Lillian

Those who want to cavalierly dismiss any criticism of Moncada as ridiculous, seem to want to use hyperbole, which is unwarranted. Speaking for myself, I have never said that he is a terrible player, or that I wanted him DFA'd. It's simply a matter of honestly trying to assess whether, or not, he is as good as was expected and is worth the amount of money that he has earned and will earn, especially in the last 2 years of his current contract. After all, he was the centerpiece for Chris Sale.

Here are the details of his contract: 20:$1M, 21:$6M, 22:$13M, 23:$17M, 24:$24M, 25:$25M club option ($5M buyout) The $5 million buyout, it would cost the Sox to extricate themselves from that $25 million salary, in 2025, is problematic. If he isn't better than this current version of the player, would you even consider paying him $25 million, if it didn't cost you $5 million to avoid doing so? I would not. He is not currently a $25 million a year player. He is a very good athlete, with seemingly immense potential. However, he is not playing up to his promise and that perceived potential. He is not driving in a lot of runs, hitting homers, or stealing bases, which were all things that I think most expected him to do. It's one thing to acknowledge that he is a good player, but yet quite another to call him a super star, which many expected him to become. He is now at the age when he should be in the prime of his career. If this is his prime level of performance, that is a little disappointing.

Heuer's delivery reminds me of Nate Jones' mechanics. I've never liked that long arm motion. It's too hard to control the pitch, and it shows the ball to the hitter. No deception.

Heuer probably needs to make a change in his mechanics, similar to the one Katz helped Lucas to make. Maybe if he shortened his delivery, it would become more repeatable. His command is not good.

Until he cools off vs. RHP, or the Sox get somebody better, we may be seeing him in the clean up spot, a lot more. So far, in his small sample size, here are his stats vs. RHP: AVG .327 OBP .439 SLG .673 OPS 1.112

Precisely, and I would guess that Hahn and the rest of the front office is thinking the same thing. It just seems like the most rational approach. However, not everyone here agrees, so it will be interesting to see what Hahn does. Just to add a note; Escobar hit #20 last night and now has 60 RBI's. That works for me. A rental, can play second base and is a switch hitter. Seems like a perfect fit, doesn't it?

Yes, it would seem obvious. However, everyone is entitled to their own opinion and it's just one of those things where we have to simply agree to disagree. I think that the ultimate moves that the front office make may somewhat vindicate us, but until that happens, all we can do is voice our opinion. If they don't at least make a serious effort to find a power bat, especially from the left side, then we may have to acknowledge that we are "wrong". We'll see.

As free agent contracts have become more, and more expensive, the impetus to unload expiring contracts has become greater. What is the point of hanging on to a guy, who will be a free agent in a few months, for a team that is out of the race? Better to unload the contract and save some money. The more of those kinds of expiring contracts that exist and more teams there are that are clearly not contending, the greater the supply of such players. That should continue to drive down their prices, when negotiating with contending teams, in buying mode. I think that a lot of people are going to be surprised what little some of these sellers are able to get for their players. Moreover, removing those guys from the roster, allows a rebuilding team to play more of their prospects, during the final months of the season, giving them some valuable experience, while allowing the team to better evaluate their farm system.

I am not presumptuous enough to claim to know what the front office is trying to do. These are merely my thoughts. In any case, it will be interesting to see what Hahn does.

I respect that opinion. I just differ. This team is near the bottom in home runs and just lost Grandal, for most of the rest of the year. Eloy will certainly be a welcome partial solution, but I'd like to replace Grandal's production, more than Madrigals. We have a couple guys who can play second base. I'm also hopeful that they can do better next year, with the hole in RF, which would belong to Frazier, if he were acquired.

I assume that you would prefer Frazier, even considering the increased cost in prospects. Where would he play next season? Is he your right fielder, next year?

