. That’s definitely loyalty lol
Mondesi is always hurt they should have just signed Andrus.
Don’t be surprised if they do still sign Elvis
Well, they’re gonna need another addition to fill the innings when Mondesi is invariably on the IL. Nobody questions his skill set, but in his brief career he’s had more injuries than most 15-20 year vets. All you can do here is expect the worst and hope for the best.
Why would the Sox give up one of their only decent relievers?? Just sign Andrus…
decent bullpen guys are a dime a dozen for teams with good coaching, and boston has been having about a success story in that area per season making taylor expendable. what they lacked was a shortstop, and if mondesi is ever motivated to stay healthy (good luck to him) its in his contract year. at 27, he is much more interesting than an over-the-hump andrus, so bloom and co. took the gamble. not too hard to blame them
Red Sox have had success developing a bullpen? Ummmmm besides Whitlock who else? Houck is alright and the rest of their pen has been bad…
John Scheiber for one. Not to mention the fact that they signed several bullpen arms. it’s obvious you don’t like Mondesi but making Taylor out to be something he’s not ( ie anything more than an average reliever with control issues coming off a missed season) is disingenuous.
Whitlock wasn’t developed.
They got what they needed. Queue the complaining by fans.
Great pickup. Health willing.
PLEASE lets see Maikel Garcia get a good look in Spring Training for the Royals. That dude has been tearing it up in the Venezuelan Winter League and looked really good in AAA/MLB this past year. Elite glove for SS as well. I don’t recall how strong his arm is, but if Witt Jr. is really going to get another full season to prove his SS defense *isn’t* atrocious, then at least give Garcia a run at 3B instead.
THIS! Witt moves to 3B. Massey/Lopez 2B. Garcia SS. Lopez = UTIL / super sub.
I don’t understand why Garcia doesn’t get more love from the pro analysts and fantasy “experts”
Dude has done nothing but hit at every level with great metrics and win POY awards.
If he’s healthy this is a nice under the radar move. If not, it sucks to lose Taylor…
I agree, although it does raise the question: what is Elvis really looking for – multi-year; too much money? Seems Andrus would be a better bet, imho, due to health. But, with Mondesi’s upside, they could acquire Andrus as well and it would be a huge benefit for several reasons.
Nonetheless, it’s a good move by Boston, imho. Mondesi healthy is certainly worth the risk by Boston.
It is somewhat puzzling that Andrus continues to languish in free agency,especially after his strong finish to last season.
He made $14.5 million and i would hope he and his agent would realize he’s not coming close to that again. It could be he’s looking for multiple years and he should probably realize that isn’t happening either. He may just have to sit and wait and see if any team suffers an injury or aren’t liking what they see in-house
Yankee, i said it in other threads, but, Elvis is a Boras client, and, at his age probably is trying for a 3yr deal to get him mostly through the end of the career.
At the time, they had boston…. they had Atlanta…. they had other teams with a SS weakness that lost out the winter all-star shuffle at the position. And with boras, once he sets a line with his client, he’s not quick to pivot backwards.
On the Elvis side, he probably also isn’t all that interested in playing in boston. Not many years left to win, and, that’s not on blooms radar. Likely hoping to play for a more contending team.
GA, that makes a lot of sense. I completely missed he was a Boras guy. That’s all the difference in the world.
I’m glad we traded Mondesi, but I don’t understand trading for another relief guy, especially one who’s already 30 and barely pitched last year. We just got 2 young bullpen arms (including a lefty) from the Twins and signed Chapman and Yarbrough. Not to mention Lovelady should be back this year. How many lefty bullpen arms do we need?
agree on the royals’ side of the trade. if there was a better offer they would have taken it, but surely i would think theyd wait until midseason to see what you have in him, hes young enough they might see if he would stay another year if he is hurt or unsuccessful
Royals don’t believe their young starters will get past the 5th inning so they are loading up on bullpen arms.
This is a great deal for the Sox, especially if they go out and sign someone like Andrew Chafin to lock down the pen. Mondesi’s not a sure bet but for a light-hitting starter / bench type he’s got a lot of useful upside. And speed! Which this roster really lacks.
Chafin is going to get 20 million
especially if they go out and sign someone like Andrew Chafin
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That’s the first thing I thought of when I saw Taylor’s name. I like Taylor well enough, but given that he missed 2022, Chafin would be a good upgrade.
I had Mondesi as a possible UIF early in the off-season. I don’t think he will do anything great, but the fit is pretty good. On the KC side, this looks like a money move, with the hopes that they can flip Taylor at the deadline.
I know both players are coming off seasons lost to injury. But Mondesi is injury plagued, unlike Taylor. And with 1 year of Mondesi vs 3 years of Taylor…just seems like an overpay by Boston. That PTBNL better have some value in it for Boston…
Maybe Andrus will end up keeping his Sox White
If this is all it cost, I have to give Bloom props I love this move
Huge upside. But just as much risk of losing him for 120 games.
Huge upside? In what universe? He’s never once been an above average hitter….
2018. He was also a 2 war player in 2019. Just saying if he’s healthy he’s a clear upgrade but that’s the thing
Just about every position player out there doesn’t magically get better FIVE seasons later and exceed anything he has some to that point, especially one whose best years statistically speaking based on age trends are in the rearview mirror.
This isn’t some 23 year old looking back on age 18 here.
Mondesi was supposed to be a big prospect for Kansas City if I remember correctly. Dude has some solid numbers, not including last year, and he has speed.
He was a big prospect.. like 6 years ago….
Solid numbers?
He has 1 season reaching 80 games played and above a 90 WRC+
Career BB/K rate is 4.4%/30.2%
Well, I was being modest lol
Red Sox needed an infielder, I thought they would have gone after Elvis Andrus though, he has better numbers than Mondesi.
I don’t know how much this solves the Red Sox’ middle infield problem. Sure, when Mondesi is healthy, he can be productive, but he’s never played more than 102 games in a single season. Imo, would have been better to go after Andrus. More of a risk on the performance end of things, but at least you know he’s good for about 145-150 games/550 plate appearances.
Mondesi has had many injuries and can’t seem to stay healthy BUT he’s light years better than a bum like Kiki Hernandez.
I don’t compliment Bloom very often because his track record is abysmal but this is an outstanding move on his part IF dummy Cora figures out he’s the SS they need AND he bats in front of Yoshida at the top of the order. Mondesi can steal bases when he gets on and he can score from first base on a double by Yoshida.
Honestly, this is the most excited I’ve been over a move by Bloom.since he arrived. Mondesi can be the SS of the future if he stays healthy. Mayer could move to 3B and finally fix the Devers problem if he can hit at a major league level.
This could have a huge impact on WINS (JoeBrady)!! If Mondesi can stay healthy and if Yoshida can hit MLB pitching then the top of the order with Mondesi, Yoshida and Devers becomes significantly better than one with the slug Hernandez at the top.
I have always evaluated Bloom deals for what they are worth and I want to give him credit on this one because Mondesi has an enormous upside potential compared to what Boston gave up. It also should motivate Cora to put Kiki where he belongs at the bottom of the order and playing the outfield.
Best move Bloom has made..
