Who do you think will be gone next season???

[Spitball]

I think Bobby Valentine will be, and should be, gone for sure. The bottom line: he has skippered a sinking ship.

 

James Loney won't be resigned. He will have a tough time finding a starting job at the major league level.

 

Jarrod Saltalamacchia appears to be out in my opinion. Whatever the reason, I believe he has fallen behind Lavarnway in the catching depth chart. The Red Sox in his era as starting catcher have not been particularly successful.

 

Daisuke Matsuzaka will probably be gone. He might head back to Japan.

 

Mark Melancon needs a fresh start somewhere else. Padilla will probably be replaced.

 

Aaron Cook and Scott Podsednick have been fill-ins and will surely move on.

 

I wonder about Jacoby Ellsbury and Cody Ross. I think Ross will be resigned, but Ellsbury will be traded.

[Bellhorn04]

What about Ortiz?

[Thunder]

Gone:

Valentine

Dice K

Lackey

 

That's it. Cherington's too blind.

[jung]

I think Ortiz will be back but I think Aceves will be gone along with the guys that Spitball mentioned as gone in his first post.

[Bellhorn04]

Lackey won't be gone. Trading him now would make little sense.

[Bellhorn04]

Ortiz will be an interesting case. I'd like to see him back. But in some respects re-signing him might not be the smart move.

[jung]

Ortiz probably depends on how the Sox really feel about 2013. LL is making all sorts of "noise" about competing in 2013 blah blah blah....nothing he says interests me any longer. Who knows what they will really have. I would like to see him come back if the price is right. He has proved that under the right circumstances he is willing to prepare himself in the off season. If his Achilles is OK I would bring him back and see what happens.

 

Although I think your point is well taken Bell. The Sox should have been preparing to put Ortiz behind them and the fact that they can only do so with severe consequences for the offense is just another sign of their ineptitude. We shall see I guess.

[Spitball]

If only for public relations reasons, I see Ortiz coming back. His market is small. The NL is surely out. Most AL teams have DH options or have a revolving system in place.

[FenwayWest]

Ortiz will get a 2yr deal... I think he's earned it... He's been the MVP of the team this year...

 

Lackey stays only because you don't have another A-Gon to package him up around...

 

Valentine is gone... Aceves' little tantrum earned him a one way ticket out at the end of the season too

 

Next year, I like Ross, Ellsbury, Posednik/Kalish in OF, Ortiz at DH, Salty/Lavarnway at Catcher, Middlebrooks at 3rd, Pedroia at 2nd... I think Ciriaco earned a shot at SS, and maybe Loney comes back if he keeps up the good work

[Designated Hater]

Ortiz is OUT. He will sign with the Yankees because that is the only team (other than the Red Sox) in MLB that is willing to overpay an aging, grumpy DH. The Yankees will just end up putting more money on the table than the Sox and Ortiz will jump ship.

 

Good riddance.

 

Bobby V is out.

Same for Salty, Dice K, Lackey, and yes, Pedroia.

 

Get 'em all out of town. Rebuild that roster. Watch people not show up to games behind home plate because they are going to realize they are paying a mortgage payment to watch AAA talent.

 

It's fine. They blew their chance to rebuild when they had a good MLB squad. Now they don't and they have their hand forced. Just go for it, pink hats be damned!

[Spitball]

Ortiz is OUT. He will sign with the Yankees because that is the only team (other than the Red Sox) in MLB that is willing to overpay an aging, grumpy DH. The Yankees will just end up putting more money on the table than the Sox and Ortiz will jump ship.

 

The Yankees probably don't want an expensive, full-time designated hitter. The have aging players like Rodriguez, Jeter, and Chavez that need to split time there.

 

Also, they have plenty of offense. With their desire to avoid luxory taxes, they will not want to spend big money in that area. They need pitching, and that is were their money will most likely go.

[ibot2much]

Why woud the Yanks want lame Ortiz? Do you not think this injury will be a chronic problem. The FO is probably celebrating they did not give him the multi-year deal.....and they sure as hell won't do it this winter

[jung]

The Yanks won't want Ortiz. They have more DH's than they know what to do with now.

