The Red Sox have signed outfielder Mark Contreras to a minor league contract, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy reports. Contreras is changing teams for the first time in his pro career, as he had been a member of the Twins organization since he was selected in the ninth round of the 2017 draft, and until Minnesota released him in August.
That time in the Twin Cities did result in Contreras’ first stint as a big leaguer, as he played in 28 games for Minnesota during the 2022 season, hitting .121/.148/.293 over 61 plate appearances. This lackluster output and the Twins’ crowded outfield picture meant that Contreras didn’t get any more MLB playing time in 2023, plus he didn’t force the issue by batting a modest .274/.352/.418 over 381 PA for Triple-A St. Paul last season.
Contreras (who turns 29 in January) has had a lot of problems avoiding strikeouts during his pro career, but he has posted decent numbers at the Triple-A level. A solid defender who can play all three outfield positions, Contreras’ speed has helped both his defensive efforts and his offensive threat level, as he has stolen 93 bases in 126 chances during his minor league career.
With two minor league option years remaining, Contereras gives the Red Sox some possible extra depth to be kept at Triple-A should a need arise in the outfield. Since the Twins outrighted him off their 40-man roster in August, Contreras now has the ability to reject any future outright assignments in favor of free agency, giving him a bit of extra leverage for the remainder of his career.
And so it begins
Begun the hot stove has.
Another Contreras? I’ll ask the question – is he any relation to Willie or his brother with the Brewers?
Bye bye Verdugo
Nope- Needs to be Duran
Possibly both but Contreras is not a replacement for either.
You want Verdugo over Duran?
Is Bloom back?
I’d say this is opposite, this wasn’t a low end player to fill an open major league need, that was blooms MO.
This was a cheap insurance option for depth while preparing to make moves on the major league roster.
Actually this is no different than a lot of Bloom’s minor league signings, which were no different than any other team’s similar moves. The only difference is your perception of it is more positive with Breslow making the move right now than it was with Bloom making it.
which were no different than any other team’s similar moves. The
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Spot on, imo. Everyone does this, but only with the RS will you get 200 comments. That’s why MLBR posts these.
Joe – Both you and Kenny are being disingenuous.
Nobody took issue with Bloom making these types of acquisitions. Everyone took issue with the extremely high number of these types of acquisitions he made. Bloom was obsessed with finding the rare hidden treasure, it’s one of the many reasons why he was fired.
As for your response you know very well if there’s 200 comments here, only about 20 or so will pertain to the acquisition. The rest will simply be Red Sox fans pulling up the most recent Red Sox article to discuss the team, nothing more. They are an extremely popular team and Red Sox Nation is very angry with the past 5 years, so of course they want to talk about the team.
And then of course you have people like Slider who will post something that has absolutely nothing to do with the Red Sox, merely because he knows all posts under a Red Sox article will get a lot of attention.
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It’s been proven time and again that bloom really didn’t make more than any other GM. Again there are valid things to criticize bloom for but nothing minor league signings isn’t one of them.
Umm… it’s very strikingly similar to Bloom, gotta be honest. If you expect this guy to sit in the Minors all year, good luck with that. He has numbers that suggest him as a AAAA player on the cusp of being an MLB player.
It’s not a bad deal. The only difference is that Bloom made these deals as automatic fixes. If breslow has the guts to pay for real MLB talent, then we’re good. If he just dumpster dives, then we’re back at square one.
I know people are impressed with his resume, but Breslow has a lot to prove before we can say he’s done a good job. This deal probably isn’t one that rocks the boat.
“If breslow has the guts to pay for real MLB talent, then we’re good. If he just dumpster dives, then we’re back at square one.”
Two different eras. Breslow is starting with a majority of young, low cost home-grown players. So adding expensive, which usually are better players, isnt hard. Bloom never had that luxury.
Bloom made several mistakes (some very bad trades come to mind), but the dumpster diving was more out of necessity due to the many holes needing to be filled and lack of talent coming from the minors.
I wasn’t saying things will unfold the same, I’m just saying this one deal is eerily similar to Bloom. I’m not calling it anew era until something new or different happens. Two months ago, Bloom was here. Not much has changed to call it a new “era.”
For once I agree with Fever’s analysis of Bloom versus Breslow
Its definitely a different “era” and it has nothing to do with how Breslow manages the team. The teams inherited by each GM are at opposite ends of the spectrum as to how they are made up.