SS of the future.. He has 1 year of control…
Hes had 1 season where he showed his potential and stayed healthy 4 years ago…
Hes much more likely to bust than give the Red Sox anything.. and if he surprisingly does.. Hes likely gone in FA
This guy isn’t kicking Mayer to third Mayer is the shortstop of the future the Red Sox.
Bruin1012 – He kicked a far better prospect named Witt to 3B until he got hurt. You underestimate this guy and you have very, very high expectations for Mayer despite him being unimpressive so far in the minors.
Well that’s were you are wrong about Mayer.
Mayer started 2022 as a 19 year old in Salem where he hit about 50 percent better despite being nearly 2 years younger then the average player. He was then moved to Greenville, high A, as a 19 year old. Despite being 3.5 years younger then average he hit 27% better then average when looking at his WRC +. This stat is lite years better then batting average alone. The bottom line he has played as a 19 year old and has gotten to High A. Are there some concerns sure he has more swing and miss in him then it was believed he would have but overall he has been very solid. His power is showing up already as well which is a good thing.
I expect he starts at High A and moves quickly to AA this is going to be the big rest for him but he is still going to play the entire 2023 as a 20 year old. There is nothing in his profile at this point to suggest him being “unimpressive” at this point. Let’s see how he develops in 2023 this will be a big season for him he should easily get to AA Portland.
BA has him ranked #10 in all of BB. While anything can happen, I am pretty pleased with that result.
Bruin1012 – Nice spin doctoring. Lets use facts that are relevant.
He started at 18 his draft year and hit a pedestrian .275 with 3 HRs in 27 games. Is that first round performance in your mind? NOT IN MINE!! In the ROK league was there a big age differential to cry about? NOPE. He was very average for a high first round pick. I could give you dozens of star players who far exceeded his ROK numbers.
Mayer at 19 in A ball (your age thing is complete bull crap since every 19 year old is there based on talent not age or because his organization is trying to showcase him). He hit a pedestrian .286 with 9 HRs and 16 SBs in 66 games. Is that good for a top first round pick? NOPE.
Mookie Betts as a fifth round pick hit ..267 with 0 HRs and 20 SBs at Low A. Why was he in low A? He was a fifth round pick not a top 4 pick in the draft. Is Mayer’s 19 year old season stellar? NOPE it’s average. Not bad but not great like a 4th pick should produce.
After being prematurely moved up from A to Hi-A Mayer hit .265 with 4 HRs and only 1 SB in 25 games. Did he conquer HI-A at 19? NOPE. He was significantly below what one would expect from the 4th pick in the draft.
Mookie at 20 which would be comparable to Mayer’s 2023 season played at A ball hit .296 with 8 home runs and 18 SBs in 76 games. Then he got promoted to Hi-A and hit .341 in 51 games with 7 HRs and 20 SBs.
Now think about this. These are Mookie’s bad years in the minors because at age 21 he hit .346 with 11 HRs and 33 SBs at AA and AAA before being promoted to the Red Sox and hitting .291 in 52 games in 2014.
For Mayer to produce numbers expected from the fourth pick in the draft he needs to outperform Mookie’s 20 year old numbers in 2023 and then get to the majors by 21 at the latest (2024). He may get there in 2024 but unless he really ups his game, he won’t have earned it and he’ll be a very disappointing 4th pick in the draft.
If it’s any consolation, Casas has meandered in the minors much like Mayer and Yorke. Maybe it’s not the picks as much as the coaching in the minors. It’s been since Mookie that a Red Sox home grown player has dominated the minors. I exclude Devers because he got promoted prematurely as part of that agreement with the Dominican Baseball Academy.
We are all rooting for Casas, Yorke and Mayer to be great but to declare them great at this point and to fabricate misleading comments like the average age of a player in the league that year is simply spin doctoring the truth. You are good at it along with cherry picking stats. I can’t wait to read your next fabrication that justifies another point that you are wrong about!!
JoeBrady – I am happy you are pretty pleased with that result but that same ranking system had Swihart ahead of Mookie. They have no more clue than you or I do.
I really think what he produces in the minors is more reflective of his actual talent, not what some frequently wrong forecasters might think. Lets hope his stats in 2023 validate his grossly over-rated prospect status.
Wrong again Bloom. Mayer was 2 years younger than the average in rookie leagues. His bat was 20% better than average there. At 18.
In 2022 he was 49% better than average in A ball and 27% better than average in A+ ball. At 19.
I still don’t think you can say any prospect is a sure thing. Mayer might be the Red Sox SS by late 2024 or OD 2025. He might flame out in AA. We just don’t know.
What we do know is that he has been exceptional in rookie, A, and A+ ball.
Both years he was the best hitting SS in all of the leagues he played in.
Just say you don’t understand the stats that matter instead of consistently making a fool of yourself.
Wadz = You don’t think Bloom will sign him long term if he’s healthy? This could be the ONE GEM he’s been looking for. This guy has more talent in his pinkie finger than Kiki, Andrus and any of the other plug and play SSs have.
His health is all that matters. Healthy, he’s the Chris Sale of SSs. Hurt he’s ineffective like Sale. So far Bloom hasn’t signed any all-stars except Story (and that remains to be seen). Mondesi has all-star skills so it all comes back to his health.
In KC, he was expendable due to a kid named Witt (who I would prefer over Mondesi too) but in Boston if healthy he’s comparable to Bogaerts from his entire skill set. Bogey is a better hitter and Mondesi is a speed guy you put at the top of the order who can steal over 50 bases every year. Mondesi has better range although with Devers to his right that will be limited. Mondesi is comparable defender from a fielding percentage to Bogaerts, possibly better.
in 2020 he played 59 of 60 games and struggled with his average (.256 but still better than Kiki), his OBP wasn’t great either but he stole 24 bases, hit 6 HRs, 3 triples and 11 doubles. 20 of his 56 hits were for extra bases.
When was the last time Boston had a legitimate 50 SB guy to lead off? He’s going to be 27. He’s got 7 years experience but his leg conditioning has been bad. He needs to figure out how to keep from pulling hamstrings. He needs to figure out how to not tweak his oblique, he needs to strengthen his throwing shoulder and he needs to stretch out his groins to avoid groin pulls while stealing bases.
Will he get hurt in 2023? Probably. Will he play 140 or more games? That’s the key question. If he does, he could add as many as 10 wins to this team. If he can’t we are back to the sub .500 season.
This move gives Boston hope for 2023 to not be a disaster. 5th is still likely but if Mondesi is healthy, they won’t be an embarrassment.
Hard to count on a guy to leadoff who has a .280 career obp. He might be fast but he can’t get on base like a leadoff hitter. If he remains healthy he’s really good defensively so that’s good.
Bruin1012 – His average when healthy is roughly .270 so much better than Kiki who got to lead off last year. His walk rate is about .040 so his OBP is roughly expected to be .310 which is low for a lead off hitter on a good team but this is the 2023 Red Sox so that’s not an issue.
He hit .276 as a 22 year old in KC. in 75 games and stole 32 bases. Who on the current roster would be a better lead off man? Yoshida has no speed so he’s an ideal #2 hitter if he actually puts up a great OBP like people think he will. That allows Devers to bat 3 and drive in Mondesi and Yoshida.
