The Red Sox have inked outfielder Narciso Crook to a minor league contract, according to the transactions log at MLB.com. The 27-year-old had elected minor league free agency after being waived by the Cubs two weeks ago.
Crook, a 2013 draftee of the Reds, is headed into his 10th year in the professional ranks. That includes three seasons and just under 1000 plate appearances of Triple-A work. Crook was rewarded for his extended climb up the minor league ladder with his first big league call from the Cubs at the end of June. He only appeared in four games but picked up his first two MLB hits before being optioned back to Triple-A Iowa.
In 101 games with Iowa, Crook put together a .260/.345/.492 showing. He connected on 19 home runs and 21 doubles, with that plus power translating to solid overall numbers. He punched out at an elevated 30.3% clip, however, the continuation of career-long strikeout issues that have thus far prevented him from getting a real look against big league pitching.
Crook spent most of the year in right field, logging 539 innings there and 156 1/3 frames in left while starting just three games in center. He’s spent vastly more time in the corners than up the middle throughout his career, putting extra pressure on him to perform offensively.
The Red Sox have a fair bit of uncertainty in their outfield mix heading into 2023. Enrique Hernández and Alex Verdugo look like the favorites for playing time, with Rob Refsnyder, Jarren Duran and the recently-selected Wilyer Abreu making up the rest of the options on the 40-man roster. Hernández is an option for the middle infield as well, while Verdugo has been the subject of loose trade speculation this offseason. Boston’s sure to address the outfield in the coming months. Crook seems a long shot to crack the Opening Day roster given his lack of MLB experience but could play his way into the mix with a strong start for Triple-A Worcester.
3A team fk bloom
Everybody say hello to the new Franchy!
Cue the “what a great find” from the Bloom suckups. LOL
It’s just a minor league signing dude. There is no downside nor reason to be upset
Listen your gonna see a lot of angry Red Sox fans here cause they don’t seem to understand their team is gonna be one of the bottom feeders in the division let alone the east
The East is a division, moron
Sorry hockey on the brain, I meant American League
Bloom made 3 of his typical “buy Low” moves today and they were not all about the AAA roster than ONE single Red Sox fan gives a hoot about.
lucas – The concern is that Bloom will continue to do what he’s done with these minor league signings because of a lack of organizational depth … call them up to the majors, try them out for a month or two, then cut them loose because of poor performance.
It’s like giving a child a plastic bag. On the surface it’s harmless, but you never want a child to have something they can misuse.
It’s like giving a child a plastic bag. On the surface it’s harmless
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Really? You think giving a plastic bag to a child is harmless. Good grief.
Chicken – Don’t play those games, everyone can see the part you intentionally cut off.
You haven’t been very nice since returning.
I thought you were giving Bloom a chance? This doesn’t soundlikeit. By the way, this is a minor league deal. Keyword “minor.”
pedey – I absolutely am, but critiquing each move is still allowed.
I have never written “Fire Bloom” and I won’t before the start of next season. But I can understand the frustration from the fanbase as Bloom seems intent on once again leading MLB in transactions.
The Red Sox have a bunch of huge holes to fill, if it’s going to be another revolving door next year then chances are that means yet another lost season.
but critiquing each move is still allowed.
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But my question would be, why critique a move like this? This is akin to criticizing a 15th round draft pick. FFTD, but this makes RS look like entitled idiots.
We figuratively have fans in here say “I have never heard of Hoy Park and I have never heard of Inmer Lobo, but I know it is a horrible trade”.
If such a thing were possible, I’d bet real money that, if I asked the critics who were involved in the trade, none would be able to name both sides.
None of them have any idea who Narisco Crook is. And honestly, I have no idea who Lobo, Crook or Park are. I never heard of them before.
Joe – It’s the volume of these types of transactions, along with Bloom’s poor track record, that paint a larger picture.
The natives are restless. They are wary. They have just witnessed Bloom take an ALCS team he mostly inherited, and turn it into a last-place team the following year.
We have every right to question these moves, just like auditors have every right to question ledger transactions of a company that has already been found guilty of misreporting their financials.
In other words, Bloom is on a short leash … and he’s earned it.
It still doesn’t make any sense to me. I get that some of the fans want more immediacy, but it still doesn’t make sense for them to melt down because Bloom is replacing our 70 guy with someone he thinks is #69.
Let alone them commenting on guys that they never heard of.
Joe – I can’t speak for others, but I’m guessing their thought process is that if the player was halfway decent they’d have heard of them already. That’s a fair point, as the majority of these no-name players always remain no-name.
But how do you know they aren’t researching the players before commenting? I click on the links to familiarize myself with the players before commenting.
Joe – I honestly haven’t seen anybody melt down. I haven’t seen anybody renounce their citizenship in Red Sox Nation because of these signings.