Bloom was over the threshold and had several players nearing the end of their arbitration years and very little talent to replace them in the minors. Breslow is under the threshold and has plenty of upper minors talent to fill major roles in the near future. The expectations are totally different.
As for this transaction being “similar to Bloom”. Its just a minor league signing, its also similar to the other 29 teams. that will do the same thing many times this winter. Its a nothing burger.
Cora the Explora4 hours ago
If breslow has the guts to pay for real MLB talent, then we’re good.
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I’m not sure what “guts” has to do with this.
If Henry insists on having a #12 payroll, there won’t be much Breslow can do. If we decide that we are going to flex our financial muscle and spend like Philly, TO, etc., then he has plenty of wiggle room.
Yes, Bloom was the only GM to sign minor league free agents.
Derp.
Low risk/cost option
Jim Harbaugh would be the perfect fit for the Astro’s managerial opening
I am pretty sure you don’t want all prospects and young guys on your Triple A and Double A teams.
But maybe some guys like a team full of prospects then when they don’t wuin you say they were too young and inexperienced.Minor league singings.We should only sign Major League guys. an Big name guys who will not meet their contract expectations.
Breslow will need to replace these AAA and AA players who elected free agency. Hopefully the ‘fans’ on this site will not melt down every time Breslow signs a minor league replacement for those players who were free to sign with other teams. Every team is doing the same thing right now…
11/6/2023 Boston minor leaguers electing free agency:
Skylar Arias,
Narciso Crook,
Tyler Dearden,
Tyler Esplin,
Michael Gettys,
Rio Gomez,
Ronaldo Hernandez,
Dominic LoBrutto,
Oddanier Mosqueda,
Brendan Nail,
Aaron Perry,
Tyreque Reed,
Sterling Sharp,
Bradley Zimmer
Add:
Justin Garza
Barraclough
Christian Arroyo and a few others.
Garza, Barraclough, Christian Arroyo were outrighted off the 40-man and were at AAA Worcester went they elected free agency.
These depth pieces are like movie extras.
It’s a mystery to me why so many people rag on Arroyo….Dude is a solid ML backup infielder & better than average defense who works & plays hard,is enthusiastic,& a great teammate- – He’s only 28 .- Had a brutal regression in OBP last season – What Sawx player didst regress during last seasons debacle? – Arroyo contributes & gives his all whenever he’s in the lineup.
Frankie – I’m pretty sure it’s because of Arroyo’s career .693 OPS and the fact Cora insisted on playing him at positions (3B, SS, 1B, RF) where he had no business playing. He’s a 2B that Cora insisted on treating like he’s Zobrist.
And plenty of Sawx players didn’t regress during last season …. Duran, Casas, Bello, Verdugo, Wong, Martin, Pivetta, Turner, Duvall to name a few.
Franklin – It’s not that we rag on him when we point out things like his career 93 OPS+ That’s just a fact that points out he’s below league average and those type of players can only be effective if they cost less than $1MM and he doesn’t he costs $2MM so he is completely replaceable by someone who costs $1MM or less like Valdez. He has AAA skills not MLB skills.
He was a good acquisition but he hasn’t really progressed. He had a 45/7 K/W with 3 HRs in 1/3 of a season. If I had to choose between him and Valdez, it would have to be Valdez.
I like Valdez as a hitter. He was good in AAA and after being called back up in September, in an admittedly small sample size, he hit very well .333/.375/.556. His defense at second though was awful really unplayable. I know Boston sent him to DR league this winter to work on his second base defense if he can be even passable at second his bat should carry him but I’m not sure that’s possible he’s really bad defensively.
So, anyone who likes this signing is a Contrerian?
The Mark Contreras signing is interesting because it’s not like a Bloom signing, it’s a targeted signing.. Mark Contreras stole 1 base in 28 games for the Twins BUT at AAA he stole 23 in 90 games. Breslow added speed depth with his first move. It will be interesting to see if he thinks the overall team speed needs to improve.
That or he felt sorry for Rumors writers having to regurgitate bad trade ideas!!!
minor league depth W/options, nothing more
Bobby – Fair assessment. Kinda like dipping your toe in the water before you dive in.
The “Full Throttle” has taken off! SMDH
I do know that my 2024 season investment in terms of time and money is at present 0-Zero until further notice…stay tuned in case The Redsox start acting like a team fans deserve