Today: The Red Sox and Rich Hill have formally agreed on a minor league deal, reports Ian Browne of MLB.com. The veteran will report to Triple-A Worcester on Tuesday.
August 15: The Red Sox and Rich Hill are close to finalizing a minor league contract, reports Rob Bradford of WEEI (X link). It’d be his fourth separate stint in Boston if he gets to the big leagues by the end of the season. Including minor league deals, it’ll be his eighth contract with the organization.
Those have spanned multiple front offices going as far back as 2010. Hill is a Boston-area native who is clearly comfortable with the organization. Staying close to home is appealing. Hill waited to sign until this late in the season in large part so he could coach his son’s Little League team in Milton, Massachusetts this spring.
While he won’t step directly onto the Sox roster, Hill could make a few appearances with Triple-A Worcester to get into game shape. It’d be a surprise if the Red Sox don’t call him up at some point before season’s end. Hill reportedly drew attention from the Yankees, Dodgers and Twins, among others, during his recent throwing sessions.
Boston is a sensible fit beyond the geographical connection. The Red Sox went into deadline season with questions about their rotation depth. They brought in James Paxton in a trade with the Dodgers. He only made it through three starts before suffering a partially torn right calf that’ll probably end his season. That temporarily left the Sox with a four-man rotation of Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford, Nick Pivetta and Tanner Houck. The Sox are planning to reinstate Cooper Criswell from the virus-related injured list to start tomorrow against the Orioles. He’s likely to step into the fifth starter role, but he’d been working in relief for a couple weeks before going on the shelf. The Red Sox may want to keep a close eye on his pitch counts.
From the start of the season, the Sox’s rotation depth has been one of their biggest questions. They lost Lucas Giolito before the year started. Garrett Whitlock went down in April with an oblique issue. He hurt his elbow while building back up and underwent season-ending surgery. Houck, Crawford, Pivetta and Criswell all stepped up as the Sox had a surprisingly strong rotation for the first few months. They’ve had a much tougher time of late.
Red Sox starters have a 5.28 earned run average since the All-Star Break, a better mark only than that of the Angels, White Sox, Rockies and Rangers. Crawford and Pivetta have gotten battered by the home run ball. Houck’s strikeout rate has fallen off a cliff as he’s gotten to a career-high workload. Only Bello has maintained or improved upon his early-season production.
Hill isn’t going to single-handedly salvage the group. The 44-year-old southpaw turned in solid back-of-the-results from 2021-22. He had a tougher time last year, allowing a 5.41 ERA through 146 1/3 innings. Much of that came in a dismal 10 outings for the Padres after they acquired him at the deadline. Hill had a more reasonable 4.76 ERA in 22 starts for the Pirates before the trade. The Sox will hope they get something closer to last year’s first half version without Hill needing to work a full season. If he gets to the majors, he could potentially work as a tandem starter with Criswell or push the righty back into a multi-inning relief capacity.
It has been an atypical situation. Hill has floated the possibility of a late-season signing for a few years but hadn’t committed to it until last offseason. MassLive’s Chris Cotillo writes that the 19-year veteran declined major league offers from Texas, Pittsburgh and Oakland over the winter. Beyond the family considerations, he pointed to the opportunity to ensure he was joining a team that had a chance to compete for a playoff position. Boston is 2.5 games behind the Royals for the American League’s final Wild Card spot with six weeks to play.
Hill would be eligible for postseason play if the Sox qualify (assuming the contract is finalized shortly). That’s true regardless of whether he’s on the MLB roster by the end of the month. A player only needs to be in the organization at the start of September — not on the 40-man roster — to be eligible for the playoffs. The league office routinely allows players who were on minor league deals at the start of September to qualify for the playoffs as substitutes for another injured player.
Image courtesy of USA Today.
Dick Mountain is coming back to Boston!
But it’s not springtime!
It’s “when it’s springtime in alaska, it’s 40 below” go the lyrics.
Not hard to see Boston inking Hill. not much else at AAA since they refuse to call up Fitts and Priester (not ready) and the rest of the starters are nothing more than indy ball refugees at best.
John – Not only are the Red Sox one of the worst-run teams over the past 6 years, they are also one of the most predictable.
It’s a given whenever they leak interest in star players, they are lying.
And when they say they want to win now, they are lying.
And whenever a highly questionable player is available for basically nothing, you know the Sox will acquire him.
Instead of trading for Eflin, they acquire Paxton and now Hill. That’s how little they care about winning.
