Sunday Notes: The Red Sox Expect Sonny Gray to Be Better Than Walker Buehler

The Boston Purple Sox made a pre-Thanksgiving commerce on Tuesday, buying Sonny Grey from the St. Louis Cardinals in trade for 25-year-old right-hander Richard Fitts and hard-throwing prospect Brandon Clarke. How nicely the deal works out for Craig Breslow’s membership is anybody’s guess — my colleague Michael Baumann wrote that he couldn’t “declare this commerce to be a theft in both path” — however the 36-year-old righty does have a monitor report of reliability. Grey has graced a big-league mound 92 occasions over the previous three seasons, gobbling up 531 innings and posting a 3.63 ERA in addition to a 3.11 FIP. If he can proceed to fend off Father Time some time longer, the erstwhile Vanderbilt Commodore will add worth to the Purple Sox beginning rotation.

A Vandy product Boston introduced on board as a free agent final winter got here to thoughts when the commerce was introduced. That may be Walker Buehler, who regardless of excessive hopes in the end proved to be a bust. Unable to return to outdated kind, the veteran righty struggled to a 5.45 ERA over 112-and-a-third innings and was lower unfastened by the Purple Sox in late August.

There are clear variations between the 2 pitchers — their respective well being histories significantly stand out — however they nonetheless have issues in frequent. One is a various repertoire. One other is a scarcity of high-octane heaters.

Buehler was within the forty third percentile for fastball velocity in 2025, whereas Grey was in simply the sixteenth percentile. As Baumann identified, the latter “has began leaking fastball velocity… [but has] compensated by leaning right into a cutter and changeup, making him a legit six-pitch pitcher since 2023.” In the meantime, the 31-year-old Buehler leaned closely on a six-pitch combine whereas compensating for the speed he misplaced following Tommy John surgical procedure in 2022.

Buehler threw his four-seamer 25.3% of the time this previous season, and his two-seamer at a 16.4% clip. Grey threw his four-seamer 22.3% of the time, and his two-seamer at a 17.4% clip.

How related — or completely different — are Grey and Buehler at this stage of their careers? Prefacing it with my health-history caveat, I requested that query to Breslow when he met with the Boston media over Zoom to handle the commerce.

“Clearly, we had Walker right here final yr,” Boston’s president of baseball operations replied. “I don’t assume anybody would say that it labored out in addition to we had hoped. Sonny has a reasonably important monitor report of not solely efficiency and consistency, however of shouldering a reasonably important workload. Two out of the final three years he’s thrown not less than 180-plus innings with what I’d name impeccable command. This man is sitting on a 5% stroll charge for every of the previous two years, so there’s not simply the 200 strikeouts and swing-and-miss, however limiting free passes as nicely. So, they’re pretty completely different. We made selections in every of these circumstances to go ahead with the gamers, and hopefully Sonny’s acquisition works out.”

Breslow is certainly right about there being variations — one might fairly name them significant variations — so the comp is in some ways apples and oranges. Even so, there are not any ensures that the Purple Sox might be getting the extent of high quality they bargained for. Quoting my colleague as soon as once more, Baumann wrote that you may’t “downplay the dangers of hitching one’s wagon to a 36-year-old right-hander whose fastball averaged slightly below 91 mph final season.” What to anticipate from Grey is something however black and white. He may very well be a horse, however he may be a lemon.

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RANDOM HITTER-PITCHER MATCHUPS

Kendrys Morales went 16 for 34 in opposition to Chris Archer.

Jose Morales went 13 for 22 in opposition to Larry Gura.

Jerry Morales went 11 for 21 in opposition to Pat Zachry.

Wealthy Morales went 6 for 11 in opposition to Jim Kaat.

Michael Bourne went 6 for 12 in opposition to Franklin Morales.

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Luis Morales confirmed why he ranked third on our 2025 Athletics Prime Prospects listing with a 50 FV after reaching the majors initially of August. The 23-year-old right-hander made 10 appearances, all however one as a starter, and logged a 3.14 ERA with simply 34 hits allowed over 48-and-two-thirds frames. Furthermore, his pitch metrics have been as spectacular as his outcomes. Morales’s 97.3-mph four-seam fastball ranked within the Ninetieth percentile for velocity, whereas his sweeper averaged 19.5 inches of horizontal break, essentially the most amongst hurlers who threw that specific providing not less than 100 occasions. He tossed 218 sweepers in all, at a mean spin charge of two,999 RPMs.

