Dodgers, Yankees not alone in making noise
The offseason has been defined by the Dodgers and Yankees flexing their financial muscles to bring in star players. But off to the side, the Cardinals, Diamondbacks, and Tigers have made some interesting moves of their own. Six months from now, they could be among the offseason winners.
The Cardinals were decisive in improving their rotation by signing free agents Kyle Gibson, Sonny Gray, and Lance Lynn. That trio combined for 97 starts and 559„ innings last season.
At 36, Gibson has a 4.58 ERA the last four seasons for three teams. But he makes every start and works deep into games. There’s a lot of value in that for the Cardinals, who used 10 starters last season, with only Miles Mikolas exceeding 121 innings.
Gray was excellent in two seasons for the Twins, finishing second in the American League Cy Young voting last season. St. Louis is a good fit for him.
Lynn had a 5.73 ERA last season, an anomaly after posting a 3.42 from 2019-22 for the Rangers and White Sox.
Gibson and Lynn took one-year deals, and Gray landed three years and $75 million.
“I think we have done a really good job if you look at the void we had last year and what we’ve added this year,” manager Oli Marmol said. “Not only from a skill-set standpoint, but also when you look at the personalities that are coming into that clubhouse, it’s equally as important. You’ve added some established guys that have experienced the ups and downs of this game. That’s important for our young guys to see.”
Arizona did not sit on its success after going to the World Series. General manager Mike Hazen acquired third baseman Eugenio Suárez from the Mariners, signed lefthander Eduardo Rodriguez, and retained left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
Suárez has hit 84 home runs the last three seasons, adding pop to a team that hit only 166 last season. Hazen wanted stability at third base after platooning for several seasons. Suárez also brings leadership with the departures of veterans Evan Longoria and Tommy Pham.
“He’s Captain Good Vibes,” manager Torey Lovullo said.
Rodriguez adds a lefty to a rotation that featured Zac Gallen, Merrill Kelly,
and Brandon Pfaadt.
Rodriguez did not work out particularly well for the Tigers after leaving the Red Sox and agreeing to a five-year, $77 million deal before the 2022 season. He missed 23 starts because of personal reasons or injuries and declined a trade to the Dodgers in July.
He then opted out of his deal and signed with the Diamondbacks. Rodriguez did have a 3.58 ERA when he pitched. Hazen and Lovullo were with the Red Sox when Rodriguez came up and know him well. They’re confident they can get his best.
The Diamondbacks still could add a designated hitter. A reunion with J.D. Martinez could make sense. Or they could land Justin Turner after taking a shot at him last winter.
The Tigers have averaged 96 losses over the last six full seasons and haven’t made the playoffs since 2014, but positive steps are being taken.
Signing free agent starters Jack Flaherty and Kenta Maeda should add stability to the rotation. President of baseball operations Scott Harris also traded for underrated veteran outfielder Mark Canha to add needed offense.
Detroit was 43-38 after June 30 and finished second in the American
League Central behind the Twins.
“We’re starting to get there with the depth that we have, and then we add bona fide big leaguers to it, all the better,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “We’re heading towards one of the tougher springs that I think we’ve had in my time as a Tiger with the type of competition that we’re going to have. Whether it’s for innings or at-bats, the competition’s going to be real.”
The Tigers also are finally free of Miguel Cabrera’s contract, which paid him $32 million last season. That was a whopping 21 percent of their payroll. Now they’re only on the hook for an $8 million buyout.
Cabrera hit .262 with a .710 OPS the last seven seasons and did not play in the field the last two, with the exception of a ceremonial appearance for one batter in the final game of his career. His retirement will make it a lot easier for Hinch to manipulate the roster.
The Tigers, while improving, need 24-year-old first baseman Spencer Torkelson to show better plate discipline. Talented lefthander Tarik Skubal finished the season well and needs to show he can be reliable for an entire season.
Center fielder Riley Greene, 23, is capable of more, as well. There’s also hope for righthander Casey Mize, the first pick of the 2018 draft who hasn’t appeared in a game since early in the 2022 season because of elbow and back injuries that required surgery. He’s been cleared for spring training.
