The first half is within the books, and now with the All-Star break within the rearview mirror the Red Sox are waiting for a doubtlessly pivotal stretch main into the Aug. 1 commerce deadline.
With a lot hanging within the steadiness, looks like an ideal time to empty the mailbag and reply your whole questions.
Today we cowl whether or not the Red Sox can purchase or promote, Alex Verdugo’s future with the group and what followers ought to realistically count on from a few of the most intriguing prospects within the system.
What do you suppose Chaim Bloom will do on the commerce deadline? — Everyone
This was by far essentially the most generally requested query and a number of you requested some model of it in your submissions. This can be a troublesome one to foretell, as a result of how the Red Sox strategy the deadline will possible be decided largely by how the membership performs over the following two weeks. Bloom himself could not know whether or not he’s going to purchase or promote simply but.
Personally, I feel the Red Sox will purchase, however I additionally suppose they’ll disappoint lots of people by including smaller names who don’t transfer the needle as a lot. I definitely don’t count on the membership to commerce the farm for Shohei Ohtani, and in the end I feel Boston’s greatest August additions shall be gamers like Trevor Story and Chris Sale.
That being mentioned, you don’t need to look exhausting for examples of gamers who weren’t extremely touted however who made a large impression on championship rosters. Nathan Eovaldi, Steve Pearce, Dave Roberts, the listing goes on.
My guess, if the Red Sox determine they’re going to go for it, they’ll add a beginning pitcher. There must be hundreds to select from, amongst them Chicago’s Lucas Giolito and Detroit’s Michael Lorenzen, simply to call a pair who might be on the commerce block.
So Nick Pivetta will keep within the bullpen. Will he be extra of a “long man” or a “bulk starter” that’s scheduled weekly? — Joe G.
Nick Pivetta’s function is tough to outline, however the easiest rationalization is he’s a protracted reliever whose job is to observe an opener and deal with a starter’s workload. Why use Pivetta that approach as an alternative of as a conventional starter? It’s all about creating favorable matchups and guaranteeing Pivetta is put into the very best place to succeed.
One of the benefits to utilizing an opener is it prevents the opposing supervisor from stacking their lineup with lefties or righties. On days Pivetta is predicted to pitch the Red Sox will use a left-handed opener, and often that prompts the opposition to discipline a extra balanced lineup with extra righties than Pivetta would possibly see in any other case.
Another benefit to utilizing an opener is that they’ll sometimes face the highest of the order first, after which whichever lengthy aid possibility follows will come on and begin with the underside of the order. For Pivetta, that might imply extra at bats towards worse hitters and fewer at bats towards the center of the lineup.
Though the idea can appear slightly unusual, it’s simple to see the attraction. If you’re dealing with extra lower-quality hitters in additional favorable lefty-righty matchups, in fact you’re going to be extra profitable, and for Pivetta the numbers bear it out. As a starter this season Pivetta’s posted a 6.30 ERA and allowed an .885 opponents OPS. In the bullpen these numbers are 2.79 and .513 respectively, completely evening and day.
Boston has sometimes used an analogous strategy with rookie lefties Chris Murphy and Brandon Walter, solely as an alternative with a righty opener, and for essentially the most half the outcomes have been good. Obviously it will be higher to have a rotation of dependable and efficient beginning pitchers, however with all of the accidents the pitching workers has absorbed the Red Sox have carried out an important job maximizing their roster and creatively avoiding situations which can be more likely to finish with an overmatched arm getting shelled.
Chances of Chaim going out and getting Yamamoto or Ohtani this offseason? Yamamoto appears much more more likely to me. — @atlas_baseball.
Let’s save Ohtani for an additional day, there shall be loads of time to cowl his future within the weeks and months to come back. Yamamoto although, is a really attention-grabbing risk value exploring.
For these unfamiliar, Yoshinobu Yamamoto is a 24-year-old Japanese famous person who is predicted to be posted by his Nippon Professional Baseball membership this coming offseason. He at the moment pitches for the Orix Buffaloes, the identical membership Masataka Yoshida performed for previous to the Red Sox, and he’s been posting online game numbers since making his skilled debut in 2017.
