Top 5 - Red Sox First Half Story-lines

So it's the All-Star break and here's what I consider to be the Top 5 Red Sox story-lines from the first half of the season.

1. The Kids are Alright! Xander Bogaearts (23), Jackie Bradley Jr. (26), and Mookie Betts (23) are All-Stars and the core of this team. The future is bright in Boston.
2. Big Papi-mania! David Ortiz is on track for 40+ HR and 130+ RBI and in his final season his current OPS+ of 184 is the highest of his career by far! Ortiz is putting together one of the best final seasons in pro sports history.
3. The starting pitching stinks! I'm comfortable with the fact that David Price will come around and be give the Red Sox a Cy Young contender-type second half. Steven Wright is a well deserved All-Star and I'm also good with Rick Porcello, So with 3 of the 5 starters being OK - why do I say the starting pitching stinks? Imagine a five course meal where the first three courses were good or very good but the last two courses were a shit sandwich and chocolate covered dung. Would you say that was a good meal or that is stinks? Boston has had a combined 29 starts from Clay Buchholz (5.91 ERA), Edwardo Rodriguez (8.59 ERA), Joe Kelly (8.46 ERA) and Sean O'Sullivan (6.75 ERA) which have been the equivalent of a shit sandwich for Red Sox fans so far this season.
4. Travis Shaw replaces Pablo Sandoval. Shaw is on pace for 18 HR and 90 RBI and he doesn't look like a Weight Watchers' before picture. Like many fans - I hope we have seen the last of Sandoval in a Red Sox uniform.
5. Is John Farrell on the hot seat? The team has served up a shit sandwich of 40% of the starting pitching staff and yet the team is just 2 games back. Why would Farrell be on the hot seat? Because Boston sportswriters and sports talk radio people are the worst. Same bunch of jackasses that insisted that Terry Francona had to go too. Farrell won the World Series for Boston not too long ago.

A Modest Proposal

Here's an idea that's been floating around my head for some time and I'm not even sure if I'm advocating it - I'm just throwing it out there for consideration: maybe the Boston Red Sox should move Dustin Pedroia to shortstop.

Wait - wait! It's not a crazy idea. Pedroia was a shortstop in college so the position wouldn't be new to him and let's be honest defensively he'd be better than Xander Bogaerts. In this scenario Bogaerts would be moved to third base. Offensively Pedroia, even with his diminished power, would be in the top half of shortstops in MLB.

This scenario allows Mookie Betts to take over at second base. Boston could really use Betts as a lead-off man but with the Red Sox' full outfield would make it difficult to get him at bats on a regular basis. Who in the outfield is going to sit to make room for Betts? Yoenis Cespedes? Rusney Castillo? Shane Victorino (if healthy)? Daniel Nava? Allen Craig? This doesn't even mention Gold Glove caliber centerfielder Jackie Bradley Jr.

This scenario would give the Red Sox an infield of Mike Napoli, Betts, Pedroia and Bogaerts. That's pretty solid. Of course some off season trades may clarify where everyone will play next year but I just wanted to throw this idea out there.

State of the Red Sox

As of this morning the Red Sox are 9.5 games back in the AL East and 8 games out of the Wild Card. That's worse than 2 weeks ago when I did my last State of the Red Sox. In that post I made 5 suggested moves for Boston to make. So far they have made 2 (bringing up Mookie Betts and getting rid of AJ Pierzynski). I can easily see them making the other 3 moves listed (trading Jake Peavy and Jonny Gomes and signing Jon Lester) and that certainly would be a move in the right direction.

Having said the above - here's 4 more moves I would like to see the Red Sox make.

1. Trade Edward Mujica who just hasn't fit in with Boston. He reminds me of Mark Melancon who just couldn't handle Boston but thrived in the NL. Trade Mujiica to some NL team in need of bullpen help and save yourself the $4.75 million he's owed for 2015. Maybe lump Mujica and Peavy together in a package?

2. Trade Shane Victorino. I cannot stress enough how much I want Boston to make this move. Victorino now just bats from the right side and righty bats are in demand. The Red Sox would have to wait till he gets off the DL but I would much rather see the plate appearances go to Mookie Betts or Brock Holt. Victorino is signed through next year at $13 million so that money would come off the books and give Boston more flexibility.

