JotCast | Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat - 9/8/25

Ben Clemens FanGraphs Chat - 9/8/25

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Ben Clemens

2:14

when it happens to a guy like Grisham, it's often because the balls that 'should' be doubles are going over the fence

like, it's no coincidence that he has a career high HR/FB and also a big imbalance in 2b/HR

Bosoxforlife

2:14

I found it interesting that when comparing the fWAR and bWAR of the top 12 Red Sox players in eleven of those comparisons the bWAR was higher and, in many cases, by significant amounts. The combined number was over 4 WAR. What could be the reason for this?

Ben Clemens

2:14

hmmmmmm

2:15

so some of it is defense, where it looks like you could maybe squeeze a win and a half out?

but a really big portion of it is that the Sox have a 3.78 ERA and 4.06 FIP, a third of a run gap

2:16

one of the higher marks in baseball, and I'd bet that the teams ahead of them (Texas, San Diego, Tampa Bay, Kansas City, Milwaukee, CHC) have the same thing in general

Guest

2:16

Has the Clay Holmes starter experiment been a success, a failure, or a push?

Ben Clemens

2:16

push i think. at the price, you had to rate it as fairly unlikely to succeed. if it were more likely to succeed, he would have gotten more

RookTaker55

2:16

Is it reasonable to think 2 things are true: 1) the Cubs would have been better off keeping Bellinger and the prospects they used to make the Tucker trade 2) the Cubs are still happy they made the trade because they're going to make the playoffs and Hoyer got himself an extension

2:17

Is there going to be an article soon about the Yankees brazen sign stealing? Obviously it's all above the table and legal, but the hand flapping stuff is borderline hilarious and deserves to be written about

Ben Clemens

2:18

Two things b/c I accidentally clicked on a few

2:19

eh I still would make the Tucker trade again. but yeah, I think that the Cubs are happier about it b/c they're gonna make teh playoffs

second, I'm not planning one, but I definitely find it hilarious

they're so un-subtle that I think the smart money is on them just goofing with the pitcher

aaron judge doing the giant wings flapping thing was just AMAZING

Soto fan

2:19

How many years do you see Edwin Diaz getting this off-season if he opts out? The velo has been all over the place (even more than usual) and he’ll be 32. But the performance is still elite and he’s durable enough to go more than one inning.

Ben Clemens

2:20

Dan wrote about this today, so I'd recommend his article, but yeah, I'd wave a lot of money at him and I expect him to stay on the Mets

Joey Caltrain

2:20

more Webb thoughts: I've always heard Framber Valdez mentioned as a similar player to Webb and it feels like it would be really fun to see the Giants double down on sinker/changeup heavy groundballing innings eaters. Any thoughts on Valdez coming to the Giants? (BTW, I could see Posey, as a bit of a traditionalist and a former catcher, being particularly sensitive about the recent incident. See for example his comments about Snell.)

Ben Clemens

2:20

I've been a Valdez-head for a while, but I actually think their similarities are overstated. Framber's real standout pitch might be his sinker, but it might also be his curveball, which I think is the best in baseball

2:21

and he leans on a it a lot hunting for strikeouts. I think he used to pitch more like Webb earlier in his career but he gets more swinging strikes and fewer called strikes pretty consistently

2:22

i don't hate the idea of doubling up on grounders, though. that does seem smart, to get multiple pitchers who your defense flatters

Ranger in HOU

2:22

If the Rangers lose the next series and are essentially eliminated, should they call up Walcott, or would that be detrimental to his development

Ben Clemens

2:22

Oh man, I don't feel qualified to answer this without a lot more inside knowledge of the situation. i'm generally a big fan of giving people call ups if the team thinks they are even close to ready, though

Okra

2:22

Trent Grisham has 131 wRC+ and has been a little unlucky to boot. only 28 years old. not many good free agent hitters this year. i think he gets easily breaks $100M this offseason. could see 5/110. thoughts?

Ben Clemens

2:22

I don't think so

I think that the fact that he struggled to get PT in 2024 is gonna weigh on him, fair or not

2:23

I think he's going to end up being a bit of a bargain b/c of those factors

I'd be interested in signing him though

Bosoxforlife

2:23

I have a pet peeve about roster construction that was brought to a head this week. Twice the Red Sox were able to use Carlos Narvaez as a pinch hitter because they called up a third catcher and he delivered both times in crucial situations Meanwhile I watch their 13th pitcher, please no more Hicks, fail at every opportunity. Being forced to keep a potentially useful bat on the bench to keep a very low quality pitcher on the roster makes no sense

Ben Clemens

2:24

i mean, I agree, I think the really hard thing to wrap your head around is how many bad pitchers teams just think they have to use to protect the arms of the good ones

please no more Hicks is very funny to me, by the way

2:25

I've seen him pitch a lot over the years and there might be no pitcher where how it feels to think about this guy relieving and what happens when he's pitching feel most disconnect

disconnected*

Insert Witty Name Here

2:25

I’ll be the tennis chatter for you, read your 6th thing you liked last week. My couple things to discuss: I love how it’s just two people head to head for hours, no helmets to obscure their expressions, short quick bursts of movement, the angles and spin of the ball, such a great game to watch. I know it’s unrealistic, but I would love to see a Skenes/Ohtani match up for 100 pitches/27 outs or whatever.

cool

1

Ben Clemens

2:26

right isn't it great?

it's an incredible TV sport, but also an incredible live sport

this year's french open final is definitely gonna be my favorite sporting event of the year, i see no way for anything else to top it

RookTaker55

2:27

What do teams do when they consider Ryan Helsley on the FA market this winter? The stuff looks close to the same but this Mets run has been horrific to a historical extent. What does his market look like?

Ben Clemens

2:27

oh man, great question

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