Dayton Moore is currently enjoying his first trip to the playoffs as the general manager of the Royals, but as Rob Bradford of WEEI.com writes, he was almost in a position to get there as Boston’s GM some nine years ago. Bradford spoke with president Larry Lucchino, who recalls that at the behest of then-special assistant Bill Lajoie, the team interviewed Moore back in 2005 when Theo Epstein was on a hiatus with the team due to a power dispute with ownership. “[Moore] seemed like a precise kind of guy, and you add that to his reputation as an evaluator, you see someone who is going to almost inevitably be a GM,” said Lucchino, who also noted that he’s pleased to see Moore succeeding, as it validates the interest they showed in him nearly a decade ago.
Some additional Red Sox links as we get ready for the weekend…
- Mookie Betts has seen his stock rise to the point where he is one of the most desirable trade targets in all of Major League Baseball, writes Tim Britton of the Providence Journal. Betts hit .291/.368/.444 in 213 plate appearances this season, walking 21 times against just 31 strikeouts. Britton did some research and found that only a select few — and it’s an impressive list — have ever posted an OPS+ north of 120 with a K/BB ratio south of 1.75 as a 21-year-old. Betts says he’s not worrying about trade speculation; he’ll be happy to play any position he’s asked on any team he’s a part of, though he’s of course planning to help the Red Sox in 2015.
- In a second piece, Bradford runs down some prospects for Boston’s vacancy at hitting coach, reporting that the names he hears most frequently are A’s hitting coach Chili Davis, former Cubs hitting coach Bill Mueller and Rangers hitting coach Dave Magadan (who previously filled the same role for Boston). Assistant hitting coach Victor Rodriguez, who developed a strong rapport with Yoenis Cespedes, is another candidate. Magadan and Davis are still under contract with their teams, but Oakland’s offensive collapse created some frustration with him, and the Rangers are hiring a new manager, making Magadan’s future less than certain.
- The team isn’t expecting big changes to the coaching staff, writes Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe. Abraham does note that if Rodriguez isn’t chosen as the hitting coach, Boston may choose to pursue a new assistant hitting coach, as they’d like a rapport and shared philosophy between the new coach and his assistant. If a new assistant is hired, Rodriguez would be moved to another role in the organization.
- Though the Red Sox finished with one of the lowest run totals in the AL, general manager Ben Cherington isn’t planning on deviating from the team’s offensive philosophy of prioritizing hitters who see lots of pitches and post high OBPs, writes Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal. Cherington recognized that his team got away from that plate discipline in 2012, MacPherson writes, and prioritized correcting it in 2013. However, though the same formula didn’t work in 2014, Cherington cautioned that he wouldn’t overreact: “We have to be careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater. If we can see pitches and grind at-bats and get on base and still hit for power and hit with runners in scoring position, that’s a formula to score runs, and more runs than our competition.”
A left handed hitter would be nice. Maybe Pablo will come if we let him eat Allen Craig.
I have very mixed feelings about Pablo, but I gotta say it seems likely.
I like Holt a lot, but his OPS is concerning. If they go the FA route, it’s pretty much either Headley or Sandoval since they’re both lefties. I mean, we have the money for Pablo, but he’s a headcase that I’d rather not have to deal with.
Do you think Holts ultimately ends up as a super utility guy?
Yes. Headley should be the choice as long as his back is A okay, as his splits are almost the same favoring righties slightly, plays AA Defense which should help as Xander is Average right now (but I think he will become better). will be cheaper, nice OBP, has a better WAR/4 averaging 4.1, plus better body build. Pablo has been really good in the postseason which might be his only upper hand. Pablo could slide into the DH role after Papi is gone which is gonna be a scary because at 39 he’s by far are best hitter.
Probably. He’s a serviceable enough SS to back up Boegarts, which makes him prime to be the desired utility guy.
If his body holds up at 3B for at least 2 years, he can take over as DH. But will he stay healthy and would the contract he gets be worth it?
I’m glad I’m not Cherington.
Its tough
Headley might be interesting too if the price isn’t too high. Doesn’t cost a draft pick, hurts the Yankees, elite defensive value, and could be a decent bounce back guy.
Seriously hope they stay away from him, they need a decent bat there.
Had a 103 WRC+ this year and is projected for a 112 WRC+ for next year by Steamer according to fangraphs. Career .347 OBP (.359 on the road) with a career 118 WRC+ on the road.
Seems like a decent bat to me.
That obp is inflated by two seasons. One which was a clear outlier. I dont consider him a decent bat.
Alright I suppose that’s fair. I just think with defense and price include he is the better value then Panda and a better option then anyone else the Sox have right now. Though I do love Cecchini.
Id say both are an upgrade but with the lack of offense the past season they need a bat. Id say 3b is a good place to add a bat as the rest of their lineup seems mostly set barring any trades. Im not sold on cecchini.
Yeah it’s tough because there is no telling what the offense will be like with full seasons from Betts, Castillo, and Cespedes. Their OF could very well go from historically bad to a strong suit.
