Uncustomed Heroes of 2024: Red Sox

 

I can firmly say that the Boston Red Sox were the best bad team of 2024. They may have ended the season at literally .500, and they may have squandered the faintest playoff chance with a dreary August, but this team had low expectations and ended the year in third, ahead of the Blue Jays and Rays. They had two MVP caliber seasons from their star players, their three best starters went 30 or more games and stayed consistent, and are bringing up people that could be major pieces for a while. This season was definitely a win for the Sox, and considering their intentions this offseason, they want to climb the division again as soon as next year.

Trevor Story came into this season more motivated and fired up than he's been in years, then, like he has so many times in Boston, immediately got injured. Unlike Anthony Rendon you feel bad for Story, because he gives his all whenever possible, and just hasn't been able to keep it together with the Sox. In 26 games he hit .255 with 10 RBIs and only 2 homers. Something good has to be on the way.

2025 Prediction: Finally, Story gives Boston one of those 30-homer years they were promised way back in 2022.

Somehow, Nick Pivetta has found more consistency in Boston than he did in Philadelphia, even if you can make the argument that the Phillies have been more consistent in the last few years than the Sox have been. Pivetta had some shaky starts early on but evened out, ending up with a 4.14 ERA, 172 strikeouts and a 1.126 WAR. I think the Sox took a flyer on Pivetta in 2020 and didn't think they'd wind up with a solid innings eater for the rest of the decade.

2025 Prediction: I think the Sox might try to re-sign him for a spell, but if not, lands in a 4th starter spot for an NL Central team.

This current incarnation of the Sox has a lot of Yankee killers. Obviously Rafael Devers is a big one of those, but this year I found out first hand how lethal Masataka Yoshida can be against the Yanks. We had the game pretty much won, then Yoshida hit a massive home run and tied things up, and suddenly there was nothing we could really do. Yoshida has become a pretty strong DH type. He's not as consistent as most power DHs, but when he's on he's unstoppable. This year he hit .280 with 10 homers and 54 RBIs. Two of those homers came against the New York Yankees. 

2025 Prediction: For some reason, New York aside, Yoshida has to this point struggled to hit home runs in the majors. That all changes next year.

Another guy who had some nice luck against the Yanks when I saw them was Romy Gonzalez, a former White Sox infielder [he won the 2B gig over Leury Garcia a couple years ago] who was responsible for the majority of the innings at 2B in Trevor Story's absence. Gonzalez was above average, hitting .266 with 29 RBIs and 6 homers, and was strong defensively. 

2025 Prediction: Becomes the requisite superutility-IF and does well for himself.

I would not have predicted that, of all people, Rob Refsnyder would become one of the most celebrated fringe guys in Boston. I had no opinion of him when he was with the Yankees. He left no impact. And then he winds up in the Sox' system and becomes another Lou Merloni type 'EY GETTA LOADA DIS GUY' bench favorite there. I keep expecting the novelty to run out and it hasn't happened. In 93 games, Refsnyder hit .283 with 11 homers [MORE THAN YOSHIDA] and 40 RBIs.

2025 Prediction: Okay a downturn has to happen, but...either way he's still gonna do something fun in Fenway. He can't lose with these fans, it seems.

Triston Casas' injury sent the Red Sox into a tailspin, as they didn't have many backup 1B options readily available [save for someone like Refnsyder, which...no]. They tried Garrett Cooper, he didn't work. So they went with Dominic Smith, who did not make camp with the Cubs and couldn't even find work with Tampa. Smith got 84 games at 1st, and like Refsnyder he very quickly became the favorite of Sox fans, hitting .237 with 6 homers and 34 RBIs. Once Casas returned, Smith was very quickly cut, much to the ire of the Sox massive. His end of the year with Cincinnati, reunited with former Mets teammate Amed Rosario, didn't go quite as well.

2025 Prediction: If he couldn't make camp with the 2024 Cubs, can he make camp with somebody this year? Maybe. Or maybe he takes the minor league assignment and waits for a similar moment to 2024.

The lone deadline move the Sox made was poaching Danny Jansen from Toronto to replace, ironically, Reese McGuire as backup to Connor Wong. Jansen's defense spoke for itself, but he only hit .188 with 3 homers and 6 RBIs in 30 games, drastically less exciting than his first half stats.