What’s your plan?
@Bruin1012. Correct. His OBP is .100 too low to hit leadoff. Will bat 9th if he plays at all.
Lol, the Chris Sale of SS’s, about sums it up
I don’t care about his batting average. You can’t have a leadoff hitter who has a career .280 obp. His other key numbers walks in 4.4% of his at bats and strikes out in 30.2% of his at bats. The guy you hate Kike has a career .314 on base percentage 9.3% walk rate and 20% k rate. Not exactly leadoff material but miles better then Mondesi. This also includes a season when Kiki lead off with a .338 obp 10.4 bb rate and 18.8 k rate. Once again not exactly great even though he was very good in the second half of 2021 as a leadoff hitter. The only thing that Mondesi has on Kike is speed he’s a true burner too bad he can’t steal first.
PulledaBloom
His average when healthy is roughly .270
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He’s only had one season over .270. His career average is .244, and in the three seasons prior to 2022, his average is only .253.
JoeBrady – He’s been playing baseball his whole life. He’s the son of a MLB player and he made the majors at 20.
He’s had many small samples in the majors due to injury and targeted use for his base stealing. Yes his promotion to the majors probably was based on his ability to steal a base at a key time in September and October.
What did he do in the minors? He hit .290 at 16 in ROK ball but it’s a small sample. He hit .261 at 17 in A ball (don’t worry I won’t quote you how many years younger he was than the competition like Bruin1012 likes to do), He hit .211 at Hi-A at 18 years old. He hit .243 at AA at age 19. He got called up to the majors prematurely when he was 20 and only hit .175 after hitting .268 vs AA and AAA pitching that year. Does that make him a .175 hitter or a guy who was brought up too soon because he could steal bases?
Carry that forward, at 21 he hit .170 in 25 MLB games. At AAA in 85 games he hit .305. Was he ready for the majors at 21? NOPE but at that point he had 72 games with an average below .185 that counts in his career numbers.
In 2018 he was 22 and hit .276 for KC in 75 games. At this point, his numbers suggest he belongs in the majors. When you average his previous numbers with 2018 his career numbers are terrible but is he as bad as those numbers suggest? I don’t think so.
In 2019 at age 23 he plays 102 games hits .263 and steals a career high 43 bases. Is that a fair assessment of what he can do? Probably not due to the ACL issue last year but cut the steals in half and that might be a fair assessment.
At 24 in 2020 he played in 59 or 60 games and hit .256 with 24 SBs which led the league that year. Is this more reflective of his abilities? Maybe. Again, reduce the SBs but it appears that his floor is an injured player but if healthy his floor seems to be roughly a .260 hitter.
What’s his ceiling? I think you have to go back to his last decent sized sample in 2019 when he hit .263 or his 85 games at AAA when he hit .305. If .305 is too optimistic then consider his ceiling in the high .200s with a couple dozen SBs and 10 points better than league average fielding.
That makes him a steal for Taylor if he’s healthy.
If you want to average in his early 20s when he was there prematurely as a base stealer go ahead. It’s a bias that will lower all his numbers and make the projection overly conservative but hey if you don’t like the guy just do what Bruin1012 does, cherry pick the numbers to prove your point.
I believe his sample sizes have been so incredibly small that we really don’t have a good idea of how much upside this guy has. If he’s not healthy it doesn’t matter but if he’s healthy I believe his upside is far higher than his past performances due to the limited nature of the samples.
What’s his ceiling? I think you have to go back to his last decent sized sample in 2019 when he hit .263
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That’s basically been my mantra all along. He had an OPS+ of 85 with an OPS of .715. That’s roughly in line with 2020 & 2021 as well. In the three seasons, he combined for a .715 OPS, 87 OPS+, and a SB/SB of 82/16 in only 760 ABs. That also equates to a 3.0 bWAR/650 PAs. That’s really good.
OTOH, he has the injuries. But the injuries are the only thing that makes him available, that and Bobby Witt. In 2018, Mondesi would’ve cost a fortune, had he even been available.
In exchange for just Taylor, I like this a lot.
Let’s see how many guys fall for your charade pulledabloom. The regulars see right through this. Nice job though, got three already.
Gary – Taking cheap shots yet again. Focus on baseball not taking shots at guys that know so much more than you do about baseball. hahaha such a troll!!!
I seriously thought you were kidding. Wasn’t taking a cheap shot. You’re wrong. Again.
AND he bats in front of Yoshida at the top of the order.
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In front of Yoshida? Mondesi has a career OBP of .280.
JoeBrady – OBP is an important aspect to the batting order. Congrats on getting that right. Now, consider what a speedster in front of Yoshida would do to opposing pitchers. This is why guys like you and Cora shouldn’t manage big league teams.
If Mondesi is on base 3 of 10 plate appearances on average that means that Yoshida will get more fastballs during those 3 plate appearances when Mondesi is on base. If Mondesi steals a base in one of those three appearances on first base then Yoshida has a potential RBI if he can get a hit. Assuming Yoshida is as good as advertised, he will get on base 4 out of 10 times. If he gets on four different times than Mondesi then Devers will come to the plate 7 of 10 times with a runner on base. While Yoshida isn’t fast enough to score from 1st on a single by Devers, Mondesi is fast enough. All this increases the scoring potential for the top of the Red Sox line-up like in the good old days.
I agree I would like Mondesi to have a higher OBP BUT his base stealing dimension adds great value to the lead off spot with a high OBP guy behind him and a big RBI guy batting 3rd. I hope this lesson sinks in so we can avoid these type of errant comments from you going forward.
Maybe Bloom is about to sign Chafin because right now their only lefty in the bullpen is Rodriguez unless they expect the big maple to start in the bullpen.
Bruin1012 – I agree Chafin would be a good sign but how often does Bloom make smart moves. Heck, I finally agree with one of his moves and you’re pooh-poohing it because the guy’s average is only slightly better than all the other lead off guys on the team. His stolen bases mean nothing. His glove at SS means nothing with all the other butchers on the team.
I don’t get it. Chaffin makes sense but so does Mondesi, especially at the price. Taylor is a few bad games from being DFA’d by Bloom so this was a steal getting Mondesi for Taylor, even if he gets hurt. His oblique injuries have crushed his career but without the injuries, Mondesi is a legit SS with over the top speed, solid power and an excellent glove. If he can’t hit, he’s no worse than Kiki playing the position for $10MM a year versus the $3MM Mondesi costs.
If he’s healthy, he’s a long term keeper if they can sign him. If Mayer actually turns into the player YOU think he will be then Mondesi could be moved to 3B, CF who knows. Having 50 to 70 SBs will change the way pitchers will approach Yoshida and Devers and that’s a great thing for the Red Sox offense.
I’m not excited because he can’t get on base and never has been able to. His .280 career babip is horrible. A leadoff hitters primary job is get on base and he’s terrible at that.
He’s not going to be a leadoff hitter.
Bruin1012 – A lead off hitter’s primary job is to get on base BUT stealing bases at a high level is also a critical skill.
Why? Because the off speed pitches are reduced for all hitters batting after him with him on 1B. Also, if he steals a base every four games which is reasonable to expect then that’s 40 more chances for the 2 and 3 hitter to drive him it.
