The Red Sox announced Thursday that they’ve signed infielder Yu Chang to a one-year contract. Chang’s Major League deal will place him on the 40-man roster, and Boston has placed injured shortstop Trevor Story, who’ll miss at least the first half of the season after undergoing an internal brace procedure on his right elbow, on the 60-day IL to create space. Chang will earn $850K on the deal, Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports.
Chang, 27, has seen major league action in each of the past four years, providing plenty of defensive versatility but struggling to do much at the plate. His career batting line currently sits at .213/.279/.360, production that’s 23% below league average by measure of wRC+. In that time, he’s played all four infield positions and generally been graded well at each of them.
Since Chang was out of options last year, he fell into a pit of being just intriguing enough for teams to give him a shot, but never quite providing enough to cement himself anywhere. He began the year with the Guardians but was designated for assignment and traded to the Pirates, before subsequently going to the Rays and Red Sox on waiver claims. Between those four clubs, he hit .208/.289/.315 for a wRC+ of 78.
Chang just nudged past three years of service time last year and qualified for arbitration for the first time. He was projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for a $900K salary but the Red Sox decided to non-tender him instead, though they’ve now brought him back at a slightly lower price point.
The infield picture in Boston has changed quite a bit since last year. Xander Bogaerts opted out of his contract and signed with the Padres and, as mentioned off the top, Story is going to miss significant time due to his injury. It seems the plan to cover for those losses to the middle infield is to bring Enrique Hernández in from center field to be the shortstop, with Adam Duvall signed to take over the vacated center field spot. Hernández has garnered some shortstop experience as part of the utility job he’s played for many years, but he’s never had an everyday role there. Adalberto Mondesí was acquired from the Royals to hopefully play a part of some kind, though he’s also hurt and might not be ready for Opening Day. That would seem to leave Christian Arroyo atop the second base depth chart for now. Enmanuel Valdez and David Hamilton could push for jobs since they’re on the 40-man, though neither has any big league experience thus far.
With all of those moving pieces, it makes sense to add someone like Chang who can be moved around as necessary. The corners are a bit more secure with Rafael Devers at third and Triston Casas at first, though Casas has just 27 games under his belt thus far and isn’t a sure thing to succeed this season. Chang could provide an emergency option there as well, though Bobby Dalbec could perhaps get another crack at the cold corner if Casas gets hurt or underperforms.
Chang should provide the Sox with the floor of being a competent defender at multiple positions, making him a solid bench piece to have. If he can make any progress offensively, that would be a nice bonus. If that does come to pass, he could be retained for another two seasons via arbitration and likely wouldn’t cost much given his low base salary this year.
Lol
They are gonna Yu Chang tonight!
Where are the Sox with respect to the tax threshold? I’d certainly prefer Iglesias but I’m guessing they want to leave some room for a deadline deal if they’re in the playoff race then.
With this collection of spare parts that’s like saying you want to leave some money in the bank for a paint job while shopping $500 cars with knocking engines and body rot.
The playoffs are 100% not happening this year in boston with the group bloom amassed. You’d either need to pay another team to tank, let Cora run with another massive cheating system, or, see a couple teams have plane crashes.
GA:
None of these players cost $500. Their payroll is over $200 Mil against the CBT.
Lets keep it real for once.
I wasn’t on this site in 13, but the same thinking could have been thought then. It’s why YOU PLAY THE GAMES! Injuries, surprising health and better than expected years can make a team a sudden winner. Also, look at 21.
Dewey: “could have”
It definitely was. The running theme was “Cherington was going Dempster Diving”. Another story lines that year was “Victorino was going to cruise out the rest of his career on the DL in Boston”.
It was identical sounding to this year.
Rsmith: learn analogies. I never said it was a 500 player
Dewey:
2021 still had TALENTED players DD brought to the team, not a collection of broken parts, has been, never was, and geritol taking beyond over the hill role players.
Good to know, looks like you can stop talking about it constantly then,
rSmith are you crazy 13’s team didn’t have the normal big name guys but it had one of the best postseason players of all time and a pretty go pitching squad
This team has a bunch of out of position players a horrible defense that’s going to lose them a lot of games and no hitters to protect Devers from walks and a pitching staff of will they or won’t they play in more then 20 games this yr and a 37yr old closer who will be injured by May
Not to mention their farm system blows at the top end in maybe 2-3 yrs will start to see the big names they supposedly have
GA,
100% just isn’t accurate. A lot of things need to go right, but it’s not some impossible feat like you’re saying it is.
There’s hope yet! Thanks.
I wasn’t on this site in 13, but the same thinking could have been thought then.
=======================
You should’ve been around in 2007, when the haters were apoplectic after every loss.
Disagree GA. I recall not being too impressed with Napoli, The fly’n Hawaiian and the beard in left. The team surprised us all. I’m thinking JDM is not through but neither is Turner. Yoshida, Casas and the starting staff will make or break the season.
If we get 50 starts between Sale and Paxton, I’d bet on us making the playoffs. That pretty fracking far from 100%.
Almost nobody has hope of belief in this roster. Weeks later after the launch date for opening day tickets and fenway has seats all over the park available.
There was a recent news article, all about lack of support and enthusiasm over the 2023 red sox from all levels – in Florida almost NO reporters showed up for team presses compared to prior years. Ticket sales are way way WAY down. Season tickets aren’t being renewed.
