The Purple Sox season is over, and whereas the membership as an entire failed to realize its purpose of reaching the playoffs, quite a few gamers loved particular person success.
Time handy out some year-end grades.
Right this moment we concentrate on the infielders. For our functions, Ceddanne Rafaela will probably be thought-about an outfielder and graded as a part of that group regardless that he began three extra video games as an infielder.
Rafael Devers: B
Devers was trending in direction of a transparent “A” till his manufacturing fell off a cliff over the ultimate month. On Aug. 25 Devers was batting .290 with 28 dwelling runs, 80 RBI, 33 doubles and a .944 OPS, placing him on tempo for the most effective seasons of his profession. Then he completed the yr batting .169 with just one extra-base hit, three RBI and no dwelling runs over his closing 21 video games. Accidents clearly performed a task, however Devers’ extreme droop was a significant factor within the Purple Sox lacking the playoffs. His closing numbers all wound up nonetheless being fairly good, however even Devers acknowledged he may have performed loads higher.
Trevor Story: Incomplete
What are we presupposed to do with Story? He went down with what was initially considered a season-ending shoulder fracture simply eight video games into the season, and whereas he did improbably make it again by mid-September, he nonetheless solely performed 26 video games. Story made an impression every time he was on the sphere, however the pattern dimension is simply too small to attract any truthful conclusions.
Triston Casas: C
Casas is sort of in the same boat as Story, however he did finally play in a few third of a season’s price of video games, and what we noticed over that stretch was a blended bag. When it comes to energy, Casas completely delivered. The 24-year-old hit 13 dwelling runs with 32 RBI in 63 video games, placing him on tempo for 33 homers and 82 RBI over a full season, and he additionally demonstrated enchancment defensively at first base. Then again, Casas additionally had a virtually month-long stretch the place he simply regarded misplaced, and mixed with the practically 4 months he spent on the IL, the Purple Sox actually didn’t get the sort of impression from him they wanted.
Connor Wong: C+
Usually you don’t count on to get a lot offensively out of your catcher, however Wong was persistently a contributor and at instances Boston’s most dependable right-handed bat. The 28-year-old batted .280 with 13 dwelling runs, 52 RBI and a .758 OPS, and he ranked prime 5 in baseball for batting common, hits (125) and doubles (24) amongst catchers who appeared in at the least 60 video games. The Purple Sox will take that, however defensively Wong has a variety of work to do. He solely threw out 16 of 76 tried base stealers and FanGraphs had him for minus-14 defensive runs saved, the second lowest whole amongst all catchers and the sixth worst in MLB throughout all positions.
Danny Jansen: F
Acquired for 3 prospects on the commerce deadline, Jansen didn’t transfer the needle upon his arrival in Boston. In 30 video games with the Purple Sox he batted .188 with three dwelling runs, six RBI and a .623 OPS. If the hope was that Jansen may assist stability the lineup and provides the membership extra oomph towards left-handed pitching, it’s secure to say he didn’t ship.
Vaughn Grissom: F
Brighter days might lie forward for Grissom, however it’s laborious to think about his first yr in Boston going any worse. Initially envisioned as the brand new beginning second baseman, Grissom received harm virtually instantly after he was acquired and missed all of spring coaching on account of a sequence of accidents. As soon as again on the sphere in Could he was a shell of his regular self, and after one other stint on the injured checklist he was finally optioned to Triple-A, the place he wound up spending many of the remainder of his season. So as to add insult to literal harm, the Purple Sox watched as Chris Sale, the man they traded to get Grissom, lastly rediscovered his outdated type and have become the favourite to win the NL Cy Younger Award. Grissom did at the least end the season with a powerful September, however relative to expectations his 2024 can’t be referred to as something aside from a failure.
Romy Gonzalez: B+
Claimed off waivers from the Chicago White Sox over the winter, Gonzalez wound up proving to be a helpful and versatile bench piece for the Purple Sox. He performed each place defensively beside pitcher and catcher, offered pace and athleticism on the bottom paths (11 stolen bases) and batted .266 with six dwelling runs, 29 RBI and a .723 OPS. Was he a famous person? No, however Gonzalez thrived in his function, which is strictly what you need out of your utility man coming off the bench.
David Hamilton: B
He couldn’t all the time maintain it, however when Hamilton was on, he was among the many most impactful gamers on the group. Hamilton recorded 33 stolen bases, changing into the seventeenth participant in Purple Sox historical past to file 30 or extra steals in a season, and simply the third to take action as a rookie. He additionally had a dominant two-month stretch from mid-Could to the All-Star break by which he batted .287, posted a .773 OPS, tallied 15 extra-base hits and stole 20 bases, a stretch that noticed Boston rise from .500 to 10 video games over and in playoff place. Exterior of that stretch he didn’t contribute practically as a lot, however all advised it was nonetheless a giant step ahead. Now Hamilton simply must show he can keep that manufacturing over an prolonged interval.
Enmanuel Valdez: C-
On the floor Valdez’s numbers this season weren’t superb. He batted .214 with six dwelling runs and a .633 OPS over 201 at bats, and his -0.6 wins above substitute was the bottom on the group by a place participant who completed the yr on the 40-man roster. Valdez did present worth in a single particular context, nevertheless, which was as a pinch hitter. In that function he went 4 for 10 with two doubles, 5 RBI, a stroll and a 1.017 OPS.
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