The Red Sox announced Friday that added first baseman/outfielder Daniel Palka has been added to camp as a non-roster invitee (thus indicating he’s inked a minor league deal with the team). He’ll add some left-handed pop to their bench mix.
The 31-year-old Palka has spent parts of two seasons in the big leagues, smashing 27 home runs as a rookie with the 2018 White Sox while hitting .240/.294/.484 along the way. Palka’s 34.1% strikeout rate, however, was a major red flag, and he fanned at an even higher 37.6% clip in 2019 while hitting just .107/.194/.179 in 93 plate appearances before losing his spot on the roster. He struggled through a tough season in the KBO in 2020 before rebounding with the Triple-A clubs for the Nats and the Mets over the past two seasons.
Palka’s big league success is limited, but he’s a .261/.349/.486 hitter in parts of six Triple-A seasons and, as evidenced by his 27 homers in 449 plate appearances as a rookie, has plus raw power. He’s graded out as a sub-par defender in the outfield corners, and the Mets played him more at first base than in the outfield in Triple-A last year.
The Red Sox are set with Masataka Yoshida and Alex Verdugo in the outfield corners, Triston Casas at first base and Justin Turner at designated hitter. However, they’re thin on first basemen in the upper minors, unless Bobby Dalbec is optioned, so Palka will provide an option in that regard while also hoping to play his way into a bench role this spring.
Dude is just changing his Sox!
He has to be one of the worst defensive players ever to never make an error, right?
Worcester has their first baseman (especially if Dalbec gets traded).
World serie baby
Has to be the greatest one season wonder ever. Not sure if a player has had a productive season as his 2018, only to receive fewer than 100abs the next year and dissappear. Most guys hang on for coffee on bad teams till father time shows up wearing his monarchs
Palkamania was fun while it lasted. He had a very exciting rookie year, but started the following season with an 0 for 32. It was tough to see because the dude was obviously there to play, tried to stay positive, but was obviously in his own head.
On a personal note, even at the height of his success and through depths of that struggle, he was always a player my son could count on to stop, chat it up, and autograph for him.
Best of luck Danny!
The 27 home run wonder
You can almost spell Dalbec from the letters in his name.
Except for the missing “C”….and “B”.
There’s a name I haven’t heard in awhile. Wonder if he has anything left in the tank?
The LH Patrick Wisdom who can’t field. LOL
Let’s hope we don’t need to find out. Things will have REALLY gone off the rails if he gets a spot with the mlb club.
I keep hearing Wisdom signed to play in Japan.
Not yet. Cubs haven’t cut him yet. If they even go that way.
Worth a shot
OLDGUY–another great find by Bloom. this guy is amazing
monster bat
Let’s do the palka
Lawrence well
Let’s do the palka
Lawrence welk
Myron Floren.
I can’t believe he has only played 2 seasons
People seem to like the long ball though.He will get a chance to hit.Maybe rotate w
“Organizational depth”.
Pinheaded Mets commenters were calling for him to be called up last season when they were facing a power outage. I don’t think that Eppler and Buck even considered wasting a 40 man roster position on him. Hope he likes Worcester. The new park is nice and there are some really good restaurants there.
Atty – Yes, he will love Worcester’s Polar Park vortex. He will hit lots of HRs that will not translate to Fenway Park (just ask Jarren Duran).
Some people are disgusting. True, passionate fans will vent but the following link is hard to put into words:
bleacherreport.com/articles/10066709-red-soxs-chai…
I’ve been hard on Bloom but recognize he was selling a long term plan which ownership was already looking to buy. America:. in 2023, we as a country should be better than this!
26 homers and 79 RBIs with less than 400 AB’s ain’t exactly nothing. Even at triple-A. I like it. Nice back up plan if the young dudes struggle badly
about as good a back-up plan as Franchy Cordero was
Palka will once again be as good or better than he was in 2018. All he needs is one more chance.
I don’t even know what to say or think with Chaim Bloom anymore. The guy is always looking for a bargain in the dumpster. Yeah you could pick up a player or two that way but not a clump of the roster like Bloom does. I really do not have too much confidence in this team with the way Bloom put the roster together. Nor do I have too much confidence in Bloom. Our pitching staff should have a stamp on it, “Fragile Glass Handle With Care”. The rest of the roster is thrown together with bailing wire and duct tape.