I agree. After blowing that game against the Rangers Baltimore will finish them off. Chaim Bloom sold Henry a bill of goods that they can go cheaper with minor league players and trading all the veterans like Betts, Benintendi, Vazquez letting Eovaldi walk. With him in charge it became like a circus with trading for prospects. I understand a strong minor league system but you cannot rely solely on that. You have to sign some quality players like pitchers. Bloom would look for bargains. After they fired him no one wanted to come to the team as the GM/ Baseball Operations Director. Because of that you get Bargain Basement Spend Spendlow Breslow. What they did to Dombroski was unforgivable and that was telegraphed throughout baseball. They fired Dombroski one year after he was removed from winning the World Series. The only mistake he made was signing an injured Chris Sale back then. None of the players he traded for established players did anything earthshaking.
Fitts has looked better the last four times out, and is likely ready for a look at the majors. Priester has been working on some adjustments, but they seemed to click in his last start. His velocity is back and he is throwing with command. Would like to see that repeated a few times, but in a pinch he MIGHT be where he needs to be.
Penrod also looking good, albeit they are moving him to a short relief role. Velocity with command in that role.
Jamie Moyer must be busy
Perfect time for Hill to get back into baseball… right after he drops his kids off at college
Don’t the Red Sox have enough hills to climb w/o adding another one? Ahahaha!
Desperately needed if he has anything left.
If Dick Mountain cracks the big league roster with BOS this season, it’ll be his 4th stint in Boston. Homie is to Boston like Jesse Chavez is to Atlanta…
Rickey Henderson went to the Oakland A’s 4 different times also!
Mark Wahlberg to throw out the first pitch. National anthem by The Dropkick Murphys. First 10k fans gets a free dozen Dunkin’ Donuts. Mark your calendars RS fans!
Maybe Mark will bust out his Marky Mark for first pitch! Or maybe some Dirk Digler will come out. I say this in admiration of the guy, so please don’t crucify me Red Sox fans!
Invite Mo Vaughn too and give him Green Monster seats along with endless beer
Big Papi BBQ in the bullpen.
Using the grill he bought from Manny…..
Lol. The $100K Ebay grill!
If any former red sox gets free beer at fenway make it Wade Boggs.
It’ll be more entertaining AND cost Henry more
In a trip to Toronto in the day I got free tickets to see the Blue Jays host the Angels and Mo Vaughn hit like a friggin 450ft HR. The sound of the bat connecting with the ball sounded violent.
Mo slapped hard. Gary Sheffield might be the loudest pop I’ve heard. Greg Vaughn, Franmil Reyes and Tatis come to mind, too!
Sheffield hit lasers. I saw him hit a ball 400ft in literally 2 seconds and man the crack coming off that bat was like a bullet. He was scary wagging that bat.
I was two rows in front of his 500th at Citifield. Still remember the crack.
GA- add endless chicken and maybe Wade’ll suit up and play. he couldn’t be any worse at age 66 than half the Sox current starting 9.
Saw Sheff hit one into the parking lot beyond the Dodgers bullpen in LF when he was with LA. Literally took 3 seconds to leave the yard.
Gwynning, I was in Peoria when Franmil and later status both came on the ST scenes and boy, they didn’t quickly give him the name “Franimal” for nothing. He may have only hit 100 balls in his career but when he did, there was a sound thst is hard to replicate. Yes, Nando is on the list.
Although I never heard it, I’ve seen interviews of scouts that say Bo Jackson – even in high school – had that same pop.
Per an interview, a scout from Auburn was late for his workout. Bo was finishing up taking swings when the guy got of car. He walked up and asked him if he was the one hitting those balls he had heard. After a “yes, do you want to see me hit”, the scout responded, no, I heard all I needed to hear, and he offered a scholarship.
And I agree on Shef – I had season tix back in those days and saw him a lot in his SD time.
LTC- Section 106, Row 8. 2019, I think. Franimal smoked a one-hop liner past Colorado SS (Trevor Story or Brendan Rodgers) and they wanted nothing to do with the ball. The sound was deafening, but I swear I smelled the burnt wood. My brother and I just kinda side-eyed each other and smirked. That ball was flattened!
He hit a few long and loud ST hrs that first year he burst on the scene. Too bad he couldn’t make contact more consistently to extend his career.
Gary Sheffield and Jeff Bagwell were probably the most unnerving hitters to ever face. Sheffield had that wild, restrained batting stance like an animal trying to eat you alive. Bagwell’s stance was strange, but he was as still as a statue. Bagwell would make you feel uncomfortable with Bagwell just standing there waiting for a pitch to come without even moving.
I’d rather pitch to those guys consecutively than have to pitch to Manny Ramirez
Fuuuuuuuuuuuuu_ _in A – Color me all in on collecting that bag….
