As chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom had suggested in the days leading up to the August 2 trade deadline, the Red Sox resisted strict categorization as a “buyer” or “seller.” Boston dealt #1 catcher Christian Vázquez to the Astros, flipped reliever Jake Diekman to the White Sox for Vázquez’s replacement Reese McGuire, and acquired Eric Hosmer and Tommy Pham. While Boston reportedly listened to offers on J.D. Martinez, Nathan Eovaldi and Rich Hill, that group of rentals remained. So did stars Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers, neither of whom was apparently ever really available.
The unconventional approach was a response to the Sox’s status just outside the AL Wild Card picture. They sat two games back at the time of the deadline but had gone just 8-19 in July, leading to some calls for more dramatic action in either direction — either tearing the slumping roster down or more aggressively addressing its flaws. Alex Speier of the Boston Globe writes that the team’s more fluid approach to the deadline has confused various members of the organization, both uniformed personnel like players and coaches as well as some front office staffers.
Speaking with Speier, Bloom acknowledged the team’s atypical tack but expressed his belief the franchise wasn’t in position to act in a more specific direction. “I understand why people could look at what we did and scratch their heads. To us, it was pretty clear and pretty simple that the position we were in demanded a unique response.”
Speier sheds some light on some of the Sox’s pre-deadline discussions that didn’t ultimately come to fruition. He reports the club expressed some amount of interest in controllable A’s catcher Sean Murphy while also juggling potential shorter-term upgrades. According to Speier, the Red Sox contemplated a run at impending free agent relievers, but the club ultimately didn’t add to a bullpen that currently ranks 26th in the majors in ERA (4.42). At the same time, Boston apparently wasn’t motivated to shed the salaries of players like Martinez and Eovaldi to dip below the $230MM base luxury tax threshold. With the deadline passed, the Sox now look almost certain to pay the tax in 2022. The actual fee will be fairly small — likely just a couple million dollars — but it’ll set the Sox up to pay escalating penalties if they exceed the threshold again in 2023.
Not forcing midseason payroll cuts to a roster a year removed from an appearance in the ALCS is certainly understandable, but one could argue the Red Sox should’ve more aggressively added in that case. Pham and Hosmer do address the team’s biggest weak points on the position player side — right field and first base, respectively — but neither veteran is having a great season. One week certainly isn’t enough on which to base firm conclusions, but a 2-4 stretch since the deadline has dropped Boston five games back in the Wild Card race and only increased the difficulty of a late-season playoff push.
The deadline shuffle did cut into the playing time of a pair of regulars who haven’t performed as expected. Boston released Jackie Bradley Jr. last week, ending his second stint in the organization after a .210/.257/.321 showing through 290 plate appearances. Bobby Dalbec remains on the active roster, but he no longer seems to be Boston’s primary first baseman. Hosmer and Dalbec have platooned since the former was acquired, and the left-handed hitting Hosmer will be in line for the bulk of the playing time in that arrangement.
Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe writes that Dalbec will begin working at second base in an effort to expand his defensive flexibility. The 6’4″, 227 pound infielder has never started a professional game at second base. Aside from a few mop-up innings in the middle infield, he’s played the corners exclusively. Dalbec conceded he has atypical size for a middle infielder but expressed confidence in his ability to handle the keystone adequately.
The 27-year-old also voiced a desire for regular playing time. “The more I play, the better I’ll do. It’s always been like that. I’m used to being an everyday player. It’s hard to have success when you get at-bats here and there,” Dalbec told Abraham. “I’m not the player I will be. This is all part of the learning process. In terms of the organization, I don’t know how they view me. I just want to help the team win. Honestly that’s all that matters. I don’t see myself as a platoon player, but right now that’s what I am.“
Dalbec hit 25 home runs last season but struck out at an alarming 34.4% clip. The Red Sox nevertheless turned to him as the primary first baseman for much of the year, but he’s stumbled to a .205/.280/.369 line across 300 trips to the dish. Dalbec has made some modest improvements to his strikeout and walk numbers, but his contact quality and batted ball results have plummeted. After connecting on 51 extra-base hits in 133 games last season, he’s tallied 20 across 97 contests in 2022.
