September 22: Cora confirmed to reporters (including McCaffrey) this morning that Devers will not require surgery, as the infielder’s MRI revealed only inflammation in his shoulders.
September 21, 2:12PM: The Red Sox made it official, shutting down Devers by placing him on the 10-day injured list due to left shoulder inflammation. Infielder/catcher Mickey Gasper was called up from Triple-A to take Devers’ spot on the active roster.
8:13AM: Rafael Devers will undergo an MRI on his bothersome right shoulder today, Red Sox manager Alex Cora told reporters (including The Athletic’s Jen McCaffrey) after yesterday’s 4-2 loss to the Twins in extra innings. Devers was removed from the game prior to the start of the 11th, and Cora said that the slugger had been trying to tough it out Friday despite tweaking his shoulder during pregame batting practice.
While Cora said “we’ll see where we’re at” following the MRI, “probably, this is it for [Devers]” this season. With just eight games remaining and the Red Sox all but officially eliminated from the playoff race, the club is likely to play it safe with the star third baseman.
Devers has been dealing with discomfort in both shoulders for a good chunk of the season, and it is fair to wonder if his determination to keep playing has contributed to his severe slump. The third baseman had an outstanding .296/.375/.587 slash line through his first 488 plate appearances, but has only a .172/.265/.212 slash line over his last 113 trips to the dish. Among all qualified batters since August 19, Devers’ 34 wRC+ is the third-worst in the league.
The Red Sox as a whole have a team wRC+ of 74 since August 19, ahead of only the lowly White Sox in that timespan. Boston had a 67-60 record as recently as August 22, but a 9-18 record over the club’s last 27 games has sunk the Fenway nine’s chances of a return to the postseason. Even though Devers’ slump dovetails pretty directly with Boston’s offensive slide, he is far from the only Red Sox hitter who hit a cold streak at exactly the wrong time.
Assuming this is indeed it for Devers’ 2024 season, he’ll still finish with a typically strong set of numbers — 28 homers and a .272/.354/.516 slash over 601 PA, with a 133 wRC+ and his third All-Star nod. Though a veteran of eight MLB seasons, Devers still doesn’t turn 28 until the end of October, and 2024 marked the first season of the ten-year, $313.5MM contract extension he signed with the Red Sox during the 2022-23 offseason. Since Devers is such a key component of Boston’s present and future plans, it’s a wise move to figure out as early as possible if Devers’ shoulder might require any kind of surgery heading into 2025.
It should definitely be over. Heal up and get ready for 2025.
Lase – I totally agree! It was admirable of him to play through the pain, but now it’s a certainty the Sox are done so no reason for him to continue playing.
Besides, if the Sox go 2-6 they will finish the season with the exact same 78-84 record they had in 2022 and 2023 …. that would be kinda cool, and further proof they haven’t improved at all on the major league level since 2022.
Maybe some of the top prospects will change that in 2025 or 2026.
If they’re going to be any good in 2025, they need to address pitching:
Pitcher
c/o Boston Red Sox
Fenway Park
Boston, MA
hayzee – Starting pitching has been pretty good the past month. I am really impressed with Fitts, only the second player in MLB history to pitch a minimum of 5 innings in each of his first three major league games and not give up an earned run. Seems like a great guy too.
Bigger issue is the defense, bullpen, fundamentals, and offense. The strikeouts and inability to make contact is a huge problem. Anthony and Campbell should hopefully help with that, but you never know ….. Rafaela was a great hitter in the minors and look what happened to him.
I really think we need to look at the big picture, the coaching staff (Fatso) and manager (Cora) and organizational philosophy of swinging hard for the fences with an upward trajectory on every pitch. It’s dumb dumb DUMB!
Last night the wind was blowing in hard, yet the players kept swinging for the fences instead of choking up and going for line drives.
Also for the love of God, take a pitch now and then guys!!! Do you know Rafaela hasn’t walked since August 9th? How is that even possible? 32 games and 115 PA’s without a walk is insane!
The problem with the Boston Red Sox definitely starts at the top.
“Bigger issue is the defense, bullpen, fundamentals, and offense.”
Crap, that’s pretty much everything.
Did you at least like my “address” joke?
hayzee – Yes I gave you a thumb!
hayzee – True, but maybe some of the top prospects can improve the defense & fundamentals & offense.
Speaking of fundamentals, Jim Rice absolutely slammed Rafaela for showboating on his homerun that hit halfway up off the wall. Should have been a triple which would have helped the Sox win.
Now that Breslow has had a year to evaluate, it will be interesting to see if he pulls the trigger on a blockbuster trade involving Duran, Abreu, Grissom or Casas.
