The following article is part of Jay Jaffe’s ongoing look at the candidates on the BBWAA 2023 Hall of Fame ballot. Originally written for the 2014 election at SI.com, it has been updated to reflect recent voting results as well as additional research. For a detailed introduction to this year’s ballot, and other candidates in the series, use the tool above; an introduction to JAWS can be found here. For a tentative schedule, and a chance to fill out a Hall of Fame ballot for our crowdsourcing project, see here. All WAR figures refer to the Baseball-Reference version unless otherwise indicated.

Jeff Kent took a long time to find a home. Drafted by the Blue Jays in 1989, he passed through the hands of three teams that didn’t quite realize the value of what they had. Not until a trade to the Giants in November 1996 — prior to his age-29 season — did he really settle in. Once he did, he established himself as a standout complement to Barry Bonds, helping the Giants become perennial contenders and spending more than a decade as a middle-of-the-lineup force.

Despite his late-arriving stardom and a prickly personality that sometimes rubbed teammates and media the wrong way, Kent earned All-Star honors five times, won an MVP award, and helped four different franchises reach the playoffs a total of seven times. His resumé gives him a claim as the best-hitting second baseman of the post-1960 expansion era — not an iron-clad one, but not one that’s easily dismissed. For starters, he holds the all-time record for most home runs by a second baseman with 351. That’s 74 more than Ryne Sandberg, 85 more than Joe Morgan, and 86 more than Rogers Hornsby — all Hall of Famers, and in Hornsby’s case, one from before the expansion era (note that I’m not counting homers hit while playing other positions). Among players with at least 7,000 plate appearances in their career who spent at least half their time at second base, only Hornsby (.577) has a higher slugging percentage than Kent’s .500. From that latter set, only Hornsby (1.010) and another pre-expansion Hall of Famer, Charlie Gehringer (.884), have a higher OPS than Kent (.855). Read the rest of this entry »

If the BABIP gods change their minds, the Red Sox are the first in line. Last week, they inked left-handed reliever Joely Rodríguez, formerly of the Mets, to an incentive-laden, one-year contract with a team option for 2024. If he pitches like his peripheral numbers indicate he can, the signing should prove fruitful for Boston.

Rodríguez will make a base salary of $1.5 million in 2023, with a chance to earn an additional $2.25 million in incentives. He’ll receive a $50,000 bonus if he pitches in 30 games and an extra $50,000 each for reaching the 40-, 50-, 60-, and 70-game plateaus. On top of that, he’ll earn a bigger bonus the longer he remains on the active roster — an extra $500,000 each for logging 30, 60, 90, and 120 days.

Barring a significant injury or complete meltdown, Rodríguez should easily reach 120 days of service time in 2023. In other words, that $2 million bonus is practically money in his pocket. On the other hand, the games-pitched incentive is less of a guarantee. Rodríguez pitched 50-plus games in both of the past two seasons but has yet to cross the 60-game threshold in his MLB career. He has gotten close, however, and 2023 could be the year it finally happens. With the Red Sox, not only will he find himself a little higher up on the bullpen depth chart, but there will also be more relief opportunities to go around, as Boston’s starting rotation is unlikely to pitch quite as deep into games as New York’s. All that to say, he can reasonably expect to earn the $50,000 bonus for pitching 30, 40, and 50 games, and he might pocket another $50,000 for reaching the 60-game plateau; 70 games still seems a little out of reach.

After the deal’s first year, the Red Sox have a team option for $4.25 million (with another $250,000 in games-pitched incentives). If they choose not to exercise the option, Rodríguez receives a $500,000 buyout. In short, the deal is for a minimum of one year and $2 million, with a maximum potential of two years and $8.25 million. Read the rest of this entry »

The White Sox dipped into the free-agent pool this week with their first significant move of the offseason, agreeing to terms with righty Mike Clevinger on a reported one-year, $12 million deal. For the soon-to-be-32 Clevinger, it represents an opportunity to reestablish himself as a reliable mid-rotation starter after struggling to do so with San Diego in his return from his second Tommy John surgery in 2022. For the White Sox, it means adding a relative unknown with some upside to a talented and extremely right-handed rotation featuring 2022 AL Cy Young finalist Dylan Cease, a pair of veterans in the possible last years of their contracts in Lance Lynn and Lucas Giolito, and a 26-year-old Michael Kopech, who is trying to stay healthy for a full season himself after an early-career Tommy John surgery of his own.

