The Boston Red Sox Have a Wicked Good Bench

Boston Red Sox Bench Players a Major Strength for 2015

By Keith Allison on Flickr (Originally posted to Flickr as “Shane Victorino”) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

Which Position Player Should the Boston Red Sox Trade for Pitching Help?

After failing to win the heart of Jon Lester back after they traded him last season, the Boston Red Sox are stuck looking at themselves in the mirror like they’re a month into a diet without any real results.

Like this failed attempt at dieting, they are trying. They’re eating less, but not the right foods. The Red Sox signed free agent Pablo Sandoval to play third base and shortstop Hanley Ramirez to play left field. In an already full outfield, the Red Sox seemed focused on building a stronger lineup before focusing on the more pressing need: pitching.

In 2014, the Red Sox traded Lester, John Lackey, Jake Peavy, Andrew Miller, and a few other less notable players. Their pitching staff became depleted and they have yet to fix this issue. (Editor Note: By the time I’m posting this, the Red Sox have addressed this issue. My apologies for trying to wait one day for some great content.)

Now that Lester is a member of the Chicago Cubs, the best options available in free agency are Max Scherzer and James Shields. Neither appeal to the Red Sox much so they will have to do what makes even more sense in their situation–make a trade.

There are lots of pitchers rumored to be on the trading block this offseason. Cole Hamels, Jordan Zimmermann, everyone on the San Diego Padres, and plenty more arms could end up in Boston’s rotation. Best of all for the Red Sox, there are lots of teams who need offense.

The Seattle Mariners may have gotten Nelson Cruz, but they certainly could use another bat. The Washington Nationals lost Adam LaRoche, a guaranteed 20-25 home run guy, and would look a little nicer with some increased offense. The problem here is that other than second base and catcher their roster is pretty set. I don’t see the Red Sox trading Dustin Pedroia for anything.

Depending on how serious they get, the New York Mets may be the perfect trade partner. The one thing the Mets have going for them is pitching. The one thing they don’t is a lineup worthy of competing in the postseason. If this is something the Red Sox want to do they better act fast because once Dillon Gee is traded the Mets will pull back the reins before their rotation becomes as Triple-A one.

Of the players available for the Red Sox to trade, Shane Victorino strikes me as the least valuable to them. Unfortunately his injuries last season could limit trading partners. Mookie Betts is the future Victorino-type player for the Red Sox so there’s no real need to keep him.

By Keith Allison from Hanover, MD, USA (Yoenis Cespedes) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

Trading Yoenis Cespedes to me is a bad move even though he’s a free agent after this season. Instead, I say the Red Sox go for it keep one of the best power hitters in baseball. Hitting behind David Ortiz, suddenly they both get better. (Another Editor’s Note: They did trade Cespedes and all they got in return was Rick Porcello. Ho-Hum.)

There’s also Allen Craig whom I like only for the fact that he can play the outfield and first base. An injury to Mike Napoli and suddenly they are have a quality guy to play the position. At the same time, Daniel Nava could fill this worrisome role and the Red Sox could probably get more by trading Craig. Similar to the problems with Victorino, Craig had an awful 2014 season and there will be more hesitation than normal.

At this point in my draft, I had planned to wrap things up. Since they Red Sox DID go out and get some business done earlier today, most of what I had to say here was outdated. You can check back on the Cleat Report Homepage for something more on the Cespedes for Porcello deal.

If the Philadelphia Phillies Trade Cole Hamels, It’s for the Best to Trade Cliff Lee Too

The Philadelphia Phillies built their 2011 team on pitching. Roy Halladay returned for his second season, Roy Oswalt was with the team for the first time on opening day, Cliff Lee came back after spending a year with the Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers, and Cole Hamels remained as the best homegrown pitcher since Chris Short.

Things didn’t work out so well in the playoffs, but at least they did everything they could in the terms of transactions.

That 2011 season is more and more distant each day, and now the Phillies are at the point where trading Hamels is completely realistic.