I requested Athletics pitching coach Scott Emerson about him when the Sacramento-based membership visited Fenway Park in mid-September.

“He defected from Cuba,” Emerson mentioned of Morales. “Dan Feinstein, one in all our assistant GMs, discovered him in Mexico and we signed him to a $3M deal [in January 2023]. He’s obtained a whole lot of upside. He’s a really limber and versatile man who can get larger and stronger. There are some issues he must work on together with his mechanics to throw better-quality strikes, however he’s obtained all of the components you need. He throws exhausting. He’s obtained an elite sweeper. He’s additionally obtained slider and changeup. It’s only a matter of him placing the whole lot collectively within the strike zone. Actually, the sky’s the restrict for him.”

Emerson advised me that Morales can stand up to 26 inches of horizontal motion on his sweeper. Is that essentially the most he’s seen over his two-plus a long time of tutoring hurlers?

“Sure, I might say that it’s the most sweep I’ve had,” replied Emerson, who joined the A’s group in 2002 and has been their big-league pitching coach since 2017. “Now, Luis Severino can get into the 20s every now and then, and he places super spin on the baseball as nicely, however [Morales] in all probability has extra constant spin than Sevvy. However Sevvy has additionally been doing this a very long time. He is aware of how you can management his pitches a bit bit higher. That’s one thing Morales must proceed to enhance.”

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A quiz:

Six gamers have been caught stealing 200 or extra occasions over the course of their careers. 5 of them led both the AL or NL in stolen bases a number of occasions, whereas one other by no means had a season the place he led his league in steals. Who was the lone non-SB chief? (A touch: He completed his profession with 2,375 hits, 558 steals, 42.2 WAR, and made one All-Star staff.)

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NEWS NOTES

Former FanGraphs contributor Justin Choi has been employed by the Cleveland Guardians to work of their R&D division. His FG items might be discovered right here.

Ethan Katz is notable amongst latest coaching-staff additions, the Houston Astros having employed the highly-regarded 42-year-old to be their assistant pitching coach. Katz spent the final 5 seasons as the top pitching coach for the Chicago White Sox.

Geoff Arnold received’t be returning because the radio voice of the Baltimore Orioles subsequent season after six years in that function. The Mid-Atlantic Sports activities Community’s determination to not renew Arnold’s contract got here as a shock. The favored broadcaster received the 2023 Maryland Sportscaster of the 12 months award, and earlier this month he was named one in all Entrance Workplace Sports activities’ 26 rising play-by-play announcers.

George Altman, an outfielder whose 9 MLB seasons included seven with the Chicago Cubs and one every for the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets, died just lately at age 92. “Huge George” was at his greatest in 1961 and 1962 when he put up a mixed .311 batting common, 135 wRC+, and 49 residence runs with Chicago’s North Aspect membership. Bookending his time within the majors was a short stint with the Negro American League’s Kansas Metropolis Monarchs in 1955, and 7 seasons in Japan, primarily with the Lotte Orions.

Dave Morehead, who pitched for the Boston Purple Sox and Kansas Metropolis Royals throughout the 1963-1970 season, has reportedly died at age 82. The suitable-hander made 177 appearances, going 40-64 with a 4.15 ERA and tossing six shutouts alongside the best way. Morehead, then simply 21 years outdated, threw a no-hitter in opposition to the Cleveland Indians at Fenway Park in 1965.

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The reply to the quiz is Brett Butler, who was caught stealing 257 occasions. The speedy outfielder completed within the prime 10 for stolen bases in 13 completely different seasons, however by no means ranked larger than third.

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Corridor of Famers Jeff Bagwell and Craig Biggio are essentially the most distinguished amongst Houston’s erstwhile “Killer B’s,” however Lance Berkman put up some spectacular numbers of his personal. That’s very true if you evaluate him to Bagwell. The famously-traded-for-Larry-Andersen slugger hit extra dingers than the switch-hitting outfielder/first baseman (449 to 326) , however they have been in any other case a lot the identical man on the dish.