3. Trade Stephen Drew. Probably would have to eat half his remaining salary for the year but most fans would much rather see Brock Holt or Xander Bogaerts at short or even Jonathan Herrera who is Drew's equal with the glove but at this point worth more than 170 points in OPS at the plate.

4. Trade for Troy Tulowitzki. I know this is a long shot but if Tulo is "quietly" letting people know he'd be OK with being traded - that means he wants to be traded. Tulo has a good size contract but that money is peanuts to Boston. Use Xander Bogaerts as the centerpiece of a deal and include a couple of pitching prospects as well. So let it be written - so let it be done!

Stephen Drew

The Red Sox re-signed Stephen Drew and I'm not that happy about it.

Does Drew improve the team? Yes. Is he better defensively at short than Xander Bogaerts? Yes. Did this move cost the team nothing but money? Yes. Is Stephen Drew already well liked in the clubhouse? Yes. So why doesn't this move sit well with me?

The plan going into the season was for Will Middlebrooks to play third and Xander Bogaerts to play short meanwhile Drew would sign elsewhere and Boston would get a compensation draft pick. I liked that plan and hoped that Middlebrooks could stay healthy and show some power and that Bogaerts could handle short at the MLB level. That was the theory. The reality is Middlebrooks hit just 2 HR with a measly .629 OPS and is now out for quite some time with a broken finger. The reality is Bogaerts already has almost as many errors at short (6) as Stephen Drew had all season (8). The reality is the Red Sox were not going to get a compensation pick for Drew signing elsewhere. The reality is the plan was not working. The reality sucks! Like forth place in the AL East sucks.

Another dose of reality is that signing Stephen Drew may signal the end of Will Middlebrooks in Boston. The Red Sox already have top prospect Garin Cecchini at third in Pawtucket so there was already pressure on Middlebrooks. Now with the signing of Drew - Middlebrooks will have to hope someone gets hurt in order for him to get the at bats to prove belongs at the MLB level. Who wants to be in that situation?

I'm not happy with the situation and like many fans I'm transferring those feelings of unhappiness unto Stephen Drew. At least I admit it.

Red Sox vs Yankees 2014

Tonight is the first match-up between the rival Red Sox and Yankees in the 2014 season. Here's a the first of four position by position breakdowns between the two clubs.

Catcher - Brian McCann was the premiere free agent catcher this past offseason and was a big signing for the Yankees. So far he's been a disappointment with just a .328 OPS (-7 OPS+ - YIKES!). McCann will eventually hit but this start may be a preview of what the end of his contract may look like. In Boston AJ Pierzynski was signed to replace Jarrod Saltalamachia and AJ has gotten flack on talk radio for his lack of plate discipline. Yet even though Salty has a decent .827 OPS to start the season (to AJ's .720 OPS) but it's Salty with 13 K's who may be the one with plate discipline issues. Even with his slow start knowing McCann can break out at any time - I'm going to call this a draw.

First - This was supposed to be Mark Teixeira vs Mike Napoli but Teixeira is hurt (again). Now it's Napoli (.942 OPS) vs Kelly Johnson (1.037 OPS) - who do you think can maintain that level of hitting? Edge Red Sox.

Second - It used to be Dustin Pedroia vs Robinson Cano and now it's Pedroia vs Brian Roberts. Edge Red Sox.

Shortstop - Hall of Famer to be Derek Jeter is on his farewell tour. The Red Sox counter with Xander Bogaerts who is ranked by most as the second best prospect in baseball. I'm going to call this a draw out of respect to Jeter's accomplishments but in reality I think even Yankee fans would admit they would rather have the Xander-man (in your head did you hear John Sterling when you read that?).

Stephen Drew

Jose Iglesias is likely out for the season and immediately the speculation is that the Tigers will turn their attention to free agent Stephen Drew to fill the void. As a Red Sox fan I would like to see Drew signed somewhere and if he signed with Detroit the compensation pick would give Boston the 25th, 32nd, and 33rd picks in the first round of this year's MLB draft. That said - this is hardly a done deal.

