To me the most difficult issue to deal with is where to put Rafie. We know we need him on the team as he is a terrific hitter and may even get better if his plate discipline is improved. The problem is where to put him on defense.
1. Leave him at 3rd base and accept 25 errors a year
2. Move him to 2nd as a left hander who doesn't have the agility needed
3. Move him to first base and force Dalbec to move and also block Casas
4. Use him as DH and don't take Schwaber or JDM
5. I'm not serious about this, but LF.
I would hate to have to make this choice, but right now 3rd looks like the best place as none of the options are attractive. That allows Dalbec to stay at 1st where he is getting a bit better on defense and is hitting much better. Also Casas can come up and platoon with him when ready. Schwaber can be signed as a DH first. LF second player. That leaves dealing with SS and 2nd base open for action. Arroyo still has upside if he can remain healthy. Bogie is a very professional player and hitter whose range is less than optimum for the position.
As far as the outfield is concerned we have Verdugo who could play right or left and Kike who can play any outfield position and second. Renfroe is good but not irreplaceable and a top notch CF or right fielder could be targeted. It will be interesting to see what Bloom will do since pitching is also a need and probably the more important place to spend.
We also need to plan for how to integrate our prospects going forward. There are Casas, Duran, Yorke and Mayer all making cases for their addition to the club in the fairly near future. For those who disparage Duran, I believe you are wrong and the kid will be a solid contributor to the club, perhaps in a secondary role at first.
Of all the positions where defense is a major concern, I see Devers and Dalbec as the best chances for improving at their positions.
Devers has done very well, defensively for very long periods of times, but then seems to slump on defense, many times while also struggling at the plate. I'm not sure if he is distracted- lack of focus or just cannot control his arm- ever.
Since Devers and Dalbec have longer team control than Bogey and Vaz, I think the focus for this winter should be SS and Catcher and maybe RF. With Kike having just one year left, and Duran not being a defensive whiz, OF may be a higher priority than 1B and 3B, to me. (Plus, Casas offers a third option before too long.)
I think the best thing to do is stick with Devers at 3B and Dalbec at 1B for another year. We'll know more about Casas. We need to get Devers to buy into working hard on improving his focus, footwork and throwing. Dalbec, too, but he seems to be improving over the last 4-6 weeks, on D.
I'm not a Bogey hater, despite my obsession for great SS D, but I think we need to think about a change, there.
When you say it's gonna happen now
When exactly do you mean?
When you say it's gonna happen now
When exactly do you mean?
The SS free-agent class is huge this year. You replace Bogey now, let him play 2b/3b in 2022 and if he works out an extension with the Sox to stay there long term...awesome.
To be honest, I don't know what to trust for catcher defensive value rankings or metrics.
To me, how a catcher handles a staff is most important.
If robo umps are added, framing pitches value becomes meaningless.
Blocking bad pitches and CS% have value, but how much?
Get me a guy our pitchers love to throw to.
Now that Vaz's offense is not a big plus anymore, there should be more options.
One question is, do we give Vaz his $7M option and trade him? Are the enough GMs out there that want him at that price?
When you say it's gonna happen now
When exactly do you mean?
I'm guessing, if we move Bogey off SS, he bolts after 2022.
Who knows? Maybe he falls in love with 2B.
It would be nice to have Kike in CF, Bogey at 2B and Arroyo as the infield utility guy.
1. Kike CF
2. Devers 3B
3. Bogey 2B
4. JD or Schwarber DH (only one on the team)
5. Renfroe RF
6. Baez SS
7. Dalbec 1B
8. Verdugo LF
9. ______ C
When you say it's gonna happen now
When exactly do you mean?