2025 Prediction: I actually think he'll be a nice fit for Tampa, though don't count on them bringing him back if it goes well.

And in the haze of the final month of the year, as the Sox already knew they weren't making the playoffs, they filled a now-vacant rotation spot by calling up former Yankee prospect Richard Fitts, netted in the Verdugo deal. In a city like Boston, that's not a name that'll be responded to with subtlety. They just said goodbye to a guy they lovingly proclaimed Dick Mountain, you can't hand them a guy named Richard Fitts. "Ey, I wondah if he'll do any ads fuh K9! Right boys?" Anyway, Fitts slid right into the rotation, and in 4 games had a 1.74 ERA and a 0.6 WAR. He's not particularly flashy, but he seems to be one of those 'stay in without allowing much' types. Honestly, with Houck, Bello and Crawford they're good on flashy, and having a good innings-eating workhorse could be good for this team.

2025 Prediction: Fitts' appeal to this rotation will heavily depend upon A.) whether or not the Sox go for a smart rotation addition and B.) how healthy Garrett Whitlock is. Probably hinges most on the second one. Anyway he'll be solid enough in a low rotation role next year, when given the opportunity. 

Coming Tomorrow- As per usual this decade, a ton of leftover Reds. 

Jansen on my Own

 

When it became clear that the Blue Jays would potentially be sellers this season, a lot of ideas came to mind, like 'John Schneider potentially losing his job', 'Vlad Jr. being one of the top targets', 'Davis Schneider becoming even more valuable', things like that. One thing I did not predict happening? 'Danny Jansen becoming one of the most sought after trade pieces of 2024'.

I want to make it clear, Danny Jansen is not a bad player. In fact, in the post-2019 development of the Blue Jays, having a contact hitting catcher like Jansen in the org has made for some excellent organizational security. The team's gone through a ton of catching options since 2019, including Reese McGuire, Zack Collins, Gabriel Moreno and now Alejandro Kirk, and Jansen has persisted this whole time, mostly because he's durable. I think his lack of early hitting prowess made him a better backup option, but unlike a lot of other recent perennial backups [Tomas Nido, Seby Zavala, Austin Wynns], Jansen never got himself cut. He just kept on working, and even during the year of Alejandro Kirk's breakout, Jansen was just as valuable to this team as ever. 

So, yeah, Jansen is no slouch. I think he's been a backbone for these teams, and one of the most underrated catchers in baseball. But like...the way people are talking about him in the trade mill, it's sounding like Jansen is this key, killswitch piece, and like...yes, we get it, it's a weak pool for catchers, but let's not go crazy.

Obviously there's teams out there on the hunt for catchers. Phils might need one if JT's still gone in a month. Guardians could be on the hunt if Fry's being spread too thin. Maybe somebody else will swoop in for depth. And there's some solid options out there, namely the two Colorado catchers, Elias Diaz and Jacob Stallings, as well as Shea Langeliers if people don't want a good defensive option, or Grandal if they wanna roll the dice. There's really not a ton of great catching options out there. And Jansen, as a decent, versatile catcher, is near the top of the list.

His season to date has already placed him there. Right now he's only hitting .230 with 16 RBIs and 5 homers, mostly as a backup to Alejandro Kirk. But the fact is that he's still pretty much in his prime, he's still a great catcher, and if the Jays still have Kirk they don't need a guy like Jansen platooning behind somebody. So if the Jays keep at this pace, I think Jansen's a fair bet to leave, despite how well he's done in Toronto.

But still, not only will the Jays still have Kirk behind the plate, but Brian Serven's still around, and he's had some success in Buffalo. So they'll be fine, even if they do start losing people. But again, that's a matter for a month from now. Until then, they've got to see if they can gain any ground on Tampa before the All-Star break.

Coming Tomorrow- Someone who was traded for Juan Soto. Y'see, that doesn't necessarily narrow it down these days..

Wild Card Series' Day 2: Was This Trip Really Necessary?

 

Okay, one year into the new playoff schematic, how we doing? ...Alright, I suppose.