People like to point to 2013…. where’s the Ortiz? Where Pedroia anchoring up the middle? Where the decent SS? Where your speedy CF who is going to steal 50 bases? Who is going to put up the Lester and lackey numbers? Who in the pen is the ultra dominant form of Koji?
Those guys weren’t one year wonders. Sure, there were some lack of credit pickups that filled out the roster, but the CORE was much better than what sits around now, and, then you had the marathon bombing really motivate and fire up the team for the city.
Lol
Agreed but what are the odds realistically?
I used to be on the old Boston.com site….same old scene.
mcase: Where did I say 2013’s team didn’t have more talent???
Dewey was talking about the “thinking” back in 2013 on this website. I agreed and gave a couple of common themes the angries used back then, which are very similar to the stuff used today.
1) Hate of the GM
2) Nitpicking every minor deal.
3) Trivializing or outright ignoring when bigger signings are made.
No where did I mention the 2023’s team has as much talent, or could expect anywhere near the same result. Your conversation following stinks.
“2021 still had TALENTED players DD brought to the team”
Pure fantasyland comment right there.
You’ve got JD Martinez, Nate Eovaldi, Chris Sale, Michael Chavis. Thats pretty much all he left behind, that he “brought in”.
While trading away 31 prospects and being continuously over the cap which caused losing draft picks and international draft pool money.
But, don’t let the facts stand in your way. Imagination is an amazing thing.
(Queue the ‘but he won a WS’ comments now, which has nothing to do with the subject)
@GA that’s a pretty bold statement. It doesn’t look pretty but ruling out the playoffs before the season starts? 2013 team never looked good before the season started either. Give it some time before jumping to conclusions.
But 2013 did have some one year wonders like Johnny Gomes and Mike Napoli. Uehara was also much better in 2013 than other years. Yes, we had more of a core then but expectations weren’t high to start and career years propelled us.
Don’t forget Johnny Gomes- completely played in over his head in 2013.
You can’t say there’s no protection when we haven’t seen Casas or Wong at the Major League level. Both were decent hitters in AAA. They haven’t had a full chance yet.
It’s not horrible defense. Bloom likes to get guys who play multiple positions so we are more versatile, but Cora’s job is to fit the right ayers in the right places.
The bullpen last year cost us about 10 games and it will be greatly improved this year. Then there’s other teams- Yankees are already facing the injury bug.
Give it some time before jumping to conclusions.
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That’s part of the process. They have to criticize now, just in case they are unable to criticize later. There is a 50/50 chance these posters disappear in July.
Well said JB.
I used to be like that too, I get it, but it’s not a realistic outlook.
JoeBrady – I hear crow can be delicious.
Nothing would make me happier than the vitriol and criticism of this team by fans on messageboards, and, as seen at the winter event, and as promoted in the press lights a fire under this haphazard crew and they use it as fuel to succeed just like messageboard fodder from the other team in a postseason series.
I’d welcome being proven wrong, that these guys go and win a division.
But I’m also a realist and expect another bottom finish. Either way, I’ll be around as much as other priorities allow.
Don’t forget the balanced schedule. The Sox had a great record vs the ALC & ALW. It was a truly bad time with the ALE that sunk the 2022 Sox.
The same trolls just change their screen names.
It is time to ignore GA, he is KD17 under a new screen name. These trolls want everyone discussing their negative views. Ignorning makes them vanish.
Ignoring a user doesn’t make a viewpoint vanish, it just places you in an echo chamber of ignorance all warm and fuzzy in your own views.
Also, if you’d been active enough, long enough, you might know I was formerly atlsoxfan until leaving that putrid cesspool of a city for greener pastures (literally) and became gasoxfan.
Plenty long history, nothing to do with KD.
smith–ypu are right. Bloom has done a MUCH better job than DD
Ignore the TROLL
28. Blown saves all you need to know.
I would like to see a couple more months of Dalbec before we give him away, the Roth power is there, and I’m not saying he’s going to succeed, but he’s worth it for 2 more months
I hate to disagree, but this is exactly the type of Boston team that has won in the past, 2013 to be exact
jmi1950 – Thank you for thinking I am some diabolical webmaster who uses lots of email addresses incognito to denounce bad choices by Bloom, Cora or any other topic I have been negative about. You flatter me because I am me, GA is GA, KD is KD (might be a relative) and Fever and all the other straight shooters are not me.
What I can’t comprehend is why you think things have gone well the last three years. I watched Ted Williams play his last season, skipped school to watch the day games of the world series in 1967, suffered through the Buckner error and finally saw a championship in 2004. I’m like most others on this site except I am more vocal about the dismantling of a championship team than you are and others. GA and many others are standing with me pounding their fists on the desk asking for change. Why is that unacceptable to you? Fans have the right to express their views about how an owner is performing, how a GM is performing, how a Manager or Coach is performing and even how a player is performing. We don’t all have to agree but for you to start shouting TROLL while others on the site are trying to conduct discussions about baseball makes you the TROLL!!
You don’t have to agree with anyone. Heck, I don’t agree with anyone on every topic and that’s ok. I still enjoy reading why folks have negative or positive perspectives on the team. I hate reading the garbage provided by the “paid for” media influencers hired by the Red Sox Marketing Department to get THEIR message out to fans. But other than those who are making money off supporting the actions of the front office, I take no issue with opinions that don’t agree with mine. I prefer they be based in facts, which isn’t the case very often but to stop writing about baseball to shout TROLL at others, isn’t that a bit over the top?