All of that will make Ben Affleck happy since he’s a Red Sox fan AND a Dunkin Donut spokesperson lol
Minor league deal? He’s ready after one start at AAA.
It’s like when I go to play basketball I don’t warm up, I’m ready to go now. If I warm up that’s one less game I can play LOL !! I’m already tired.
Rich Hill is the Jamie Moyer of this generation. He’s ready to roll, like you said just bring him up, no need for a minor league stint!
That’s actually a bit unfair to Jamie Moyer when you line them up side by side.
Gotta throw this out there.. Jamie moyer, even when he was in his 40’s owned the Marlins. Tommy Hutton used to call his “changeup” the “deadfish” because every single Marlin wildly hacked away at it.
Moyer owned the Marlins worse than boston, back in the day owned James Shields, only boston owned Shields pretty much at just fenway. moyer would limit the Fish to a handful of hits home, or away.
John – Moyer had a 5.01 ERA at Age 44 which is about what I expect from Hill.
As for 5 degrees of separation, the Red Sox traded Moyer for Darren Bragg who is remembered for a homerun robbery diving into the right field seats at Fenway.
The hitter he robbed?
22-year-old David Ortiz.
youtu.be/yME1wF582rE?feature=shared
You must have mastered flopping to an art form.
Daddy’s home.
4th stint in Boston??? What is the record for most separate stints with the same team?
Jesse Chavez has three with the Braves I think. Adam Duvall has two or three, so a fourth stint with Boston could possibly be a record.
Henderson 4x w/Oakland
2 other players have play 4 stints with the same team. gaslampball.com/2018/3/20/17132144/mlb-two-stints-…
It’s come to this. Paxton blows out his calf and the Legend of Dick Mountain returns to fenway
Nothing to worry about until Breslow calls Bartolo
Why not, Bartolo claims he’s only 39, still has heat and can hit an occasional big fly over the Green Monster if needed. Has the weight down to 260, too
Unfortunately Big Sexy’s time in Boston ended on a rather sour note. In September of 2008 Colon was told he was moving to the bullpen and he left the team to take care of a “personal matter” in the Dominican Republic and refused to return. While that seems like a million years ago now I’m sure John Henry and Pepperidge Farms still remembers…
GASox – I hear Llovera is available.
Sox scouts are always searching for young talent. Lol
Reminds me of Jesse Orosco but he pitched from the bullpen. If you pitch left handed you will be given every opportunity to make it in MLB. When 25 teams have signed you to a minor league deal to take a look a 26th will probably sign you to take a look. There’s probably teams that would be interested to know if Lamar Jackson had ever tried throwing a baseball
Rick Ankiel on line 1
Orosco was one of my favorites. He had a job for years in San Diego and LA because he handled Bonds. Lots of lefty’s Dan Plesac,Terry Mulholland,Mike Stanton,and of course Father Time himself Jaime Moyer also come to mind from the last 25 years.
Kinda crazy, if you discount 1988, bonds only went 1-23 against him. Only two walks, and none intentional.
He went a whole 3-5 in 88
Yup Orosco owned him. He had that 3 quarter almost side arm delivery with that slider they now call a sweeper. The funny thing is in 88 Orosco definitely threw harder back then.
I don’t remember him ever throwing harder than the low 90’s, but I remember his slider being the same speed as his fastball.
Don’t forget in 88 low 90’s was a power pitcher later on he was 86 to 89 on his fastball and 78-82 on his slider not a lot of difference but when your job is to get one guy a night it was enough.
44 and can still throw…I want whatever he’s got working for him. Go get ’em, rakeman!
Might as well see what Breslow has left in the tank!!
Be fun to see another Player Coach again, but arguably even more fun to watch a Player GM hit the field!
Brings up something interesting Gwynn.. I remember the Chisox activating the (then) ancient Minnie Minoso a few times during the late 70’s/early 80’s when he was a coach and giving him AB’s.. He had to be in his 60’s then. frank robinson, mid 70’s was a player manager in clvd, but didn’t really play a lot and if remember right.. Was mid 40’s.
Who was the oldest to get actual plate appearances? Has someone since Minoso coach wise been activated to play late in a season??
I had to cheat by looking @johnsilver.
Minoso was 55 and change when he did it. Sachel Paige was approaching 60 years old when he last hit back in ’65 since, although he was a pitcher, he played in the NL which you would have the PAs attached.
If you wanted to exclude a bunch of the real old timers, the oldest modern era *position* player would fall to Julio Franco just over 49 yrs old in 2007 from who I saw, BUT, I’m sure there’s plenty more out there
Actually Robinson DH’ed quite a bit.