The move comes as a bit of a surprise this early in the offseason, with much of the starting pitcher market yet to be sorted out. The reported $12 million value of the contract is a chunk of change higher than both our crowdsourcing and Ben Clemens predicted at $8 and $9 million, respectively. There’s a lot of starting pitching out there in November, including a handful of veterans coming off strong years that might be available for a one-year contract at or around $12 million. Corey Kluber contributed a productive season in Tampa this year, as did Michael Wacha in Boston, though he may require a second year of commitment. Andrew Heaney has generated enough buzz early that he might push that budget, but he’s available. Johnny Cueto was the second most valuable pitcher on these very same White Sox, with 2.4 WAR over 158.1 IP, but at age 36 would likely come at a similarly reasonable rate. So why did Chicago instead jump the market for Clevinger? Read the rest of this entry »

For the 18th consecutive season, the ZiPS projection system is unleashing a full set of prognostications. For more information on the ZiPS projections, please consult this year’s introduction and MLB’s glossary entry. The team order is selected by lot, and today’s team is the Chicago White Sox.

Batters

Imagine you’ve just built your dream home. You had an architect come up with a custom design that you absolutely loved. You hand selected the building materials, from the hardwood floors to the Spanish tiles in the roof. You’re ready to move into your endgame house! But wait, almost forgot, you have to furnish the house too, huh? OK, let’s head down to Crazy Joe’s Discount Furniture and find four dining room chairs without cigarette burns. The maroon couch behind the abandoned Caldor next to the bowling alley that still uses a sign from 1973 looks nice. I’m sure the smell will come out of that Craigslist mattress, and it’s not like you need all of the springs.

The White Sox did so many things well while building up the team, but they face-planted as soon as it was time to compete. Once the fun began, the discipline in the team’s decision-making disappeared. Want the 1980s manager for no reason? Sure! Need to solve the problem of two of your best young bats both essentially being designated hitters? Split the difference and have neither of them be the DH! Surely all that money you were going to use to sign Manny Machado will go towards other budgetary needs? Nope? Well, you’ve got Leury Garcia. Read the rest of this entry »

The Astros capped off a dominant postseason run with a World Series title that showed off a well-rounded and star-studded organization. They won with great starting pitching, great relief pitching, powerful hitting, and excellent defense. This wasn’t a case of a few guys getting hot and carrying a moribund offense, or a heroic member of the rotation piling up innings that no one counted on. The team stacked with good players up and down the roster simply deployed them as expected, and got a parade for its trouble.

It’s funny, in that context, to note that one of the best offenses in baseball had a clear hole at first base. Yuli Gurriel, the longtime incumbent at the position, had an abysmal year, compiling a .242/.288/.360 batting line that represented his second-worst performance in the majors (and his second poor showing in three years). The Astros scored runs at a gaudy clip despite his decline, but they didn’t bury their heads in the sand about Gurriel; they traded for Trey Mancini at the deadline to shore up their first-base options.

Bad news: Mancini wasn’t very good either. He and Gurriel combined to rack up -1.4 WAR with Houston. Yeesh. By the time the playoffs rolled around, the Astros were using unheralded rookie David Hensley as a right-handed DH in lieu of Mancini. It worked well enough to win, but it was a strange look for a team already punting on offense at catcher. Read the rest of this entry »

Associate, Baseball Analytics (Seasonal)

Location: Detroit, MI

Key Responsibilities:

1. Assist with importing, cleaning, and preparing of baseball datasets.
2. Assist with the design, development, testing and support of proprietary data collection and decision-support systems.
3. Design ad hoc SQL queries.
4. Assist with statistical modeling of baseball data.
5. Execute exploratory research and analysis as directed.
6. Review public research on a regular basis.
7. Provide support for important events such as the Rule 4 Draft, the trade deadline, contract negotiations and salary arbitration.
8. Support Baseball Operations, Scouting and Player Development with ad hoc requests.
9. Other duties as assigned by members of the Baseball Operations Department.