[Behindenemylines]

$panks are old and I don't see Papi signing there. They will use the DH spot to rotate their senior citizens. Based on events of the past month I can see the following gone this off season: Aceves (anti-social behavior doesn't play well if Sox are starting youth movement), Cook (Not AL East pitcher unless pitching batting practise), Meliancon (Just gave up another homerun), Aviles, Ellsbury (If he asks for Crawford $$$$$$), Salty (Has become an automatic out), Sweeney, Bard (I think the pressure of Boston is against him), Loney (No power), and Dice-K and his inconsistant pitching).

[InfernoOrangeSS]

It may be unpopular, but I hope Ortiz is back.

[Orange Juiced]

Ortiz gets offered arbitration again or a one-year deal (can't remember the mechanics of it at this point). Maybe around $12-15 million. Coming off an injury, that's being generous to Ortiz. They suddenly can afford that kind of one-year contract. If he stinks or gets hurt, oh well, at least it's not a long commitment. If he plays great, fine, go through it all again next year. If Ortiz is so insulted by such an offer, he walks. But...to where? I think even he sees there aren't exactly a lot of landing spots for him. So I see him back on a one-year deal.

 

Dice-K better be gone. Same with Aaron Cook.

 

Lackey stays. Suddenly his contract isn't that bad, surprisingly. They might try to move him if they acquire other starting pitchers that make him expendable. But I think he'll be here.

 

Salty should be traded. Someone out there will hopefully be swayed and impressed by his power, enough to overlook what appear to be somewhat significant holes in his game. Lavarnway takes the regular catching job.

 

Ellsbury will be shopped, but I suspect he stays. At least for the time being. Why? Two reasons: (1) Because a healthy and productive Ellsbury will really help the team in 2013, and (2) his trade value is lower right now coming off an injury-plagued and unproductive season. They need his trade value up. So if he plays really well I could see him being moved during the season. But he'll likely report to camp with the Sox.

 

They'll offer Ross a deal that will probably make most of us go...what? Like a 3-year, $24 million kind of deal. I hope they don't do that. I like Ross and am fine with him being here. Seems like a good fit. But I don't think that's the kind of investment they should be making in him. I think a 2-year, $12 million deal is about right. Gives them a useful player to hold the fort until Brentz, etc., are ready. But I think he stays.

 

Bullpen? I'd like to move Melancon, but what are you going to get in a trade for him and his 7.50 era and 1.47 whip? Not much. Maybe a low-level prospect from a smaller-market team, because Melancon might be better in that kind of situation. I like Tazawa, Hill, Miller, Aceves, and even Padilla. Bailey stays as the closer. There are two concerns here: (1) Aceves. Has he burned his bridges with the Sox? He's a pretty good pitcher who was amazing for them down the stretch of last year. He's a perfect 6th-7th inning guy who can go multiple innings in consecutive days. Excellent bullpen asset. But he's insane, apparently. I think they should keep him and try to work with his...um....issues. (2) Bard. He's done poorly since being recalled, which doesn't surprise anyone seeing as how he was doing poorly in the minors in the first place. He's a terribly lost asset if he never regains what he had in 2010 and most of 2011. But if he does regain it, he's suddenly one of the most dynamic bullpen weapons in the league. A lot is riding on this guy. But a bullpen of Tazawa, Hill, Miller, Aceves, a good Bard, and Bailey is really good.

 

It'll be interesting to see what happens if they do acquire another quality starting pitcher to go with Lester, Buchholz, and Lackey. Who gets the 5th spot? Doubront? Morales? Another veteran? If it's not Doubront or Morales, do either/both of them end up in the bullpen? And if so, who gets bumped?

 

Lots of interesting questions here.

[Bellhorn04]

Good summary there, Juiced. One thing I'm wondering is if Tazawa can be a starter.

[iortiz]

In few words, everybody no named Peddy, Buch, WB or Ross have to go...

