Post by Strategist on Jan 8, 2020 8:46:10 GMT
2018 Review:
Record: 83-79 4th in AL East. 7th (AL) in runs scored. 5th (AL) in runs allowed.
Starting the Offseason:
Lineup: Following the 2018 season the lineup needed a bit of help. It had several average to above average to below average players. Solid lineup top to bottom but no real superstar big bat in the middle. Brought in Catchers Tim Federowicz, and Jonathon Lucroy. Signed 1Bs Logan Morrison, and Miguel Cabrera. Signed his little brother Melky Cabrera (Joking). Signed OFs Steven Pearce and Cameron Maybin. Added to Yasiel Puig, Jackie Bradley Jr., Brock Holt, and Daniel Dietrich the lineup was solid. Not great but solid.
Rotation: The rotation was where the star power was lead by THOR, Noah Syndergaard, Madison Bumgarner and Marco Gonzalez. Very good 3 headed monster to build around. Went out and signed Tyson Ross, Francisco Liriano, Mike Hauschild, and Gio Gonzalez to fill the last 2 spots to create what overall was a solid rotation.
Bullpen: Edwin Diaz, Oliver Drake, Liam Hendriks, and Cam Berosian were all coming back to what was the 2nd best bullpen in the AL. To further stack this the Soxs went out and signed Craig Kimbrel to give it another top option for late inning work. Also signed Rhiner Cruz, Tommy Layne, Connor Sadzeck, and Jenrry Mejia to provide great depth. Top notch bullpen probably 2nd in the AL to only TB to start the season.
Early/Mid Season:
Just couldn't ever really get it going. Hovered right around .500 for the first 3 months. I couldn't really find any glaring weaknesses looking at the stats. Looks like the offense was middle of the pack and the pitching was middle of the pack. I guess this mediocrity caused Matt to decide to shake things up. First moving MadBum and then a few weeks later agreeing to a flurry of moves that included moving Syndergaard, Hendriks, Pearce, Holt, Bedrosian, and JBR getting a bevy of prospects and Mike Minor.
Conclusion:
Well as predicted the teams performance dropped off going 31-47 the last 3 months. Finishing 4th in the AL East 16 GB.
Lineup: 13th (AL) in runs scored. The offense struggled a bit. Holt was a nice bright spot before he was traded. Robles and Solarte were solid. Everyone else pretty much struggled. I don't think the offense was this bad prior to all of the trades though.
Rotation: 9th (AL) in starters' ERA. Syndergaard was elite in 11 GS before being traded. Gonzalez was solid. MadBum had struggled. I bet the starters' ERA was top 5 prior to all of the trades but just couldn't hold up after them.
Bullpen: 2nd (AL) in bullpen ERA. As expected a very good bullpen. No one pitcher stands out above the rest it really was just a group effort.
Future:
Cap Space: Only 67 Mil on the books. Should have plenty of cash to make some moves.
Lineup needs some work as CF Victor Robles is the only player currently with the major league club that is a definite part of the future. The rotation is in better shape with a very good 1, 2, 3, Minor, Paddack, Gonzalez. Does need some depth guys to fill in those last few spots but they don't need to be stars. The bullpen returns a lot of what made it great. Did trade some of that depth away at the deadline so probably wouldn't hurt to acquire a few middle relievers.
Trades Overview:
SP Madison Bumgarner to TB for 1B Greg Bird - I remember that some people had criticized this move but he had MadBum on the block for over a week at least. He was going to be a FA so he decided to move him for best offer. If this is the best offer that he got then it makes more sense to move him than just keep him to keep him. Heck Bird might just need a change of scenario.
CF Jackie Bradley Jr. to TB for RF Jhailyn Ortiz, RP Drew Rom, and SP Jesus Dominguez - JBR has been a great defender from day 1 but he has been a poor hitter now for several years and with Robles set to patrol CF for the forseeable future the Sox decided to move him getting some lower tier prospect but ones that do have high ceilings.
