Roche: Red Sox Gathering Assets, Will See How It All Plays Out
BOSTON (CBS) -- WBZ-TV's Dan Roche went on 98.5 The Sports Hub's Toucher & Rich Monday morning, and didn't think there was any chance the Red Sox would sign Cuban prospect Yoan Moncada.
A short time after Rochie made that statement, the Red Sox signed Moncada. They outbid everyone else in the running for the 19-year-old, including the New York Yankees.
So when Rochie called in for his Tuesday morning appearance from Fort Myers, Florida, T&R called shenanigans. So Roche threw another "zero chance" prediction out there.
"There is zero chance they acquire Cole Hamels today," Rochie joked.
As for Moncada, the Red Sox have some very high hopes for the prospect.
"One person in the organization who saw him a lot said he has everything you want in a raw prospect. How that translates to the big league level they don't know, but we've seen the track record has been good for Cuban players coming in and doing well in Major League Baseball," said Rochie, noting the success of players like Yasiel Puig, Yoenis Cespedes and Jose Abreu. "He's a switch-hitting 19-year-old with power. They project him as a third baseman but they can move him if they need to. He does everything well, but, he's a prospect.
"It depends how he progresses and how rapidly he progresses, but my guess is a year or so, at least, before he gets going, and maybe two years before he becomes a major league player," said Roche.
WATCH: Rochie's Video Blog On Moncada Signing
The Red Sox are pretty set at every position for the near future (minus the front of the rotation), so why spend over $60 million on an unknown? Roche said the team is acquiring as many pieces -- or assets -- as they can, and will let their play on the field dictate the future.
"I think when you look at it, they seem to have a plan not just for now, but for the next two or three years. They want to play it out. They have pieces now so if they have to go get that ace, they can trade a [Mookie] Betts or whoever," said Roche. "They also look down the road and see [Mike] Napoli is in the final year of his deal. [David] Ortiz is 39-years-old. [Pablo] Sandoval, we all know his weight issue – so they could move him from third to first and make him a DH down the road.
"They have a lot of moving pieces," said Roche. "What they've done is gathered as many assets as they can, and will just let time show who can and can't play... You just don't know with youth, so I think they're just gathering as many assets and they'll see how it plays out. They'll use some as trade chips and others to maneuver in and out of positions."
Roche also gives his thoughts on the future of Mookie Betts, and the healthy of Dustin Pedroia:
