The Red Sox are poised to select the contract of left-hander Joe Jacques prior to this evening’s game against the Yankees, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The club will need to clear space on both the active and 40-man rosters to accommodate Jacques.
While it had previously been reported that the club plans to designate Matt Dermody for assignment today, that 40-man and active roster spot appears set to go to outfielder Adam Duvall, meaning an additional move will be needed to make room for Jacques. Alex Speier of the Boston Globe speculated last night that right-hander Bryan Mata, who has been on the injured list in Triple-A for the past month and does not appear close to a return, could be transferred to the 60-Day IL to clear a 40-man roster spot for another pitcher, though it certainly remains possible the Red Sox decide to go a different route in clearing space for Jacques.
The 28-year-old Jacques would be poised to make his MLB debut with the Red Sox. A 33rd round pick by the Pirates in the 2018 draft, Jacques has spent the past several seasons climbing the minor league ladder, eventually reaching Triple-A in 2021, though he posted a mediocre 4.31 ERA in 48 innings at the level that season. 2022 was far more impressive for Jacques, as the left-hander posted a strong 3.12 ERA in 43 1/3 innings pitched primarily at the Triple-A level. That performance was enough to catch the attention of the Red Sox, who selected Jacques from the Pirates during the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft.
Jacques has continued to succeed at the Triple-A level with his new organization this season, posting a 3.58 ERA in 27 1/3 appearances. Though his 20% strikeout rate might leave something to be desired compared to many power relievers in the majors, a 7.5% walk rate and a whopping 56.3% groundball rate both leave Jacques in position to potentially succeed at the big league level. In joining the Red Sox bullpen, Jacques would give Boston another left-handed option alongside Brennan Bernardino while Joely Rodriguez and Richard Bleier are on the injured list.
Bloom picking them up from the INDY league next. Bloom Doom has been quiet since winter meetings. He know he is a goner.
Sox – It’s like 2020 all over again, except without the cardboard cutouts.
The real problem is chaim/Cora are using a half baked strategy.
Ground ball pitchers are good… EXCEPT when you’ve got a porous and error prone infield behind them. Then it doesn’t work anymore.
Errors leader Kiki with 13 at SS (duvalls return would mean Kiki is going to play up the middle), Devers the defensive butcher at 3rd, slow jump yoshi in LF, less than speedy Duvall in CF, and whoever is getting thrown in the meat grinder at 2b means a groundswell pitchers needs a LOT of luck.
Playing KH at short at this point is stupid. He should be in center when Duvall DHes and sitting next to his buddy Cora when Duvall starts in center. Play the best defense you can at second and short. With Devers at third, the team will win more by saving runs and by allowing the pitchers to throw less pitches.
Shame Doom!
Joe Jacques doesn’t intentionally walk enough guys. Only one in 209 2/3 career IP. But that one came this year, so he’s learning!
He should be replacing Kluber but that guy must have nudes of Bloom or something to not get cut yet
Imagine they let Wacha walk to sign sign Kluber?
In all fairness, Kluber had a much stronger track record going into the season than Wacha.
Layventsky – Are you using statcast or fangraphs to make that conclusion?
Wacha – 127 ERA+ in 2022 and we got to watch it up close.
Kluber – 84 ERA+ in 2022 followed by a 64 in 2023
If you were being sarcastic I apologize for not picking up on it.
If you are serious, how did you conclude Kluber had a stronger track record? Are you going back to 2018 or earlier because in the last 5 years that’s not true.
Wacha got 4 years $27,000,000 from San Diego which was more than the Red Sox wanted to allocate to an over 30s, long term contract. He and his family were sitting the row in front of me in church a couple months ago, and he is every bit of 6’6”.
Kluber’s track record is ancient history. They signed him because he did ‘ok’ last year.
This year was always going to be a ‘bridge year’
Imagine they let Wacha walk to sign sign Kluber?
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Always interesting that so many RS fans hated the Wacha signing, and how many fans hated see Wacha leave.
Joe – That’s a testament to Sox fans, we admit when we are wrong and give credit to Bloom for making a good decision in signing him. But just like Dombrowski with Sale, it’s certainly possible to make both a good decision and a bad decision on the same player.