As of this writing Yamamoto has a 1.94 ERA over 818.1 profession innings, and this season he’s at the moment 9-3 with a 1.66 ERA, 101 strikeouts and solely 12 walks over 92.1 innings. He’s already a four-time All-Star, a two-time MVP and a two-time Eiji Sawamura Award winner, which is the Japanese equal of the Cy Young. He additionally threw a no-hitter in June 2022 and acquitted himself properly within the World Baseball Classic this previous spring.
Yamamoto’s pitch combine ought to translate effectively to the massive leagues. He boasts a mid-90s fastball, a dirty splitter and a very good curveball, amongst different choices. The essential concern can be that Yamamoto is on the small facet at 5-foot-10, 170 kilos, however he’s confirmed a lot sturdy up to now. He’ll be in excessive demand this coming offseason if Orix opts to put up him.
As for the query of how possible the Red Sox are to signal him, in the event that they like him they gained’t hesitate to make a robust push. We know Red Sox scouts spent a number of time across the Orix Buffaloes whereas scouting Yoshida, and the membership has a protracted custom of efficiently integrating Japanese pitchers.
I’m not telling you it’s going to occur, however Yamamoto is unquestionably a reputation to remember this coming offseason.
The Red Sox hope Kyle Teel is the long-term reply at catcher down the road, however the system could be very skinny at catcher. Does Bloom possible see the place as sufficiently “solved” for the following few years with the Wong/McGuire combo, or ought to we count on an improve this offseason? — Steve M.
I feel the Red Sox are more likely to try to construct up extra organizational depth at catcher, although a number of what might be carried out may not register as an “upgrade” in an apparent sense.
For starters, Connor Wong has exceeded all expectations and actually has emerged as probably the greatest on a regular basis catchers within the huge leagues. He’s excellent defensively, has developed an important rapport with the pitching workers and might hit slightly bit too, particularly when he heats up and begins crushing balls off the Green Monster two or 3 times an evening. His breakout has been an enormous growth for the Red Sox, who could have him below staff management on reasonably priced offers for the following 5 seasons.
The query is who else can the membership depend on moreover Wong? Reese McGuire has taken a step again this season and has been kind of a replacement-level backup, Jorge Alfaro is likely one of the worst defensive catchers within the huge leagues, and Boston’s choices at catcher within the high-minors should not notably engaging.
If the Red Sox wish to make an improve their finest plan of action can be so as to add at the very least yet one more catcher who they’d be comfy placing on the 40-man roster, both as the massive league backup or as the primary man up from Triple-A.
With Devers and Casas being the longer term on the corners for the Sox, the place do gamers like Blaze Jordan and Chase Meidroth slot in? — richg6567
That’s an important query, one the Red Sox can be completely comfortable to punt on till it truly turns into a problem.
Jordan and Meidroth are each having fun with terrific years within the minors, however as promising as they appear in the present day they’re nonetheless prospects who’ve a protracted solution to go earlier than they’re able to make an impression on the huge league degree. For all we all know their growth may stall and so they by no means make it.
But suppose they do proceed to enhance and ultimately emerge as potential impression gamers on the huge league degree. What then? Well, that might be an important drawback for the Red Sox to have, and as soon as they’ve an actual option to make the membership may determine a plan of action that is smart.
Maybe they may shift Jordan or Meidroth to a distinct place, maybe second base or the outfield, to accommodate everybody. Maybe they may commerce them as a part of a blockbuster deal, or possibly they might commerce Casas as an alternative? You by no means know the way issues may play out two or three years down the road, however producing extra huge league expertise than your roster has room for is rarely a nasty factor.
Where does the group see Ceddanne Rafaela at in his growth and can which have a heavy impression on whether or not they prolong Verdugo? — Jakob G.
I don’t suppose Rafaela shall be a big consider how the Red Sox strategy Alex Verdugo’s future with the group. The membership has been very deliberate in the way it’s introduced Rafaela alongside, and for all his expertise he nonetheless has weaknesses in his offensive strategy that might be uncovered by huge league pitchers.