Guys like you I simply don’t understand. Talk baseball and stop taking cheap shots at others on the site. People are allowed to disagree with you and in this case in large volumes.
dewey – I appreciate your optimism, and as you’ve probably seen I’m optimistic the team CAN make the postseason this year.
But comparing the 2013 and 2021 teams to this year’s team is just wrong.
The star power back in 2013 and 2021 just ain’t there now.
kyred – That’s exactly what I’ve been saying. The odds are against them, but it still could happen.
Joe – I know you love to bash Sox fans, but the ridiculousness in doing so is getting worse and worse.
The 2007 Red Sox had the 2nd-highest payroll in MLB and was loaded with stars.
They finished tied for the best record in MLB.
They won their first division title in a dozen years.
And they swept the World Series.
They were the 2nd-best of the 4 most recent Sox WS champions.
You’re flat-out making crap up.
dewey – I know it’s not your intention, but you are doing the 2013 team a disservice by comparing them to this year’s team.
The 2013 team was loaded with proven stars.
They had the 4th=highest payroll in MLB, and 2nd-highest in the league.
No reliever on this year’s team is even close to the talent level of Koji.
Koji, Lester, Ortiz and Pedey carried that team.
This year’s team has no infielder even close to Pedey’s talent level.
This year’s team doesn’t have a big game starting pitcher who comes close to Lester.
Devers is a very good hitter, but he is not on Papi’s level.
And 2013 was a year in which there really wasn’t any strong competition, no team won more than 96 games.
The players you mentioned, Napoli & Victorino & Gomes, were all COMPLEMENTARY players. This year’s team does have some players at that same talent level, but it doesn’t have the proven stars to COMPLEMENT.
GASox – I wish I had read your post first, woulda saved me the time of typing the same comments about the 2013 team. LOL!
And it truly is shocking how poor the ticket sales are as of right now. Not just at Fenway (SEVERAL THOUSAND unsold Home Opener tickets!!) but also at JetBlue Park and even the ST and regular season road games that have always drawn big crowds in the past.
That is one reason why I do think if the Sox are in contention at the trade deadline they will acquire some real talent, because otherwise Fenway could be a ghost town.
GA Sox–That is the only way John Henry will change his approach. Even if this patchwork roster that Bloom has put together with 1 and 2 year signings has any success as a fan I want to support a team that does not overturn a signifigant portion of their roster each year.. A team that keeps their homegrown stars and builds a rapport with the fans. We may love the Duvall’s, Kluber,s , Janssens, etc but they will then be gone and replaced with more 1-2 year fill-ins.
Payroll is almost 226m and tax is 233m
Thank you. That explains why no Iglesias or another still valuable SS. Need to have room for a deadline deal. Conversely, if the team sucks, many healthy bodies will be gone.
wow we signed a pile of veteran guys on low risk deals and we are still close to the cap after all the $$$ we shed this offseason?? If I’m Henry then Bloom has some splaining to do pronto
Randy- that’s because they aren’t low-risk deals. They’re high dollar, high risk deals for short term.
A bunch of 36 and 37 year old relief arms isn’t low risk, even if it’s only 2 years. Likewise trying to build around paxton after he picked up his 4m player option (tells you what his market was looking like)…
Lots of old players… .lots of money thrown around for a team a good 100m below cbt at the outset of the offseason.
Billy: Where did you get $226M from? Spotrac has the Red Sox at $208M and FG has them at $218M.
GA–lik I said though–Henry must be asking questions
billybilly
Payroll is almost 226m and tax is 233m
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Cots has it as $211M.
Dewy–expect the latter.
Joe – Spotrac also has it at $211M.
Fever pitch guy–Payroll is just crazy given the roster they currently have
Ha! Ha! Ha! Good one Dewey
Randy. What did I say to create a laugh? I’m not sure if your response was sarcastic or serious.
How surprised do you think this guy is to get a ML deal? Probably psyched out of his mind at this development.
Very surprised I’d bet.
Chang was signed to be the middle infield bench player until Adalberto Mondesí returns from the injured list. The $850,000 is little more than the MLB minimum, so when Mondesi returns Chang can be DFA with Chang’s next team paying nearly all of remaining salary. Chang is an experienced SS, which is more than can be said for all AAA current 40-man options.
Chang gives the Red Sox three viable options at SS being Hernandez, Mondesi (IL), and Chang (in that order). Chang will only remain until a healthy alternative arrives.
The non-tender was a good move as the Red Sox did not need to use a 40-man spot over the winter which would have caused them to DFA someone else they value more for the long term, and Chang was most likely going to be available as the DFAs from last year demonstrated.
JC: Good post. Chang can also play 1B, 2B and 3B.
Yes JC, excellent post. I bet he also knows where to get the best Chinese food:
Jerry: You like Chinese food? ’cause I once went to a great Szechwan restaurant in this neighborhood. I don’t remember the exact address… [sees a mailman] Uh, excuse me, you must know where the Chinese restaurant is around here.
Mailman: Why must I know? Because I’m Chinese? You think I know where all the Chinese restaurants are? [affects stereotypical accent] Oh, ask honorable Chinaman for location of restaurant.
Jerry: I asked because you were the mailman, you would know the neighborhood.
Mailman: Oh, hello, American Joe. Which way to hamburger/hotdog stand? [storms away]
Jerry: I didn’t know that…
And given that he’s been on a MLB team the past four years, it isn’t a shock that he is on an MLB team this year.
And similar to what you said about salary, if someone like Kim or Rosario become available, that $850k isn’t much of a roadblock.
Why?
We don’t have room for him, unless we deal Dalbec or Duran.
