Despite the team’s poor finish in 2014, there are few spots on the Red Sox roster that are up for grabs this spring, writes Scott Lauber of the Boston Herald. The starting lineup is set, and the bench will consist of backup catcher Ryan Hanigan, offseason signee Chris Young, Brock Holt and Travis Shaw. Craig Kimbrel, Koji Uehara, Carson Smith, Junichi Tazawa and Robbie Ross ar locks for the ’pen, and the final two spots could be somewhat influenced by the fact that lefty Tommy Layne and right-hander Steven Wright are out of minor league options. Lauber lists four players that could make strong impressions on decision-makers and end up factoring into the team later in the year — left-hander Brian Johnson, right-hander Pat Light, first baseman Sam Travis and outfielder Brennan Boesch, the latter of whom had his best years on the Tigers, when Dave Dombrowski was general manager.
Here’s more from the AL East…
- The potential upgrade from deploying Rusney Castillo in left field over Hanley Ramirez is striking, writes Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal. Acknowledging the extreme sample-size caveat, MacPherson points out that Castillo rated at +9 runs in 200 innings, per Defensive Runs Saved, whereas Ramirez rated at -19 DRS. While the 90-run difference resulting from extrapolating those numbers isn’t a realistic expectation, it does highlight the potentially dramatic improvement that could result from improved outfield athleticism.
- The potential addition of Pedro Alvarez to the Orioles’ lineup would push Mark Trumbo into right field, though Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com spoke to a scout who has a more optimistic take of Trumbo in the outfield than most reports. The scout to whom Kubatko spoke graded Trumbo as a 50 on the 20-80 scale in the outfield (average). “He’s not going to hurt you out there,” the scout said. “He’s athletic in the outfield. He’ll be fine. He’s got a good arm, he’s a good athlete, he’s a good fielder.” Trumbo, though, has long drawn poor reviews from scouts in the outfield and rates considerably below average in the outfield corners per DRS and Ultimate Zone Rating.
- Roger Mooney of the Tampa Tribune spoke to Rays manager Kevin Cash about the difference heading into his second season as a manager. Cash said that he learned a seemingly incalculable number of lessons from his first year on the job and stressed the importance of communicating to some of his pitchers that weren’t particularly pleased with the short leashes they were afforded last year. “That’s my job,” Cash explained. “You’ve got to be able to communicate that. I’m learning this on the fly. I never had to be that guy. Now it was, ‘OK, go tell someone why he’s getting taken out of the ballgame and explain that.’ I don’t know if you ever have a perfect message. But you get more comfortable with experience.” Cash drew rave reviews from his predecessor, Joe Maddon, especially considering that last season was Cash’s first managing at any level. “I couldn’t have done the job he did last year,” said Maddon. “I had all those years in the minors, all those experiences at all those outposts, nobody watching.” Cash also drew quite a bit of praise from Evan Longoria, who spoke very positively
I don’t know that Robbie Ross is necessarily a lock, I agree it’s likely but I wouldn’t say a lock. Another arm worth mentioning for the pen is Roenis Elias who came over with Carson Smith. Elias can put in 150 innings as a starter, that kind of insurance shouldn’t be overlooked.
Agreed. Ross seems like a good bet, but I wouldn’t call him a lock. The fact that the Red Sox are looking into extra left handed relievers seems to back that up..
Boston got a steal in getting Carson Smith from the M’s , they are gonna regret that trade
I agree it will be interesting to see how the whole trade pans out but Carson will be a good one. Will be missed here.
Was going to say the same exact thing! I see Elias being utilized similar to how the White Sox deployed Rodon on 6-7 days rest at the end of the year except he would see some more pen action. He should be utilized pretty highly all year though if he is effective
But he also has options and the ability to be used as a swingman/loogy/mid reliever who can get lefties and righties out. Doesn’t have much experience out of the pen so some time in AAA could be beneficial
I actually liked the Miley-Smith/Elias trade from both sides. Yes, Smith was very good last season as a rookie coming out of the Mariners pen, but Miley is a proven innings eater at the highest level. He also will have the advantage of going to a legitimate pitchers park for the first time in his career. Everyone has been quick to write off this deal. I think Miley could have a nice year in the Pacific Northwest. Don’t get me wrong, I think Dombrowski did very well, but I don’t think it’s as lopsided as is generally thought.
Absolutely the Red Sox will be better in the outfield without Hanley Ramirez. BUT they most likely will be dramatically worse off with him at 1st base now that Mike Napoli is gone. So it could be pretty much a trade off.,
Hanley was a bad contract, I wonder if they could find team to trade bad contract for bad contract, Holt or Shaw can play first.