First off - Drew isn't the only option for Detroit. Arizona is said to be open to dealing either Didi Gregorius or Chris Owings. Maybe a deal to the Diamondbacks for back-up catcher Bryan Holaday would make it happen? Seattle's Nick Franklin could also be a trade option. Why would the Tigers go the trade route instead of signing Drew? Two words - Scott Boras.

You can be sure that Boras will use this opportunity to start a bidding between Detroit and the Mets and maybe even the Yankees. The Tigers probably want Drew for just one year but that probably won't be enough for Boras who needs to prove he wasn't wrong in having Drew turn down the Red Sox one-year $14.1 million qualifying option.. Two years or more may make the trade route more attractive for the Tigers.

Top 5 - Red Sox To Do List

With Mike Napoli re-signing with the Red Sox for 2-years $32 million - the biggest off-season priority for Boston is done. So what is left for Ben Cherington to do at the Winter Meetings? Here's my Top 5:

1. Find a super utility guy - someone who can back-up 3rd, SS and 2nd. Seriously - the pitching staff and the position players are pretty set. As other teams try to fill gaping holes - the Red Sox biggest need is a capable utility guy. Stephen Drew could fit the bill with at-bats shared between Drew, Xander Bogaerts and Will Middlebrooks and there are many who want Drew back but I'd prefer to have Bogaerts play short fulltime and the Red Sox to enjoy the supplemental pick they would get when Drew signs elsewhere.
2. Sign Jon Lester to an extension. He recently said he wants to stay in Boston and would be open to a home-town discount contract like the one Dustin Pedroia signed. Take him up on it before the costs of top shelf starters goes crazy. Say 5-years $100 million? Everyone happy?
3. Trade Ryan Dempster and his $13 million contract. Boston has six starters and only 5 slots. Trading Dempster and his $13 million contract makes the most sense. Of course you could always wait till Spring Training to do this in case of injury.
4. Trade Ryan Lavarnway to a team that needs a catcher. I like Lavarnway but there just isn't roster room either in the bigs in Boston or AAA in Pawtucket. Once again - maybe wait till Spring Training.
5. Sign David Ortiz to an extension. I know both sides agreed to no extension until the current contract was done but that was before Ortiz was World Series MVP. How about 2-years and $30 million?

Tulo to Red Sox

Ken Rosenthal had an article saying that the Colorado Rockies should listen to offers for Troy Tulowitzki. He mentioned the Cardinals as possible trade partners. Ever since reading the Rosenthal article - I've kept wondering "What about Tulo to the Red Sox?"

The Red Sox have top prospect Xander Bogaerts ready to take over for Stephen Drew if Drew moves on via free agency but Bogaerts could just as easily shift to third. What about Will Middlebrooks who was the Red Sox opening day 3rd baseman last season and is on track to be so again next season? Put him in a package with Felix Dubront (an MLB ready starter with 4 more years of team control), Allen Webster (the key prospect the Dodgers gave up for Adrian Gonzalez) and one AA prospect. That's a pretty good 4 for 1 package.

For the Rockies - they get 4 cost effective players including a potential 30-HR 3rd baseman who can play right now in Middlebrooks. Colorado already has 22-year old Nolan Arenado at third and he just won the NL Gold Glove for 3rd basemen. The solution is simple - just move Arenado over to short. He used to be a shortstop and he doesn't have the pop in the bat that you'd want from a corner playing half his games at Coors Field. Dubront would immediately become the Rockies number 3 starter and Webster could be a number 1 some day.

For the Red Sox - they get a proven player who has a career road OPS of .819 - as a shortstop! Tulo's career home OPS at Coors is .934 which is like Big Papi at Fenway. Tulo could play short to start then as he gets older move to third, first or DH.

Of course as Rosenthal says - right now the Rockies say Tulowitzki is unavailable. The Red Sox should dangle my proposed package and see if they change their mind.

Red Sox Offseason Moves - Position Players

Here's how I see the Red Sox roster for position players going forward for the 2014 season. Pretty long position-by-position breakdown so if you are interested - it continues after the break.