Or maybe they are one of the people I’ve muted, maybe that’s why.
You just wrote “Fire Bloom”.
I’m not sure what to expect but I believe Bloom will be gone if he can’t put a productive team on the field.
Someone has to play in AAA.
These AAA and AA minor league free agents just elected free agency (as most do), so the Red Sox need to replace 4 outfielders from the following group.
“Pedro Castellanos, Ricardo Cubillan, Deivy Grullón, Kyle Hart, Geoff Hartlieb, Brian Keller, Brett Kennedy, Johan Mieses, James Norwood, José Peraza, Hudson Potts, Sterling Sharp, Caleb Simpson, Christin Stewart, and Izzy Wilson elected minor league free agency”…. Per Sox Prospect.
….or would you prefer that the Ted Sox not have a AAA team?
Some MLFA do re-sign with the same team for multiple years after reaching minor league free agency. In this case Brian Keller and Johan Mieses have signed with teams in Asia.
Cook is basically replacing Mieses who was a very good bat, but horrible defensively.
Lol. Stupid take from what I assume is yet another stupid Sox fan. Off-season isn’t close to being over yet. Chill out.
He’s just going all out today.
This signing could turn out to be a real steal.
Q: Did you hear about the crook who stole a calendar?
A: He got twelve months!
he has had 3 YEARS
Randy – I totally agree.
Let’s not forget, Dombrowski was gone after 4 years.
And Ben Cherington was gone after just under 4 years.
I can definitely see the pattern continuing.
Narciso Crook minus the iso
Anybody else excited about these 3 deals?
Saving money for Devers or Bogaerts or both?
Or just a dumpster fire?
I guess we will know in five months
Anybody else excited about these 3 deals?
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A $1.5M signing and two minor league depth moves. Why is there even a question about whether or not fans should be excited?
It’s like looking at the RS draft and asking them if they were excited about a 10th round pick. I’m not sure how to process the question.
I was being facetious. I would like to see some action on the major league level before stocking the minors.
You and everyone else. But a lot of guys won’t sign until they see how the market is shaping up.
Joe – You’re making this too easy for me, you really are.
Diaz has re-signed
Suarez has re-signed.
Rizzo has re-signed.
Montero has re-signed.
Perez, Pederson, Urena all re-signed.
Do you see Xander or Eovaldi included in that list?
Has Devers signed an extension?
19 years ago, back when winning was important, Red Sox brass flew out to Arizona to have Thanksgiving dinner with Schilling. A few days later, he joined the Red Sox.
And now, what has Bloom done to lure ML talent? Has he met with Senga yet? Has he flown out to meet with Xander or Devers in person?
The organizational apathy is so bad that neither John Henry nor Tom Werner bothered to show up for the customary end-of-season press conference.
Think about that … the top two owners didn’t show up after one of the worst seasons in franchise history.
Completely inexcusable.
Before I get into strategy, I agree on Henry. When we win, his picture is everywhere. When we lose, he goes ghost.
But regarding FAs, I tend to look at it from a perspective of who I like.
I like Bogaerts more than Devers, but we are unlikely to get both. It feels like some of the fans want Bogaerts, Devers & Eovaldi back, which basically gives us back the 2021 team that they hated.
IRT to the free agents, I like, in no particular order, DeGrom, Rogers, Justin Turner, Syndergaard, Mancini, Wacha, Vazquez, Haniger, And Eflin. All of them are still available.
I can’t be upset that that someone that hasn’t signed with anyone, hasn’t signed with us.
Joe – Even when they were winning last year, Henry didn’t seem as visible as years ago when he’d be sitting in the front row seats near the Sox dugout at Fenway and on the road. And at the Remy ceremony he also hid in a luxury box, never even took the mic to say a few words.
My only gripe about Devers/Xander is that the Sox clearly have doubts about each, but still held onto them too long. Either sign them to a long extension before they reach the penultimate year of their contract, or trade them. Nothing hurts a team more than lack of foresight. Now with Xander they are forced to either pay him more than what he was asking 1-2 years ago, or let him walk and get virtually nothing in return. That’s bad business.
Between the two of them, it’s really a tossup.
Xander is the better defender at a more demanding position.
Devers is the better hitter and several years younger.
Tough call as to which to keep, but I think Mayer is the wildcard. They have no replacement at 3B in the pipeline.
Why no Senga in your list? Is it because Bloom outbidding other teams is highly unlikely, or because you don’t think he will amount to much?
Why can’t we have BOTH XB and Devers? we can certainly afford our 2 homegrown stars.
Randy – You are 100% correct. Currently the Red Sox are $80M under the threshold, they could easily absorb $55-$60M for those two.