One last point and the most salient reason he should lead off…..
Boston has no other player better qualified because Yoshida can’t run. He cant’ steal 2nd. He can’t score from first on a single by Devers. Heck he may not even score on a double by Devers.
Aceil10 – Always a day late and a dollar short on your comments. How’s it feel to not have an original thought? Wow. Hopefully High School will raise your education level.
Pulled let me be clear I don’t dislike this trade I think it’s a good trade I think there is upside for Mondesi and he helps an area of need. So yes I think this was a good pickup if he can stay healthy if for nothing else defense he is a good defender.
I disagree with you on him being a leadoff hitter that’s all I’m saying. I don’t care how fast he is you don’t put a guy with .280 career obp as your leadoff hitter. He also strikes out more then 30% of the time so he isn’t a 2 hitter either. I think he slots in as an 8 or 9 hitter especially at the start. If he comes out hot and is getting on base then you can move him up in the lineup.
Imo if I’m looking at leadoff hitter who gets 600 plate appearances and I have one that is fast can steal bases but gets on at .280 clip so he will be on base so he gets on in 168 times vs. a slow guy that doesn’t steal bases but there is a 4 in 10 chance he gets on base so we get 240 opportunities to score in a season. Call me crazy I’m leading off with the guy who gives me 72 more opportunities to score a run. This is my reasoning and I think it’s sound.
I will admit we don’t know how important base stealing is going to be next year there are other factors that will reveal themselves as some of these come into effect next year. I’m not cherry picking I’m just stating math getting on base is the number one priority imo for a leadoff hitter with speed and stealing bases as a nice thing to have but secondary to getting on base. Ideally you want both the ability to get on base and speed not a ton of those guys though.
Bruin1012 – Cora batted Hernandez first when his average was below .200 and his OBP was below .250. Mondesi won’t be that bad. Yoshida isn’t a lead off hitter because it will take a double or two singles to score him from first base. Kiki is still a .241 life time hitter and .238 with Boston. Bogey is gone, JD is gone and so there are no OBP guys other than Yoshida but he can’t run.
For me, the fast guy makes the most sense until something better joins the roster. Depending on who starts, I’m not sure who the other options are. Refsnyder doesn’t seem to have a starting job. Duvall isn’t a lead off hitter. Devers isn’t. Arroyo/Hernandez aren’t. Casas isn’t and McGuire isn’t.
Seems to me the most qualified may not be ideal but he’s better than the alternatives.
and you’re always right on time with your nonsensical rambling KD 17. You’re clearly sundowning again you dusty old fart. Also I know you’re envious of people who unlike yourself actually finished high school or watch baseball
it’s funny that you’re criticizing me or anyone else about original thoughts when all of your “thoughts” consist of 400 plus words of essentially the same topics (bashing bloom, bashing cora, bashing Devers etc.).
I wanted him on the braves, I know a lot of people are going to hate on this but Mondesi has a great upside potential. Also a huge risk, but Ive always been a fan.
Seeing Mondesi was apparently available, I thought the Braves too and asked that below in my post. I came across your comment after I posted mine but I agree. with you, Marinararivera.
But his floor is is really, really low — too low for a WS contending team — even if he’s buried at the bottom of a lineup. Juice isn’t worth the squeeze.
The juice being giving up an average to below average middle reliever? I’m not expecting Mondesi to set the world on fire but considering what the Sox gave up I’d hardly call it a major risk.
Also the risk of when playing him and he bombs, much like he’s done in limited time recently, he digs his team in a hole.
Yes, small sample size, but only 50 ML games in 2 years (with an additional 14 MiLB games in 2021) is bad. And in those 15 ML games in 2022 (54 PA), how do you manage a 0 OPS+? I get the talent is there, but too much to risk at an important position to benefit from the return.
Again they gave up a below average middle reliever to get him. I’d rather take my chances on his upside than watching Taylor walk the batting order again.
RunDMC – The guy had an oblique strain in 2021 and came back too soon and missed most of the year because of it. Does the player really take the blame for that mistake? Then he tore his ACL in 2022. That happens all the time and very seldom does somebody evaluate that year as a bad year for the player. It”s an injury year and tells you nothing about the player except he did something that caused an ACL tear.
Mondesi was in the majors for his base running at 20. He’s had limited experience after his initial two seasons as a base stealer due to injuries. Nobody knows what he can do given a healthy season. His father is an ex MLB player who was pretty good. I’m going to assume he got exceptional training growing up as the son of a major leaguer. I also will assume that he has an exceptional baseball IQ due to the world he grew up in.
He has yet to prove his full set of skills for an entire season. 102 games is the most he’s played in a season thanks to being used as a base runner for 2 or 3 early years with the Royals. His father had a great combination of power and speed and I hope Adalberto proves he has the same skills in 2023 for the Red Sox.
It’s not about what they gave up — it’s about on a WS contending team like ATL — to plug up an important position like SS with someone with a long and recent history of injury and terrible results when he’s been in there. Sure, a team like BOS that lost its star SS (and possible replacement in Story) can take a shot at him (a 78-win team in ’22 with Xander). There’s too much to risk in a tight division to afford to take a risk like that for ATL, especially when they have gotten better results from in-house replacements (Grissom/Arcia).
I don’t doubt he’s talented, but ATL is not in position to take up a roster spot and playing time trying to find lightning in a bottle and do what KC hasn’t been able to do in years — and crack the enigma that is Adalberto.
Really wish MIN would have gone for this and had Buxton and Mondesi in the same lineup — eek!
You all realize his not the same guy as he was when he was the #1 prospect in all of baseball he’s just another guy who can’t hit and not that horrible or good in the field he’s just another JBJ
he’s only 27?
I just wonder if they let him run, and where they put him in the lineup
6th spot looks really good
9th.
I remember when his dad played RF for the Yankees. He used to cross his arms so the camera couldn’t see. Then he would give the finger to the fans in the right field stands! He wasn’t nasty about it. Really just joking. Always got a big reaction. Also would flex his muscles like a bodybuilder and point to his biceps as the fans booed their heads off! Funny guy with a great personality. Great memories!
wrongway2011
I remember when his dad played RF for the Yankees.
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I was in a fantasy league way back when when all this stuff was done manually. When we had the rookie draft, my partner and I spent no small amount of time debating Mondesi v Hammonds. I finally won out with Mondesi and we never looked back.
JoeBrady – I have to ask. You did fantasy baseball in the 1980s using weekly Sunday stats and manually calculating the standings each week? Maybe we have more in common than I thought.
What year did you start your fantasy baseball league?
mcase – He’s not that bad a hitter. Kiki and JBJ are terrible hitters. JBJ can field and Kiki is average at best. Mondesi is a very solid if not above league average defender at SS. He has huge range for those that like metrics.
He’s something Boston hasn’t had for years, a base stealing threat. If Yoshida bats behind him. Yoshida could have a much better season than he would have offensively.
If Mondesi is on first with Devers up, more fastballs will be thrown to Devers. That’s all goodness. His health is the only downside risk with this guy.
Frankly, my big concern is his recent history with oblique strains. That’s a devastating injury that is hard to shake. He’s been on the IL recently with the same problem. He came back too soon and re-hurt it. Hopefully, a full off season will help him fully recover from it.
