Tag: Tony Massarotti

The 300s Red Sox 2022 Season Preview

By on • ( 1 Comment )

After another cold, dark, and suspiciously long winter, this afternoon we get The Masters, game day dogs on the grill, and most importantly, Red Sox Opening Day. I wasn’t sure we’d get here after an extensive lockout, constant news of failed negotiations between the players and the owners, and rainouts delaying games further, but we made it guys. It’s baseball season.

After finishing the season 92-70 last year and making a surprise run to the ALCS expectations are high for this Red Sox team. With one of the best lineups in the game expectations should be high as the Sox look to build on last year’s deep postseason run. This season already has a melancholy vibe to it though because there could be some big changes after the season with JD Martinez, Kike Hernandez, and potentially Xander Bogaerts all hitting free agency. The farm system is back in the Top 10 and the Sox finally opened their wallets with the Trevor Story signing so the franchise is in a good position for the long haul, but it’s definitely win now time down on Jersey Street.

The Duct Tape Rotation

The 2022 pitching staff is a mixed bag that should get better when if everyone can get healthy at the same time, but as it currently sits the rotation has some question marks. The staff includes one legit starter in Nathan Eovaldi (11-9, 3.75 in 2021) but he comes with a long history of injuries, one potential hidden gem in Nick Pivetta (9-8, 4.53) who’s looking to build off an eye opening postseason run (2.63 ERA, 14 K’s in 13.2 IP), a 25-year-old in Tanner Houck (1-5, 3.52) that the Sox kept the training wheels on a bit last year but shows a ton of potential, and then two old and possibly washed up vets in Michael Wacha, yes that Wacha from the 2013 World Series, (5.05, 6.62, 4.76 ERAs the last 3 seasons) and Rich Hill (7-8, 3.86) at 42-years-young is back in Boston to see how long he can survive throwing 88 mph fastballs. Gone is rotation mainstay Eduardo Rodriguez after the Red Sox deemed him expendable and to be honest E-Rod seemed like he was gone the minute Alex Cora publicly scolded him for celebrating too hard in the middle of an ALCS game. A rare miss for Cora.

If it sounds like I’m missing someone, you’re right, I haven’t mentioned Chris Sale who somehow cracked a rib last month throwing a baseball. So I hate to pin my hopes on Chris Sale because while has the stuff to be the best pitcher in the game, he he has struggled mightily to stay healthy the last few years. I still blame the Sox for delaying Sale’s March 2020 Tommy John surgery by several months for no particular reason, which ended up costing Sale nearly two full years. After recently being placed on the 60 day IL, Sale is projected to return the first week of June so I’m cautiously optimistic, but when healthy the lefty has the stuff to carry the Sox down the stretch and into the playoffs.

Welcome to Boston, Trevor Story

I love this signing IF Story is indeed slated to be the second baseman of the future. I don’t however love the optics of the Red Sox signing a career shortstop the same exact year that their own franchise shortstop can opt out of his contract and become a free agent. At best it feels like hedging, at worst it feels like the Sox are preemptively moving on from their team’s de facto leader, homegrown All-Star, and 2x World Series champion.

Garrett Whitlock Will Be Key

For those who don’t know, the Red Sox essentially got Garrett Whitlock off the scrap heap, selecting him in the 2020 Rule 5 Draft off the Yankees roster. Coming off Tommy John surgery, Whitlock was nothing less than a revelation for the Sox last year going 8-4 with a 1.96 ERA and racking up 81 strikeouts in 73.1 IP. Like a child of divorce, Whitlock seems to be stuck between what his dad (Alex Cora) and his mom (Chaim Bloom) want him to be as he gets yo-yo’d back and forth from the rotation to the bullpen. It has a striking similarity to the Jonathan Papelbon situation way back in 2006 when Paps came into the league as a starter before getting shifted to the pen for the postseason and ultimately taking the closer reigns from Keith Foulke. Now, I think Whitlock should be a starter because he has all the tools and multiple legit pitches to become a top of the rotation guy. However, baseball as a whole has really devalued top tier starters as analytics have taken over the game and managers routinely pull starters after a couple of times through the batting order. “Openers” used to be something we all laughed at the Rays for sending out relievers to pitch a few innings to start a game instead of a traditional starter. Now you see it all the time. The workhorse ace of a pitching staff is an endangered species. There were only THREE players with more than 200 innings pitched last year in all of baseball!

