2015 Redsox starting lineup prediction

[TwinTower14]

I'm not convinced it'll be Castillo in CF and Betts in Right. I could see that flip flopped. Castillo has the better arm, and I think Betts with more experience will improve to the point where he's an above average CF.

Frankly, I don't really understand the Castillo signing very well. Strikes me as the MLB equivalent of giving a max deal to someone like Tayshaun Prince, Jeff Green, Nicholas Batum or Boris Diaw.

He's supposed to be a very good outfielder with a lot of speed and can hit.  It's a big risk though.  The success of Cespedes, Puig, and Abreu made Castillo a lot of money.  And I think the Red Sox were planning on Bradley Jr. to be their center fielder of the future, but he's shown that he may never hit which made the Sox desperate.  I'm skeptical, but excited to see what he can do.

My understanding is that he's a decent outfielder with decent speed who is a decent hitter. So pretty much doing everything Ellsbury was doing, except not that well. But then again, maybe I'm wrong because I can't say I understand baseball all that well.

Is he that much different from someone like Betts, really? Wouldn't they have been better off with a placeholder year from Victorino, until they can sign someone that can play right and hit with power?

The reports coming out of Cuba on Castillo was that he was a GG caliber RF but he could play a good CF.  He has elite speed, probably the fastest guy on the team ( him or Betts )...

I can see Castillo hitting about .270 with 15 homers and 30 bags, they compare him to a Victorino in his prime years.  He played well in the small sample size in the bigs and he played well in the AFL before he hurt his thumb. 

I like the Castillo signing because they know that JBJ is not a major leaguer...you can't have a pitcher hitting in your line-up every night, even though he plays good defense....

I think JBJ's poor hitting surprised the team and forced them to act on Castillo.  If he does play to the projections you mentioned, he will be a bargain.  He certainly looks capable of that in his limited time so far.

Getting Panda and Hanley is huge for him because it takes the pressure off him.  He can hit 7th or 8th and not be counted on as a middle of the order bat or table setter.  He can just play...

Still think they get Lester and trade for another pitcher after that.  The Sox have a ton of cash coming off the books next season and 30% of their every day line-up will be making league mini...

Henry is going to bite the bullet this year and spend around 200 million plus and then the payroll will fall back in line next season...

And plus the free agent list for position players next offseason is pretty bad, so they needed to act now.

Good point, I can't believe how aggressive they are being, I guess when your team is terrible you have a lot of time to plan and get creative.....

[knuckleballer]

I'm not convinced it'll be Castillo in CF and Betts in Right. I could see that flip flopped. Castillo has the better arm, and I think Betts with more experience will improve to the point where he's an above average CF.

Frankly, I don't really understand the Castillo signing very well. Strikes me as the MLB equivalent of giving a max deal to someone like Tayshaun Prince, Jeff Green, Nicholas Batum or Boris Diaw.

He's supposed to be a very good outfielder with a lot of speed and can hit.  It's a big risk though.  The success of Cespedes, Puig, and Abreu made Castillo a lot of money.  And I think the Red Sox were planning on Bradley Jr. to be their center fielder of the future, but he's shown that he may never hit which made the Sox desperate.  I'm skeptical, but excited to see what he can do.

My understanding is that he's a decent outfielder with decent speed who is a decent hitter. So pretty much doing everything Ellsbury was doing, except not that well. But then again, maybe I'm wrong because I can't say I understand baseball all that well.

Is he that much different from someone like Betts, really? Wouldn't they have been better off with a placeholder year from Victorino, until they can sign someone that can play right and hit with power?

The reports coming out of Cuba on Castillo was that he was a GG caliber RF but he could play a good CF.  He has elite speed, probably the fastest guy on the team ( him or Betts )...

I can see Castillo hitting about .270 with 15 homers and 30 bags, they compare him to a Victorino in his prime years.  He played well in the small sample size in the bigs and he played well in the AFL before he hurt his thumb. 

I like the Castillo signing because they know that JBJ is not a major leaguer...you can't have a pitcher hitting in your line-up every night, even though he plays good defense....

I think JBJ's poor hitting surprised the team and forced them to act on Castillo.  If he does play to the projections you mentioned, he will be a bargain.  He certainly looks capable of that in his limited time so far.

Getting Panda and Hanley is huge for him because it takes the pressure off him.  He can hit 7th or 8th and not be counted on as a middle of the order bat or table setter.  He can just play...