I am wondering if he gets bonuses if he saves money here and there. He has to be concerned with this roster he built as well. If this team flounders like I think it is going to do, he is going to endure the wrath of the baseball writers and fans in Boston this year. Another last place finish will spell his doom.
They’re depth players. If not on the roster, they will be cut or sent to the minors. We know the team messed up by not getting under the threshold last year and will do so in 23.
I don’t think this is a move trying to get a usable mlb player unless something goes horribly incredibly wrong.
It’s not expected to be anything other than a warm body in the lower levels of the organization so it can safely field a team without messing up anyone’s development.
Or the Sox get incredibly lucky and somehow Palka figures out the strike zone and becomes a viable major league player for a couple of years. Not very likely, but baseball can be strange sometimes. Either way it’s nothing more than a depth move, they type of which every other team makes all the time.
GA – I sure wish we could have a comprehensive list of all these types of adds by Bloom so we can see who the corresponding drop is. I’m sure starting from Bloom’s day 1 dumpster dive players have been added to minor league rosters and forced other players off the roster. I’m also sure MANY, MANY of the new adds have pushed off OLD ADDS by Bloom. That’s the revolving door approach to building the farm system. There is no building because the talent level never goes up but Bloom fans call it that even though it’s a lie.
What I want to see is where have all the cuts gone? Are they on other teams or out of baseball? If on other teams, are they doing better than his adds?
I think we need a forensic accountant to show the NET impact of Bloom’s dumpster diving and then show a cost for that diving. He needs to be accountable for ALL his bad choices.
Yankees have signed more Minor Leaguers this off-season than the Red Sox. How is that different?
I think the White Sox must have signed more minor leaguers than any team. The sad thing is, several of them will probably be on the major league roster.
The Yankees have a far better team than we do. They have pitching and hitting. We have far too many mediocre players and other teams retreads. Going to be a very long year my friend. All the good players have signed with other teams long ago. What is left now is the “Scraps” of the league. Bloom is feeling the heat because he knows this team is not very good and the top three pitchers are coming off injuries either recent or in their past.
Al – I agree. We are closer to the Pirates than the Yankees.
To suggest this team is good is illogical based on the roster.
Elite Players – Devers and Sale if healthy and Jansen if healthy
all-stars not listed above – Story (hurt and won’t play), Turner has the upside but league average is more likely
league average players – Verdugo, Duvall, hopefully Casas, Mondesi (with the potential to be above league average), Kluber, Pivetta, Houck with a decent upside, Whitlock with a decent upside, ,
Below league average – Kiki who batted 3rd today hahahaha, McGuire and the rest of the roster.
Unknowns – Yoshida, Sale, Paxton
Big unknowns. Lots of below league average, a few league average with upside and one old man who might do well as the DH.
That’s not a good roster and with Cora setting the line-up, the team run production will be minimized. With Cora handling the pitching choices, the pitching will be minimized.
Rooting for your favorite team despite them being the least talented in most of baseball is cool. Think rather than hoping that something good will happen is delusional. Bad teams don’t win Pennants, Rings or even Divisions these days. 65 to 75 wins and 5th place if all goes well.
“Yankees have a far better team . . .”
Then why do they need so many minor leaguers? Its a thing EVERY team is doing, but only Red Sox fans get angry about it. And I mean ONLY! No other team, better record, worse record, longer WS drought, no other team’s fans are freaking out.
Its a minor league signing, find a way to deal with it.
rsmith – The Yankees have acquired big named talent these past three years and Boston hasn’t. That’s why. You are right that lots of teams do minor league contracts but in Boston that’s all Bloom does so fans are angry. Remember this off season has seen big named talent leave and none was acquired. The Yankees have the second highest payroll, they signed their star player Judge while Boston let Bogey, JD, Nate and Vazquez leave and there is no money left to get a star player.
That’s all Boston fans have had to deal with for three years, minor league deals involving questionable talent. The team is 4 games over .500 during that time period after being 104 over .500 during DD’s reign.
