2 yrs $6 mil. Good signing, IMO. Very solid backup catcher who will likely split time and make it easier to deal one of Lavs or Salty
2 yrs $6 mil. Good signing, IMO. Very solid backup catcher who will likely split time and make it easier to deal one of Lavs or Salty
Hal sucks
May this be the end of the Salty era in Boston.
In his three seasons with Boston, he has allowed 5.10 runs per game. That's unimaginable.
Salty is a backup catcher. He has a lot of pop from the left side so he should have a job for years to come.
some of the pitchers has a lot to do with thatOriginally Posted by Palodios
No question. But:
2011 Red Sox ERA with
Varitek 3.57
Salty 4.62
2012
Shoppach 3.77
Salty 4.84
Some stunning similarities there.
This proves they are going to try and rebuild in Boston (good luck with that, though I'm fine with it) yet the Globe is trying to get us to drink the kool aid on some of the "big but past it" names out there on the FA market now. I guess you kind of have to buy some of them to go through the process of being on the bottom for a feew years to build up real prospects (since we gave our farm system to SD for A-Gon)
Salty is a journeyman catcher. His defensive skills are poor. One of the reasons for his higher than average ERA is IMO he drops a lot of foul tips that would be third strikes that other catchers get. He frames the ball poorly and is not good at giving targets. These were all pointed out by analysts other than Don and Jerry during the year. Lavarnway, Saltyand Ross wiill all be fighting for a job next year. My guess is that Salty will be trade bait.
I would not be surprised to see the Sox do something with Salty before ST. What are they going to find out about him that they don't already know? He plays the position the way he plays the position. There are so many holes in his game that he looks like a fountain when he takes a drink of water.
His one saving grace is that he has power. K's like crazy but he does have power. Once he stopped trying to do everything at light speed (the sure sign of a lack of confidence) he developed a decent arm and actually started to throw some runners out. While I just don't see Salty developing more from here, I can see somebody wanting Salty to split time between doing some catching and being a DH batting down there around 6th or so...with the ability to clean the plate adding some pop from down there, 6th or 7th in the order. We just signed our DH to a two year deal.
I still contend that having a full time DH really does tie your hands. Ortiz is one of the few DH's that make it worthwhile but in truth, he has to be slotted into the DH role and everybody else must either play a position or sit...that is it.
I concur. I'd like to see their long-term philosophy vis-a-vis the DH is to just have more good baseball players on the team, and use the DH to exploit specific matchups/splits, and to give guys a kind of day of "rest". It also gives the team more flexibility when playing in NL parks.
I like this move. They should sell high on Salty. His value probably won't get better.
I think you guys are right on target with Salty. Sell before ST his value will never be higher
He should go find a 1b mitt.
No thanks for Salty at 1B. Can't have a sub-.300 OBP guy at a primo hitters position.
Lauber mentioned that the Sox could deal Salty for either Niese of the Mets or Gavin Floyd of the ChiSox. I would think the Sox would have to give up more than Salty for Floyd.
Floyd had a 4.29 ERA last year, 4.46 ERA overall.
I'd much rather have Niese, though. 3.40 ERA last year, threw 190 innings, and is going to be only 27 heading into next season. He's also signed through 2016 with a remaining $24mm on his deal, and two options after that for $10mm and $11mm. Solid pitcher under a cheap contract through 2018. Yes, please.
That would be a major steal if they wanted just Salty for Niese.
I think it would take more than Salty in either case but I commend whomever in the FO is talkin' like that. No sense in negotiating from a weak position.
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