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10 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
Oh!
You never have too many arms. 
So I'll share the close:
The Masterson deal, meanwhile, is a classic buy-low move. Drafted and developed by the Red Sox, Masterson moseyed over to Cleveland in 2009 as part of the Victor Martinez trade. Two years later he was one of the best starters in the game, tossing 216 innings and flashing a 3.21 ERA. He’s been wildly inconsistent since, posting ERAs of 4.93, 3.45, and 5.88 over the next three seasons, with surging and diving strikeout and walk rates to match. At his best, Masterson has one-strikeout-per-inning stuff, with enough command to make him an effective innings eater (he hurled 206.1 frames in 2012 and 193 in 2013 before his injury-plagued debacle season in 2014). At his worst, he’s an injury risk and potential arsonist at Fenway.
But just like Porcello and Miley, Masterson’s pitches result in lots and lots of lots of ground balls. Since his 2008 rookie year, Masterson ranks fifth among all starting pitchers with a 56.6 percent ground ball rate; three of the pitchers ahead of him are now out of baseball, and the fourth, Tim Hudson, might be near retirement. Given how high the years and dollars climbed for Lester (and surely will for Max Scherzer and James Shields), Masterson’s ground balls alone make him well worth the relatively tiny investment the Sox made to bring him back.
Boston still has some distance to go if it wants to challenge for another division title, though. The three new guys along with Clay Buchholz and Joe Kelly offer the prospect of competence (plus a zillion grounders), but that rotation lacks a lights-out ace. The outfield has plenty of depth to cover Cespedes’s loss,2 but if his replacement winds up being a gimpy Shane Victorino and a mishmash of other guys, that’s still a notable downgrade. And as we’ve already discussed, Ramirez offers both offensive upside and significant implosion potential.
It’s still only December 11, so we should expect more moves from Boston between now and spring training, but the team has done quite a bit already. The Sox landed three capable starters as the winter meetings came to a close, and they did so with most of their money and all of their Mookie Betts/Henry Owens–caliber prospects still holstered.3 That might not be sexy, but it’s a pretty solid way to end a trip to San Diego.
http://grantland.com/the-triangle/boston-red-sox-rick-porcello-yoenis-cespedes-trade-wade-miley-justin-masterson/
But just like Porcello and Miley, Masterson’s pitches result in lots and lots of lots of ground balls. Since his 2008 rookie year, Masterson ranks fifth among all starting pitchers with a 56.6 percent ground ball rate; three of the pitchers ahead of him are now out of baseball, and the fourth, Tim Hudson, might be near retirement. Given how high the years and dollars climbed for Lester (and surely will for Max Scherzer and James Shields), Masterson’s ground balls alone make him well worth the relatively tiny investment the Sox made to bring him back.
Boston still has some distance to go if it wants to challenge for another division title, though. The three new guys along with Clay Buchholz and Joe Kelly offer the prospect of competence (plus a zillion grounders), but that rotation lacks a lights-out ace. The outfield has plenty of depth to cover Cespedes’s loss,2 but if his replacement winds up being a gimpy Shane Victorino and a mishmash of other guys, that’s still a notable downgrade. And as we’ve already discussed, Ramirez offers both offensive upside and significant implosion potential.
It’s still only December 11, so we should expect more moves from Boston between now and spring training, but the team has done quite a bit already. The Sox landed three capable starters as the winter meetings came to a close, and they did so with most of their money and all of their Mookie Betts/Henry Owens–caliber prospects still holstered.3 That might not be sexy, but it’s a pretty solid way to end a trip to San Diego.
http://grantland.com/the-triangle/boston-red-sox-rick-porcello-yoenis-cespedes-trade-wade-miley-justin-masterson/
Still a long time to go until Truck Day in Boston.
Castigating and praising the front offices is a tradition this time of year! 
I need to get some glasses.