[mvp 78]

In few words, everybody no named Peddy, Buch, WB or Ross have to go...

 

So Bailey, Lavarnway, Ciriaco, Ellsbury, Iglesias and all the bullpen pieces that pitched great for most of the year?

[mvp 78]

And Ortiz was the Sox best offensive weapon this year. They should have more than enough money to let him retire as a Red Sox.

[SoxSport]

Hate to see them overpay Ortiz, but their hitting is pretty weak and it looks like they have no choice. The question is whether they offer him more than one year. I wouldn't, considering he can get hurt just walking around the bases on a HR.

 

Aside from V, who will surely be fired--the FO will get their way this time, though they don't deserve it-- I think there's a 50/50 chance Ellsbury gets traded for a pitcher. They have a surplus of outfielders, and Ells has a weak arm for CF and can't draw walks batting leadoff. Stolen bases are an afterthought on this team. And oh yeah, Boras...

 

V will cost the team $5 million for one year of BS. Take that, season ticket holders and NESN subscribers.

[SoxSport]

So Bailey, Lavarnway, Ciriaco, Ellsbury, Iglesias and all the bullpen pieces that pitched great for most of the year?

 

Iggy gets benched after 4-5 games for going 1 for 17 or so. They don't do things like that in Tampa Bay or Baltimore.

 

When you see what this organization has become, it's hard to see them contending again soon, unless Henry sells the team and there is some real housecleaning in the organization--

right up the line.

[mvp 78]

He wasn't walking aroumd the bases. He was hustling to third as he wasn't sure the ball was out. Nice revisionist history though.

[mvp 78]

Iggy gets benched after 4-5 games for going 1 for 17 or so. They don't do things like that in Tampa Bay or Baltimore.

 

When you see what this organization has become, it's hard to see them contending again soon, unless Henry sells the team and there is some real housecleaning in the organization--

right up the line.

 

Remember how bad Pedroia was at first? Good thing Tito stuck with him.

[Bellhorn04]

He wasn't walking aroumd the bases. He was hustling to third as he wasn't sure the ball was out. Nice revisionist history though.

 

Yep. Freak injury, the same type that took out Ellsbury this year.

[iortiz]

So Bailey, Lavarnway, Ciriaco, Ellsbury, Iglesias and all the bullpen pieces that pitched great for most of the year?

 

oks... Lav and Ciriaco can stay... everyone else included Ortiz, Ells and Iglesias have to go/trade or whatever.

 

BP? Who do you want to keep?, Bailey?, Miller?, Hill? mmmm IDK man, 2 of them are prone to injuries...so, who else? Melancon? Aceves? Padilla? Bard?... who? Tazawa?...

 

This team needs to be rebuilt in each department.

 

Clean the house!

[Station 13]

Pedroia and Middlebrooks are two players to build around.

 

Re-sign Ortiz and Ross, both could be 2013 sought after bats that brings back prospects at the deadline.

 

Lester has 3 months to redeem himself in 2013, and if he does keep him. If not send him packing with Ellsbury at the deadline for prospects.

[Orange Juiced]

Lester has 3 months to redeem himself in 2013, and if he does keep him. If not send him packing with Ellsbury at the deadline for prospects.

 

Lester has already begun to rebound. Not all the way, mind you, but he's moving in the right direction.

 

Last 7 starts: 48.2 ip (almost exactly 7 ip per start), 3.70 era, 1.23 whip

 

Compare that to his first 21 starts: 126.1 ip (6 ip per start), 5.49 era, 1.44 whip

 

So yeah, he's improving. The Sox sorely could have used, for the entire season, the Jon Lester of the past 7 games.

 

Last 5 games: 34.0 ip (again, just about 7 per start), 3.44 era, 1.32 whip

 

Those numbers are very close to his "normal" numbers (from 2008-2011, his era was 3.33 and his whip was 1.24).

 

I suspect we'll see a much-improved Jon Lester in 2013.

[ibot2much]

I suspect we'll see a much-improved Jon Lester in 2013.

 

Especially with Beckett gone