The Red Sox issued a positive update regarding the status of right-hander Garrett Whitlock today, with manager Alex Cora (as relayed by MassLive’s Christopher Smith) indicating that he’s poised to begin a minor league rehab assignment next week. Whitlock has been on the 15-day injured list due to a bone bruise in his elbow for just over a month. Meanwhile, both right-hander Tanner Houck and left-hander Chris Sale could also be nearing returns, with Houck expected to make three rehab starts before rejoining the club while Sale will be evaluated tomorrow as he nears a return to the majors.
Whitlock’s return to the Red Sox, according to Cora, could come with a change of role, as the manager indicated there was “a good chance” that Whitlock would be used in a multi-inning relief role rather than as a member of the rotation. That’s a role that has suited Whitlock quite well throughout his career, as he owns a sterling 2.24 ERA in 112 2/3 innings of work out of the bullpen, a far more impressive figure than his rather pedestrian 4.76 ERA in 19 starts as a member of the rotation.
Even with Whitlock seeming ticketed for the bullpen, the impending returns of Houck and Sale could create a logjam in Boston’s rotation. With the aforementioned trio on the shelf, the club was recently forced to move right-hander Nick Pivetta back into the rotation alongside regular starters James Paxton, Brayan Bello, and Kutter Crawford despite the fact that Pivetta sported a dominant 1.98 ERA in 41 innings coming out of the bullpen since he was removed from the rotation back in May.
With Paxton, Bello, and Sale all likely locked into rotation spots when healthy, the Red Sox will have to pick one of Pivetta, Houck, or Crawford to join Whitlock in the rotation unless the club plans on moving to a six-man rotation upon the return of Sale and Houck to starting action. While Pivetta’s 5.98 ERA coming out of the rotation is the weakest figure of that trio, his 7 1/3 inning, three-run outing in his return to the starting rotation may to have given Red Sox brass renewed confidence in him as a starting option going forward.
More from around MLB’s East divisions…
- Sticking with the Red Sox, outfielder Alex Verdugo was scratched from today’s lineup shortly before the game started. Following the game, Cora briefly discussed Verdugo’s situation with reporters, including Smith. In his comments, Cora indicated that Verdugo’s absence from the lineup was not injury-related. While neither Cora nor Verdugo commented on the specifics of the situation, Cora stressed that it was “the manager’s decision”, saying: “We need everybody available. I decided the reason that he didn’t play. But he wasn’t available today. He was ready to play but he wasn’t available. … The manager decided not to play him today. And he has his reason. I’m not going to go into details or whatever.” After a hot start to the 2023 campaign, Verdugo has slashed just .157/.245/.277 in 94 trips to the plate since the start of July.
- Yankees manager Aaron Boone indicated to reporters, including The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner, that “everything is on the table going forward” regarding right-hander Luis Severino, including a move to the bullpen. Once a rising star in the game as a reliable, front of the rotation arm, Severino has struggled massively in 13 starts this season with a 7.74 ERA and 6.56 FIP. Severino has made fifteen appearances out of the bullpen during his career to excellent results. He’s posted a microscopic 0.31 ERA with a 30.6% strikeout rate in 29 1/3 innings of work as a reliever. If Severino were to exit the rotation, that could open up starts for a younger arm like Jhony Brito or Randy Vasquez.
- Sticking to New York, Mets catcher Omar Narvaez indicated to Will Sammon of The Athletic that he would “probably be back next season” when discussing his upcoming $7MM player option for 2024. Narvaez opened the season as the club’s starting catcher but suffered a calf strain early in the season. While Narvaez was on the shelf, youngster Francisco Alvarez emerged as the club’s everyday player behind the plate, leaving Narvaez in a part-time role upon his return. In addition to his diminished role, Narvaez has struggled badly at the plate this season, slashing just .189/.281/.245 with a wRC+ of 54 in 24 games this year.
- The Marlins figure to welcome young right-hander Eury Perez back to the rotation on Monday, according to Craig Mish of the Miami Herald. Perez made his last big league start on July 6 before being optioned to the minors in an effort to manage his innings and keep him fresh for the stretch run. Perez’s return figures to be a significant boost to the Marlins rotation, as he impressed with a 2.36 ERA and 3.70 FIP in eleven starts during his first stint in the majors earlier this season. The Marlins currently sport a 58-54 record and are just half a game out of the final NL Wild Card spot. That spot is currently occupied by the Reds, against whom Perez is slated to make his return on Monday.