Minimum Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

1. Demonstrated familiarity with SQL querying and database design principles.
2. Demonstrated knowledge of baseball-specific data, modern statistical techniques and sabermetric analysis.
3. Familiarity with R/Python and/or other software applications/languages used for statistical calculations and graphical representations.
4. Experience with software development, including requirements definition, design, development, testing, and implementation, a plus.
5. Physics coursework, a plus.
6. Highly motivated with excellent attention to detail.
7. The candidate must have excellent verbal and written communication skills.
8. The candidate must have excellent organizational skills.
9. The candidate must be available full-time.
10. The candidate must be available to work evenings, weekends, and holidays as dictated by the baseball calendar.
11. The candidate is willing and able to relocate to the Detroit metro area.

Working Conditions:

1. Remote working environment; potential for office environment.
2. Some evening, weekend, and holiday hours will be required.

To Apply:
To apply, please follow this link.

Associate, Major League Advance Scouting (Seasonal)

Location: Detroit, MI

Key Responsibilities:

1. Utilize internal software systems to create scouting reports for ML Coaching Staff.
2. Prepare full suite of scouting reports for pre-series preparation.
3. Operate BATS software to provide custom video analysis to coaches and players.
4. Assist with video operations, and the distribution of video to both coaches and players.
5. Various ad hoc tasks to support Major League Advance Scouting.
6. Other duties as assigned by members of the Baseball Operations Department.

Minimum Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

1. Highly motivated with excellent attention to detail.
2. The candidate must have excellent verbal and written communication skills.
3. The candidate must have excellent organizational skills.
4. Demonstrated proficiency with the Microsoft Office suite.
5. The candidate is willing and able to relocate to the Detroit metro area.
6. The candidate must be available full-time.
7. The candidate must be available to work evenings, weekends, and holidays as dictated by the baseball calendar.
8. Familiarity with SQL, R, Shiny, or Python, a plus.

Working Conditions:

1. Clubhouse and office environment, along with remote work.
2. Evening, weekend, and holiday hours will be required.

To Apply:
To apply, please follow this link.

Baseball Performance Associate

Location: Detroit, MI

Job Summary:
The baseball performance associate will assist with the delivery of performance science solutions within Baseball Operations. This role will work closely Baseball Analytics, Player Development, Strength and Conditioning, Sports Medicine and Coaching staffs in order to optimize performance.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Assist with implementation and maintenance of existing performance science initiatives across the organization, including data collection, analysis and reporting.
2. Assist with the design, development, testing and support of new performance science initiatives.
3. Work closely with the Director, Performance Science to develop and disseminate information from performance science initiatives.
4. Effectively collaborate and communicate with player development, coaching, sports medicine, strength and conditioning and front office staff.
5. Assist with data management, organization and integration into the organization’s athlete management system.
6. Review research and technology updates relevant to baseball performance.
7. Perform exploratory performance science research projects and analysis as directed.
8. Assist with the maintenance, calibration and upkeep of performance science related equipment.
9. Other duties as directed by Director, Performance Science

Minimum Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

1. Bachelor’s degree in exercise science, exercise physiology, sports science, kinesiology, biomechanics or similar field.
2. Experience with the following technologies preferred: Force plates, IMUs, motion capture, high speed video, Trackman.
3. Experience using an athlete management system.
4. The ideal candidate must have excellent computer skills. Coding or data visualization skills a plus; R preferred.
5. The ideal candidate must have excellent communication skills. Candidate must be able to convey complex performance science findings to relevant staffs.
6. The ideal candidate must have excellent attention to detail.
7. The ideal candidate must have excellent organizational skills.
8. Previous experience working with professional athletes and coaches a plus.
9. The ideal candidate must be willing to work longs hours, including days, nights, weekends and holidays.
10. The candidate must be available full-time.
11. Willing and able to relocate to the Lakeland, FL area or Detroit metro area.

Working Conditions:

1. Office environment
2. Evening, weekend, and holiday hours required

To Apply:
To apply, please follow this link.

Detroit Tigers Affiliate Systems Operator

The Detroit Tigers are looking for Hawk-Eye and TrackMan systems operators to assist their affiliates day of game. This position will report to the Director, Performance Science.

Location:

• Toledo, OH
• Erie, PA
• Grand Rapids, MI
• Lakeland, FL

Job Summary:

• Operate a Hawk-Eye or TrackMan system for each home game, arriving at least one hour prior to game time (or earlier, as requested).
• Verify system readiness, rosters and pre-game information.
• Log necessary information for each play of the game, including but not limited to pitch types and roster changes. 
• Verify logged data to ensure accuracy.
• Review previously logged data for data accuracy corrections, as necessary.
• Provide data and reports to Baseball Info Analysts conclusion of game, as necessary.
• Other duties may be assigned.