At 46 in ’05, Franco managed to hit a 107 OPS+ in 265 PA with 4 SB!
Thanks GaSox. Didn’t feel like looking it all up before and probably should have posted more with regards to how/why minosa got to play those late seasons:
Baseball’s version of PT Barnum owned the Chisox those years and Bill Veeck was never one to let a free PR oppurtunity go to waste, that and any chance at all to get a few more paying customers into the stands when his Chisox were always 2nd fiddle to the Cubs and mostly last place in the (then) AL West
division.
Thanks everyone for mentioning Franco, which had completely slipped my mind. If go to just players who played as “old” one can’t forget right at 50yo HOF’er Hoyte Wilhelm’s last season.
Maybe the powers that be higher up in the game consider it bad form to activate older coaches now. Some maybe should wonder about, like Gabe Kapler few years back when saw him.. forget which team it was on a dugout pic as coach and looked like could almost step to the plate.
John – Can’t happen today because they don’t have the roster spots. Back then there was 16 non-pitchers on the active roster, now there’s just 13.
LOL plus he would be cheap and he would like that about himself.
I bet it’s a minor league deal because they don’t know who they’re going to cut for him yet.
Boss – I think it’s a matter of not losing a roster spot by having him ramp up against MLB hitters.
When his time comes, Rich Hill will be put to rest in Fenway Park.
The league office routinely allows players who were on minor league deals at the start of September to qualify for the playoffs as substitutes for another injured player.
Does this mean they can use him as a replacement for Giolito, or anyone injured? Or would it have to be someone injured since he’s been signed?
Oh – Only players injured during the postseason can be replaced.
That doesn’t leave him with much chance of making a playoff roster
We were never making the playoffs anyway. This is a depth deal to keep the young arms not from tiring
They are already tired, bro, that’s the problem, they’ll be better next year
Oh – Unless he really bombs in AAA, he will be called up by August 31 which would make him eligible for the postseason.
I’m just happy there’s a front office that actually does *something* again. Who knows what would’ve happened in ’21 or even some other years had bloom done anything but seek to tear down the club and tank for a higher draft slot.
Honestly, even if he isn’t great in AAA I think you’ll see him by the end of August. Only question is starting or long relief/opener.
If he is in the org by 8/31 he is eligible for postseason, so even if not called up until Sept 6 (for example), he can still be on the playoff roster. And to all those who say Sox aren’t making the playoffs, you could be right, but I think it’s at least a coin flip. Mariners are fading fast so it’s between KC and Boston for the final spot. I’m not a betting man, but if I was I’d go with Boston. Better roster, finally getting healthy (key relievers Hendricks and Slaten should be up by 8/31), etc.
Agreed they can still make the playoffs.
Both Mariners and rays are closer to Sox than sox are closer to royals read the tea leaves pollyanna
The Red Sox are 3.5 games out of a Wild Card with 39 games left to play. The fan definitely still make the playoffs. Stop trolling please.
Bob – Sorry but not true, the entire Red Sox farm system is not all eligible for the postseason. You have to be on the 40 man roster, which he is not yet.
As for the postseason, the split is very encouraging. If they can finish this current 10-game stretch of tough opponents by winning at least 3 more games I’d say their chances go up considerably.
FPG
“Bob – Sorry but not true, the entire Red Sox farm system is not all eligible for the postseason. You have to be on the 40 man roster, which he is not yet.”
Anyone can be added if replacing an injured player.
They have a 30% chance of making the playoffs, down from 40% (according to baseball reference). It’s certainly possible but highly improbable. I wouldn’t count on it.
Go Rich Hill, and make all of us middle aged dreamers jealous of you!
Breslow has become an absolute joke..
Signing him to a minor league deal is not a bad move. We can see if he has anything left and he is certainly well rested. Obviously we could have done better at the trade deadline, but at this point we need to take what we can get.
We could’ve sold more at the deadline because we weren’t going to win a playoff spot anyway
Because they should have actually addressed the glaring SP issues:
1.) During the offseason.
2.) At the trade deadline.
Instead, they dumpster dove and hoped things would magically work out.
Ridiculous move by Red Sox
Why? How does it hurt signing him to a minor league deal? They don’t exactly have studs in the minors who are going to be blocked and if he is a bust he can be released and it did not cause any harm. The only issue would be if he knocks someone with value off the roster.
This makes the 8th time he has signed as a free agent with the Boston Red Sox, per his page on baseball reference sight.
