'08 Outlook for Julian Tavrez
'07 Season: Julian was 7-11 with a 5.15 ERA for the Red Sox. He was a member of the rotation while the team waited on Lester to return and when other starters were hurt. His first half of the season was better, especially May and June where his ERA was under 4. He started to struggle in the second half and was given as short leash by Tito and would be pulled as soon as he got in a jam. He finished the season out of the pen and was not on the post-season roster but as I posted earlier he was a total team player.
'08 Outlook: The Red Sox picked up the option on Tavarez but he appears to be the odd man out. He will not be in the rotation where the Sox have 6 solid options and Snyder seems to have locked up the long reliever position. Tavarez was not good as the setup guy in '06 so that is not really an option. His stats vs. left and right handed hitters is pretty close so he is not going to be a specialist. He has limited value for Boston with Lester and Buchholz coming up so look for him to be traded before the season starts. If he does remain on the team he will most likely spend some time in AAA and be called up when injuries occur. He has shown he can be handle being that type of pitcher in the past and that might be his asset.
3 comments:
I might be the only one, but I sort of like JT. He's calmed down from his hot-head days in SFG & STL. Granted, his numbers did go south (north?) 2nd 1/2 of the season, but he can start, and he can pitch long & short relief. Seems like he was always good for three, maybe four innings, then would fall apart as batters got their 2nd look at him. Tito should use him when needed, and be ready to pull him after three innings, max. He's a team player and he's a bargain. I think he should stay.
good point Dave, but if they go with a 6 man rotation will they have enough room on the roster for him? I think he fits in well with the Red Sox since there are so many other players from the Dominican who have taken him in.
Yeah, he does look like the odd man out at this point, if they go to the 6 man rotation and Bucholz is no flash in the pan.
And you can't discount his friendships w/Pappi & Manny.
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