Minimum Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Qualified candidate must be motivated, well organized, and detail orientated.
• Previous experience using hawk-Eye or TrackMan software is preferred but not required.
• Preferred candidate lives in proximity to affiliate location.
• Knowledge of Microsoft office software including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Outlook, and Internet Explorer.

Duration:

• Availability for every home game as determined by each affiliate’s schedule.
• Lakeland requires availability from beginning of Spring Training to end of Minor League schedule. 

To Apply:
To apply, please follow this link.

Amateur Scouting Seasonal Assistant

Key Responsibilities:

1. Assist the amateur scouts, crosscheckers, Assistant Director & Scouting Director in multiple aspects of Amateur Scouting – team sheets, stat sheets, organization of event schedules, etc.
2. Catalogue prospect medical questionnaires and general questionnaires found within the Draft Prospect Link.
3. Provide assistance in video editing/logging/uploading/maintenance within Scouting database.
4. Assist in meeting setup throughout the year.
5. Statistical compilation for all Draft eligible prospects throughout the country.
6. Prospect profile management within Scouting database.
7. Schedule management within database.
8. Gather and distribute research material and articles to Amateur Scouting staff
9. Assist with projects and perform other ad hoc duties as assigned.
10. Seasonal Assistant will work closely throughout the year with Baseball Operations, Analytics and Amateur Scouting.

Minimum Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

1. The ideal candidate must have excellent verbal and written communication skills
2. The ideal candidate must have excellent computer skills and strong Excel knowledge
3. The ideal candidate must have excellent communication skills
4. The ideal candidate must have excellent time management and organizational skills
5. The ideal candidate must be available full-time
6. The ideal candidate must be willing to work longs hours, including days, nights, weekends and holidays.

Working Conditions:

1. Office Environment in Lakeland, FL
2. Some evening, weekend, and holiday hours will be required

To Apply:
To apply, please follow this link.

Baseball Operations & Pro Scouting Assistant

Location: Detroit, MI

Key Responsibilities:

1. Assist baseball operations and pro scouting with day-to-day operations
2. Work with pro scouting on special projects and target lists
3. Review daily reports and information with front office
4. Assist in player acquisition preparation & analysis
5. Support baseball administration and logistics
6. Assist with salary arbitration preparation
7. This position will work closely with the Baseball Operations and Pro Scouting staffs

Minimum Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

1. The ideal candidate must be at least a college senior or recent graduate
2. The ideal candidate must have excellent verbal and written communication skills
3. The ideal candidate must have excellent computer skills and be proficient in Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint, and Word)
4. The ideal candidate must have a general understanding of MLB rules, regulations, and contracts
5. The ideal candidate must have a general understanding of baseball scouting
6. The ideal candidate must have a general understanding of recent analytical baseball research and trends
7. The ideal candidate must have excellent interpersonal skills
8. The ideal candidate must have excellent organizational skills
9. The ideal candidate must be available full-time
10. The ideal candidate must be willing to work longs hours, including days, nights, weekends and holidays.

Working Conditions:

1. Office Environment
2. Some evening, weekend, and holiday hours will be required

To Apply:
To apply, please follow this link.

International Scouting Seasonal Assistant

Location: Lakeland, FL

Key Responsibilities:

• Assist Director/Crosschecker/Manager with travel logistics (airfare, hotel, transportation, etc.).
• Organize Intl Staff travel documents (Visa/Passport/Entrance Docs/etc.).
• Support Scouting and Player Development staff with DR Visa paperwork on newly signed players.
• Assist in logistics involved with periodic departmental meetings.
• Work with Manager to update expense reporting and budget files.
• Assist Scouts with any reporting/information/database needs.
• Gather and maintain information on international amateur and professional players, including but not limited to stats, news, video, bio updates, etc.
• Update internal reports to help identify trends and production within the market.
• Compile daily international media clips.

Minimum Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• The ideal candidate must have excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• The ideal candidate is bilingual with Spanish as the second language.
• The ideal candidate must have excellent computer skills and strong knowledge of Microsoft Excel.
• The ideal candidate must have excellent time management and organizational skills.
• The ideal candidate must be available full-time.
• The ideal candidate must be willing to work long hours, including days, nights, weekends and holidays.

Working Conditions:

• Office Environment in Lakeland, FL
• Some evening, weekend and holiday hours will be required.

