I am going to assume he needs a few more at bats in AA before they view him as a "top of the anything" hitter...Originally Posted by jacksonianmarch
I am going to assume he needs a few more at bats in AA before they view him as a "top of the anything" hitter...
Who knows if Downs will ever amount to anything? However, IMO, you take the potential every day position player over the reliever every time, even if the position player is 'blocked' and pitching is our weakness. As you've mentioned, Downs could potentially be traded for pitching.
If Graterol were slated to be a starter, then it's a different story.
A few people said he was slated to be a RP'er, perhaps based on health issues. He was mostly a starter in the minors and has started for the Dodgers, this year.
I'm not sure we can say he had to be a RP'er.
When you say it's gonna happen now
When exactly do you mean?
Brusdar Graterol has made 20 appearances for the Dodgers this year but his only two starts came as an opener when the righthander went 1 and 1.1 innings, respectively:
https://www.baseball-reference.com/p...&t=p&year=2020
Yes, but are we certain he can never be a starter?
When you say it's gonna happen now
When exactly do you mean?
After seeing him pitch, I would definitely keep him in the bullpen.
To state the obvious: Many are surprised that the Red Sox did not land a pitcher in the Mookie Betts trade.
I'm going off of what I've read from the teams that were involved in the trade. They all projected him to be a reliever. It's possible that he could become a starter. But based off of those reports, along with his injury, I understand completely why Bloom backed down from that trade.
Bloom could have asked for pitching from the Dodgers, and I'm guessing he did, but Friedman is no idiot either.
I was surprised that the Sox did not land a pitcher. However, I'm guessing that the FO did pursue pitching, but deemed Downs to be the best player that they could get. In trades like this, as with in drafts, the team should try to get the best player rather than trying to fill a position of need.
Many don't know what they're talking about, of course.
All that matters is the total value.
Championships since purchase by John Henry group: Red Sox 4 Yankees 1
The Red Sox are 8-1 in their last 9 postseason games against the Yankees.
I’m a good example.
I wanted a pitcher back, but there is probably a good reason why I wasn’t invited to the negotiations....
Sox had many holes in the farm. Holding out for one particular need to get a lesser return would be dumb.
Count me as dumb then, because I wasn't surprised but am still aggravated Bloom couldn't get one Dodger arm for a Hall of Famer -- who again leads the MLB in WAR this year. Of course, I'll always feel the return would've been better had Boston not insisted on LA taking Price in the deal.
For a franchise that has had trouble drafting and developing starting pitching this entire century -- granted, two whole decades so far -- right now I'd take the best pitcher available, even over a position player with higher "value" (which is just projections based on someone's numerical system anyway)...
... because the Red Sox have many holes, but the most glaring continue to be the ones that make up 75% of a baseball team (based on the old adage).
1 year of Mookie for multiple years of Verdugo would have been a fair trade.
They originally wanted Brusdar from the Dodgers, but backed off him after seeing his medical records.
If the best they could get was Wong and Downs, I don't see how people could complain.
Mookie wasn't coming back here next season. He would have been wasted on this team and lots of people would be on here screaming that the Sox should have traded them when they had the chance.
Screaming quite loudly, yes indeed.
Championships since purchase by John Henry group: Red Sox 4 Yankees 1
The Red Sox are 8-1 in their last 9 postseason games against the Yankees.
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