“We’re going to listen to him. We’re going to put a good plan together, and we’re going to put him in a position to compete,” Hinch said. “He hasn’t been on the mound competitively in a long time. We’re going to have to corral his emotions just as much as we’re going to have to talk about his pitch counts or his innings or any type of recovery from the injury.”
Sox fans restless over lack of action
Had some time this past week to take questions from readers via Facebook. Over the first two days, there were 200-plus interactions with Red Sox fans.
Many of the questions regarded the commitment Fenway Sports Group had to winning and if its varied interests (Liverpool FC, the Pittsburgh Penguins, Boston Common Golf, RFK Racing, among other ventures) had taken away from the Sox.
The answer was it doesn’t work that way. FSG is reportedly worth close to $10 billion and individual transactions don’t tip the ledger. The notion there is one bag of money and it has to decide whether to sign a starting pitcher for the Sox or a midfielder for the Reds is unfounded.
It’s more a question of philosophy. Even when it didn’t make the greatest decisions, there wasn’t much question that FSG was trying its best to win the World Series every year from 200219. It was in on almost every big free agent and chased down star players in trades. The Red Sox gave Cuban infielder Yoan Moncada a $31.5 million signing bonus in 2015 and paid a $31.5 million tax to MLB for exceeding international signing rules. Other teams wailed that it was unfair, but that was how the Red Sox rolled. They used their financial might to create advantages.
Dave Dombrowski was hired to run baseball operations in 2015 and built a super team the Dodgers can only dream of. The Red Sox won 108 games in 2018 and went 11-3 in the postseason, taking out the Dodgers in the World Series.
Citing “philosophical differences,” the Sox fired Dombrowski near the end of the 2019 season and replaced him with Chaim Bloom. The Sox are two games under .500 in the four seasons since and have dropped their payroll by methodically stripping the roster of AllStar players.
Over the years, Sox fans were annoyed about hiring Bobby Valentine, trading Jon Lester, signing Pablo Sandoval, and other misguided moves. But those were short-term mistakes that were corrected. There was never a question the Sox wanted to get back to the postseason as soon as possible. Their brand was winning.
Fans don’t believe that now. Here are some of the questions that came in:
Bill from Monroe, Conn.: “Is this intentional or can the Sox leaders be this shortsighted? Is their focus on other ventures?”
Chris from Florida: “Do you believe ownership has checked out?”
Kelly from New Bedford: “As a diehard Sox fan, it has been difficult to watch what management has done over the last few years. Why have they stopped trying to keep franchise players?”
Dom from New Hampshire: “What exactly is the direction of ownership? Obviously not full throttle. It just seems like they think fans are idiots.”
There were plenty of similar questions and these folks are not outliers. Via social media or e-mail, this has been the feedback for several months.
The Sox could end this talk by continuing to improve the rotation and boosting a lineup now missing Adam Duvall and Justin Turner.
Spring training doesn’t start for another seven weeks, so there’s still time.
For the better part of two decades, there was little question such needs would be filled with star players. Now? Signing Lucas Giolito and moving on from Chris Sale was a start. More is needed.
A few other observations on the Sox:
■ Yoshinobu Yamamoto said the major leaguer he most wants to face is old friend Masataka Yoshida.
The two were teammates with the Orix Buffaloes from 2017-22 and for Samurai Japan in the World Baseball Classic last season.
“Really looking forward to facing Masataka Yoshida of the Red Sox,” Yamamoto said when he was introduced by the Dodgers on Wednesday.
The Red Sox had plenty of in-person looks at Yamamoto while scouting Yoshida. But they were not among the finalists when he was posted. Yamamoto said he would have signed with the Giants if not for the Dodgers.
■ Jonathan Araúz, one of the first players added to the 40-man roster by Bloom at the start of his tenure, signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers.
The Red Sox took Araúz in the 2019 Rule 5 Draft from the Astros. He showed a bit of promise in 2020, but was badly overmatched at the plate in 2021 and ’22 and has since played with the Orioles and Mets. He’s still only 25.
■ Kenley Jansen was awarded a royal decoration this month by Lucille George-Wout, the governor of his native Curaçao, on behalf of King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands.
Jansen was recognized for “his services in the field of sports and youth welfare.” As for Jansen’s baseball career, shouldn’t the Red Sox consider trading him? A 36-year-old closer making $16 million doesn’t make sense for a team in transition.
