Crimson Sox
The Crimson Sox stood principally pat on the deadline, committing to their group for the rest of their playoff push.
Enjoying 9 innings whereas questioning if Chaim “Not Going To Rob Peter To Pay Paul” Bloom is aware of he’s channeling Lou Gorman …
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Tanner Houck to start rehab task Saturday, goal returns for injured pitchers revealed
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Crimson Sox nearly traded Justin Turner, pursued Justin Verlander, in response to MLB insider
1. As irritating as it’s in a vacuum that Bloom, the Crimson Sox chief baseball officer, didn’t add something apart from a distressed-asset infielder on the buying and selling deadline, I get his considering … principally.
The Crimson Sox are on the skin wanting in for one of many three wild-card spots, and even with a roster that gives loads of hope for the long run, their total wild inconsistency — they’ve misplaced 4 of 5 since transferring a season-high 9 video games over .500 on July 28 — isn’t a behavior that can be damaged this season.
In a macro sense, this franchise, with all of its sources, ought to by no means be an underdog, as Bloom referred to it. However within the micro sense, which means this season, he’s not mistaken. That is who they’re, and a few ancillary roster strikes received’t change that.
As useful as it could have been so as to add a league-average beginning pitcher and even this 12 months’s model of ‘21 Hansel Robles to the bullpen, I belief that the correct transfer on the proper price wasn’t there to be made this time.
2. I don’t consider it’s a matter of Bloom not believing in his workforce — a standard, nuance-free conclusion round right here after just about each different playoff contender made a transfer of notice. It’s extra a matter of two issues: the fundamental math (baseball-reference gave the Crimson Sox roughly a 21 p.c probability of constructing the playoffs as of Friday morning), and a sensible unwillingness to overpay for what is perhaps a reasonable improve.
Bloom’s prudence is boring, however I don’t consider it was the mistaken strategy at this deadline. I feel he likes his workforce and the place it’s headed over the subsequent few years however is correctly dispassionate about what is feasible this 12 months.
3. That stated, one essential query about his team-building techniques stays: Will he be keen to half with treasured prospects to land established, well-compensated assist for the most important league roster when such a deal presents itself?
Such a deal in all probability was not there at this deadline; I’m lukewarm on Dylan Stop as a long-term funding, and people Justin Verlander rumors make completely no sense. However this offseason ought to carry actual potentialities to reinforce the promising core with prime-of-career expertise.
Will he be keen to half with, oh, Nick Yorke and Cedanne Rafaela — tremendous prospects, however with actual questions — to usher in a star or one thing shut to 1?
4. It’s crucial — crucial — that he make such trades if the Crimson Sox are going to be true contenders. Bloom is within the fourth 12 months of his tenure, and we’re but to see him make a daring commerce that sends reliable prospects elsewhere to accumulate somebody to assist the large league membership.
Bloom has been daring in different methods; signing Masataka Yoshida to a five-year, $90 million contract when many groups had been lukewarm on how he would fare in america was a gutty transfer that labored. The following section on this reconstruction is to be daring in trades. Can he? Will he?
5. It acquired the is-that-all-there-is? remedy for comprehensible causes, however I actually just like the Luis Urías pickup. He was a terrific prospect not so way back.
Baseball Prospectus had him at No. 17 in baseball earlier than the 2019 season, writing, “Urías combines high-end bat-to-ball potential and barrel management with a hair-trigger fast bat, and that’s created lots of offensive potential.”
That offensive potential shined by way of in 2021 with the Brewers when he hit 23 dwelling runs with a .789 OPS. Accidents and awful luck have dragged him down, however he’s simply 26, and it wouldn’t shock me if he ended up being what the Crimson Sox hoped Christian Arroyo would develop into.
6. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported that the Marlins thought that they had a shot at buying Justin Turner. For Bloom to contemplate dealing Turner — who has been an ideal match this season (a current column I wrote about him acquired inundated with Dodgers followers lamenting how a lot they miss him in LA) — there should have been the potential for an attractive return.
Rosenthal didn’t point out the Crimson Sox’ finish of the deal, however I’d guess no less than a Butch Hobson rookie card that Bloom requested for Edward Cabrera, a flamethrower whose management has eluded him too typically this season.
7. What are reasonable expectations for Trevor Story when he returns? I say if he matches his slash line from his 2021 season with the Rockies (.251/.329/.471), hits a house run each 25 or so plate appearances, and performs a gradual shortstop (by all accounts he has his fastball again), that may be a hit story and an enormously useful participant.
8. Alex Cora is the second-best Crimson Sox supervisor of my lifetime — Terry Francona is, clearly, No. 1 — and tactically, navigating this season with such a flawed roster is perhaps the perfect work he has completed right here. However I’m additionally conflicted, as a result of don’t among the Crimson Sox’ worst habits, notably on protection, mirror again on him?
9. The Crimson Sox are going to finish up being proper about letting Xander Bogaerts go, and I hate it.