As a fan of the team who appreciates Hamels, I’m not sure how I feel about his potential departure. I know it’s for the best, but seeing him in another team’s uniform is like seeing an ex-girlfriend in another man’s bed. Hamels was OUR guy and he’s about to belong to someone else–maybe.

Blevine37 at the English language Wikipedia [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

A lot needs to be done with this team. The best trade piece they have is Hamels and keeping him doesn’t make much sense. If they trade him though, they suddenly lose 8-10 wins and are looking at closing in on a 100 loss season. Since this is the case, what would be the point in holding onto the only other pitcher left over from 2011, Cliff Lee.

Trades in baseball are almost always easier said than done. Sure, plenty teams would love to have Hamels and/or Lee. The problem is their contracts. Both will make over $20 million in 2015 and beyond. The Phillies knew this day was coming. At the hope of winning in 2011, they were willing to load up the back of their players’ contracts.

For instance, in 2016 Lee is due to make $27.5 million. There is a buyout and a few innings totals Lee must reach to get paid everything available. Thankfully for the Phillies in a very melancholy way, he may not pitch enough to earn the extra dough.

The way I see it, the possible scenarios are pretty clear:

Losing Hamels and keeping Lee means the Phillies win 65 games and gain a nice chunk of players in a trade. Losing Hamels and Lee means the Phillies win 60 games and gain two nice chunks of players.

By Keith Allison [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

Transversally, if the Phillies keep them both they win 73 games and don’t gain anything for the future other than another mention on the back of a baseball card.

The level of talent the Phillies will get back for Lee at this point is far less than they would have if he was traded two years ago. I’m okay with that. The better strategy may even be to hold onto him into the season and wait until the trade deadline then unload him for whatever you can get. If the Boston Red Sox can get Allen Craig and Joe Kelly for John Lackey, the Phillies can get a starting outfielder and a third or fourth starter for Lee.

Thanks to the second wild card plenty of teams will be buyers next season. The Phillies made the mistake in 2014 at thinking they actually had a chance. They need to be a little more pessimistic in 2015 and realize what they are.

In 1980, Phillies’ closer Tug McGraw said, “You gotta believe.”

In 2015, someone on the Phillies should say, “You can’t possibly believe.”

It’s all for the best.

What Every Major League Baseball Team Should be Thankful for in 2014

It’s Thanksgiving and unless you live in Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, and everywhere else other than the United States of America–you probably gathered around a table at some point today to give thanks.

Most of us were not fortunate to spend our holiday with a Major League Baseball team. Luckily I have found a list of what each time should was thankful for.

Arizona Diamondbacks: Enough injuries to justify being the worst team in baseball and still being able to convince Yasmany Tomas to sign.

Atlanta Braves: The New York Mets only tying and not finishing above them in the standings.

Baltimore Orioles: Nelson Cruz can still hit even without steroids or a big paycheck.

Boston Red Sox: A pitching staff desired around the league that can bring in a new core for 2015.

Chicago Cubs: Decades of losing baseball with actually a bright future ahead.

Chicago White Sox: Jose Abreu.

Cincinnati Reds: Joey Votto is still alive and hopefully healthy in 2015.

Cleveland Indians: A Cy Young victory for Corey Kluber and not happening in a season where he’s free agent eligible.

Colorado Rockies: One of the best offenses in baseball even without Troy Tulowitzki.

Detroit Tigers: The weakness has become clear that even with a great lineup and starting rotation, it’s important to build a bullpen to finish off the game.

Houston Astros: Not finishing last in the division.

Kansas City Royals: Karma finally catching up and nearly winning one for the good guys.

Los Angeles Angels: An MVP season for Mike Trout, a very good season from Albert Pujols, and a pitching staff worthy of contending with almost any.

Los Angeles Dodgers: A surplus of outfielders–one of which can surely be traded to fill another need.

Miami Marlins: Giancarlo Stanton got hit in the baseball and the only after-effect was agreeing to stay in Miami for another decade.

