2015 Spring Training Wrap - bayers3's Dynasty

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2015 Spring Training Wrap

Posted on June 21, 2014 at 03:56 PM.

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THE BOSTON GLOBE (RED SOX DYNASTY REPORT)

FORT MYERS, FL - Seems like only yesterday Boston was hoisting the World Series trophy, but that was last year and it's time to move forward. Spring Training always brings the promise of a new season, another chance at glory, but most would say the Red Sox sun is setting. The biggest buzz around Fenway South this year would be the prospects looking to make a permanent move to The Show after coming up for a cup of coffee during roster expansion, and the impending retirement of David Ortiz.

SPRING TRAINING (By The Numbers)

Boston 13-15 (4th AL East)

Hot Hitters

Dustin Pedroia - 6HR 19RBI .300
Shane Victornio - 4HR 23RBI .283
Jackie Bradley Jr. - .277 / .344OBP

Cold Hitters

David Ortiz - 6HR 12RBI .224
Xander Bogaerts - 2HR 11RBI .217

TOP PROSPECTS

Every spring comes with a new Top 50 Prospects list, and Boston can feel good about how they did this year. The Red Sox boast four prospects MLB.com ranked in the Top 50, a number padded a bit by Braden Shipley coming over in the Rule 5 draft, but still a good sign of things to come.

Don't leave your prospects unprotected

RHP Henry Owens (AAA Pawtucket)
RHP Leonys Bravo (AA Portland)
RHP Braden Shipley (Red Sox)
1B Isaac Koufax (AA Portland)

FREE AGENT INVITES

After sitting out the winter free agent market and evaluating the farm system it looks like Boston needed to provide a little depth in the majors. 2B/SS Brock Holt was the best and most experienced player backing everyone up, and management seemed to feel that some of their better prospects (Garin Cecchini) weren't going to get the playing time they needed to continue developing. With that in mind the Red Sox reached out to a few veteran players that free agency passed over and brought them to spring training for a shot at making the roster.

Boston's biggest problem coming into spring was, and on some level continues to be, the outfield. The Tigers opted not to re-sign Torii Hunter, and he easily performed well enough to receive a 1-year $4 million offer from the Red Sox. Hunter not only provides a decent bat, he also continues to be a good defender, for obvious reasons the Red Sox will not play him in RF for home games.

With Ortiz in rapid decline, and Brock Holt lacking experience, the additions of 2B Mark Ellis and 1B/DH Paul Konerko on 1-years deals made sense. Ellis provides a good late-inning defensive sub, and Konerko will provide some power as a right-handed hitter with Ortiz getting eviscerated by left-handed pitching.

SPRING ANSWERS

Lester's Replacement : With Jon Lester leaving town for Detroit, the Red Sox needed to crown a new staff ace. Prior to the start of last season the clear choice was Clay Buchholz, if he could stay healthy, but the in-season trades that landed Chris Archer and Shelby Miller made it a three-way race. Miller sat out the end of last season, including the playoffs, so that didn't help him. While Miller was on the DL Chris Archer rose from AAA like a Phoenix and carried it through the playoffs and right into spring. Buchholz looked good, but Archer has put enough polish on his slider to take hold of the #1 spot in the rotation. The Archer-Miller-Buchholz part of Boston's rotation is going to keep them in games all year, no matter how bad the hitting is.

Outfield Starters : The shallowest part of Boston's roster was also the most unsettled, with only Shane Victorino and Jackie Bradley Jr. returning. Bradley Jr. had a terrible season at the plate (.218BA), but he played so well in CF that John Farrell had to keep him there. Bradley Jr. did impress Farrell with his hitting and plate discipline in the spring (.277/.344) so it looks like he will be batting lead off and push Bogaerts to 2nd. The competition for LF was rough, with Torii Hunter doing his best to take it, but in the end converted 2B Mookie Betts showed enough with the bat and glove to snag the starting nod. Betts will be under pressure all season, but it doesn't look like Boston will be sending him back to Pawtucket anytime soon.

Hitting 40 homers is a good way to get a new contract

Corner Infielders : The re-signing of Will Middlebrooks really threw a wrench in the works, not to mention having a 40HR season, and now it leaves Boston brimming with current and potential corner infielders. Mike Napoli will now play every game at 1B, leaving Ortiz to DH exclusively, and super prospect Garin Cecchini has nowhere to play. The promotion of Betts seemed to signal that Cecchini would be up as well, but the return of Middlebrooks on a 4-year deal seems to keep him in AAA for some time.

SUMMER QUESTIONS

Outfield Depth : If it wasn't clear already, things are bad in the outfield. Torii Hunter is a decent spot starter or late game fill in, but he can't play CF at all, and he probably can't be counted on to start for a full season anymore. If there are any injuries the Victorino-Bradley Jr.-Betts it's going to get ugly very fast, the best players available in the minors are barely able to play in AAA let alone the majors. They do have two options starting the season in AA, 2014 draft picks Rico Berroa and Pedro Santana, but they would be purely defensive options who would get destroyed at the plate. The Red Sox had better keep a great medical staff on hand.

Behind The Plate : Can Blake Swihart handle the majors? Swihart, who had an excellent season in AAA after being called up from AA, is Boston's only catcher with any real experience. They are an injury away from signing someone in street clothes or called up Jason Varitek to see if he's busy. That being said, he won the starting job outright and looks like a very good player.

Big Papi's Legacy : If anyone's sun is setting, or has already set, it's David Ortiz's. After a 30-103 .309 season in 2013 that surprised everyone, he was able to match some of those numbers with a 34-99 .254 season in 2014. That .254 really jumps out, the third worst batting average of his career and the lowest since 2009 when he hit .238. Defensive shift, now all the rage, have really hurt Big Papi's numbers. With his power against lefties in steep decline he isn't likely to come close to a 30-100 season, but there is no way Boston would ever trade him. Ortiz might have a disappointing season, but if he retires he should retire in Boston.

PROJECTED DEPTH CHART

Boston Red Sox Depth Chart - 2015