… or they could just option Dalbec and Duran. They both have 2 options remaining.
Mondesi and Story will miss the beginning of the season so after Chang, they still have a bench spot up for grabs
I would prefer to at least deal Dalbec. Duran also seems like he needs a change in scenery and Dalbec was just not working out.
Right. You want some other team to trade the Sox a player of value for a player you don’t value. Do you see the flaw in that thinking?
Dalbec bats R and can play 1B/3B – a good bench piece to give Casas or Devers a rest day vs. a LHP.
Yu Chang wins.
Fatality.
Flawless victory.
Yu can have him.
Irony.
All these big market blowhards who are “experts”
and look down their noses at the lowly Pirates, yet a large portion of the spring training roster are Pirate cast-offs.
Here’s to 90+ losses and a big market budget.
Another stellar move by Bloom
Bill, see my above post. I don’t like this either as I’d rather give someone in the system the chance to surprisingly do better than expected. His ceiling seems quite low but as others said, it’s temporary most likely and the tax implications is likely a factor.
Wiff rates don’t seem to bother this front office.
Interesting take considering they’ve signed Turner who is known for his bat ball skills and discipline and Yoshida who profiles as an elite bat ball guy with elite discipline. And Casas is known as having one of the best approaches in the system and sound bat ball skills. And Verdugo doesn’t strike out a ton.
World Series Bound. Get the Duck Boats ready
The Dirt Dogs, the Idiots, the Beards, and the 2023 Red Sox will be the Yu Chang Clan.
Why… go with a young prospect………not Yu Wang Chung tonight.
Which young prospect?
That’s always the default question. The only infielders they have on their 40-man roster are Hamilton & Valdez, assuming it is too early for Rafaela.
Joe: Yeah. Valdez is the only one of the three with AAA experience and he only has 82 games at AAA.
“We need a versatile infielder”
*phone rings*
“Yu Chang?”
So, basically a younger, much cheaper, better hitting, better fielding Leury Garcia? Once again, I’d like to say good job to the entire White Sox FO on that particular signing.
… yu Chang signed with the RedSox… and he isn’t better than Garcia
I know that. I’m saying the White Sox mucked up paying $5.5M for Garcia, who hit worse last season, isn’t a plus defender anywhere, and is several years older. It’s called sarcasm.
Chang & Garcia have identical career OPS+FWIW.
If Sale can put up some good numbers, they move him at the deadline. Boston and St Louis match up well and depending on how their season goes, maybe a return to the White Sox
That bridge was burned a while ago. No way the White Sox take Sale back.
If Sale can put up some good numbers, they move him at the deadline.
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OTOH, if Sale puts up good numbers, there is a good chance that the RS are in the playoff hunt. They missed the playoffs by 8 games last year. A good Sale replacing Winc, Seabold and Crawford’s 6-16 and 6.31 ERA, could make up the entire 8 games.
Joebrady – now you just make up the 76 starts from Hill (26 @ 4.27era), Eovaldi (20 @ 3.87 era), and Wacha (23 @ 3.32 era). Say what you want about babip or expected regression, those were the actual production results that are gone.
The patchwork rotation currently around needs to replace those too, and, do it with a worse defense on the field compared to ’22
You’re not considering Paxton (neither am I, I’ll be happy with a solid year from Sale and Paxton combined), or the rest of the staff. If things go right, this staff can be good. If not, the team will get 76 – 80 wins.
now you just make up the 76 starts from Hill (26 @ 4.27era), Eovaldi (20 @ 3.87 era), and Wacha (23 @ 3.32 era).
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Definitely a fair point, although you might want to re-check your math.
I’m thinking Bello +14, Paxton maybe 18, and Kluber maybe 25. That’s 57 of the missing 69 starts, but I see no way that the current rotation gives us 850 innings. But this happens to a lot of teams. The NYY might already be down 30 starts.
My take on this is that it won’t be the total missed starts as much as the timing. Last year, the issues were 50% injuries, and 50% timing. We have enough at #6/7 to make up for one IL at a time, but not enough if we have 2-3 guys on the IL at the same time.
Joe. with this staff, there likely will be long stretches with multiple starters on the IL.
Good catch Joe, I think when adding in my head before breaking down the starts/era I must’ve been reading pivetta at I think it was 33 starts next to someone else’s name at first and got the wrong number.
BUT, you can’t count bello like that. He already contributed 11 starts in 2022 of 4.71 era ball. Now, I’d bet he does better this year than last in results, but. If you’re counting on him for +14 starts, that’s only 3 more than last season. So you’re only covering 46 of 69, not 57 because you’ve got to deduct those 11 2022 appearances we already got.
GA: I think Joe may be counting on Bello for 25 starts (11+14). Bello made 28 starts last year, so it is conceivable he could make 25 starts this year.
Suit – quite possible. But there’s got to be space enough for him, which begs the question, what is the rotation, and, how much is expected of anyone?
Barring injury we know Sale, Kluber, Pivetta, Paxton are in. They’ve got not options so either you need to dfa them and eat lots of money (except paxton) or, play them. (Also not saying I think that outside pivetta they stay healthy.) That means you budget for however many injury starts plus one SP slot. Unless someone siezes the spot it’s wide open with them saying Whitlock is viewed as a SP, then youve got houck, bello, and the revolving cast from last season.
I guess the question is, look at the overall quality of those 69 starts you replace, and ask, how will the cast this year match up vis-a-vis 26 around a 4era (bello?) 20 around high 3s (kluber?) and 23 around low 3s? (Sale?) I dunno, that level of durability is hard to see, and, at that point you STILL are the same losing record as last year.