Fever- Was a time, like for decades Boston teams were known for patience at the plate and it’s all out the window. Can look back at every single one of the great players from the team and they were known as selective. Not 1 player on this team can really say that for and include devers/Duran in that who both have around 50bb and are right there leading the team in bb’s.
Will say again, this team has had no excuse for not adding meidroth to the 40 man and 26 man months ago. Not only can he play 3b/ss/2b. he’s hitting .300 and has over 100bb’s at the AAA level, so called “quiet” hits or not, he knows how to get on base which is more than most of the players on this team have been doing since the AS break.
Foot dragging, or making the wrong moves period is what this team has been doing all season long moves wise and look at what they have accomplished. F- in my book.
Fever- I don’t see Grissom having squat for trade value, even if he manages to put together 10 days worth of good games and the FO will be afraid of being made to look even worse after giving away Sale for him. Casas am afraid holds more value in the eyes of Sox fans than league wide, my 2c.
Duran, before freaking out the uptight bostonians few weeks back would have never figured to have been available, now he may be in a way without the FO feeling the wrath. It’s wrong and for all the wrong reasons, but he’s got to have massive trade value and if he should get moved? it had better bring back a front line starter with multiple years of control, or the NE, uptight populace will be 100% at fault.
And this is really a part of the problem. Too many ABs that say me me me and not team. Kinda explains how you strand 17 runners. They have not played small ball at all when it called for it. And Cora is responsible. I’m still trying to figure out how you have shoulder problems and continue to swing out of your shoest
Rafaela’s hit should have been a triple?!! How many games have you watched at Fenway? I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone get a triple on a ball off the wall there except in cases where the LFer completely blew the play, and that wasn’t the case last night. Further whether he was on 2B or 3B really wouldn’t have changed anything in the game given the next 3 batters all struck out.
Rafaela has 15 walks in 549 plate appearances. If that isn’t some kind of record, I’d be surprised. And I’ve been saying for a few years that Fatty is no hitting coach. Not to mention Cora couldn’t manage a mall kiosk. The Red Sox are thisclose to being a total teardown.
john – This is going way back, long before Moneyball there was a hitting instructor named Charley Lau.
Some of his beliefs:
Lau developed a list of “Absolutes” about hitting, which included:
A balanced, workable stance
Rhythm and movement in the stance (as opposed to standing still)
A good weight shift from a firm rigid backside to a firm rigid frontside
Striding with the front toe closed
Having the bat in the launching position as soon as the front foot touches down
Making the stride a positive, aggressive motion toward the pitcher
A tension-free swing
Hitting through the ball
Hitting the ball where it is pitched, rather than trying to direct it
One of his disciples was a guy named Walt Hriniak, who became the mentor for guys like Yaz, Boggs, Dewey and Gedman.
Unfortunately the Red Sox don’t have great instructors like Hriniak or great scouting directors like Eddie Kasko anymore.
But the good news is now that the audit has been completed, a slew of longtime scouts and instructors are being let go …. it’s about time!
So hopefully the hitters will go back to what made the team so successful 6-20 years ago which is just as you said, being selective and working the count and driving up the opposing pitcher’s pitch count and focusing on making contact more often rather than swinging for the fences on every pitch.
We can only hope!
Rafaela is a free swinger.Maybe learning the trajectory of Major League pitcher will help.Hitters today seem to not care if they strikeout.As some have said an out is an out.Maybe they don’t realize a fly ball or ground out to second can score a run?People get paid for homeruns and not situational hitting. Fitts and Weissert are making the Verdugo trade look great.Plus they have the third guy is he develops.
John – Now is the time to trade Grissom, rather than later. The Red Sox can sell him as a good prospect who had a forgettable season because of injuries and illness. I really think they kept him in the minors so long because they wanted to hide his flaws as much as possible, thus maintaining his trade value. I think some teams will bite, and between Story/Campbell/Mayer and possibly Rafaela covering middle infield I don’t think there’s room for an inexperienced unproven middle infielder like Grissom. He could blossom, but as of right now he’s high risk.
Casas is like Josh Hamilton, lots of hitting talent but his mental issues have turned him into a spin on the roulette wheel. What’s especially disturbing about him is that he used to have a really good eye and would know which pitches to take …. now he’s constantly looking at strikes instead of swinging. That’s not something which you’d expect to crop up because of likely ribcage pain.
The knock on Duran is he’s too “old”, his game is centered around his legs which are sure to give out like Crawford’s did, and his anxiety/depression issues could flare up again ala Daniel Bard. Again I am NOT advocating a trade, I want him to stick around for at least 3-4 more years. I’m just pointing out the reasons why they *might* trade him instead of Abreu. They sure as heck ain’t trading Anthony or Rafaela.
