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Suzuki turned 37 in October, Avila will be 34 in January . Why would you wonder if Suzuki is willing to reduce his playing time at his age ? I know we all have our favorites but we have to consider the minor role and role in the lineup and defensively for a back up catcher. While I know that BA of Avila's looks ugly but he gets on base at a better clip than Suzuki and hitting last that's pretty much all they want a guy to do down there. Collins is also good for a walk and tons of power. Collins also has a very good arm Suzuki has a noodle. We're splitting hairs here and Collins is likely the least expensive for a minor role . It's just the backup catcher by stereotype is usually a defensive guy who you would hope can at least get on base at a decent clip. Keep on rooting for Suzuki, I'll just hope the Sox actually try to get some value from Collins in a trade or by actually using him . One last thing in 10 less games played and less than half the AB's Suzuki had, Avila still had the higher fWar, .2 to 0, which basically shows his ability to walk and defense was worth more in 2020. 2019 Avila played 63 games, 201 Plate appearances to Suzuki's 85 games and 309 PA's. Suzuki's fWar .6 , Avila 1.3 .

Better make sure you know how long the season is before you make that bet

Very much so a comundrum. They could give the minor league coaches instructions not to warm him up unless they plan on bringing him in regardless of the game situation thereby reducing the stress. If you warm up with the intention of coming into the game the warm up on the mound is more like a continuation of the warmup in the pen rather then going through the up and dowm nature that relievers typically go through. Don't bring him in with men on base , just have him start innings.

No thats not what I'm asking. Is he throwing with any more effort in the minors than the majors ? I don't think you can quantity that MLB is any more or less stressful to his arm than any kind of pitching he does. If he starts he may get 5 or 6 days between starts but pitch more innings. If he relieves he throws less pitches and less innings. If it is some kind of combination of both to get to 60 or 100 innings I'd have to go with 100 innings no matter where it is or in what role is more stressful

Do you think 60 innings up and down (MiLB /MLB) is any more or less stressful to his arm ? Is 100 innings up and down more or less stressful ?

You are right. I always get mixed up with Sheets since his omission from summer camp last years makes me think he isn't on the 40. Oh and thanks a lot I contribute to the discussion and all you do is correct me !

I've been saying Taijuan Walker since the thread about Predict Sox 1st move this off season. Also if you want another lefty why chose Suzuki instead of someone like Alex Avila who hits righties reasonably well. Kill 2 birds with 1 stone. Improve OBP and OPS against RHP incrementally while still having the option to add another LHB.

Yes the Sox need another strong LH bat. Yermin is RH btw. If you are going to name Sheets you might as well mention Luis Gonzalez and Blake Rutherford since they are on the 40 man and Sheets isn't. Moncada coming back strong should help and so should Eaton if he stays on the field. But I still agree that the lack of strength against righties was a problem before Moncada and Mazara tanked which just exacerbated it. There just aren't a lot of positions open unless there's a major trade involving getting a lefty while we give up one of our cherished righties like Eloy. I also agree with you that pitching is the 1st priority. Collins does need a shot. Can't keep pushing him down . Either trade him or use him. If the Sox do more trades , he's going to be in one of them. A good discussion but they are all important . Going all in means getting the depth needed to survive injuries if it doesn't involve big signings. 1A: another SP, 1B: RP, LHB, 1C: fill in the blank for back up catcher and/or more relief pitching

If he is going to have Tommy John surgery I'd rather try to avoid or delay it by babying him along. Maybe it can't be avoiding but I'd sure like to try and if that means less innings this year so be it. With you wanting him amped up to 100 innings this year I think you are pushing him closer to that surgery. No way to know that for sure but since the Sox probably care about his health as much as his arm I'd bet against him throwing 100 innings this year.

Id say so too but 2021 isn't the year we can find out what he can be. Do you really think in 2022 he'll be ready to pitch 150+ innings ? My guess is he's a TJ or rotator cuff injury waiting to happen. Baby him along there's a slight chance to build up his arm to handle a bigger load. Or maybe he just throws so damn hard surgery is inevitable.

He was a starter or tried to be his last 2 years at Tenn. but he made only 13 starts and had 36 appearances . 2019 65 IP and 2020 1 start, a few innings before he got injured then drafted . Threw innings in summer camp before Sox brought him up and pitched 6 innings regular season and got injured again in the playoffs. He's never shown he can sustain a high level of performance. That's the problem with trying to get him to be a starting pitcher , his health throwing that hard or if he might have to dial it back as a starter and you still might get injury either way. The kid is tough . Pitched with a broken jaw but I'm pretty sure the Sox are going to try to keep his arm healthy to contribute in 2020 late in the season and into the playoffs and severely limit his innings he throws in the minors. Whether that means a spot start every now and then for 3 innings combined with some BP work we don't know.

