SCCWS

Offensively, Devers has been pretty solid and he is 2 years younger than Moncada. Devers has struggled at 3rd but unfortunately he seems to be improving there. But w 500+ ABS his OPS is over .750 and last I saw he was on track for 25HR /75RBI which is solid for a 21 year old.

I agree. I think the problem was being rated the #1 prospect. I think being a Red Sox prospect also raised his value in the eyes of "prospect raters". If we believe the "rumors" he wasn't even the Red Sox top prospect since they supposedly made him available but not Benintendi. Anderson was also raw and we see how he has developed. Streaky with good skills but erratic also. I think Moncada will be about the same and become an above average 2nd baseman. Anything beyond that is gravy.

Well Red Sox traded for Pierce so they will not be a suitor for Abreu.

The Red Sox have a decent amount of pitching. They have 4 solid starters and 3 options for the 5th. I think they will wait till All Star break and see if Pomerantz or Wright will claim the 5th spot. If neither is healthy, then maybe they would want Shields. Swihart can catch and play outfield and 1st but he is average defensively and his bat is useless. But if Hahn is interested, he could grab him and let him play everyday and see if the bat comes around when he plays regularly. He is a .234 AAA hitter w 480+ PA. A weak AAA hitter does not usually translate to succes in the majors. I think I hold Shields for a better offer but I would take a shot at Swihart if he gets DFA'd.

Obviously. I think most of us are glad you do provide insight beyond the normal "arm, leg, muscle etc. injury. I always find your contributions excellent understanding the context you present them.

Offensively, he and Gurriel are having the best years of any !B, Jose is better known around the league.

Since he has a long ride home, maybe he needs a "pit stop" before he leaves.

Maybe the Bulls will take a shot at him.

Yoan needs to make a donation to the Umpires Retirement Fund and he will start seeing a smaller strike zone.

When you are talking trade-deadline, the timing has a good amount to do with the value. There are less bidders at this time but some are getting desperate. Withe the way the AL is going this year, there will be a limited number of teams involved. I think to win for a team looking to unload, it will help to have a need the Yankees or Red Sox have. There will be more NL options , but then you get into more of Abreu's defense which may reduce his value w NL teams.

Heard on WEEI in Boston that there is a rumor of an Abreu for JBJ trade. Not sure what their source was as i was in and out of car during the discussion. I think Sox can get a better deal for Abreu.

I think that is safe. the Sox based on their pace right now would win 60 games and they havew won 1/3 of the games played. But some caution, what happens if Hahn trades guys like Abreu, Jones, Shields. They may have some pitching options but Abreu would be a tough bat to replace. I still think Sept is a wasted month for many teams( especially this year) so the Sox should get to 60.

We agree. I think regardless he goes to FA. But if he has spent the last few months in a setting he likes, that team if compettive bid wise will have an advantage. I doubt he goes to the Sox becuase they are rebuilding and if he is leaving Baltimore I would assume he wants a"built" contender.

FWIW- Jerry Remy is the long-time color announcer for Red Sox games. One of his roles every game in the first inning is to list the defense in the field. Once he lists the 8 positions he gives where the team is rated defensively in the AL. During a White Sox game 3 or 4 years ago, he noted that they were a poor fielding team that year. But then he said he noticed they took very limited infield practice before road games. He said he found that odd since Ventura was a former infielder.

I think Tray may have a point. I think Machado will most likely sign in FA with a team that will contend next year. That is not the White Sox and they should not waste any assets on him. But a team that really wants him for the long-term might get an advantage if they trade for him this year and he likes his time with them. However, it could also backfire if he goes somewhere this year and doesn't like the team, city, manager etc. If he goes to New York, LA . Boston or Cubs and he helps them win it all, he may be more likely to sign with them if they are competitive in FA market.

But facing a lefty it made sense. He has been their best hitter in June and looking at the rest of the lineup there probably wasn't a better option. He did his part w 2 more hits. Guy has been on fire this month.

I Look at Boston and New York and they are producing positional players but struggle to bring up young pitchers. So they go out and trade/buy them. If the Sox can produce enough positional players, they will only need a couple of the young pitchers to develop as long as they spend for pitching on the free agent market.

But I think it all goes back to the question---- How important are wins and losses? Obviously a lot of losses means a better draft pick. Is Hahn making the major decisions on overall "strategy" and RR just following orders. I posted a while back that i thought Moncada should not bat lead-off. He was struggling and I thought a change would help. Several posters said this year was not important and more AB's for Moncada was the goal. Well he is struggling worse and except for LH starters, he still leads off. Traditionally a leadoff hitter is not someone having major struggles. But if getting AB's for Moncada is more important than winning, why isn't Anderson batting 2nd to get him more AB's as well.

They don't have to do anything until he is due a new contract. At some point if his woes from the right continue, they have to address the switch hitting since that is a major issue. Otherwise they wait and see if eventually he figures it out since he is not a liability( for a rebuilding team) as a left-handed batter or a defender.

Alex Spier of the Boston Globe i do like. He is really into stats almost to a fault at times. He did an inning in the broadcast booth w the Red Sox announcers Friday night. He indicated that there is some concern regarding Moncada due to the hand/wrist injuries he has suffered. I wasn't aware he has had multiple problems. He said that might be contributing to his problems from the right side.

From the Boston Globe: I think some sour grapes but the work ethic could be an issue unless that has changed Moncada was promoted to the majors out of Double A the following season. By then Moncada already had his own logo, a design combining his initials that he tattooed on his neck, embossed on the hood of several customized sports cars and silk-screened on the front of T-shirts. He was wearing one before the game on Friday. The other(Red) Sox players found it more entertaining than anything else, a rookie showing off before he had accomplished anything. They were less amused when Moncada showed little interest in honing his craft. He routinely skipped optional batting practice and rarely sought the advice of veteran players. https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/redsox/2018/06/08/yoan-moncada-very-much-remains-work-progress-for-white-sox/dTJA94kUofR30VfxgSVbcN/story.html

I will disagree. I would doubt a young player is coasting becuase his team is lousy. If he, as we often hear, has a connection to Abreu, then he would see the effort Jose puts out. He is just struggling but he is young. Some guys arrive ready to play at this level and others take time. Hopefully he will arrive this season.

Living in New England most of the year, I loved this series. But I tend to focus only on the young players. I was really impressed w Covey and lopez since they picthed so well on the road in a tough ballpark. Pen was outstanding. But obviously disappointed in Moncada 2-13 w 6 k's but he saw a lot of left-handed pitching. Anderson was 2-10 w 4K's so not a lot better. Hopefully they have sent Boston into a downward spiral.

No, he was getting limited playing time. But he was out of options and Hanley was not producing.

Dennis Eckersley likes Covey. Says his 2 seamer has good heat.