3. Hand The First Base Job To Travis Shaw
Seriously, I hammered away at this one in that previous article. I am incredulous at the notion the Sox brass are still set on the idea of moving Hanley Ramirez over to first. Hanley can split time at DH with David Ortiz, split-dependent situationally, and then be a fourth outfielder and Gatorade distributor.
This one seems pretty simple to me. Shaw has shown the ability to handle big-league pitching and is, at worst, a serviceable first baseman defensively. As I already pointed out in last week’s article, Shaw is young, inexpensive and under long-term club control.
A wish list without Sonny Gray?!
I agree with a lot of that. load the bullpen with as much proven talent you can find, i have loved the idea of Zimmerman, i do not think Grienke in Boston is a good idea for him. I think Shaw should be the utility corner infield spot though, he was a great story but i can’t imagine Dave Dombrowski giving him first base for 2016 after such a smal sample size with how incredibly hot he was for like 3 weeks. Zimmerman and Porcello in my mind would work off of one another with those sinkers and 2 seamers, maybe help each other out. Aslo get big Schil there in the spring and teach those guys that nasty splitter, like he did with pap.
First of all, thanks for sending a well-thought-out, logical comment. I shy away from Gray for two quick reasons. 1.) After all the backlash Billy Beane has endured from the Donaldson trade and the overall dismantling of the team, I doubt he’d pull the trigger on a trade for Gray. Which leads me to reason 2.) If he did agree to trade Gray, I think Hazen would be forced to empty a boatload of prospects and maybe a major league ready player. That, I don’t want to do. Gray is fantastic, though.