Sox mightve done well against AL central/west last season, but, balanced schedule means more nl east, more nl west games, and, AL west improved over last year as well at least on paper. I don’t think the games given up against the AL east is quite the blessing it sounds like, someone ran an article ranking strength of schedule changes and it was fairly neutral projected for the AL, but, the nl east took a BIG hit.
Ignore the Troll
It’s Feb and it’s a 1year @ $850K.
So why is everyone so down on this signing? Who knows what’s to come with Spring Training Injuries, additional trades, options for others down to AAA/AA, etc.
Of course this signing has very little impact in making the Red Sox contenders. A majority of the signings don’t., they are for players say 21-40 or minor league deals. You might argue that Yu Chang isn’t worth a spot on the 40 man roster….but they had a spot open (with moving Story to the 60 day which was going to happen anyway) and I’m willing to bet if there is another deal that needs a spot of the 40 man they can try to pass thru waivers, release, or trade someone, maybe even Yu Chang.
The amount that most of you think every signing/deal must be “the one” to make your team a contender is astonishing
Do you want to know why everyone is down on this signing?
Simple: a minor league level talent taking up a 40-man roster spot on a team that could easily have afforded any 2+ WAR replacement player earlier in the offseason.
Why is everyone down in the signing?
BECAUSE ITS JUNK!!!
Seriously, there are better options out there, which, I absolutely cannot imagine cost much more at this point in the offseason. Iglesias proved he can handle 2b and 3b for boston, and, had a knack at getting hits to drop at fenway. MUCH better player than Chang, and you know from past contracts he’s not some 5m signing.
I get money, years, and boras are reasons to pass on andrus. But seriously, no need to go for chang
GA. See my earlier post. The team may make a spring training deal to free up $$ but they screwed up last year by straddling over the tax threshold and priority one is to dip under it this year to reset for next off-season when depending on what happens with the Bally TV deals, clubs like Boston may have an even greater advantage since they own most of NESN. Some teams may lose serious money if Bally goes into bankruptcy.
sports.yahoo.com/rob-manfred-says-mlb-will-handle-…
Thanks for the news, Dewey.
Dewey: the red sox have NEVER lacked for competitive advantage via gross revenue compared to other clubs, having been one of only a handful to regularly gross over $500m per year.
If bally goes under it would cause an alteration where mlb acts as a go-between to collect then funnel funds to the teams who lost their distributor. I dont foresee a mechanism where that money goes into the regular mlb streaming pot for all teams.
GA. Boston’s recent decisions to not blow through the threshold is due to their international brand and modified priorities. As to a MLB, other owners will not absorb the losses and those teams will in the short term only get partial restitution of what’s owed by the alternatives. No other way there is. The market right now for negotiating local deals is probably worse than it’s been in years.
Dewey – I just don’t see it as being as hamstrung as you make it out to be. The best players will be bid up just as high. Deferred compensation is still a thing. And, regardless of what you say about international brand or ‘modified priorities’ the point is this:
The sox have always had the ability to be outspending anyone on any player if they wanted to. You only had two teams in mlb that regularly made that 500m. If they chose not to do so that’s not a choice they’ve given any signs of reversing on either.
These are the bally teams: Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Guardians, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, Tampa Bay Rays and Texas Rangers.
Of those, cross AZ, CIN, CLE, DET, KC, MIA, MIL, MIN, and TB off the list. They don’t spend or drive the market anyways.
ATL has plenty of revenue streams outside their TV rights, and, such a high population base to step into direct consumption they’d fair fine.
LAA has money to spend, and, likely was having shohei off the books anyways. They probably operate as normal minus his $30+m.
SD has an owner with money to burn and is all in. He’s not holding back over bally.
StL and Tex and likely the biggest impacted franchises. But StL gears toward guys off their farm, and Tex already is pretty contract laden.
But again, all those bally teams? Except for SD they weren’t doing much of anything to drive the market on premier talent.
It’s not going to do much to help BOS.
Dewey – My expectation is another company will buy out the Bally deal at a lesser price but still big enough for almost every team on the list to be close to whole after the deal.
Look for the sports broadcasting sharks to start circling the Bally carcass.
Lowering the pool of possible teams has to lower offers to all but the very top of the heap. In my view it’s just a question of who doesn’t find a seat on the game of musical chairs.
I just don’t see it Pulled. MLB will be taking over in the short term or those deals will be renegotiated downwards big-time.
Dewey – I hope you are wrong. There is SO MUCH money to make in providing baseball to the fans that someone who is better organized should be able to take over Bally’s screw up and make it work. Heck, I have the same positive attitude about someone cleaning up Bloom’s mess.
I think it can be done in both cases. Baseball needs the vehicle for viewership other than attending games to be strong, well organized and profitable for the game to stay healthy.
blwite – I’m not sure your point was that this deal isn’t so bad because it provides comparable depth to the starting line-up but if it was – I AGREE.
Chang/Arroyo/Hernandez/Duvall/McGuire/Verdugo/Mondesi/Refsnyder
Dalbec/Casas/Abreu/Duran/Hamilton/Rafaela/Valdez/Wong
Once you get past Devers/Turner/Yoshida (maybe) does it really matter?
Does it really matter which ones play? No. The marginal difference is so small that depth like Chang makes perfect sense. This also allows AAA players and AA players to be fairly comparable replacements as well.
