A source tells Rob Bradford of WEEI.com (via Twitter) that Jason Bay would be very interested in returning to the Red Sox. Earlier today, the Mets reached an agreement with the outfielder to make him a free agent this winter in exchange for deferring some of the $21MM owed to him. Here’s more on the Red Sox..
- While Bay would like to return to the Red Sox, signs point towards him preferring a west coast team, tweets Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald.
- The Red Sox have expressed interest in free agent outfielders Torii Hunter and Grady Sizemore, tweets Silverman.
- General Manager Ben Cherington says the club has not yet discussed Bay, tweets Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald.
- The Red Sox will listen on Jacoby Ellsbury but they will listen on him, tweets Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. One rival official noted that the club won’t be overly anxious to move Ellsbury as they’re already in need of two outfielders.
- Boston is expected to be in the mix for Justin Upton this offseason, writes Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald. It’s not yet known if the Red Sox have had talks with the Diamondbacks about the outfielder previously or at the GM meetings, however.
- Manager John Farrell says the club is thinking about hiring two hitting coaches and would even prefer it, tweets Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald. “I think it’s evolved into more than a one-man system. We’re going in that direction,” Farrell said (Twitter link).
- Maureen Mullen of CSNNE.com looks at the decisions facing the Red Sox in advance of the Rule 5 draft.
“The Red Sox will listen on Jacoby Ellsbury but they will listen on him” lol
Ouch! You’re listening on me too hard. Spread out!
“The Red Sox will listen on Jacoby Ellsbury but they will listen on him” xD
Strong comment bro.
good job you both saw the incredibly obvious mistake. good stuff
“The Red Sox will listen on Jacoby Ellsbury but they will listen on him” lolol
Yo, I’m gonna let you finish, but Microsoft Word was the best ever at detecting errors.
I all I gotta say is fish sticks…
Fish sticks, if you use enough glue. But fruit flies.
I can count to potato
For God’s sake, it was a typo. Seriously. How many people need to correct him?
Two hitting coaches sounds interesting. One to work with righties, one to work with lefties might be a good idea.
I does make sense, doesn’t it.
I like that idea if only because it brings up the question who covers switch hitters. My answer to that is a switch hitting coach and then a higher level coach comes into play with the position of “Hitting Coordinator” who watches over all these coaches!
Then you need a third hitting coach, to work with switch hitters.
And a fourth, to work only with pitchers who have to hit in the expanded interleague setup.
And if you have hitters who are juicers, you need McGwire too. Or maybe Palmeiro is available for that.
Seems redundant. Hitting approaches and mechanics are pretty much the same regardless of what side of the plate you’re on.
Are you going to have a second pitching coach for both lefties and righties?
Me?? I prefer three. You need a third one for the switch hitters.
please go get Upton Ben.. i know they need pitching but this guy is a supreme talent
The Red Sox can’t afford to part with their pitching prospects, regardless of how supreme Upton’s talent is.
The Diamondbacks don’t really need pitching.
Middlebrooks, Brentz, and one of Iglesias and Webster is a strong offer.
I don’t see the Red Sox trading Middlebrooks. I said it in another discussion, the fans would vilify management even more if they trade away the guy they traded Youkilis to accommodate.
The fans should be ignored. But even if that were an issue, they could just bring Youkilis back.
The Dbacks would likely be more interested in Middlebrooks and others than a budle based around pitching. The Dbacks are pretty pitching rich.
Serious question…what’s this obsession over Justin Upton? His name comes up every year and people seem to be willing to give anything for him! His numbers are not THAT impressive…honestly, please, someone explain this to me! I know he’s young…but honestly, I still don’t see why everyone is so obsessed with him.
He’s young with continued development towards a monster upside. 2 years ago he finished 4th in MVP voting. He’s under an affordable contract. He plays above average defense with a powerful arm in RF. He has 30-40 HR power with the ability to hit .300 when he is healthy. He’s fast enough that he is a legitimate 20 SB threat. He’s still 2 years away from what is usually a player’s physical peak.