Milwaukee Brewers: They didn’t even try to build a great team and yet somehow still contended until September.

Minnesota Twins: Lots of young talent and the extra cash Phil Hughes just missed out on earning.

New York Mets: Their pitchers get to be on the field half of the game and their batters only have to be on the field for half of the game.

New York Yankees: A great history that distracts everyone from the disaster during the present.

Oakland Athletics: Billy Beane is willing to try anything to win and will actually spend some money to do it.

Philadelphia Phillies: It’s only a matter of time before they are forced to rebuild.

Pittsburgh Pirates: The team made the playoffs without an exceptional team and can be so much better if only they had a complimentary piece to Andrew McCutchen.

San Diego Padres: See the New York Mets above.

San Francisco Giants: Madison Bumgarner‘s playoff performance.

Seattle Mariners: A very talented young pitching staff that nearly carried them to the playoffs in spite of a lineup lacking just about everything.

St. Louis Cardinals: Allen Craig is gone and Matt Adams can finally become the every day first baseman.

Tampa Bay Rays: A new era is about to begin.

Texas Rangers: Yu Darvish is still on the roster and has no escape.

Toronto Blue Jays: Jose Bautista continued to prove he’s one of the best sluggers in baseball and they should be better with Russell Martin‘s presence in the lineup.

Washington Nationals: The National League is so bad, they were able to easily capture the division.

My 2014 MLB Predictions and How Dumb I Look Now

I wrote this back in March as part of the Yahoo Voices program. That service no longer exists however I thought it might be interesting to see just how on target I was with some of my predictions and how incredibly wrong I was with others.

For instance, the Boston Red Sox and Texas Rangers are terrible. I really thought Allen Craig was going to lead the National League batting title? And Clayton Kershaw was going to actually pitch like a human?

Sports are unpredictable and baseball is no different. The 2014 season approaching, these are a few of my predictions.

Standings

There will be few surprises this season when it comes to capturing the division. The Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers, and Texas Rangers will win in the American League with the Washington Nationals, St. Louis Cardinals, and Los Angeles Dodgers snapping them up in the National League.

In the American League, the Wild Cards will go to the Baltimore Orioles and the Oakland Athletics. The National League will have Wild Card winners from the Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds.

The World Series will be a match between the Detroit Tigers and the St. Louis Cardinals. Much to my dismay, the Cardinals will take it in six games as the Tigers will once again fail in the playoffs.

MVP Awards

The American League MVP will finally be Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels. After two seasons of finishing behind Miguel Cabrera, Trout will finally get his due. Cabrera will still have a stellar season, but Trout will have his best season yet and narrowly earn some extra votes to avoid the three-peat.

The National League MVP will be Freddie Freeman of the Atlanta Braves. A breakthrough season in 2013, Freeman will continue to bolster his statistics in 2014. Freeman will have tough competition from some usual suspects (Andrew McCutchen, Paul Goldschmidt, etc.) and it will be the fact that the Braves make the playoffs to push him above the others.

Cy Young Awards

Finally with some offense to help him out, Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners will earn another Cy Young Award. Even with the team still performing poorly overall, Hernandez will steal a few extra victories. It also doesn’t hurt pitching so often against the Houston Astros.

Meanwhile in the National League, Clayton Kershaw falls short when division rival Madison Bumgarner has his best season ever. Kershaw is bound to have a more human-like season and I see it happening in 2014. Bumgarner is still on the rise and without much pressure on him he manages to get even better.

League Leaders

Aiding in his MVP run, Mike Trout will lead the American League in hits. However, the home run leader will be Miguel Cabrera who will also lead in RBIs. Cabrera will not win the Triple Crown though. The batting title will go to Joe Mauer who will have a chance to spend more time away from the catching position, drastically improving his hitting abilities.

Leading the league in hits for the National League will be the reigning MVP Andrew McCutchen. While I would like to see Matt Carpenter repeat, he will fall short to an even further improved McCutchen. The home run leader will be Paul Goldschmidt, reaching 40. MVP Freddie Freeman will have the most RBIs and the batting title will go to Allen Craig. Craig’s batting title will be slightly hollow as he will miss a significant part of the season, but not so much he falls short on the at-bats needed to qualify.