Bad – You know what’s funny, Cora has said the exact same thing …. that players are focused on the more glamorous bigger contract stats such as homeruns instead of doing what it takes to win games. Cora is putting all the blame on the players, which is crazy …. he’s their damn manager! He is responsible for their hitting approach and lack of fundamentals! Instead he’s throwing up his arms in the air and saying there’s nothing more he can do, which is absurd.
Cora needs to stop acting like the players’ best friend and start acting like their boss, because that’s what he’s getting paid huge money for!
Ken – Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Fever Pitch Guy, and I watch either in person or on TV approximately 110 Red Sox games a year and listen to another 40 games a year. I also watch approximately 90 pregame/postgame shows a year.
That is why I post in such great detail about what happens during games, and what the announcers/analysts have to say. It’s easy to tell who here watches the games, no offense to those who don’t for various reasons.
Again, Hall of Famer and longtime Red Sox left fielder James Edward Rice insisted Rafaela should have had a triple if he didn’t showboat at the plate. If you have an issue, take it up with him … and I guarantee you won’t come out of it well.
If you had watched the game, and watched how high the ball got, and watched how the wind slowed it down, and watched how long it took Rafaela to start running, you’d realize Rice is 100% correct.
Rafaela has elite speed, that’s why he is 9th in the league in triples despite a crappy batting average and 23rd in the league in stolen bases despite a crappy OBP. He absolutely would have been standing on 3B, and the hitters that followed him would have hopefully changed their approach to bring Rafaela home on a deep fly ball or grounder to the right side.
let – Don’t forget the Red Sox hired controversial former Yankees hitting coach Dillon Lawson as the new Red Sox hitting coordinator, perhaps he has played a role in the terrible hitting approach of Sox hitters?
Thankfully as I mentioned in a previous post, the teardown has begun with longtime scouts and instructors being shown the door.
TB – It’s widely believed the coaching staff is responsible for convincing hitters to change their launch angle and focus on a swing for the fences every time approach.
You’re absolutely right on pay, a guy like O’Neill knows he will earn more money if he reaches 35 homers than if he reaches 65 RBI or a .250 BA.
That’s one reason why the analytics community is a joke. Not too long ago they emphasized the value of walks and OBP, now they emphasize homeruns over walks and OBP. So which is it? One thing is certain, either they were wrong before or they are wrong now. And don’t be surprised if 5 years from now they will say “forget homeruns” and focus on some other angle.
Fever, unfortunately, one of the things targeted in the report of the audit is *COST* reduction. That why the rumors are going around that even people being asked to stay are getting asked to take a salary cut to remain.
That bodes less well for a leaner more effective operation.
I’m thinking Henry told Breslow they were going to have reduced ops payroll, either connected to freeing up more money for players (ie here the team bottom line, if you want more for players trim fat elsewhere) or just as an overall mandate to cut front office costs in general.
Either way, it gives me more cause for concern than immediate hope
They certainly didn’t cut any corners with Cora’s new contract.
Fever- i remember Lau and hriniak. Not all the Sox swore by hriniak. Rice used Johnny Pesky and if remember.. he did some hitting coach work every spring years before to other members and many old timers can remember how Evans was always changing his batting stance, sometimes game to game before hriniak joined the team.
The patience at the plate point started well before hriniak tho, that was ingrained decades ago fever and went out the door maybe 10-15y ago and began gradually. The 20k game Friday was the worst, hacking example have seen in years, by over half the lineup and there is no way to win when 4-5 ppl are swinging at anything thrown, like O’Neil, casas,rafaela, valdez and wong were doing as starters. Nobody was taking anything and I blame cora as much as the hackers themselves.
Fever- Not calling on an extension for Duran, agree he’s a his legs are his game guy, but as it stands now? The offense is Duran and Devers. I have little faith in Abreu as more than an average-ish RF. They really can’t afford to move Duran unless the haul is massive and teams probably aren’t going to be willing to send a #1-2 in return.
Now.. If Breslow can get good at blowing… Like Boras? maybe they can con some gullible GM into giving up a Zac Gallen type of talent, but i don’t see it.
— a guy like O’Neill knows he will earn more money if he reaches 35 homers than if he reaches 65 RBI or a .250 BA—
That right there has the putrid stench of coming out of the rear end of Boris Fever. I would like for the team to just sit O’Neil for the rest of the season. It’d stick in his and Boris’s craw, but who cares? Still give him the QO, Boris will decline anyway.
It’s nickel and diming at it’s worst is the despicable thing, like this 2b dollar franchise is now the TB rays, or Oakland Athletics which are/have always cheaped out on everything.