Both Hosmer and Dalbec could eventually lose playing time to top prospect Triston Casas, who returned from an injured list stint in Triple-A late last month. Recently named the #30 prospect in the game by Baseball America, the power-hitting Casas owns a solid .246/.350/.455 showing through 223 plate appearances with the Sox’s top affiliate in Worcester. The 22-year-old doesn’t have to be added to the 40-man roster until after the season, but it wouldn’t be surprising if he gets his first MLB look late this year if he continues hitting well with the WooSox.
Sell the team fkkk! Keep JD,Devers, Bogarts,Story,
JD is the only one who is a FA after this year.
Bogey can/will opt out as well this off season
I have to believe that they have talked to Bogey about extension , no way they would’ve just let him walk for nothing at the end of the year
Eovaldi is a free agent, so will be Bogarts with his opt out clause. You also have to consider that next season could be Devers last year with the sox. Front office has a lot of work to do if they want to be competitive next season.
Red Sox Fans: I am a Padres fan. What do you think of Hosmer’s future in Boston? I am a Padres fan. After this season, he has 3 more years left on his contract, which is essentially entirely paid by SD. He has a short leash, right? He is about 300 hits shy of 2000, and I totally thought he was a lock for that. Maybe not.
I like the pick up, even if the trade or DFA him in the off-season. The thing is, he wasn’t that bad in San Diego, it was just a massive overpay, and his swing should play better with the monster
Right. As a Padre fan, I was disappointed. But he was serviceable. He wasn’t like a latter day Chris Davis or Ryan Howard. If Boston cuts him loose, some other team will take a flier on him.
But which team do you root for?
Are you a Padres fan?
Depends on Casas and other moves. Hosmer is fine given the cost but my guess is he’ll be moved in the off season. Sox biggest need is pitching and they need to make a Montgomery type trade. I also hope they deal Duran who is NOT a center fielder.
Given that San Diego is basically paying the full freight on Hosmer’s contract, I see Hosmer sticking with Boston for at least the full season of 2023 as a combo 1B/DH (JD Martinez is most likely gone). He’d be a very good bench bat / part time DH and defensive replacement at 1B too, but I think he’ll get at least 400 ABs for Boston next year.
If Boston decides to blow it up and go young, Hosmer is very tradable now so they could easily offload him to another team since the acquiring team would only have to pay him what Boston owes him for the remainder of his contract. Hosmer went from a negative asset in San Diego to a very positive asset in Boston due to the money. I feel any team (except SD) would love to have Hosmer for the ~$750K per year Boston is now responsible for.
@Dorothy_Mantooth If what you are saying is true why did the Padres have to attach two prospects to get the Red Sox to take even that money? If any team would love to have Hosmer for $750k don’t you think the Padres would have traded him to that hypothetical other team in the first place?
jimthegoat, I think both prospects have to be added to the 40-man this fall, and SD might be having a bit of a crunch, so they used them to sweeten the deal. They did the same thing with the Sox in the Mitch Moreland for Rosario and Potts deal, both of whom had to be added to the 40-man that fall, and Boston did that when SD wanted to protect other minor leaguers. Also, I think the two prospects were included to ensure the return of Jay Groome, whom you may remember the Padres really coveted in that 2016 draft, but the Sox stepped in and snatched him, so that’s a bit of unfinished business for the Padres that they get to address in this deal. On top of that, even though the money looks ridiculous, the Padres get to lower their CBT commitment to Hosmer by around 4MM/yr.
@Horace Fury Nice try. Neither of Max Ferguson or Corey Rosier have to be on the 40-man roster until after the 2024 season. And that excuse doesn’t work with Potts or Rosario either because Preller gave away roster spots to Luis Campusano and Ryan Weathers, neither of whom had to be on the 40-man roster, for 4 meaningless PA’s from Campusano and 1.1 meaningless IP from Ryan Weathers. Don’t call those guys up and there’s your roster spots for Potts and Rosario. Finally, as pwndroia pointed out, Eric Hosmer now has full no-trade protection (contract called for his limited no-trade protection to be upgraded to full no-trade protection if he was traded once).
Just admit it bruh. If Hosmer was “easily tradable” at $750k Preller wouldn’t have had to attach prospects to move him.