Suk Sox throwing their season away… I had a feeling this was coming.
The team has potential but they follow every winning run up with a losing run. There is no leadership or consistency on this team at all and Bloom seems to get relief pitcher after relief pitcher to blow up our leads.
Whitlock is on the IL because they keep yanking him from relief pitching. I bet if he pitched relief from day 1, he wouldn’t be on the IL. They decided to fix what ain’t broke and now look what happened. We have too many starters who are injured and a bunch of random no name relievers.
His role has nothing to do with his injuries he went on the IL in 2021 when he was a reliever and last year he dealt with his hip injury before he went in the starting rotation
Maybe you’re right but they still trying to fix what ain’t broke.
I will say, however, it’s never good to mess with a pitcher’s arm and starting and relieving without having a clear role does that.
A pitcher always has dreams of being a starter and they granted whitlock’s request to give it a legitimate shot.
@Doom & Bloom: Alternating winning and losing streaks is the very definition of mediocrity and is exactly what most non-contenders do.
“Throwing their season away,” as you put it, is not really a conscious choice as it becomes inevitable at some point.
You use big words but I have no idea what you’re implying.
I don’t have the time or the crayons to explain it to you.
I agree that it is mediocrity. The other part doesn’t seem clear.
Dreams are one thing, winning is another. Baseball is a business and you do what’s right to win.
Maybe the injuries aren’t from mixing him in as a reliever and starter but we sure didn’t benefit from Whitlock not being a reliever.
You make it sound like it’s logical to have him as a reliever. Whitlock has a 5.23 ERA when he does pitch this year, which has been as a starter.
“Whitlock has a 5.23 ERA”
You seem to have forgotten he had elbow and hip problems this year.
2022 Starter numbers:
4.15 ERA and 1.25 WHIP.
2022’s numbers are decent.
Not as great as relief.
I didn’t forget but the point remains his numbers are far better in relief.
“Not as great as relief”
You do know generally speaking a pitcher will produce better numbers as a reliever than a starter, simply because they pitch less innings.
Right? Are you a new baseball fan, or something?
Yes, I do, but when you have electrifying stuff in relief and are only above average as a starter, that’s saying something.
I was all for Whitlock starting at first but it seems more and more games we blow it in the pen lately. This guy had closer stuff in the bullpen. Why break that?
And thats not always true about less innings. Apples and oranges between starters and relievers, but we all know Whitlock has had much better stuff out of the pen and in that position.
I agree. I had no problem trying Whitlock as a starter, but he might have been our MVP working out of the BP in 21. There is a real psychological imho, to have someone come in in the 6th inning with a one-lead, knowing you can sustain it for two innings.
Rock em sock em baseball. Cities may still burn yet. The Mets at least have a catcher of the future, he’s a star. Will Alonso go to the Yankee’s ? Or the Angels ?
Cohen will extend Alonso this off-season. He ain’t going nowhere.
@Ignorant Son: Unless, of course, he doesn’t. I can envision Alonso bolting to sign with the Marlins or Nationals.
Whether he stays or leaves is completely his decision.
“He’s a star” and “catcher of the future” they say after half a season, ignoring high strikeout levels and defensive liabilities.
So often a rookie gets anointed a “star” by the team’s fans, until the league and the grind expose his defects.
Funny thing is that Gary Sanchez has much better numbers at this point of his career.
Verdugo knows he has no future in Boston. With Yoshi, Duran, Devers, and Casas locked in as regulars for the foreseeable future there is no reason to lock in another left-handed bat.
Bloom will shop him hard in the off-season and replace him with somebody like Hunter Renfroe to balance out the lineup and get a power bat in the outfield.
If they had kept and extended Betts, this wouldn’t be an issue.
“If they. had kept and extended Betts”
What a dumb comment.
What a dumb decision and move to let him get away for a mediocrity like Verdugo. Downs was a bust and Wong might amount to something.
The issue with Verdugo was that he showed up 2 hours before the game (players are supposed to be there 4 hours before) then lied about it when questioned
Average – I am not surprised about Verdugo because Cora lost the clubhouse long ago. All the defensive miscues and baserunning blunders (today’s by McGuire was as bad as it gets) is a horrible reflection on the manager and his coaching staff.