Then add in a possible healthy Craig rotating between LF, DH(very rarely) and 1B and improvements from Bogaerts and the team could very well have enough offense as is.
Overall I think the team needs to get two solid SP from FA. One from the top 3 and one from the next tier. That is going to cost some cash and if signing Headley instead of Panda allows them to get the best SP options I think the downgrade in offense is worth it.
I am not really understanding how this Panda guy is an average defender. How?
He doesn’t have the best range but he picks everything he can get to and has a cannon. Probably should win the GG this year.
I would much prefer Headley
Magadan was here for some really good offensive seasons, and he was on the staff when Farrell was, so those two have established rapport to some degree.
They could trade the whole farm for Stanton.
No thank you. A deal for Stanton has to be reasonable, expensive but reasonable.
Pretty sure he was being sarcastic there.
Well the more I think about it now that Mookie is off the farm, I might just offer up Portland plus Owens and Swihart for Stanton. If they want Pawtucket that’s gonna cost Fernandez.
One thing the Red Sox should consider doing is looking to trade Cespedes in a package for a better source of OBP that is also left handed and has more control left. Also, trade Vic for any salary relief possible.
Who is this magical mystery man you mention. Lefty bat, team control, OBP source; all for one year of Cespedes? Do tell.
Well it would be hard to find someone like that and it would have to be a package built around Cespedes. One guy I had in mind but whose OBP wasn’t quite as good as I thought was Calhoun of the Angels.
Cespedes with his salary covered plus a prospect or two might be appealing to a team with serious rotation needs strapped for cash.
Maybe just deal Cespedes and sign Melky Cabrera.
“Maybe just deal Cespedes and sign Melky Cabrera.”
What on Earth would be the point of doing that? How many OFers do they need?
Well the point would be to get someone that is a switch hitter to balance the lineup and a better OBP provider while also getting prospects for Cespedes. Just and idea.
And they need 3 starting OF like every other team. Without Cespedes they would only have 2 thus the reason for signing Melky.
“Without Cespedes they would only have 2 thus the reason for signing Melky.”
Are you looking at the right roster? Here are the Red Sox OFers already – Cespedes, Castillo, Victorino, Betts, Nava, Holt (though he also can play 3B).
So yes you are right they have 3…..plus an additional 3
Edit- I left out Allen Craig too.
3+3 is still 3. In base-3.
Victorino should be traded and can’t be counted on to start. I like Nava but he is a bench guy and right now Craig has to prove that he is even a bench guy. Holt is currently the 3B and with a FA signing will be a utility player.
Still don’t see a third starter if Cespedes is gone. Maybe platoon Nava/Craig but rather have Melky.
Nava has a career 126 wRC+ against righties, so he’s going to stay as a platoon option to back up LF/1B. Melky has a career 103 wRC+ against righties, and though last year’s 128 mark is more indicative of his true talent level, there’s simply no need to sign him when we have a similar and much cheaper option already in the system.
That’s kind of my thought. I’m not even sure a trade for Ethier (which could not center around Cespedes due to the Dodgers own OF surplus) would be much of a gain over Nava.
Tigers top prospect from last winter (#15 ranked overall in MLB) is 3rd baseman, Nick Castellanos. If not for “not really a rookie” Jose Abreu, Castellanos would have gotten a shot at ROY. His numbers are not spectacular, but they are solid for how young his is. His “can’t miss” label is still there projecting out the next few years.
Tigers also have 3 young shortstops now (Iglesias, Suarez, Perez… plus the older Romine). One of the three could shift to 3rd.
Tigers really need a defensive upgrade in the outfield where they do not have a legitimate Centerfielder (Austin Jackson traded in the Price deal).
Seems like a Castellanos for Red Sox outfielder deal would work. The question is, which one?
Are you talking about the same Castellanos who hit .259/.306/.394 (94 wRC+) with awful defense, and put up -0.5 WAR? That Castellanos?
I will bet you a Lobster Roll at the Maine Diner that Castellanos will finish ahead of Xander Boegarts in ROY voting.
Boegarts happens to be the same age as Castellanos, is ranked 20th out of 22 qualified SS in defense (-4.8 defensive Fangraphs rating) and has a 82 wRC+.
Q: So why is Castellanos so pathetically bad, but your own prospect is “can’t miss”?
A: He isn’t so bad. He is young. All fans value their own rookies and are blinded from the reality that other teams actually have good young players.
What does any of that have to do with the fact that he has no shot at ROY no matter who you take out of the equation?
How about wright,niese,Parnell and Ceccini to Boston for cespedes,bogaerts and middlebrooks
I don’t know, Wright is awesome, and a big name, but he’s 32 next year and still has 6 years on his contract, and just had one of the worst years of his career (possibly the start of his decline, possibly not, but it’s something a team would legitimately have to worry about), so I’m not sure Boston parts with Bogaerts for that. Plus they’d be filling their 3B hole by opening a hole at SS (which is probably harder to fill).