Those weaknesses are why Rafaela began the season in Double-A and spent as lengthy in Portland as he did, and I’d guess he’ll spend a big period of time in Triple-A earlier than he’s given consideration for a significant huge league function. Maybe we’ll see him in Boston this September as a late-inning defensive substitute and pinch runner, however he’s a great distance from being able to tackle a full-time spot.
Remember, it took Jarren Duran three years and three MLB call-ups earlier than he lastly discovered huge league pitching and developed into the impression participant the Red Sox hoped he may turn into all alongside. Sometimes these items take time, and speeding Rafaela alongside earlier than he’s prepared wouldn’t profit anybody.
The query of extending Verdugo is a crucial one, however essentially the most pertinent difficulty is whether or not or not the Red Sox consider he generally is a constructing block for the longer term. If they don’t, he’ll most likely be traded and Rafaela might be a part of the long-term plan as an alternative. But in the event that they do consider in Verdugo, then they need to and possibly will re-sign him, and if Rafaela pops off afterwards they may all the time shift Yoshida to designated hitter and go along with one thing like a Duran-Rafaela-Verdugo alignment.
Have you heard of something relating to Vergudo doubtlessly being traded? And what total grade do you give Chaim for this previous low season and the strikes he made? — Brandon Okay.
I’ve not heard something concrete relating to the group’s plans for Verdugo, however given the place the Red Sox are within the standings and of their aggressive cycle I feel it’s extremely unlikely he’s traded midseason and I don’t suppose he’ll go anyplace this offseason both.
This is just not 2020, when the Red Sox moved Mookie Betts as a result of they didn’t really feel like they had been in place to encompass him with sufficient expertise to capitalize on the early years of his huge cash deal. The Red Sox have already dedicated greater than $300 million to Rafael Devers over the following decade, have Trevor Story and Masataka Yoshida below contract for the following 4 years and are starting to provide the type of younger nucleus the group lacked 4 years in the past with guys like Triston Casas, Brayan Bello, Garrett Whitlock and others simply on the horizon. It’s time to win, and buying and selling Verdugo now can be counterproductive.
So, provided that, how effectively did Bloom place the staff to compete together with his strikes this previous offseason? There had been definitely some missteps, however total I feel he did a greater job than a number of followers have given him credit score.
Yoshida has exceeded expectations and Kenley Jansen, Chris Martin and Justin Turner have all been pretty much as good or higher than anybody may have realistically anticipated. Adam Duvall was purple sizzling earlier than his season was derailed by a freak wrist damage, and the jury remains to be out on Joely Rodriguez and Richard Bleier, who’ve been injured and ineffective up to now however who may nonetheless flip issues round within the second half.
Those additions, plus the advance of a number of key gamers from inside, have helped flip a number of of Boston’s greatest weaknesses final 12 months (the bullpen, outfield) into areas of energy.
The center infield, clearly, has been a catastrophe, and that’s made dropping Xander Bogaerts notably painful. But contemplating the membership misplaced its first, second and third choices at shortstop to damage, then additionally misplaced its major second baseman for a month, and on prime of that suffered from Kiké Hernández being unable to rise to the event… that’s rather a lot for any staff to beat.
The huge black mark on Bloom’s offseason is the beginning rotation. Losing Nathan Eovaldi, who’s having a Cy Young caliber season, and changing him with an ineffective Corey Kluber is a troublesome look. The Red Sox are lucky that misstep hasn’t been extra pricey, however that’s additionally an indicator that the bigger technique of handing the keys to the youngsters has paid off. Bello has been excellent, and when wholesome Garrett Whitlock, Tanner Houck and Kutter Crawford have all proven they will get the job carried out.
Taken collectively, I’d give Bloom’s offseason a “B.” He’s given the Red Sox an opportunity to compete, however the job isn’t completed and this staff will want reinforcements if it hopes to achieve its full potential.
Source: www.bostonherald.com