It’s one thing if a player isn’t talented enough to hit well or pitch well, that’s not the manager’s fault. But it doesn’t take talent to keep your head in the game when playing defense or baserunning.
If the Sox fall hopelessly out of the WC race by EOM, I think it’s possible Cora gets canned.
As for Pivetta, he relieved today so the article is already outdated. LOL! The way they use openers now, does it really matter whether Pivetta “starts” or not?
Years ago we had the “Closer By Committee” …. now we have the “Starter By Committee”.
The athletic has an article out about what went down that makes more sense than the mixed bag of quotes presented here. But short version is, yes, Verdugo hasn’t had his head in the game for quite some time now.
One thing that is absolutely certain is they need to bring in a couple little league coaches to do a presentation on baseball fundamentals for this bunch. Literally. Nothing else seems to have worked for them this year, so, maybe talking down to them by treating them like a bunch of 6 year olds would get them fired up and playing a better brand of baseball?
GASox – At this point I don’t even care about them being fired up or not. Obviously they are demoralized about the fact that Bloom did basically nothing at the deadline to improve the team, while most other contenders went out and acquired talent. And BTW this is the 3rd time since 2019 the Sox didn’t try to improve the team despite being in contention at the deadline.
I just want to be able to watch a Sox game without screaming at the TV because of an inexcusable error or baserunning blunder.
And Cora going third person when talking about Dugie is not a good look, we need less ego and better managing from the future former manager.
If anything I’d say it was less the lack of deadline buying that would demoralize the team, and, more likely chaim running his mouth immediately after about how this squad was always going to be an underdog to secure a berth that would do it.
Everyone on that squad has either been there, or, had the opportunity to watch how bloom adds to teams mid-season, they should suck it up and be adults about how realistic the prospects are that chaim will go in on a season.
GASox – Yeah you could be right about the underdog comment. If he assumed it would fire up the team, it was a horrible assumption. The only way he could prove that he believed in the team is by adding some talent.
You know what was really telling? When the face of the franchise, a guy who has never been known for speaking up, publicly states he (and presumably the rest of the team) wants starting pitching help at the deadline. Look at these comments of Devers and tell me acquiring pitching wasn’t important to him and the other players.
He is basically saying the players lived up to their end of the deal, now they expect Bloom to live up to his end. But of course Bloom didn’t, he lied … again.
“Everybody knows what we need. Hopefully we can get that in the next few days. We can’t control that as players. All we can do is give 100 percent on the field. But we need pitching.”
“I don’t need to talk to (the front office). Everybody knows what we need. There’s no reason to talk to them about it. This year is a much different story than last year. We weren’t in a position to compete last year but this year we are. We have shown we can compete with the best teams. That’s why this year is different. We have shown we can succeed.”
“I think we’ve played good baseball and we’ve tried very hard. We’ve been killing ourselves to be in the position we are in now. We would like them to reward us with a few good players coming in before the deadline. I think that’s something we’re looking forward to.”
Fever, do you remember back when chaim sat at the fan panels over the winter, the smugness, the ‘you can’t tell me what to do’ attitude when confronted with questions about roster construction, even things that had piles of red flags but he ‘knew better’???
I don’t discount an idea that he became even more resistant to buying lest it be seen as giving in to demands by those who should be seen but not heard. Everything I’ve witnessed from him as a front office employee leads me to think he would’ve viewed those comments less as ‘requests’ for support and more as insubordination that questioned his decisions and overall team direction. (Especially given that the rotation was widely considered a massive health question mark going all the way back to ST, and, it had proven itself to be poorly thought out as the season went along.)
GASox – I agree, Bloom has no concept – or doesn’t care – about how his actions impact the team. And did you see the planted article that he “pursued Verlander”, what a load of crap. Just like the report 2 years ago that he “pursued Scherzer”. Always trying to deceive the fanbase and players.
That’s correct. Bloom runs the team. The players do not.
I think the offense and Devers play at 3B have been more of a problem than the pitching. The Red Sox have 3 pitchers coming back this month: Sale, Houck and Whitlock. So I see why they did not add a starting pitcher.
all in the suit that you wear
I think the offense and Devers play at 3B have been more of a problem than the pitching.
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It’s really more like no problems at all. I predicted 86.5 wins, and that is probably our level of talent in a tough division. Unless someone thought we were a 90+ win team, then nothing that has happened should surprised anyone.