Still think they get Lester and trade for another pitcher after that.  The Sox have a ton of cash coming off the books next season and 30% of their every day line-up will be making league mini...

Henry is going to bite the bullet this year and spend around 200 million plus and then the payroll will fall back in line next season...

That's what I'm thinking too.  They should be a lot of fun next year.

[Tr1boy]

Sox opening day line-up next year will be -

Bett RF
Dusty 2B
Ortiz DH
Cespedes LF
Panda 3B
Ramirez SS
Napoli 1B
Castillo CF
Vazquez C

Cespedes is not going to be traded imo.

Starting pitching hopefully

Lester
?
Bucholz
Kelly
De la rosa/Owens

So you have the Sox trading Xander and not Cespedes?  Just curious on your logic there?  Just about every national baseball guy has Cespedes gone: ( Gammons, Olny etc...)

Hanley can't physically play SS anymore, he will be playing LF...they didn't give him 90 million to kick balls around the infield, he will be asked to play LF and mash at Fenway...

Agreed.  That doesn't make much sense.

I hope to heck that the Sox aren't dumb enough to try and plug Hanley at SS on an everyday basis. His defense is pretty atrocious at this point.

Boegarts stunk last year while cespedes very good. Put betts as the ss. Doesnt matter with me. But keep cespedes instead of boegarts

[Nerf DPOY]

Sox opening day line-up next year will be -

Bett RF
Dusty 2B
Ortiz DH
Cespedes LF
Panda 3B
Ramirez SS
Napoli 1B
Castillo CF
Vazquez C

Cespedes is not going to be traded imo.

Starting pitching hopefully

Lester
?
Bucholz
Kelly
De la rosa/Owens

So you have the Sox trading Xander and not Cespedes?  Just curious on your logic there?  Just about every national baseball guy has Cespedes gone: ( Gammons, Olny etc...)

Hanley can't physically play SS anymore, he will be playing LF...they didn't give him 90 million to kick balls around the infield, he will be asked to play LF and mash at Fenway...

Agreed.  That doesn't make much sense.

I hope to heck that the Sox aren't dumb enough to try and plug Hanley at SS on an everyday basis. His defense is pretty atrocious at this point.

Boegarts stunk last year while cespedes very good. Put betts as the ss. Doesnt matter with me. But keep cespedes instead of boegarts

If they believed Betts could stick at SS, they wouldn't have almost immediately moved him off SS when he started his pro career.

SS's that can hit are like gold and organizations are extremely patient if they think a player can stick there in the big leagues.

[Tr1boy]

Boegarts is not a natural ss either.

We really didnt need ramirez.  Should of used the money to secure lester and go aftet scherzer or price

[Donoghus]

Sox opening day line-up next year will be -

Bett RF
Dusty 2B
Ortiz DH
Cespedes LF
Panda 3B
Ramirez SS
Napoli 1B
Castillo CF
Vazquez C

Cespedes is not going to be traded imo.

Starting pitching hopefully

Lester
?
Bucholz
Kelly
De la rosa/Owens

So you have the Sox trading Xander and not Cespedes?  Just curious on your logic there?  Just about every national baseball guy has Cespedes gone: ( Gammons, Olny etc...)

Hanley can't physically play SS anymore, he will be playing LF...they didn't give him 90 million to kick balls around the infield, he will be asked to play LF and mash at Fenway...

Agreed.  That doesn't make much sense.

I hope to heck that the Sox aren't dumb enough to try and plug Hanley at SS on an everyday basis. His defense is pretty atrocious at this point.

Boegarts stunk last year while cespedes very good. Put betts as the ss. Doesnt matter with me. But keep cespedes instead of boegarts

Cespedes will be 29 on opening day with one year left on his contract and he's probably at a point now where he's at his peak for production or just coming down from it.  He could very well walk after next season or the Sox might just let him walk.

Bogaerts won't be even 23 until after next season and the Sox have him cost controlled for the near future.   I don't think he's even arbitration eligible for another 2-3 years. His game will grow and he's a lot cheaper.   

Cespedes is much more likely to be moved by the Red Sox and I have no doubt that the Sox hold Bogaerts in higher regard for the future either as franchise piece or as a trade chip.

[Tr1boy]

Sox opening day line-up next year will be -

Bett RF
Dusty 2B
Ortiz DH
Cespedes LF
Panda 3B
Ramirez SS
Napoli 1B
Castillo CF
Vazquez C

Cespedes is not going to be traded imo.