Unfortunately Story is responsible for $22.5-$25M thru 2027. With Mayer likely being up for good in 2024, where does Xander go?
That is why, sadly, either Devers or Xander will be gone … because of the Story signing.
You are 100% correct. Currently the Red Sox are $80M under the threshold, they could easily absorb $55-$60M for those two.
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But think about what you are saying. Re-sign both, and Eovaldi for $18M, you are at the cap, and you have your 2022 team back again.
Is that what you want?
Between the two of them, it’s really a tossup.
Xander is the better defender at a more demanding position.
Devers is the better hitter and several years younger.
Tough call as to which to keep, but I think Mayer is the wildcard. They have no replacement at 3B in the pipeline.
Why no Senga in your list?
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I’m pretty sure that we won’t keep both, so the best play imho:
1-Re-sign Bogaerts to something like $28M*6 or $168M.
2-Trade Devers. I figure that the WS, Mets, Miami, LAD, and Philly (if they move Hoskins to DH and Bohm to 1st) are all team that need a 3B, have some tradeable assets (to varying degrees), and have enough available spending money to make Devers a l/t offer.
3-Sign J. Turner to a 1+1.
4-Depending on Mayer, Turner stays 1 or 2 years, and then Bogaerts moves over to 3B.
“19 years ago, back when winning was important,”
I hope you’re trolling. I really do.
I like the “to have Thanksgiving dinner with Schilling”.
I can’t believe the Schilling family said ‘sure, bring in those strangers for our family dinner’.
Best i can find:
“Epstein flew down to Arizona for Thanksgiving to meet with Curt Schilling and his family.” No where does it say he sat down for Tday dinner.
More fictitious facts from FPG.
Great point…thank you.
“19 years ago, back when winning was important,”
I hope you’re trolling. I really do.
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Like I often say, I don’t even know how to process some of these statements. Does it mean that winning hasn’t been important in the past 18 years, even though we’ve won 3 WSCs since 2004?
I can’t believe the Schilling family said ‘sure, bring in those strangers for our family dinner’.
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By a fluke of fate, my future prospective boss asked me if I wanted to join him for lunch. He asked me if I knew where Eileen’s was. It was one block from where I lived, so I played it cool and said ‘sure’. The company was using a state of the art GL system, and he spent four hours on a Saturday to squeeze out a 75-page FS out of Excel.
He was a great guy, and I enjoyed the lunch, but I got the job because he was desperate and I needed a job. I doubt Thanksgiving had anything to do with the Schilling trade, any more than lunch at Eileen’s landed me the job.
Joe – It worked quite well last year, didn’t it? Those three guys were probably the biggest contributors to their ALCS run (along with what Hernandez did in the postseason of course).
But like I said, with Mayer on the horizon they can’t commit huge contracts to both Devers and Xander. Not without eating most of Story’s contract.
Curtis – I don’t follow. Are you disputing the fact that winning was important back in 2003/2004?
Joe – Like I often say, how can something so simple and clear be difficult to comprehend?
Yeah, I know … technology and social media has made it harder for the younger generations to communicate effectively. They somehow miss key words in sentences, and they somehow see sentences that aren’t there.
Show me where I said 2003 was the last time winning was important.
I’ll wait ….
Moody – You’re an absolute moron to write what you did, falsely accusing me of lying.
I wouldn’t expect you to apologize, because it takes an adult with integrity and morals to do so.
mlb.com/cut4/dinner-with-curt-schilling-a-recent-h…
November 27, 2003: Theo Epstein joins the Schilling Thanksgiving
Possibly the most famous MLB Thanksgiving took place 11 years ago, inside a house in Paradise Valley, Arizona. During the great courtship of Curt Schilling following the 2003 season, then-Red Sox GM Theo Epstein pulled what we in the business call a bold move: He ate Thanksgiving dinner with the Schilling family.
Think that over for a minute: Schilling invited the man who was trying to convince him to waive his no-trade clause with the D-backs and join the Red Sox, a trade that everyone knew could make-or-break Sox fans’ spirits, to share the most hallowed meal of the year.
Joe – I wouldn’t expect anything less from an admitted Yankee fan.
Keep trolling, dude.
mlb.com/cut4/dinner-with-curt-schilling-a-recent-h…
“The public nature of the bargaining … put increasing pressure on the Red Sox, who would have looked foolish to have traveled to Phoenix, shared Schilling’s Thanksgiving dinner, then gone home empty-handed.”
This Bloom is on fire.
I wish Narciso all the best. Was hoping he’d get another opportunity with the big league club but understand there is a plethora of outfielders in the farm. Mahalo!
Bloom is on one today.
Three guys with lifetime negative WAR. And they were in last place this year. Um.
hayzee – You know players are bad when Joe doesn’t even mention their WAR.
