https://talksox.com/blogs/entry/23795-will-alex-verdugo-go-to-the-dogs/How much does erstwhile Red Sox Alex Verdugo have left in the tank? He hasn't played since last summer in 2025. Despite signing a minor league with the Padres this spring, he has yet to play a minor league game. With a -0.3 (Wins above Replacement) WAR in 56 games with the Braves in 2025,...23795Mon, 06 Apr 2026 01:49:53 +0000https://talksox.com/blogs/entry/23792-avoiding-arbitration/Under current MLB labor bargaining rules, teams generally have control of players until a player has accrued more than 6 years of MLB service. This ensures that teams have a reasonable amount of time to benefit from developing a player in their organization. Players who excel can enter arbitration...23792Tue, 24 Mar 2026 16:03:54 +0000https://talksox.com/blogs/entry/23789-expansion-and-realignment/How will a future expansion an realignment with 32  MLB impact the Red Sox? Two new teams bringing the total to 32 teams aligned in 8 divisions of four in two leagues will allow 4 division winners and 3 wild cards to play in the post-season. This is an increase of one additional playoff t...23789Tue, 13 Jan 2026 17:17:50 +0000https://talksox.com/blogs/entry/23788-missing-out-or-a-saving-grace/Missing out getting free agents Pete Alonso and Kyle Schwarber may be disappointing at first but a long-term saving grace for the Red Sox. Pete Alonso opted out of a 2-year $54 million contract with the Mets to sign a 5-year $155 million contract with the Baltimore Orioles as he enters his age...23788Tue, 30 Dec 2025 00:20:34 +0000https://talksox.com/blogs/entry/23787-keeping-the-playoff-window-open/Returning to the post season for the first time since 2021, the 2025 Sox ended the year losing the American League Wild Card Series to the Yankees. Is the playoff window still opening? With a strong base of young players: Roman Anthony, Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu, Garrett Crochet, Carlos N...23787Fri, 05 Dec 2025 22:26:31 +0000https://talksox.com/blogs/entry/23786-small-decision-big-impact/Small decisions had big impacts in the 2025 World Series. What if one choice had gone the other way? Hobbling from a late regular season knee injury, Bo Bichette played gamely throughout the Series for Toronto and was pinch ran for late in games and often replaced by Isiah Kiner-Falefah, a for...23786Sun, 02 Nov 2025 22:47:09 +0000https://talksox.com/blogs/entry/23784-the-pressure-of-being-a-star/When you're the perennial All-Star and lauded as the team's superstar, you may feel you need to do it all. October 2, 1978, down by a run in the tiebreaker game to see who would go on to the ALCS, the Red Sox had two men on with Carl Yastrzemski at the plate [1] with 2 outs facing Rich Gossage...23784Thu, 23 Oct 2025 22:21:18 +0000https://talksox.com/blogs/entry/23783-choosing-the-lesser-of-two-evils-and-the-three-batter-rule/Do you put the go-ahead run on base and walk a dangerous hitter to load the bases or do you pitch to him? In game 7 of the 2025 ALCS, the Mariners with a two-run lead, faced a decision with 1 out, runners on 2nd and 3rd and George Springer at the plate.  With 22 previous post-season home...23783Wed, 22 Oct 2025 06:20:39 +0000https://talksox.com/blogs/entry/23782-a-masterclass-in-holding-leads-eduard-bazardo/Eduard Bazardo, one of 4 remaining ex-Sox players and the only pitcher on still contending teams, will have a chance to play in the 2025 World Series. He plays a vital role for the 2025 Seattle Mariners coming out of the bullpen to preserve leads [1].  Signed as an international free agent in...23782Sat, 18 Oct 2025 07:15:58 +0000https://talksox.com/blogs/entry/23781-letting-a-starter-stay-in-the-game/When is the right time to take a starting pitcher out of the game? Who earns the right to stay in a game? In the current game, it is rare for a starter to complete a game. With the availability of bullpen specialists and detailed metrics analysis on pitch counts, platoon advantages, and indivi...23781Fri, 17 Oct 2025 20:35:26 +0000https://talksox.com/blogs/entry/23780-let-the-rookie-win/Rookies have made an impact in the post season for both good and bad. Is it wise to trust a rookie during the Playoffs and World Series? Of the remaining 2025 Playoff teams, there are 3 rookies on the Brewers, 1 on Toronto and 1 on the Dodgers. Milwaukee Brewers Issac Collins, OF...23780Tue, 14 Oct 2025 23:03:35 +0000https://talksox.com/blogs/entry/23779-rookie-managers-and-the-world-series/History suggests that managers in the first full season with a team have a good chance of winning the World Series. In Red Sox history, the