On one hand, you have a lot of matchups that shifted the balance of power in the race, where a higher seed lost out to an underdog competitor with less regular season wins. We've already lost a division leader in this stage [and it is one I am very happy about], and we've already lost a high-seeded wild card team and could lose another. There has been drama, there have been excellent games, a 15 inning game broken up by a clinching home run, a game with an incredible 7 run comeback, an inning with a win-sealing 6 run ninth inning. It has definitely been entertaining baseball.

But...from a full series standpoint, only one series is going to three games, and it's Mets-Padres. All the others are the 'riding momentum' type wins that the play-in wild card game would have done. So I feel like the MLB brass are wishing there were more lengthened dramatic series rather than just 'they win and they also win again'

I bet they're pleased with Mets-Padres, as are Mets fans, because you know that if they lost to San Diego in 2 games you wouldn't have heard the end of it for years. It's really a matter of who you put up, and Darvish is a surer bet than Snell, while deGrom was healthier than Scherzer. And so the Mets' offense could get the better of Blake Snell last night, including the extension of Eduardo Escobar's killer September, and yet another homer by Pete Alonso. Of all the series', I'm kinda glad this one went all 3 games, solely because it's the only one I have no rooting interest in. My cousins are Mets fans, but I don't really want them to suffer. And I like the Padres, but they're no longer the scrappy underdogs they were in 2020. I think I actually want the Mets to take it, y'know? It'd be fun.

As for the ones that ended yesterday...I was hanging out with my friend Josh yesterday, he's a diehard Cleveland sports fan. I feel like things concerning our teams always happen when we're in the same room. I was having lunch with him when we found out Cliff Lee was going to Philly. I've seen him go through it. So I'm hanging out with him yesterday and he's asking me for the score. And for most of the afternoon there isn't any. And then it's 'okay, we're going to extras'. It became an experiment in patience. Would we even still be at my friend Matt's place when the game eventually ended? And what would happen if Cleveland got that far and still screwed it up? Sure enough, by the time we were waiting for food, it just ended abruptly. And I was relieved that it was Oscar Gonzalez who came up with the winning blow. 

I can't imagine having to attend that game, y'know. 15 innings of nothing happening. At least you get what you wanted if you're a Guardians fan, but man that was a lot of leadup for it. Happy for the Guards, though. I think there's gonna be a lot of back and forth in this series. Honestly, the Guardians could win it. They've beaten the Yankees before. What if this is the team that goes back?

A seven-run deficit, man. I love baseball.

There was already a story in the Jays coming back on Robbie Ray and Gausman holding down the Mariners offense, and then at some point the story shifted, the Ms came back, and the Jays completely collapsed. Potentially screwing Springer up is just the icing on it. The Blue Jays came in here confident and strong and they did not at all prepare for the amount of power the Mariners were capable of. And so the Ms came back, used people like Ty France and Cal Raleigh and a MASSIVE HOMER FROM CARLOS SANTANA to stymie them and take the series. With everything the Jays were doing late in the season, I did not think their postseason hopes would go out with a whimper. 

Happy for Seattle. It's about time.

And then...I'm gonna be honest, I did not see this coming.

Cardinals have been great all year, have this incredible storyline with Pujols and Molina on their last legs and this incredible youth movement reestablishing dominance. And then the little Phils come in, hit little things off them, and hold onto it against all odds. The Philadelphia bullpen legitimately held onto a lead, and stopped the Cardinals from tying the series, and...I just can't believe they did this. This is a good Phillies, team but I didn't think they were this good. 

Now, granted, they do have to play the Braves now, and that's not gonna go well AT ALL unless things really change, but...Phils actually won a playoff series, got a prime playoff spot, they did it. 2022 Phillies slayed the dragon, and put the 2011 grievance to bed. 

And now, to commemorate the fallen:

The Rays did the same thing they do every year, except with less healthy stars and more homophobes. They will probably do the exact same thing next year, only with more success, and hopefully less homophobes.

The Blue Jays had a pretty exceptional team that built on what they'd accomplished previously, but once again disappointed when it came time to defending their status as a playoff team. Next year should, in theory, be their year, but I'm not sure how many opportunities this team is going to get.