She/He doesn’t have to admit anything. The clock was running out and the Pads liked Groome. Accept it or keep your incorrect opinion and carry on.
.285 OBP
You’re quite right about the two prospects acquired in the Hosmer trade not being eligible for the Rule 5 draft–it’s the two that the Sox got from Houston for Vasquez. My confusion between the two pairs, my mistake.
If Hosmer was “easily tradable” at $750k Preller wouldn’t have had to attach prospects to move him.
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You didn’t mention Groome. Groome is rated slightly higher than either of the SD prospects. They were both 35+, while Groome is a 40+ FV. It’s entirely possible that Preller preferred one slightly better prospect than two slightly worse.
Past that, there were time constraints. Once Hos declined the Nats, Preller didn’t have a huge amount of time left to make a deal, and the RS were the most obvious target.
If he was easily tradable at $750k someone would have topped the Red Sox’s offer. Full stop.
Preller had more than enough time to call the GM’s of the other teams not on Hosmer’s list and ask them if they would be willing to take on more of Hosmer’s contract. If one of them said yea, Preller would have traded him to that team.
No one cares about Jay Groome anymore.
Finally, Eric Hosmer now has FULL no-trade protection.
Restricted list of tradeable teams. They were over the barrel and it was a last minute bargoon.
Thanks. I didn’t realize the full no trade.
It’s now an even more restricted list and do you honestly think if some team that wasn’t on his no trade list was willing to pay him more than the Red Sox are they wouldn’t have reached out?
He still has that no trade clause. He’s not going anywhere else. We got the prospects for him, don’t think anyone else would give up much for him.
No trade clause to 10 teams. That leaves 18 to trade him to.
Nope. Contract says he gains full no-trade protection if he gets traded once.
I don’t think anyone is knocking down the door for a defensively challenged 1b with a 107 wRC+, even for 750k. Most teams have a guy that can do that in their system.
And if they were they would have traded for him when they had the chance.
Hosmer is in no way, shape or form a “very positive asset”, despite the lack of financial commitment. The problem is, he’s not very good – and not very good players aren’t “very positive assets”.
This is his 5th season since signing with San Diego, and in that time he’s been worth a total of 0.3 fWAR. Every team can find that level of “production” at 1B from within their own system. And that production isn’t offset against money – that’s just what he’s done on the field.
He’s a nearly 33 year old 1B/DH only, who slugs under .400 and hits a ton of grounders. He is what he is at this point.
Not a Red Sox nor a Padres fan, but I believe it’s a solid pickup for the Red Sox. The main issue was the cost of his contract, which made him immovable unless the Padres were to pay it down. They did, so the inflexibility of his contract is now gone. He’s been an above-average hitter almost every year of his career, and his hitting style should benefit from the LF wall at Fenway. Plus, if the Red Sox want to upgrade at 1B, they will have no problem trading him to one of the teams not on his no-trade list.
Not to mention the short porch in Yankee Stadium, which he will now visit quite often.
After this season, the balanced schedule means he’ll only be there for six games. He pulls the ball on the ground, but he also hits a lot of harmless fly balls to left, which may now be off the wall or in the screen at Fenway.
Except he won’t. Balanced schedule next year.
Not a Red Sox fan, but Hosmer on basically a 3 year 600K AAV contract is pretty solid value.
As a pinch hitter maybe but his bat doesn’t play at first base. His hitting would be ok if he were a second baseman. Any team with him as a starting first baseman is in serious need of an upgrade.
At minimum wage, his bat plays at 1st. To get a regular, everyday player probably costs $6-7M. And this is much like any other position, and in many ways, like a prospect. If I thought Duran was maybe the #20 CF in 2023, I’d have no problem playing him there, and spending the savings elsewhere.
I highly doubt he’ll be an everyday player for very long with Casas almost ready to come up, but as long as he’s not absolutely terrible he’s likely to get a bench spot next year since he’s so cheap.
Are you a Padres fan?
I dunno. Maybe he is a Padres fan….
Red Sox Fans: What do you think of Hosmer’s future in Boston?
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It’s impossible to tell after one series, especially one that at KC, but he looked good to me. Dalbec has a career .862 BABIP against lefties, and Hosmer has a career .811 against righties. Platooning these two guys for the next three years will probably give is a decent net result. I wouldn’t be shocked to see Casas being traded in the off-season.