It’s the monotony of not getting star players to replace star players released that causes the fan dissatisfaction you are seeing. If you are a Yankee fan, I”m sure you appreciate Judge being retained, Rizzo being retained, Cole being paid big bucks to lead your pitching staff and guys like Peraza and Cabrera getting a chance to play too as farm system graduates.
Things are good in NY right now. Yes, you still carry Stanton’s bloated contract but your owners are trying to put you into contention for the Division Title, the Playoffs and a Ring. Our GM sold ownership on a new way to approach building a roster that hasn’t worked.
I guarantee if you saw everyone that is an all-star not get renewed you’d be angry at your ownership and Cashman just like Red Sox fans are. Nobody likes the season being over before it starts and that’s the case in Boston in 2023..
Rsmith – People are complaining constantly because the problem has grown to epic proportions. The fans have a right to complain when a AAA team is wearing their uniforms.
I just saw your comments for Fever. Since there was no way to reply I’m putting it down here!! As a Yankee fan, it’s the oddest trolling I’ve seen. Insulting Red Sox Nation? Why? Your team is at an advantage right now compared to when DD was GM. Enjoy it and stop taking cheap shots at a great group of fans who suffered 86 years to see a winner and then had the rug pulled out from underneath them by Bloom.
Point by Point response:
1 – Winning a ring then dismantling the team with a new guy is plenty to complain about
2 – It’s absurd to suggest that DD left a huge whole in the talent. The team Bloom got had all-stars Sale, Price, Mookie, Bogey, Devers, Benny, Kimbrel and Eovaldi. Devers and Sale are left now. Bloom had tons of talent and pissed it away.
3 – Skipped in your original post
4 – The only person not understanding is you. No void left as documented clearly above. The comprehension level of disgruntled fans is far greater than your weak excuse for why Bloom failed miserably.
5 – Patience on a rebuild? The tear down just concluded. There is no rebuild that has started yet. It took Bloom 3 years to dismantle the championship team. Why should any set of fans accustomed to winning have to put up with the ineptitude that Bloom has shown?
6 – Talent coming? Seriously? Mayer is the only player in the farm system that is ranked in the top 50 and acquired by Bloom. He did it by failing miserably in 2020 after dumping the talent you said he didn’t have. Your whole premise is a fabrication. Bloom got a fully loaded team and destroyed it. There is no great team on the horizon. You don’t build great teams with minor league contracts for marginal players.
7 – Boston fans aren’t angry because that’s all they know. You just insulted all of Red Sox Nation!!! They are angry for Bloom incompetence. They are angry because they’ve watched a car wreck in slow motion for 3 years. They are angry because the tear down took 3 years and there are no signs of a rebuild, just more of the same mediocrity until Bloom is fired.
Your post was pure propaganda. Red Sox Nation is right where they should be based on the poor performance by Bloom. They are angry and at the gates ready to storm the castle if change doesn’t happen. Bloom and Cora need to go and the slate needs to be cleaned for a REAL GM to come in and build a roster that can win, with an honest and experienced manager and coaches that know how to maximize the value of the players by showing them how to reach their potential.
No “star players” were involved in this transaction. It’s a minor league deal. So any point you think you have, has nothing to do with my point.
“epic proportions”
4 World Series in 20 years. Do you know how you sound? Do you know what “epic” means?
Uh oh, looks like you hit a nerve
Rsmith – I do know what epic proportions means – “large and impressive’ according to the dictionary.
Now lets put it in the context I said it. “People are complaining constantly because the problem has grown to epic proportions.” Hmmmm large and impressive. Yep. The problems in Boston are both!! The team won 40% of their games the first year Bloom appeared and now things are worse!!
EPIC COLLAPSE CAUSED BY BLOOM!!! That could be a summary of his years in Boston. He dismantled the 2018 World Champs and some people care that he did that to their beloved team.
It was 4 World Series in 15 years not 20 and going from a RING to 40% win rate is epic. The talent level that created the rings is gone now and there is no plan to replace it under Bloom. That’s an EPIC FAILURE BY BLOOM!!!