His problems though, are many. First, he was brought up WAY WAY too fast. Second, when he first arrived, he had quite an attitude and felt that he was entitled to everything. It took Chris Young taking him aside and mentoring him to get his head on straight. Then, Upton had to deal with injury issues. He’s not prone to big injuries, but he gets small nagging ones that he tries to play through instead of taking a day off. And the guy has no clue how to get hit by a baseball – or how to get out of the way. He’s a target in the batter’s box.
Monster upside. A lot of guys have monster upside. Id only give up top prospects for monster results. Upton hit 30Hr once. The other years? 15 17,17, 26. In 2009 he hit exactly .300. Other than that hes a .270-.280 hitter. His OPS is up and down the last 4 years. He gets caught stealing almost half the time and always seems to have nagging injuries.
So I (insert team here) give up some top prospects for 3 years of Upton, hoping in another 2 years he finally puts it all together and realizes this monster potential? Oh, then leaves for the big payday the year after. Sorry, no thanks. Pass.
No, very few guys have “monster upside”. A former #1 overall pick with a huge season behind mind who is in his mid-20s qualifies, but very few others do.
Which Upton–BJ or Justin?
Is Justin better than BJ?
We keep our prospects to trade for pitching or a 1 B with BJ. What would you do? I have virtually seen no games featuring Justin-I’m sure he’s very talented.
In addition could Delmon Young provide the same numbers ?
Justin Upton’s potential is way above that of his brother
Starting to think that Jacoby Ellsbury will be the next Grady Siezemore
yupper dupper.
Ellsbury has freak injuries, Sizemore sneezes and has a strained oblique.
Slipping on bananna peel or getting struck by lightening – It really doesnt matter….. Afterall a game missed is a game not played. And Jacoby has only played in 67% of the games possible for Boston. Not sure Jacoby is exactly in Sizemore’s class yet, but the trend is starting to be note worthy.
Of course it matters; how could you even believe that it doesn’t?
A player who gets injured on routine plays (which happen often) is much more likely to get injured again than one who gets injured on non-routine plays (which do not happen often).
Guess why.
How does it matter? A freak or non-routine injury is not treated any differently than a pulled hammy, tender elbow, aching back or sore ribs. A game missed for whatever reason is still a game missed. Non-routine injuries are certainly not omitted just because they may not happen often.
The likelihood of recurrence is what people are concerned with.
No one has even mentioned the term recurrence. And recurrence is certainly not the same as the terms that were used (non-routine, routine and/or freak) as described injury situations.
Ok, let me put your mind at ease. How many times have you witnessed a base runner fall get his shoulder sat on by the infielder? It just doesn’t happen. The chances of it happening again? Not likely at all. If he was pulling up lame with a hamstring pull 3 times a year, okay he’s injury prone but a string of bad luck cannot possibly label someone something they are not.
That example doesnt ease anything. Why? Because it doesnt matter how or why he got hurt. You can justify injuries all you want…. But at the end of the day, a game missed is a game not played. Hence the reason games (G) are are tracked stat. You will not find a stat titled “Games Missed Due To Freak/Non-Routine Injury”.
It matters, because a team is not going to pay a player full if he has missed that amount of time. Also, teams were waiting to see if he could repeat 2011 numbers. That has a huge impact on how much money he will get in his next contract. Had he repeated that this year he would very good chance $150M, as it is he is probably looking at alot less unless he has a huge year.
Here you go with the 67% thing. I get it, he misses games. Big deal, he has had freak injuries. You cannot label him as fragile, injury prone, etc. His injuries are not from a lack of exercise, conditioning, etc. You mentioned after 2008 is your starting point, well take in to consideration Ellsbury missed just about the entire season in 2010 when he hit Beltres knees. I don’t think it’s really fair the criticism he receives.
Would the opposite of injury prone be HEALTHY? That certainly doesnt describe Ellsbury’s health.
Yes, i used 2008 as a starting point. 2007 Ellsbury was a rookie that played in only 33 games due to MGR decsion. So it would be unfair to use this year given the situation. But in 2008 he became the starting everyday CF for the Red Sox’s. Played in only 548 of the possible 810 games (67%). His critism is fair. The numbers support it.