@ JoeBrady, he’s serviceable and does provide a good platoon match with Dalbec. Cost of course is the key. Add to the fact that veteran presence will be lacking next season enhances his position. It would not shock me to see Casas moved, but there is no rush. With the pandemic cancelled minor league season a short time ago, They’ll probably give him a long look with the Woo Sox. Not getting under the CBT this year perhaps trumps any big spending for 2023. Bloom was on a five year plan to begin with. By then, many of the Bloom draftees should be ready to step in and win positions. It’s the big picture long term and they’ll likely stick to it.
If the Sox really fall apart in the next 2 weeks they COULD possibly put kikeHernandez and Rich Hill on the waiver wire and I believe that would have them dip under the tax.
Would be interesting to see….
That’s relying on someone claiming them off waivers, which they might not, especially Kike with a more expensive salary and less widespread need
There are no waiver wire trades this season.
Not a trade. A straight dump like the Guardians and Brewers just did.
That doesn’t lessen their CBT unless the player gets claimed off of waivers. Not sure if any team would be willing to pick up the remaining salary on either player; they might prefer to let them clear waivers and then sign them for the pro-rated minimum. Plus I think it would take a lot more than what’s remaining on both Kiké and Hill’s salaries for them to dip below the tax line. Boston appears to be content with what they have now. They’ll cut Yolmer Sanchez once Kiké is back. They will shuffle a few bullpen pitchers back and forth from AAA and they could send Dalbec down if they promote Casas, but they might just want until Sep. @ expanded rosters in order to see what Casas can do in the majors.
If there was interest in Rich Hill at the deadline—some team def will take that salary.
That’s something that GM’s can discuss anyhow. I’m certain that Bloom could gauge interest before doing that in whatever player.
Might try waiting until late August to place players on waivers. Teams would need to make a waiver claim (and take on the remaining salary) in order to add the player to their roster in time to be postseason eligible.
Of course there’s even less remaining 2022 salary by that point. But any future obligations like buyouts should convey in full.
They just need to trade Dalbec. His ceiling has been reached.
They also thought that Michael Chavis was at his peak, but he has done very well in a smaller market team. It’s possible the same is true with Dalbec (that he needs a change), or we just need to give him more time to develop. He definitely has the power.
A .696 ops isn’t doing “very well” in any market. It’s below average.
He has a career .760, and a .764 over his last 56/40 games/GS.
Chavis has a career .708 OPS.
But Dalbec has more natural talent. Chavis gets killed on outside pitches. He’s just too short to reach them, especially since he steps in the bucket. Dalbec, when he is on, goes the other way pretty well. That hopefully makes the difference.
I agree, I was simply responding to the commenter who said “Chavis has done really well” He hasn’t.
Gotta say the Sox are optimistic. But even if they somehow make it to the dance, I’m afraid they just don’t have enough to go deep.
Boston will catch the Yankees,,,next month
And then you wake up
Try moving past the Orioles first.
It was a weird deadline for the Red Sox for sure. I liked the Pham and Hosmer moves. I don’t understand why they didn’t shop other players? A 4.40 bullpen ERA isn’t going to get you far in playoffs.
@astros_fan: That’s not necessarily true. ERA is a mostly-useless way of measuring bullpen efficacy. And for multiple reasons.
Boston made the bare minimum moves to at least stay marginally competitive and keep fans butts in the seats. I recognize this ploy as it was one the Mariners often pulled in the Bill Bavasi/John Zdurencik era. Make the team just barely competitive enough to stay around .500 , and fans will still barely pretend to support the team.
Red Sox motto going forward will be “Plenty of good seats still available”.
Big mistake not trading JD and Eovaldi. We were never going to succeed in the playoffs and I’m sure Bloom knew this but he held onto pieces he should have traded away.
I honestly hope we lose every series in the AL East just to stick it to them and so we have a goal for next year to improve.
Red Sox determined their future when they traded Vazquez. No way his best friend, Bogaerts, will take a team friendly insulting offer to stay now. When Bogaerts leaves, his friend Devers will want out. I say trade Devers, Verdugo, Whitlock, and let all of the free agents go. There will be no one left that I have any interest in, and I can watch Premier League soccer and Netflix at night.