Bloom knows how to build depth!!! hahahahahaha
Normally I would give him an F but in this case he gets 3 As!!!
AAA
Patching up the middle infield with a career AAA guy and a shortstop who hasn’t played in three years who gets injured if he sneezes. Yikes. At least they kept Devers but who’s here to help him?
Elvis Andrus? Hello?
Elvis Andrus has been bad 3 of the last 4 years, and he is not worth what he has been quoted asking.
Wow wtf
Chang is a good guy to roll the dice on.. but I am really shocked he got a major league deal.
CKinSTL – I feel the same way about Kiki!!!
There has been very little to lift expectations for this season, but just a couple of quick points. Moves like these are usually meant in case the team bus is hit by a train with all 25 men on it. Also, I can’t wait to see what top 10 draft pick we get next draft.
William – AWESOME!!!
william we will probably draft a shortstop ranked as a 3rd pick
I’m surprised it took Bloom this long to bring Chang back, seemed like a very Bloom thing to do early.
Bench depth can’t hurt, especially if Mondesi isn’t ready to start the season
Chang is questionable bench depth and a black hole at the plate.
Just shake my head at Bloom. Iglesias ir Andrus much better choice. Well if anything the last place finish that’s coming will hopefully end this Bloom era once and for all.
Easy to dismiss this move, but Yu Chang could give a boost. He’s capable of playing a few different positions and could still surprise if he gets an extended chance. Needs to keep the swing short and not get moved around the infield too much, in my opinion. Gave the impression of a good clubhouse presence in Cleveland.
I liked him with the Rays. He didn’t show much with the Sox the end of last season. I like the way he plays D. He has a solid bat when he makes contact. I like the pick-up.
Everybody has a solid bat when they make contact. The problem is he doesn’t very often.
“…………providing plenty of defensive versatility but struggling to do much at the plate.” There’s the understatement of the year.
Playoffs, baby!
Chang is just one more reason to fire Bloom now. He is $22MM from hitting the CAP with a bunch of losers with a few exceptions. I’m embarrassed to say I’m a Red Sox fan based on the roster.
If people want to pretend this team is competitive, that’s fine. Whatever allows you to cope with what has done to this roster. Chang, like so many others added by Bloom, is inconsequential. He impacts the value of the team very little and he costs the team very little.
It’s hard to be emotional about anything at this point because our hearts have been ripped out by Bloom. No Mookie, Bogey, JD, Vazquez, Benny, Nate or Price. The champs are gone and a mess is left. Sure Devers the .240 hitter that led the league in errors in 2018 is still on the roster and Sale is going to try for the fifth time to deal with Cora and have a normal year but the odds are against it. The best acquisition by Bloom is on the IL for half to all the season. The team got a closer after giving up all it’s hitting.
In 2021 Boston could have used Jansen or a comparable expensive closer when they were playing way over their heads but that’s not guaranteed in 2023. So why spend the money on a closer when you have no chance of winning and you have two guys in Houck or Whitlock who might develop into a closer OR maybe trade for a young closer on another team to give him the next 3 years to perfect his game since it will take at least that long for this team to recover after Bloom.
Chang is a wash-rinse-repeat guy. I’m shocked the Bloomites aren’t talking about how many positions he can play. After all, that’s the new approach to the game. Interchangeable parts that all suck but are inexpensive and bilingual!! The Red Sox roster now looks like a blend between a bad TB team and a DSL team. Great for $330MM man Devers but bad for everyone who is a fan of the Red Sox.
On the bright side, no future money spent and a splash of gasoline on the FIRE BLOOM NOW campaign. Also, 65 wins could bring a great draft pick.
The best thing to do for the future of the team is to remember you still NEED to remain emotional about the team, and put the fire and passion on display.
Beat writers have been picking up on it. Since ST set up in FL one reporter actually asked about how brass feels about fan sentiment being the worst he’s seen since 1954. So, media is getting it. And the more they blindside bloom and company with these fan issues the hotter bloom’s seat gets.
P.S. as I stated elsewhere there’s STILL opening day tickets for sale all over the park – bleachers, grandstand, roof deck, loge box, etc you name it and there’s seats available. And Henry hears that too.
The more passion about how unacceptable this train wreck of a roster is, the more venting anywhere and any way you can? The better chance of a shorter tenure for bloom.
GA – We are on the same page. Reverse the Bloom Curse shirts need to be in the stands on opening day!! I mean thousands of them not just a few disgruntled fans like us. The rest of Red Sox Nation needs to send a very, very clear message to ownership.
A second TROLL to be ignored
Ignore the trolls
We get it jmi, you want to be ignored. Also, liking all your own comments? Bad look.
jmi1950 – Please share with me your understanding of a troll because I am confused when you use such a term for me or GA or any other diehard Red Sox fan disgruntled with the dismantling of a Championship team.
Wouldn’t a troll be someone who insults others on this website because they don’t agree with something they write? When I read about some action that hurts the team and see people voice their displeasure at the action I think diehard fan not troll.
When I read your cheap shots at others, I think troll. So please explain what Troll means to you because I think you need a quick stop at the dictionary to get your bearings.
pulleddbloom–problem is that Bloom will likely draft a shortstop rated in the 3rd rd with that pick otherwise i agree with your post
Randy – I”m counting on a new guy making the 2024 draft selection. I hope he’s in place to make the 2023 draft selection too!!!
Let’s go Woo Sox . Oops wrong ball park it’s Fenway
Yu Chang ain’t nothing to fu$k with
rsmith – A guy who doesn’t allow responses and simply lies about the facts!!!
