Red Sox 2025 Season

[Goldstar88]

Red Sox grade: C-

May was a key pitcher on the 2020 World Series championship team for the Dodgers, but pitched just 101 innings over the next four seasons before returning this year and posting a 4.85 ERA in 18 starts. As the ERA suggests, he hasn't been too effective, with both a high home run rate and a high walk rate. He doesn't throw as hard as he did back in 2020, and that shows up in how hard his sinker has been hit this season (.285 average and .633 slugging percentage).

May is heading into free agency, so this doesn't even fit the idea of "let's get him this season and maybe he'll be better next year as he's further removed from surgery." He can join the rotation in place of Richard Fitts or even a mediocre Walker Buehler, or maybe he goes to the bullpen, where his fastball might play up a little better.

[Phantom255x]

Red Sox grade: C-

May was a key pitcher on the 2020 World Series championship team for the Dodgers, but pitched just 101 innings over the next four seasons before returning this year and posting a 4.85 ERA in 18 starts. As the ERA suggests, he hasn't been too effective, with both a high home run rate and a high walk rate. He doesn't throw as hard as he did back in 2020, and that shows up in how hard his sinker has been hit this season (.285 average and .633 slugging percentage).

May is heading into free agency, so this doesn't even fit the idea of "let's get him this season and maybe he'll be better next year as he's further removed from surgery." He can join the rotation in place of Richard Fitts or even a mediocre Walker Buehler, or maybe he goes to the bullpen, where his fastball might play up a little better.

C- is way too generous

[Goldstar88]

Red Sox grade: C-

May was a key pitcher on the 2020 World Series championship team for the Dodgers, but pitched just 101 innings over the next four seasons before returning this year and posting a 4.85 ERA in 18 starts. As the ERA suggests, he hasn't been too effective, with both a high home run rate and a high walk rate. He doesn't throw as hard as he did back in 2020, and that shows up in how hard his sinker has been hit this season (.285 average and .633 slugging percentage).

May is heading into free agency, so this doesn't even fit the idea of "let's get him this season and maybe he'll be better next year as he's further removed from surgery." He can join the rotation in place of Richard Fitts or even a mediocre Walker Buehler, or maybe he goes to the bullpen, where his fastball might play up a little better.

C- is way too generous

If the GM and owner didn?t suck, could have been:

Blue Jays grade: B+

Over the past two seasons, Bieber has a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 20-1 in the majors. Unfortunately, that's been compiled over just two starts, two sparkling outings early in the 2024 season. This season, Bieber has a ratio of 21-1 in the minors. Unfortunately, that's been compiled over just four outings.

Those small sample observations do a nifty job of illustrating both the risk and the reward of this deal for the Blue Jays, who gave up real prospect talent in Stephen. When he pitches, Bieber is one of the best, an almost impossible combination of command and the ability to work in the zone without damage. But the stress his vicious arsenal puts on his elbow has kept him from putting that ability on display.

Bieber's last rehab outing was Tuesday, when he threw 57 pitches over four innings, striking out seven and (of course) walking none. He did give up a homer to a young guy named Jake Holton, who will surely cherish the memory. Bieber has been ramping up after experiencing elbow soreness earlier this season, delaying his return. Obviously, for this deal to become official, the Jays will have to be satisfied with Bieber's medicals.



Crotchet, Bieber, Bello would have been formidable rotation in the playoffs.

[Goldstar88]

 

Speaking on Thursday an hour after MLB?s trade deadline passed, Boston?s chief baseball officer acknowledged the frustration doled by fans amid the Red Sox?s inability to reel in a big fish to help with this current playoff push.

I understand the frustration and the disappointment because we?re all looking at the last week right now in terms of the trades  that were made and weren?t made, Breslow said. And there?s not a lot of sympathy for how hard we tried to get deals across the line, I understand that. We believe that we have a really young, exciting, talented team, and one that is capable of continuing to perform at this level and make it to the postseason, and that?s what our focus is on.

