Who are the 4 bench players for the Sox?

[Polar Bear]

Bench spots should be 

Burger: hands down the best hitter outside the starters and offers a defacto platoon bat with Colas if needed (Colas can sit vs LHP and Eloy play RF and Burger DH)

Romy is taking over the super utility role, Leury will be DFA

Seby has the backup catcher role

Sheets will probably get the last last spot just bc the FO is dumb.  Sheets is cooked imo and has had his 15 min of fame.  This last spot imo should be Billy Hamilton 

[raBBit]

What I would do:

Zavala, Sheets, Burger, Romy

What I expect

Zavala, Sheets, Leury, Hanser Alberto

[TheFutureIsNear]

Burger, Marisnick, Seby, and 1 of Romy/Alberto

[hogan873]

Zavala, Garcia (unfortunately), Sheets, and either Hamilton or Marisnick

[he gone.]

On 3/5/2023 at 7:09 AM, caulfield12 said:

Alberto has the advantage due to his time spent with Grifol in KC...wouldn't hurt to give Romy another 200-300 at bats at all.

Agree with this. Hanser with a good spring has a clear advantage. As mentioned it's quite simple to just stick Romy in Charlotte for 2-3 months. He'll have his shot, but let's get him and Sosa some time to work without pressure. 

The stolen base and CF angle also really benefits Billy. He may be the veteran presence they need too. Not my first choice, but certainly can see it happening. Marisnick checks some boxes too. End of the day, hopefully these choices don't matter. Only Colas, Sheets, Burger have any bit of true upside into the future. 

[ChiSoxTrojan]

I don't expect the Sox to make many of the "irreversible" decisions people are talking about - those include DFAing Leury, or giving a bench spot to any of Alberto, Marisnick, Hamilton, or Reyes. At most they do one of those things.

I think Zavala, Sheets, and Leury are going to be on the roster no matter what, with the 4th spot going to one of Romy/Hamilton/Marisnick. If Colas doesn't make the team, that opens up a spot for Burger.

[ChiSoxTrojan]

22 minutes ago, he gone. said:

Agree with this. Hanser with a good spring has a clear advantage. As mentioned it's quite simple to just stick Romy in Charlotte for 2-3 months. He'll have his shot, but let's get him and Sosa some time to work without pressure. 

The stolen base and CF angle also really benefits Billy. He may be the veteran presence they need too. Not my first choice, but certainly can see it happening. Marisnick checks some boxes too. End of the day, hopefully these choices don't matter. Only Colas, Sheets, Burger have any bit of true upside into the future. 

I don't see the point of Alberto over Leury. They offer similar production at the plate, the only real differences are that Alberto can't play OF and he doesn't have $10M left on his deal.

[ChiSox59]

11 hours ago, Polar Bear said:

Burger: hands down the best hitter outside the starters and offers a defacto platoon bat with Colas if needed (Colas can sit vs LHP and Eloy play RF and Burger DH)

According to what...exactly?  Burger can mash LHP, something most of this roster can already do.  But he cannot play defense.  He is borderline unplayable at 3B defensively, and has never really played 1B in his life and has no other defensive utility.  He will continue to struggle against RHP, which, coupled with awful defense, gives him no role on this roster unless one Moncada, AV or Eloy are hurt. 

I like Jake and all, and think he's great depth to store in AAA.  But he's pretty useless on this roster if its healthy. 

Edited March 6, 2023 by ChiSox59

[he gone.]

26 minutes ago, ChiSoxTrojan said:

I don't see the point of Alberto over Leury. They offer similar production at the plate, the only real differences are that Alberto can't play OF and he doesn't have $10M left on his deal.

naw, i think leury and hanser both make it at this point. 

I agree with what rabbit said as his choices. 

Zavala, Sheets, Leury, Hanser Alberto

 

Alberto could turn into Billy too. 

[Polar Bear]

6 minutes ago, ChiSox59 said:

According to what...exactly?  Burger can mash LHP, something most of this roster can already do.  But he cannot play defense.  He is borderline unplayable at 3B defensively, and has never really played 1B in his life and has no other defensive utility.  He will continue to struggle against RHP, which, coupled with awful defense, gives him no role on this roster unless one Moncada, AV or Eloy are hurt. 

I like Jake and all, and think he's great depth to store in AAA.  But he's pretty useless on this roster if its healthy. 

He his hands down the best bat among all names that are available to be the bench bats.  There is no disputing that, unless you just want to be blind to facts.   No one can top his bat vs lhp or rhp, the best bench bat the Sox can have on the bench is Burger.  

He won't be on the team to play the field, that will be what Romy, Seby and Billy are for.

The only other options are utter trash, both in the field and with the bat.  

