It’s a Sad Day in Boston
Probably the worst day of the year for any fan of a team in the playoffs, the day after your team gets eliminated in the postseason. That’s the case today for Red Sox Nation. The Sox lost a heartbreaker yesterday, 5-4 to the Houston Astros in game 4 of the ALDS. It’s safe to say that this Red Sox team didn’t wake up until game 3 and by that time it was too late.
A lot of questions remain this offseason. There is no doubt in my mind that there will be at least one big move this winter. Dave Dombrowski likes to go big or go home. This team is just a couple pieces away from being a serious World Series contender, like the Dodgers, or the Indians. Right now they are a team like the Cubs. They win their division but we all know they aren’t winning it all.
The first question is, what are we going to do with our free agents? Well our list of to be free agents is: Addison Reed, Chris Young, Allen Craig, Rajai Davis, Mitch Moreland, Eduardo Nunez, Fernando Abad, Doug Fister, Kyle Kendrick, Blaine Boyer and Fernando Rodriguez.
The big names in that list are Mitch Moreland and Eduardo Nunez. Both of these guys are huge fan favorites. Moreland with his “Mitchy Two Bags” nickname and Nunez for his tremendous play after coming over at the trade deadline. But what will Dave Dombrowski do with these guys? I feel like you need to keep both of them. Moreland has a nice veteran bat and knows how to win, and Nunez gives you that versatility in the field and his swing is just made for Fenway. When you look at his stats when hitting at Fenway they are pretty good. In 22 games Nunez hit .340 with 4 home runs, 16 RBIs, and he scored 11 runs. His OBP (On Base Percentage) at home? .361. Not bad for a guy who came over midway through the year.
The next question I have is: Who will be our manager in the 2018 season? Does John Farrell stay? Does he get the boot? Honestly I’m not too high on Farrell. Yes he won a World Series, yes we’ve won back to back AL East Championships for the first time ever, but in Boston division championships aren’t anything to celebrate about. The people of Boston want championships. That starts with winning playoff games. Since the World Series title in 2013, the Red Sox are just 1-6 in playoff games. That lone win coming this year against Houston in game 3 of the ALDS.
The top candidate for the Red Sox 2018 managerial position is current bench coach Gary DiSarcina. Now let me remind you, back in 2015 when Farrell took a leave of absence for medical reasons bench coach at the time Torey Lovullo stepped in from August 14th to the end of the season for 48 games, and guided the Sox to a 28-20 record. Now I know that isn’t great, but that team finished 78-84 and in dead last of the AL East. Now look at Torey, he’s a huge candidate for NL Manager of the Year and lead the 93-69 Arizona Diamondbacks to their first playoff appearance since 2011. So the Sox really missed out on him.
My third and final question is: Who will be the big player that the Sox land in the offseason? Will the Sox make another big splash? In 2016 they signed David Price, and in 2017 they signed Chris Sale. Who will this year's big player be? Giancarlo Stanton? J.D. Martinez? I like both of those options. J.D. Martinez had a huge year this year batting .303, with 45 home runs, and 104 RBIs. Stanton had an even better year, an MVP type season if you will. .281 batting average, 59 home runs, and 132 RBIs. Martinez can play both outfield and first base, while Stanton can only play outfield, but obviously could DH if you need him too. The problem with Stanton is the Marlins have him. Stanton has said in the past he doesn’t want to be apart of the rebuilding Marlins and wants to win now.
Stanton also has a huge 13 year, $325 million deal. The contract also contains an opt out after the 2020 season, and a 2028 club option with a $10 million buyout. Getting Stanton would cost the Sox big bucks and big names. Some names that I have heard that could be on the trade market are Jackie Bradley Jr., Sam Travis, and Andrew Benintendi. I’m not so keen on giving away Benintendi. I love Benny, you love Benny, the whole city of Boston loves Benny, so it would be tough to give him away. Not to mention he showed flashes of leadership and stardom this year. He stepped up in the clutch moments and delivered big time. He may not have had the best year statistically, but I think Benny will have a huge role on this team moving forward.
I think you really have to pursue J.D.Martinez in this situation. Yes I would love Giancarlo Stanton on the Red Sox, boy would that be a sight. Seeing him absolutely MASH bombs over the green monster. But in the Red Sox case I think you really need to go after J.D. Martinez. The guy has a nice swing, and can put it out of the park. That’s what the Red Sox need. A power guy. The power numbers were BAD this year. Mookie Betts led the team in homers with just 24. I think Martinez would be a great addition to the squad, he can play both outfield and first base. First base being a position where not a lot of power came from this year, and also a position the Red Sox have needed and been looking for, for a while now. If you look back at the Red Sox first baseman in recent years, they haven’t been great and haven’t stayed long. Adrian Gonzalez, Mike Napoli, Hanley Ramirez, and Mitch Moreland just to name a few. None of the guys I just named turned out to be a liability. Can J.D. Martinez be the first?
Winning the AL East was great this year, but in order for the people of Boston to be happy, we need a championship. That championship run starts in the offseason. This offseason.