Good point on Cora but it starts at rhe top. Henry’s laxidasical hiring of Bloom who has brought only mediocrity has set the tone the manager and players follow. Seriously they need a ownership change with someone laser focused on this team not with their fingers in many teams like FSG.
I have to wonder if anyone is dogging it with Jason Varitek in the dugout.
Cora misses his sweet Key-Kay. Verdugo and others are probably fed up with Cora. He and Bloom need to be canned.
Dude, not everything needs to be about being a Latino. Give it a rest and try talking BB.
The Yankees should move Sevy to the pen for the rest of the year and try and re up him on a one year deal. Shouldn’t give up on him yet.
Awesome move by Cashman to get rid of Monty. It’d be nice to have him about right now.
I’m not sure Sevy would would be any better out of the pen the way he’s pitching right now. There’s just no movement on the ball and he’s throwing everything right down the middle.
I’d just give him mop up duty with hopes of him figuring it out.
Yeah I’d limit him to mop up. I think if they can get him on a cheap day $5-$7 million extension they should and hopefully he could fix himself in the off-season and during spring training. Guy hasn’t pitched much the past few years so I think he just needs more time to come back to form.
@Buzz It’s not likely that Sevy will take a paycut. If the Yankees are determined to keep him in the pen, he’s going to stay there. Some other team will offer him an incentive-laden, short deal to start and regain form. I’d say let him walk.
You’re right about that Joe. He wouldn’t be any better out of the His worst inning is the first inning, so coming out of the pen would be a disaster too. but anything to get him out of the starting rotation. And if it’s mop up duty, that’s all he’s worthy of. I’d rather see him ride the bench until he is let go with the end of the season. He just overall stinks.
Fans have been calling for this for months. As usual the Yankees are last to the dance. There’s not too many brain cells to share in the front office.
He’s also tipping his pitches but that’s my anecdote. Something is not right physically with him. Moving him to the pen isn’t the worst idea allowing Ron Marinaccio more time to figure himself out in AAA. I also think Ron’s been overused earlier in the season.
I’m no expert bleacher creatures, I can only comment I’m on my observations. Every time Severino runs into a spot of trouble, it is blamed on tipping pitches. The same thing when he was having a good year until he tanked four years ago also. If he has been tipping his pitches for four years, why wouldn’t the Yankees have discovered it by now, when everybody has. That does not make sense. The reality is he just stinks. Maybe the years of injuries are finally taking the toll.
Just imho, but I’ve seen more guys that have recovered being in the BP, than have recovered staying in the rotation. In the rotation, every pitch could end the game. In the BP, you occasionally have the luxury of doing the unexpected, or playing with your 3rd or 4th best pitch.
Just have to say how absolutely fantastic it was watching Jose Ramirez knocking that perpetually red-assed Tim Anderson spark out tonight. Shades of Rougned Odor.
@vive. Jackie looks like he might need some time on the concussion list after Jose connected on him. I think it’s safe to say good thing TA didn’t try to be a boxer. Lol
C’mon now, your being very disrespectful to Jackie! Lol.
Darn racists. How could Ramirez possible knock down the next Jackie Robinson?
And, imvho, Ramirez’s punch wasn’t as good as Odor’s.
As long as we’re on the subject of the AL East, can we talk about the crying need for the Yankees to DFA Stanton?
Even when he’s helping the team he’s restraining them in another dimension. His base running today was absolutely torturous to watch.
He is instructed to run slow, they don’t want him to hurt himself on the basis. Which is understandable. They want him to keep hitting home runs. If he has to sacrifice a little speed, well so be it.
The power is rapidly evaporating:
2021: 136 OPS+
2022: 114 OPS+
2023: 103 OPS+
It’s not as if he adds any value with any of the other 4 tools as a DH…
Imagine being paid over 25M a year and told not to do more than half of what your job requirements are, must be a nice gig.
dank – Check out McGuire’s baserunning that ended today’s Sox/Jays game, it will make watching Stanton’s baserunning a lot more tolerable.
That is some terrible base running intelligence, no question. Still, Stanton’s lack of speed due to repeated leg injuries, renders moot any issues of baseball IQ. The man is incapable of running at an acceptable game speed.
How is this current edition of the Yankees roster so… bad?