Bagwell performed 14 full seasons and one partial season in Houston, whereas Berkman bookended 10 full seasons with a pair of partials. Right here is how their charge stats as Astros evaluate:

Berkman: .296/.410/.549, 148 wRC+, .406 wOBA, 15.5 BB%%, 16.7 Okay%.Bagwell: .297/.408/.540, 149 wRC+, .405 wOBA, 14.9 BB%, 16.5 Okay%..

Berkman garnered scant assist in his lone yr on the HoF poll, receiving simply 5 votes. Was his profession Corridor-worthy? No, however he was a reasonably darn good hitter.

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A random obscure former participant snapshot:

Scott Bullett had an extended skilled profession that included elements of two seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates adopted by two extra with the Chicago Cubs. All advised, the left-handed-hitting outfielder from Martinsburg, West Virginia performed from 1988-2006, together with his itinerant journey taking him to minor-league outposts, NPB, the Chinese language Skilled Baseball League, and the Mexican League. Velocity was Bullett’s greatest attribute. He swiped 356 bases, 19 of them throughout his 247-game major-league tenure.

His September 1991 call-up was noteworthy. Bullett was summoned from the Salem Buccaneers having by no means performed above Excessive-A. The Pirates needed wheels, and that’s what the 22-year-old introduced with him to The Metal Metropolis. Bullett appeared in 11 video games for the 98-win NL East membership, serving as a pinch-runner eight occasions and going hitless in 5 plate appearances.

He obtained extra alternatives with the Cubs throughout the 1995-1996 seasons, in the end compiling an MLB ledger that included 87 hits, together with 10 doubles, 9 triples, and 6 residence runs. He later based, and nonetheless runs, Bullettproof Baseball Academy in St. Catharines, Ontario.

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FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Miguel Sanó is 18-for-51 with seven residence runs for the Dominican Winter League’s Estrellas Orientales. The 32-year-old nook infielder final performed stateside for the Los Angeles Angels in 2024.

Ashton Goudeau has hurled 19-and-a-third scoreless innings over 4 appearances for the Puerto Rican Winter League’s Indios de Mayaguez. The 33-year-old former Colorado Rockies right-hander pitched for the impartial American Affiliation’s Kansas Metropolis Monarchs this summer season.

Jo-Hsi Hsu will reportedly signal with NPB’s Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. The 25-year-old right-hander had a 2.05 ERA and 120 strikeouts over 114 innings with the Chinese language Skilled Baseball League’s Wei Chuan Dragons this season.

Josh Bishopp has allowed a pair of earned runs and fanned 15 batters over three appearances comprising eight-and-two-thirds innings for the Australian Baseball League’s Sydney Blue Sox. The 24-year-old right-hander from New South Wales pitched stateside at Missouri Valley Faculty and Northwest Nazarene College.

Blue Sox outfielder Pablo Nunez is 19-for-40 with three two-baggers and 5 free passes. The 19-year-old native of Maracay, Venezuela had a 169 wRC+ over 157 plate appearances with the Cincinnati Reds’ Dominican Summer time League affiliate.

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Travis Honeyman has been hampered by well being points. Seen as a possible first-rounder going into his 2023 junior season, the Boston Faculty product suffered a shoulder harm that required surgical procedure, leading to his falling to the Ninetieth-overall choose (the New York Mets then took Nolan McLean 91st total). An arduous restoration course of adopted, with Honeyman enjoying in simply 20 video games in 2024.

This previous season was additionally burdensome, albeit for a special motive. This time the24-year-old outfielder was hamstrung by a hamstring harm that cropped up throughout spring coaching and lingered all through the marketing campaign. Honeywell hit nicely whereas energetic — a 130 wRC+ between Low-A Palm Seashore and Excessive-A Peoria— however that was in solely 358 plate appearances as he was restricted to 83 video games. Furthermore, the speedster swiped simply 10 bases due partially to the balky hammy.

What I most needed to listen to about once I caught as much as Honeyman throughout his stint within the Arizona Fall League was his bygone draft state of affairs — particularly, which groups have been most in on him previous to the necessity to go below the knife?

The Massapequa, New York native wasn’t forthcoming on the topic.

“I’m simply blessed that the Cardinals took me,” replied Honeyman, whose AFL output included eight hits in 44 at-bats and 4 stolen bases with out being caught. “I don’t actually like speaking about different groups. That’s all mentioned and achieved, and I’m joyful to be the place I’m.”

