Dominikk85

Yeah, if you are sitting on it but not w 2 strikes when you expect a breaking ball

Yeah can't take pitch w two strikes but a hundo just on the inside corner is also almost impossible to hit especially if you have to expect a breaking ball too

I still think nick wasn't a bad pick. Some people say he lacked upside but many scouts thought he could maybe reach 12-15 Homer power and become a dustin pedroia type who hits 300 with 12 homers, good obp and solid defense which probably would have made him a 4 win player. I'm also OK with the Sox trading him, he seems like he will never develop any power and his defense and baserunning weren't as advanced as advertised. Also he already had two very serious season ending injuries in his two years (which might be a parallel to pedroia that you don't want). He Still can be solid for the cubs but if he hits 300 with 4 homers and average defense that is OK but a bit limited

If it is a fake DL stint to get rest I like it. They could maybe lose an extra game or two but having rodon strong in the post season is important

I think kelenic will be good but rutschman will be an absolute monster. He hit 272/392/508 with 18 homers 15% walks and just 15% strikeouts and that is with a pretty low babip. So that could also be 300 with a bit more luck His first 2-3 weeks he looked a bit over matched by AA pitching and whiffed a lot but then he adjusted quickly and just raked. I think he can be like peak buster posey (although probably hitting more homers due to the home park situation)

He isn't as good as he is currently hitting but he was also getting unlucky with babip in Cleveland (albeit part of that probably was from selling out for power). Even in Cleveland he was walking close to 10% and for his career he is a 10% walk guy with a 348 obp. With his current approach he probably isn't a 348 obp guy but I do expect 330-340 with maybe a 105-110 wrc+ the rest of the way to which is fine especially if he keeps the added power.

Sox starters are third in IP Only behind Oakland and Houston and some guys look like they are getting tired. Imo there needs to be some kind of intervention like a fake DL stint or at least a skipped start. I don't care if the Sox have a 2 win 10 game stretch but give giolito, rodon and Lynn some time off.

I can understand that hoyer had to trade those guys because the pitching was getting old, the farm was bad and Ricketts was crying poor but I think it was pretty bad style to throw those 3 heros who brought them a WS under the bus by claiming they were offered great deals and didn't want to stay. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/08/cubs-jed-hoyer-extensions-baez-rizzo-bryant.html Nobody believes that Ricketts was offering all 3 a good deal, so just own that you didn't have the money to pay them fair value and don't throw them under the bus. That doesn't send a great message to future free agents wanting to sign there.

I just hope they don't rush him back. After the indians mostly sold at the deadline the Sox probably have the division title and while HFA would be nice it is more important to have a healthy roster in the playoffs. Better give them an extra week instead of having more of those re injuries. I hope they take their time with grandal too, the Sox can afford a 500 or even a 450 month but they need everyone at full strength and if they have to tank the next two weeks for it so be it.

I think the Sox might be down on the Ability of nick to add any power or develope into a plus defender. Remember when he was drafted most reports thought he was a plus defender plus they thought he has a chance to become a 12-15 HR guy which would have been an extremely valuable player. His hit tool was as advertised but defense was spotty and he didn't show any power although it at least was more doubles this year. If he is a fringe average defender who hits 4 homers a year even a 300 average is not that valuable especially if you only walk 5-6%. He still probably is a 2 war 2b man but the Sox probably think they can find that on the open market.

The Sox seem to not trust Collins either when you see how often zavala plays. I know Collins hasn't hit very good either but due to his high walk rate it still is about league average hitting (97 wrc+) while seby is basically an automatic out but still has been catching quite a bit the last week.

I think they really should give Lynn and rodon a start off. Yeah home field advantage would be nice but imo it is more important to have fresh pitchers in the post season. So give rodon and Lynn a full skip plus another 3 inning start followed by a bullpen day and you have saved each 10 innings and maybe cost the Sox a win. That is worth it imo.

Yeah, when you have guys like eloy, Robert, giolito, Lynn, rodon, grandal and others then having some 1.5 to 2 war guys to compliment those guys is pretty good, what killed the Sox when they had that core with sale, quantana, Eaton, konerko was that they had a lot of 0 and even negative 1 war guys on the roster. Getting a league average guy for a 0.5 war guy in leury (using projections Here, I know he has done OK this year) is quite an upgrade.

Pretty bad Roy class this year, nobody is really standing out.

He is basically a 100-105 wrc+ hitter while mendick and leury are 75-80 guys. That actually is a very big upgrade, you don't need to have a star at every position. Pilkington has some talent and the thought what the indians player dev stuff could turn him into is a bit uncomfortable but he probably isn't going to be a star either and if the indians turn him into a solid 4 starter all credit to them.

Yeah. Escobar has more pop but hernandez can take a walk and also makes more contact than Escobar. He seems to be selling out for power though this year thus the low babip but generally he is a decent obp guy. I would probably prefer his old approach going for a higher opb and just 10-12 homers but I think he is a decent solution. Not a star but can give you like league average production

I would have liked a trade a month ago but the Sox survived pretty well doing nothing and with eloy and soon Robert being back I think they now can absorb going with leury/mendick into the post season. Escobar is obviously better than leury and mendick but he too is a low obp guy while leury and mendick are low obp guys with no power :).

I like the second deal the pirates for that relief pitcher. Castillo is a low K guy (13% this year) and had a big power jump (11hr already after usually only like 1-3) and hoy Park is a decent albeit not spectacular prospect too.

Yes but he jumped straight from A to AAA and then to the majors, we don't really know if he is mlb ready

An Interesting thing about the trade is also that Marcano and suwinsky are rule 5 eligible next winter so it Really was needed to get rid of them for the Padres as they likely won't be up next year. For the pirates it will be some work to keep them on the roster next year but since they are not competing next year they can afford to do it

Pretty mediocre return for the pirates, I think only one of the prospects is ranked inside the Padres top30 by longenhagen albeit suwinsky probably also is like in the 20s range if you update.

Yeah, Tony acted Badly there but he also stuck with yermin and kept him in the middle of the lineup almost every day even when yermin struggled.

I really like the extension. Even if he does get hurt his contract ends before the current core gets expensive in arb or needs to be resigned so there isn't much risk and there is a solid chance he ages well and is good for those two years before they can sign a new guy or one or two of the young guys in the minors are ready.

Yeah, I like burger but apart from the injury concerns there are also some concerns about his plate discipline. He can hit and has power but he also had a 4 to 1 k to bb ratio in AAA (26/6) while Vaughn probably will be more like 20/12 (less than 2 to 1). That is a big difference

He is currently under performing a little but he has hit 20 Homers before. I don't think he should change his approach, he could go for more pull side power but then he probably his a 230 hitter with a 280 opb. I rather have him hit 300/340/470 than 230/280/450