Some items from around the AL East…
- The Rays would “really would like to avoid” an injured list placement for Kevin Kiermaier, manager Kevin Cash told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times and other reporters, though Kiermaier is still “in a significant amount of pain” following a collision with the outfield wall on Sunday. Kiermaier hasn’t taken the field since suffering the left rib cage contusion, though Cash was hopeful that the center fielder would be able to return on Friday. Kiermaier already spent ten days on the IL earlier this season due to a sprained left thumb, though 2019 has thus far been a relatively healthy season for the injury-plagued outfielder. His 109 games played is already the second-highest total of his seven-year career.
- Super-utilityman Brock Holt is enjoying the best season of his eight-year career, leaving MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo to wonder if the Red Sox will be able to affordably re-sign Holt in free agency this offseason. Despite missing over seven weeks due to shoulder and eye injuries, Holt has hit .320/.393/.455 over 206 plate appearances, playing mostly as a second baseman to help the Sox fill the void left by the injured Dustin Pedroia. Cotillo thinks the 31-year-old could find a three-year deal worth $27MM-$30MM on the open market, though “that might take a market rebound and some teams rewarding Holt for trending upward this season.” While Boston has a lot of money coming off the books this winter, the club still has roughly $159.35MM in projected salary commitments (as per Roster Resource) and that’s not counting big raises due to arbitration-eligible players like Mookie Betts, Jackie Bradley Jr. Andrew Benintendi, or Eduardo Rodriguez. The Red Sox have Marco Hernandez on hand as a possible heir apparent utility infielder, should they choose to let Holt go and spend elsewhere. For his part, Holt stated last spring that he “would love to stay here for the rest of my career.”
- In a radio interview on the Fan 590’s Good Show today, Blue Jays pitching prospect Nate Pearson said that he doesn’t think he’ll be making this MLB debut this season. “[The Blue Jays] haven’t really talked to me about anything,” Pearson said. “I’m just assuming I’m going home if we don’t make the [Triple-A] playoffs and just taking some time off. That’s all I really have planned right now.” Pearson has been dominant in working his way up the Jays’ minor league ladder this season, with an overall 2.05 ERA, 10.6 K/9, and 4.75 K/BB rate in 96 2/3 combined innings at the high-A, Double-A, and Triple-A levels. This performance has elevated Pearson’s already-high prospect stock, as he placed 14th and 15th on midseason top-100 prospect lists from MLB.com and Baseball America, respectively. Since Pearson has made only two Triple-A starts and missed almost all of 2018 due to injuries, the Jays are being cautious in bringing along the prized right-hander (plus, service time considerations are likely in mind). Given Pearson’s ability, however, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Pearson in the big leagues before the halfway point of the 2020 season.
That guy is insane if he thinks Brock Holt is getting 30 Mil
$10 million a year is conceivable given how teams like positional flexibility and Holt’s offensive ability. could always get a starting gig somewhere as well.
Doubt that…starting and playing 140 games would expose his offensive game which plays currently plays pretty well.
Super Utility guys are abundant in the league and his value is to the Red Sox…..not across the league.
While it seems high, Holt has been a 1.3 WAR player the past two seasons. At $7MM per WAR, that’s about right if you believe he’ll continue at that level.
If you’re a WAR guy, he has a total of just shy of 8 for his entire career……not exactly superstar status….again his value is to the Red Sox, not across the other 31 teams in MLB.
Theres only 30 teams in mlb. This isnt the nfl.
The Padres count as two. 1) The team that is going to finally compete for a championship after 6 years of waiting and building and promising, and 2) the team they actually put on the field that finishes 30 games out of first place.
Versatility in today’s game with so many pitchersvis a must for an NL club. I love Holt and expect him to stay. Truth about him though is he has never been a fulltime player. I expect 3 for $22m max. More likely $20m.
You don’t know the Fxcking half of it man, Cotillo is the W O R S T
i think the Rays can manage 10 days without Kiermier if it means he may be healthy when they really need him. Move Avi to LF and bring up Nate Lowe. while there isnt a good CF option, it might be hard to avoid.
Brock Holt deserves a starting job and a huge raise!
Brock Holt is not starter material in Major League Baseball. They tried that when he was younger and better and stronger and faster and he couldn’t handle the job. His value is as a super utility guy and he’s one of the best at it.
Im pegging Holt at 3/24mil and resigns with the Sox.
That’s not happening, Thank God.
Anything over 4Million + or over 2 Years
They need to walk away, They have Lin & Chatham not on the 25 Man Roster that can Replace him. Did people learn from the Pearce & Nunez contracts?
Great point on Lin & Chatham! Between those 2 guys and Marco Hernandez, you just convinced me that this is Brock’s final season in Boston. Everybody loves Brock but they have plenty of in-house options to replace, if not exceed his productivity in 2020 & beyond. All for $1M or less.
Lin? Not if they expect to win in 2020. I said $20m -$22m but could be less as just mentioned if no one else ponies up. Problem with Hernandez is the team should have played him full time at 2nd when he came back to see if his body can take it. Either in Boston or in Pawtucket. Chavis in the middle of the diamond is also not the answer. Either he or Travis gets traded in the off season.