Buyer & seller – no plan. The Sox lack a definitive direction. Sox wanted to avoid a public relations backlash & sell some tickets. Never thought I’d miss Lou Gorman …
So next year we will have to hear how we are NOT signing good players because we have to stay under the threshold AGAIN!
I’ve given Bloom credit for rebuilding the farm system, but not trading JD and Eovaldi and Bogarts was just plain idiotic!
The only contest the Sox are in is to see if they can even manage to finish at .500
Bloom needs to go.
Reading comments on here is hilarious……
On the one hand Dave Dombrowski was an utter failure. OK, he won a championship; but he ran down the farm system to get the players to do it and ran up the payroll with long term contracts.
On the other hand, Chaim Bloom is frustrating and an utter failure because he’s so enamored with “his precious farm system” as well was concerned about giving out long-term contracts and keeping the payroll out of the Luxury Tax.
And all Red Sox (and Yankee fans) know – if you just spend money you win. Heck, look at the Padres each year.
… take Cora with him, too, DBH.
hey dorothy!,
the red sox wont trade hosmer unless they have a sure fire cant miss offensive first baseman, im talking like a mo vaughan type, they have had NOTHING at that position since mike napoli.
The Red Sox are obviously both restructuring the organization and rebuilding the players. Starting with the minor leagues. It appears they’re going to be emphasizing defense and pitching – which is what wins.
The thing about large market fans – particularly Red Sox and Yankees – is that they expect to be contenders very year. Players regress? Just pull the checkbook and pay out even more to get FA’s and make one-sided trades for teams looking to dump salaries. MLB isn’t like that anymore.
To win in MLB today it takes: 1) superior scouting / coaching; 2) payroll flexibility; and 3) a flexible roster for the manager to use each day of the season.
Handing out excessive long-term contracts cuts into that. For instance – let’s say a guy is a great hitter but he insists on playing SS when he’s not that good at it. But the fans are on his side so the FO and owner don’t want to rock the boat even though it’s hurting the team and it would perform better if the player was at another position.
It appears the Red Sox landscape / culture is changing. MLB bylaws have taken hold.
i dont know why you keep saying ‘ next year this team will improve’ lets put this is context’
next year the red sox WONT have- evoldi, jd martinez, bogaerts ( most likely) , rich hill, unless they give him a 2nd year, same for wacha,
they WILL have, dalbec, chis sale, whos NEVER healthy, James paxton, who just had major arm surgery, eric hosmer, durran, alex verdigo,( who doesnt hit for power) and devers, they will also still have cora and bloom
this team will be EXACTLY the same, he will simply get middle aged fringe players this off season, i wanna be optimistic too, but this team next year will actually be much worse.
next year the red sox WONT have- evoldi, jd martinez,
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Just to let you know, those two guys are part of the problem this year. They’ve combined for a 1.5 bWAR. I’m cherry-picking here, but his OPS since 6/15 is .555.. Dalbec, over the same period, has a .731.
oh ya! they also dont have a closer or an everyday catcher
they arent gonna call up cassas, they would have in july when they went like 4-25, they have all but said they are gonna wait on him, which tells me they wanna trade him, which would make sense
no trust me as a red sox fan we loved Dave Dombrowski , he literally would say to his boss’ this is what i need, im gonna spend…… to get him, thats why you hired me, if you dont like it, fire me’
he got ANYONE he needed and would spend, sure he had a great farm system, which was thanks to theo epstein and ben cherington, remember those guys were already here, DD had nothing to do with it, he simply traded them to get better players, EXCEPT david price, i dont have hate for to many players in baseball but thats 1 thing that never should have happened, and we dont ‘ hate’ bloom, we hate the fact that the red sox to him are a small market team, he SUCKS with the media and lies directly when hes asked a question, hes operating this team like his payroll is 11 dollars like it was in tampa, hes not used to people caring thus he never answered real questions, and the guys hes brought up so far have been horrendous, so hes finally saying ‘ wow, my minor leaguers suck’
ill just say in 2023 he better build a better team or hes gone
while i never liked it, getting a 300 million dollar player is the jolt we need, we need people to care again, we dont care anymore about the ‘ 19 yr old prospect’ we want star power.