[Polar Bear]

3 minutes ago, Polar Bear said:

He his hands down the best bat among all names that are available to be the bench bats.  There is no disputing that, unless you just want to be blind to facts.   No one can top his bat vs lhp or rhp, the best bench bat the Sox can have on the bench is Burger.  

He won't be on the team to play the field, that will be what Romy, Seby and Billy are for.

The only other options are utter trash, both in the field and with the bat.  

And as I said before, we desperately need a RH bat that can help ease the lefty on lefty pain that Colas may experience as he gets acclimated 

[ChiSox59]

1 minute ago, Polar Bear said:

He his hands down the best bat among all names that are available to be the bench bats.  There is no disputing that, unless you just want to be blind to facts.   No one can top his bat vs lhp or rhp, the best bench bat the Sox can have on the bench is Burger.  

He won't be on the team to play the field, that will be what Romy, Seby and Billy are for.

The only other options are utter trash, both in the field and with the bat.  

Well, ideally none of the other options are playing all that much.  

You say "he won't be on the team to play the field", but he's going to have to play the field or his presence on the roster will force Eloy or Sheets into the field which is just as bad.  We don't need another DH type on the roster.  

Again, I like Jake.  He's easy to root for.  I think he will be needed for everyday action for extended stretches this year and probably get 200-300 PA depending on health of Moncada, Eloy,  AV and Sheets throughout the season. But again, if the roster is healthy, he is basically never going to play.  With his development already stunted alot due to injury, I'd rather him play 3B everyday in Charlotte getting at bats against RHP so when he's actually needed he hasn't been getting 5 PA a week mostly against LHP.   

And all of the other options sans Sheets are significantly better than Jake in the field so not sure what you mean about "the only other options are utter trash, both in the field.." 

[Polar Bear]

12 minutes ago, ChiSox59 said:

Well, ideally none of the other options are playing all that much.  

You say "he won't be on the team to play the field", but he's going to have to play the field or his presence on the roster will force Eloy or Sheets into the field which is just as bad.  We don't need another DH type on the roster.  

Again, I like Jake.  He's easy to root for.  I think he will be needed for everyday action for extended stretches this year and probably get 200-300 PA depending on health of Moncada, Eloy,  AV and Sheets throughout the season. But again, if the roster is healthy, he is basically never going to play.  With his development already stunted alot due to injury, I'd rather him play 3B everyday in Charlotte getting at bats against RHP so when he's actually needed he hasn't been getting 5 PA a week mostly against LHP.   

And all of the other options sans Sheets are significantly better than Jake in the field so not sure what you mean about "the only other options are utter trash, both in the field.." 

Eloy is playing a minimum of 50-75 games in the field (if not more).  Anyone with delusions that he is only a DH needs to drop that now bc Eloy is playing the field (ideally vs LHP which means the Sox need a RH hitter for DH and it ain't gonna be anyone else on the roster)

Edited March 6, 2023 by Polar Bear

[ChiSox59]

7 minutes ago, Polar Bear said:

Eloy is playing a minimum of 50-75 games in the field (if not more).  Anyone with delusions that he is only a DH needs to drop that now bc Eloy is playing the field (ideally vs LHP which means the Sox need a RH hitter for DH and it ain't gonna be anyone else on the roster)

I would be absolutely shocked if he played anything close to 75 games in the field. - we have a full OF without him  I could see 25-30.  Guess we'll see.  

[CaliSoxFanViaSWside]

30 minutes ago, Polar Bear said:

Eloy is playing a minimum of 50-75 games in the field (if not more).  Anyone with delusions that he is only a DH needs to drop that now bc Eloy is playing the field (ideally vs LHP which means the Sox need a RH hitter for DH and it ain't gonna be anyone else on the roster)

That's not going to happen 50-75 is a lot. Benintendi and Colas would both have to miss time . I don't foresee Colas being a big enough detriment with the bat to give up on his defense . More than likely if you stick Eloy in the field you're just asking him to get injured. If the Sox haven't learned by now that they need Eloy's bat in the lineup, they never will.

As a manager Grifol should want Eloy to play the OF if needed .After all he wants him to be fully prepared.

Did you know Colas had a higher OPS against LHP than RHP in the minors ? Most of his HR came against RHP because like most LHH he had 3 times the number of PA against RHP.

I don't expect Colas' transition to be seamless. Like most players he'll go through periods where he struggles but i do expect him to be in the OF most of the time.

Sheets also had a .900 OPS at home last year. I don't expect him to repeat that but I also don't expect his puny OPS on the road either. But I'm not expecting him on the OD roster and if he isn't as a LHH 1st baseman then Burger won't be either considering the vast majority of pitchers are RH.

[pcq]

If Leury sticks because of his contract, at what point does that become an issue? I suppose Romy would have to strongly earn a spot in his place.