Does henry need a new rug for his head? Why is all this happening last few years all of a sudden.
Someone who wastes their time watching pre and post game shows and listening intently to PBP guys is not a person whose opinion is going to be worth listening to. Which you’ve only confirmed with every single one of your other posts.
Dickie – I guess it all depends on how Cora was valued.
Many analysts expected him to get a contract similar to Counsell’s 5-year $40M ….. but Cora got “only” 3-years $22M.
I’m glad he got less than Counsell, but yeah it still seems like an overpay.
john – Yeah I know not everyone bought into the Lau/Hriniak approach to hitting, I think hitting isn’t a one-size-fits-all thing, What works for some players doesn’t work for others. That’s why I’m a little concerned that so many players these days are being forced to overhaul their approach based on analytics instead of allowing them to stay in their comfort zone and go with what works best for them and what got them to the majors in the first place.
Lots of blame to go around for the Sox woeful offense, way too much emphasis on homeruns coming from management.
john – They can go so many different ways this offseason, it’s impossible to predict. The only thing I’m fairly confident about is that O’Neill, Pivetta and Kenley won’t be back. Martin probably won’t either.
John – With Tyler’s latest mysterious injury, he just might sit out the rest of the season. This is a guy who cares more about bodybuilding than about baseball. If he did less heavy lifting and more conditioning, he’d be able to stay healthy more ….. but he won’t, he’s totally obsessed with hitting homeruns and I don’t see that changing.
john – I think it’s a combination of Henry not caring about winning after his 8 rings, and the corporate structure where he basically sold out to Redbird and other investors in his quest to become even richer. Investors care about profits, not winning.
rare – It’s indeed rare to see someone like you actually admit that you have no desire to gain knowledge or watch/listen to games.
Therefore you have definitely catapulted to the top of the list for Dumbest Post Of The Year ….. congrats!
Another losing season next year and we may see Jason Veritek before we thought we would
As tough as the last few seasons were I think Boston is on the right path. If Story can stay healthy, they get decent production at 2B and they find another good starting pitcher/reliever they’ll be battling NY and BAL for 1st place.
this is totally grasping at straws, story is well past his prime and will give you Paul dejon like production. total albatross of a contract they could’ve paid mookie a little more for. not to mention the diva yoshida and the overrated casas. the Sox need to go into total rebuild mode, which they should’ve done two years ago around Duran Rafaela and devers
CravenMoorehead
If Story can stay healthy, they get decent production at 2B and they find another good starting pitcher/reliever they’ll be battling NY and BAL for 1st place.
__________________________________________
Story will play shortstop until a better candidate takes his place or Trevor’s defensive numbers deteriorate.
I’m guessing he’ll have a good 2025 if he stays healthy, he’s a fighter considering the injury.
When he suffered a serious injury in April, many thought Story’s season was over, but he returned early.
I think that sums him up as a person as a whole and he wants to prove that he can bring value to the team.
Xander – I wouldn’t rule out Story playing 2B next year if the Sox don’t feel Grissom, Sogard or Rafaela are suitable for the position. Campbell is a possibility, but he may need more seasoning in the minors. Story did really well defensively at 2B in 2022.
Offensively, he’s declined quite a bit every year since 2020 so right now we shouldn’t expect too much.
Fever Pitch Guy
I’m certainly not discounting that option, but Mayer isn’t ready for MLB yet and his injuries worry me for the future, Rafaela showed improvement at shortstop in the second half of 2024, but could he be Gold Glove level at that position?
If not, then his best position is centerfield, he is an elite defender there and can be a permanent Gold Glover, using Rafaela at second base in 2025 is generally irrational (with the exception of very widespread injuries) – Hamilton, Grissom, Sogard, Campbell) there are plenty of candidates at second base.
So, until Story’s defense deteriorates, I don’t see anyone moving him from shortstop.
I’m more concerned about Grissom’s defense at second base going forward than Story’s defense at shortstop.
@bogie2X – agreed, Story is still excellent on defense and IMO his bat will be a nice add to the 2025 roster (which was missing nearly all of 2024). Second base will be fine with some combination of Hamilton, Sogard, and Campbell. Grissom still does not look ready, and I would be shocked if Valdez is not traded in the offseason.
350 million for a guy who should be a dh? Hit the treadmill, dude!
coop – Actually it’s just $292M but yeah he needs to move to first base, will probably happen within 2 years.
It’s not all a matter of weight. We have seen some pretty solid 3B who were heftier than him. Perhaps he just needs to work on his defense.
Rishi – Agreed, but it’s been many years of working on his defense and time is running out.
