Grab Some Bench’s Off Season Plan

Preamble

The 2022 Sox displayed terrible fundamentals, horrific baserunning, useless defense, a lack of hustle and poor training and conditioning. The coaching was awful. Even the television announcers bothered me. Dork math is ridiculous, tedious and a waste of time.

Remember how TA & Company told us they were changing the game, and face planted instead?  Well the rules are changing and the sox should get ahead of the game by emphasizing defense and speed. Hopefully, the end of the shift will improve performances by Yoan the Rapper and Grandal the Piano Man (named as such because he appears to have a piano on his back as he runs). No sane team GM will take either of these two so we are stuck with them for at least a year.

Front office: (This may be as important as anything else)

Fire Rick Hahn and Kenny Williams. Hire the Astros Chief Scouting advisor, Charlie Gonzalez, to serve as VP of Baseball Operations. Gonzalez signed Gurriel from Cuba in 2016. He was responsible for drafting Bregman and Tucker for the Astros. He wanted to sign Yordan Alvarez but the budget wouldn’t allow but when a trade opportunity opened up a year later and the Dodgers wanted Josh Fields, the GM asked Gonzalez who to target and he insisted on Alvarez. Gonzalez also is credited with watching Verlander’s bullpen session and deciding the Astros should sign him for this season. Let Gonzalez bring in all his guys from his days with the Cardinals and now the Astros. Perhaps we can then build a farm system, which means we can’t be trading all of our “prospects”. Gonzalez was interviewed recently and credited not only his “gut” but the metrics guys with the Astros. He said they work well together. He’s hired!

Manager:

My first choice is AJ Pierzynski. As a player he was the smartest guy on the team. Does anyone remember how he ran to first against the Angels and sparked the team to victory in 2005. Our current guys would be sitting in the dugout. I’ve heard Pierzynski talk about decisions during games while announcing. He anticipates events before they happen and guesses right most of the time. He’s as good as Stone used to be before he joined the clown act that he does not with Benetti. Keep Katz as the pitching coach, bring in a bench coach, a defensive coach to replace Joe McEwing at third and a baserunning coach to replace Boston at first, and let’s go.  AJ is just the guy to motivate this group that we are stuck with due to Hahn’s miscalculations or lack of testicular fortitude to stand up to his bosses. Ozzie once said that you hate AJ when he’s playing against you and you hate him a little bit less when he’s on your team. That kind of guy would wake up the echoes of this sleepy group. Finally, AJ is credited, along with Aaron Rowand and Joe Crede of giving us the “Don’t Stop Believing” slogan and song for 2005. Plenty of managers have been successful without prior managing experience. AJ is the choice.

Players under contract

There have been some suggestions about trading guys as salary dumps but most have negative numbers for the baseball trade simulator and you can’t give up young guys to get rid of the mistakes of the past.

Grandal      18.5
Lynn           18.25
Moncada   17.8
Hendricks 14.33
Eloy            10.33
Robert        9.5
Kelly           9
Graveman  8
Garcia         5.5
Bummer     3.75
Diekman    3.5
118.46

ARBITRATION-ELIGIBLE PLAYERS

  • Lucas Giolito: $10.8M – TENDER
  • Dylan Cease: $5.3M – TENDER
  • Reynaldo López; $3.3M – TENDER
  • Adam Engel: $2.3M – NON-TENDER and Attempt to bring back on ML deal
  • Michael Kopech: $2.2M – TENDER
  • Kyle Crick: $1.5M – NON-TENDER and attempt to bring back on ML deal
  • José Ruiz: $1M – Non TENDER and attempt to bring back on ML deal
  • Danny Mendick: $1M – Non TENDER and attempt to bring back on ML deal

22.3

CLUB OPTIONS

  • Tim Anderson: $12.5M ($1M buyout) – PICK UP
  • Josh Harrison: $5.625M ($1.5M buyout) – DECLINE

12.5

PLAYER OPTIONS

  • AJ Pollock: $13M ($5 million buyout) — EXERCISED,  (I’m not sure I understood this contract but I thought the decision was Pollock’s. He takes the 13m or he takes the 5m buyout).  Thanks Rick!