They probably could if they try hard enough. The problem as I see it is basically and this may be a bit of an over simplification but in my minds eye Ramirez is basically Ryan Howard owed more money and for more years. That’s that not going to make it easy to move. Plus don’t forget Ramirez has NEVER been know as a positive club house influence which hurts also.
the angels could use his bat, but thats a lot of money for them to take on
As I understand, the Angels owner is pretty dead set against adding a lot of salaries to go over the cap and pay a penalty. Boston is stuck with two bad FA signings …HR and Pablo. I don’t see them getting rid of either unless they eat most of it.
I have often thought the idea of James Shields for Pablo would be one of those bad contract for bad contract kind of trades that could benefit both teams. The idea of Shields for Hanley would be okay too. If only this were a video game where we could set the trade logic to “OFF” *sigh*.
Boston would have to throw in prospect or a substantial amount of cash to get that deal done. Shields has way more upside and if youre lucky would opt out after 1 year and become the second best pitcher on next years market. He’ll easily blow by kennedys 5/70
LOL….I’m sure boston would LOVE that trade. Why SD would do it makes NO sense at all. Shields produced another JS type of season—exactly what the Padres paid for. He’s a reliable starter who had a winning record for a losing team!
As a padre fan I can assure you that this would be a deal to keep an eye on honestly. AJ Preller flew to Sandoval’s house in the D.R. Last year to try to lure him to sign with San Diego and then he flew to meet with Yasmani Tomas and wasn’t able to land either guy. This was before the frenzy of signings and trades he made which kind of put him on the map as far as other players taking note that his sales pitch of wanting to compete was indeed real. So, I know interest was there with Sandoval and I don’t think 1 down year in Boston will effect that by any means. Throw him in a deal with a prosect and I think it happens, might have to wait until mid season but I do think it is a rumor that holds value.
Plus, each player would go back to divisions that they gave had a lot of success in. Shields back to the AL East, Sandoval back to the NL West. It would be a win/win situation how I see it.
Agree 100%
My only issue with Holt being their 1B man is his obvious lack of power. Most successful teams after 1919 have had first basemen who hit more than 2 or 3 homers in a season. It would be like when Boston had Carlos Quintana there a couple of decades back. Decent enough player, but that lack of power…..boy!
Holt wouldn’t be the first baseman under any circumstances. Travis Shaw would definitely get a chance first. Holt is too small to be a full time first baseman. He’s an emergency backup at best.
The Red Sox were 29-23 since the Napoli trade.
If Ortiz slumps, I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of Hanley being a DH for a couple of games a week with Shaw/Holt at 1B.. Though in his final year, I also can’t picture Ortiz being benched several games a week either.
with it being ortiz final year, and his final visit to yankee stadium, will it be mostly boo’s or mixed reaction.
My guess is mostly boos with some cheers.
I don’t think the yankee fans will show the same respect to ortiz as the red sox nation showed to Mo and Jeter
Well the issue with Ortiz is that he has PED SUSPICION (don’t freak out RSN, I clearly said Suspicion) . Jeter and Rivera did/do not.
I actually can picture fans booing Ortiz and yelling HGH/steroids, even though we do not know what caused him to fail the test, whether it was something legal or illegal. We will never know.
I think you might be surprised. although to be honest I’m not sure Ortiz ever really conducted himself with the class as Rivera or Jeter over the life of their careers. But that’s just my opinion.
Singlehandedly losing a world series for your team in 2001 can humble you for life.
You’re silly if you think Rivera single handedly lost the WS. The entire offense scored 14 runs in 7 games for the Yankees. 6 of the 14 runs came in the 9th inning or later for the Yankees, who easily could have lost the series in 5 games if Byung-Hung Kim did His job.
Only the Red Sox could finish last, make few changes, and have people declaring them favorites in the span of a few months.
Outside of Price, that rotation still stinks.
Buchholz can be a solid number 2 behind price if he’s healthy , Porcello can rebound to be solid number 3, I think Joe Kelly is better in the bullpen could be another wade davis. Owens and E-Rod as solid 4 and 5.
coming from a cubs fan, figures. Last I checked Price is pretty damn good by himself. E-Rod as a #2 and Buch as a #3 is once again, pretty damn good. Add in the perceived bounce back from Porcello out of the 4 spot with Kelly in there as a 5 as well and the arrival of a guy like Owens, Johnson, Elias makes for a very solid rotation headed by a legitimate ace. If they lacked depth I’d be worried but the fact they have 8 guys as potential starters says a lot.
I saw a lot of people say that about the angels, they have 8 starters but they don’t have a legit ace, even though richards is emerging.
