Almost halfway through the 2020 abbreviated 60-game season, the Red Sox are 9-20. Even with expanded playoffs in 2020, the Red Sox are going nowhere.
The MLB trade deadline is one week from tomorrow and expect Chaim Bloom to be an aggressive seller.
Bloom has already dealt relievers Brandon Workman and Heath Hembree to the Phillies in exchange for pitching prospects Nick Pivetta and Connor Seabold. The rebuild is under way and it will not stop with Workman and Hembree going to Philadelphia.
One has to assume every player in the organization is up for grabs, although Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers are likely to remain as the foundation of an organization that has hit bottom this season but has the resources to be back in contention by 2023.
Five players that Bloom could use as chips to accelerate the rebuilding plans are JD Martinez, Mitch Moreland, Nathan Eovaldi, Jackie Bradley Jr., and Kevin Pillar.
Martinez would be able to immediately impact the lineup of a team that trades for him. While he is primarily a DH, Martinez is serviceable in the outfield. Moreland also could give a contender a boost offensively while Bradley and Pillar provide Gold Glove defense in the outfield. Eovaldi has looked good this year and showed in 2018 that he can pitch in big spots come October.
Bloom has to add pieces, especially young pitching, that can become part of the next championship contender in Boston. The Red Sox have not developed a top of the rotation starter since Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz were coming through the system, which was well over a decade ago. Boston needs to dedicate its resources to developing young pitching that can help carry this team out of this down cycle and be part of their rise back to the top of the standings.
***
As the Red Sox prepare to unload some veteran players, there is also the possibility that a familiar face will return.
Brock Holt, who was not signed by the Red Sox this past off-season and signed with the Brewers, has been designated for assignment and is likely to become a free agent this week after a disastrous stint in Milwaukee.
Holt could provide value as a veteran utility man who provides leadership to the young players coming into Boston.
Holt was part of Boston's last rebuild following their 2013 World Series championship and was an important role player for the 2018 championship team. While it's unlikely that he'd be around to contribute come this middle of this decade when the Red Sox should be back in the title hunt, he could provide important leadership as the process to build that next championship team starts.
***
Watching the Celtics shred the 76ers in their first round playoff series was fun. Even in the Orlando Bubble, a 4-0 sweep of Philadelphia is something to take note of in Boston. In fairness to Philly, Ben Simmons was out for the series and if healthy, he would have made it a much more competitive series.
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are showing signs of being able to lead a team deep into the playoffs. Kemba Walker won his first career playoff series. Marcus Smart and the rest of the rotation stepped up and made winning plays throughout the series.
As the series progressed, it hit me that Philadelphia's plan to tank several seasons earlier this decade to improve their draft position has backfired. Yes, they have drafted Joel Embiid and Simmons, but the emphasis on losing has clearly infected the franchise.
Especially Embiid.
Embiid is a gifted center, who combines power near the basket with a soft perimeter shooting touch. He can also dominate the boards and change the game defensively, when he is focused.
The issue for Embiid is that he does not always seem focused on the floor. He also struggles to play hard for long stretches, which calls in to question his commitment to conditioning. While he puts up All-Star statistics (23ppg, almost 12rbg, and just over 1bpg this season), Embiid has not demonstrated the ability to carry his team on his back in the most critical moments of a playoff game. Foot and knee injuries have been a problem for him as well, and those are injuries that haunt men the size of Embiid.
The 76ers are likely to move on from head coach Brett Brown, a move I do not believe to be fair to Brown but that is an argument for a different day. Their biggest issues are roster related and switching coaches will not solve that problem. Elton Brand, their general manager, could also be a victim of this playoff exit.
Embiid and Simmons, both in their mid-20's, are on the books for almost $30-million each next season. Forwards Tobias Harris (age 28) and Al Horford (34) will combine to make $60-million next season. That's a lot of salary to have tied up in a center who fails to dominate in the clutch, a point guard who cannot shoot, and two forwards who are not capable of elevating their teams into the Finals.
(I watched, and enjoyed, Horford during his time with the Celtics. Statistics do not tell the story of his game. He plays team basketball and has been a terrific defender. But he is in his mid-30's and is not capable of defending the perimeter, which he has to do as long as Embiid is on the team.)
If I was their general manager, I would build around Simmons. Simmons also has had injury problems but he seems to be the more likely to age well. Although he is not a great shooter, he can attack the basket to create for himself and for his teammates. He is also an excellent defender.
Building around Simmons means finding a new home for Embiid. Embiid's and Simmons' games do not seem to mesh all that well and one has to go to remake the roster as neither Harris or Horford is likely to be able to be moved due to their contracts.
Embiid could be a fit in Indiana (Myles Turner and Doug McDermott make the money work), San Antonio (packaging him with Josh Richardson could bring back LaMarcus Aldridge and Rudy Gay, whose contracts expire after 2021), and Houston (for a package of a re-signed Eric Gordon, Robert Covington, and Danuel House).
Regardless of where he ends up, look for Philadelphia to use Embiid to reshape their roster this off-season in an attempt to make a run in the Eastern Conference next season.
***
As good as the Celtics looked against the 76ers, expect much more of a battle against the defending champion Raptors in the second round.
Boston will miss the presence of Gordon Hayward, who is out with a bad ankle sprain suffered against the 76ers and who is also expected to leave the Orlando Bubble to witness the birth of his fourth child in the upcoming days.
Hayward was really jelling with Boston's other ball handlers and late in the game - when Brad Stevens would put Hayward on the floor with Tatum, Brown, Walker, and Marcus Smart (or Daniel Theis) - the Celtics were becoming a very dangerous team on both ends of the floor.
Not having Hayward for the last two games with Philadelphia was not an issue as the depleted 76ers could not match up with Tatum, Brown, and Walker.
The Raptors, one of the best defensive teams in the league, will cause more problems for Boston and losing Hayward's offense will be noticed.
I still think Boston will win the series, but this should be an epic 7-game battle for the right to move on to the Eastern Conference Finals.
***
The Bruins face a similar challenge on their path to the Conference Finals, as they open their series with the Lightning tonight.
The two Eastern Conference heavyweights are evenly matched and this should be a great series to watch.
Tampa Bay has a deep roster and is tough on both ends of the ice. Boston is similarly built to be tough to beat on both ends of the ice. It will be a very close series.
Tampa is the pick here to advance as Andrei Vasilevskiy, their goalie, gives the Lightning an advantage in net opposing Jaroslav Halak. Steven Stamkos could also return by the middle of this series, which would give the Lightning a huge boost on offense.
Lightning in 6.
***
Is anyone in the NFL enjoying the closed practices and limited media coverage more than Bill Belichick?
As he transitions his team away from the Tom Brady Era, and also tries to replace veteran leaders like Dont'a Hightower and Marcus Cannon, he is able to work in almost complete obscurity.
Media reports have Cam Newton as the leader in the quarterback race but beyond that, there's not much known about what is going down on the practice fields behind Gillette Stadium.
That is the way it is all over the NFL but for the Patriots, a franchise known for keeping information close to the chest, not having thousands of eyes on their preseason preparations must seem like a gift.
***
Enjoy David Krejci tonight.
No comments:
Post a Comment