To Apply:
To apply, please follow this link.

Nutrition Associate

Location: Detroit, MI

Overview:
The Detroit Tigers Minor League Sports Nutrition Associate is responsible for providing our minor league players and staff with effective strategies to optimize their performance and improve their well-being. Through the benefits of nutrition and science, the sports nutrition associates will enable the Toledo Mud Hens, Erie SeaWolves, and West Michigan White Caps athletes the ability to manage their body composition and perform at their highest level.

Responsibilities:

• Coordinate services with Tigers’ team physicians, athletic trainers, physical therapists, strength and conditioning coaches, MLB Nutrition Coordinator, and MiLB Nutrition Coordinator and be available to such personnel at all reasonable times during the term for consultation.
• Provide regular education in the clubhouse with the flexibility to create nutrition education pieces based on the most pertinent topics to their team. Sessions may be in person and/or via closed social media or online player platforms. Short team talks are to be coordinated with strength coaches/athletic trainers and affiliate coaches.
• Work with other associates at the affiliates to share education pieces to help eliminate duplication of effort and ensure a consistent message across the organization. Have education pieces translated into Spanish. Examples of typical high priority education piece in the minor leagues include:
• Healthier fast food and quick service restaurant options.
• Hydration – how to evaluate hydration status, when to hydrate, how much, use of electrolytes.
• Meal prep – quick and easy, on a budget and with limited cooking resources.
• Protein shakes – recipes, preparation techniques, when to use.
• Pre-training/game nutrition principles.
• Post-game recovery nutrition principles.
• Safe supplementation – NSF certification, is it necessary, safe and effective.
• One on one nutrition consulting – assess and counsel minor-league players at your affiliate team for optimal performance, recovery, and health. Document sessions and regularly communicate with other associates at the affiliates when players move to other affiliates to ensure continuity of care. Keep open communication regarding any relevant issues with the MLB and MiLB Nutrition Coordinators.
• Keep inventory of supplements and identify when supplement inventory is low. Communicate inventory or needs with the MiLB Nutrition Coordinator. Provide education as listed above on safe supplement usage.
• Oversee food and nutrition services at the minor league clubhouse.
• Select and order high performance food for pre and post-game meals at home and away stadiums.
• Work with opposing teams visiting clubhouse mangers to identify options. Utilize feedback from strength coach to assess on the road food and make necessary modifications as necessary.
• Attend all home games and assist in preparation of smoothies (and teach players how to make their own) and food set up.
• Remain available at reasonable times to provide other related consultations as reasonably requested by the Tigers.
• Any equipment purchases must receive prior approval from the organizations.
• Other services and work as mutually agreed upon.

Characteristics & Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in clinical nutrition, food and nutrition, food science, sports nutrition or related expertise required.
• RD or RD eligible. Completion of a didactic program in nutrition and supervised program approved by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) or formally, Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education (CADE) of the American Dietetic Association. 
• Experience providing nutrition education and counseling (preferred experience with athletes).
• Excellent communication, presentation, and counseling skills.
• Excellent time-management and organizational skills.
• Self-motivator, ability to work independently and collaborate as a member of a team.
• Ability to accurately measure height and weight, as well as assess body composition.
• Knowledge of eating disorders and any signs and symptoms.
• Knowledge and application of medical nutrition therapy, ergogenic aids, nutritional/herbal supplements.
• Excellent organizational and record keeping skills.
• Knowledge of food service quality and safety practices.
• Ability to pass background screening and drug test.
• Ability to operate in highest professional standard.
• Membership in SCAN (Sports, Cardiovascular, and Wellness Nutrition and/or CPSDA (Collegiate & Professional Sports Dietitians Association) preferred.

Compensation / Location / Time Commitment:

• To be determined
• Spring Training March-April – Lakeland, FL (length TBD)

To Apply:
To apply, please follow this link.

The content in this posting was created and provided solely by the Detroit Tigers.

The 40-man roster deadline led to the usual squall of transaction activity, with teams turning over portions of their rosters in an effort to make room for the incoming crop of young rookies. Often, teams with an overflow of viable big leaguers will try to get back what they can for some of those players via trade, but because we’re talking about guys straddling the line between major league viability and Triple-A, those trades tend not to be big enough to warrant an entire post.