What I find interesting was Bloom and others dismissing Wacha’s 2022 results as “lucky” because of his Expected ERA, FIP and BABIP.
Did Bloom say that Wacha was lucky? That doesn’t sound like how Bloom talks?
Joe – No of course not, a front office guy wouldn’t bash a player like that.
Clearly Bloom had zero interest in retaining Wacha at fair value. A competitive offer was never made.
“I don’t know. I guess you might have to ask (Red Sox chief baseball officer) Chaim (Bloom) about that one,” Wacha recently told MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo of not re-signing in Boston.
Actions speak louder than words.
For an organization with such a “good farm system” they have an alarmingly awful quality of pitching
For an organization with such a “good farm system” they have an alarmingly awful quality of pitching
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That has historically been a Red Sox weakness. But OTOH, we haven’t spent a large amount of draft capital on them either. From 2018-2022, the highest pitcher that we picked was #99. It’s possible that the RS feel more comfortable drafting hitters.
And 6 of our top 7 prospects (per SoxProspects) were acquired from 2020-2022. It’ll be at least a year before we start seeing these guys. Rafaela might be the only guy we see in 2024.
The problem with a barren farm is that, even if you draft successfully, you won’t see results for at least 2-3 years.
I mean if it’s such a problem wouldn’t it be smart to bring in some new scouts who can find some decent prospects. At some point if something isn’t working, wouldn’t a smart organization try and find a solution to address this weakness? It’s kinda foolish to ignore the problem much longer
Sure, I agree 100%. That’s just one more problem for the RS, and that dates back to before Theo. It’s been a while since I checked it (maybe Theo thru DD), but for maybe 10 years, we spent more draft capital on pitchers than Cleveland, with a fraction of the results. It can’t all be drafting and/or luck. It has to be the development.
One of my friends recently told me that, had the Jets drafted Russell Wilson, and the Seahawks drafted Geno smith, Smith would be in the HOF and Wilson would a journeyman. I didn’t disagree, and I feel the same way about the RS.
Going on a rant, I feel the same about our fielding. Going back 50 years is a little silly, but every prospect from the 60s thru early 2010s, etc. ranged from being an average glove to a GG. I expected inferior fielding this year, but we are flat-out bad on the glove side.
I always wondered what happened to him after King of the Hill was cancelled.
Joe Jack don’t take no flack.
He’s Like Logan Allen. Or Domingo Jean. Or Hank Aaron. Or Amos Otis. Or Jim Edmond. Or Brian Jordan. Or Lee Lacy.
I’m glad Joe Jack found a new job after leaving Strickland Propane (& Propane Accessories).
Glad to see Joe get a shot in MLB. His pitches aren’t overwhelming but he’s got a really low arm slot coming from the left side and throws a bunch of strikes. Hence the low walk rate and high groundball rate but with a below average K rate. Not gonna be a force at the back end of a bullpen but could have a few solid years as a middle reliever.
Another no name. Just what we need.
Big name players do not get traded this time of year. On the RARE occasion it does, the acquiring team usually has to overpay! Why would a 31-32 team over pay? The Red Sox will to go about 63-36 to make the playoffs. Not happening….
It’s not going to take 96 wins to get the last wild card spot. probably somewhere in the 88-90 ball park. They still might not get there but 96 wins is way off.
Jacques after years of being in the minors has reached the point where he can give up a hit an inning and a walk every three innings. Since I haven’t seen him pitch all I can tell from his numbers is that he’s a lot like E-ROD and several other old Red Sox pitchers who might have had good stuff but couldn’t translate it to a successful MLB career.
If he’s giving up a hit an inning at AAA then look for a number greater than innings pitched in the majors. If he’s walking 1 every three innings look for that number to go up too. This means his likely WHIP in the majors will be over 1.33 which is bad. His ERA is like to be 5.00 or greater in the MLB.
The trick will be to find out if he can make adjustments once he starts getting pounded in the MLB. If he can, he has a chance of staying. If he can’t, at least he got his 15 minutes of fame.