So perhaps Whitlock has a higher objective value coming out of the pen as the team’s Rover, but I still would rather seem him as a starter. Then again, Papelbon went on to become the greatest closer in team history so what do I know. Let’s not forget that the team did jerk around guys like Daniel Bard who eventually fell apart and the Yankees did the same thing with Joba Chamberlain. I once saw Chamberlain start a game at Fenway where he struck out 11 guys before the Yankees move him back to the pen. Then again he was a dominant reliever and was the heir apparent to Mariano Rivera before also falling apart. So I guess my main point is let’s just make a decision and stick with it rather than hem and haw to the point that the team screws up another young pitcher.

Rafael Devers Poised for Another MVP Season

Contract extension talks have stalled between the Sox and Bogaerts and Devers so that’s been a bit of a downer heading into the season. Devers just turned 25 in October and posted a season of 38 HR, 113 RBI while hitting .279/.352/.538 last year. He led the Red Sox in HR, RBI, Runs, Hits, Total Bases, Slugging and OPS en route to his first All-Star selection and finishing 11th in MVP voting. No player has more extra base hits than Rafael Devers over the last three seasons. Get. The. Deal. Done.

Closing Time

Matt Barnes was an All-Star last season lest anyone forget after his second half ERA of 6.48 and ya know being left off the ALCS roster. It didn’t help that Barnes seemingly fell apart right around the time the Spider Tack story broke and was suddenly explicitly banned. Maybe it was just a mental thing and he needed a full winter away from the ballpark to reset, but I’m not exactly penciling Barnes in for 40 saves this year. Whitlock could step in and handle the role, but again with baseball overindexing in middle relief guys, the Sox may not want to pigeonhole Whitlock to 1-inning outings. Cora has gone out of his way to not name a closer, which is fine, but I don’t love a revolving door at the end of games.

“They don’t want to call it closer by committee so they’re not gonna use that term is because they know theres a negative connotation. The reason Cora hasn’t named a closer is because they’re not going to use one.” – Tony Mazz on 98.5

It seems like the Sox are just throwing arms against the wall to see what sticks and that could be a problem, but then again relievers are notoriously fickle. So the team will need to define some roles in the pen, but expect the Sox to be active in the reliever market if Barnes and co. don’t bounce back.

This is a Flawed But Dangerous Team

Vegas has the over/under set for the 2022 Red Sox at 85.5 after winning 92 last year. With a loaded lineup that will mash its way to a ton of wins on its own and a potentially sneaky good bullpen, the Sox should be a lock to hit the over. The rotation could be a disaster if there are any more injuries, but with Sale due back in June they should be good enough at the front end. The only thing that could hinder them is how the AL East has seemingly become the best division in baseball. Vegas has the Yankees, Rays, and Blue Jays all projected to win more games than the Sox this season, which Boston is intimately aware of after all-time classic playoff battles against the Yankees and Rays just last fall. With all that being said, I like my chances with a lineup featuring Kike Hernandez, Rafael Devers, Xander Boagaerts, JD Martinez, Alex Verdugo, Trevor Story, and even Bobby Dalbec if he keeps up his second half surge from last season. I think this team will definitely need to add an outfield bat if they’re going to reach the World Series because I love former ALCS MVP Jackie Bradley’s defense, but the man did hit .163 in his lone season with the Brewers last year. Maybe that bat off the bench comes in the form of top prospect Triston Casas, but even then, the kid plays first base. So Chaim will likely need to find an OF bat at the deadline in the same vein as Steve Pearce if the Sox are to go the distance.