Can he throw 7 innings of 3 run ball?Everybody i know who is a Red Sox fan around here seems to think they have no shot to make the playoffs.That to me means they are playing against expectations.Being an underdog sometimes leads to amzing things.If they don’t win this year,Most people said they weren’t supposed to finish higher than last.The better teams Rays and blue jays don’t look so good.The young guys are getting experience in a Playoff race.What other way to get experience than to be in it.
Looking up his transaction history was interesting ( and took awhile, lol):
The only shade/color of red he seems to like is that of the Red Sox. He was originally drafted by the Reds, but passed on them (he was later drafted by the Angels but passed on them too, but at least he eventually pitched for them.)
In 19 seasons he reached the majors with 13 different teams, but he’s actually been in 15 organizations. He was in the minors for the Cardinals and Nationals but was never called up with either red(dish) team either.
The other interesting things were in those 19 MLB seasons he only has 90 wins and just over 1400 innings. I know he’s been a reliever at times, but I wasn’t expecting it to be that low. That means even if he does sign and pitch in his part of his 20th straight season, that’ll be an average of about 70 innings per season.
Also, he’s pitched in every division. The closest division he’s come to follow in Kelly Johnson’s footsteps ( they must’ve been teammates at some point, right?) is the AL East, but he’s never pitched for the Blue Jays.
Mets – A big reason why his innings are so low, he had a recurring blister issue that earned him the nickname Blister Boy.
What’s most interesting, this is his 8th contract with the Sox. So I guess you can say he’s been the Sox binky for a very long time.
But of those 8 times Fever, he’s only made it up to the big league club 4 times. Literally gives him a 50/50 shot of contributing doesn’t it?
Sox aren’t going anywhere, anyways. Why not just fold up the tent and make a joke of the season? Next, they’ll offer a closer’s role to Denny McLain.
He’s cheap and keeps the young arms fresh, that’s why it’s a decent deal. Pitching is already getting taxed
Is this the same Rich Hill who was pitching a gem in WS 2018 against the Sox?? He was 73 then….as long as you’re a lefty and you have a heart beat you’ll always be wanted in mlb…
Super move. Now let’s see what he’s got left.
When you own a team, you can do whatever you want (if Legal). Go ahead and waste your money.
Is Bartolo Colon available? Satchel Paige? Sheesh, this guy wrote hundreds of words about really nothing important! Paid by the word, are we?
Arte Moreno asking questions about signable pitchers? This is rich!!
I’m not Arte, and glad of it. He sucks as an owner.
44 years old guys…chill.
For all the praise/smoke and mirrors, this signing shows the true level of this teams organizational pitching depth. Like Hough Jackman and Disney, the Red Sox are going to make Hill pitch until he is 90 or fix their dearth of pitching to the point where they have ONE STARTING PITCHER IN THE MINORS CAPABLE OF PITCHING WITH WELL ABOVE AVERAGE RESULTS. I was looking forward to seeing any of the dozen pitchers we signed supposedly to add depth. I guess none are capable of above Rich Hill expectations.
BTW, it has been since 2013 that we had a dominate lefty in the pen of any kind. The streak goes on.
Rich Hill knows how to Pitch that’s why he has been able to pitch into his 40’s.. We need innings and he will help with that. This team is close and maybe they get in and probably they don’t., but he is a good club house guy and will eat some innings….. complainers will continue to complain its what they do best.
It isn’t a complaint on Rich Hill. It is a complaint that we lack 1 pitcher in the minors that they think can contribute those INNINGS (not success) to a rotation instead of spending money to bring in a 46-year-old pitcher that has to now tool up and find his command and stuff at the big-league level again.
The National League Cy Young (Snell) had trouble finding his stuff and control after missing spring training. I do not think it unreasonable to think Hill will need some outings to gain his form. If he doesn’t have his stuff and pinpoint control, he gets rocked. If he gets rocked, he will kill our pen. So………………….
Everyone saw this coming
AK – Why do you assume he will provide a bunch of quality innings? Or do you not give a crap if he has a 5+ era because you don’t believe the Sox have a shot at the postseason?
Fever – for me, even 5.xx era is OK for two reasons. 1) veteran presence, and 2) any 5.xx innings he gives are 5.xx innings the youngsters arent, with the hopes that their 5.xx innings go back to 3.xx or low 4.xx ones with some better rest, and, Cora not killing the BP running BP games.
The bullpen games sure don’t help, but the bigger issue is turning the entire pen into short relievers. The effective workload per inning is greater for a short reliever, especially when coming into the middle of an inning. So what if you only get one out? You still have to warm up all the way for that appearance.
Cora stopped using Chase Anderson as a long reliever, converted Kelly and Horn from a two-inning role to short relief roles, and pushed the extra innings onto the other guys. At this point they are all toast except Sims, Martin, and Jansen, and Sims isn’t all that good a pitcher.