1 – DD left Bloom with a fully loaded team it doesn’t matter if DD procured each individual that was on the roster. DD was smart enough to effectively use what he inherited unlike Bloom and he traded over-rated prospects for key additions that helped them win. Those are the facts!!!
2 – Your ridiculous statement “While trading away 31 prospects and being continuously over the cap which caused losing draft picks and international draft pool money.”
FACT in 2018 DD spent 186MM on the active roster and prior to DD ownership acquired over $40MM of future payroll for players no longer on the roster. That’s NOT on DD. So any players lost or draft picks lost due to the prior mistakes by the owners and previous GM are on them not Dombrowski. DD cost the Red Sox ZERO draft picks and ZERO international money. The owners and Cherington own that mishap.
NAME ONE prospect traded by DD that ever amounted to anything other than a league average player or less? You can’t because the best prospect he traded was Moncada and 6 years later he’s still league average or worse.
So a quick double check of your inaccuracies about DD include:
1 – His spending = His active rosters cost
2016 – $184.7MM far under the cap
2017 – $178MM plus ownership wrote off Sandoval (2014 $95MM 5yr deal)
2018 – $186MM plus ownership wrote off Hanley (2014 $88MM 4yr deal)
2019 – $203MM plus $37.2MM carried forward from Sandoval and Hanley
Peddy’s money is included in the active roster numbers I listed for DD!!!
Dombrowski didn’t exceed the CAP with his players. Ownership did with the previous GM.
Bloom’s Spending by comparison is really ugly based on the lack of success the last 3 yrs
2020 – $172MM thanks to Price opting out due to COVID. 4th pick in draft as a result
2021 – $199MM thanks to cutting players and paying retained payroll to them. Stayed under the cap
CAP JUMPS FROM $210MM in 2021 to $230MM in 2022
2022 – $236.1MM – THE FIRST TIME THE CURRENT GM EXCEEDED THE CAP!!!
Since 2016 when Dombrowski was hired the retained payroll has impacted the total spending by the Red Sox.
Dombrowski delivered 3 division titles and a ring and an injury plagued partial fourth season while staying under the CAP with his spending.
Bloom took over to start 2020 and dropped spending significantly BUT had he not made the Betts deal the team would have been under the CAP due to Price opting out due to COVID. That’s why you don’t make deals before spring training!!!
2022 WAS THE FIRST OVERSPEND BY A GM since DD arrived in Boston.
That overspend was against a cap that was $20MM greater than what DD dealt with while winning 3 consecutive Division Titles and a Ring.
That overspend in 2022 got Boston a distant 5th place finish in the AL East.
FACTS are really important so maybe you should start using them and keep the creative writing to something you do for your family not public websites!!
Pulled: I love how you brought up DD prospect trades . So many people want say he depleted the farm system. What did DD get rid off, ( a bag of balls). None of the prospects he traded amounted to much .
DD used a lot of trade chips from the farm system and did not replace them. DD inherited a highly rated farm system, traded prospects with value and left with a bottom rated farm system. Bloom has been replacing the value. I’m happy DD used the value in the farm system to help win a World Series, but the farm needs to be rebuilt and Bloom has prioritized that. This discussion all hinges on whether or not you believe farm system rankings of not.
or not
AITSTYW = So help me out with your analysis.
A GM looks over his farm system and says these 12 guys are over valued and perfect for trades and these 12 guys should be kept because they have good upside. He makes the deals, wins a world series with the additional parts created from the over rated prospects and that depleted the farm system? How?
Lets reverse your logic for a moment. If he kept Espinoza and didn’t get Pomerantz. Is the farm system NOT depleted? Or if he kept Moncada and Kopech and they graduate to the Red Sox on schedule isn’t the same number of players in the farm system?
The replenishing of a farm system happens every year during the draft. Sure you can make trades but trades suggest you give one up to get one. If all your deals are two for one then you have more in the farm system but are they better than what you had? Only if the teams dealing with you are idiots.
The natural replenishment process has never been interrupted by trades unless you give up draft choices or international money. What DD did was simply shuffle assets to better the roster and it worked.
On the other hand, Bloom has “recycled” not replenished the farm system. Remember, each team has a finite number of roster spots so when you add one you must drop one. The Bloom revolving door cycled players through the farm system but nobody of value has stuck. Sure Whitlock was a pick-up that could have made the farm system better but he was immediately put on the MLB roster so he’s not a farm system add.
Bloom’s drafts like DD’s drafts are how the farm system gets replenished. So far there have been no Mookie/Bogaerts/Devers/Benny type break-out players from DD or Bloom. Casas and Houck could be if given a proper chance. Maybe Mayer and Yorke too but that’s all part of the draft process not a “rebuilding of a stripped farm system” There was no need to rebuild the farm system. It didn’t happen as you suggest since the rise in the ranking comes from ONE guy and he was drafted not traded for.
For a guy who you say “prioritized building” something that was working just fine when he arrived, he’s done a terrible job. It’s not better other than the big points from Mayer who he drafted. He has NOT picked up any Free Agent prospects that have blossomed nor has he traded for any. The key question to me is whether any that he traded away become the player that blossoms elsewhere.
If you think the farm system needs rebuilding go into the draft archives and see who the best teams with the highest ranked farm systems drafted. Then see where the players who were “procured from other teams” are ranked within their system. You’ll find that other than TB, nobody has procured excellent prospect players from other teams. The whole concept is over rated since there is no track record of success by anyone other than TB at making deals that bring guys like Arozarena, Glasnow and Meadows to a farm system from someone else’s farm system.
