Lillian

I'm of a different mindset. I think we are too close to putting it all together, to be trading useful pieces, for more prospects. I'd rather see the Sox hold on to the guys who can contribute, going forward and acquire the few guys, to fill the holes. We are going to need a solid bullpen next year, and Colome can help. I'm not necessarily advocating that the Sox trade prospects, to acquire the missing pieces, however I think it's time to at least stop trading away good veterans for more long shot prospects, who may not be ready to contribute, during the window of contention. if ever.

Palka with another good night. It's time to bring him back up, to DH and cut ties with Alonso.

Bingo!!! Sign him, put him in RF next year and bat him between a couple of RH hitters, in the top sixth of the lineup. He has averaged about a .400 OBP in his last 5 seasons. He had 216 hits in 2015, a record, at the time. How are his splits vs. RH pitching? Would his arm play in RF? How lively is the ball they're using in Japan? If it's not the same as the juiced ball in the Majors, he may hit for more power than his history. The Sox shouldn't need a huge power bat in RF, with Robert, Eloy, Moncada, Vaughn, Anderson and Abreu and Collins/McCann. They need a guy who can play good defensive RF, with plus range and preferably hit LH, with a good OBP. Spend the money on pitching. 2020 (Second Half Lineup:) CF Robert 2B Madrigal LF Eloy 3B Moncada DH Abreu RF Shogo Akiyama 1B Vaughn C Collins/McCann SS Anderson

Here is a recent scouting report: https://friarsonbase.com/2018/11/24/san-diego-padres-sign-jacob-scavuzzo/

I really don't know what else I can say, to further clarify my position. Perhaps this will help; I agree with you that "putting a lefty in the middle of the order just simply because he is a lefty is not always the smart idea". I have never said that it was a good idea. In fact, I'll go a step further and state that it's never a good idea. The objective is to seek some desirable balance in the line up, not to insert bad left handed hitters, just to have some left handed hitters. What is needed are a couple of good left handed hitters, especially in the middle of the order. I hope that clarifies it.

Just to clarify my position on this discussion. Of course, a great RH hitter is absolutely preferable to a poor LH hitter, regardless of how unbalanced the lineup may be. That is obvious. Nevertheless, an ideal offense includes some balance between both right and left handed hitters. If one accepts the conventional baseball wisdom, which asserts that left handed hitters perform better versus right handed pitchers, and vice versa, and you consider that the overwhelming number of pitchers are right handed, why would you not want to have a few good left handed hitters in your lineup? It's the reason that a switch hitter like Moncada continues to bat right handed versus left handed pitchers, even though he is a better hitter, from the left side. In fact, it's the entire reason that anyone becomes a switch hitter, in the first place. This is so elementary that it shouldn't require a debate. These decisions are the responsibility of the front office and judging by Hahn's previous comments, it is apparent that he recognises the need for a middle of the order, left handed bat. I suspect that this is the reason, in addition to the $9 million, that they continue to give Alonso so much playing time, despite his disappointing production. It will be interesting to see what they do to achieve better balance in the lineup. I'm hopeful that the next left handed bat they try will be a good one.

Perhaps not the most important thing, but don't you agree that it is a significant factor? If so, why fill the one remaining spot, right field, with yet another RH hitter? Why not seek better balance, as most teams do?

My "two cents" worth is that left handed bats, such as Dietrich and Nimmo could work for RF. Forget about Rendon, Puig, Avi and all of the other right handed bats. We shouldn't need a top 10 hitter, in baseball, if Moncada, Robert, Vaughn, Eloy and Anderson perform as hoped. Just acquire a left handed bat, who can break up the chain of right handed hitters, in the middle of the order. How serious is this neck injury to Nimmo? He is not having a good year. I know that some of you are going to respond with; "but we'll have two left handed, middle of the order bats, with Moncada and Collins". All I can say is; "good luck with that". I'll be surprised if Collins turns out to be a legitimate middle of the order hitter. He is not demonstrating that, so far in AAA. It might happen, but I wouldn't count it, nor would I suggest putting that kind of pressure on him. We're not even sure that he is going to be a serviceable Major League catcher. There is just too much uncertainty about him. That leaves one LH middle of the order bat; Moncada. Look, I know that I sound like a broken record. However, as I said, I'll stop when people here stop making suggestions for the acquisition of yet another RH hitter. I frankly don't understand why so many fail to recognise the flaw in the thinking that what this team needs is another RH bat. The Sox probably have only one open position, for which they can add another offensive player and that is RF. The task should be to find a capable defensive right fielder, who hits from the left side and can bat in the middle of the order. Suggestions, anyone?