Please be fast.
Christin Stewart’s replacement in AAA.
How did such a good team become dog water overnight?
Ownership became distracted by its other Fenway Sports Group holdings.
here – You nailed it. Hopefully Liverpool will be sold and Red Sox revenue will drop enough to motivate FSG to make changes with their MLB team.
1-Henry bought Liverpool in 2010, and still were able to win 2 WSCs. And I remember fans complaining that Liverpool would drain off spending from the RS.
2-Henry probably not making BB decisions. The first step is establishing a budget, and then Bloom probably makes about 99% of the decisions.
3-I doubt Bloom is making soccer or hockey decisions, if that is what they own.
I kind of wonder how people think $100B businesses are run. One of my employers would buy 1-2-3 businesses every year.
Joe – Again, today is Turkey Day not Trolling Day
1) Less than a year ago FSG also took over the Pittsburgh Penguins. As for Liverpool, a whole lot has been going on in recent years that has required much of Henry’s time and attention. To put it nicely, ownership of the club has not gone as well as planned.
2) Henry has to sign off on each contract of at least $50M. It’s been pointed out to you many times, it’s been mentioned many times in the chats here. And BTW it was Henry’s decision to bring back Cora, not Bloom’s decision.
3) Henry has the most to lose when bad decisions are made, so you better believe he has final say in operational decisions for each of his franchises.
There’s plenty of time to wait for Bloom’s panic overpay circa mid January. Wait for it….
They have to give him the nickname of ‘Narco’. It’s just a AAA signing; smart of Crook to sign with Boston given their lack of true OFs on the roster. Perhaps a big Spring Training will earn him a shot on what is right now one of the worst OFs in all of baseball.
Not one of the worst… the worst.
Butch – I have to disagree, a healthy Hernandez in CF combined with an average Verdugo is not the worst.
Boom! Bloom and BOH strike for the third time today. Great things happen in threes! Three great signings. Not! Hoping they have much better news around the corner than today’s news releases.
Wtf bloom? 3 boneheads. Meanwhile angels add 3 proven talents recently. Get it together man. Get bogey back and extend Devers.
Greenwell – You are so smart, I am surprised you are not a GM…….NOT
Meanwhile angels add 3 proven talents recently.
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Just so I understand, you’re picking the Angels as the type of team you want to emulate?
Sooo… will we be paying any attention to the MAJOR league team this year or nah?
‘It is always a good move when we pick up guys D’FA’D by the Pirates
Randy – That’s because Bloom is smarter than everyone else. Smart enough to turn everyone else’s trash into his treasure.
Absolutely! Worked fantastically with Diekman last year!
Mango – Bloom gave Diekman $8M guaranteed over 2 years, horrendous contract.
But he wouldn’t give Ottavino just $4M.
Quite an unfortunate sounding name in English speaking country.
Who needs J.D.?
JD? The $20M DH with the 16 HRs? Oh yeah, we need lots of that.
Joe – I agree with you on this one. The more I hear about JD’s medicals, the more I think it’s time to move on. I hope he is able to return to form, as long as it’s not with a divisional rival.
We just keep out smarting everyone with these big moves! How about signing Deavers and quit being cheap!!
Trade Devers to the Phillies for Dombrowski. But seriously, Bloom needs to trade Devers. He’s never going to match Rafael’s demands and the Sox are destined for last place in 2023. Oh, wait. They have Nabisco Crook and Hoy Park.. Nah. Last place.
Interesting tweet from Marino Pepen who seems to be Red Sox Latino reporter he says the gap has closed the Red Sox are offering 10/250 and Devers wants 10/300 seems like they are getting closer I would be surprised if they don’t extend Devers. Unfortunately it doesn’t appear the same progress is being made with Bogey.
Woo sox team just got stronger
WTF!!!
Micheal Conforto time. His signed contract should be under Bloom’s Christmas tree, or Hanukkah bush.
its just minor league signings.
they plan to use Refsnyder and Duran as backup in the OF
Another bullseye for Chaim Bloom. I cannot wait for the season to start. I cannot contain myself with all these pickups. Last year he threw 8 million at Diekman, 12 million at Paxton, gave up Renfroe on a cheaper contract and traded for JBJ and that ridiculous contract. He gave millions to our past closer. Does he know what he is doing?
Al – Just one thing I disagree on. Barnes was extended during last year’s All-Star Break, not this year. He was deserving of the contract, and he pitched well enough in the second half of this season to lead me to believe he will have a rebound season next year.
I stand corrected. He cut a chunk of his thumb off making an omelet. He tried to come back but I think they left him off of the playoff roster in the Championship Game because of it. I hope he comes back to form this yesr.
He also had a bad battle with covid.