Bogey was an overpay. Schwarber was an overpay (minor).
Too cheap to pay Betts - yes.
But Schwarber? Was he supposed to tip that ludicrous offer the Phillies made to get a backup DH with no defensive skills whatsoever? Sure they could have buried him at 1b and hoped it worked out. But given that Schwarber was a low 2 bWAR player who had been non-tendered the previous offseason, I can understand not topping a 4-year $80mill contract…
One more time, and I know by now I sound like a broken record.
If Mookie was the only guy the Sox needed to be successful, I would agree. But in fact the 2019 Sox, who had all the same talented pitchers and lineup they had in the incredible 2018 season, collapsed because of the pitching and didn't even make it to the postseason.
The 2019 Sox payroll was the highest in MLB. So just to keep their talent at the same level, they would have had to get in a bidding war with the Dodgers for Mookie, continue to pay outlandish salaries to two starters, Price and Sale, who couldn't actually freaking start, and to pay additional outlandish salaries to new starters to replace Price and Sale. Plus down the road they would have to at least explore the possibility of paying Devers enough to retain him.
If my take on 2019--and retaining Mookie--is correct, there was no limit to the amount of money DD would have needed to keep the Sox competitive.
That said, I agree DD is an excellent CBO, which he has demonstrated with several teams, including the current Phillies.
Ahem. I think you have to be wrong about Schwarber, and I say that because to me the choice turned out to be Schwarber or Yoshida. Schwarber has made a difference for the Phillies, as he would have done with the Sox--even with all the K's and the weak defensive skills.
Right now the Phillies are 4th in MLB in runs scored with 336, just 10 runs behind the leaders, the Dodgers, with 346. And Schwarber is 3d on the Phillies in total bases, 2d in dingers, and 3d in rbi's. He has the same dingers, 13, as Devers, more rbi's, 38 vs 32, and fewer total bases, 101 vs. 112.
Last edited by Maxbialystock; 06-12-2024 at 01:36 PM.
Schwarber signed in '22, when we still had JD. Yoshida signed in '23, before we knew Duran was Duran.
Now, had we traded JD, and maybe ate some of his salary, signing Schwarber would look better.
I wish we had him, now, over Yoshida, but I don't think the comp matches up so smoothly.
When you say it's gonna happen now
When exactly do you mean?
Like I said there’s no way to keep all of the good players who departed. And I would have liked to see them build the team around Betts and Bogaert. They were expensive for sure but I think you need a couple of excellent players to complement a bunch of good players to compete.
Who exactly has Henry opened up his wallet for over the past 3-4 years? I can’t remember a single high priced talent he has paid. He has been very successful in reducing payroll but putting out a competitive team, not so much.