You have a short memory. You specifically wrote “.Yankees have signed more Minor Leaguers this off-season than the Red Sox. How is that different?
I read that statement and answered with the Red Sox didn’t acquire quality players along with all those Minor Leaguers but the Yankees did.
This was pretty straight forward. Question asked and answered. If your point was something other than what you wrote it’s pretty hard to respond to it!!!
So yes I know how I sound. Yes I know what epic means and by providing the definition you now know too. No stars were in this insignificant transaction just like most of Bloom’s transactions. I think that’s the point.
The Yankees and Red Sox only have minor league transactions in common. Otherwise, the Yankees have dominated the Red Sox the last three years in adding quality all-star level players. Bloom has ONLY DEPLETED the team of star players. Again, simple concept. Simple answer. Shouldn’t have caused confusion or anger.
Wrong
Yeah you could pick up a player or two that way but not a clump of the roster like Bloom does.
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As we’ve gone over, the RS pick up about as many depth signings as anyone else.
And the only ones on the expected 2023 roster that started as depth moves are Arroyo and Schreiber. Everyone else is a regular major league player.
Seriously what ever happened to Lars Anderson?
He became Neo from the Matrix.
Mike – I thought Lars joined some metalic band thing.
Whatever happened to Bob Hamelin? Heck, we can do this all weekend
Wow… remember getting a publication called “ diehard” and he was on the cover!!! To answer your question…. He’s with Carlos Quintana/ Scott cooper and my favorite Izzy alcantra…and no Phil plantier as he actually had some pop. (Our answer to Kevin Maas) sort of… Milt this could go on for weeks not weekend!!!
There have always been such players. Ted Cox comes to mind back when I was in college.
His OBP is high in AAA. Worth a shot.
Peddy – I agree. They aren’t getting him to be an every day player. He might provide value for a game or a week or maybe more if something catastrophic happens. Bloom could have done worse and often has! I like your OBP evaluation.
His walk rate in the MLB is 60 (.060 to go with his BA to make OBP) and in the minors it’s closer to 90. The MLB one is good the minors is excellent.
That’s pretty typical based on the upgrade in pitching in the majors. But he’s a Dalbec type guy. One bad pitch and he can make you pay. Otherwise, he’s likely to strike out or walk.
Like everyone else Bloom acquires you have to ask where does this guy fit in?.
As is the case most of the time, he doesn’t. He’s an old Chevy part sitting on a shelf in the minor leagues just in case an old Chevy breaks down and comes into the shop.
Bloom has a massive inventory of non-star players who are spare parts. Will they win you a ring? Absolutely not. Could they have a key moment sometime during the season? Yes, if a whole set of circumstances allow for them to shine in the moment.
Are they players we should be excited about? Absolutely not. Do they come at a cost? Yes, it’s minimal unless the player dropped due to acquiring them turns out to be far more valuable than Bloom thought.
Overall, another day another dumpster dive. So what else is new?
From what I read yesterday Bloom is under fire from the media and supposedly he says he is getting death threats. I don’t know what to believe with that. I do not agree with anyone who does that.
He has really made some bad bad deals. The Mookie Betts trade was awful even though he got rid of David Price’s contract. Price was a talent but an absolute “head case”. All Price needed to do was pitch well and keep his mouth shut with the stupid things that came out of it, like him holding all the cards in 2018. The Benintendi trade was awful as well. I don’t know if anyone from that trade is still on the team. Story was damaged goods and is another disastrous trade. He is going to miss most of the year if not all of it. This is why Bloom signed Devers long term to distract from the fallout of the Story mess. The fans as well as myself were mad at the Bogaerts mess. He did not trade him at the deadline and said he would be their priority. They could have signed him long term during the season and during their exclusive rights window and Bloom did not. The fans hate him for this blatant lie.
I dont even have an answer for what he did at the trade deadline. He trades Velasquez to a team the Red Sox were playing that night? That was awful in itself and insulting to Velasquez and the Red Sox. Yet Velasquez wanted to come back and Bloom never spoke to him but decides to go with McGuire and Wong.