You have quite a memory. I was interested in a potential come back for Sizemore, when he was about to turn 32. It didn't seem to be an unreasonable gamble that he might still have been young enough to regain some of his earlier prowess. Perhaps it's my age that makes it difficult to consider a 32 year old, hopelessly "over the hill". At any rate, I don't see the relevance of bringing Grady Sizemore into the discussion. In his brief career, Sizemore was a better player, than Moncada has shown to be, so far. A brief glance at the stats Grady put up, through the same ages that Moncada has played so far, would demonstrate that he was a better player. Regarding Moncada; I hope that he will be the player that he has the potential to be and that we briefly saw during the 5 months, in which he was on the field, in 2019. If his .400 OBP and stellar defense at 3RD, are enough to satisfy you, that's your prerogative. I want more from the guy hitting 3RD in the lineup, and about to begin receiving a substantial portion of the team's player salaries, than the 5 homers and 37 RBI's, which he has produced so far.

I almost always specify left handed power hitters, or "middle of the order LH bats". When speaking about contact hitters, like Madrigal, I don't think that it matters much. To begin with, an opposing manager is very unlikely to bring in a reliever to face that kind of hitter. Moreover, contact hitters are generally able to achieve more even split stats. Managers don't go to the pen for match ups, when facing the bottom third of the order. Where the lineup can affect such decisions, is in the heart of the order. Having a good balance of RH and LH hitters in the middle of the lineup, can pose a real challenge to opposing managers. Then there is the matter of trying to mount an effective offense against certain pitchers, who have a history of dominating hitters, from one side of the plate. It's very common to face a RH pitcher, who is very effective against RH hitters. That's not surprising, in that breaking balls which move from inside, to away are more commonly a challenge for hitters. If there is a significant lack of LH power in the lineup, it can be especially hard to score runs off of such a RH pitcher. And, as we are often reminded, there are many more pitchers, who are right handed. It is this philosophy that has led me to be so dissuaded from the idea of trading for Adam Frazier. Not only is he not a power hitter, but I don't even regard the fact that he hits left handed, as being all that advantageous.

It's going to be very interesting to see if Moncada lives up to that contract. If you add in the $5 million buyout, in order to avoid that $25 million hit, in the last year of his contract, he would still be owed $59 million over the next 3 years, which is almost $20 million per year. Hahn might start thinking about moving him and that contract, and seeing if Burger can fill the hole at the hot corner, while providing considerable payroll relief. The money might be better spent on trying to resign Rodon and Lynn. I can understand how many have fallen in love with Yoan's athleticism, but it has only really begun to translate to a $20 million a year level of performance, in that 2019 season. Otherwise, not so much. There were such high hopes for him, as a genuine 5 tool prospect. So far this year, he is taking a lot of walks, while managing to always have some nagging injury. He has not proven to be very durable, or deliver much power. He plays a position where his speed is not needed and he doesn't seem interested in trying to be a base stealing threat. Although his quickness is evident on some of his more impressive plays at third, and he can throw on the run, as well as anyone I've ever seen, his routine throws are often a challenge for Abreu. As I pointed out yesterday, he has the same number of RBI's as Leury, with more plate appearances and opportunities. Given the tools and the great expectations, consider me underwhelmed. Oh, and one thing that I have always found perplexing; Both MLB.com and Baseball Reference list him at 6' 2". My guess is 5' 10", or maybe 5' 11". Watch, sometime when you can see him standing next to other players. What's that all about? Who is responsible for that obvious inaccuracy? Please don't tell me that Moncada tells people that he's 6' 2". Sorry for the rant. Maybe I just wish that they had talked Boston into giving up Devers, instead of Moncada.

If the Sox acquire Escobar, and he's healthy, once Eloy returns at the end of this month, the lineup could look just fine: Versus RHP SS T. A. 3B Moncada 1B Abreu DH Eloy 2B Escobar C Collins CF Engel RF Goodwin or Sheets LF Sheets/Lamb/Vaughn (whoever is hot and matches up with the opposing starter) Versus LHP SS T. A. 3B Moncada 1B Abreu DH Eloy LF Vaughn 2B Escobar CF Engel RF Leury C Zavala ??? Those are pretty respectable lineups, and when Grandal returns, they would be ready to compete with any team, in the post season. If Robert comes back, as well, they would be a real force, with which to contend. One more bullpen arm would provide some nice insurance against injuries.

