The calendar has turned over and
it’s officially 2014 and the Red Sox are World Champions. What could be better? Am I right?
How about a repeat? That would be
outstanding but right now; I’m just looking forward to the season. We’re about a month and a half away from
Spring Training and 4 months away from baseball starting up again and what have
the Red Sox been up to?
Well, not much. It’s been a surprisingly quiet offseason with
more players leaving than coming in. I’m
not saying that’s a bad thing by any means but I was expecting more moves by
now. The offseason still has a month or
so to go and I expect the Sox to make a couple moves still but I’m a little
shocked that they’ve been so non-productive this offseason.
First, let’s talk about the
departures.
The Red Sox have lost nearly a
third of their starting lineup from last year.
Catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia is gone; he signed a 3 year deal with the
Miami Marlins. The deal is worth $21
million and there are rumors the Sox offered 2 years at $16 million. If true, that means that Salty choose years
over dollars and he is from Miami so I guess it makes sense. I really like Salty but with 2 big catching
prospects down in the minors not far away from coming to Fenway, I get the Sox
not wanting to go the extra year. I
think in the end, this will not go well for him. Miami is a HUGE stadium and his offensive
numbers are sure to take a dive.
However, the team is very young and has some very good pitching
prospects and Salty will be a good mentor for these kids. I’m hoping for success for him but with that
park and that uncertainty in management, I see it being diasterous.
Jacoby Ellsbury, a fan favorite,
especially for the ladies, also left in free agency. He signed with the hated Yankees for $153
million over 7 years. I don’t blame the
guy. That’s a lot of money and a lot of
years. I’m glad the Sox didn’t offer a
long term deal, though I hear they did offer a 6 year deal. Ellsbury gets hurt a lot and truthfully, I don’t
think he’s worth $21.8 million a year. Especially
when you factor in, he’ll be getting his $21 plus million when he’s 35, 36 and
37. Speed guys seem to age well but not
one that’s consistently getting hurt. It
certainly is a gamble for the Yanks and they have the money to gamble like this
so good for them. I think you’ll see his
power numbers increase slightly but betting on him to play a full season in
half of the contract years is a stretch.
Good luck Ellsbury, I’ll clap for you on your first at bat at Fenway,
but after that, you’ll hear the boo-birds.
Shortstop, Stephen Drew did not
accept the Sox qualifying offer and is testing the free agency waters. Unfortunately for him it’s not going so
well. So far, the only team that has
showed some interest has been the New York Mets, but they seem unwilling to go
multiple years. It’s still a possibility
that he resigns with the Sox and if that happens, I see Xander Bogaerts moving
to 3rd this year and Will Middlebrooks being trade bait. If he does so somewhere else, I see Xander
taking over the starting shortstop role and Will starting at 3rd. Either way, I’m good with it. I like Drew and think he can be just as good
if not better if he resigns. This will
be one to watch for the next month.
Now let’s talk about the additions
and re-signings.
Mike Napoli has been re-signed
and I agree with this one big time.
There are 2 players that I think took to Boston and its fans. They are Jonny Gomes (who’s signed for this
year already) and Mike Napoli.
When I saw Napoli partying it up
in Boston with fans after the parade, I thought, this guy loves Boston, we need
to resign him. The Sox also got him at a
bargain for only $32 million over 2 years.
While it’s a lot of money, it’s a short contract and I think that’s a
good thing with Naps and his degenerative hip.
He put up 23 homers and drove in 92 RBI last season which isn’t too
shabby for his first season in Fenway. I
know he strikes out a ton but he has a ton of power and he’s a fan favorite,
also his transformation to a first baseman was really good, as he’s become a
great defender over there.
One area the Sox were so strong
in last year was the bullpen and the Sox strengthened that by acquiring
relievers Burke Badenshop and Edward Mujica.
Badenshop came over in a trade
with the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for Luis Ortega. He’s very effective against right-handers, owning
a career .254 average against, and in the last 2 seasons he’s been even better,
sporting a .234 against them. He adds
depth and reliability to the front end of the bullpen.
Edward Mujica is a flamethrower
acquired via free agency. He spent last
year with the NL Champion St. Louis Cardinals and posted a 2.78 ERA with a very
high strikeout rate. The Sox signed him
for 2 years at $9.5 million to shore up the bullpen. Mujica lost the closing role in St. Louis but
has been effective in that role in the past and saved 37 games last year. Not only does he provide a late-inning bridge
to closer Koji Uehara but he also provides some insurance in case Uehara gets
hurt or becomes ineffective.
With Salty leaving, the Sox were
left with a glaring hole at catcher. They
have some hot young prospects down in the minors, but they are still a year or
two away from seeing full time duties in the majors so the Sox needed a short
term replacement. They filled that need
by signing A.J. Pierzynski.
Pierzynski was signed to a 1 year
deal worth $8.25 million. I think it’s a
good fit as A.J. is an excellent offensive catcher with well respected game
calling skills. While he may not have as
much power as Salty, he hits at a better clip, .283 career and .272 last
year. He does have some pop, hitting 17
homers last year and 27 the year before.
He doesn’t walk much, only 11 times last year and never more than 30 in
a year in his career but he also doesn’t strike out much, never has touched
more than 78 in a year. He makes contact
and that’s generally a good thing.
With a good backup in David Ross,
the signing looks very good on paper. It
also serves its purpose by allowing some time for young catching prospects,
Blake Swihart and Christian Vasquez, to groom a little in the minors.
There is still a lot of time
between now and Opening Day for the Sox to make additional moves so I’m hoping
they are not done. I’d like them to add
another bat to supplement the loss of Ellsbury and Salty but if not, they’ll
have to rely on young guys Xander Bogaerts, Will Middlebrooks and Jackie
Bradley Jr. to come through in a big way.
Right now the starting lineup would look like this:
Shane Victorino – RF
Xander Bogaerts - SSDustin Pedroia – 2B
David Ortiz – DH
Mike Napoli – 1B
Jonny Gomes / Daniel Nava – LF
Will Middlebrooks – 3B
A.J. Pierzynski – C
Jackie Bradley Jr. - CF
I’ll keep you posted with any
future deals.
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