And there?s decisions that were made at this deadline, they weren?t driven by an unwillingness to be aggressive. They weren?t driven by taking a highlighted or reinforced view of 2026 or 2027. We were aggressively pursuing acquisitions that could help us in 2025. They didn?t line up.

[JBcat]

#38 prospect?  I have no idea how these things are determined, but he had an over .900 OPS at Portland this year.  He hit for average and solid (not amazing) power, as well.

Yes, he has been as high as #7 in the Sox organization back in 2022 but apparently fell down to #38 at the start of this season.  He is having a good year and moving back up.  His AA numbers look really good this year.  I have no idea either on what to make of the rankings.  Based on this trade, it does not seem that the Red Sox value him all that highly.

I am not going to panic over trading him though.  Most of these prospects at this level never amount to anything.  Maybe Blaze will be the exception.

That prospect ranking is outdated. Per Soxprospect.com he was at 19 recently and climbing in a deep system. Being really a 1B only prospect he needs to really hit to stick in the majors. He?s had a good rebound year but there are concerns if he will hit at the highest level. Still an interesting prospect. Plus he will be ruled out 5 elgible this offseason and the Sox have higher priorities for room on the 40 man roster, so there was a chance they would lose him anyway.

[Vermont Green]

Still hovering around 0.500.  I keep thinking that they are going to go on a run and win 8 of 10 or 12 of 15 or something; and I keep being wrong.

I will say that a bad run of losing 1-run games can be misleading.  Every year, there is a team that wins a bunch of 1-run games and that fools you into thinking they are better than they really are.  Same going the other way, losing a bunch of 1-run games can be a false indicator.  Over a long MLB season, these tend to average out.  If you are a 0.500 team, in the long run, you will revert to winning about 50% of your 1-run games.

Sox win a 1-run game last night, but that is just one game.  Overall, they are now 5-12 in 1-run games.  For context, the NYY are 5-10 in 1-run games.  I predict that will average out.  I still feel like they are 12-16 games over 0.500 by the end of the season.  That would be  87-89 wins.

I had posted this back in May, a month before the Devers trade.  They finally had that hot run I was expecting, and then some.  10 in a row before the all star break and now 10-6 after the break.  They are trending to be much better than 10 games over 0.500.

The question of course is if they can keep it up.  In particular, can the starting pitching hold up (I am not worried about scoring runs).  Crochet, Giolito, Bello, and Buehler all had fantastic Julys.  August so far has been great too.  Even Cooper Criswell had a solid start.  Now we have May to plug in as the 5th starter.  I am sure they will manage the heck of of innings to do whatever they can to help these guys hold up.  Can you imagine if Houck had not blown out his arm?

It is inevitable that they will cool off, have a rough stretch, but overall, the schedule looks pretty favorable the rest of the season.  Winning the Division is not out of the question.

[SparzWizard]

Both benches cleared earlier...imagine the Astros being mad about stealing signs 😂

[boscel33]

Both benches cleared earlier...imagine the Astros being mad about stealing signs 😂

Stealing signs!  The biggest crybaby topic in baseball.  If someone can figure them out, oh well!  If it's that much of a problem, go to a helmet radio with the catcher and pitcher.

[libermaniac]

Both benches cleared earlier...imagine the Astros being mad about stealing signs 😂

Stealing signs!  The biggest crybaby topic in baseball.  If someone can figure them out, oh well!  If it's that much of a problem, go to a helmet radio with the catcher and pitcher.

They were upset about the man on second picking up the grip fwiw. But, it?s part of baseball and no reason to get upset IMO.

[Vermont Green]

Both benches cleared earlier...imagine the Astros being mad about stealing signs 😂

Stealing signs!  The biggest crybaby topic in baseball.  If someone can figure them out, oh well!  If it's that much of a problem, go to a helmet radio with the catcher and pitcher.

They were upset about the man on second picking up the grip fwiw. But, it?s part of baseball and no reason to get upset IMO.

I was wondering what that was all about.  I caught it on a TV in a restaurant (no sound) so I was not sure what was going on.  Yeah, nothing illegal or unsportsmanlike about trying see into the pitchers mitt if he is tipping pitches.