Starting pitching hopefully

Lester
?
Bucholz
Kelly
De la rosa/Owens

So you have the Sox trading Xander and not Cespedes?  Just curious on your logic there?  Just about every national baseball guy has Cespedes gone: ( Gammons, Olny etc...)

Hanley can't physically play SS anymore, he will be playing LF...they didn't give him 90 million to kick balls around the infield, he will be asked to play LF and mash at Fenway...

Agreed.  That doesn't make much sense.

I hope to heck that the Sox aren't dumb enough to try and plug Hanley at SS on an everyday basis. His defense is pretty atrocious at this point.

Boegarts stunk last year while cespedes very good. Put betts as the ss. Doesnt matter with me. But keep cespedes instead of boegarts

Cespedes will be 29 on opening day with one year left on his contract and he's probably at a point now where he's at his peak for production or just coming down from it.  He could very well walk after next season or the Sox might just let him walk.

Bogaerts won't be even 23 until after next season and the Sox have him cost controlled for the near future.   I don't think he's even arbitration eligible for another 2-3 years. His game will grow and he's a lot cheaper.   

Cespedes is much more likely to be moved by the Red Sox and I have no doubt that the Sox hold Bogaerts in higher regard for the future either as franchise piece or as a trade chip.

How many chances has boegarts had to prove himself? 

Cespedes is a dangerous hitter. A's offense was not the same after he was traded. And our offense suddenly became more dangerous. Thats the impact he brings.

Panda and ramirez are good hitters but they are not ortiz or cespedes good . Imo we need to keep cespedes bc the goal is to win now

Trade boegarts and another prospect for hamels

[Donoghus]

How many chances has boegarts had to prove himself? 

Ummm...roughly just over a season's worth of games if you take postseason into account.

That's not a lot.  Especially for a (now) 22 year old.   Waaaay too soon to be giving up on the guy although I'm sure the Sox would include him a trade package for the right guy.

Cespedes will not be on the Red Sox a year from now.  Probably even sooner than that. 

[Tr1boy]

How many chances has boegarts had to prove himself? 

Ummm...roughly just over a season's worth of games if you take postseason into account.

That's not a lot.  Especially for a (now) 22 year old.   Waaaay too soon to be giving up on the guy although I'm sure the Sox would include him a trade package for the right guy.

Cespedes will not be on the Red Sox a year from now.  Probably even sooner than that.

It doesnt matter if Cespedes is walking after this season. He is a guy you get as a rental anyways.

And we dont know if Boegarts will get better or not. 

If we can get a starting pitcher for boegarts you do the trade. Unlikely you get another jon lester like pitcher for cespedes.  Prob prospects

[knuckleballer]

Sox opening day line-up next year will be -

Bett RF
Dusty 2B
Ortiz DH
Cespedes LF
Panda 3B
Ramirez SS
Napoli 1B
Castillo CF
Vazquez C

Cespedes is not going to be traded imo.

Starting pitching hopefully

Lester
?
Bucholz
Kelly
De la rosa/Owens

So you have the Sox trading Xander and not Cespedes?  Just curious on your logic there?  Just about every national baseball guy has Cespedes gone: ( Gammons, Olny etc...)

Hanley can't physically play SS anymore, he will be playing LF...they didn't give him 90 million to kick balls around the infield, he will be asked to play LF and mash at Fenway...

Agreed.  That doesn't make much sense.

I hope to heck that the Sox aren't dumb enough to try and plug Hanley at SS on an everyday basis. His defense is pretty atrocious at this point.

Boegarts stunk last year while cespedes very good. Put betts as the ss. Doesnt matter with me. But keep cespedes instead of boegarts

Cespedes will be 29 on opening day with one year left on his contract and he's probably at a point now where he's at his peak for production or just coming down from it.  He could very well walk after next season or the Sox might just let him walk.

Bogaerts won't be even 23 until after next season and the Sox have him cost controlled for the near future.   I don't think he's even arbitration eligible for another 2-3 years. His game will grow and he's a lot cheaper.   

Cespedes is much more likely to be moved by the Red Sox and I have no doubt that the Sox hold Bogaerts in higher regard for the future either as franchise piece or as a trade chip.

How many chances has boegarts had to prove himself?  As

Cespedes is a dangerous hitter. A's offense was not the same after he was traded. And our offense suddenly became more dangerous. Thats the impact he brings.

Panda and ramirez are good hitters but they are not ortiz or cespedes good . Imo we need to keep cespedes bc the goal is to win now

Trade boegarts and another prospect for hamels

How many chances has he had to prove himself???  Are you kidding?  He was a 21 year old rookie last year.  At the same age Derek Jeter was still in the minors.  And he was awesome in the 2013 World Series.  SMH.