By way of the place he’s developmentally, Honeyman is aware of that he wants do greater than make up for misplaced enjoying time. Whereas he identifies as a table-setter, he has been “speaking to the Cardinals’ hitting guys they usually need me to hit the ball within the air extra.” He additionally wants to enhance in opposition to larger velocity — “that has been my weakest level” — significantly when the warmers are elevated. He considers hitting breaking balls a power.

A 29-year-old southpaw who appeared in 30 video games for the Cardinals throughout the 2022-2023 seasons has been a optimistic affect on the oft-injured outfielder.

“A man who has helped me since I obtained to professional ball is Packy Naughton,” Honeyman advised me. “He’s a pitcher who has been in rehab the final two years coping with elbow issues. After I was in rehab my first yr, he actually took me below his wing, attempting to show me how you can be a real skilled. We additionally did reside at-bats. I might stand within the field for 25 pitches and he’d be telling me, ‘You may’t miss that one. You’ve obtained to be on time for that.’ He was proper. Timing is the secret.”

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LINKS YOU’LL LIKE

Purple Row’s Renee Dechert opined that the Rockies have been proper to make Warren Schaeffer their new supervisor.

The Kansas Metropolis Royals have employed former Wake Forest pitching lab coordinator Mike McFerran as an assistant pitching coach. Anne Rogers wrote about McFerrin, who was most just lately a minor-league pitching coordinator for the Athletics, for MLB.com.

Additionally at M;B.com Adam Berry wrote about how highly-regarded Tampa Bay Rays prospect Xavier Isaac had life-saving mind surgical procedure over the summer season.

The Southern Ontario-based Intercounty Baseball League is being rebranded because the Canadian Baseball League and can now be totally skilled. Julius Hern has the story at Barrie 360.

The Athletic’s Sam Blum wrote about why Tyler Skaggs’ iPad might set off thousands and thousands in damages in opposition to the Los Angeles Angels.

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RANDOM FACTS AND STATS

When Maury Wills turned the primary participant in MLB historical past to steal 100 bases in a single season, he was at that precise quantity via 162 video games. The Los Angeles Dodgers speedster in the end completed with 104 steals, as he swiped 4 extra baggage over a best-of-three regular-season collection with the San Francisco Giants to determine the NL pennant (the arch rivals have been each 101-61 via 162 video games). Additionally of word: Wills grounded out within the ninth inning of Recreation 165. Had he not come to the plate, he would have completed the season with a .300 batting common. As an alternative, he completed at .299.

Babe Ruth led the AL with 457 whole bases in 1921. Nobody else had greater than 365. Ruth additionally led the circuit with 145 walks. Nobody else had greater than 103. Residence runs? Ruth had 59. Nobody else had greater than 24.

The St. Louis Cardinals chosen Cecil Cooper within the Rule 5 draft on right this moment’s date in 1970. Subsequently returned to the Boston Purple Sox group the next April, Cooper went on to play 17 big-league seasons, recording 2,192 hits and making 5 All-Star groups. He additionally received a pair of Gold Gloves at first base.

On right this moment’s date in 1972, the Kansas Metropolis Royals acquired Hal McRae and Wayne Simpson from the Cincinnati Reds in trade for Roger Nelson and Richie Scheinblum. McRae went on to play 15 seasons with the Royals, recording 1,924 hits and a 125 wRC+. His 449 doubles and 681 extra-base hits are every second-most in franchise historical past, trailing solely George Brett.

Gamers born on right this moment’s date embody Juan Berenguer, a right-hander who appeared in 490 video games and went 67-62 with 32 saves whereas pitching for seven groups throughout the 1978-1992 seasons. Nicknamed “Señor Smoke,” the native of Aguadulce, Panama was a member of two World Collection-winning squads, the 1984 Detroit Tigers and the 1987 Minnesota Twins.

Additionally born on right this moment’s date was Barry Evans, an infielder who appeared in 224 video games for the San Diego Padres from 1978-1981, and in 17 video games for the New York Yankees in 1982. The College of West Georgia product hit two residence runs throughout his modest profession, and each have been noteworthy. In 1979, he hit an Eleventh-inning residence run off of Houston Astros starter J.R. Richard to interrupt a 2-2 tie, and in 1980 he hit a pinch-hit grand slam off of St. Louis Cardinals reliever Pedro Borbon.