You should find it infuriating that Kyle Schwarber is hitting homers every night for the Phillies and not for the Red Sox
Kyle Schwarber is the one player that truly got away from the Boston Red Sox. When chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom acquired Schwarber from the Nationals last season, it was met with massive criticism. Red Sox fans wanted a true first baseman, they wanted Anthony Rizzo from the Cubs.
Instead the Yankees acquired Rizzo and he provided an upgrade defensively and pop from the left side of their lineup. Bloom went the unconventional route and acquired Schwarber from Washington.
At the time, Schwarber was mashing at the plate, in 72 games he had 67 hits, 25 homers, 53 RBIs and a .910 OPS. The Red Sox had plans of converting him from an outfielder to a first baseman once he got off the injured list with a hamstring injury.
Because this is Boston, fans were skeptical of the Schwarber trade. In the process, Schwarber won over the fan base with his bat, he played an adequate first base and he was a leader in the clubhouse.
You would think a player that can hit 30-plus homers, that was an upgrade over Bobby Dalbec and Franchy Cordero and was well-liked in the clubhouse provided immense value?
Not according to the nerds in the front office.
Schwarber was allowed to walk in free agency leaving a massive hole again at first base. The Boston Red Sox have not had a true first baseman in over two and half years. I will repeat the following sentence, the Boston Red Sox have not had a true first baseman in over two and half years.
Mitch Moreland was the last first baseman the club had (outside of Schwarber) that fielded the position and provided better offense than Dalbec and Cordero. I am not advocating the return of Moreland, he has been out of baseball this season. What I am asking for is a long term solution at first base that isn’t Dalbec and Cordero.
Schwarber checked off a few boxes for the Red Sox roster.
He could play first base this year, he is a massive upgrade over Dalbec and Cordero and after this season, he could slide to the DH role.
J.D. Martinez will be a free agent in the winter and will have plenty of options outside of Boston to chose from. Triston Casas should be the long term option at first base, however, he has missed time with an ankle injury this season.
Schwarber could helped this Red Sox team in the short term and provided insurance long term. Bloom felt differently and first base for the Boston Red Sox continues to be an embarrassment.
What also doesn’t help is that Schwarber is constantly hitting tanks for the Phillies.
This season while is hitting a mere .219, but he has 69 hits, 12 doubles, 28 homers, 57 RBIs and a .856 OPS. Now, I am not Bloom, but those numbers from Schwarber are dramatically better than Dalbec’s .205 batting average, six homers, 20 RBIs and .615 OPS. Cordero has a .240 batting average, four homers and 23 RBIs with a .713 OPS.
If you Frankenstein the two players together they still don’t equal out to Schwarber.
The Phillies gave Schwarber a four-year, $79 million deal. The Red Sox are paying Dalbec $714,000 and Cordero $825,000. There’s an old saying, “you get what you pay for,” and Bloom has gotten nothing from first base other than the numbers shown above and 130 strikeouts between Dalbec and Cordero.
Please spare me the hard hit data and expected batting average jargon I see all the time on Twitter. That’s nerd talk to make you feel better about what Dalbec and Cordero could be.
The Boston Red Sox deserve better than Dalbec and Cordero. If you feel and or think otherwise, you’ve drunk the Bloom-aid and I can’t help you.
Red Sox fans, lets stop talking about Andrew Benintendi and Mookie Betts, let’s be critical of Bloom for letting Schwarber walk because he valued Dalbec and Cordero more than someone who hits homers, gets on-base and was a leader in the clubhouse.
Bravo, Chaim.
Follow Chris on Twitter @ChrisHenrique
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Fucking nailed it Chris, perfectly said and I could not agree more