I see Devers following in the same footsteps of guys like Miggy Cabrera and Vlad Jr, eventually moving from 3B to 1B.
Casas is not guaranteed to be a 1B fixture for years, his defense is awful and he’s got too many other issues that can affect his hitting.
Yea 1B would make sense. I don’t follow BOS very closely so i lack insight. Certainly not looking like a smart contract but at least they have a reliable hitter for now. Perhaps that’s why the good SS have been getting so much money. You know they won’t end up being a complete defensive liability.
FPG I disagree Casas is not an awful defensive first baseman, in fact he’s excellent at digging errant throws which I think is the most important job of first baseman. He does make some inexplicable errors at first occasionally and he will never look like Walker at first but he does save a lot of throwing errors and I think he’s at least average at first. I’m not convinced Raffy would translate to first either his best position is DH for a couple of reasons 1) He’s not a good defender at third and 2) Healthy Devers bat is two important for the Red Sox.
It’s not all doom and gloom though, there is legit talent coming. I’m guessing we see Anthony take over in right out of spring training he’s a future superstar and while it might take a month or two to adjust he will and he’s going to be special. I think it’s very likely we will see Campbell within a month or so of the season. He will probably slide into whatever position has an injury and if not he will play nearly everyday as a super utility guy. Teel should be ready soon as well maybe even around the same time as Campbell he’s taken great strides in his defense and he’s a line drive machine.
I expect Mayer to arrive next year as well. As long as he can stay healthy he is the shortstop of the future for Boston despite what some say on this site. I don’t think Story remains either healthy enough or offensively productive enough to keep Mayer down at AAA all next season.
I’m also going to predict that next season is the season is the season when the prospect experts start to realize low and behold the Red Sox do have pitching coming and I just got a feeling Sandlin is the big breakout guy next year.
Bruin – You’re absolutely right, it was a poor choice of words on my part because as you say Casas has done quite well at snagging bad throws which his height certainly helps.
But poor range and slow reactionary movement on batted balls is still very much an issue, which I think is due in part to his mental issues. He has difficulty focusing, not a good thing for any fielder.
I’ll take your word on Sandlin, as I’ve not seen him play and I know you have.
Bruin- Hope so on Sandlin. He seems to have troubles and to me? my guess, is it’s selection. the stuff is tops, it’s choice and the mistakes, like 2nd time thru mistakes.
I’m more sold, for now on Dobbins as helping th staff 1st than sandlin who believe will need more time and I’ve been sold on Dobbins since early on, moreso since he picked up cpl extra ticks in velo this year.
Funny thing, is the org really had crap for pitching other than cpl longshots headed into the year. Traded for Fitts, Priester and Sandlin and of course they are all faair to good prospects, but before thy had the all hype Wikelman Gonzalez, who for most that ever watched any milb games was easy to see he was a reliever playing as a starter. Hunter Dobbins as a longshot and the now TJ Luis perales.
Couple more might make it as back enders after the season’s worth of games.. Connolly Early looked ok, Elmer Rodriquez, Possibly Isaac coffey. not as bleak SP wise as had been last 10y or so.
Fitts and Priester finishing strong.
figure out if he needs surgery and get him ready for next year.
Shoulder issue in year one of 10-year, $300MM deal. What could go wrong?
Lord – True, but at least he has youth on his side and hopefully he will move to 1B within a couple years.
Lots of star players have had shoulder surgery such as Tatis Jr and your man Judge, so I’m not too concerned about Devers recovering.
I’m not predicting gloom, Fever. I just always get concerned when a player has shoulder surgery. The outcomes can vary. Some come back totally fine. Some come back but they’re compromised, but it’s difficult to say by how much. Tatis Jr. has come back and he’s good, but not peak. Is that due to being off PEDs or has he lost just a touch of bat bat speed from the surgery? No way to know.
Lord – Agreed, I remember when Hanley finally had shoulder surgery …. didn’t help revive his career, although he was much older so there was likely other factors at play.
LordD99
As far as I remember, Big Papi also had shoulder problems and was older than Devers is now, I don’t see any reason to worry.
On the other hand, I see that the Red Sox dodged a bullet when they didn’t sign Bogaerts even for the $160 million the Red Sox offered him in 2023.
I know he suffered a broken arm mid-season, but his 2024 numbers before the injury are dismal.
This contract looks like it won’t age well for the Padres, Xander is reliant on average hitting, he doesn’t hit many home runs and his defense is below average.
Fever, we can declare a false alarm as no surgery required!
Bogie, yes. I won’t blame the Padres too much for Xander’s crazy deal. In retrospect, we now know the owner was going all in as he had but a short time left. He didn’t get his championship, but he has left behind a revitalized Padres franchise.
