As you may or may not have heard, the Red Sox signed Stephen Drew to a one-year deal pending a physical. This means that Xander Bogaerts will move to third, as Will Middlebrooks is on the DL with a fractured right index finger. I'm sure before joining the Red Sox he will get some work at Pawtucket, and when he is activated, will result in Brock Holt returning to the minor leagues.
Even though the Sox are at 20 - 24, they are only 3 1/2 games out of first place. It seemed like they were content for a while hovering around .500 (as is the entire division), but as the weekend series with the Tigers, showed...they have no chance at a repeat unless they either start hitting (1 - 14 with RISP over the 3 games!), or they start making roster changes.
Regardless of whether they start hitting or not, it's my opinion that the team you see in late August will probably be somewhat different than what you see today. I'm going to do something I don't normally do, but I'm going to make a prediction on some roster moves based on what I've seen so far.
So here goes.
1. Will Middlebrooks - I expect him to be traded, probably sooner than later. I actually like him (mostly because of his power), but I appear to definitely be in the minority.
2. Jackie Bradley Jr. - Back to Triple A. His defense is great, but he can't hit worth a shit. There is no reason why he should be striking out as much as Mike Napoli. Plus, he recently admitted he was "lost". Not good.
3. Edward Mujica - Released. When your ERA is only .96 better than your backup first baseman's, you probably aren't long for the roster.
4. Daniel Nava - Traded. I was surprised when they sent Nava down to Pawtucket, (although he was hitting .149, so I shouldn't have been). The only reason I say this is because they have a surplus of outfielders and I don't see them giving up on Bradley Jr. I expect Sizemore to get more playing time (unless they pick up somebody else in a trade).
So while not groundbreaking predictions, it'll be interesting to see (at least to me) how I fare.
So I ask any Red Sox bloggers out there (or anybody else who wants to comment), what are your thoughts on the season so far? What do you see happening in the coming months?
If you graphed Middlebrooks seasons, you get a steep slope. Yet, I just don't see them giving up on him just yet.
ReplyDeleteGoing to be interesting to see what happens to Middlebrooks. They have put themselves in a weird spot. His trade value will be at its lowest, but now there is nowhere to play him to regain some of his value.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree, they've kind of worked themselves into a corner with Middlebrooks. I still fantasize that he's going to return to the form he was in a couple of years ago but it's just not panning out...
ReplyDeleteYeah, I can't imagine Middlebrooks to be there long term. Garin Cecchini is waiting in the wings and Holt can fill in whenever needed. I expect them to shop around and see what they can get for him (which probably isn't a lot), so I'd imagine he splits playing time for the rest of the year and either gets demoted or released after the season.
ReplyDeleteJBJr., I think is their experiment for this year. He has potential and the only way to actually find out if he can make it is with big league plate time. I don't see him going anywhere. he might just ride the bench more than Sizemore. Sending him back to AAA won't help him anymore. They need to see if he can improve at the top level before deciding on a more long term solution in the outfield.
Mujica, yuck. I hated that signing and he just needs to go. I'd throw Miller out with him. There are plenty of guys in the minors just begging for spots in the bullpen.
Nava, I agree, traded. Heck, maybe even bundle him with WMB and see what you can get for them as a package. He's not bad, he's a servicable outfielder on most other teams, or at least a backup. I think he still has a career, just maybe not in Boston.
I think we certainly need some shuffling around. Something just isn't working. My main hope is that they don't trade away the majority of the farm system to bring in outside help. Adding someone like Stanton from the Marlins is only going to make things worse. I would rather see a .500 season than see then trade away all the potential in AAA.