SP Noah Syndergaard, RP Liam Hendriks to CLE for SP Edison Volquez, SP Chris Paddack, RF Pablo Reyes, SP Manny Banuelos and SS Santiago Espinal - This trade was all about Paddack for the Sox. Elite statistics coming up through the minors and had pitched very well in his first season in the majors and still had 6 years of team control. Right now not quite as good as Thor could easily take another leap next year and move right into the same tier as him.
LF Steve Pearce to NYM for 1B Jake Burger - Pearce a rental and Burger was once the #11 pick in the 2017 draft. Injuries have sidelined his career so far but a nice lottery ticket for a rental player like Pearce.
2B Brock Holt, and RP Cam Bedrosian to SD for SP Mike Minor - I think pretty smart move in getting a SP that should be a solid #2 or #3 next season for an expiring contract and a RP. This will help if the Sox want to compete next season or give them another good asset to flip.
FA Overview:
C Tim Federowicz 2 yr 6 Mil - .216/.286/.364 in 83 GP. Signed to be a back up catcher and performs that decently. I think a cheaper option could have been found and guaranteeing a 2nd year I don't care for. C-
RP Craig Kimbrel 3 yr 42 Mil - 3.57 ERA 97 Ks in 70 IP. That was pretty much the going rate for high end, proven bullpen help. Preformed good not great. Wasn't great IRL but I don't think that will kill his ratings too bad as it was only 23 games and he didn't have a normal offseason. B
RP Tommy Layne 2 yr 2.8 Mil - 3.48 ERA 51 Ks in 51.2 IP. Solid depth bullpen piece on the cheap. B+
1B Logan Morrison 1 yr 4 Mil - .231/.333/.419 9 HRs and 100 OPS+ in 186 ABs. Solid part time/bench role player. C+
LF Melky Cabrera 1 yr 2 Mil - Released before start of season. D
LF Steven Pearce 1 yr 12 Mil - .294/.356/.536 15 HRs and 135 OPS+ in 235 ABs. Maybe the reason Cabrera was release. Known for smashing lefties did exactly that with an OPS over 1.000 against them. Flipped for a high ceiling prospect. Exactly what you should do if trying to rebuild. A-
1B Miguel Cabrera 1 yr 30 Mil - .183/.252/.269 and a 40 OPS+ in 28 games before being waved. Claimed by SD. This just didn't workout but at least SD claimed him so the Sox weren't on the hook for his contract. F
CF Cameron Maybin 1 yr 1.8 Mil - .261/.302/.345 and a 73 OPS+ in 119 ABs. Solid bench piece before released. C-
RP Jenrry Mejia 1 yr 1.2 Mil - 8.38 ERA in 9.2 IP. Moved to Minors. D
SP Mike Hauschild 2 yr 6 Mil - 11-10 4.52 ERA in 27 GS. Pitched ok overall. Cheap salary but I don't really like the 2nd year. Did not pitched well in real life so probably a sunk cost next season. C
RP Rhiner Cruz 1 yr 3.51 Mil - 6.97 ERA in 10 IP then released. D-
C Jonathan Lucroy 1 yr 8.33 Mil - .248/.295/.332 5 HRs and 68 OPS+ in 310 ABs. Not a bad idea with the need at catcher. Problem is that he didn't preform well. D+
SP Gio Gonzalez 1 yr 6.5 Mil - 0-3 6.75 ERA in 4 GS then waived. D-
SP Tyson Ross 1 yr .8 Mil - 0-9 5.38 ERA in 9 GS and 103 IP. Not good but not completely unusable. D+
SP Francisco Liriano 1 yr .8 Mil - 1-2 4.41 ERA in 5 GS. Got injured for season after that. Decent before injured. C-
RP Connor Sadzeck 1 yr .9 Mil - 6-2 2.86 ERA 94 Ks in 88 IP. Very good return on investment. B
Had some really good signings. Had some really bad signings. Overall no real bad long term contracts. B-
Record: 83-79 4th in AL East. 7th (AL) in runs scored. 5th (AL) in runs allowed.