Media predictions are all over the place too so nobody knows what to expect from this team. The Ringer has the Sox as the 12th ranked team in baseball behind the Jays, Rays and Yankees, Felger has the Sox winning 95 games, and Chris Gasper has called the upcoming season a bridge year. Then again media predictions are just that, fugazi attempts at defining a team before the first pitch of Opening Day. A lot of people picked the Sox to finish a distant 4th in the division last year, but the team clicked and ended up winning 92 games en route to the ALCS.

With the addition of a healthy Chris Sale I have this team winning 95 games this year, which should be enough to get them into the new 12-team playoff format. Is this a World Series winning team? I’m not sold on that without some additions, but this should be a team that is threatening for the pennant.

Red Sox Trade Former Top Prospect Andrew Benintendi to the Royals

By on • ( Leave a comment )

I know using “former top prospect” to describe a 26-year-old that just got dumped by his current team is a tale as old as time, but I’m pretty down on this move considering the return. Just a year after signing Andrew Benintendi to a relatively inexpensive 2-year $10M extension, the Sox decided to part ways with the former No. 7 overall pick. Granted, I have not been studying my Baseball Prospectus manual so I know nothing about the guys they got in return except that they are also underperforming castoffs from their previous teams.

In return for Benintendi the Red Sox received OF Franchy Cordero and pitcher Josh Winckowski, both of whom I’m not too familiar with. It kiiiind of seems like the Sox are just throwing shit against the wall though hoping they can catch lightning in a bottle with another team’s failed projects.

“I guess you never know, but the odds seem slim that the tools will ever come together. Maybe the Red Sox see something they believe they can fix, but the scouting reports on Cordero have always mentioned that he simply scores low in his natural baseball instincts.” – David Schoenfield, ESPN

Tony Mazz was not very fond of the return either.

“In fairness to the Red Sox, Winckowski sounds like he has a chance. And let me emphasize – a CHANCE. He won’t be 23 until June. He’s 6-foot-4 and 202 pounds. In 54 career minor-league games – 53 starts – he has a 3.35 ERA with 237 strikeouts and 86 walks in 263 innings. But he’s also been traded twice already…Cordero doesn’t sound like much of a baseball player. When I read his profile, the first name I thought of was Wily Mo Pena, a physically imposing power hitter whom the Red Sox acquired in 2006. He basically lasted a year here before they became the second team to give up on his “potential,” which is a dirty word in sports. It’s a euphemism for “underachiever.” There’s nothing worse than a great athlete who doesn’t have the skills to play baseball. And Cordero doesn’t feel like much of a ball player.“

Not to mention this deal happened one year to the day of the Mookie Betts trade. This franchise really should just teach a PR masterclass because there’s always drama surrounding every single move they make.

Maybe it’s elite foresight from Chaim Bloom and he’s seeing what nobody else sees…which is exactly why John Henry hired him. BUT, Benintendi is literally less than a full season removed from being a pretty good and promising young player. In fairness that was two years ago, but with a Covid shortened 2020 season shortened even further due to injuries + the 2019 season Benintendi is only 152 games removed from finishing 2018 hitting .290/.366/.465 with 16 HR, 41 doubles, and 21 Stolen Bases. You can’t tell me that guy just forgot how to play ball.

To make matters worse the Sox are even paying a little over $2M of Benintendi’s salary just for the Royals to take him. Making a little over $6 million this season, Benintendi would be arbitration eligible in 2022 and become a free agent in 2023. It would appear Bloom saw no future for Benny with the Sox so decided to get something in return while he still could.

If you’re feeling a bit, well, underwhelmed by this offseason then you my friend are not alone. When the biggest moves of the offseason are signing OF Hunter Renfroe to a 1-year $3M deal, Kike Hernandez (a nice utility player) to a 2-year $14M deal and RHP Garrett Richards (who is always hurt) to a one year $10M deal, fans have a right to be less than enthused. With Chris Sale out until at least mid-season while he recovers from Tommy John, the Sox have done almost nothing to improve the roster that finished with one of the worst records in team history last season.