following first year managers all won World Series in their first full season with the team: Jake Stahl (1912) Ed Barrow (1918) Terry Franc...23779Mon, 06 Oct 2025 06:49:52 +0000https://talksox.com/blogs/entry/23778-ex-sox-facing-off-in-the-2025-nlds/Mookie Betts and Kyle Schwarber, two ex-Red Sox, face off in the 2025 National League Division Series. Would the Sox have been better off keeping them instead of letting both go? Mookie Betts was traded away before the 2020 season for Jeter Downs, Alex Verdugo, and Connor Wong. Of the three, o...23778Sun, 05 Oct 2025 06:13:32 +0000https://talksox.com/blogs/entry/23777-the-4-out-save/In the first games of the 2025 Wild Card Series, two winning teams had their closers pitch multiple innings and it paid off. Most managers are reluctant to use their closers for more than one inning for fear of injury, overuse, or some other reason that belies the optimal strategy of using your bes...23777Wed, 01 Oct 2025 13:51:21 +0000https://talksox.com/blogs/entry/23776-the-post-season-prize-pool/The regular season is over and now the post-season begins. So how much do the playoff teams get for getting into the postseason? Gate receipts from the guaranteed post-season games form the player pool of money. The guaranteed games are the minimum number of games in each series that must...23776Tue, 30 Sep 2025 06:32:19 +0000https://talksox.com/blogs/entry/23775-the-bostonnew-york-express/Players moving between the Red Sox and the Yankees has been as common and frequent as the express air shuttle between the two cities. Of the 251 players who played for both teams, here’s some of the most significant switches. Which team has come out ahead? 2024: The Cuban Missile Soars!...23775Mon, 25 Aug 2025 17:17:49 +0000https://talksox.com/blogs/entry/23774-six-down-years/If your batting average declines each year for 6 years straight, can you stay in the big leagues? Although there are many new and more advanced statistics, batting average is still a useful measure of a player's ability. Is 6 consecutive years of declining batting average irreversible?...23774Fri, 11 Jul 2025 17:35:19 +0000https://talksox.com/blogs/entry/23773-why-was-rafael-devers-reluctant-to-move-to-1st-base/When asked to move positions, why is there is a natural reluctance? From a team perspective, it seems like an ego issue, but it may be more complex than that. During Spring Training of 2025, Rafael Devers was moved to Designated Hitter to allow newly signed free agent Gold Glove 3rd baseman Alex Br...23773Wed, 09 Jul 2025 23:56:28 +0000https://talksox.com/blogs/entry/23772-vern-stephens-red-sox-shortstop-forgotten-by-the-hall-of-fame/Who holds the single season record for RBIs for a shortstop? You may think it would be held by a Hall of Famer like Honus Wagner, Ernie Banks or Cal Ripken, or a recent retired star like Alex Rodriguez, Miguel Tejada, or Derek Jeter, but no, the record is held by Red Sox Vern Stephens and was set i...23772Sun, 06 Jul 2025 00:03:06 +0000https://talksox.com/blogs/entry/23771-will-roman-anthony-be-jarred-kelenic-or-brady-anderson/Top prospect, Roman Anthony, has been called up by the Red Sox to play in the show. How will he perform? Is he here to stay in the big leagues, or will he need more seasoning again in the minors? Will he stick for the whole season? Roman...23771Tue, 10 Jun 2025 07:26:38 +0000https://talksox.com/blogs/entry/23769-ted-williams-could-have-been-even-better/Ted Williams had a great career, but did this 1950 injury hurt him more than the two interruptions for military service during World War 2 and the Korean War? Three full years and close to two more years were cut short from his baseball career, yet a mid-career injury might have affected him more....23769Wed, 28 May 2025 15:59:45 +0000https://talksox.com/blogs/entry/23768-greatest-catchers-in-red-sox-and-mlb-history-if-you-cant-find-one-dont-make-one-up/Carlton Fisk's first 11 years of a 24-year Hall of Fame Major League Baseball career was with the Red Sox, where he was the Rookie of the Year in 1972, a 7-time All-star, and in the top 10 of the MVP voting 3 times. Fisk may be the best Red Sox catcher ever, but who else had great careers whil...23768Sat, 24 May 2025 12:57:24 +0000https://talksox.com/blogs/entry/23766-jim-rices-unbreakable-record/Hall of Famer Jim Rice set a record that may never be broken. As a rookie in 1975, Rice, together with Fred Lynn, shared the nickname the "Gold Dust Twins" for their great performance and future potential. Jim Rice fulfilled that promise with consecutive spectacular seasons from 1977 to 1979, achie...23766Mon, 05 May 2025 15:38:49 +0000