They have utility guys like IKF leading off, and career minor leaguers all over the outfield. Rotation isn’t as bad but not great either. I know Sevy was good for a while but you’re basically not trying if you keep starting him at this point. I guess they don’t really want to fight into the playoffs?
The Yankees off season plans hopefully starts with Sevy, Bader, Donaldson and if the Yankees trade Torres those players should be off the payroll and hopefully start bringing in the right pieces.
Gleyber won’t exactly be cheap next season after another arb. raise. – $12.5MM+. He’s also going to be only 27 when he reaches F.A. No team is going offer much in a trade return which can help the Yankees right away. The chances of him signing an extension are also slim.
Bader is one of the only 5 tool players on this team
Bader is a great CF but he’s also a career low obp hitter who is injury prone. He pops up a lot as well. And sometimes a little too aggressive running the bases which has cost him. I refer to him as Willie Mays Hays, and would be careful resigning him.
If the lack of moves, which I predicted, during the deadline was any indication, then yeah.
They thought b/t the starting pitching, a superb pen, and an average offense they’d be aiming at 90+ wins rather easily.
I wonder if Verdugo get benched had anything to do with Arroyo getting the DFA yesterday. Maybe those to were buddies and Verdugo was upset?
Fred – Not to make excuses for Dugie, but his performance really went downhill shortly after the passing of his grandmother.. He was hitting .307 and had an .856 OPS after his first game back, then it was straight downhill from there. Could be just a major coincidence, but perhaps her passing has tremendously affected him.
Fever – don’t forget it was also around that time Verdugo started throwing his tantrums about being snubbed for the AS game despite being beat hands down in power with less than 1/2 the hrs and 1/4 the SB numbers by the sole rep from Seattle.
I’d think that had more of a nexus than the grandmother, unless there were family members he saw at the time stroking his ego and pushing his buttons to be dissatisfied over the ‘slight’
GASox – Yes it was around the same time, but I wouldn’t think that would cause his numbers to go in the crapper. If anything it should have motivated him to perform better, so more people would question why he didn’t make it.
I believe Dugie was deserving. His OPS and defensive metrics were right up there. JRod had to be selected, biggest star and only player from the home team.
At least Dugie finally got rid of the weak attempt at a beard. LOL!
Fever – Verdugo historically is very inconsistent from month to month with July being his worst month. Here are his OPS+ by month for his career
Mar/Apr – 116, May – 85, June – 116, July – 65, August – 133, September/October – 90.
His career OPS+ is 106 and his performance is inconsistent. He needs to play in August because it’s his best month usually. He’s a league average player who had a hot start and now is having a cold finish to bring his season numbers back to his usual 106.
FYI his Home OPS+ is 107 and his away OPS+ is 94. His drop-off should have been expected. For me he’s fun to watch but he’s league average with an ego that shows him something far greater when he looks in the mirror.
He’s a problem child. This is the second time he’s been benched this year and Cora has called him out previously. I think Cora is a terrible manager, but it’s obvious verdugo is a pain in the ass. He’d rather buy gold chains then show up on time it seems.
The rotation will be bello, Paxton, sale, houck, Crawford and Whitlock in the bullpen. They’ve pretty much already stated that.
So is Whitlock starting or relieving when he comes back. The article alludes to both…
“Whitlock’s return to the Red Sox, according to Cora, could come with a change of role, as the manager indicated there was “a good chance” that Whitlock would be used in a multi-inning relief role rather than as a member of the rotation”
sounds like there is a good chance he will be a multi inning reliever rather than a member of the starting rotation.
Roll – They might as well stop using the term “Starting Pitcher” and just call every pitcher either a long man or a short man. Because any pitcher that comes into the game in the 2nd inning and is expected to pitch at least 4 innings is not a “reliever” in my opinion, just like an opener is not a ‘starter”.
And I think wasting Schreiber by having him pitch just the first inning is a huge mistake. He is – or at least was – an excellent high leverage guy that should be used as such.
i was answering slap nuts’s question as it was mentioned the article did not say his status so that might be directed there and not me
i dont really care about the terminology as much but how many “relievers” even a multi inning “reliever” is expected to go 4 innings regularly? My guess is you would have more 2 way players than regular 4 inning relievers as majority of them are 2 or 3 and occasionally 4 even with the “opener” Now lets say no one goes more than 2 innings in the game who “started” the game? If a pitcher comes in the 5th inning of a 20 – 0 blow out and pitches the rest of the game should they get the credit as the “starter” and “closer”
i dont know much about schreiber or watched him (so can be more to him i dont see) but going by stats and game logs he has only pitched 2 times as the “opener” one after not pitching in the majors for over 2 months and yesterday. Before yesterday, he gave up or let in runs in 3 of his 4 outings since returning. Opener might be a good way to get him back to what he was since he knows pretty much who he is facing and can prepare and get a confidence builder.