Mondesi thanks to injuries has played the equivalent of 2 seasons in 7 years. When healthy he’s a .270 hitter with an OBP of .310 a SLG of .500 and an OPS of 825. He is capable of stealing 50 to 70 bases in any season and he’s an above league average fielder. The questions are 1 – Can he stay healthy? and 2 – Is he going to be better than a set up man named Taylor?
My hope is for a healthy season and if so nobody will be talking about Taylor other than as the inexpensive price paid for an impact shortstop.
He’s a career .280 obp % guy talk about a reach. Oh and in his entire career he has never had a .310 obp. You can’t steal first he can’t get on base talk about a reach KD wow.
Bruin1012 – You hate that I bad mouth guys without talent that you like so now you are bad mouthing a talented guy that I praised for his skills? It makes no sense unless you simply like being contrarian.
He exceeded .310 OBP multiple healthy years in the minors. The problem isn’t his stat line it’s his totals. Without playing more than 100 games it idoesn’t matter if his OBP is .290 or .310.
His one season with 102 games played he stole 42 bases and hit 10 triples and 9 home runs. Kiki can’t do that. Mondesi has talent and Kiki doesn’t. If both are healthy it’s hands down Mondesi’s job at shortstop. To disagree is pure ignorance on your part. One is talented enough to be an all-star and the other should be in the minors if UNCLE ALEX wasn’t manager.
His average is .244 in the equivalent of 2 seasons of games and Kiki’s is .238 in Boston yet he led off most of the time. If Kiki doesn’t have to steal first and hits lower I don’t understand why your comment about Mondesi needing to steal first base. Again, it’s just ignorant on your part to say such stupid things. At least attempt to make baseball intelligent comments. WOW. You have issues.
What’s ignorant is bringing up batting average in a potential leadoff hitter who gives a crap how he gets on base just that he does and guess what Mondesi is terrible at it. Kike is better at it he hasn’t been good at it but that’s how bad Mondesi has been at getting on base. I don’t even know why we are having this conversation Mondesi is terrible at getting on base when you don’t walk and you strike out a lot don’t hit for a high average you can’t possibly get on base. I know you hate Kike but cmon man is this really the hill you want to die on. MONDESI IS NOT A LEADOFF HITTER I can’t spell it out anymore if you can’t see that that’s on you KD.
KD- Kike hit leadoff in about half of his games last year a year that he was dealing with turned out to be a pretty serious injury that he says he battles all season. He did have a terrible year no question is he leadoff I am not sure but what if I said your leadoff hitter will hit .270 with .374 on base percentage slugged .502 and scored 50 runs in 334 at bats. The reason I ask is that’s what Kike did once he was brought back to the leadoff position on 6-27-2021. He was really good is he going to do that again I don’t know if he really was injured all last year with the back thing then maybe he is a lot better this year. One thing I am really confident in he will get on base more then Mondesi.
Why because I disagree with you. I’m just stating facts Mondesi is really bad at getting on base. Do you know how many games he has led off in his career exactly three times do know why a guy with his blazing speed doesn’t lead off it’s because he can’t get on base. It doesn’t matter how a leadoff hitter gets on just that he does get on and sets the table and Mondesi has been one of the worst in MLB at getting on base.
If all it took was a relief pitcher to get him, it’s worth a try to see his worth.
The reasons I don’t like this move include this:
1) who backs HIM up? Still no positional security here. The dude is made of glass, and, these weren’t hard luck injuries like Sale’s pinky finger or falling off a bike. This dude can’t handle the rigors of everyday play and weve got years of track record backing it up. If this was a case where he was a 2B that had a chance of plus value all-around above arroyo for however many games you got? OK. But this isnt that. you STILL need an everyday SS with him on the roster.
2) you needed Taylor, or more like him, for depth. You’ve got the relievers AARP committee of MLBPA as bostons bullpen. So, mix declining years, with advanced age, increased injury risk. You can make arguments for or against his potential and results. And YES, he is replaceable. But, now you do need to replace him with another LHP option in the bullpen, and, someone who doesn’t have one foot into retirement already.
3) this is prototypical bloom since 2019. You sign a damaged goods/former high prospect pedigree player who is 5 or 6 years away from really putting anything together, and, either cannot stay healthy or can’t make a jump from AAAA to mlb. HOW MANY OF THOSE HAVE WORKED OUT? I’ll let you count on one finger, but, you won’t need it.
SS, especially SS next to Devers, is too important, and even more so when you factor in the pitching staff this season. You NEED a dependable every day SS. I’m not saying Elvis is the answer, I think he wants too many years to take seriously. Iglesias has liked his time in boston, and was willing to come back after his last short stint here.
This? This is another if he’s good he should be flipped, but, that injury history ticking time bomb limits the return even then, even if you believe this guy will come back to be the player he was before he blew the ACL.
GA – All valid points but from my perspective 2023 is gone so how does this move change the future of the Boston Red Sox.
1 – If he can’t handle the rigors of every day play then you have a potential base stealing utility player at $3MM if you can extend him BUT if he can handle the rigor and the injuries are in the past you have an all-star level talent for $3MM who can lead off and play defense comparable or better than Bogaerts.
2 – The bullpen concerns are valid. There is no long-term plan for who will be the left handed set up men. That needs to be figured out and addressed. Losing Taylor may be meaningless in 2023 but once Bloom is gone, he would have been a nice fit as one of the left handed set up men of the future.
3 – Your criticism of Bloom’s pattern is fair. I submit that Mondesi is an exception. To me, he’s a Pivetta move. Pivetta wasn’t a bad pitcher he was a pitcher who got moved up too early and his numbers looked terrible. He’s a much better pitcher than his numbers suggested when we got him. Mondesi too got promoted early due to base stealing ability. He wasn’t ready for MLB pitching for the first 2 and possibly 3 years he was in the majors, he simply helped KC by stealing bases. When he finally was ready for MLB pitching he had developed into an above average fielding SS with great range, a speedster who can steal 50 bases given 150 games played, a hitter who could hold his own at .270 but struggled to walk because he was too aggressive at the plate. His walk situation can improve significantly now that he is a mature player. His base stealing will probably be less due to the ACL injury a year ago but over time could ramp back up to top 10 in baseball. He’s not the typical Bloom upside potential guy. He has the bloodlines, the training and the god given skills to be an all-star but he needs to stay healthy. The risk isn’t in his skills it’s only in his health. I would argue Paxton has skill issues as well as health issues.
SS next to Devers is a punishment that should not be endured by your worst enemy. I agree. Yes, a player at SS that doesn’t get injured would be ideal. Too bad finding a guy like that isn’t easy. All the available players are subject to injury just like Mondesi. The older ones even more than the slightly older ones than Mondesi (he’s only 27!). Iglesias I think would still be a good add because he could play 2B instead of Arroyo. You are right he has hit well while playing for Boston but believe it or not Mondesi is better defensively according to the numbers. If Mondesi goes down, then Iglesias goes to SS and Arroyo goes back to 2B. I’d much rather have Mondesi and Iglesias up the middle than Kiki and Arroyo, both defensively and offensively.