Fitts and Penrod could step up for a game or two to help them carry the innings load. Hill could be effective in a multi inning relief role. As you say, they have guys in the pen who were effective for most of the season before Cora ramped up the workload. Just need to get them back to being effective again.
Although having a veteran is a bonus, it is usually a bonus if they contribute. If not, just sign him to hang out in the dugout. I am exaggerating, but the veteran presence thing is extremely overrated when used in conjunction with if it actually provides value or not.
GASox – I’m not a big believer that young guys would tire out just because they are pitching more than prior seasons, not unless they were approaching 180 or something. Bello and Crawford have pitched very well the last couple weeks, wouldn’t have happened if their prior struggles were fatigue related.
Bello isn’t anywhere close to what he threw last year. Fatigue has never been the concern there. That’s a piece of why he is the most effective starter at this point. Pivetta too.
There may be a mental element as well as a physical one? All I know is that it shows up in the data.
Yes, Bello had that mental “reset” and adjusted his approach. He has been consistently good since.
Agreed that the issues with Crawford and Houck are lapses in command. Fatigue can be an element there, but there is also an element of experience and maturity. All three are relatively inexperienced pitchers.
Crawford has shown some improvement the last couple times, even if it has slipped in the middle innings. Maybe the next time he gets it right?
tff – With regard to Bello, absolutely it was a mental thing. I wrote that a few times, he’d be cruising along and then one bad call or one defensive misplay and he’d get so rattled that he would implode.
Maybe he doesn’t sweat the small stuff anymore now that he’s got a kid?
Yup. Was very clearly mental with Bello.
Crawford and Houck have been missing their spots.. i know the competition is better, but if you watch the games you see the execution is erratic. That doesn’t work against good teams.
Can’t tell you for certain why their command is off, but a physical component wouldn’t be surprising, Houck talked about that earlier when discussing last year’s struggles. Part of maturing in the majors is learning how to fight past that effectively. If it were easy, everybody would do it!
Hendricks is supposed to start his rehab on Sunday. It will be interesting to see him pitch see what his stuff is like. If he is close to what he once was what a bullpen add he will be, suddenly the Red Sox would have Jansen, Martin, Hendricks with hopefully Slaten coming back soon too. That’s a solid back end of the bullpen.
In Worcester they have moved Penrod to the pen and he’s looked good. His fastball is playing up 99 but his command has taken a bump up hitting his spots a lot more. I’m just speculating they might call him up as an extra power lefty.
This team is fun to watch and Bello dealt tonight. He’s looking better and his stuff is really good. He’s just figuring out how to pitch the future is bright for that kid. Imo the Red Sox also have a loaded farm system it’s really the beginning of fun time to be a Red Sox fan. Now if ownership would green light signing a true ace this off-season then this team could really be something.
Back for a month?
Lord – Less if he injures himself.
I think Boston is wrong in bringing him back. Too many players have worked too hard to get snubbed by part time Rich!
Who is getting snubbed?
I would assume the highest ranked starter in the system that is healthy, whoever it is. To be honest, I am not sure anyone down there would come up and succeed or pitch deep. I am not against the Hill signing, just disappointed in another year of knowing we still do not have a starter down there they have enough confidence in that we wouldn’t need Rich Hill IV.
TO: Allin the suit. Anyone who is a ham and Egger or Ham and Egger minus struggling to earn a little money in the Big leagues. I am talking about the people who have been competing since Spring Training.
Give me some names. This is not welfare. The Red Sox are not going to promote anyone who has been trying hard.
It’s not a given that Hill will get called up. Having a well-liked vet showing young kids in AAA how to put in the work never hurts. The dude knows MLB.
YBC – Could be a gentleman’s agreement that he gets called up unless he totally implodes in AAA. He did turn down MLB contracts with other contending teams.
Campbell promoted to AAA Worcester it’s now the big 4. The farm is looking good with 4 top 50 guys and more coming. It’s possible all 4 can be seen in Fenway next year.
At least he will be better than Pukas Sims
I like Rich Hill and I’m glad to see him back. I don’t expect him to be a shot of adrenaline that pushes this team across the finish line and into the playoffs. At best, he takes some pressure off the bullpen and rotation so they can catch their breath. Maybe with a little breathing space they can work their way back into contention for a wild card.
