Red Sox Likely To Be Active On Trade Market This Offseason

What I think happens:

We trade Abreu and DHam for good pen arms.

We sign a #3/4 slot SP'er ($10-12M/1 or $20M/2) and a decent set up man ($6-8M/1 or $12M/2.)

Maybe, we add a decent back-up catcher on a 1 yr deal and try to strike gold with another Criswell type.

What I hope:

We trade Yoshida plus cash for nothing special. (We move Casas to DH and Devers to 1B and hand 2B/3B to Maayer, Campbell, Grissom  & Meidroth.

We trade Abreu, DHam and Wink for the best pitchers we can find.

We spend our whole winter budget on the best SP'er the budget can find.

SP: Houck, __FA__, Crawford, Bello, Giolito (Depth: Criswell, Fitts, Priester, Dobbins, __FA__)

RP: __Trade__, Hendriks, Whitlock, Slaten, Fitts, Criswell, Fulmer, Penrod (Depth: Bernardino, Guerrero, Kelly, Weissert, I Campbell, Booser, Shugart, Mata, Horn)

1. Duran LF/CF

2. Campbell 2B (3B)

3. Anthony RF 

4. Devers 1B (3B)

5. Casas DH (1B)

6. Story SS

7. Mayer 3B (SS/2B)

8. Rafaela CF v R/ Refsnyder LF vs L

9. Wong C

Bench: __C2__, Dham, Grissom & Ref/Raf

(Minor League Depth: C Teel, 1B Romy/Gasper, 3B, 2B, SS Meidroth & Romy/Sogard, OF/DH E Valdez)

5 hours ago, notin said:

DH swap?  Yoshida and his $18.6 mill for Bichette and his $17.5mill? 
 

Yoshida is signed for 2 more years, but some financial arrangement can help cover that…

If we trade Yoshida, it should be to allow Casas to DH with Devers when he needs a rest.

Give me some names of pitcher salary dumps from teams that might want a DH.

5 hours ago, notin said:

DH swap?  Yoshida and his $18.6 mill for Bichette and his $17.5mill? 
 

Yoshida is signed for 2 more years, but some financial arrangement can help cover that…

If we trade Yoshida, it should be to allow Casas to DH with Devers when he needs a rest.

Give me some names of pitcher salary dumps from teams that might want a DH.

44 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

If we trade Yoshida, it should be to allow Casas to DH with Devers when he needs a rest.

Give me some names of pitcher salary dumps from teams that might want a DH.

And who DHs when both players are in the field?

DH is a starting position, not a way to rest players.  Play Casas/Devers then when the starting DH gets his day off.  It will happen; we have Cora. Not like Yoshida was starting every day…

11 minutes ago, harmony said:

The Seattle outfield is getting expensive with the 2025 salaries of Julio Rodriguez ($19.9 million), Randy Arozarena (projected $10 million) and Victor Robles ($4.125 million) not to mention the sunken cost of Mitch Haniger ($17.5 million). Luke Raley, with an OPS+ of  126 over the past two seasons, can return at the league minimum salary.

What could the Red Sox offer for two years of the righthanded bat of Randy Arozarena?

 

 

Plenty if he can pitch.

If the Mariners exceeded their OF budget, they probably shouldn’t have extended Robles based solely on an unsustainable BABIP…

8 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

Multiple years of Casas for one year of Vlad? I wouldn't do that deal. TOR would have to add players to make it worth my while. 

8 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

Multiple years of Casas for one year of Vlad? I wouldn't do that deal. TOR would have to add players to make it worth my while. 

Who said anything about multiple years of Casas for one year of Vlad? As I said in an earlier post the big stumbling block in doing a trade for Vlad would be the resigning. No One even suggested doing just a one year rental for Vlad.🙈

3 hours ago, notin said:

And who DHs when both players are in the field?

DH is a starting position, not a way to rest players.  Play Casas/Devers then when the starting DH gets his day off.  It will happen; we have Cora. Not like Yoshida was starting every day…

They never need to be, if we settle on Mayer or Campbell at 3B.

I have Casas as the FT DH, unless Devers needs a rest day, and I'd rather have Devers rest more often as a DH than sitting out full games.  On those days, if Casas is not due for a rest, he can play 1B over Devers. Unless there is an injury, 162 games can be by Casas (150) and CDevers (12.)