The Cardinals were more likable than they've been in years, made some excellent moves in terms of player development and trade deadline moves, and were able to send off Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina gracefully. Next year will require a great deal of both Andrew Knizner and Juan Yepez, as well as the continued upward rise of this team's tentpoles, even as the Brewers remain competitive. Will they build on this and infuriate me once again? Probably.

Should be a big match today, Mets-Padres. Then the important stuff.

Uncustomed Heroes of 2021: Blue Jays

 

Fine, Rob. The Blue Jays would have been a fine playoff team too.

2021 was a tough year for AL East competitors because at the end of the day, only one was going to truly win out. And sure enough, none of the four ended up making the World Series, so none of them really won at all. And because they missed the playoffs as the Yanks and Sox ascended, the Blue Jays got the most screwed of all. They had some epic standout players, some great midseason momentum, and some very smart trade deadline moves. And yet they had nothing to show for it in a shortened postseason year.

Cavan Biggio seemed to have peaked as a rookie. After his 3.0 WAR rookie year he's ballooned downward every year since, culminating in a year where he only hit .224 in 79 games with 56 hits. Not exactly a contact tear or anything. Eventually he lost the starting 3B spot to Santiago Espinal.

2022 Prediction: Biggio will finally find a niche, but that niche may not be starting, and it may not even be with Toronto.

Similarly, Randal Grichuk hasn't had a fully respectable year since joining the team in 2018. Despite starting 149 games and being a trusted outfield piece, Grichuk only hit .241, despite 81 RBIs and 22 homers. On a team with burgeoning talent, he seems to be standing out less and less.

2022 Prediction: A stronger start than usual will keep him a starter, but he may not be on the playoff roster.

Then we have, as usual, the Blue Jays' catching carousel. The team employed 4 catchers in all this year, and while they did trade away Riley Adams, they were left with 3 equally qualified catchers fighting for a starting spot. Their usual starting catcher, Danny Jansen, did deliver his best season with a 1.3 WAR and some decent defensive numbers, but he still hit .223 with 11 homers in 70 games. He continues to feel like the more lightweight option at backstop.

2022 Prediction: Shifts towards being a professional backup, and perhaps for the last time as a Blue Jay.

The nearest thing to a starting catcher the Jays had this year was Reese McGuire, vindicated from his assault charges [as it tends to in the MLB if it doesn't involve weird sex stuff]. McGuire continued to have the better bat of the options, hitting .253 in 78 games, but put up worse defensive numbers than Jansen. He's basically the Gary Sanchez of the equation, he has flashier plate moments, but at what cost?

2022 Prediction: Cut by July.

I still think Alejandro Kirk has the best chance of starter ship behind the plate in Toronto. Now that Rowdy Tellez is gone, the Jays can use a big beefy guy in the lineup, and Kirk has continued to have big-game moments for them. He was injured for a bit in 2021, but hit .242 in 60 games, with 8 homers and 24 RBIs. Will be interesting to see how he does in a fuller year.

2022 Prediction: He gets the job, and hits 30 homers. 

After being too meh for the Dodgers rotation in 2020, Ross Stripling came too close to being too meh for this one this year. In 24 games, Stripling sported a 4.80 ERA with a 5-7 record. Once other options came onboard, he was moved to the bullpen.

2022 Prediction: Fewer starts, but about midway through the season he's gonna be a very successful option as a starter as several others start tanking.

Now to the midseason deals. The first one happened in June, and it was an eye-opener. Adam Cimber, standout submariner from Miami, was the big get. He rewarded the Jays with even better numbers than he had for the Marlins, with a 1.69 ERA and an 0.964 WHIP in 39 appearances. 

2022 Prediction: A bit more human of a season, but Cimber will be their top non-closing reliever.

The other piece of the deal was Corey Dickerson, whose bat has had much less of an exclamation point since leaving Pittsburgh. In 46 games in Toronto he hit .282 with 37 hits and 15 RBIs, improvements on his Marlins numbers, and a slight statistical boost even in a later-career phase for Dickerson.