Obviously the Red Sox are looking at 2021 as a bridge year while they try to get as far under the luxury tax as possible. Even Dustin Pedroia’s $13.75M AAV still counts against the luxury tax despite retiring so Bloom appears to be resetting the roster before hopefully jumping back into free agency next offseason. This is the kind of stuff that Theo Epstein used to preach, you can’t compete for a World Series and spend big in free agency, and trade prospects every year. It’s just not sustainable. So I understand that, but this franchise does feel a little rudderless. Especially for a franchise that changes its organizational philosophy every 2 years. I can take a down year or two if the team has a legitimate plan in place, but that blueprint remains to be seen if we’re being honest. At the start of next season the Sox will have their two best players in Xander Bogaerts entering his age-29 season and Rafael Devers entering his age-25 season so both guys will be in their prime. Now all Bloom has to do is build an entire roster of players around them in the next 15 months. No pressure.

Say what you want about Benintendi, but he still has the potential to be an All-Star and let us never forget him saving the ALCS for the Red Sox against Houston en route to the 2018 championship. Best of luck to ya in KC, Benny.

Bruins Trade Adam McQuaid to the Rangers for Old Friend and Former Bruin Steven Kampfer

By on • ( Leave a comment )

NHL.com – Boston Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney announced today, September 11, that the team has traded defenseman Adam McQuaid to the New York Rangers in exchange for defenseman Steven Kampfer, a 2019 fourth-round draft pick and a 2019 conditional seventh-round draft pick.

It’s sad to see Adam McQuaid go as he was always a guy ready to drop the gloves and do the dirty work for the Bruins. He was a brawler that I wouldn’t want to run into in a dark alley. However, the Bruins have had a redundancy in the D-pairings for a couple of years now as Kevan Miller is essentially the same player.

So it looks like the B’s were trying to make their D-core a little more dynamic. Enter old friend and former Bruin Steven Kampfer. He actually played on Boston’s Stanley Cup winning team back in 2010-11 when he chipped in with 5 goals and 5 assists.

Kampfer is gonna need a new Bruins number as #47 obviously belongs to Torey Krug. Unless the Bruins trade him as well, which Tony Mazz has said on 98.5 he is convinced they will do this offseason.

Now obviously Kampfer isn’t exactly an elite offensive threat, having registered 10 goals and 16 assists for 26 points in 166 career games. Maybe he’s a bit more skilled defensively than McQuad. Or maybe it’s just the draft picks the Bruins coveted. Perhaps they can dump Kampfer easier than they could McQuaid and make room for the young guys. The Bruins are stocked with young defensemen who are chomping at the bit.  Guys like Jakub Zboril (1st round, 2015), Urho Vaakanainen (1st round, 2017), and Jeremy Lauzon (2nd round, 2015). Some fans are more excited for than others.

Joe Haggerty broke down the top prospects of the B’s and here are a few excerpts on those three guys from Haggs.

“It may be that Zboril ends up being trade bait for the Black and Gold given his talent, his standing as a prospect and the questions they may still have about him as an eventual finished product at the NHL level. Still, the talent is undeniable with Zboril and that’s the most important thing with these prospects.”

“Vaakanainen has the kinds of defensive tools that could make him an NHL player for a long, long time. Vaakanainen is excellent in the defensive zone, solid on the penalty kill and shows a good stick and good instincts in breaking up plays, and combines excellent skating and smart, smooth first passes into good plays out of his own end. All of that adds up to a nice stay-at-home partner to younger puck-moving D-men like Torey Krug and Charlie McAvoy, and somebody that should be a solid contributor for a long time.”