Games missed are huge. Example: Josh Hamilton missed a handfull of games in July due to a tabacoo addiction and another weeks worth of games in August due to blurred vision which stemmed from him reportedly drinking to many eneergy drinks. If the Rangers had won one more game, they would of been in the playoffs. But they didnt. They didnt have Josh neither. He could of been the difference maker. But he wasnt because he missed games.
88 games missed in 2012 with a shoulder injury, 144 missed in 2010 with a few broken ribs. Bob Gibson broke his leg in ’67 and came back seven weeks later, then dominated in the World Series (and I have to believe medicine is a tad more advanced than 45 years ago). Ellsbury is just soft. Members of the Red Sox organization even hinted in 2010 that he could have come back sooner, but didn’t want to.
Ellsbury is just too fast! He could sprint into a pillow and injure something…
I think Ellsbury bears a similarity to Jason Bay, but Sizemore works too.
I love would love a short, incentive laden deal for Bay with the Sox. Expectations are low and we need some bodies out in the field, why not throw a few bucks towards a low-risk, high reward? Health is an issue so obviously the Sox need to grab another OF or two still. It’ll be an opportunity for Bay to build some value and why not do it with a team he had success with and enjoyed more or less the good graces of the fans? Next offseason both teams can go their separate ways. I like it.
I’d be fine having Bay back. He can compete for a roster spot, what’s the worst that happens if he does poorly? They cut ties? We need guys looking to resurrect their careers.
Bay could be good for an AL team looking for a DH. He has little value playing in the field, and he really hasn’t been the same since being concussed.
He’s a decent fielder, he just couldn’t hit a beach ball.
Bay can kinda, sorta, almost hit lefties, somebody will take a flyer on him for sure. The Mets, on the other hand would be better off sending a rotating sprinkler system with a bat attached to the plate rather than Bay. Mets fans must be popping champagne like New Years Day today.
The Sox should trade for Justin Upton, sign BJ Upton or Michael Bourn and keep Jacoby Ellsbury. They have the money and the pieces to make it all happen. Sign a couple starting pitchers and they’d be right back in contention.
Smarter to acquire Upton, keep Ellsbury, and sign a Jason Bay type who can be easily pushed aside when one the outfield prospects emerges later in the year.
They definitely need some pitching though. Sanchez would be a better value than Greinke, but Greinke is the better talent.
Please not Greinke. He will definitely be overpaid, and he is not the ace he’s made out to be.
I agree about acquiring Upton. Bay as well. Don’t agree with Sanchez or Greinke though. Greinke will be overpaying by quite a bit since he is labeled ace but in reality is a 1b, 2. Sanchez is a good pitcher but he’s going to want some years on the deal and Boston needs to avoid the 3-4 year deal on pitchers right now. Haren, Marcum (assuming his elbow is healthy), Jurgens is worth a look in ATL. These guys looking to revitalize their careers for one year are going to be better value. If they aren’t working out, you just cut ties.
Isn’t Dave Magaden the hitting coach?
Magadan went to Texas. But he’s probably listening on Jacoby Ellsbury down there too like everyone else.
Bay to the Yankees or the Red Sox?
I’m tired of overpriced players giving us weak returns. Is it too much to ask for that we hold onto our prospects and find and develop high-potential talent? I’d rather fill up a team of Cody Ross’s than try and get the Upton’s of the world.
However, Ross is totally asking for too much money/years IMO, so my point is more to find the 2012 Ross’s of the MLB.
JJ Reddick!
Andrus for Ellsbury? That’s a funny joke.
hunter, sizemore, bay, and another depth OF would be better than trading our best prospects for upton or overpaying ross. i would imagine hunter sizemore and bay could be had for a combine 10 to 15 million next year. all three have potential with bay probally having the least. hunter would be perfect in LF and says he would like to play with Ortiz. Sizemore is risky but if he ever could return to form would be a steal. kalish, nava, posednick and such provide depth but are better as AAAA and backup OF guys. the sox should keep their propsects and money for starting pitching. maybe sign anibel sanchez long term and one of the following haren/marcum/mccarthy that would be willing to take a 1 year deal.
“The Red Sox will listen on Jacoby Ellsbury but they will listen on him.” ???