Agreed but Sox also have more value out of their depth options than the angels do/did. Richards isn’t exactly on the same level as Price either as he looks more like he’ll top out at a very good no.2
The way I see it, for the last 5 seasons, the Red Sox season has gone pretty much the opposite of what the “experts” predict them
2o11 – Best team in baseball. 1927 Yankees biggest challenge (Not making that up – nesn.com/2011/01/2011-red-sox-will-challenge-1927-…), and they miss the playoffs by going 7-20 in September
2012 – Bobby V now in. Should replace Terry just fine and Sox should be compete again (finished in last place)
2013 – A “medicore” John Farrell comes in. Probably coming in last, maybe 4th at best (Win World Series)
2014 – Defending champs. Expect them to complete yet again (Last place)
2015 – Sign Panda, sign Hanley, trade for Porcello, bring up the kids, should win the AL East and be in the WS (Last place again)
2016 – Well we know people are predicting them to win the division. Is another choke job/last place going to happen, or will the Red Sox finally do what people expect them to do and make the playoffs again??
The 2011 Redsox won 90 games, and only missed the playoffs by 0.5 games, so lets not act like it was a lost season. The 2011 Redsox were good, and would have made the playoffs if the 2nd wild card was a thing back then.
Also, most were projecting the 2013 Redsox to be a solid ,500ish team, not a last place team. Not sure where you got that from.
90 games may seem like a lot but as I said, they went 7-20 in September and were hands on the favorite to win the WS that year.
As far as 2013 Red Sox, who projected them to finish around .500 after only finishing with 69 wins the year before? You expected a 12 win improvement (when it was actually 28!!)
2013 Projections:
bleacherreport.com/articles/1581985-mlb-prediction…
teamrankings.com/blog/mlb/2013-mlb-predictions-pro…
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/mlb–mlb-season-predictions–2013-division-and-playoff-races-055136969.html – 4 out of 5 on here predicted last place, and only one predicted .500, but in 4th place
When a writer compares your team to one of the GOAT and you miss the playoffs entirely, that I would say, is a “lost season”
Correct. No Sox fan looks back favorably on 2011.
A 90 win team is a losing season? lol ok.
A 7-20 finish and and 9.5 game blown lead is a good team? lol ok.
Again, when a writer compares your team to one of the GOAT, you should expect probably no less than a World Series, not a 90 win season.
The same writer, I might add, after the season ended, called that team one of the most disappointing teams in MLB history. But I guess calling the 2011 Red Sox a good team is equivalent to calling the 2004 Yankees a good team, no?. But no one thinks of that Yankees team as a “good team’. They think of them as having baseball’s biggest postseason choke, with the ’11 Red Sox having baseball’s biggest season choke.
You are quit the troll.
I’m the farthest thing from a troll, but thanks for your opinion.
Im not arguing with someone who thinks a 90 win season was a lost season.. Saying so, just loses credibility on your part.
You’re using Bleacher report as a source? Lol.
Try using something that actually has credibility like ZiPS or PECOTA.
And I won’t bother arguing with someone who thinks the 2011 Red Sox had a successful season. It’s equivalent to calling the 2004 Yankees successful, but I’m sure you know what they’re remembered for.
From what I have read most of the “experts” are predicting Toronto to win the division. But all of them are usually in agreement that the East is going to be tough this year and any team could conceivably win it.
Thanks for the hot takes!!
But really, the rotation is quite solid. Price is a top 10 pitcher. Buchholz a #2 when healthy. Rodriguez has TOR potential and a former top 50 prospect who pitched well in his rookie season. Porcello had pretty decent periperals last season and probably bounces back to a solid mid rotation arm. Then they have Kelly, Owens (top prospect), Johnson (another top prospect), and Elias all competing for the 5th spot in the rotation.
It’s by no means a power house rotation, but its certainly at least an average rotation.. I would say its the 2nd best in the ALE only behind the TB Rays.
And no, the RS didn’t only get Price, they also patched up their biggest weakness last season which was their bullpen and built one of the better bullpens in baseball (Kimbrel/Smith/Koji/Taz) to help out the staff,
Agreed. Although the Red Sox clearly needed an ace or true #1 last year their biggest flaw was that bullpen. Everyone seems to be ranting and raving about the Yankees big 3 and although they are superior to the Red Sox back end it isn’t by much. The Yankees bullpen can not improve very much from last year but the Red Sox can go from one of the worst to possibly top 3.
2014 was pretty bad although I think 2015 will have more influence on this year’s roster construction.
My guess is Layne and Wright get 2 of the last 3 bullpen spots. The final spot is between Ross OR Elias. My moneys on Elias getting the spot and Ross being stashed in Triple A until needed.