The concern with Mayer is injuries when healthy he hits simple as that there’s a reason he’s a top 10 prospect in baseball. When healthy he has a beautiful left handed swing and high exit velocities that portend to plus power in the majors. His hit tool is at least average but maybe plus as well. That gives him a very high ceiling. The issue comes when you factor injuries he’s been injured quite a bit, in fact, every season he’s been in the Sox organization he’s missed a significant amount of games and this season is no exception. I will say this about Mayer he’s not trying to play through it like he did last year. It’s this tendency for injury that imo makes him expendable in the right deal for high end controllable pitching. The Red Sox have Story coming back next year and he can be backed up by Rafaela. So imo Mayer, who is really good when healthy, is expendable due to injury concerns. The most concerning is now two out of three seasons he has had back issues and those tend to be problematic moving forward.
Kristian Campbell is a lot of things one thing he isn’t is a shortstop not at the big league level. He has poor shortstop instincts and footwork he’s a guy who can play short in a pinch but it’s not a position you want him at on a consistent basis. If you watch him play short he has poor range a lot of balls most shortstops get to he doesn’t. He’s probably a second baseman in the bigs or an outfielder most likely left. It should be interesting to see how he hits in AAA against the better sequencing he sees and how he handles velo in. I think he’s kind of hitting savant in the Mookie mold unusual style and dives in but his hands are special so I think he will hit in AAA and in the bigs.
Anthony has the highest ceiling of all the big 4 imo. I think he’s a likely 30-40 homer hitter in the bigs. The power is there it’s high end power he just needs to elevate the ball a little more and I think comes with time. If you haven’t watched this kid treat yourself to a Worcester game he’s special.
Bruin: Great post. I think the Red Sox may be being extra cautious with Mayer. On a contending team in MLB, he might be playing through some of this stuff.
I both wildly and respectfully disagree regarding Mayer being in any way shape or form expandable He’s anywhere between 2-5 in most people’s prospect rankings in all of baseball and that ranking has been earned and not come easily I might add after last season. I also wouldn’t call this year’s time missed significant as opposed to previous seasons. My overall take this year is that the sox have been extremely cautious with him. By all accounts he was ready to return after his 7 day IL stint and the team activated him but seems to be playing it extremely safe. The hitting as you have said is there.
I still think that Mayer has the highest ceiling overall with Anthony being a close second. Mayer can still play well defensively as a shortstop and we are starting to see more power out of his as well.
Acell I’m not advocating trading Anthony and clearly think his ceiling is very high just not as high as Anthony’s offensively.
What I am saying his injury history is concerning and it is a problem. He clearly tried to play through injury last year and it seems they are being cautious with him. Still I think it’s a concern and it’s the second time in his career he’s had back injuries. He hasn’t played at all in August and he only played 9 games in July. I think it’s concerning.
When healthy there is no doubt he can hit and there is a reason he is a top prospect. If I had to trade one of the big three for impact pitching I would probably opt for Mayer. Anthony imo has a chance to be truly special I’m not trading him and Teel is a potential .280-.300 hitting catcher and I don’t buy in on Wong being that guy moving forward.
I think Mayer is likely to be an above average big league shortstop I just don’t see the upside I do in Anthony. Just an FYI as a 20 year old Anthony has hit the hardest ball in the Red Sox system including the big club his average exit velocities rival Devers he impacts the ball like only a few guys in baseball can. His power is real and it might be special impact power. When hits it in the air they aren’t coming back he hits no doubters. It’s just how I feel when I watch those guys all play.
“ advocating trading Mayer”
Again this current back or glute injury seems minor at best and is nothing long term I’m concerned about. Initially it was described as hip pain and now it’s glute pain. His previous “back injury” was more than two years ago. The shoulder injury last year was more concerning in my educated opinion which seems to be in the past. The upside to me in an above average defensive shortstop who hits as well as Mayer with the potential to add more power is more valuable in the long term than Anthony which isn’t to say they aren’t both extremely valuable especially as it’s more likely that Anthony will slide over to a corner spot in the future.
Again I’m not trading any of the big three and I’m certainly not going to trade Mayer no matter how someone wishes to parse out ie which of the three would trade for pitcher. etc Mayer is no where on that list.
I’ve been fortunate to watch all three play at different times and my opinion on Mayer hasn’t changed regardless of prior injuries or not. Last year’s injury was more concerning and was more valid to have concern about. This year less so and as I previously said the team is being extremely cautious with him.
I gotcha. I respect your opinion on prospects and I always enjoy talking about the farm with you. I think we fall on a slightly different end point for Mayer and Anthony.
I hear ya Acell I’m just glad it’s Tuesday and not Monday. Monday’s mean no minor league games watch. Yordanny Monegro goes for Greenville today he hasn’t given up an earned run in over a month and 6 starts.
he’s been fantastic. If he isn’t in the system top 10 he should be by the end of the year.
I’m really looking forward to seeing what Montgomery can do next year too.