Yes, of course. I edited it. Thank you.

Another right handed hitter. He wouldn't have solved the problem. Someone has got to hit left handed, besides Moncada.

MLB Pipeline states that he has "20/20" potential. Let's remember that he is only 22 and just now recovering from the Hamate surgery. I'm hopeful. He had 15, in just 119 games, last year, including 6, in just 61 games, at Birmingham.

Absolutely. That is going to eliminate the option of using Palka there. I keep trying to find a free agent candidate, who has a decent arm and a potent left handed bat. I haven't been able to come up with one. Perhaps in the international market, or via a trade. Basabe is our best internal organizational prospect to fill that role. If he develops into a guy who could produce an OBP of .350, or better and hit 20 homers, he would be terrific in RF. He has the arm and speed to cover RF and more. Robert and Basabe could cover enough of the outfield, that Eloy's responsibility could be reduced to only a fraction of LF. Next in line are Walker and Rutherford, but I'm not as optimistic about either of those guys.

The problem with all of the candidates mentioned in this thread is that Leury, Puig, Ozuna, Castellanos and even Avi are all right handed hitters. Right field is the only spot that is going to be available to fill the void that persists, regarding a left handed, middle of the order bat. An outfield of Eloy in left, Robert in center and a power hitting, left handed hitter in right, should be the goal. Where they are going to find that guy is the question.

Fulmer closed it out and looked terrific. 5 of his 6 outs were K's.

I'm watching the Knights' game. Skole just broke a 3 - 3 tie, with his second homer of the night and 17TH of the year. He killed it, and it was off a lefty. His stats against RH pitching have been very impressive. Good to see him hit one off a southpaw. I'd love to see him get Alonso's at bats, if they can figure out how to dump Yonder.

I count 8 centerfielders, for the Sox, in this Draft.

I'm here. So, is he a potential middle of the order bat and how long will it take him to get to Big Leagues? LOL. Seriously, I'm afraid that the Sox will have to sign a veteran LH bat, for this rebuild. Maybe the kid can be part of the next one.

If a player refuses to take the offer, how long must he wait, before he can try to sign with a team, outside of the Draft, in the same manner that an undrafted college football player can "walk on"? Not that there would be any advantage to him doing that, but I'm trying to gain a better understanding of the process.

So that's how it works. Interesting. It's quite a complicated process, isn't it?

So, is this where they save a little extra money? Offer the kid some nominal amount and if he doesn't take it, use all of that money to sign the tough signees. Is that permissible?

Why is there such a discrepancy in Beard's height and weight? One place it say 5' 10" and 170 pounds, and in another it says 6' and 190. Is the latter, a projection, or was the former an older description? In any case, he looks very skinny in that video.

He was a middle infielder in high school and still insists that he can play third. Scouts seem to be less optimistic. He has the arm for third, as he also pitched in high school, but the rest of the defence at the hot corner is another question.

Vaughn's size is a little bit of an issue, at first base. Although he's a pretty good fielder, he doesn't have the reach. A tall first baseman can stretch out and grab a throw, a few inches closer to the infielder and can reach up and bring down a high throw. We shouldn't have any concerns about his size, at the plate. His power is just fine. He is graded as having plus power. He'll hit his homers. They don't need to be of the tape measure variety. There are no bonus points awarded for hitting the ball an extra 50 feet, beyond the wall. Moreover, remember that a guy 5' 11" has shorter "levers" than the long armed, 6' 3" hitter. That shorter swing path allows him to get his bat into the hitting zone, more quickly.

I often do, but don't see many options. So far, Dickerson might be the best free agent candidate, next year and that isn't much of a solution.

Let him dominate at AA and AAA, before even thinking about bringing him up. Where would he even play? He's 21, there is plenty of time.