Eh, the front office liked Ross in his last couple of months when he was essentially one of the more reliable arms in the Sox pen. My guess is unless he blows it in ST then he’s a lock. Wright, less so.
The only issue I see with that is as the piece says Wright is out of minor league options. If he doesn’t make the team he can become a FA. Which he probably would do.
The other side of that is Ross is younger and has more major league experience. I think Wright will be cut loose.unless he’s impressive in ST.
Isn’t Trumbo better at 1B than RF? And isn’t Crush Davis a somewhat ok RF? It would make more sense for Baltimore to roll out this lineup
LF Kim
3B Machado
RF Davis
CF Jones
1B Trumbo
C Wieters
DH Alvarez
2B Schoop
SS Hardy
The problem is their rotation is probably the worst in the AL and they need the defense to try and cover that. Signing Fowler/trading for Bruce would likely help a lot more than signing Alvarez and forcing one of Davis/Trumbo into the outfield.
they are betting on bounce back seasons from Gonzalez and Tillman, also hoping that Gausman takes the next step of being an ace. Then when Hunter Harvey is ready. A shame Dylan Bundy had all this hype and got hit with the injury bug.
I like Tillman but he was truly awful everytime i watched him play the Jays. He is a pretty good bounce back candidate though. It’s just they lost Chen who was their best pitcher and their replacing him with Gallardo who I think will get destroyed in the AL east. (mind you he was actually amazing against the jays last year)
the al east will be a battle in 2016 , but I’m not buying on the yankees, they might have a dominate 7th 8th and 9th, but they have a lot of question marks.
The Yankees issue is Health, not Talent. They were 2nd in runs scored and their pitching had the highest WAR among teams in the AL East (though of course that’s in large part to the bullpen, but their rotation still ranked 2nd to Tampa), and their pitching overall was 7th in xFIP (3.70) behind only the Dodgers, Cubs, Pirates, Indians, Nationals and Mets and way ahead of the closest AL East team (Tampa, 3.94)
The talent is there. The health, well like last year, it’s a huge question and they pretty much have to stay healthy most of the year which they did last year, which is why they made the playoffs.
Chen leads the Orioles in home runs allowed. He really ws not durable and 20m a year after his first two seasons is a lot of change for him. Ubaldo was beat pitcher last year and Tillman went 38-16 before last seasons 11-11.
How is their issue health and not talent? Pineda, Eovaldi, Nova, and CC all had ERAs over 4.20. Severino had a 2.89ERA, but he had a FIP of 4.37! His 80%+ strand rate isn’t going to continue. Only health concern vs talent concern is Tanaka.
You cite ERA for some and use FIP for another to prove a point?
I see you failed to argue against the facts that sabermeteics put their pitching (overall pitching) in 1st among AL East teams in many categories.
Nova won’t be in the rotation, and CC is obviously now a backend SP (who happened to actually do well in the second half)
Just say no to Alvarez. He creates more lineup problems and shouldn’t be allowed to even look at a glove. Trumbo will be fine in RF unless they can get Fowler. Bruce would add nothing to the team.
I agree here! The O’s don’t need another guy that strikes out 150+ times a season. So no to both Alvarez and Bruce. Fowler does make some sense even with losing the pick. Duquette would probably trade the player we got with it for a bag of balls and a sandwich anyway.
Fowler strikes out 150 times a year asw ell and he had nver been close to his 17 hrs he hit last year.
People forget that Hanley was hitting great until getting hurt in the field in May or June. Was among league leaders in HRs. As a RS fan I don’t worry about him in the clubhouse this year but once papi goes… I think he’ll keep him in check for 16′ though.
I can’t think of any other Mark Trumbo’s this scout may have got confused with.
He is awful in the field. And I can’t see why he would see any differently.
One thing Showalter does without fail. If someone plays bad defense they usually don’t stick at that position for long. Davis is actually serviceable in RF if they don’t have an alternative.
Davis being serviceable is kinda a overstretch, he’s not horrible is what you should be saying. As for the guy above, Trumbo’s a very good 1B who shouldn’t be in the OF so it makes sense to keep him and Davis alternating between 1B/DH.
Serviceable in the OF*
You can remove the word “suspicion” when discussing Ortiz and PEDs. Let’s not forget the positive test that he swore up and down would be resolved as it was some kind of accident.
To the previous comments..Ross is a lock. He looked sharp down the stretch and there aren’t many other LHP options for Boston.
Pittsburgh should trade one of their prospects for trumbo. Watched mark with the angels and he was a good enough defender at first. He would be that game changing bat at cleanup
Curious, what do Rays fans think of Cash?