I’ll tell you what, Devers’ deal certainly looks much better at this point than the contract SD gave Xander Bogaerts.
Craven – I totally agree!
I love Xander, but that was a God-awful overpay by the Padres.
BIG TIME overpay. It’s going to be interesting to see how Boston goes into this winter and who they target in free agency.
Craven – Do you mean which free agents they will try hard to sign, or just who they will “show interest in”?
I don’t foresee any big name free agents signing with the Red Sox this winter. Crawford/Houck/Bello/Gio are all locks assuming Gio is healthy, and they will likely go with Fitts/Winck/Criswell as the 5th starter.
They’ve said they won’t try to contend until 2026 at the earliest, so signing a high ticket free agent now doesn’t seem like something they’d do.
We shall see. The AL East landscape is definitely different these days with Baltimore on the rise and Boston still trying to put together pieces to be competitive in the future.
I don’t wanna see Crawford or winki at STraining, I will be happy.
Bogie would still be on the RS if they gave Stiry money to him instead of the insulting contract offered.
spit – I agree, Bloom valuing Story more than Xander was tough to swallow.
Fever Pitch Guy
I’m not defending Bloom, but his logic at that time was understandable.
Story is a better defender than Xander and Mayer was drafted as an above-average defender, so Bloom didn’t see the need to offer all the money in the world to Bogaerts and a long contract to eventually move Xander to second base – my opinion.
The Red Sox were well compensated for Bogaerts – Campbell.
Fever Pitch Guy
The Red Sox need a young core.
Imagine the lineup in 2025 and beyond.
Mayer 3B/SS, Story SS/2B, Grissom/Campbell 2B, Casas 1B, Devers 3B/DH, Duran LF, Rafaela CF, Abreu/Anthony RF, Wong/Teel C, Yoshi DH/LF
Imagine if the Red Sox gave contracts to all of their 2018 homegrown players in 2022.
This is what the 2025 Red Sox roster could theoretically look like with all the extensions;
Devers 3B/DH, Bogaerts SS, Yorke 2B, Casas 1B, Benintendi LF, Duran CF, Rafaela RF, Vazquez/Wong C open slot DH
Pad’s have multiple boat anchor contracts. Bogaerts, machado still has 300m owed out. That team might draw 30k avg, but has no media income, ex for what the league provides it with and will be interesting to see what it can do salary wise going forward.
That’s a lot of money remaining for a Big Question Mark or two on his shoulders. Not a great start to this contract.
Cleon – Agreed! Perhaps the injury was from carrying the entire team offense on his shoulders, which he did for most of the season until the pain became too much to handle.
I said all along Devers and Duran drove the offense for most of the season. Now with Devers in pain and Duran tiring out, we are seeing how much of an impact those two guys had on the rest of the team.
fans are so fickle. Even with shoulder issues he still made an all star team and had a strong offensive year.
3.7 bWAR this year. I’m not overly concerned.
Rough road fro the Tigers, being two games down to the Twins now. The Twins should sweep Boston, and Baltimore looked pretty strong, with perhaps the Tigers maybe feeling the nerves.
This playoff race is a great test for Detroit, and where they are at, and what to improve upon. 2 games back of the Twins to start Saturday.
MP – I admire what the Tigers have been doing, but it’s definitely helped they’ve been playing a whole lot of bad or badly slumping teams.
I’m rooting for them though, and those last three games against the ChiSox should result in a strong finish to the regular season.
I wouldn’t count on a Twins sweep this weekend though, their SP tomorrow has been really really bad.
Hinch is so much better at handling pitching and Cora is terrible at it. Thats the biggest difference.
Fever- Tigers have 1 of the better and feel good for announcers in the game in Jason benneti. Chisox dumped him for some reason and glad Detroit picked him up, shame Boston didn’t dump o’brian, he’d have been a huge improvement.
Mprk just a heads up it’s one game down to the Twins there’s a big difference between 1 down and 2. Oh and the Tigers finish with the White Sox. I’d say it’s a tossup.
Bruin – He’s right, he’s taking into account the Twins own the tiebreaker over the Tigers.
I woulda said something if he was wrong LOL
This organization no longer attracts premium free agent talent. DFA dumpster here we come.
greg – Agreed, even the premium talent that used to play for the Red Sox have distanced themselves from the team.
Remember when they moved the 2004 Anniversary Ceremony to Opening Day to help with ticket sales? At that time Pedro and other key players didn’t show up, and the Sox said there would be several special days throughout the season honoring the 2004 team ….. it never happened.