Lots of coffee for Amanda this morning lol.
Bloom needs a closer, a first baseman, bullpen help, starters to replace Wacha and Hill, a centerfielder. Paxton was a complete waste of 11 million dollars. There is no way Dalbac should be allowed on a baseball diamond at first base. He has to sign Devers and Boggarts. I have yet to see one of his rookies make an impact this year.
How can Bloom be counted on to fix this mess. I don’t have any confidence in him. Wake up John Henry and get a major league GM not Small Market Chaim Bloom
@AL34: More than likely Henry et al. are doing precisely what they want. MLB is all and *ONLY* about wealth- and value-maximization, not wins.
This team will be a train wreck with this clown Bloom. The media and fans are not going to tolerate this ineptitude management. What they did to Vazquez was terrible and unprofessional at best. It will serve to peeve off Boggarts too.
@AL34: The media and fans almost always tolerate almost everything. People who go into media, and passionate sports fans, tend to be very dumb.
Dalbec may not have repeated last year’s hot August-Sept stretch, but I admire his moxie. When he’s in the zone he’s a beast. Wish him well learning second…
I don’t mind giving him a shot, and he is starting to heat up. But Cora has to talk to him about “The more I play, the better I’ll do. “. It doesn’t work like that. He has to hit in order to play The participation trophies are long in the past. He is entitled to nothing. If you hit, you play. If you don’t, you don’t.
Clearly, this team needs an old-fashioned kick in the butt from a throw-back manager.
The three magic words are: Bobby Valentine Reunion!
Do it, RSox.
BV, besides pizzing off most of the team, was one of the worst tactical managers ever. Opening, with a guy on 2nd, and 1st base open, he elected to pitch to Fielder (back when he was still an AS), instead of walking him and pitching to Young.
He issued an intention walk to Matsui. BV said the reason he did so was because he had seen Matsui get a lot of big hit. Sure, ten years earlier. Matsui was so bad that TB cut him a week later and his career was over. His OPS that year was 23.
Then the topper was when he issued an all-righty lineup against Liam Hendricks. As soon as it came out, I questioned it, as I am sure a gazillion other people did. He later re-issued his lefty lineup. He got confused and thought the opposing pitched was Hendrickson, a lefty, who had retired the previous season.
… should have hired Gardenhire.
The RSox aren’t a good fit for a Murphy trade. Does anyone realistically see them trading a package headlined by Marcelo/Casas because that’s what it would take to get him.
Not adding a right handed hitting complement to Jackie Bradley in RF and a experienced bullpen arm or two in the offseason will end up costing the Red Sox another playoff appearance in 2022. These holes were obvious the glaring. Even Bloom supporters like myself were curious why they were not addressed over last winter. Instead Arroyo, a career infielder, ended up in RF and played poorly. The Red Sox have had 8 walk-off losses this season, which is simply unreal and demoralizing to the team and fans. That is far and away the most walk-off losses in a season in my 51 years as a RS fan.
Loosing 4/5 of the starting rotation to injury could not have been predicted, and the Red Sox had depth to whether this, but the offense had little to no depth. Regardless of this year’s results, the Red Sox are building a young cost controlled group of rotation arms, and eventually, a core of position players who will make the Red Sox competitive on a sustainable basis. Bloom is patching together a .500+ team until the young, cost controlled players arrive. IMO they still have a couple years to wait.
The Red Sox received surprisingly good prospects from Houston for 2 months of Vazquez. JD has been horrible over the last month especially as he is neither hitting for power or average. If I were a GM I would not have wanted him or his $6,500,000 for the remainder of the year. Eovaldi had just come off the IL was got blasted twice and had nearly $6,000,000 remaining on his contract as well. Neither may have generated a return worth trading under the circumstances.
FWIW Bloom has been hand cuffed with a high payroll and this winter will finally be freer to acquire and spend more than previous, so it will be interesting to see what he is able to do for the roster….
Finally. Been calling for this since last May.
mlbtraderumors.com/2022/05/red-sox-release-carlos-…
He had his moments early on, but once the slide started, it was bad.