2022 Prediction: Signs a cheap deal somewhere. Maybe back to Pittsburgh. And has a quiet, sort of alright year.

As for the bigger ones, we have to mention Jose Berrios, as he's gonna be a Blue Jay for a while now. The former Twins ace arrived in Toronto at the deadline and got right back to business, with a 3.58 ERA and 78 Ks in 12 starts. 

2022 Prediction: Top 3 Cy Young voting. Robbie who?

And finally, for a waiver deal, the Jays snuck Jarrod Dyson out of Kansas City as a backup outfielder. Dyson didn't do a great deal in Toronto, with a .077 average and only 1 hit in 17 at-bats, but he was still a cool veteran presence that I wanted to make a card of.

2022 Prediction: Either nobody signs him or he doesn't make the team he spends the spring with.

Coming Tomorrow- A few last stragglers from the World Champion Braves

Uncustomed Heroes of 2020: Blue Jays (Part One)

The 2020 Blue Jays. If this were a regular season, they'd be a feel-good team that missed the postseason by inches.

However, this is the 2020 season, so they were a playoff team. Which, honestly, was kinda cool. You don't often see clunky little cinderella teams like the Jays squeeze into the playoffs very often anymore. And, thankfully, the Blue Jays were exactly that. A harmless, cinderella team that had a nice little time in the playoffs before losing to the AL Champion Rays in a Wild Card series. It was nice to see a Jays team that didn't threaten me, that I could potentially root for without having flashbacks of those terrible 2015-16 runs that came out of nowhere. 

Like any mid-tier playoff team, the Blue Jays were imperfect. Yes, Matt Shoemaker was able to stay healthy until September, which is a marvel in itself, but right as he was beginning to get the hang of things, he was phased out in favor of some of the new starters in Toronto. He did finish the season with an improved 4.71 ERA, 26 Ks and a postseason start, so...he's still far from as useless as he was in his injury-prone era.

2021 Prediction: Will be a solid fourth starter for a mid-tier team. I think he'll start 18 games, which is as much as the last 3 seasons combined.

 

Coming off of a strong year with two clubs, Tanner Roark was signed to back up Trent Thornton and Hyun-Jin Ryu in the rotation, and he...had a weak year, what else can I say? In 11 starts he had a 6.80 ERA and 46 strikeouts, and a 2-3 record. Not much at all worth talking about.

2021 Prediction: A return to form, and a lower ERA, but...I don't think he'll spend the entire season in the rotation.

Danny Jansen won the catching battle over Reese McGuire, on account of Jansen not being an abuser. Jansen did, however, fail to hit over .200, despite 20 RBIs, 6 homers and some clutch moments down the stretch. He's still a durable, reliable catcher, but he needs to learn to hit for average.

2021 Prediction: By September he's backing up Alejandro Kirk.

Travis Shaw was the centerpiece of the Brewers two years ago, but since his average has fallen off he's looked more mortal than ever. In his first season as Blue Jays third baseman, Shaw hit .239 with 39 hits, 17 RBIs and 6 homers. Not much to write home about whatsoever.

2021 Prediction: Wherever he signs, it'll be as a bench/backup. 

A year after debuting as the lovable power-hitting DH in Toronto, Rowdy Tellez took a step back as the other Baby Jays sort of took over the assault. He still hit .283 with 23 RBIs and 8 homers, but he missed most of September due to injuries, and was missing for the postseason. Despite a nice season, he's gotta win back some goodwill, cause they could have needed him.

2021 Prediction: 30 homers, .250 average, and serious trade talks. 

Speaking of trade talks, after landing in New York for the waiver deadline last year, Joe Panik hopped onto the Blue Jays bench, hoping to get some playing time backing up the baby Jays. An injury to Bo Bichette gave Panik some much needed starting time in August, right before Jonathan Villar would take the position. In 41 games, Panik hit .225 with 7 RBIs and 27 hits. Not to the caliber of his Giants numbers, but not bad.

2021 Prediction: Someone will pick him up, but his days of starting are over.

And in the 'surprising reliever' category, as Anthony Bass did the majority of the ninth inning work, the statistical relief pitching leader for 2020 was Rafael Dolis, the former Cubs prospect who hadn't pitched in the majors since 2013. Dolis had spent the last 4 seasons pitching for the Hanshin Tigers, becoming one of their premier relief weapons, and building his arsenal back up for a return to the majors. In 24 innings, Dolis posted a 1.50 ERA with 31 strikeouts and 5 saves. Safe to say the big man is back in the MLB to stay.