Here I endeavor to cover and analyze the moves made by each team, division by division. Readers can view this as the start of list season, as the players covered in this miniseries tend to be prospects who will get big league time in the next year. We’ll spend more time discussing players who we think need scouting updates or who we haven’t written about in the past. If you want additional detail on some of the more famous names you find below, pop over to The Board for a more thorough report.

The Future Value grades littered throughout these posts may be different than those on the 2022 in-season prospect lists on The Board to reflect our updated opinions and may be subject to change during the offseason. New to our thinking on this subject and wondering what the FVs mean? Here’s a quick rundown. Note that because we’re talking about close-to-the-majors prospects across this entire exercise, the time and risk component is less present here and these FVs are what we think the players are right now. Read the rest of this entry »

The following article is part of Jay Jaffe’s ongoing look at the candidates on the BBWAA 2022 Hall of Fame ballot. Originally written for the 2019 election, it has been updated to reflect recent voting results as well as additional research. For a detailed introduction to this year’s ballot, and other candidates in the series, use the tool above; an introduction to JAWS can be found here. All WAR figures refer to the Baseball-Reference version unless otherwise indicated.

Baseball at high altitude is weird. The air is less dense, so pitched balls break less and batted balls carry farther — conditions that greatly favor the hitters. Meanwhile, reduced oxygen levels make breathing harder, physical exertion more costly, and recovery times longer. Ever since major league baseball arrived in Colorado in 1993, no player put up with more of this, the pros and cons of playing at a mile-high elevation, than Todd Helton.

A Knoxville native whose career path initially led to the gridiron, ahead of Peyton Manning on the University of Tennessee quarterback depth chart, Helton shifted his emphasis back to baseball in college and spent his entire 17-year career (1997–2013) playing for the Rockies. “The Toddfather” was without a doubt the greatest player in franchise history, its leader in most major offensive counting stat categories. He made five All-Star teams, won three Gold Gloves, a slash line triple crown — leading in batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage in the same season — and served as a starter and a team leader for two playoff teams, including Colorado’s only pennant winner. He posted batting averages above .300 12 times, on-base percentages above .400 nine times, and slugging percentages above .500 eight times. He mashed 40 doubles or more seven times and 30 homers or more six times; twice, he topped 400 total bases, a feat that only one other player (Sammy Sosa) has repeated in the post-1960 expansion era. He drew at least 100 walks in a season five times, yet only struck out 100 times or more once; nine times, he walked more than he struck out. Read the rest of this entry »

One of the most common arguments against the designated hitter coming to the National League was that it would cause a decline in pinch-hitting, therefore removing an element of strategy from the game. It was inevitable, after all, that pinch-hitting opportunities would dry up without pitchers to sub out. Lo and behold, offensive substitutions in the NL decreased by more than 60% from 2021 to ’22, with teams sending just 1,647 pinch-hitters to the plate this past season, compared to 4,438 the year before.

Thankfully, for those of us who missed the glorious art of pinch-hitting, there was still a way to get our fix: the San Francisco Giants. They used 258 pinch-hitters in 2022 — 95 more than the team with the next-highest total, the Athletics. It’s also a whopping 222 more than the team with the fewest pinch-hit plate appearances, the Rockies. It’s so many pinch-hitters, in fact, that the Giants wouldn’t have looked out of place in the pitcher-hitting era. They used more bats off the bench in 2022 than one NL team, the Cardinals, used in 2021. In the first full year of the universal DH, the Giants were still pinch-hitting at a pre-DH rate. Read the rest of this entry »

For the 18th consecutive season, the ZiPS projection system is unleashing a full set of prognostications. For more information on the ZiPS projections, please consult this year’s introduction and MLB’s glossary entry. The team order is selected by lot, and the first team to go this year is the Boston Red Sox.

Batters

The Red Sox finished fourth in the American League in runs scored in 2022, but there’s no denying that removing Xander Bogaerts and J.D. Martinez from the roster is a giant hit for the team to take. They may replace the missing value (if not all of it), but it’s a roster with a lot of work to do to be an elite unit. The projections see the offense as being driven mostly by Rafael Devers and Trevor Story, with Story getting quite the bullish projection. Having Triston Casas on the team would be helpful on average, and he has far more upside than either Eric Hosmer or Bobby Dalbec, but as of right now, the team will unfortunately be able to find quite a lot of playing time for the latter two, at least as the roster currently stands. Read the rest of this entry »