Cespedes is as good as gone. 

On a side note, has anyone heard of 14 year old Jake Wesley?  He is beating all the professional baseball journalists to the punch in reporting the offseason transactions.  They are dumbfounded in knowing how he is doing it.  It's hilarious.

[TwinTower14]

Sox opening day line-up next year will be -

Bett RF
Dusty 2B
Ortiz DH
Cespedes LF
Panda 3B
Ramirez SS
Napoli 1B
Castillo CF
Vazquez C

Cespedes is not going to be traded imo.

Starting pitching hopefully

Lester
?
Bucholz
Kelly
De la rosa/Owens

So you have the Sox trading Xander and not Cespedes?  Just curious on your logic there?  Just about every national baseball guy has Cespedes gone: ( Gammons, Olny etc...)

Hanley can't physically play SS anymore, he will be playing LF...they didn't give him 90 million to kick balls around the infield, he will be asked to play LF and mash at Fenway...

Agreed.  That doesn't make much sense.

I hope to heck that the Sox aren't dumb enough to try and plug Hanley at SS on an everyday basis. His defense is pretty atrocious at this point.

Boegarts stunk last year while cespedes very good. Put betts as the ss. Doesnt matter with me. But keep cespedes instead of boegarts

Cespedes will be 29 on opening day with one year left on his contract and he's probably at a point now where he's at his peak for production or just coming down from it.  He could very well walk after next season or the Sox might just let him walk.

Bogaerts won't be even 23 until after next season and the Sox have him cost controlled for the near future.   I don't think he's even arbitration eligible for another 2-3 years. His game will grow and he's a lot cheaper.   

Cespedes is much more likely to be moved by the Red Sox and I have no doubt that the Sox hold Bogaerts in higher regard for the future either as franchise piece or as a trade chip.

How many chances has boegarts had to prove himself?  As

Cespedes is a dangerous hitter. A's offense was not the same after he was traded. And our offense suddenly became more dangerous. Thats the impact he brings.

Panda and ramirez are good hitters but they are not ortiz or cespedes good . Imo we need to keep cespedes bc the goal is to win now

Trade boegarts and another prospect for hamels

How many chances has he had to prove himself???  Are you kidding?  He was a 21 year old rookie last year.  At the same age Derek Jeter was still in the minors.  And he was awesome in the 2013 World Series.  SMH.

Cespedes is as good as gone. 

On a side note, has anyone heard of 14 year old Jake Wesley?  He is beating all the professional baseball journalists to the punch in reporting the offseason transactions.  They are dumbfounded in knowing how he is doing it.  It's hilarious.

Lou Merloni was shaking that kid down last night on Twitter, apparently he has someone inside the Organization?  I am guessing a family member or parent?  He nailed the Hanley, Panda signings and he said that the Lester is coming back....I following him on twitter, he has broken a few other things too....

He is going to be on the sports hub today at 4:40 I believe...

[TwinTower14]

How many chances has boegarts had to prove himself? 

Ummm...roughly just over a season's worth of games if you take postseason into account.

That's not a lot.  Especially for a (now) 22 year old.   Waaaay too soon to be giving up on the guy although I'm sure the Sox would include him a trade package for the right guy.

Cespedes will not be on the Red Sox a year from now.  Probably even sooner than that.

It doesnt matter if Cespedes is walking after this season. He is a guy you get as a rental anyways.

And we dont know if Boegarts will get better or not. 

If we can get a starting pitcher for boegarts you do the trade. Unlikely you get another jon lester like pitcher for cespedes.  Prob prospects

completely disagree with you on Xander - you don't trade him unless you are getting an elite pitcher back and when I say elite I am talking Chris Sale etc...

He is an elite prospect, who is 22 years old, SS that hit for power don't grow on trees especially in the post steroid era.  He is an untouchable in my eyes..

I am willing to bet that Xander will be on the all-star team next season as a SS, he was trending that way this year until they messed with him....He finished strong and is spending the whole winter with Dusty at API, he is going to have a monster season.  No pressure with him this year either, especially with Panda and Hanley in the middle of the line-up now...

[knuckleballer]

Sox opening day line-up next year will be -

Bett RF
Dusty 2B
Ortiz DH
Cespedes LF
Panda 3B
Ramirez SS
Napoli 1B
Castillo CF
Vazquez C

Cespedes is not going to be traded imo.

