Red Sox: Two unlikely players have made the difference
The Red Sox started the 2017 season fully committed to Pablo Sandoval at 3rd base sending Travis Shaw to Milwaukee – two unlikely stars have pulled the team together in the Panda aftermath
No one expected to see Travis Shaw dominate this season. Anyone stating they did I would call a liar. Boston Red Sox General Manager Dave Dombrowski decided to go all in on Pablo Sandoval considering the amount of money committed to him through 2019. Shaw was traded away to Milwaukee with three other players for reliever Tyler Thornburg. Everyone remembers how poorly that trade turned out for Boston. Thornburg hasn’t thrown a pitch in 2017.
With the Red Sox turning the page on Panda at third base, the Red Sox needed a quick solution. They ended up getting two in three days by calling up rookie sensation Rafael Devers and trading for super utility man Eduardo Nunez at the deadline. No one expected either one to be as successful as they have become. While there is still plenty of baseball to go until the season is over, the Sox can count on these two going forward.
While trading players or adding players in free agency is part of the game, Dombrowski has left fans in Beantown in awe and ripping their hair out. Had the Shaw move never happened, I think anyone would find it hard to argue that this team would not be a final four team in the playoffs come October.
The nightmare that was third base is now over. After losing players via injury or free agency, that ugly chapter of the 2017 Boston Red Sox season has finally come to a close. Thank goodness.
Rafael Devers moving up quickly on the road to Boston
Devers was excellent in Double-A Portland, slashing .300/18/56/0 in 77 games followed by a Triple-A Pawtucket stint where he slashed .400/2/4/0 in 9 games before his call up to Boston. While his numbers were never expected to be this good this fast, he’s been nothing short of amazing, posting a .349/3/6/1 line. Devers hadn’t stolen a base in 86 games at AA and AAA combined. However, in his 11th game for Boston he stole his first base.
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No one expected Devers to move up this quickly. He was good but no one thought he’d be in Boston before 2017 was over, myself included. When the Red Sox released the Panda from AAA after his rehab stint was over, Devers found himself in Pawtucket. After quickly realizing that the competition still wasn’t an issue, Dombrowski pulled all stops in bringing up the 20-year old rookie phenom. While this youngster has plenty to learn, one thing that’s apparent is his power.
The Red Sox are the worst team in the American League when it comes to hitting home runs. Good news is that Devers is one of the guys that will lead the team in due time. His power is unbelievable. Not many players hit balls that look like they’re going to be pop outs and then turn out to be home runs over left field at Fenway Park. This team could look very good in the near future once Devers has blossomed into a full blown star.
Red Sox consider options VIA trade
When rumors began to swirl that the Red Sox were in the hunt for another infielder, the first name mentioned was Martin Prado of the Marlins. The Sox opted to go in a different direction with Devers waiting in the wings. Another deterrent was his salary due in both in 2018 at $13.5 million and $15 million for the 2019 season. There was still a need for an infielder with several players no longer playing for Boston. Not having that depth could prove costly come October.
More rumors were circulating around the Red Sox allegedly wanting to pick up Mike Moustakas from Kansas City. The Royals were looking like they were down and out at first. Suddenly, with other teams not playing their best and the Royals on fire, they became a contender once again and were no longer fielding offers for their power hitter. Moose would have served multiple uses for the team.
Still, no solution to one of the major problems for the boys in Beantown. Devers in his first game went 0-for-4 and while I’m sure he was a little nervous, there are never any guarantees for anyone playing in the show. Who were the Sox going to get? A lot of players were suddenly getting pulled from the list of trade possibilities.
Red Sox add Eduardo Nunez to add a punch to infield
One team that wasn’t pulling their players back off the block was the San Francisco Giants. The Sox wanted a guy that could at the very least play third base. Nunez was in the midst of resurgence after a slow start in 2017. Much like Sandoval did not like Boston, Nunez did not like San Francisco. A change of scenery might have been just what he needed.
Nunez in San Francisco this season slashed .308/4/31/18 in 76 games. He had the ability to play second base, third base, shortstop, and the corner outfield spots. Nunez also had the ability to hit for average, had a good arm and had speed. At the very least, the Sox were getting a three-tool player with the ability to play multiple positions. Dombrowski decided to pull the trigger adding the quick right-handed hitter sending two pitching prospects to the Giants.
Nunez in Boston so far has been remarkable. In 12 games representing the boys from Beantown, he’s slashing .400/4/12/3. He’s hit the same number of home runs in a little more than 1/6th of the time with Boston. Nunez also added a multi-homer game in just his second game with his new team which also coincidentally happened to be the first of his career.
The Sox were expecting to get someone who could hit for average with excellent speed. They ended up getting someone who could do that and a bonus of hitting for power. Can the power numbers last? Possibly, although not very likely.
It certainly is nice seeing someone carry the team even if he’s only been with the team for a short while. This does not forgive the rest of the team for not hitting for over a month. The Red Sox are going to need each player to carry their own weight.
Post-Panda Era
While Sandoval has found a new home in his old home, the Red Sox are 100% about a few things. Number one, they made out like bandits in the Nunez trade with the Giants. Secondly, Devers is a much better option over Panda at third base. The third? The Giants will soon regret giving him another chance after disgracing himself once again and another ball club.
While the Panda may still very well be laughing his way to the bank to the tune of $49.5 million, Boston is so much better without him. Good riddance. After a strong showing during Spring Training, the true Panda came out to play making mistakes in the infield, swinging at poor pitches, and slowly but surely began losing his in shape form regressing to the old Panda status.
Will his career get resurrected in San Francisco? At least one person hopes so, although it’s not like he needs the money. The Red Sox will be paying him through 2020. Talk about a waste, not only as a ball player but more importantly the financial hit the Sox took on adding a glutton. It still baffles me that he felt he needed to apologize to the wrong fans after everything was said and done. Sure, go ahead and apologize to the fan base and team that laughed you out of town.
John Henry, Larry Luccino and the entire Red Sox front office deserve an apology from that fool. Will they ever receive one? Nope. In the end, I’m pretty certain that his career will fizzle out. Sandoval has made his money and now he’s just going to enjoy attempting to play baseball while getting paid nearly $20 million annually for the next two seasons plus a gimme bonus in 2020.
How Boston can power through the rest of the season
No one is expecting either player to carry the team down the stretch. No one believes that Devers or Nunez will hit 20+ home runs this season. It would not however, be a stretch to see Devers hit 10+ and see Nunez end up in the 12-15 range for home runs, especially if he continues at his current pace and faces pitchers he’s never seen before.
Some players have begun getting hot again and thank goodness considering many were nervous that they had peaked too soon. Mitch Moreland and Andrew Benintendi are starting to find their grooves once again. Moreland had no homers and just four RBI’s in July. So far in August he’s had two homers and five runs knocked in including four doubles where he doubled up no pun intended on his total from the month prior. Many thought that Moreland was done.
Benintendi was also on the down and out in July. The other Sox rookie has also been doing much better with his hitting. After hitting .222/2/13/0 in July, he’s slashing .353/1/4/3 in August through four games. Through June and July, Benintendi only had two stolen bases. He also only had four multi-hit games last month. Benintendi already has two through four games.
Next: Red Sox Thoughts: Christian Vazquez’ time is now
The Red Sox are here to stay and with only a couple of months until the playoffs are here, we can expect some late season heroics and magic from the boys playing in Beantown.