I categorize this move radically differently than the other “full of hope” moves that Bloom has made. This guy has legitimate talent. Other than a few guys like Story, Renfroe and Schwarber Bloom hasn’t gone after guys with this level of talent. I say cross your fingers and hope for health so Boston has more options after 2023 when Bloom is gone.
If I had a choice between Mondesi at $3MM or Yoshida at $18MM I’d take Mondesi as the guy more likely to earn his money even if he has a few injuries during the year.
I think this leaves Sal Perez as the sole survivor of the championship squad from 2015.
Too bad we can’t get Sal!!
Why do so many BoSox fans dislike this deal? Mondesi brings some skills, he’s versatile, and he’s not particularly expensive.
Seriously, this is a great move for the Sox
Mikenmn
Why do so many BoSox fans dislike this deal?
=======================
There are a fair amount of posters in here dedicated to disliking every move. Same as when DD was here, when Cherington was here, and when Theo was here.
JoeBrady – Lets be fair the “dedicated” group is small. Most who dislike moves do it because that’s how they feel not who the GM is. It just so happens Bloom’s hit rate is far below his predecessors.
This latest deal is a good one and I take no issue saying it. Mondesi has huge upside potential and Taylor was a minute cog in the wheel. The games that could be won with Mondesi far exceed those that could have been won with Taylor. So it’s a great move because the difference is potentially huge.
Not liking a move for a guy who has been injured a lot in his recent past is sound logic usually. Mondesi, was healthy to start the year in 2022 and pulled an oblique muscle. He rehabbed and came back and did it again. Hopefully, he’s spent the entire year developing his core muscles, obliques, hamstrings and shoulder muscles. If he didn’t, he’ll go down early and this move can be written off as a decent gamble. If, however, he’s healthy. Look out. He’s an impact player who will make both Devers and Yoshida more effective hitters.
It’s not fair to assume EVERYONE bad mouths Bloom’s moves out of hate. I bet at least 75% of the folks evaluate the trade and then decide like I did on this Mondesi deal. No angry I hate Bloom moves, just a fair evaluation of the pros and cons of the move. To me, this move has more upside than any Bloom has made. It may not work out but at least it had huge upside. Most don’t.
Pulled, earlier I commended a bloom deal. This one I’m against so far, UNLESS they bring in an actual everyday SS.
No positional security as this guy is made of glass. No guarantee any speed component is still there as he hasn’t played since the blew out the ACL. Guys who depend on speed and quick reaction cuts pushing of the leg regularly wind up out if sports after blowing an ACL.
And the only skill set this kid had depended on his speed both on the baseplate and getting to hit balls for fielding.
So. If you paired him with someone more dependable with less flash like Iglesias? I’ll get more bullish.
But if this is the be all end all of SS moves this winter? Falls short.
Most who dislike moves do it because that’s how they feel not who the GM is.
===========================
It’s a mathematical thing for me. The average GM is average, by definition. Most GMs, if not all, probably fall in the range of having 45-55% good decisions.
Which means, imo, that anyone that likes every move, or dislikes every move, aren’t being logical. It’s like Ed Koch once said: “If you agree with me 6 out of 10 times, you should vote for me. If you agree with 10 out of 10 times, you should have your head examined”.
JoeBrady – Great quote. I can buy into a batting average approach to moves by a GM. I think .333 is more likely to be a good GM than the 50% you suggested.
So, for me, my agreement with Bloom on all his moves would fall under the Mendoza line. To be fair, I think my agreement with DD would have been around a 300 average and higher than my support for Cherington. I was a lot younger when Theo was making the decisions and coming out of a near fifty year drought in GMs so I probably would guess my Theo batting average was between .280 and 333. It’s so long ago I don’t remember a lot of the minutia moves back then.
BRING OUT YOUR DEAD
BRING OUT YOUR DEAD
Mondesi: I’m feeling better.
Royals stocking up for a power move?
Adalberto to the Braves would have been a nice acquition. Wonder if Atlanta knew he could be had at this price and if so traded for him.
Good short term move by the Sawx. He can certainly fill the void with Story sidelined for half the year.
Devin Marrero turning into Mondesi… Not bad.
Right now, I’d rather have Taylor. I wouldn’t complain if this is a poor take in hindsight though
Considering the rebuild that can’t be called a rebuild and the Sox Tampa way of doing things, this is a good chance at getting a plus player. I know he’s been injured quite often. I know he’s not a great hitter. I know he’s no Mookie. But the Sox are patching this team up and trying to not finish on the bottom. This is the route they have taken. They didn’t seem interested in trading from the minors and upgrade the majors. This is Henry ball. Poor guy has been cutting coupons lately to save up for players in 4 more yearsA
I thought they would go after Farmer in Minnesota.
So, last year, the guy was 100% worse than league average. I still have a chance to sign a contract with an MLB team, too! 😀
WHAT
Over/under? 30 games?
Any idea about why he missed so much time? Maybe do some homework and look it up. He pulled an Oblique early in the year. He rushed back to help the team and he re-injured it far worse.
I’ll go with WAY over 30.
So he was constantly getting hurt? I rest my case.
Every year I hoped that this was the year that mondesi stays healthy and has a huge year. It never happened. Oh well. Maybe he’ll have a good year in Boston
Mondesi is why it’s funny to hear Volpe penciled in to the Yankees lineup. No such thing as a sure bet.
That said, he’s got tools. If the Red Sox can straighten him out, keep him healthy and not lose him after one year, it’s a very solid move.
A lot of ifs. And once again you manage to bring your Yankee hater ways into a thread about an entirely different team. Good work.
go back to the Raul Jr. name. Makes the lineup look scarier that way !
can’t believe KC had to include a PTBNL
I’m hoping it’s a manager or GM!!!
I don’t hate the move. That’s high praise to Bloom right now.
Injury risks from both sides. The Sox have, on paper, plenty of bullpen arms. They filled a position of dire need, if only for part of the year, at least, and for one season only, at best.
We’ll see how thinks shake out as we go.
Mondesi’s injuries read like he’s played in the NFL. How do you dislocate the same shoulder twice? In baseball??
once a shoulder dislocates, it becomes very easy to pop back out. The scar tissue isn’t as pliable as the original and therefore becomes a weakness long term.
Cleveland – That’s very true. My son dislocated his left shoulder diving for a ball then three months later dove for a pass and dislocated it and by spring training he opened the season by fielding a back-handed hard shot down the line that popped it out since the tendons had stretched so much. He played with a sling when batting the rest of the year but was fine in college.
I hope Mondesi is long past the dislocation issues. Personally, his oblique strains from the torque in swing concern me the most. Tweaking an oblique is very tough to come back from without it being in your head.
Infield depth. Kiké still starts at short if Duvall, Verdugo and Yoshida are on the field.
No way Kiki is bum.
“who’ve now trimmed a bit more than $6.5MM off their 2023 payroll by trading Mondesi and center fielder Michael A. Taylor” Can’t imagine the Royals taking salary considerations into….consideration.
Red Sox fans are going to enjoy some exciting injuries!
Boston hoping to catch lightning in a bottle again this year. If all the stars align …. however the more likely outcome is 4th or 5th again .
Royals loading up on relievers.
