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Jay is not a ML CF. He can catch what he gets to but the problem now is him getting to it. Just too slow now.

Jay in CF and Jay in against both RHP and LHP is an affront to Leury and the pitching staff. Leury deserves mucho tiempo in the OF .

Maybe Benetti knows not of NIN.

Apparently Nine Inch Nails pitched for the Sox today.

I already agreed with you on this point.

This is how I see it also. Great we go an extra year of a potential superstar but potential can flame out with injuries or performance that doesn't equal the kind of player we think he is. The spend money comments definitely were about Free Agency.

I think you are being completely fair and objective. As a Sox fan who loves Eloy now as I'm sure you do you're happy about him starting the season here and the extra year. However we cannot pretend this is a slam dunk deal for the Sox. It could be but it also could not be. You brought up his injury issues and you could take that a step farther if you really wanted to, It's not outlandish to say in the next 5 years he could miss valuable time to injury. Wouldn't even have to be the soft tissue ones he's been having. It could be a serious injury or 2 where he misses significant time. He won't rack up WAR for his fielding like Bregman or Trout and it's also a leap to assume he can even produce the hitting stats of those 2 . Eloy will also need to learn to take his fair share of walks if he proves he is an above average hitter. As with most others I see a bright future for him if he is what he appears to be but due to him being a left fielder it's much harder to get an above 5 WAR. In the last 3 years only 5 primarily left fielders were above a 5 WAR. Not counting Robert If one of our other OF prospects becomes good they surely move Eloy out of the OF. I'm not saying he is bad there just not as good as the other OF prospects should they also become good. All that being said I hope he hits like JD Martinez does and right from the start and never gets injured and becomes the best bargain ever !

So you don't like Gonzalez or Basabe either because if it's Eloy in LF and Robert ends up in CF that leaves Basabe ,Gonzalez, Rutherford and Adolfo for RF all of whom are among the top prospects in our system. They all are better fielders than Eloy so if 2 of that 4 become good we have a lot of talent and options.

Another one bites the dust

I swear the last 2 springs Robert hasn't looked over matched at all. I look at him and see a Major League talent but then he goes down and gets hurt. I want him to do so well and fast. Hoping he can get to AAA this year. I know with so many OF's pushing for that level it doesn't seem likely but let them battle it out . Basabe, Rutherford, Gonzalez, Robert and Adolfo; those who play best get 1st shot and with someone like Robert if he can rake at AA I wouldn't hesitate to give him the 1st shot in CF.

Banuelos will get plenty of chances to start this year. Maybe we get shocked and Giolito is sent down and the 4th and 5th starters become Banuelos and Santana .

OMG what's wrong with you ?? How dare you not just look at a 3 second video and declare him unfit for duty and criticize his recovery , conditioning and dedication and plan out his entire future at 1b/DH.

Mocada infield hit on a shot up the middle. Abreu GIDP. ALonso oppo HR 5th this spring . 3-0 end of 3 Nova perfect through 3. 5 GO's 3 K's.

Leury leadoff HR long way to LCF too start the 3rd.

Nope Castillo is hurting. Bad back.

Nova perfect through 2 with 2 K and 3 GO. Keeping the ball down well. Sxo lead 1-0. Run in the 1st. Leury single Abreu hit by pitch a wild pitch and a GO produced the run.

Don't think we see him at all this year Needs 150-160 innings this year , then get shut down. No MLB time.

The above is you at your best Holden.

The author didn't say anything so bad as you have. He said if his slider doesn't come back to where it was, he could have slightly higher than average production or worse. Whatever that means . He is certainly covering his ass with a wide array of predicted results.He didn't latch onto low pitches and launch angle like you did because his sinker and other pitcher besides than slider have natural sink on them, When you give up less than 1 HR per 9 with half your games in a band box like Houston you are doing something right. The reasoning you used is not even close to the reasons that author came to his conclusions, which might be a slightly above average pitcher or worse but if he gets his slider back to where it was he could also be quite effective once again. He is still young enough to have a couple of good years left in him but also at the age where not many get better. But saying he could be Giolito bad in 2019 is a stretch that only a guy with little understanding of pitching while also latching onto a pet theory like low balls +the age of launch angle = HR's and applying them to Keuchel is just flat out bad analysis. Next time try looking past your nose and applying cute new phrases and pet theories and actually have more than a cursory look at the pitchers repertoire and history. That way you might convince me you aren't dumb by saying things like he is constantly injured.

Making your argument for you? You compared a very successful pitcher to Dylan Covey. 204 innings pitched had a lot to do with facing the most hitters yes he gave up slightly more than a hit an inning barely. It wasn't a lot of walks that led to that. Stop patting yourself on the back thinking GM's agree with you . It has everything to do with him costing a draft pick while not lowering his demands. You also have no idea what you are talking about with low pitches and launch angle with regards to Keuchel. SInkers fool hitters into thinking fastball and then the bottom drops out producing ground balls not HR's. . Keuchel gave up less HR's /9 than Verlander, only .8 , yes that's right less than 1 HR every 9 innings. If he was giving up a ton of walks and hits his WHIP would be higher than 1.314. Your argument also said he was always injured and I disproved that SO what else you got ? Did you even bother reading the Brooks baseball report " generates an extreme number of groundballs compared to other pitchers' sinkers,"

It actually is a hot take. Maybe you end up being right .But he is not always injured. He pitched over 200 innings last year and faced the most batters in the AL. His ERA was a pretty good for the AL 3.74. His WHIP was 1.314 which is a little high for him but not terrible at all. 2019 will be his age 31 season. I also wouldn't go so far as to say GM's are in agreement with you. More than likely his contract demands were too high and he hasn't lowered then enough. As recently as 2017 he made the All Star team but he did pitch only 145.2 innings which as his lowest amount since his rookie year so obviously not always injured. His projections for this year are also pretty good . If he gets a minor league deal it will pretty much be because he has taken so long to come to terms with anyone. If he has thrown his last pitch in MLB there is a serious problem with his demands or MLB free agency. Not saying he fits with the Sox but just because a few others has compared him to Shields besides you doesn't make it accurate. This from Brooks baseball: Basic description of 2018 pitches compared to other LHP: His sinker is a real worm killer that generates an extreme number of groundballs compared to other pitchers' sinkers, has surprisingly little armside run and has some natural sinking action. His slider sweeps across the zone, has exceptional depth and has below average velo. His cutter has extreme cut action and has some natural sink. His change has slightly below average velo and has some natural sink to it. His fourseam fastball is straight as an arrow, generates a very high amount of groundballs compared to other pitchers' fourseamers, has some natural sinking action and has essentially average velo. The thing that separate him is his sinker and the natural sinking action on his other pitches.

I had to jinx it and it worked.

Sox being perfect gamed through 6 .

http://global.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/26310197/mlb-lifts-restrictions-ariz-fall-league-players The commissioner's office said Tuesday that a team can send any player to the AFL. Previously, a player had to be at Double-A or Triple-A by Aug. 1, with one player from a lower level allowed per organization. In addition, players with one year of major league service as of Aug. 31 were excluded, with the exception of one player per organization who had been selected in the most recent winter meeting draft of unprotected players. There also was a limit on foreign players. The season will also be moved up a month. Starts and ends earlier . Looks like season might be around a week longer.

Just should've read this from Friday at 5:09 PM.