He picks up Tommy Pham and Eric Hosmer. Were they sellers at the trade deadline or buyers ? I don’t know. He let Schwarber go and when he wanted to stay at the end of 2021. Then he makes another questionable trade with Renfro for Jackie Bradley Jr. and that horrid contract.
He reminds me of a trader Jack Mceon of the Padres back in the 1980s. There is no ryme, reason, or pattern to what Bloom does. He picks up minor league players and hoe many of these players are really going to make it.
He is feeling the heat and he knows this team he put together is not very good. He has finished in last place 2 of the last three years and nothing on this current team portrays any likelihood of a good competitive team. He rode Andrew Friedman’s “Shirttails in Tampa Bay. Friedman was the talent who went on to the Dodgers not Chaim Bloom. Another bad year and he will be done in Boston. The fans and the media will not tolerate it. John Henry is starting to endure the wrath of the fans and media as well. However, he is the owner and not going anywhere. Chaim Bloom’s head is in the noose right now with the hangman
PulledaBloom17 hours ago
You need to determine if a pitching staff is one that generates ground balls to the SS zone.
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Of course. I mentioned that in one of my other posts (L/R, GB/FB), so I am glad you are reading and learning from me.
The difference in strikeouts between LAD and the average team is 0.56/9, making roughly a half-chance per game divided by roughly 7 players. That amount is immaterial when compared to overall range.
Just for fun, would you rather have Betts playing RF than Palka, even though Palka has a better fielding percentage?
PulledaBloom16 hours ago
I’m also sure MANY, MANY of the new adds have pushed off OLD ADDS by Bloom. That’s the revolving door approach to building the farm system.
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And every team does that. Do you think Bloom actually invented the concept of picking up minor league depth?
Acel – You know Bloom does it a LOT more than the other big market teams, I proved that with specific month-by-month transaction counts.
But as usual you keep pushing a false narrative even after you’ve been proven wrong.
I proved that with specific month-by-month transaction counts.
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I remember that sad little incident. You included the international amateur signings to make your point. You thought that the RS had added 31 depth pieces all on the same day.
You know Bloom does it a LOT more than the other big market teams
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FWIW, I believe that the NYY signed 19 minor league depth pieces this off-season, and the RS signed 12. Toronto 12., LAD 20 Feel free to check Baseball Reference.
But as usual you keep pushing a false narrative even after you’ve been proven wrong.
FPG: brining up one of your most humiliating mistakes isn’t a recipe for success for you.
You’ve proven nothing wrong except for yourself at the point. Take the L and move on.
We all need to ignore the Trolls. They do not care about right or wrong. All they want to do is dominate the narrative.
Machado just signed a long term contract so the top of the San Diego line-up reads Fernando Tatis, Juan Soto, Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts. (As opposed to Yoshida, Devers, Hernandez and Turner).
For all you guys that thought Bogey was on the decline, seeing SD’ bat him 4th on a powerful team like the Padre suggests the front office in San Diego doesn’t agree with you. For all you fantasy guys, Bogaerts will put up numbers that should beat out guys like Bichette, Witt, Lindor, Seager, Cruz, Swanson, Anderson, Franco, Adames, Correa, Pena, Baez and of course the highly over-rated Enrique Hernandez.
Other than Trea Turner, I’m not sure there is a short stop in Fantasy Baseball I’d take before Bogey. Also, it will be fun to see JD back with his old hitting instructor and in the middle of the Dodger line-up. Yet another star who probably just needed to get away from Cora and Bloom to rejuvenate his career. In addition, Vazquez as the primary catcher in Minnesota should far exceed anything McGuire does in Boston. He should get as much or more starts in Minnesota than he did in Boston while Boston will struggle with two journeyman catchers in 2023.
Like Mookie, I believe the guys released by Bloom have gone to a better place. I wish that wasn’t the case but until Bloom and Cora are gone, most other places are better places.
There is absolutely no reason this article should have this many comments…
I agree. It is caused by the trolls airing their pet peeves in response to each comment. The legit posters feel the need to defend themselves and it spirals into personal attacks by the trolls. When everyone ignored KD 17 he left or changed his handle.
We all need to ignore GA, Pulleda, & Fever. Then a reasonable discussion will be restored.