Georgia college and state university great, Josh Taylor is what was suppose to be written. But we’ll let this slide
Royals are such a loser team
This was more pulling the plug on Taylor versus getting Mondesi. Neither project to have big impacts moving forward.
If I was a sox fan I would prefer someone who plays every day like Andrus but if the change of scenery helps Mondesi and he miraculously stays healthy at least they didn’t have to give up a ton.
Only played in 40% of total games??? He”ll fit right in … welcome to Boston…..
Can’t wait to hear the hot take by (user) that thought the Red Sox were waving a white flag this season
They’re taking a flyer on a guy with potential upside. They need to take a chance on someone who could play shortstop.
Still punting on the season in my opinion. But rolling out Major Leaguers hoping for a perfect season from a bunch of guys. Tax reset and spend next winter is the hope once again. Less to choose from this offseason aside from 40-year-old starters and All Star shortstops.
Might as well called Luis Rivera out of retirement
*yawn*
Another term for unreliable content
This is Frenchy Cordero 2.0 . Sox scheduled for 75 wins at best!
This is Frenchy Cordero 2.0
======================
Mondesi is the anti-Cordero.
Love this move for us. Will miss Taylor in the bullpen but Mondesi should be a great addition if only he stays healthy.
Win for both. Kind of… Boston gets a talented shortstop, albeit with Byron Buxton type issues and KC gets a decent reliever and clears payroll space. Where was Mondesi going to play in KC anyway? He was blocked. Interesting move.
What a bunch of depressing clowns on this site. It’s a good trade for the Red Sox. It’s OK to admit it, even if you don’t like Chaim.
Depressing clowns is right. These Bloom-hating Sox fans are the dumbest bunch of fanboys who post on here. This is a very good move for the Red Sox. They trade an ordinary reliever for a guy with the potential to have a great free-agency walk year. If it doesn’t work out, it’s no big deal. They gave up nothing of consequence. How many oft-injured players have suddenly had career years right before free-agency? Correa, Seager, Judge, and many others have done just this and set career highs for games played when free agency was in sight. It probably won’t happen with Mondesi, but they’re giving up virtually nothing to find out.
Minimal risk for Boston. In his walk year, Mondesi should be highly incentivized to want to stay on the field and perform well in 2023.
Definitely a possibility in his mind. Guys play nicked up in contract years.
He’s never performed well in his entire career so why would it magically happen now?
Read the post you are replying to. It’s his contract year. Get it?
Surprised KC couldn’t do a little better, though Mondi wasn’t going to generate a haul. Royals preparing to deal Scott Barlow, imho.
To sum up the thread, the Ted Sox gave up almost nothing for almost nothing. They got a guy whose many strength is speed, yet he gets injured if he tries to use that speed to steal bases. Low risk and low reward, but still disappointing they lost Bogaerts
Franchy Cordero, Part 2. The Royals keep sending these types to the Red Sox, who seem ever eager to collect them.
Billy Hamilton, Deluxe Edition.
Not really. Mondavi has never put up any good offensive stats at all. At least Hamilton blew it away in SB.
Mondesi actually has better base stealing numbers than Hamilton on a 162-game basis (60/12 v 55/12). I assume that is part of the attraction. If the knee is healthy, I can easily see a 75/12 per 162.
The Red Rays are looking good!!
The Red Rays are looking better but Shame Doom sux!!!
“Mondesi has appeared in only 40% of the Royals’ possible games, missing time due to a right shoulder impingement, a groin strain, a pair of left shoulder subluxations, a left hamstring strain, an oblique strain and, most recently, a torn ACL that wiped out his 2022 season.”
Mondesi grew up in the DR, where steroids are available over the counter without a prescription and hustling “buscones” pump teenagers full of drugs to get them contracts, from which those dirtbags skim their take. Steroids weaken the development of connective tissue, among other bad effects.
In 2016, Mondesi was busted for clenbuterol, a banned substance that the WADA classifies as an anabolic agent. His 80-game suspension was reduced by MLB to 50 games based on the story that he ingested it in cold medicine. Buy that, if you will.
Sucks that neither Taylor nor Darwinzen worked out. Two big lefty flamethrowers…man. Both gone.
I’m pumped about this trade. Mondesi is a lotto ticket. I like that its a walk year for him too. Maybe play through some of his injuries.
I’ve watched Mondesi for 7 years. He’s an excellent SS and a streaky hitter when he’s healthy. When he’s on his hitting is a thing of beauty. Line drive power to all fields and doubles-into-triples speed. When he’s off…he looks totally lost. He tends to get down on himself at times so maybe a change of scenery will help. I hope so. I like the guy and kinda hate to see him leave KC. A word of advice to your front office….insist he stay in the states for the bulk of the offseason and keep tabs on his training. He’s not lazy but you get the feeling he loses focus easily.
I’m sure he feels he has something to prove and I hope he does well.
Mondesi has quite a lot of potential, but strikes out too much and had trouble staying healthy. Unless the PTBNL is a notable prospect, I don’t understand the trade from Boston’s perspective. Signing a more reliable SS than Mondesi – like Iglesias – can’t be that difficult.
Taylor might not be something special, but at least he is a decent reliever and a very good LOOGY (which is still valuable with two outs and a left-handed batter at the plate). The Royals just need a few good months from him and could easily fetch more for Taylor then they gave up (once again, unless the PTBNL is a notable prospect).
Gruß,
BSHH
Considering this a swap of oft-injured players the extra prospect accounts for the extra season of control Boston gives up. Aside from balancing values, the Sox, addressing a roster weakness, went after a ‘name’ that could easily rebuild his value and provide a bridge to Mayer. There is also the consideration that the limited range on shifting requires a SS with greater range, which is exactly what Mondesi has over Andrus.
I don’t expect Boston to be a first place team this coming year. They do have some nice infield prospects coming up in the pipeline and hopefully Mondesi will be a good stop gap till that time comes. I think he could fill a nice future utility role.
This is a steal
Pulled I am just going to respond to you at the bottom of this thread I tried to respond earlier but was apparently blocked in doing so.
I guess what I don’t understand if you are a leadoff hitter does it matter how you get on? Does it matter how you get on what is better for a leadoff hitter to hit ..244 but have a .280 obp or hit .238 and have a .314 obp? It absolutely does not matter how you get on base just that you do.
Do you know how many times Mondesi has led off in his entire MLB career? Three times a total of three times according to fangraphs. Why is that the reason is he’s terrible at getting on base and when I say terrible I mean terrible. This isn’t even up for debate.
.270 average, .374 obp, .502 slugging 13.2% bb rate, 15.3% k rate, 14 homers, 19 doubles and 2 triples and thats in 334 plate appearances. That’s what Kike did in 2021 when he took over the leadoff spot for good on 6/27/2021. during the 2021 season. In his entire career Mondesi has never had a stretch like that I know I looked.
I’m not saying that Kike is a good leadoff hitter but what I am saying the evidence suggests hes much better then Mondesi as a lead off hitter. Kike had a bad year last year it sounds like he was dealing with injuries all year will we get Kike who was a really good leadoff hitter June 27th untill the end of the season in 2021 or the guy we saw in 2022 I really don’t know but I do know what we get if Mondesi leads off a guy who cannot get on base at any point in his career.
