Ian Kinsler Plays for the Red Sox Now
With a record of 67-37, the Yankees have been the second-best team in all of baseball. And yet those same Yankees are likely to have to survive a one-game wild-card playoff, because for as good as they’ve been, the Red Sox are six games better in the standings. They’re on pace to win either 112 or 113 games, depending on how you round your decimals, and yet even that good of a team can still have the occasional weakness. For example! Dustin Pedroia has been unable to get all the way healthy. Second base, then, has mostly belonged to Eduardo Nunez and Brock Holt, and together they have been bad. The Red Sox have gotten a below-replacement performance from the keystone, so it’s an area they thought about improving.
You may consider the position improved. The Sox have moved to pick up a rental.
Red Sox get:
Angels get:
There is some money changing hands, but it doesn’t do much to change the equation. The Red Sox are almost certain to exceed the highest competitive-balance-tax threshold of $237 million, which comes with financial and draft-related penalties, but they don’t seem to mind, provided the team can get better. Kinsler makes the team better, even if only a little bit. The Red Sox were already so strong.
Given that Kinsler is 36 years old, he’s past the best offensive days of his career. He’s been hotter lately, shaking off an early slump, and even the overall reduced version of Kinsler now seems like more of a threat than Nunez. More importantly, whether you go by Defensive Runs Saved or Ultimate Zone Rating, Kinsler ranks as the second-best defensive second baseman. He has a long track record of being an outstanding defender, and you certainly couldn’t say that for Nunez. Kinsler is also better in that regard than Holt, so even if the bat is diminished, Kinsler is going to take hits away. Value is value, however it comes.
This has the additional effect of freeing up Nunez and/or Holt to play more third base, with Rafael Devers on the disabled list. Devers, you’d think, would be all the way back well in advance of the playoffs, but there are still games to win today. There are still the Yankees to try to fend off. This gets more complicated if Pedroia starts to feel markedly better, but I don’t think anyone’s counting on that.
For the Angels, it hurts to say goodbye, because Kinsler was a part of what they thought would be a good thing. But it’s long been evident this season wasn’t going to work out, so at least the front office isn’t coming away empty-handed. Both Buttrey and Jerez are relievers — Buttrey 25, and Jerez 26. Buttrey seems like the better of the two, but they’ve both been pitching in Triple-A, with fair amounts of success. There have been 276 Triple-A pitchers with at least 40 innings. Buttrey ranks fifth in strikeout rate, while Jerez checks in at 20th. Buttrey, also, ranks fifth in K-BB%. He pitches off of a huge fastball, and this season his strikeouts have surged while his walks have gone down.
It’s funny — the Red Sox have talked about needing bullpen help, and Buttrey might’ve been able to be that guy. But now he’ll join the Angels instead, and it shouldn’t be long before both these guys get major-league looks. Neither is a lock to really do anything, but as the Angels look ahead to a hopefully more competitive 2019, these could be a couple of bullpen solutions. Kinsler’s contract is up in some months.
This is how rental trades usually work. The Angels just decided to go for high-minors relievers instead of low-minors starters. And so now we’ll see if the Red Sox fill the bullpen slot Buttrey didn’t get a chance to take. Heaven knows there are plenty of relievers available.
Jeff made Lookout Landing a thing, but he does not still write there about the Mariners. He does write here, sometimes about the Mariners, but usually not.
Kind of funny that after all these years, Kinsler is replacing Pedroia, after Pedroia knocked Kinsler off his SS spot in college. Knowing the mentality of those two, I’ve always thought there might be a bit of an underlying rivalry there.
This is a super interesting anecdote
iirc they friends
Always amazing how the first month of a season can influence the perception of a player’s year. I had no idea Kinsler had turned his 2019 campaign around to post 2.0 WAR already.
Updated the trade ticker and saw Osuna and Kinsler were traded and clicked on ESPN (ESPN!!!) before shielding my eyes and going to Fangraphs.. Sheryl must be sleeping. However I’m sure someone else who once made a racist comment in 3rd grade will be traded tomorrow and Sheryl will grace us with her presence the following day on whatever clickbaity article she could write that would bring out the passion in all of us. And I will see the 164 comments and I won’t want to click but like a phene I will click and comment at least 11 times.
in regards to the trade..meh. I don’t really think Kinsler is better than Nunez. From the Angels standpoint, they seem obsessed with signing average minor league RP and hoping one of them becomes solid.
Nunez is a decent utility short stop, a pretty good third baseman, and the worst second baseman I’ve ever seen. Second base is radioactive to him. He discovers new ways to butcher a play twice a week without actually committing an error. Then there’s the errors. This guy is a miracle of bad play at a crucial position. He’s so bad I can’t blame him for it. It’s cruel to play him there.
This from the team that brought us Hanley Ramirez’s Exciting Adventures in Left Field™.
On the other side of the ledger, there’s not much downside to giving up two 25/26 year old minor league relievers. As a Sox fan (sorry, everyone) who isn’t happy with the Eovaldi trade, this feels like they gave up less to get more.
“However I’m sure someone else who once made a racist comment in 3rd grade will be traded tomorrow and Sheryl will grace us with her presence the following day on whatever clickbaity article she could write”
You nailed it. And if she doesn’t do it, somebody at Hardball Times certainly will.
This used to be a great baseball website once, properly devoid of politics.
And yet, here YOU are writing about politics in an article about Ian Kinsler.
If you don’t like the website, then go away.
Most my comment was in jest, just playing devils advocate. I do sympathize with Fangraphs decision to pander for clicks. These are simple business decisions, and generally you can’t have something to good before it decides to sell out. Musicians do this, social media does this, politicians do this. It’s just the way of the world. I don’t blame Fangraphs, but that doesn’t mean I have to be happy with the end product.
The funny part about this is I tend to agree with Sheryl, I just find she seems a little sheltered to the way the world actually is and comes off as stubborn and disagreeable. Some of the first few articles she wrote she was literally arguing with readers in the comments before someone from Fangraphs likely told her to cool it.
And I do continue to come back, because despite its shortcomings its the only site that produces solid content daily.
(edit) “If you don’t like it leave”. Ha. Wp sir. That one took me a second.
Like what the Sox did. This keeps Nunez away from 2b for good and Sox don’t need put Lin in for the division push. As far as Sox trading Buttrey- I think he’s 6th inning type of pitcher. 7th inning for a bad team.
rumor has it the Brewers were going to pull the trigger on this deal until Kinsler found out that Craig Counsell wanted him to learn how to play small forward
Why the downvotes? I thought this was funny
Same. Made me lol. This makes me half jokingly wanna see them try 6’4″ Shaw at C
Kinsler once gave an interview where he good-naturedly imitated a fan at Fenway yelling, “Hey Kins-lah, you suck!”
It will be nice to see Nunez not playing second anymore but it is ironic that the deal comes the day after he did most of the hard lifting in last night’s victory.