harfman77

QUOTE (Bigsoxhurt35 @ Jul 30, 2014 -> 01:21 PM) Masterson is going to the cards for James Ramsey Great move by the Indians.

QUOTE (caulfield12 @ Jul 30, 2014 -> 07:46 AM) Being inside the protected picks isn't going to matter that much, because we're not going after Lester, Scherzer or Shields. Same thing with Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez. Who else would we be interested in that's going to get a QO? Russell Martin, I guess. But 15 teams will be after a catcher. Yasmani Thomas and Rusney Castillo wouldn't be affected by being in the protected 10 picks. Same with the Japanese starting pitcher (although I think after what happened with Tanaka they would steer clear). Nelson Cruz should be on our target list...but for nothing more than a 2 year contract with an option for a third year. Victor Martinez...maybe? But probably going back to the Tigers in all likelihood. Seems we'll be picking through the bargain/flawed/damaged goods bin, looking at guys like Masterson, Colby Rasmus, Michael Morse, etc. Who is this Japanese pitcher? From what I had read there isn't much coming out of Japan in the way of high end starting pitching for at least two more years.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Jul 29, 2014 -> 02:07 PM) Red Sox? Who would they want that we have to sell? They have been rumored to have been looking at Viciedo.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jul 29, 2014 -> 08:19 AM) Looking at quality starts for a starting pitcher is like looking singularily at home runs or batting average for a hitter. Yes, it will tell part of the story, but the rest of the story says he hasn't done a hell of a lot. He has 15 quality starts in 21 games started. To me, that says he's essentially pitched poorly enough to lose 6 games, and who knows what he's done in the other 15 - maybe pitched just well enough to lose. The Sox pitching staff is not going to get considerably worse if they trade John Danks. Who knows what he did? He gave up 3 or less runs in 6+ innings of work, which is good enough to win quite a few games. Couple the QS numbers with his ERA and you can see that he has been largely effective in 75% of his outings and a dumpster fire in the other 25%.

QUOTE (LDF @ Jul 28, 2014 -> 06:40 PM) the are 4 cats in the yanks systems whether in the majors or minors. Francisco Cervelli 28, John Ryan Murphy 23, Gary Sanchez 21, Peter O'Brien 24, Luis Torrens 18, the reason I included F. Cervelli, is he can start and be a cat now for several more yrs until some of the prospect who may develop into something better. Same as JR Murphy which I like a lot. another cat which caught my interest is P O'Brien, he started in the in teens in the top 20 to what #9. he is playing in the future games for the yanks. the yanks may have one of the better systems for catchers. I wonder if it is prospect or prospects that the sox are looking at? O'Brien no longer catches. His defense was always extremely questionable and the Yanks appear to have given it up and moved him to first.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 28, 2014 -> 04:46 PM) MLB Trade Rumors ‏@mlbtraderumors 2h Indians “Very Willing” To Trade Justin Masterson http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/?p=40180 Just sign him in the off-season without having to give up anything of value. If you think Danks has been bad, Masterson has been awful.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jul 28, 2014 -> 04:42 PM) Every year the Sox find new and creative ways to abuse the minor league DL's. I mean, Cales was on BHAM's DL, then off to pitch a couple games, then on again, then off to go to AAA, then pitched, then on again to make room for Beck. They're just outright trolling at this point, daring some other team to file a grievance. Fortunately, no team is going to do that, unless the DL is messing with a Rule V or 40 man situation or something that impacts another team. No one cares about David Cales. Perhaps David Cales is just extremely fragile...

QUOTE (IowaSoxFan @ Jul 28, 2014 -> 10:44 AM) Has there been a corresponding move at AAA yet? I see Wang is scheduled to pitch tonight. Per the Knights website, Beck will be taking the spot of David Cales who was put on the DL.