Three Players We Won’t Let Fool Us Again in Fantasy Baseball

Read all of the magazines, books, and stat sheets you want. You can even tamper with a team’s equipment and still there are no guarantees in fantasy baseball. We can select a team full of last year’s All-Stars, but this never guarantees a victory. These are three players whom the last two seasons were ranked highly and hurt our fantasy baseball teams two seasons in a row.

Allen Craig

The immediate bonus of Allen Craig is his eligibility at first base and in the outfield. After that there is a huge drop-off on why you even need him on your fantasy baseball team. He’s an odd player in the sense that he hits in the middle of the order without much power. His 22 home runs in 119 games back in 2012 convinced everyone he could reach the 30 mark.

By 2013 though, Craig had proven to be a singles hitters more than anything else. His RBI totals are consistently high, an attribution we can give to the St. Louis Cardinals’ lineup in general for giving Craig those opportunities. Craig became the odd man out some days with Matt Adams playing first base and Oscar Taveras taking over in right field. Now a member of the Boston Red Sox, he actually has an opportunity to become a starter again. In 2015 Craig is someone you should save until the later rounds when there isn’t much else to choose from.

Pablo Sandoval

There was a time when Pablo Sandoval was a very desirable choice as a third baseman for your fantasy baseball team. Those days are long over as he has devolved into an average at best player.

All of this happened pretty quickly as Sandoval was an All-Star in 2011 and 2012. Coincidentally these two All-Star seasons, he played in fewer than 120 games. Sandoval still does benefit as a player who can get on base and strikeouts out at a very minimal rate. Really though when you think of it like that, Sandoval’s success comes from abstinence. Somehow Sandoval has avoided the bad without contributing much good.

Bryce Harper

First I would like to acknowledge how much Bryce Harper improved in 2013 from his rookie campaign in 2012. He had some very identical numbers and in 100 fewer plate appearances. Now that I can safely say I have given him a compliment it’s time to move over to why Harper is not a guy you want on your fantasy baseball team.

Starting with his lack of durability and knack for getting injured, Harper is not someone you can count on to avoid the 15-day disabled list. He plays hard and pulling a muscle or scrambling his brain is something he will probably do a lot in his career. This is the biggest weakness in Harper’s game. Likely the horrible 2014 season he is having can be credited toward these injuries however the fact that he has yet to have a truly phenomenal season makes me wonder how good he can ever be. Selecting him high in 2015 means you are way too forgiving.

Photo Credit: By Johnmaxmena2 (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)%5D, via Wikimedia Commons

Get to the Point: Baseball Headlines for 8/5/2014

A busy day in baseball today with debuts, great pitching performances, and Clayton Kershaw actually giving up two runs on one hit. Let’s get to the point, here are the top headlines in Major League Baseball for August 5th, 2014.

Javier Baez made his debut for the Chicago Cubs today. In true Cubs fashion he struck out in his first at-bat.

On his road to recovery Matt Harvey threw 20 pitches in a bullpen session for the New York Mets. Meanwhile the team treated Washington Nationals’ starter Gio Gonzalez like he was throwing BP, scoring 4 runs in 6 innings against him.

The newly acquired David Price nearly pitched a complete game in his debut for the Detroit Tigers going 8.2 innings and giving up 3 runs to the New York Yankees. He had 10 strikeouts in the game before it went to extras where fans will hopefully not be treated to a John Sterling home run call to end the game.

Allen Craig went on the disabled list for the Boston Red Sox with an ankle injury. Until he recovers the team plans to look for a replacement to strikeout twice a game for them.

Top National League Cy Young candidate Johnny Cueto earned his 13th win of the season in a complete game against the Cleveland Indians. Meanwhile the Chicago White Sox failed to play a complete game, giving up 7 runs in the first two innings to the Texas Rangers.