[ChiSoxTrojan]

2 hours ago, Polar Bear said:

And as I said before, we desperately need a RH bat that can help ease the lefty on lefty pain that Colas may experience as he gets acclimated 

The more I see, read, and hear about Colas, the less I think this is a worry. He has done very well in the minors against LHP, in fact he had slightly better numbers against LHP than RHP last year. Sure, he'll probably get more days off than a more established OF, because he'll likely have typical rookie adjustments to make, but I don't think any struggles he has will be limited to LHP and I don't think all (or even most) of his off days will come against LHP.

In fact, since one of the main guys who will take ABs away from him (Sheets) has proven to be terrible against LHP, Colas could get more days off against RHP because that's when it makes the most sense to play Sheets.

[CentralChamps21]

55 minutes ago, pcq said:

If Leury sticks because of his contract, at what point does that become an issue? I suppose Romy would have to strongly earn a spot in his place.

Leury had a 39 wRC+ and -1.1 fWAR last year. If they aren't willing to DFA him before the season starts, I doubt it happens at any point during the season.

[Springfield Soxfan]

19 hours ago, FourEyesShottenhoffer said:

Yeah but why Marisnick in particular instead of Reyes or Hamilton

Best defender of the bunch. 

[Polar Bear]

2 hours ago, ChiSoxTrojan said:

The more I see, read, and hear about Colas, the less I think this is a worry. He has done very well in the minors against LHP, in fact he had slightly better numbers against LHP than RHP last year. Sure, he'll probably get more days off than a more established OF, because he'll likely have typical rookie adjustments to make, but I don't think any struggles he has will be limited to LHP and I don't think all (or even most) of his off days will come against LHP.

In fact, since one of the main guys who will take ABs away from him (Sheets) has proven to be terrible against LHP, Colas could get more days off against RHP because that's when it makes the most sense to play Sheets.

Sheets has no business being on the team in any manner 

[4uckOffCommieScum]

4 hours ago, Polar Bear said:

Eloy is playing a minimum of 50-75 games in the field (if not more).  Anyone with delusions that he is only a DH needs to drop that now bc Eloy is playing the field (ideally vs LHP which means the Sox need a RH hitter for DH and it ain't gonna be anyone else on the roster)

I’ll take the under on that one

[ChiSoxTrojan]

16 minutes ago, Polar Bear said:

Sheets has no business being on the team in any manner 

Yeah, I saw that you posted earlier that you thought Sheets was "cooked", which I found odd considering (a) he had a .765 OPS in the second half last year, which was 5th on the team (and two of the guys ahead of him are gone), and (b) he has the second-highest career wRC+ against RHP of anyone on the team (again, second to Eloy).

Why would you call a player "cooked" who is 26 years old, and was one of the most productive hitters on the team last year? Doesn't make much sense to me.

[ChiSox59]

25 minutes ago, Polar Bear said:

Sheets has no business being on the team in any manner 

While I actually agree with you on this assuming Colas is on the roster, its a hilarious take for a guy saying Burger is a no brainer on the roster.  Sheets can actually stand in RF (a position of need) and hits RHP pretty well as lefty bat (a huge team need).  Burger does neither.  

IMO, this team will be at its best when both Sheets and Burger are in AAA however.  THat is only happening when the team is at 100% full strength, which I doubt we see much. 

Edited March 6, 2023 by ChiSox59

[ChiSoxTrojan]

5 minutes ago, ChiSox59 said:

While I actually agree with you on this assuming Colas is on the roster, its a hilarious take for a guy saying Burger is a no brainer on the roster.  Sheets can actually stand in RF (a position of need) and hits RHP pretty well as lefty bat (a huge team need).  Burger does neither.  

IMO, this team will be at its best when both Sheets and Burger are in AAA however.  THat is only happening when the team is at 100% full strength, which I doubt we see much. 

Sheets and Burger are the only bench options that are at all likely to produce at even an average level offensively. Without one of them on the roster, you're looking at a lot of lineups with .600-type OPS hitters stacked at the bottom.

[ChiSox59]

1 hour ago, ChiSoxTrojan said:

Sheets and Burger are the only bench options that are at all likely to produce at even an average level offensively. Without one of them on the roster, you're looking at a lot of lineups with .600-type OPS hitters stacked at the bottom.

I don't envision a lot of lineups if this roster is health in which this team is playing multiple bench players in one game resulting in "alot of lineups with .600-type OPS hitters stacked".  If the lineup isn't healthy, Sheets and Burger will be on the rsoter.  So its kind of a moot point.  I don't expect Leury and Marisnick/Billy to be garnering multiple starts a week.  

We've been over this like a dozen times, but if Colas is on the roster and everyone else is healthy, there is virtually no at bats for Sheets. 

The Sox are going to live and die in 2023 by their core of Robert, TA, Eloy, Yoan, AV, and Benintendi being in the lineup most days.