Chavis isn’t going anywhere with 5 years of Control Left only making 0.6 Million, those are the type of players Boston needs. That’s why I’m okay with letting Brock Go & Trusting the farm to produce a utility man (Lin). And MAYBE Chatham? But Travis yes, I could see that because he’s out of Options in 2020.
They are most likely going to use Travis to manipulate Dalbec’s Service time next year
Chavis strikes out too much and needs to greatly improve his defense. long nome runs are a product of the ball as much as the player. The team won last year because their strikeouts were down. If I’m offered young good pitching I’d consider trading him.
I’d be Open to trading him, Top 10-15 Reliever is what I’d Look for, but nothing less… I’m not gonna trade him just to trade him because of his Strikeouts.
Chavis has his Flaws & he’s definitely not perfect, I’m not here to defend him as a player but I’m more referring to his 0.6 Million Salary being hard to replace.
-When he gets older, more expensive, less control
I’m with ya 100%
And that gets amplified when you’re the Red Sox & already pushing against Luxury Tax Tiers because DD blew up the payroll with bench player (Nunez, Pearce, etc.)
Agree on not pushing for a trade but it costs to get and Devers who also will be more expensive in part because of the ball is clearly not going anywhere.My main concern is DD’s inability to consistently assess pitching although I discount everyone this year.
Don”t think the Sox are going to make anymore emotional deals like they did with their World Series MVP who hasn’t exactly worked out well fo the club this year…..the Sox don’t have money to squander unless their owner authorizes it which he hasn’t so far this year…..
Holt best year of His Career. ?
Last year more RBIs Homers. Hits Runs Scored. At Bats.
Best Year This Year. ? Because of OPS.
What A Sham.
This is easily his best year and he had way more AB’s last year to bring up those numbers.
Lol, RBI’s and runs scored
First of all Kevin Kiermaier will never be healthy he’s made of glass. Secondly Brock Holt will be lucky to get 2 years at $12 million total never mind a $27 or $30 million contract. The team that gives Brock Holt that kind of money is a team that won’t be winning much.
Right on the money!
Anything more than 2 years 12 million for Holt would be insane. And honestly, he’s probably the type of player you let walk and replace with a pre-arb player like Hernandez.
Exactly…his value can be easily duplicated with younger and less expensive options.
No it can’t when you carry 13 pitchers. Holt will not win a gold glove but can provide decent to good defense at seven positions. His downside has been his recent inability to stay on the field for a full year. Maybe I overpriced him but he definitely deserves a three year $6m per deal. Perhaps two guaranteed and the third vested based on games appeared in or a $500k buy out.
If Brock Holt can go out and get $27M+ for 3 years; I’m going into my boss’s office and demand that he triples my salary!
Despite his recent hot streak, Holt is NOT an everyday MLB player. He is an above average utility IF who is at his best when he starts 2-3 games per week. Anytime when he has started consecutively for an extended period of time (3+ weeks) his offense takes a nose dive. No team is going to pay a part time utility infielder $9 – $10M a year; not even close to that! A vastly superior Marwin Gonzalez had to fight to get 2 years and $21M this past season. While I love Brock Holt, he is really only a $3M-$4M per year player. If a team offers him $5M-$6M per year for multiple years, he should accept that deal immediately!
In a perfect world, he re-signs with the Red Sox, but I think their ceiling will be 2 years/ $10 – $11M with a team option, but would prefer a 2 year, $8M deal. No more Steve Pearce / Mitch Moreland / Nathan Eovaldi “great clubhouse guy” contracts. While not nearly as big a fan favorite as Brock, Marco Hernandez is younger, cheaper, better defensively and can hit well too (.280 – .300 is certainly doable) with a little more power. Sox should be prepared to let Brock walk unless he is willing to sign a reasonable, utility IF contract with them.
Not fair to include Moreland who took less to sign his first deal and although injured at times, was well worth his second contract which was signed prior to the start of 18. The mistake was deciding to reward Pearce who had no other options at anything close to $6.5m. The team thought matching Moreland’s salary was important to stabilize the team on and off the field. No one envisioned what happened. Eovaldi was similar but we’ll never know what Houston was really offering him. Give his agent credit for negotiating that deal and hopefully with rest for next season, the team sees the monster he was last year.
When will KK stop running into walls!!??
The walls always win…..
Not enough mustard in the stadium to cover that hot dog.
If it wasn’t for Byron Buxton Kiermaier would be the undisputed king of the IL. Unfortunately for Kevin he’ll never achieve that high honor as it’s become PAINFULLY obvious that Buxton is the master. He’s rolled a concussion into getting his wisdom teeth pulled and then into a shoulder injury. Like I said undisputed king.
Holt 30 million? Nope if Holt doesn’t sign for cheap let him go
He’s a back up so 2nd at 10 mill is beyond generous
They should let Holt walk. They already have Hernandez and Lin, why pay for Holt?
How do I spell OVER RATED?
KIERMAIER.
P-I-L-L-A-R. Two very similar players.
Much as I genuinely like Brock Holt, I thinks it’s time to say good bye to him, and say hello to Marco Hernandez.