Jake

438 feet sheesh. Smith really didn't pitch well so still feel pretty good to have only given up 2 runs in 4+

Another fun stat for Lenyn: as of late, his contact rate on pitches outside the zone is about equal to the league average rate on pitches inside the zone For the season overall, Lenyn is one of three Sox in MLB's top 30 best chase contact rates (Chase Meidroth, Miguel Vargas)

Still far more aggressive than the average MLB'er, Lenyn has brought his chase rate down to a playable level since the early part of this season

Lenyn drawing a walk per usual

He's not a strong runner but I honestly find it plausible that he could do competently out there. He has good hands and his arm should be fine even if he's more of a short-armer in the infield. Of course not everyone feels comfortable navigating the walls and such. Not as many opportunities to do something stupid out there either.

It's not an ideal fit, but let's just have Lenyn try on an outfield glove to see how it goes

I remember the Sox losing the "road to Rodon" but then he fell to them anyway. Kind of like the Rockies with Holliday this year or the Cubs with Kris Bryant

Yeah Bob doesn't really give any useful info there. People might not like dealing with a GM for more than one reason. If Getz is a liar or something, that's one thing. If it's just that he states a price and doesn't change his mind because he says what he means, that's something different. I also think it's a fallacy to say that Robert not being traded proves he has no value (and, ergo, picking up his option would be absurd). We don't know what was offered for him, first of all. Also, trades are about surplus value. Robert has become increasingly highly paid. No doubt his performance for the last two seasons has left plenty to be desired. That doesn't scream "I want to pay him a lot *and* give up talented players for the right to do it." The Sox are the one team that, for now, doesn't have to pay both the money and prospects for his services. I also think his market value in general and his trade market value at the deadline are rather different. Teams looking for bats to put them over the top for a playoff push likely are seeking players who they feel will perform predictably. Robert is much more clearly a gamble and that may not be the kind of gamble teams want to do with a couple months left in the season.

Huh?

I suppose there's some argument that all these relievers moving at the deadline is indicative of how they aren't really worth that much — teams are happy to get rid of them given the opportunity. Compare by contrast the number of shortstops being traded. And then think about the lack of good SP being traded and maybe that's because good SP are so scarce that they are very valuable, beyond the reach of teams who are knowingly making short-sighted moves and don't want to mortgage the future.

Every time the righties take another backdoor slider or make an awkward hack at one, I say "he can't keep getting away with this!" And he sort of does but sort of doesn't

World Series teams tend not to have a ton of regrets. My point wasn't that they weren't happy to have those guys contributing to their World Series run, but that they likely thought when they traded Vargas they were trading away a player who would never contribute in MLB. With the gift of hindsight they probably would have rather traded some other player or players who were discussed instead (maybe a guy like Hunter Feduccia was also acceptable to the Sox as a centerpiece). Given that Dodgers currently have their 3B, 2B, and utility guy on the injured list, they might wish they had a guy like 2025 Vargas to help plug those holes (and their previous injury problems at those positions as well as 1B).

And another run goes against Smith because Birmingham allowed a runner to score from second on a sacrifice fly 😂

Soft single, steal, walk, double steal, walk + passed ball to score a run, bunt single. And that's the end of the day for Smith

It's definitely the case that between the currently under contract outfielders — Benintendi, Robert, Tauchman — plus 2 rookie catchers and ~5 young infielders, it's not obvious where the Sox would spend any substantial free agent dollars for position players going into next season. That's not to say the Sox will be a team without holes, just that the team is so young it's not so clear where the holes will be and you want to give those guys a chance to show what they can do. Of course if they want to go grab Kyle Tucker or something I guess I won't complain. And there's always room for more pitching even if long-term investments in pitching at this stage seem ill-advised.

I think if the Dodgers believed Vargas was ready to provide 1.5 WAR they wouldn't have traded him

Tauchman is under team control next year and contenders may have been wary of his leg issues (which look apparent when you watch him running the bases) as they went into the stretch run. Did any team trade for a lefty corner outfielder? I think Jesus Sanchez is the only one who went to a contender and he wasn't a rental. Seems there may not have been a substantial market for his services this year.

Folks not appreciating that Mead is a premium hitting talent who has never gotten more than 135 plate appearances in a single MLB season to get anything going. If you insist on getting a player who has never failed before you are likely to only get one who fails in the future. Mead's initial call-ups have seen him blocked by some legit major leaguers around the infield: Isaac Paredes, Wander Franco, Brandon Lowe, Yandy Diaz, Jose Caballero, Junior Caminero, Jonathan Aranda, etc. It's not like the Rays have been starved for 3B/2B production and gave him every chance but he failed (like what happened with Vargas in LA). Mead has been doing injury fill-ins, occasional platoons, etc. Not a perfect environment for success. That doesn't mean he's a guaranteed superstar or something, but if all you do is glance at the back of the baseball card you're missing important information. Houser has pitched fantastically for the past 11 or 12 starts with all signs pointing to him pitching something more like "competently" for the rest of the season before he becomes a free agent. I think that has real value to the right team, but the Sox got some real value coming back.

I have no clue why the Rays gave up so much for Adrian Houser while selling some of their other big league pieces. They currently have a 10% probability of making the playoffs per FanGraphs.

Mead: 24 years old but a long time in the minors due to signing young as an amateur out of Australia. Rays were going to have to make a tough decision soon because he's running out of options. Statcast shows us serious bat speed potential, will slot in as third-highest bat speed on the Sox after Robert and Colson. This is a prerequisite for power hitting. Other info from Statcast regarding raw tools: not a strong runner, comparable speed to a guy like Lenyn Sosa. Around league average, so it's not a major detractor to his game but probably means he's not an obvious candidate to convert to outfield. Also, his average and maximum throwing velocities in the infield are low, matching scouting report claims that he has a weak arm. Statcast defensive metrics have him within a stone's throw of average across his various experiences. A bit below average last year, a bit above this year (has played 2B better than 1B). The vast majority of his minor league experience is at 3B with some reps at 2B. He suffered an arm injury once he became a major leaguer which may have affected his ability to be a full-time 3B going forward. As a prospect, he had a reputation for serious problems with chasing pitches out of the zone but having a natural feel for hitting that helped cover for it, especially paired with his raw power. This season, he has drastically cut back his chase rate in the majors, well below MLB average. That said, it's not all roses — he's become more passive in general, taking a lot of strikes even down the middle. His rate of contact is quite high, just a tick short of the elite contact bats like Meidroth. His .317 xwOBA is close to league average, but he has had mildly bad luck in his actual results. At the time of his recent demotion, he was trending in a good direction. He has reverse splits this season but that was not the case in the past, so more likely a sample size thing. Once you get into the particulars you will see numerous differences but there are definitely echoes of the Miguel Vargas acquisition here. He's probably higher risk and higher upside.

My first reaction is that this is a fantastic return and I have no idea what the Rays are trying to accomplish

When Mead graduated from prospect status on FanGraphs midseason last year, they had ranked him as the #34 prospect in MLB

Curtis Mead

What are the Rays doing?

When we say we'd take anything for Houser, would that include a player who is essentially Joshua Palacios?