Too much media hype has distorted so many concepts within baseball. Farm system ratings are a joke, top prospect rankings are a joke and MLB’s guess at the top 100 players is a joke. The ultimate joke is the HOF due to the ignorance of sports writers.
So if you choose to believe in these non-fact based evaluation systems that’s your call but don’t expect knowledgeable baseball fans to pay any attention to them.
After all, how hard should it have been to see that Mookie was better than Swihart?
That Bonds was better than any player inducted into the HOF since Babe Ruth?
It’s not that hard. The optics, the data all support it but the media doesn’t so the viewpoint is skewed.
Anything DD traded away wouldn’t be worth much today. None of them really panned out
Pretty much most of what DD traded away isn’t worth much today . None them really panned out .As for bloom replenishing the farm . He didn’t get a whole hell of a lot on the Betts deal. He let Bogey go with nothing in return . He could have traded him for prospects . Unless you are saying draft picks. His trades are pretty terrible .
In terms of farm system rankings, Bloom has taken the Red Sox farm from bottom of the pack to middle of the pack in 3 years which is pretty good. The prospects DD traded had value. DD traded prospects for Sale, Eovaldi and Pearce for example. DD did not replace the value in the farm system which is why the Red Sox farm system rankings dropped. In fairness, DD did not stay long enough after the World Series win to replenish the farm system. It can take a while to build a strong farm system.
Suit : The farm system ranking is a bit suspect. It depends on whom or what site ranks them . How long does it take to make a competitive major league team? I said about trades . Who has bloom brought in via trade
Yes, farm system rankings vary, but you can see a trend. The comment I originally replied to was only about the farm system. Bloom has not brought in anyone great via trade so far. I think Bloom is trying to build through the farm system. I prefer this to signing older free agents to long, expensive contracts. If one of those contracts goes bad, you have a wasted roster space and wasted payroll dollars for years. This is happening to the Yankees now with Hicks, LeMahieu Stanton and soon Judge. After a young core is in place, and there is value in the farm system, I think Bloom will trade prospects to fill holes like DD did. How long will it take to build a strong farm system? It varies, but I would say at least 5-6 years. I think Xander was not traded as a public relations move. There are a lot of whiny fans and they had to make it look like they tried to keep him. The goal of the Betts trade was to shed salary and reset the luxury tax. The player return for Betts was somewhat low due to the Dodgers taking on half of David Price’s remaining contract which was $48M. When you take on that much money, the player return is lower. The Dodgers may have also been the only potential trade partner for Betts which would also lower the Red Sox leverage. That’s my opinion. I am not down on Bloom like others. I like the idea of building through the farm system, but it does take time.
AITSTYW – Once again,
Bloom’s track record
1 – Hasn’t traded for or free agented any prospects of value
2 – Hasn’t traded for any all-stars at the MLB level
3 – Hasn’t free agented any all-stars except Story and Jansen.
4 – Has spent over the raised CAP ($20MM) – 5th place finish AL East
5 – Has depleted talent – Betts, Price, Benny, Bogey, JD, Nate etc.
So lets think of the organization as two 1 gallon water jugs filled with talent.
When Bloom arrived the MLB jug was filled to the brim.
When Bloom arrived the Farm System jug was at the level it had been for a decade.
TODAY
The MLB jug is nearly empty
The Farm System jug is still at the same level with better draft picks
PRE-BLOOM – 3 DIV Titles and a RING and an injury filled fourth season
BLOOM YEAR 1 – An embarrassing 4th worst record in baseball
BLOOM YEAR 2 – A shocking wild card spot
BLOOM YEAR 3 – Worst record in the AL East.
How can anyone look at the results and not declare them a disaster?
I disagree with a lot of what you are saying. It is not the end of the world. Bloom doesn’t have much to trade as I mentioned above.
Bloom Analogy : The roof leaks at my house . Don’t worry! I have a nice tent that I won at a bachelor party sitting in the basement.
Suit: let me understand this( he doesn’t have much to trade ) . As I was saying in my previous post what bloom bring back on the moves he has done . You’re ok with losing Betts, Benny, Vas,? Did that improve your farm for a future trade ? Probably not! . Bloom lets guys walk away with nothing in return. I don’t value the farm system as much as you. You’re ok with letting Bogey, Nate ,JD , Wacha, just walk. I am sure he could have gotten something for the farm out of them.
B dog: In my opinion, Bloom does not have excess value in the farm system to trade at this time and he hasn’t been trading from the farm system. The Benny trade has not turned out well so far. The big return for Betts was $48M, not prospects. We are waiting to see how the prospects received for Vazquez work out. Bogaerts would have brought a good return in a trade, but I think they made a public relations move and decided not to trade him because the fanbase would whine too much. I am ok with moving on from Nate, JD and Wacha. Nate and JD are too old and Wacha is older and won’t repeat last year in my opinion. I think Bloom tried to move Nate and JD at the trade deadline last year, but received no good offers for 2 months of having them at their high salaries. Having a strong farm system is important. A strong farm system has helped the Dodgers, Astros and Padres stay competitive. Look at all the prospects the Padres traded for Juan Soto. The Astros keep bringing people up to their team from the farm system such as the rookie SS Jeremy Pena who was MVP of the NLCS and MVP of the World Series last year. A good place to follow the Red Sox farm system is soxprospects.com. It should give you some hope for the future.