The guy that I’m really excited about seeing stateside next year is Dalvinson Reyes. He’s a 6’5” 200 pounds tons of projection already a strike thrower hasn’t given up a run this year in the dsl in a limited (17) innings. He’s very young only 17 but throws 92-93 already with a ton of projection. He throws a heavy sinking fastball huge ground ball pitcher. He should be in the FCL next year but he might skip it and go to Salem directly depending on how he looks in spring. Very exciting pitching prospect.
The caveat on Reyes unlike 95% of the guys I comment on I haven’t actually seen him but just talking about what I read. Very excited to see him in person.
The top 10 in this very strong system is going to be hard to crack. He should be top 20 though Yordanny has been dealing would like to see him get the call to Portland for a few starts.
Yordanny tonight 5 innings no runs 8 ks 2 bb another dominant performance he needs to be in AA and what a game for Anthony 4-5 with his first homer in AAA.
I hope Yordanny’s next start is in AA and that was a massive game for Anthony
Bruin1012
Last 7 games Yordanny for Greenville:
34 IP, 13H, 0ER!!!!, 9 Walks, 42 SO
This is in a league that favors batters.
Can’t wait to see what Monegro can do in Portland…
Monegro falls under rule 5 after this season, I think he will be protected
acell10
2024
H.Dobbins (AA): 3.17 ERA, 105 IP, 1HR!!!!, 98 SO, 39 Walks.
Yesterday he made his second quality start in a row (eighth of the season), perhaps he will be promoted to triple AAA for the next start, and Monegro will take his place in AA.
The interesting thing is that Dobbins and Monegro are subject to Rule 5 after this season.
That’s what I want to see.
Bruin1012
Another very important point is that Anthony is not split into left-handed and right-handed pitchers.
Trollfree
Folks, the cupboard is pretty bare thanks to Bloom as was the MLB roster before Breslow showed up. This miracle season has been fun to see the Dombrowski draftees flourish. Lets see what Breslow can do to off-set the wasted Bloom years. The Farm System needs a huge build up with good draft picks since there were so few during the previous four years.
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How funny it is to read Trollfree’s posts, which are always filled with pessimism.
Now for the facts.
Abreu is the prospect Bloom brought into the Red Sox farm system in the July 2022 trade for Vazquez.
Wilyier looks like he has a good chance to win the American League ROY 2024 (2.7 WAR- 337 AP, 127 Wrc+)
Hamilton is another prospect whom Bloom received in a deal with JBJ. in 2022
2024 (2.4 WAR – 295 AP, 32 SB)
R.Anthony OF (compensatory for Eovaldi 2022) looks like a unicorn at 20 years old and he has no splits, which is very important in a Red Sox lineup that skews left.
K.Campbell 2B/OF (compensatory for Bogaerts 2023) went from A+ to AAA this season and looks like the answer at second base in 2025, if Grissom fails.
K.Teel and M.Mayer will have an impact in 2025 at some point.
C.Meidroth (INF), Guerrero (P), Penrod (P) could make an impact in 2025.
Bernardino, Kelly, Whitlock, Winckowski, Booser – Bloom has re-equipped the bullpen, which is cheap for the coming years and can be targeted at adding strong relievers in 2025 and beyond.
Also waiting in the wings are young pitchers – Monegro, Paez, Rodriguez, Valera – who are ready to climb into the top 15 of the Red Sox farm after this season if they finish on a positive note.
Red Sox 2024 WAR as of August 21:
1.Duran 7.0 WAR (Dombrowski)
2.Devers 4.3 WAR (Cherington)
3.Houck 3.4 WAR (Dombrowski)
4.Abreu 2.7 WAR (Bloom)
5.Hamilton 2.4 WAR (Bloom)
6.O’Neill 2.3 WAR (Breslow)
7.Rafaela 2.2 WAR (Dombrowski)
8.Yoshida 1.6 WAR (Bloom)
9.K.Jansen 1.6 WAR (Bloom)
10.Crawford 1.6 WAR (Dombrowski)
11. Wong 1.5 WAR (Bloom)
12. Kelly 1.3 WAR (Bloom)
13 Pivetta 1.1 WAR (Bloom)
14 Refsnyder 1.0 WAR (Bloom)
15 Booser 1.0 WAR (Bloom)
16. Whitlock 0.9 WAR (Bloom) IL-60
17 Bernardino 0.7 WAR (Bloom)
Bello 0.7 WAR (Dombrowski)
18 Martin 0.6 WAR (Bloom)
19 Winckowski 0.5 WAR (Bloom)
20 Casas 0.3 WAR (Dombrowski)