Starting pitching hopefully

Lester
?
Bucholz
Kelly
De la rosa/Owens

So you have the Sox trading Xander and not Cespedes?  Just curious on your logic there?  Just about every national baseball guy has Cespedes gone: ( Gammons, Olny etc...)

Hanley can't physically play SS anymore, he will be playing LF...they didn't give him 90 million to kick balls around the infield, he will be asked to play LF and mash at Fenway...

Agreed.  That doesn't make much sense.

I hope to heck that the Sox aren't dumb enough to try and plug Hanley at SS on an everyday basis. His defense is pretty atrocious at this point.

Boegarts stunk last year while cespedes very good. Put betts as the ss. Doesnt matter with me. But keep cespedes instead of boegarts

Cespedes will be 29 on opening day with one year left on his contract and he's probably at a point now where he's at his peak for production or just coming down from it.  He could very well walk after next season or the Sox might just let him walk.

Bogaerts won't be even 23 until after next season and the Sox have him cost controlled for the near future.   I don't think he's even arbitration eligible for another 2-3 years. His game will grow and he's a lot cheaper.   

Cespedes is much more likely to be moved by the Red Sox and I have no doubt that the Sox hold Bogaerts in higher regard for the future either as franchise piece or as a trade chip.

How many chances has boegarts had to prove himself?  As

Cespedes is a dangerous hitter. A's offense was not the same after he was traded. And our offense suddenly became more dangerous. Thats the impact he brings.

Panda and ramirez are good hitters but they are not ortiz or cespedes good . Imo we need to keep cespedes bc the goal is to win now

Trade boegarts and another prospect for hamels

How many chances has he had to prove himself???  Are you kidding?  He was a 21 year old rookie last year.  At the same age Derek Jeter was still in the minors.  And he was awesome in the 2013 World Series.  SMH.

Cespedes is as good as gone. 

On a side note, has anyone heard of 14 year old Jake Wesley?  He is beating all the professional baseball journalists to the punch in reporting the offseason transactions.  They are dumbfounded in knowing how he is doing it.  It's hilarious.

Lou Merloni was shaking that kid down last night on Twitter, apparently he has someone inside the Organization?  I am guessing a family member or parent?  He nailed the Hanley, Panda signings and he said that the Lester is coming back....I following him on twitter, he has broken a few other things too....

He is going to be on the sports hub today at 4:40 I believe...

Didn't he also break the Stanton contract?  The kid is awesome.  I sure hope he is right about Lester.

[Donoghus]

How many chances has boegarts had to prove himself? 

Ummm...roughly just over a season's worth of games if you take postseason into account.

That's not a lot.  Especially for a (now) 22 year old.   Waaaay too soon to be giving up on the guy although I'm sure the Sox would include him a trade package for the right guy.

Cespedes will not be on the Red Sox a year from now.  Probably even sooner than that.

It doesnt matter if Cespedes is walking after this season. He is a guy you get as a rental anyways.

And we dont know if Boegarts will get better or not. 

If we can get a starting pitcher for boegarts you do the trade. Unlikely you get another jon lester like pitcher for cespedes.  Prob prospects

completely disagree with you on Xander - you don't trade him unless you are getting an elite pitcher back and when I say elite I am talking Chris Sale etc...

He is an elite prospect, who is 22 years old, SS that hit for power don't grow on trees especially in the post steroid era.  He is an untouchable in my eyes..

Agreed.  It's really Baseball GM 101.  Hmmm.....trade the serviceable (but replaceable) 29 year old OF who is in the last year of his contract and will cost you to re-sign or trade the 21 year old SS blue chip prospect whose best seasons are certainly ahead of him AND is under team cost control for 3 more seasons?  Tough one, huh?

You only trade Bogaerts  as part of a package deal if you're getting back an absolute stud.  Talking proven top of the rotation guy.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

Regardless of anyone's opinion of Cespedes, he's likely gone, particularly considering he's been rumored to a be a bit difficult with coaches and doesn't even want to be in Boston.

Bogaerts is considered by many an elite talent who is still quite young and has plenty of time to improve, especially given all the big hitters he'll have around him now.

I was initially surprised by the Hanley deal, because I hadn't even heard it rumored, and I also know from living near L.A. that his defense is terrible and Dodgers fans are always complaining about it, but he certainly can hit, and there should be a lot of good defensive players in his general area of the field (Betts, Sandoval, Bogaerts), so I'm willing to give it a chance.