Ortiz, Pedro and others have been non-existent all season, because they are embarrassed by what the organization has become.
Fever – I think part of it is they don’t want to be window dressing used to make up for improper investment in the team and just be used to boost profits.
Hopefully Henry gets frozen out of the eventual Celtics sale, I dont think I could watch Henry strangle two iconic brands in Beantown.
GASox – FSG trying to buy the Celts? I wasn’t aware of that, if it happened wouldn’t LeBron have to sell his stake in FSG?
Yeah I DEFINITELY don’t want Henry anywhere near my second-favorite Boston team!!!
Fever, there’s many layers with how the companies are set up, not to mention staggered closings, to where LeBron may not even be playing by the time the ink dries.
Meanwhile, on that Cs front, there’s isn’t a ton of great news overall. Henry loves the idea of getting a controlling share for probably around $1B – $1.5B… remember, the Grousbeck interest is 3% Wyc, and 20% his dad… and that’s what was announced as up for sale. That 23% is the largest/controlling block. So at a $5-6.5B valuation, you’re looking at a Penguins size transaction outlay to buy that controlling share, and, even then with the staggered closings, you defer paying a bunch of that amount out to 2028/2029ish.
*however* remember that pagliuca via Bain Capital already had 20% himself.
I have a variety of reasons I developed a distaste for seeing anything touching Bain capital being connected to anything I have interest in, but, you have to ask yourself… which would be worse? Henry? Or Bain Capital?
I don’t have an answer for that toss-up myself.
more lies from you FPG about Pedro and Ortiz staying away from the sox.
GASox – Thank you! Very cool that you are so on top of this. I’m learning a lot from you as my knowledge of the corporate side of FSG is limited. Embarrassed to say I had never heard of Bain, so I have some catching up to do.
gregoire: “This organization no longer attracts premium free agent talent.”
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If the Red Sox are spending, the free agents will come. It looks like they are staying away from long, expensive deals for older free agents and that’s fine with me. Those deals often go bad.
Fever Pitch Guy: “Ortiz, Pedro and others have been non-existent all season, because they are embarrassed by what the organization has become.”
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Another baseless fabrication.
Can you imagine how much time you’ve wasted reading this troll’s drivel? Muting him makes this board far better.
It starts with ownership. 300 million was spent on the PGA. You get what you pay for-mediocrity. The only player that hustles day in & day out is Duran.
Lts – I’d say Abreu does as well, he goes after every ball without fear of being injured. His seat dive during the Yankee game will never be forgotten.
Fever Pitch Guy
Abreu is a Gold Glove favorite in right field +13 DRS, +7 OAA, +9 FRV
The Red Sox haven’t had a Gold Glove winner in right field since the Mookie trade.
*+13 Drs
The Red Sox haven’t had a Gold Glove winner in right field since the Mookie trade.
Abreu = Nixon?
tff17
A very interesting comparison.
I looked the rookie seasons of both and they are very similar.
Both played their first full season at age 25.
Nixon took 9th place in ROY, Abreu -?
Trot Nixon has good peak seasons.
His defense was a bit streaky.
Nixon’s discipline is better and I don’t know if he had splits against lefties…
*watched – looked
The main question, is what Abreu is capable of in peak seasons if he learns to hit lefties pitchers?
Verdugo did not learn to hit left-handed pitchers, although he was a starter.
tff17
Abreu leads in +9 FRV, in +7 OAA among MLB RF, ranks second among MLB RF with +14 DRS.
His closest pursuer in the AL – Kepler has +4 OAA and +2 FRV, Tucker +8 Drs (doesn’t qualify).
Last year’s Gold Glove winner in right field, Adolis Garcia (2023 – +2 OAA, +8 FRV, +7 DRS) has -9 OAA, -9 FRV, -4 DRS, -1.0 dWAR this season.
In fact, Abreu has no worthy rivals for the 2024 Gold Glove AL in right field.
Nixon was pretty much a strict platoon hitter, at least earlier in his career. Very similar in that regard.
Defensive stats at that time were in their infancy. Nixon may have been less streaky than his stats.
tff – You nailed it! Very good hitter against RHP, solid but not spectacular in RF, fan favorite as the Original Dirt Dog.
Abreu in RF is the polar opposite of JD Drew, who would give up on fly balls whenever he was within 6 feet of a wall.
Might as well. Sox season officially ended last night so let’s get Devers ready for next year
Rsox – I think the only question remaining is can the Sox stay out of the cellar. They are now in 4th place with only Toronto behind them, but if the Jays win 2 or 3 against the Sox in Toronto next week then they could also pull ahead of the Sox.
Jays have the lowly Marlins in Toronto to close out the season, while the Sox have the tough Rays. Should be interesting.
