Perfect Vision

The Dodgers have been to and lost the last two world series. They have the best team in baseball as of today. The pressure is on them to win it all this year. If they come calling about Colome and/or Bummer, Hahn needs to make them pay up. I would ask for no less than Dustin May. If they refuse and can find good upgrades elsewhere, then so be it. But this seems like a year that the Dodgers would be willing to overpay to get the bullpen help they need.

Look at the production the Sox have gotten from the DH spot over the last decade. It's atrocious. The Sox need to play a DH every game and it's pretty apparent that getting a good DH from the system or through free agency isn't as easy as some assume. It's not like the team has another great hitter who is important to the lineup and can't play a position (like an Edwin Encarnacion) that's forcing the Sox to play Eloy in LF. For god's sakes, Jon Jay and Jose Rondon have gotten DH starts with Eloy in LF. That makes no sense! The idea that the Sox would play Eloy in LF just to maximize his individual value is ludicrous and not how Renteria or anyone else should be managing the team.

I don't think it's just fans. GMs and managers throughout baseball believe in lineup balance. I also don't think wanting the lineup to have at least 2 full time lefties in it is "extreme." I wouldn't turn down the chance to get a great hitter just because he's right-handed, but since the Sox will have a say in who that hitter is, I think they should focus on good left-handed hitters.

Continue the trend of trading relievers to the Brewers....Colome for Trent Grisham.

Yes. With Eloy in LF, having an average or better defensive RF should be a priority. I also think a left-handed bat is important there, given the every day lineup in 2021 and beyond right now is Moncada and all right-handed hitters. To me, that should rule out Castellanos, Puig, and Ozuna. I would rather that Leury be the everyday RF to start next year, and give Rutherford, Walker, and Basabe another year where hopefully one of them can break out and take that position.

https://mobile.twitter.com/jlazowski14/status/1150970641534857218 Hot take: Gavin Sheets becomes the primary DH for the Sox beginning June of next year. They want/need a lefty DH with the way the future lineup is figuring to take shape. Sheets makes good contact for a big man and has been hitting for more power. Last 40 games: .329/.395/.575.

There are good arguments for both sides. Depends on how Colome and Bummer do next year, which we can only know in hindsight. But I would favor trading them if Hahn gets a good offer. Just look at Blake Treinen, who Stone was talking about last night. One of the best relievers in the league last year, terrible this year. If Colome and Bummer have down years next year we're going to regret not trading them now.

Automated strike zone can't come soon enough.

Awful frame by McCann. Just terrible. Cost a run.

Who else is listening to the Cubs telecast tonight so they can hear Len Kasper call an Eloy bomb?

What makes Collins a bit of an enigma is that his numbers have stayed so consistent as he's moved up the minor league levels. It gives me hope that Collins could once again maintain at a .235/.370/.450 type level of production in the majors, which would work whether he's at catcher, DH, or first. But if the jump to the majors finally leads to a material decrease in productivity, we're looking at a guy would could be a .200/.300/.350 type, which wouldn't even cut it at catcher.

Congrats to Collins. He's earned his shot. He is what he is and more time in the minors isn't going to change that. With that said, I hope people are ready for 50 strikeouts in his first 100 plate appearances and some bone-headed catching mistakes. As hard as it was at times being patient with Moncada, it's going to be harder with Collins. Prepare yourselves.

And then there's the matchup angle. Managers can take advantage of matchups for most of their relievers (lefty-lefty, righty-righty, or good career numbers against particular batters) in a way they can't for starters and closers. Tends to skew the numbers.

It's not fair because there are a lot of very good relievers who struggle in the 9th. The 9th has a mental aspect that WAR doesn't evaluate.

And Luke Jackson is ranked 16th. Tells you all you need to know about using WAR to evaluate relievers/closers.

Sox had to give up Robertson, Kahnle, and Frazier to get Blake Rutherford.

Drew Waters might be approaching untradeable territory. He would probably cost Colome and Bummer (and the Braves might still say no to that). I wouldn't say he's blocked in Atlanta. Their outfield would be Acuna, Pache, Waters. Riley will move back to 3B after this year.

My guess is June 28th against the Twins. That would line him up for one of the July 3 games as well. For his MLB debut, I think the organization will want to give him his own night, not be part of a double header.

If both Madrigal and Robert hit their ceilings, the Sox are going to win multiple championships and it won't much matter how the lineup is set.

My wife tells me no one uses hashtags anymore. Just FYI.

I think it's extremely unlikely that McCann is traded. No team is going to offer a good prospect for him because they will simply think he's in the middle of a career year and will regress to the norm soon, which is probably the case. And from the Sox perspective, dealing McCann just opens a hole at catcher they will then have to fill this offseason, with perhaps a more expensive, less productive player. Add in the great rapport he has established with Giolito, and there just doesn't seem to be any way a trade happens. IMO, Colome and perhaps Abreu are the only two that Hahn will be weighing offers on.

It's a good problem to have, because Madrigal's skills also play well in the 9 hole, where he could serve as a "second" leadoff hitter, getting on base in front of Robert. The downside of Madrigal hitting in the 2 hole is it pushes Moncada, Jimenez, Vaughn, Collins, Anderson, etc. further down the lineup, and limiting their at bats over the course of the season in favor of a player who may ultimately settle in as a .700-.750 OPS guy.

I think it's safe to assume that if Madrigal can maintain even just a .700 OPS at AA and AAA, he will become the Sox starting 2B in short order. The biggest question to me isn't whether he's going to make it, it's whether in time he can become an offensive force at the top of the lineup (.350+ OBP, .800 OPS), or whether he's a bottom-of-the-order role player who provides most of his value on defense.

Colome might bring back a top 100 prospect, but top 50 is probably asking too much. Ideally, the Sox are able to bring back a left-handed, good defense, near-MLB-ready corner outfielder. Their internal options right now are poor (Leury seems like the default right now) and I'd rather not see the Sox spend their money on any of Castellanos, Puig, or Ozuna (all right-handed and poor outfielders to boot). Corey Ray seems like an interesting buy-low candidate. He's had a terrible 2019, but he's had a finger injury all season that has likely factored into that, and last year showed what he brings to the table -- 27 homeruns, 37 steals, 10% walk rate, and those other things I mentioned above (left handed, good outfield defense). The Sox could probably get another 2 prospects in a Ray deal as well, like Zack Brown and Drew Rasmussen. The Brewers will likely be seeking a late inning reliever at the deadline and Ray is expendable to them.