For 2025, I actually think an Abreu-Ref platoon at DH would outhit Yoshida, but I have us trading Abreu. Maybe an E Valdez-Ref DH platoon, if someone gets hurt?

On 9/27/2024 at 7:10 PM, moonslav59 said:

They never need to be, if we settle on Mayer or Campbell at 3B.

I have Casas as the FT DH, unless Devers needs a rest day, and I'd rather have Devers rest more often as a DH than sitting out full games.  On those days, if Casas is not due for a rest, he can play 1B over Devers. Unless there is an injury, 162 games can be by Casas (150) and CDevers (12.)

For 2025, I actually think an Abreu-Ref platoon at DH would outhit Yoshida, but I have us trading Abreu. Maybe an E Valdez-Ref DH platoon, if someone gets hurt?

There’s almost no chance Campbell or Mayer takes 3b.  As much as I’d like to move him across the diamond, Devers will be at the hot corner.  And very likely, Casas will be at 1b.  I’d love for the Sox to sign someone like Bregman (but less whiny) and re-arrange the infield.  But I don’t think re-arranging the infield to give 3b to one of two prospects with less than 50 career innings combined at the hot corner is the answer…

9 minutes ago, notin said:

There’s almost no chance Campbell or Mayer takes 3b.  As much as I’d like to move him across the diamond, Devers will be at the hot corner.  And very likely, Casas will be at 1b.  I’d love for the Sox to sign someone like Bregman (but less whiny) and re-arrange the infield.  But I don’t think re-arranging the infield to give 3b to one of two prospects with less than 50 career innings combined at the hot corner is the answer…

IMO, there is more chance Mayer or Campbell play 3B for the Sox in 2025 than Bregman. Both are super longshots.

9 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

IMO, there is more chance Mayer or Campbell play 3B for the Sox in 2025 than Bregman. Both are super longshots.

The key to rapid improvement is talent. The Red Sox aren't going to spend for big league talent because they have prospects not just on the verge of making the majors, but winning starting positions. 

Mayer may need some reps at shortstop in Triple A before Story moves back to second base, where he shined in 2022. Since then, the second basemen in Boston have been the worst in all of baseball -- and that right there is why Campbell, the best player in the minors, will get the opportunity to open next season as starter at the keystone sack.

Roman Anthony will also be a starting outfielder at Fenway Park in '25, maybe even out of Spring Training -- service time be damned. No CBO under the Henry ownership really cares about that extra sixth year of prospect control -- because CBOs never last more than four years in Boston.

The offseason won't be that complicated. Brez will focus on stockpiling inexpensive pitching, with the hope of transforming a few into valuable contributors. Maybe he will trade an outfielder for one of them, to open up a spot in the depth chart for Anthony.

11 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

IMO, there is more chance Mayer or Campbell play 3B for the Sox in 2025 than Bregman. Both are super longshots.

Fair.  But I think we all know who is going to be in the hot corner for Boston next year.  And it isn’t going to be Mayer, Campbell or Bregman…

18 minutes ago, notin said:

Fair.  But I think we all know who is going to be in the hot corner for Boston next year.  And it isn’t going to be Mayer, Campbell or Bregman…

Yup, and Yoshida will be the DH.... not Casas.

There are just too many benefits to trading Yoshida and moving Casas to DH (some 1B, when Devers needs rest) and Devers to 1B (some DH, when resting.)

1. Improved 3B defense.

2. Improved 1B defense.

3. Fragile Casas at DH minimizes injury, although his last one was from swinging the bat.

4. More PAs from Casas.

5. More PAs from Devers, as his "rest days" could be 10 as the DH, instead of 5 on the bench.

6. Any "savings" from the Yoshida trade could be added to the meager winter spending budget, if JH allows it to be.

7. It opens up a slot for a middle infielder to play 3B and gives Meidroth a clearer path to getting a chance, someday.

We could try: Campbell at 3B, Story/Mayer at SS and Mayer/DHam-Grissom at 2B or Mayer or Story at 3B, Campbell at 2B and Mayer or Story at SS. Id Meidroth should so happen to jump another level and win the job, then our middle infield becomes stronger and deeper.

I know it won't happen, but I like the idea.