I was hoping I'd see u here. A lot of people are speculating that Crochet can go 100-125 IP this year and I think that's way too optimistic based on his college career. I'm thinking more in the 65-75 IP range and if he can do that without any DL stints then thank your lucky stars. What is your opinion ?

Thank you Fozzie Bear.

I think that's quite a stretch on Crochets innings. I think we'd be lucky to get 75 innings between the minors and the Sox. Both will be monitored very closely and not over pitched, especially if they do well, so that they can be available for the last month or 2 of the season and see if they are playoff worthy in roles that coincide with their minor league work and innings pitched to that point.

I don't know if he will spend the whole year in the bullpen but I wouldn't expect more than a handful of starts. In 2019 how many innings did he pitch for the Vols ? 65 ? Then in 2020 he had 1 start for the Vols then the Sox drafted him. Don't conveniently forget his background. After that 1 start he had shoulder/back issues. He had 36 appearances and 13 starts in 3 years with Tenn. The major concern about him was lack of sustained high level performance. He's a bit away from being someone who can start even 20 games per year. I'd be happy with 65 uninjured innings from him and that's a reliever load. Then you can look into him extending beyond that in 2022, spot starts ,etc. Maybe get him up to over 100 innings but he just seems like the kind of guy who's going to have rotator cuff problems or Tommy John surgery . The Sox are going to handle him accordingly, but if they need him he's going to be in the pen in 2021.

You are a quality new member. Probably because I agree with some things you say. I too value BA more than most people and the less swing and miss approach. Any way you get on base is great but getting on via a hit accomplishes more.

I agree but I've like Brantley forever and I was hoping the Sox signed him last time he was available and could still play RF cromulently. I'm also not real sure you can call playing every day over Vaughn blocking him. I have no doubt Brantley would contribute more to the Sox than Vaughn would for at least the 1st year and maybe even a 2nd year. It's a proven LH bat , OBP guy with some pop vs a RH bat, no MLB experience , no experience higher than A+. If Vaughn is so hot, let him tear up the minors for a while. Brantley can always be moved if Vaughn forces his way into contention for a starting job.

Wacha always reminded me of Fozzie Bear

The least of my concerns. If he can still pitch is first. https://www.latimes.com/sports/dodgers/story/2020-05-29/david-price-donates-1000-to-each-dodgers-minor-league-player-june https://dodgersway.com/2020/06/09/dodgers-david-price-discusses-donation-minor-leaguers/ https://dodgersway.com/2020/06/04/dodgers-david-price-minor-leaguer-grateful/

This is definitely something I haven't seen suggested after seeing this in Rotoworld: Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters on Thursday that he is unsure if David Price will return to pitch in 2021. https://www.rotoworld.com/baseball/mlb/player/18660/david-price?source=trending Dodgers clearly don't need him . He'll be 36 in August. He forfeited his pro-rated salary last year when he sat out 2020. Dodgers are paying him $16M for 2021 and 2022 while the Red Sox pay an equal amount. Would the White Sox be interested if the Dodgers paid half his salary ? That would be a 2 year @$8M a year deal. I have no idea what the Dodgers might want in return and there would have to be a guarantee from Price he won't sit out again. Price has made a lot of money in his career so maybe he isn't all that motivated to return after sampling a full year of family life . Also have to consider he could retire soon or even after a year of pitching with the Sox. Sox probably wouldn't go for it, depending on the return ,unless the starting pitchers they could also be looking at on the FA market are all seeking multiple year deals.

Ahh Ok I was reading between the dashes . Thanks fellas.

I don't know if you re reading your own stats wrong or I am. According to what you are showing he threw a higher percentage of curves of his total pitches . SO he actually threw 30.1 % curves in 2020 as opposed to 21.0 % in 2019, so he threw more curves percentage wise.

I remember that intrasquad game. He looked like an ace. K'd a bunch of guys. Then during the season we never saw that Cease again. 8 K's in 4.2 innings.

The splash could be an extension of LG or LL or both.

Yea, it wasn't exactly a big tank. Cost us better draft position and money. If you are going to buy guys when you tank they better be damn good so you can flip them.