13m

OTHER IMPENDING FREE AGENTS

  • José Abreu (Made $18M in 2021) – LET GO
  • Johnny Cueto ($4.2M) – LET GO
  • Vince Velasquez ($3M) – LET GO
  • Elvis Andrus ($14.25M) – Sign for one year 8 million

8M

Now at $174.25 million.

Let’s get to work. For trades, I’m using the Baseball Trade Values simulator, which you can find at https://www.baseballtradevalues.com/trade-simulator/.  I will say that the simulator vastly over estimates the value of minor league prospects and undervalues major league baseball players. However, we’ll use it despite the fact that trades may not be as good as what the real world would allow.

For Free agents, I’m using the Sportrac contract estimates

Sign Trea Turner 6 years (33m a year. Year 1 29m, year 2 37m Player opt outs after year 2,3). Turner can play second, short, center (probably anywhere), he’s proven he’s willing to move around, he can hit for average with some pop and he’s a base stealer. Plus, he’s a smart player. We give him an opt out because he will demand it and Montgomery, Rodriguez and Sosa are all waiting in the wings.

Sign Sean Manaea (4 years $47,925,788.  (1st year is 9 million. Opt out after 1st year for player). Manaea is betting on himself with a pillow deal. I’m betting on Ethan Katz turning him into a better pitcher. If not, Manaea may opt out after the 1st year and Crochet can step up next year.

2 Trades.

One gets us our leadoff man and left fielder while shedding salary. The second one sheds salary and rebuilds our depth in the minors, which we desperately need.

Giolito and Burger to Brewers for minor league outfield prospect Sal Frelick

Anderson, Bush to Cards for Baez, Crooks, Graceffo, Hjerpe, Mejia. Graceffo is the #3 prospect for the Cardinals. He’s a pitcher. Herjepe is a lefthanded pitcher and the #8 prospect. Mejia is a 17 year old shortstop. Baez is a 19 year old outfielder and Crooks, who is ranked #25 is a catcher. The trade gives the Cardinals a shortstop, which they need. Sox get minor league depth and the trade simulator approved it.

The Payroll is 191.45 million.

Lineup

  1. Frelick LF
  2. Turner 2B
  3. Robert CF
  4. Eloy DH
  5. Vaughn 1B
  6. Grandal C
  7. Colas RF
  8. Andrus SS
  9. Moncada 3B

Bench: Zavala, Garcia, Pollock, Sheets

Rotation: Cease, Kopech, Lynn, Manaea, Martin

Bullpen: Bummer, Diekman, Lambert, Closer: Hendricks
Set up: Graveman, Lopez, Kelly, Banks

Conclusion

Frelick will hopefully become our Scotty Pods. Between him, Turner, Robert, Colas, Andrus, and Moncada we should have strong base stealing threats and baserunning that constantly takes an extra base. With new rules, base stealing will be once again part of baseball.

I’m counting on Martin at least duplicating Giolito but we have backup options in AAA including Graceffo and Crochet.

The defense is improved in left, right, shortstop, second, and first.

Finally, we need to improve the training staff. Any trainer that suggests players shouldn’t run out grounders, needs to go. Hire Jane Fonda, Richard Simmons, the trainer at the local gym, whoever, but do not bring back this training staff. I think the players spend too much time building muscle while forgetting that flexibility is also important. Despite my own fitness nugget there I’m hoping that the next training staff is not me or the current trainer. What was wrong with Alan Thomas?

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Wayne

Let Gonzalez bring in all his guys from his days with the Cardinals and now the Astros. 

Typically, if you get your GM from a team, you will not be able to steal others from that same org.