Starting the Offseason:
Lineup: Following the 2018 season the lineup needed a bit of help. It had several average to above average to below average players. Solid lineup top to bottom but no real superstar big bat in the middle. Brought in Catchers Tim Federowicz, and Jonathon Lucroy. Signed 1Bs Logan Morrison, and Miguel Cabrera. Signed his little brother Melky Cabrera (Joking). Signed OFs Steven Pearce and Cameron Maybin. Added to Yasiel Puig, Jackie Bradley Jr., Brock Holt, and Daniel Dietrich the lineup was solid. Not great but solid.
Rotation: The rotation was where the star power was lead by THOR, Noah Syndergaard, Madison Bumgarner and Marco Gonzalez. Very good 3 headed monster to build around. Went out and signed Tyson Ross, Francisco Liriano, Mike Hauschild, and Gio Gonzalez to fill the last 2 spots to create what overall was a solid rotation.
Bullpen: Edwin Diaz, Oliver Drake, Liam Hendriks, and Cam Berosian were all coming back to what was the 2nd best bullpen in the AL. To further stack this the Soxs went out and signed Craig Kimbrel to give it another top option for late inning work. Also signed Rhiner Cruz, Tommy Layne, Connor Sadzeck, and Jenrry Mejia to provide great depth. Top notch bullpen probably 2nd in the AL to only TB to start the season.
Early/Mid Season:
Just couldn't ever really get it going. Hovered right around .500 for the first 3 months. I couldn't really find any glaring weaknesses looking at the stats. Looks like the offense was middle of the pack and the pitching was middle of the pack. I guess this mediocrity caused Matt to decide to shake things up. First moving MadBum and then a few weeks later agreeing to a flurry of moves that included moving Syndergaard, Hendriks, Pearce, Holt, Bedrosian, and JBR getting a bevy of prospects and Mike Minor.
Conclusion:
Well as predicted the teams performance dropped off going 31-47 the last 3 months. Finishing 4th in the AL East 16 GB.
Lineup: 13th (AL) in runs scored. The offense struggled a bit. Holt was a nice bright spot before he was traded. Robles and Solarte were solid. Everyone else pretty much struggled. I don't think the offense was this bad prior to all of the trades though.
Rotation: 9th (AL) in starters' ERA. Syndergaard was elite in 11 GS before being traded. Gonzalez was solid. MadBum had struggled. I bet the starters' ERA was top 5 prior to all of the trades but just couldn't hold up after them.
Bullpen: 2nd (AL) in bullpen ERA. As expected a very good bullpen. No one pitcher stands out above the rest it really was just a group effort.
Future:
Cap Space: Only 67 Mil on the books. Should have plenty of cash to make some moves.
Lineup needs some work as CF Victor Robles is the only player currently with the major league club that is a definite part of the future. The rotation is in better shape with a very good 1, 2, 3, Minor, Paddack, Gonzalez. Does need some depth guys to fill in those last few spots but they don't need to be stars. The bullpen returns a lot of what made it great. Did trade some of that depth away at the deadline so probably wouldn't hurt to acquire a few middle relievers.
Trades Overview:
SP Madison Bumgarner to TB for 1B Greg Bird - I remember that some people had criticized this move but he had MadBum on the block for over a week at least. He was going to be a FA so he decided to move him for best offer. If this is the best offer that he got then it makes more sense to move him than just keep him to keep him. Heck Bird might just need a change of scenario.
CF Jackie Bradley Jr. to TB for RF Jhailyn Ortiz, RP Drew Rom, and SP Jesus Dominguez - JBR has been a great defender from day 1 but he has been a poor hitter now for several years and with Robles set to patrol CF for the forseeable future the Sox decided to move him getting some lower tier prospect but ones that do have high ceilings.
