Dealing Dave Dombrowski needs to resist more Red Sox trades
By Noah Small
Dealing Dave, put down the phone! Dombrowski needs to resist making another trade from the Red Sox farm system.
Now that the Red Sox have addressed the need in the bullpen, it’s time for the Red Sox to throw away the key before trying to unlock any potential trades for starting pitching.
Resist the urge, Dave! That would be my message to Mr. Dombrowski.
Coming down the final stretch to the MLB Trade Deadline, Dave Dombrowski must feel like a kid in a candy shop. Or, Rob Gronkowski on Tinder. There are so many options available to Dombrowski, it has to be making his head spin. Not to mention, he has one of baseball’s best minor league systems at his disposal to sweeten any deal.
Dombrowski has never been shy about trading. We knew that when he arrived here, and we are now getting another taste of Dealing Dave in Boston.
Since 2007, when Dombrowski was in Detroit, he has completed over 50 trades. The most notable of which include: getting Miguel Cabrera in a deal that included Andrew Miller, acquiring Max Scherzer, trading Prince Fielder for Ian Kinsler, sending Boston Yoenis Cespedes, and acquiring David Price twice (once for the Tigers through trade, and last offseason via free agency for the Red Sox).
But, now is the time for Dealing Dave to sit on his hands and count to ten.
The Red Sox are in prime position for both the present and the future. This is because Boston has a great minor league system to feed an already talented major league roster. And, with all the concern over Boston’s pitching, many overlook the gaping hole that will be left in the lineup entering 2017. With the retirement of David Ortiz, the Red Sox will need their plethora of talented young hitters to all contribute in bearing the burden. In addition, an aging Dustin Pedroia, and struggling Hanley Ramirez and Travis Shaw should not be ignored.
That is why Boston’s immensely skilled minor league system should not be called upon to pay the price for struggling starters. The Red Sox offense has been their strength all year, and looks to be in the future. Subtracting from their strength should not be the answer.
At the trade deadline, many players on the block get overpriced. Teams look to deal with whichever teams are most desperate and willing to overpay. Any trade that would include a reliable starter such as a Rich Hill (whom the Red Sox let sign with Oakland last offseason) would now likely include a top prospect in the 5-15 range.
A player like Sam Travis-albeit out for the season-or Michael Chavis. Maybe even major leaguer Blake Swihart.
And, If Dombrowski was to really shuffle the deck, and go after a front-of-the-rotation starter like many want, a top 3 prospect or even multiple top tier prospects and major leaguers would be required. A trade for the likes of: Zack Greinke, Sonny Gray, Julio Teheran, or Jose Fernandez would greatly diminish Boston’s future offensive attack.
As baseball proverbs say, dynamic offenses win championships. Okay, so they don’t say that … yet. But, after the last few World Series Champions were crowned, they should have.
In the last 3 years, the Red Sox, Giants, and Royals have won the World Series (Kansas City has also appeared in back-to-back World Series). While these teams were comprised in very different ways, they all had one thing in common-a well rounded offense that could hurt you on multiple facets. These offenses would continuously pound the opposition with hits, string rallies together, and always go the extra mile. In this case, it’s the extra base, as illustrated perfectly by Eric Hosmer in 2015.
These offenses allowed them to overcome better pitching, and especially better opposing rotations. Kansas city overcame the Met’s studs, the Red Sox beat both the Tiger’s and Cardinal’s multiple aces, and the Giants also topped the pitching mecca in St. Louis.
Now, of course, pitching also played a big role. For the Red Sox it was the steady arms of Lester, Lackey and Uehara. In San Francisco it was the super-human performances of Madison Bumgarner and, in Kansas City, the rocket arms like Wade Davis out of the pen. But, it was the offenses that held these teams together, and what the Red Sox should continue to maintain and even build on.
Look, the Red Sox have good arms as well. Yes, some of them have underperformed, but a return to form should be in the near future for most. David Price is a proven vet, and his FIP and other advanced stats indicate he is still an ace. Eduardo Rodriguez is a stud in the making and showed us all why last season. Rick Porcello seemed to turn a corner last year, and has been a consistent, productive starter so far in 2016. And, this years ace and All-Star, Steven Wright, has been out of this world channeling his inner Wakefield. Now, with the addition of Brad Ziegler, who the Red Sox could resign at the end of the season, to a bullpen of Craig Kimbrel (who should be back in under two months), Koji Uehara, Junichi Tazawa, and next season-Carson Smith- they are very good.
Don’t give into temptation, Mr. Dombrowski!