2021 Prediction: Will eventually get the closing gig, get 35 saves and be the talk of the winter meetings. 

I had to split this post in two for the sake of the tags, so everybody who joined this team after Opening Day is tonight in Part 1. 

Uncustomed Heroes of 2019: Blue Jays

Weird year for Toronto.

The last of the old guard was phased out, with Devon Travis, Justin Smoak, Marcus Stroman, Aaron Sanchez and Kevin Pillar all leaving during, and after, this year. And immediately the new guard was funneled right in, with the big three rookies, Guerrero, Biggio and Bichette, coming right in to replace them as if nothing had happened. A lot of this team was made up of people who were brought in on contracts and traded halfway through the year, like Freddy Galvis and Eric Sogard. But, for a middling-to-low team, the jays were pretty entertaining, and the youth has a lot to do with that.

Cavan Biggio was arguably the strongest of the 3 rookies, ending the year with a 2.8 WAR and 48 RBIs.
Why Him in 2019?: Cause he might be the most versatile of him, Vlad and Bo.
2020 Prediction: He's gonna shoot up to a leadership spot by the end of the year, possibly usurping Grichuk. Also, of the big 3, he's got the best shot at an ASG spot.

In the absence of Kevin Pillar, any leadership position went to Randal Grichuk, despite him only being on the team since 2018. Grichuk did...the same as he always did. Hit for distance not for average, struggled defensively, and struck out a lot.
Why Him in 2019?: In the year of Sogard, Guerrero, Biggio and Bichette, it was Grichuk that led the team in home runs AND RBI.
2020 Prediction: Either he has a big season next year or the Jays trade him at the end of 2020.

 Another outfielder who struggled in a full-time position was Teoscar Hernandez. He had stretches of greatness, and he came to life in July, with 15 RBIs and 8 home runs, but mostly he was batting below .250
Why Him in 2019?: Led all non-Grichuk players in home runs, and finally got a starting gig after a year or so of waiting.
2020 Prediction: Hernandez will break out in a big way in May and April, and his stock will rise slightly before an injury saves him from being traded.

 The big lineup story for the Jays was the fight for starting catcher. Luke Maile had the position early, but lost it once Danny Jansen came onboard. Jansen had the position for most of the season, and his defensive numbers made him a shoo-in, though his lack of offensive production came back to bite him later.
Why Him in 2019?: Replaces Martin as catcher, gives an upgrade on defense.
2020 Prediction: Opening Day starter, backup by June.

 But once Reese McGuire's bat caught fire, there wasn't much use for Jansen. McGuire is a superior hitter, and even if he's not as good defensively as Jansen, he might be a little more well-rounded, and more befitting of the youth movement.
Why Him in 2019?: His late audition for 2020 starting catcher might have won everyone over.
2020 Prediction: Starts majority of games for Toronto, hits 30 home runs.

 Elvis Luciano was a great story for the year, a farmhand traded for Jon Jay and a Rule 5 draftee that was added to the roster to protect from a similar Rule 5 loss. At 19, Luciano became the first MLB player born in the 2000s to debut, which was kinda...scary for a 90s kid like me. Luciano's relief numbers weren't great, with a 5.35 ERA in 25 appearances, but his youthful presence in April set the tone for the rest of the year.
Why Him in 2019?: A rare 19-year-old call-up in a field of 24-year-old rookies.
2020 Prediction: Toronto's next bullpen ace. If Giles blows his shot, he could be closing games.

And if we're talking about rookies fielded in trades, we should probably mention Anthony Kay, the hurler fielded in the Stroman trade, who debuted in September and made a few starts. getting a win and 13 strikeouts.
Why Him in 2019?: He got Marcus Stroman out of Toronto.
2020 Prediction: He'll give Trent Thornton some company at the top of the rotation.

Coming Tomorrow- The Braves lost out on an NLCS match again this year, but they definitely deserved more in this particular postseason.