I like Leury, however he is not going to supply power, and certainly not the kind of power, which Escobar has demonstrated in recent years. I'd love Gallo, but fear that he would cost too much in prospect capital.

With the news that Eloy will be starting a rehab assignment this weekend, just get Escobar, if healthy, and wait it out until the trade deadline. They may need to keep their "powder dry" for an unforeseen injury to a pitcher.

Leury would be fine, as someone to fill the hole at 2B. However, he cannot fill the void left by Grandal, which is a LH run producer. This injury decimated roster is currently only fielding one bonafide big time power and RBI producer. That glaring deficiency is likely to become more apparent, over the next 4 to 6 weeks.

Just to interject another point about Leury; He now has as many RBI's as Moncada, in fewer at bats. He has actually played very well. Nevertheless, you all know that I believe that the Sox need one impactful, middle of the order LH bat. The RH hitting T. Story is not the answer and would be too expensive. I still think it will be Escobar.

Those of us who have been clamouring for a LH power bat, should now be insisting upon it. There is no way that this team can continue to score runs without some LH thunder. With Grandal out, there is now only one potential LH run producer and he is not hitting for power, this year. Moncada should not be counted upon to be a power threat in the lineup. He may come around to be what we have hoped, but the Sox can't depend upon it. It's hard to believe that Hahn is not franticly trying to acquire someone to deliver some middle of the order run production, from the left side. Gallo, Escobar, or any other such run producer has to now be a major priority. I love Sheets and Burger but the former is not experienced enough to carry such a weighty responsibility and the latter is yet another RH hitter. I still don't think that they need to be thinking about anything more than a rental, but they have got to do something, and soon. At this point, the only guy in the organization that I would give any chance of being that LH power hitter, is Lamb, and that is too much of a long shot. He should be back soon, but is not a guy that most would feel confident in his ability to bat in the middle of the order. I'd love some of the RH hitters, such as Bryant, but the Sox would still need a LH bat. The month following the All Star break could be brutal, while the Sox await the return of Eloy and Robert. There is little doubt in my mind that acquiring such a hitter is a top priority for the front office. It will be interesting to see what Hahn can do.

The Sox obviously thought that he had potential. He was the second round pick in 2017, at #49. His junior year at Wake Forest, he hit 21 homers, in 63 games, with an OPS of 1.053. The problem has been that he was exclusively a first baseman, which is a position that is blocked by our MVP. Over the off season, he worked with his father, Larry Sheets to learn how to play RF. He also lost some weight, to improve his speed.

And we should remember that when Madrigal comes back next year, Frazier would have no place to play. The Sox certainly need to do more with that RF vacancy than put Adam Frazier there. You all know how much I covet a LH power bat. Frazier would not satisfy that desire. The guy has 4 home runs. He's not the answer, now or next year, let alone for Andrew Vaughn. This is a ridiculous trade proposal.

I would guess that he meant LH power. Hence; "We need more power and more LH power". Of course, I agree. The anticipated return of Eloy & Robert adds power, but not more LH power. If the Sox have to face some of the dominant RH pitchers in the Post Season, without more LH power bats, that deficiency would likely be a glaring weakness. I'd like to remind everyone that Yoan Moncada has 5 home runs, in half a season, hitting in the middle of the order.

As I wrote in another thread, it will only cost the Sox $1.3 Million to put Beckham on the roster. Seems like a no brainer. He is really on fire at Charlotte and he has the Major League experience. He is the most logical replacement for Madrigal, and they don't have to give up any prospects. If Sheets can supply a little LH balance to the lineup, he is the prospect who should be playing, at least until they get Eloy and Robert back.

Very impressive for a LH hitter to get on top of a high fast ball. The kid has earned some more playing time. Maybe the Sox should just wait until the trade deadline, unless some team makes a compelling offer. Between Burger, Sheets and Beckham, they should be able to fill the holes, until Eloy and Robert return. Vaughn's improvement versus RHP is also very encouraging. Incidentally, Beckham hit his 11TH tonight and was 2 for 4.