His injury last month torpedoed their WC chances. He just hasn’t been himself.
He’s been injured all season, the shoulder injury popped.up at the end of ST. Remember he missed a few games early. He had a great season despite the injury until early August.
I’ve read that he wants to play the field still, I would expect nothing less of a good full-time player.
Nonetheless, I would hope he would move to 1B at least, DH would make him relevant for many years, but I don’t see that happening for awhile.
Extending Cora was a mistake. Sox need new dugout leadership.
You need help
Great insight, Spitfire.
He’s in pain n that affects hitting the most, n he’s been so good defensively, it’s a shame. He’s a trooper playing through all this pain. Love our Raffy ❤️
Who is Cole going to intentionally walk now?
Old – The Sox could always sign Jose Devers. Just the last name would be enough to get in Cole’s head. LOL!
Or better yet, the Yankees could sign him.
At least it’s not the throwing shoulder
Ed – The above article says he was shut down due to left shoulder inflammation, but it also says the MRI was done on his right shoulder and the article says he’s been dealing with discomfort in both shoulders for most of the season …. so who the heck knows which shoulder is the problem.
As a Yankee fan the future looks bright in Boston just gotta stop cheaping out on pitching. Duran is an early extension candidate. Devers can be prime Stanton he’s that good just for the love of God stop making him play defense. It might mess with his head at first then he’ll get hot and get comfortable in his new bat only role. I know that’s a lot of money for a DH but it will be okay.
Duran is 27 and under contract until he’s 32 in 2029. He doesn’t need to be an early extension candidate or really an extension candidate at all at this point.
Gasper? The guy can’t get a hit!
Gasper can’t hit MLB pitching,
AAA he can…
BA .367 – OBP .471 – OPS – 1.063
AA he did…
BA .282 – OBP – .403 – OPS – .861
Cora left him on the bench for a full 2 weeks before he played him, so ya let the rust build up first. Cora is and always has been a bad manager.
Here’s a wild thought…….trade Casas to Seattle for one of their big 3 starters.
Move Devers to 1b.
Sign Bregman to play 3rd.
It could work.
I’m not sold on Breslow’s trade acumen yet.
On the plus side you’ve got Verdugo’s deal. But then you also had Sale and those trade deadline pitching deals.
My concern seems to be not about *who* he trades, but, how he values the pieces. Sale was tough – not just the injury history but the 10&5 status would’ve complicated things… so I make allowances on that one. But, at the time, I wasn’t the biggest grissom fan from seeing his time with ATL.
This year’s deadline moves? Headscratchers. I think there was a list of guys breslow saw as not sticking in the organization through the offseason whether rule 5 or 40-man crunch and he traded off that list… but still, the relative values he was thinking on some of the pieces, again, makes me wonder.
Then again, the whole front office shake-up could also have to do with the information he was receiving and relying on to put those deals together.
GASox – This year’s trade deadline approach was all smoke and mirrors, it was all about giving the *impression* they were going for it.
They said they wanted to get righthanded batter “help” …. then they acquired a guy hitting .212 with a .671 OPS. And he batted just .139 with a .431 OPS in the two months prior to the trade. No contending team trades for a player who is playing THAT bad, not if they want to make the postseason. Actions speak louder than words.
That’s been a big reason why the Sox have collapsed each of the past three August/Septembers even though the Sox were in the playoff mix and playing well right before each of the past three trade deadlines.
Three straight years management didn’t believe in the team, and three straight years the players took it as a gut punch and their performance crashed.
fenwayfrank
Wow… Casas hat trick (first of his career with the Red Sox), last done by J.D. in 2021 against the Orioles.
It’s a bad idea to trade Casas.
Of course he hits 3 on the day I write this. Lol
Bogie – Last 3 HR game was actually Story in 2022.
Fever Pitch Guy
Your truth, I lost sight of Story and his hot May 2022.
Here is thought Fenwayfrank…. Don’t waste your money on Bregman and put Mayer at 3rd. Take the money you hypothetically would be spending on Bregman and use it for PITCHING.
Have no fear Marcelo Mayer is near ready . The way they promote that guy shoe in for ROY , probably MVP . Who knows might be able to pitch too.
I am all for the prospects , but they need some veterans on short term deals. The money that Bloom did spend was completely wasted . Yoshida, Story , Devers contract. Jansen did what he was supposed too. Breslow signing Gio, paying $17 million of Sales contract to get Grissom. The rebuild needs to start with the higher ups in the organization.
Devers is clearly over rated and over paid
Glad the Sox are holding the bag
If Devers was a free agent, the Yankees would give him 10 years at 350.