The need for pitching and (right-handed) hitting may require some tough decisions.
So the Red Sox are officially eliminated at last from postseason contention. Sigh. I guess I no longer need to feel guilty for looking ahead to the off-season, so let’s do that.
With the excitement generated by this team in the first half of the season, plus the lack of spending in recent years, along with expected player departures, it’s more than reasonable for fans to want to bring in some high-caliber players to fill the roster holes (including the ones that didn’t get filled properly at the trade deadline). We’re all thinking the same thing: strong right-handed hitting, high-quality starting pitching, and effective relief pitchers, including a closer.
This is what the Sox need, this is what the fans deserve, but the question is what ownership will want to do. John Henry & Company haven’t wanted to spend in recent years, and what would make them change their minds now? I really don’t know. I don’t honestly think that John Henry (even if Theo is whispering in his ear) is going to wake up suddenly like Rip Van Winkle. But it would be nice.
There will be plenty of time to discuss all of this, but the rumors are already flying. One I’ve seen a few times suggests Alex Bregman to the Red Sox. There are a couple of iterations: one where Bregman remains at third (more on this in a second) and one apparently suggested by his agent Scott Boras, who recently stated that Bregman can play second base as well as third. Though some have surmised that there may be something wrong with Bregman’s arm that would lead him to switch positions, others have read this statement as a veiled communication to the Boston Red Sox, whose second base position has been uncertain for years now.
So, Bregman to the Sox? I don’t love that because…Alex Bregman. I have never liked him as a player or a person, even before the garbage cans. If that’s just me, I can live with that. But on the merits, he would be a defensive upgrade at third, and an offensive upgrade at the plate. He’s a righty who could mash against the Green Monster all day long. Of course, there’s the prior relationship with Alex Cora when they were both with Houston. Those are all good reasons to bring him to Boston, and maybe I’d get used to him. I don’t love it, Craig Breslow, but I won’t stand in your way.
Although I’m not sure we’ve solved our second base situation, I’m going to focus on the possibility of bringing Bregman in as a third baseman. To continue this thought exercise, how does Bregman get a spot at the hot corner? Although Rafael Devers has made improvements to his defense (against all my predictions—I’m admitting I was wrong), Bregman is the superior defender. Raffy could move to first base, which would be easier on him defensively. Though his own throws to first have frequently required Triston Casas to stretch the heck out of his body in order to grab a wide one, Raffy should be able to handle Bregman’s mostly on-point throws pretty easily. But then what to do with Triston, my favorite player? This particular line of thought unfeelingly puts him out as trade bait, specifically to the Seattle Mariners, for starting pitching. Then there are more general opinions that suggest he’s the most likely piece to move, regardless of where.
Oh, my heart! Rational Me knows this is a business, and that trading veterans is part of creating a strong roster. Deal from your strengths to improve your weaknesses; it’s classic. For the Seattle Mariners, this would also make sense. They need hitters (boy, do they!) and their first base situation has been wobbly for a while now. But they have plenty of pitching. Good, young pitching.
I wrote recently about how the baseball teams in Boston and Seattle (where I live now) have oddly been neck and neck in many ways in recent months and years. They have roughly followed similar trajectories in the standings, shared players (and experienced similar terrible results in the case of James Paxton), and kept playoff hopes alive late in the season, only to crash and burn in heartbreakingly familiar ways.
Over the past month, whenever the Mariners have seemed like they’ve been digging their own grave, talk has turned to saying goodbye to one of the starting pitchers. Seattle (as a city) seems to understand that at least one pitcher from their rotation will depart over the winter, and have moved on to discussing which one it should be. That’s a level of acceptance that I don’t think Boston has reached. Unlike some of our truly great general managers of the past like Theo Epstein and Dave Dombrowski, the Red Sox team philosophy in recent years has been to hoard prospects. And save money. Those two things are connected, see.
Even if our current plan—waiting for the Big Three or Four—works out perfectly (a big if), none of those prospects are pitchers. Passively waiting won’t bring us a pitcher, so if that’s a need in John Henry’s eyes, we’ll have to go find one.
I absolutely think we need to trade (prospects or current big leaguers) to improve our big-league club, but is Triston Casas the right guy to trade? I’m biased, but I’m not sure.
Is Casas a guy the Red Sox want to build around? His recent three-homer game showed that he’s capable of carrying the team. He impresses at the plate (he also drew three walks in a game earlier this week) and has improved defensively. Even if the Sox decided to build around him, does Casas want to stay? He hasn’t signed a contract extension as Brayan Bello and Ceddanne Rafaela did.
Mariners’ president of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto has never seen a trade he didn’t like, but he’d better make sure this one is the right trade. After too many trades that haven’t worked out, the Sox are under the same pressure…but any of the Mariners starters would be a win for us.
Is Casas the right trade bait? All I can say is that if he does get traded, I hope it’s to the Mariners so I can still see him up close.