Wow. Red Sox are on the verge of an implosion. In the club house, Doogie the team’s spark plug is checking out, Cora tossing Bloom under the bus to the media day at the deadline, Bloom giving incoherent word salads at press conferences to explain his deadline flatline, Devers running over shortstop, etc. This could get ugly. They need JT to throw an absolute, no holds barred, arse whooping in all directions in a meeting.
Sad to see the greatest rivalry in all sports reduced to seeing who can finish last in the most ugly way.
DBH – Most of us saw this coming, Devers’ comments on the trade deadline was reminiscent of Adrian Gonzalez during the Bobby Valentine year … the players are not happy and not focused and not engaged.
What do you mean about Devers running over the shortstop? I missed that one.
@FPG. Funny, I was thinking Youklis. Same vibe, though.
Ya, Devers. Went full Beltre, ran over Chang lol. It was bad hah. Google Devers collision from this week
DBH – Dang I didn’t see that collision until now! I’ve often compared Devers to Manny, and that was definitely a Manny Moment. Lol!
You saw the team being decent for 4 months? I dont recall that. I remember you saying ‘because of the schedule, theyd be in dead last one of the worst teams in baseball by May 1st’, then it changed to May 31st, then you just went quiet. Now its, “Most of saw this coming”. Really?
Sounds like a gambler who loses for months, then has a hot week. “saw this coming, knew it all along.” But sure., whatever.
@RSmith. If somebody like Turner (can’t really think of anyone else on the team with that kind of juice) can step up and call the team as a whole out -in a private meeting setting – then Sox might be able to pull it off. There are enough play off teams doing so-so and most are playing other play off teams this week, Sox could gain back ground.
But if nobody brings this team together, and they continue to play the way they been, then FPG may end up being correct about where they Sox land.
Time will tell. And for the record, back in spring training, I predicted a sub 500 season. So far they have proven me wrong. Hopefully that continues.
I agree with ya DBH, you look at things reasonably and debates are legit. Nothing is black and white, while everything is gray.
My view:
I really wanted them to take 2 out of 3 from Toronto, it wouldve setup a tight race, alas they crapped out so far. But on the other hand, the schedule finally gets soft for a couple of weeks. This will decide their fate:
If they dont get hot, and put themselves in the playoffs by end of Yankees series, stick a fork in them, they’re done. I see sub-.500 then too.
If they play well during this stretch, there’s lots of help on the way, and the kids are maturing, I see playoffs.
@RSmith. Thanks. I enjoy the chats here with you, FPG, GA. Heck, even KD17 can be amusing in small doses.
I see your points. I personally wanted a small sell off at the deadline. It would built on this year and given some Woosters some mlb experience. And I think they still could have made a run. But I did still understand, and respect, those who called for adding pitchers and middle infielder.
I just don’t think anyone saw Cora losing the clubhouse. It was his only true strength in my mind. The dude can NOT run a line up lol.
Tito is my favorite manager of all time ( I am in my mid 50s). But he lost the club house and had to go. If Cora has indeed lost the clubhouse, he won’t see end of season
P.s… loved Billy Martin, too hah
“small sell off”
I think Bloom tried, but there was no takers of the smaller pieces. My guess is every other GM opened the conversation with “Paxton? Turner? — Duvall, no thx or very little in return.”.
Could be. I would have traded both of then, personally, and would have included Jansen too. They offer the most value. And yes, I know I am in the minority here lol.
“Paxton, Turner and Jansen”
Thats a complete sell. And the haul wouldve been nice. Im 100% with you, I’d have gone that route too. And looked forward to 2024.
But, the rabid fans would’ve been up in arms if they did that, and we (you and I) dont have to deal with the pressure of keeping attendance and ratings up while they rebuild. On the other hand Red Sox brass have to always balance competitiveness and future building.