Pick up some salary to improve the return, trade Jansen, and make Tanner Houck the closer.
Sasaki eagerly awaiting his turn
Two Japanese stars — Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto — agreed to huge contracts this month.
Up next: Roki Sasaki, although it may take a few years.
The 22-year-old righthander asked Chiba Lotte to make him available to major league teams via the posting system and was refused. He has pitched three seasons for the Marines, going 20-10 with a 1.90 earned run average and 395 strikeouts over 303„ innings.
Sasaki throws 100-102 miles per hour like he’s having a catch in the backyard. The ball comes out of his hand with what seems to be no unusual effort. Sasaki also throws an above-average splitter. MLB scouts rave about him.
“He’s in the conversation when you’re talking about the best pitchers in the world,” one said in Miami last spring. “He’s that good.”
Sasaki started two games in the World Baseball Classic and allowed three earned runs over 7„ innings and struck out 11. Mexico got to him for three runs in the semifinals, two on a home run by Luis Urías.
“He was impressive,” said Urías, who played 32 games for the Red Sox last season. “I didn’t realize he was that young.”
In time, Sasaki will get his chance in the majors. Chiba Lotte could get two more seasons from him, then collect a huge posting fee.
Yamamoto stayed with Orix through his age-24 season and the Buffaloes received $50.6 million. If he stays healthy, Sasaki could bring even more.
Extra bases
Bob Melvin had an adventurous two seasons with the Padres. San Diego won 89 games in 2022 and advanced to the NLCS. The Padres added Xander Bogaerts, got Fernando Tatis Jr. back from injury and suspension, and fell to 8280. Melvin was then allowed to go to the Giants without any compensation from a division rival. Did the Padres somehow have too many good players? “It just depends on the makeup,” Melvin said. “So I don’t think there’s anything to make of a poor year and saying there’s too much star power. They have some really good players there; just didn’t work out as well [as 2022]. I think everybody needs a role and everybody needs to feel like they’re a part of it, as well. It makes for a much better clubhouse, everybody feels like they’re a part of it, and you gain momentum.” The Padres were 2-12 in extra innings and 9-23 in one-run games last season. Is that bad luck or bad chemistry? New manager Mike Shildt is prioritizing dayto-day consistency. “If you create an expectation of just continual improvement and togetherness and playing the game right, you’re going to get the best version of your club,” he said. “So one of the first things is that and then a tangible goal: We need to be able to compete better within our division.” The Padres have a challenging schedule to open the season. They play the Dodgers March 20-21 in Seoul, then two exhibition games in Seattle followed by a fourgame series at home against Melvin and the Giants before facing Shildt’s former team, the Cardinals . . . Craig Counsell on going from the low-budget Brewers to the Cubs: “Look, the names [of free agents] you are discussing are different. There’s no question about it, and the conversations you can be involved in are different. But I will say the different ways that different markets have to look at it is helpful, I think, to provide new ideas.” . . . Based on bWAR, newly retired Andrelton Simmons was the second-most productive player from Curaçao behind Andruw Jones. Simmons won four Gold Gloves and accumulated 201 Defensive Runs Saved at shortstop, a record at any position since the statistic started being kept in 2003 . . . The New England-based Futures League had 13 alums play in the majors last season, with six making their debuts. The rookies included former Boston College players Jake Alu,
Sal Frelick (Lexington High), and Emmet Sheehan, and Declan Cronin of Holy Cross. Alu was a 24th-round draft pick in 2019. Cronin went in the 36th round that same year. The righthander appeared in nine games for the White Sox. Cronin is the first former Holy Cross player to play in the majors since Mike Hegan and Mike Pazik in1977... Happy birthday to Rick Aguilera, who is 62. The righthander was 86-81 with a 3.57 ERA and 318 saves from 19852000. That included a 30-game stint with the Red Sox in 1995. Aguilera was acquired from the Twins on July 6 while the Sox were playing in Minnesota and wasn’t too happy about it. But he got the save that night. Aguilera pitched well down the stretch (2.67 ERA with 20 saves in 21 chances), helping the Sox reach the playoffs. They were then swept by Cleveland. Aguilera became a free agent and signed back with the Twins to return to being a starter . . . Thanks to everyone for reading along this year. It’s very much appreciated.