Do the new rules allow us to put him out there in the tub to block rockets?
Just asking…for a friend…
Such an exciting trade for Boston. They get a guy with an 82 OPS+ that plays below league average defense and that just might be the guy that has spent the most tie on the IL since 2019 in MLB. Spectacular.
Here is a KC writers assessment of Mondesi –
“Yet despite his awful walk numbers, streaky bat, and numerous injuries, Mondesi has been a decent offensive player. Since he became a regular in 2018, he has a 95 OPS+, ranking 14th out of 25 shortstops with at least 1,000 plate appearances. That may not sound like much, but when you add a slightly-below average bat with great speed on the bases and a plus defender at shortstop, you get a pretty valuable player. Since 2018, Mondesi is fourth among all players in stolen bases, eighth in Baserunning Runs (in half the plate appearances as leader Jose Ramirez), and leads all players in Speed Score.
I think that’s a fair assessment from a writer who has watched him since his debut in the World Series in 2015. Sure sounds better than what Taylor can do and don’t forget the extremely valuable PTBNL that’s coming Boston’s way!!
How does that change the facts I posted? Mondesi was not a starter in 2016 and 2017 because he was, …
wait for it, …
injured.
The Royals need to clear $$ space to make a run at Zach Greinke? How do they sell any tickets?
I met Mondesi in low A ball at their all star game in 2013. I can’t believe he’s on 27 years old!!!!
Bloom may DFA Mondesi before Spring Training…
The Red Sox aren’t getting the whole Story this year, so they traded for Mondesi.
This just in. The Red Sox have just sold their team naming rights. They will now be known as Boston Dollar Tree.
He had one good milb season in 2017. Other than that, I don’t see “immensely talented’ translating to actually being good in any other season. I guess you could argue his 2018 MLB stats were good, but that was ~300AB and he only had an OBP around 300. I don’t see what all the hype is/has ever been with him at all.
Bosox have been taking a lot of crap from their ignorant fans lately. One way to measure an IQ of a team is to observe what they do with the SS position. The last two WSCs didn’t give in to their incumbent SS salary demands. The secret ingredient to championship building is elite hitting, especially from the left side of the plate. The Red Sox re-signed Devers while letting Xander walk. Houston’s Alvarez is the best hitter in Baseball. Freddy Freeman led the Braves to a title sans Acuna. Ortiz dominated the game when he won his three rings.
The Red Sox knew Boegarts was coming up as a free agent. They either should have done a contract early. Maybe it doesn’t become an 11 years monstrosity, I agree they shouldn’t have signed. At least if they knew it wasn’t going to happen or knew what it would take EARLY then they could have had a contingency plan in place. Now they are in full reaction mode.
It isn’t ignorance. It is called calling out poor planning.
You must have missed the past 18 months. The Sox had a contingency plan called Trevor Story. It would have been implemented except for his injury. You are entitled to your own opinions, but not your own facts.
With all due respect. The Red Sox were fully aware Story did not have an arm before signing him. He was rarely throwing above low 80’s. He had to take a physical and was signed despite his glaring arm issues that were blatant, and easily reviewable through scouting profiles. They were aware he had at least highly regressed with age, or sustained an injury and would no longer be able to adequately make throws from shortstop. Story was not the contingency plan at shortstop, he was always meant to solve the problem at second base. Anyone that thinks otherwise has no understanding of the situation at the time. Even the Sox ownership didn’t think they could botch the Bogaerts negotiation as badly as they did and finding production and a solid starter at second base has been an issue since Pedroia got hurt. Story was the answer, and it would have been a fairly good one. Good D, good bat, with potential high-end power.
If you want further proof, how many innings did Story play at shortstop last year despite us needing a shortstop multiple times? We were more than willing to place other players either out of position, or at a weaker position at short rather than place Story at what is supposed to be his natural position.
Both these players are hurt all the time. The upside scenario is Mondesi stays heathy and puts up serviceable numbers because he motivated to get paid….. last time Bloom made a trade with Kansas City they got an all-star and we got Franchy Cordero. I expect this to be much of the same.
Mondesi has all the ability in the world except availability. I’m glad the Royals got rid of the headache.
Imagine he plays 120 games. The talent is dynamite and inconsistent, which makes him a fascinating player.
The Royals with a classic case of…Taylor’s Remorse
will be interesting to see how the rule changes impact stolen bases. could be success rates will skyrocket. if so a a lot of teams will be looking for an old-school burner like mondesi
Food for thought based on what we know. The Royals are trying to clear some salary and each move lately seems to prove that out. If the Red Sox, Royals, or anyone else in baseball is so high on the potential of Mondesi, why would they shed a $3 million contract they have control of for another year (finally healthy) and trade him for a pitcher coming off injuries with a $1 million salary? There was no other team in baseball offering even a slightly better, cheaper reliever in their entire organizations? Taylor was the best they managed?
I only say this to keep expectations in line with what the Royals thought was a fair return, and what 28 other teams felt would have been too steep a price to obtain Mondesi. It isn’t like the Royals kept it a secret they were shopping him. The Royals felt Mondesi was worth trading for a lower tier MLB lefty reliever coming off an injury with a salary of $1 million. Period. Please do not tell me this trade was about risking a player they were high on to clear the additional $2 million they need to sign a guy like Greinke. They lost 97 games last year. If anything, they need more Mondesi’s everywhere if he is that good.
William – The GM just stated that his patience ran out on Mondesi and it’s a move to help the clubhouse because Mondesi wanted to play SS but Witt is their SS. Mondesi stated how pleased he would be playing SS in Boston.
I’m not sure if Boston sees it that way but Mondesi thinks that’s what’s going to happen. His father is a big name from the DR so he may have insights into what Boston is thinking.
It’s not “talented as Taylor is,” it’s “AS talented as Taylor is.” Please use proper grammar.
Skimmed through alot of comments.
One thing, this is one of my tropes.
His 2019 juiced ball campaign.
10 triples, +much higher rbi.
Many comments (for whatever reason)
mention future performance including triples and rbi’s. I feel alot is based on his 2019 season. Take that out and the counting numbers look vastly different.
I do not think triples or rbi are that important in expecting future performance. But for those that do, keep an eye out on 2019 data with two grains of salt. Just imo
I don’t consider triples when predicting. But even without the triples and without 2019, his 2021/22 counting stats still look good. His 162-game projection, using 20/21:
.246/.286/.429/.715 OPS+ 90 with projections of 21 HRs and 67 SBs.
The key being a 162-game projection, which is pretty unlikely. But a lot of his stats look a lot like Rosario (91 OPS+ thru 4 seasons) & Gimenez (84 thru 2 seasons) when they started off.
Another bullseye for Chaim Bloom. Modesi should more than make up for Bogaerts lost production at shortstop. The guy cannot hit but he can steal bases when he gets on base and he is hurt a lot. Does Chaim Bloom think that this guy is going to seriously make up for Bogaerts lost offensive production? Can this team seriously pick up a decent player instead of the bargain basement bin at Filenes.
This team is reminding me of the movie Major League with the players they pickup. This is going to be such a poor team this year. Hopefully this will spell the end for Chaim Bloom and we can get a real GM.