SP Noah Syndergaard, RP Liam Hendriks to CLE for SP Edison Volquez, SP Chris Paddack, RF Pablo Reyes, SP Manny Banuelos and SS Santiago Espinal - This trade was all about Paddack for the Sox. Elite statistics coming up through the minors and had pitched very well in his first season in the majors and still had 6 years of team control. Right now not quite as good as Thor could easily take another leap next year and move right into the same tier as him.
LF Steve Pearce to NYM for 1B Jake Burger - Pearce a rental and Burger was once the #11 pick in the 2017 draft. Injuries have sidelined his career so far but a nice lottery ticket for a rental player like Pearce.
2B Brock Holt, and RP Cam Bedrosian to SD for SP Mike Minor - I think pretty smart move in getting a SP that should be a solid #2 or #3 next season for an expiring contract and a RP. This will help if the Sox want to compete next season or give them another good asset to flip.
FA Overview:
C Tim Federowicz 2 yr 6 Mil - .216/.286/.364 in 83 GP. Signed to be a back up catcher and performs that decently. I think a cheaper option could have been found and guaranteeing a 2nd year I don't care for. C-
RP Craig Kimbrel 3 yr 42 Mil - 3.57 ERA 97 Ks in 70 IP. That was pretty much the going rate for high end, proven bullpen help. Preformed good not great. Wasn't great IRL but I don't think that will kill his ratings too bad as it was only 23 games and he didn't have a normal offseason. B
RP Tommy Layne 2 yr 2.8 Mil - 3.48 ERA 51 Ks in 51.2 IP. Solid depth bullpen piece on the cheap. B+
1B Logan Morrison 1 yr 4 Mil - .231/.333/.419 9 HRs and 100 OPS+ in 186 ABs. Solid part time/bench role player. C+
LF Melky Cabrera 1 yr 2 Mil - Released before start of season. D
LF Steven Pearce 1 yr 12 Mil - .294/.356/.536 15 HRs and 135 OPS+ in 235 ABs. Maybe the reason Cabrera was release. Known for smashing lefties did exactly that with an OPS over 1.000 against them. Flipped for a high ceiling prospect. Exactly what you should do if trying to rebuild. A-
1B Miguel Cabrera 1 yr 30 Mil - .183/.252/.269 and a 40 OPS+ in 28 games before being waved. Claimed by SD. This just didn't workout but at least SD claimed him so the Sox weren't on the hook for his contract. F
CF Cameron Maybin 1 yr 1.8 Mil - .261/.302/.345 and a 73 OPS+ in 119 ABs. Solid bench piece before released. C-
RP Jenrry Mejia 1 yr 1.2 Mil - 8.38 ERA in 9.2 IP. Moved to Minors. D
SP Mike Hauschild 2 yr 6 Mil - 11-10 4.52 ERA in 27 GS. Pitched ok overall. Cheap salary but I don't really like the 2nd year. Did not pitched well in real life so probably a sunk cost next season. C
RP Rhiner Cruz 1 yr 3.51 Mil - 6.97 ERA in 10 IP then released. D-
C Jonathan Lucroy 1 yr 8.33 Mil - .248/.295/.332 5 HRs and 68 OPS+ in 310 ABs. Not a bad idea with the need at catcher. Problem is that he didn't preform well. D+
SP Gio Gonzalez 1 yr 6.5 Mil - 0-3 6.75 ERA in 4 GS then waived. D-
SP Tyson Ross 1 yr .8 Mil - 0-9 5.38 ERA in 9 GS and 103 IP. Not good but not completely unusable. D+
SP Francisco Liriano 1 yr .8 Mil - 1-2 4.41 ERA in 5 GS. Got injured for season after that. Decent before injured. C-
RP Connor Sadzeck 1 yr .9 Mil - 6-2 2.86 ERA 94 Ks in 88 IP. Very good return on investment. B
Had some really good signings. Had some really bad signings. Overall no real bad long term contracts. B-
