Red Sox Hit The Reset Button
6 months and 10 passed balls by Josh Paul later, the Red Sox have reacquired Doug Mirabelli from San Diego.
Mirabelli, who has demonstrated the rare ability to catch Tim Wakefield's knuckleball, was initially traded for 2B Mark Loretta. While it initially appeared to be a good deal, the need for someone who can catch Wake quickly became apparent. The Padres' signing of Mike Piazza to catch and Mirabelli's .182 batting average contributed to San Diego's willingness to deal.
Kudos to the Sox office for not being too proud to admit they made a mistake; there is no word, however, on whether or not they've begun negotiations to reacquire Bronson Arroyo.
posted by Alex @ 11:07 AM
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3 Comments:
Mirabelli batted .228 last year in 50 games; he's batting .182 in his first 22 ABs this year.
His '05 numbers put him just barely above replacement level; his VORP was 4.8 compared to Varitek's 45.6. His production may now be below replacement-level.
Question: How many passed balls does he have to prevent (compared to Boston's other catching options) for his net contribution to be positive?
I don't have an answer to that question at my fingertips, but at least I know which question we (and the Sox) should be asking.
And I'm obviously suspicious that the net value of his contribution is negative.
Ya, but you liked the Arroyo trade, so we know how wrong you can be, Avi.
Let's see, at the age of 28 Arroyo pitched 205 innings of below-average ball: his RSAA was minus-2.
There is no reason for a team with Boston's budget to be wasting roster space on a below-average starter.
I'll grant that DiNardo's starts have been less than impressive, but there's still no obvious reason the Sox should've kept Arroyo.
Meanwhile Pena is .277/.340/.553 and doing a competent job of filling-in for Crisp. Last year, at age-23, he delivered an *OPS+ that was league average (100); at age-24 he has a much brighter future. When he's 26 or 27 you'll be calling it one of the great trades in modern Boston history.
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