“There is very clearly some raw elements to [Lauzon’s] game that need to be further developed at the AHL level. Lauzon posted five goals and 14 points in 13 games during the junior hockey playoffs to finish things off on a good note, and leave the Bruins with an idea of what they might see when he’s ready to go at the NHL level.”

Some of those guys have failed to live up to their draft billing thus far, but it’s probably time for the Bruins to find out one way or another if these young kids will sink or swim.  Whether they can play at the NHL level consistently remains to be seen, but if theres one thing we’ve seen in recent years with the Bruins is that they needed to even out their roster with younger (and cheaper) players as they’ve rebounded from a non-playoff team back into a Stanley Cup contender once again.

Yankees Add Stud Closer Zach Britton, Red Sox Continue to Do Nothing

By on • ( Leave a comment )

This is a headline that seems to be repeating itself over and over again like we’re in the damn Matrix. American League team x adds a weapon for the stretch run, Red Sox do nothing. The Indians added Brad Hand, the Yankees added Zach Britton, and the Astros continue to be on the hunt for bullpen arms with a deep farm system to deal from. Of course this all stems back to Dave Dombrowski absolutely gutting the Sox farm system.

Now those trades were made to acquire Craig Kimbrel and Chris Sale, which have worked out pretty well, but this is why I am pro-prospect. Big Z and I argue about this constantly on The 300s Podcast. He wants to dish prospects all day every day because most of them don’t pan out, which I understand. But in my opinion, prospects are more about their perceived value than their actual intrinsic value. They are poker chips. Some of them turn into Mookie Betts, others fizzle into Casey Kelly. So, no you can’t hold onto all of them, but to trade away so many of your top prospects in 2 years is just risky.

—Begin Pomeranz Rant—

This is why the Drew Pomeranz trade still bugs me. The Sox traded Anderson Espinoza, who was their top pitching prospect, straight up for the NL All-Star, who was in his first year as a starter and known to have injury issues. In 2+ seasons with Boston, Pomeranz has posted ERAs of 4.78, 3.84, and 5.70 this year.

Not to mention he’s hit the DL four different times since joining the Red Sox. Excellent trade, Dave!

Now Espinoza actually pitched pretty poorly in the Padres system before blowing out his elbow in 2017, but thats besides the point. I wasn’t against trading Espinoza because I thought he was the second coming of Pedro, I was against trading our top pitching prospect (and No. 73 prospect in all of baseball in 2016 after his first pro season) for a guy with an injury history (which the Padres’ GM was suspended for lying about) and a minuscule track record of success. Espinoza was a blue chip prospect and should have gotten a better return.

This is also why I’m always hesitant to trade from pitchers from the NL, unless they are studs with a pedigree because jumping from the NL to the AL East almost always adds a run onto a pitchers ERA. In the first half of 2016 with the Padres, Pomeranz had an ERA of 3.15, which ballooned to 4.78 for the Sox in the second half. Not impressed, Dave.

—End of Pomeranz Rant—

The Sox are an offensive juggernaut this year with a Cy Young candidate ace, pretty good starting pitching behind him, and a dominant closer. Outside of Kimbrel though their bullpen is a high wire act every night. So now the Sox, one of the best and most expensive teams in baseball, can’t make a deal for a Snickers bar because their farm system is full of JV players.

If they bow out early in the playoffs yet again because their bullpen implodes then Dombrowski should absolutely be on the hot seat. The guy who comes into town with his beautiful lettuce and does nothing but trade away top prospects and sign the highest price free agents hasn’t proved anything to me since he got here in 2015. Tony Mazz laid it out pretty well in this article from the other day. Not to mention, the biggest knock against Dombrowski over the years has been his inability to build a great bullpen. Great…

This team as currently constituted will not win a World Series, especially not with their direct competition adding weapons like Zach Britton right in their face. But, I don’t know what the Sox can really do aside from picking someone off the scrap heap and hoping to catch lightning in a bottle like they did with Doug Fister last year. If this team doesn’t make a significant move, wins 100+ games, and gets bounced in the first round again then someone needs to get fired.