Agreed. We are the minority with wanting a sell off. If he had, Bloom would have been accused of pulling a 2022. Instead he did nothing… and is accused of pulling a 2022 hah!
Buying or selling, Bloom survives the year no matter how they finish. Doing nothing lost him the players.
Bloom losing the players, Cora the club house? Could get ugly real fast! Only solution for either is a deep dive into the playoffs.
Lol.
More people wanted a sell-off than I think you give credit for.
I also wanted Verdugo sold on back in July when his value was at its highest, and not just paxton, turner, and Jansen, but also the likes of duvall, dalbec, and, find a case of baseballs for kluber from someone wanting a cheap flyer where you covered the remaining salary.
Basically, if it wasn’t young pitching or a young OFer, listen to offers on just about everyone.
More people wanted a sell-off than I think you give credit for.
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I’d have been fine either way. This is one of those times where fans have no choice but to defer to the GM. They’re responsible for the l/t plan.
And there were plenty of other teams that straddled between being a contender or not. I don’t see any bright line indicating whether we should buy or sell.
@GA, I remember saying that. If there were more for selling off, I didn’t notice. Not to say there weren’t any. Just seems the majority on here wanted to go for it. Legit stance, I can see why. But as you and (and some others) said, if they get in, chances are they don’t far.
So tip oh the hat to ya
My idea, Joe, was for team to sell off the value short term players for high end prospects. Sox were rocking the youth movement. Sell, grab some more youth, give top prospects some mlb spring training in September, and start rocking for 24.
No matter if yiu were sell or buy, most understood the legit points of both arguements.
Instead Bloom syndicated 2021 and 2022 leaving 95% of us in “ummmmm, what?” brain lock
Now you get to see Lamet instead.
So, let’s turn to.one of those headscratchers to come about recently…
Anyone with an over/under for 1 ER on average / IP his first time out?
Put me in at 1.75 per inning. Would do two, but there could be an error-fest. Soooo, 1.75 Sir.
In the other pool, I have Bloom gone this off season, Cora after 2024. Both picks from this spring. I think Cora is now done before EOS, but gotta ride the bet placed
DBH – My stance was go for it, but do it right. That means keeping the best players when someone returns from the IL. It means trying to win every winnable game. It means getting at least one quality ML player who can provide a spark and show the team the front office believes in them.
If I had known none of that would be happening, I would have pushed to sell all.
DBH – Hey how do you get the entire off-season? Pick a month buddy! LOL!
@FPG
Lol. Fair enough, bro. November.
Btw, where you have you been, man?
Sox doing their best to turn Garrett Whitlock into Daniel Bard.
I don’t know. They might just be giving him time to shake off the rust. Having 3 starting pitchers returning around the same time could be a blessing. The Globe (I think it was them), said they may have Sale and Houke go 3 or innings in the same game. Having surplus starters right now isn’t a bad thing.
But, But , Chaim’s farm system. Where are all the fans that have been preaching that one . Can him , Cora and definitely the 3b base coach.
The ship has stalled. It has sprung several leaks but help is on the way. Lets hope it arrives before the water starts coming over the side. Three easy series in a row after Toronto should help. They need to sweep them and start feeling good about themselves again because after that the water is treacherous. Thirteen games in a row versus NYY, HOU and LAD. Those games will dictate the future of the club including the GM and Manager. If embarrassed during the 13 game stretch, I believe heads will roll.
Disaster of a sweep for the Sox. This will be hard to overcome. They will need to sweep a couple of the up coming series.
We beat TO 7 straight times. They seemed to overcome it. Past that, yes, we do need at least 7 of the next 10 games.
Probably more than that. Sox are 6 back in the win column behind TOR now. That means they need to win 7 more games than the Jays do from here on out to pass them.
51 games to do it in for BOS, as TOR plays 49.
Really Boston need to put down a crazy win streak against these next 3 weaker series to give themselves a shot.
Gosh. Good to know Omar Narvaez and his 49 OPS+ and average glove are picking up his $7m option for 2024. I was wondering….
Imagine what his agent must have said last offseason: “You’re never going to guess what the Mets offered…. no, it’s a player option. A player option! Yes, you’re the player!!”
Nice win last night. Brain still say, ‘nope’ but a walk off granny at Fenway gets the heart saying, ‘maybe we can’.
I am looking forward to watching Reyes and Story working up the middle.