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jul 28, 2014 -> 11:26 AM) The Sox would be insane to even be involved with this in the first place. It goes against anything Hahn has tried to create. Hasn't been Hahn been clearing payroll to build to this exact type of move? I thought he has even mentioned explicitly that they have given themselves the ability to take back a bad contract. If you can tie one of their top 3 prospects as part of taking on Kemp, that seems like that would fit right into what Hahn has been trying to do. I am not a fan of giving up anything of value for Kemp, but taking on one of those prospects would make me want to really look at evaluating the cost-benefit analysis of such a move. It all depends on what you would need to give up, if it is a spare part, than yes, if it is a core piece than you probably won'd consider it.

QUOTE (Dunt @ Jul 28, 2014 -> 12:02 PM) I really dont understand how some of these pitchers made the list over Montas Montas is #3. ?

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jul 28, 2014 -> 11:39 AM) Billy Butler is realistic? No, those are the extreme upsides of each player. Gaby Sanchez is a much more realistic comp.

QUOTE (Feeky Magee @ Jul 28, 2014 -> 11:02 AM) I'm not sure of this whole "boom or bust" concept. I think there's a solid argument to be made that Ravelo's ceiling is higher. We've seen what he can do with limited power, if he starts hitting for power he can be really something. Barnum might have huge power, but even if it starts showing up in games, with his hit-tool and plate discipline being so meh, does that really equate a gold mine? If you asked me who's more likely to put up, say, a 150 wRC+ in the majors, I'd say Ravelo. That to me is better upside. If everything clicks for Barnum you have a Ryan Howard in his prime type of player. If everything clicks for Ravelo you have Billy Butler. These are prospects lists that are all based on projectability. Ravelo's got a better shot at making the majors but Barnum has better shot at being an all-star in my view. It is a gold mine if Barnum learns better pitch recognition and fixes the hole in his swing, skills that can be learned through repetition. While Ravelo is only 10 months older, he has almost 1000 more PA's than Barnum does (1603-674).

QUOTE (witesoxfan @ Jul 28, 2014 -> 10:44 AM) This disagrees with Nathaniel Stoltz's scouting report on him. Stoltz has said previously that, while he may not be a lock to become a 20 homer guy, he definitely has the talent and ability to do so. http://www.fangraphs.com/fantasy/rangel-ravelo-1b-sleeper/ I like the prospects of Ravelo becoming a regular at the MLB level far more than I do Barnum's. I would agree with that. When you are measuring upside though Barnum has a ton of upside and Ravelos is pretty limited. The MLB.com article says that the Sox have given Barnums power an 80 grade on the 80 point system. In my mind Ravelo's closest ML comp right now would be Gaby Sanchez. EDIT: Barnum is by far one of the biggest boom or bust guys in the system, if he hits you have a gold mine. Ravelo just doesn't have that upside, Ravelo does have a much better chance of reaching the majors though his ceiling right now would seem to be a bat off the bench.

Has there been a corresponding move at AAA yet? I see Wang is scheduled to pitch tonight.

QUOTE (Feeky Magee @ Jul 28, 2014 -> 10:12 AM) Aside from the fact that Ravelo nearly matched Barnum's ISO last year and has a bigger one this year (.146 to .127), even if Barnum hit for more power but with a worse wRC+ in the majors, how does that make him more valuable than Ravelo? I get that people want power from certain positions, but I'm taking the .290/.380/.450 1B over the .250/.310/.500 guy, and even then in my opinion Ravelo's more likely to produce the former line than Barnum the latter. That has nothing to do with projections. Barnum has a ton of raw power that he needs to translate into games, Ravelo does not. We are talking about prospects and trying to determine their ceilings based on the tools they present. The list is basically saying that Barnum has a better chance of refining his swing to make more consistent contact than Ravelo is going to all of a sudden develop power. Again these are projections based on upside and it is hard to see Ravelo developing into much more than he is now. If Ravelo were a LF, 2B, or even would have been able to stay at 3B, his profile looks a lot better long term, but if he is indeed limited to 1B, his value is not very high.

