Mailday: January 30, 2024

I don't really have a good title for this post.  This is just a random assortment of cards that I happened to receive on the same day.

Up first is a quick two-card trade.  The first is a black mini parallel from 2022 A&G of Pedro Martinez.  I fully expect that Pedro will be one of those players who will really benefit from my continued trading on TCDB.  There are simply a ton of Pedro cards out there.  According to the stats portion of my wantlist, Martinez has the third-most cards still out there, behind only Rafael Devers (sort of a surprise) and David Ortiz (not at all surprising).  The second card is the gold version of the 2020 team card.  I do consider this a J.D. Martinez card as well, since he is a central focus of the card.

1.  Bobby Dalbec.  Hard to believe, but Dalbec is actually still on the team.  He has slipped a lot on the depth chart, but he is still around.  I am not sure he will ever get back to his form he had down the stretch in 2021.  That year he hit .240/.298/.494 with 25 home runs and 78 RBIs.  He hit just one home run in 21 games in 2023.

2.  Travis Shaw.  Shaw did two tours of duty with the Red Sox, coming up as a rookie in 2015 before being traded to Milwaukee before the 2017 season for Tyler Thornburg and then returning in 2021.  He hit 32 career home runs with the Red Sox in parts of four seasons, primarily as a backup.  

3.  Xander Bogaerts.  Bogaerts is another player I expect to increase quite a bit in my TCDB trading.  His cards were always plentiful.  He ranks as the fourth-largest player on my wantlist.

4.  Jarren Duran.  Duran is a big question mark in 2024.  Is he the player he was in 2022?  2023?  Somewhere in between?  At his best, he is a dynamic offensive force, able to hit for some power and completely disrupt the other team on the base paths.  I would love that kind of player.

5.  Kyle Schwarber.  Schwarber goes down as one of the best deadline deals Boston ever made.  For a low-level pitching prospect they got a hitter who slashed .291/.435/.522 with seven home runs and 18 RBIs in 41 games, then hit three more homers in the postseason.  It's a shame they could not find a way to bring him back the next season.

6.  I am considering this card a Xander Bogaerts card, that appears to be him in the corner there.

7.  Brayan Bello.  Bello is another player I am excited about coming in to 2024.  He could step up and become an ace-level pitcher.   

And finally, an Adrian Beltre relic.  I grabbed a couple of Beltre cards on Ebay recently in celebration of his election to the Hall of Fame.  One thing I really like is how his stint in Boston is getting credit for being the turning point in his career.  He became a Hall of Fame player in Boston even though his plaque will not have a Red Sox hat.  And he is my absolute favorite One Year Wonder.