I’m ignoring the obvious answer of “no.”
After all, I understand that there’s no such thing as too
much talent. Your farm system can never be too deep. But, there reaches a point
where it starts to be tricky to figure out what to do with all these players.
I think the Sox are reaching that point.
The Sox have a couple players tearing up the farm system,
with absolutely no place to go.
Take Mookie Betts, for instance. There are some who have
seen him play who insist he has no business still being in the minor leagues.
He’s certainly putting up the numbers to support that, as he reaches base every
game, and every other at-bat or so. But, he plays second base. I don’t know if
you’ve noticed, but the Sox have a second baseman this year. And next year. And
every year until 2022. I think it’s fair to say that there won’t be a spot for
Betts at second.
You could switch him to short. Lots of players make that
switch. There’s an opening there. Oh wait. They have a guy there too. Some
Bogaerts kid who speaks four languages. He’s only 21 and should be there next
year, along with the next handful. OK. So, two dead ends.
How about third? The guy who was at third last year had an
up and down year, and was actually benched in the playoffs. Could Betts or the
linguist play third? And replace a guy with 30-home-run potential at the
position? Who’s 25? That doesn’t make sense either.
How about first? Maybe one of that crew could shift to
first. Oops. Blocked again. And, he’ll be here next year too. Batting fourth in
the line-up.
How about the outfield? That Betts kid can absolutely fly.
Maybe in center field? Let’s see…the guy in center this year is the best
defensive center fielder the Sox have had in I don’t know how long. Oh, and
he’s 24.
That leaves the corner outfield spots. The guy in right has
one more year left on his contract after this one, and was the Sox most
productive player last season. Blocked.
So, left field? There’s no obvious starter at the moment.
The guy who sees a lot of the time is still an injury waiting to happen. So,
you could shift your speedy second base super-prospect to left field in order
to find him someplace to play. That’s all you have.
Not exactly a great option.
There’s a similar problem in the rotation. Forget about the
prospects, even. Brandon Workman pitched to a 2.45 ERA last season in three
starts in Boston. Pitched at least six innings in all three, and gave up 2 runs
or fewer in each of them. Three starts, three quality starts.
He’s in the bullpen. He’s 25 years old.
Where is there room for any new players?
Usually, my answer would be simple. Trade the prospects for
major leaguers. Sell high, and get quality back.
But who? And where?
Even if I trade five top prospects away, I need a spot to
put the guy that comes to Boston. Sure, there’s an opening for Giancarlo
Stanton in left. And, if the Sox got Mike Trout, He’d find a spot somewhere.
But, that really only applies to the A-list guys. And, teams aren’t trading a
lot of those guys. Otherwise, Stanton would already be in left field.
Trading for a solid all-star doesn’t make any sense. You’re
not going to trade a prospect for a player who will be around for a couple
years when you have quality youngsters at just about every position at the
major league level. Would you make a spot in the Red Sox line-up for Adam Jones
or Alex Gordon?
What it’s coming down to is having so many players, that the
Sox can’t utilize them to their full potential. There’s just no space. They
have too many prospects.
Is that possible?
Even though I want to say yes, no the BoSox do not have too many prospects.
ReplyDeleteIt's just that the rest of the AL East teams don't have enough :(.
You missed the obvious hole we have to fill next year, our #1 SP hits free agency at the end of the year. Plus I don't know if you noticed but Buchholz sure isn't pitching well. In the coming months some team will give up on this season and offer players in trade.
ReplyDeleteOh, and Mookie doesn't need moved to the majors quite yet; he hasn't even tried to hit AAA pitching so far.
Yes, the hole at ace is one that I assume gets filled somehow. Either by Lester himself, or some other type of vet. And, no, Clay's not pitching like an ace...but I think he's still better than most and has a future.
ReplyDeleteIt's true that as the season progresses, more teams will make more players available. Maybe losing Fernandez makes Miami finally give up on Stanton?
I'm wish the Sox would go after Parra from the Dbacks cause they dang sure are not going to contend. He has range, a cannon and can get on base. I'm talking Evans might not have the best Red Sox right field arm anymore if they got him kind of cannon. Youtube Parra throw and pick any of them...
ReplyDeleteAdamE has a good point in that the Sox have potential holes in their pitching. Lester will be a FA. I used to think that the Sox would sign him to a new contract but now I am not as sure. If he goes to FA and his offers soar, I bet they let him go. Lackey has one year after this one. Peavy, too (I need to confirm that this isn't his last). Buchholz has pitched well once but otherwise has gotten shelled. Doubront is frustrating and still hasn't figured it out for longer than a month at a time. They have some solid minor leaguers but nothing really top of the rotation except maybe Owens. Their inconsistent rotation is probably why the Sox barely were able to get to 0.500. So, pitching is a way to go in a trade. And it's actually easier to get than before and may be even less valuable than power hitting, which is why Stanton is probably going nowhere until he hits FA.
ReplyDelete