QUOTE (daggins @ Jul 28, 2014 -> 10:01 AM) I think the jist is that in the event of a Danks trade, Beck would be the most likely called up to replace him, hence the move to Charlotte. That might be true but the larger obstacle to that scenario remains finding a team to eat Danks contract. I think it is more that Beck will be promoted to AAA to take Danks replacements spot in the rotation. I can't see Beck jumping to the majors this year.

Ravelo is getting dinged for playing a power position and displaying a lack of power. Barnum ranks ahead of him because, for all of his faults, the kid has power that will play at 1B. Ravelo is a guy that seems to have reached his ceiling in that he is a really solid contact hitter but really offers little else in the way of tools. If he played 2B, he would be a top 5 guy, but as a 1B/DH his long term projection is as a bench bat. It is tough to see a lot of upside in Ravelo at this point, and that is what this list really reflects more than anything is their perceived ceiling of these players.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jul 28, 2014 -> 07:57 AM) Source says Chris Beck is headed for Charlotte. For more than one day this time?

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Jul 28, 2014 -> 08:15 AM) I'm not worried about who takes Danks' spot this year. I'm worried about who takes his spot in 2015-16*. If the trade doesn't net somebody who will do that, then it doesn't make sense to trade him. * Don't say Rodon. Rodon fills one of the other two holes in the rotation. Rodon. The other two holes will be filled with some combination of Noesi, Johnson, Beck, Danish, free agent or trade acquisition. The problem is who fills the holes at LF, DH, and C? Making a Danks trade should fill at least one of those holes and free up money to fill the other two.

At this rate Rock will be too heads down sending PMs through the deadline to stay in the loop.

QUOTE (SoxPride18 @ Jul 24, 2014 -> 03:26 PM) Morales has been horrible this season. OPS is 50 points lower than Corey Hart's, and his OBP is 259 To be fair though, he has only played for a month and did not have any spring training to prepare for the season. In his last twelve games he is up to .292/.314/.417 in that stretch so it may be that he just needed time to get his timing back.

QUOTE (chitownsportsfan @ Jul 24, 2014 -> 02:49 PM) John Danks will never ever be a "solid #3 on a playoff team". In fact, he's pitching worse this year by many metrics than he did last year. His velocity is down and his walk rate is way up. People need to realize that he had a horrific (for a pitcher) shoulder injury that no pitcher has every really come back strong from. It's a testament to John's determination that he's even in the rotation and slightly above replacement level but as far as the physical tools, he doesn't have them anymore. Actually, other than the Houston game, his velocity and metrics have improved as the season has gone on.

QUOTE (TheFutureIsNear @ Jul 24, 2014 -> 02:21 PM) If you're being honest with yourself John Danks is not going to be a factor in whether we can compete for a world series again relatively soon. The shoulder injury turned him into a pretty average pitcher that is replaceable at a much lower cost. If someone is willing to take the contract let them as far as I'm concerned. Free up the money and you never know what could happen, it's not like this franchise has shied away from acquiring high cost players in the past. Who cares who our 4th starter is for the rest of the year when we aren't making the playoffs anyway? Danks can certainly be a factor in the Sox next run for the World Series. He is not an average pitcher, he is an average mid-rotation pitcher, something that is not that easy to replace or the Sox would have three more of them. His contract is reasonable for his performance and it is unlikely that the Sox would get any discount by bringing someone in put up similar production. Couple that with the way that Danks has continued to improve the further he has gotten from surgery, he could end up being an extremely solid #3 starter in a playoff rotation. The money is not holding the Sox back from anything and the Sox have a terrible track record of acquiring established players in free agency.

QUOTE (greg775 @ Jul 24, 2014 -> 01:52 PM) So are the Sox getting rid of Beckham or not? Any chance of trading Beckham and Dunn??? Or no? Probably not.

Kendrys Morales back to the Mariners for Stephen Pryor. Probably takes Viciedo out of play there.