Jose Bautista

[Dojji]

Then you should rejoice because the vast majority of this team is homegrown.

 

The vast majority of that huge prospect pool weren't traded but GRADUATED. They're not prospects anymore because they're on the team. Betts. Bogaerts, Bradley, Benintendi, Barnes, and several people whose names do not start with the letter B. these guys were all top prospects 24 months ago and now all of them look to be big league regulars.

 

We lost far more of our top prospect pool to the Boston Red Sox over the last 2 years or so than we did to the White Sox, Padres, Brewers and Mariners combined.

[Jack Flap]

http://www.espn.com/mlb/stats/team/_/stat/batting

 

This team could get 100 less runs without Papi and they'd still be a top 5 offensive team. The problem with this team is the pitching, not the offense.

 

Just to respond to this and the other posts saying we have nothing to worry about offensively...we probably don't. All I'm saying is this...

 

The success of our offense will depend heavily upon

-Hanley being an offensive force once again.

-Pablo being a major league baseball player.

-Leon continuing to be adequate offensively and/or Swihart or Vazquez taking a big step forward.

-Bogaerts, Bradley, Betts repeating last year's success.

-Benintendi becoming a key contributor.

 

None of these are outlandish things to expect, and all of them could come to fruition for all we know. If we get best-case scenarios across the board, this will again be an extremely good lineup -- but I guess after 2014 and 2015 I'm not as comfortable counting on that. We've seen before how a team built around young players and questionable veterans can quickly find itself in trouble; the young guys will be under a lot more pressure to be big run producers than they did before, and our depth beyond the starting nine is unimpressive at best. Having an all but guaranteed 30 HR, .900 OPS bat in the lineup is a big bulwark against other things going wrong, and I do think we'll miss Ortiz's reliable presence more than we might think. A one-year signing of Beltran (or a Bautista pillow contract) would have added a bit of thump without hamstringing us for the future, but it is what it is.

 

Again, I'm not worried per se, and in all likelihood this will indeed be a very good offense once again. It's just that if this is going to be a team going "all-in" for a ring over the next couple of years, I'd have preferred to add something more potent than Mitch Moreland to compensate for the loss of one of the most feared sluggers in the game.

[OH FOY]

98 Yankees were mostly made up by great trades. Lost a lot of Prospects too.

Yes, some FA's, but they did great Trades, and had a great young core in Jeter, Williams, Posada, Pettitte, and Rivera.

I cant remember the Yanks in last place, or for that matter below .500 Even last year.

No Trades, No Pitching Prospects in the future, only way to go is FA, or Trading Prospects at Positions of strength, to help out at Positions of weakness.

Another thing Ownership could have handcuffed DD, we are not going over Salary Cap this year, that stops the FA signings, only way to strengthen team is through Trades. I'm shocked the White Sox didn't ask for Benintendi, E-Rod, plus Prospects. This was a great trade.

I love Dubon, sorry to see him leave, but we'll survive.

Like I said Espinoza did good in Rookie Leagues, that doesn't impress me. Dominance in Pitching goes with you as you jump Leagues. Age means nothing at that Position. Until you reach your ceiling against the Competition your facing. He struggled as soon as he hit Low A ball, tougher competition. If He jumps 3 Leagues like Pedro did at age 19 then I'm wrong. Espinoza makes Triple AAA this year, then Trade was no good.

Edited December 10, 2016 by OH FOY!

[S5Dewey]

IMO, the changes that are being made in MLB, along with the ever escalating costs of free agents, make the value of a strong farm system that much more important.

 

I know it sounds like it, but I'm not at the point of wringing my hands. I'm just voicing my concerns, which have been my concerns about Dombrowski since he took over.

 

There's a good chance that by 3 years, our farm system will be very strong.

 

I do not want to be the team that George's Yankees were, just because we have the money.

 

I get so much more enjoyment/satisfaction out of watching home grown players play than I do from 'superstar' studs that were acquired elsewhere.

 

...which may be one of the reasons I like this team. When you look at Beni, JBJ, Mookie, XBo, Pedey, and Vazquez (and maybe even Hanley) you find a bunch of home-grown players there. No, we don't fill every position with home-growners because we've traded/signed for our pitchers, but I see nothing wrong with that.

 

Bill James said many years ago that the best way to use Free Agency is to fill as many positions as possible from within and then fill in the holes with FA's. In the case of the 2017 Red Sox we've filled the holes with home-grown players (in trades) and then filled the remaining holes with FA's. This has Bill Jame's long-term fingerprints all over it. It may not be practical to think that we can do this every three or four years but we should do it when we can.

[cp176]

98 Yankees were mostly made up by great trades. Lost a lot of Prospects too.

Yes, some FA's, but they did great Trades, and had a great young core in Jeter, Williams, Posada, Pettitte, and Rivera.

I cant remember the Yanks in last place, or for that matter below .500 Even last year.

No Trades, No Pitching Prospects in the future, only way to go is FA, or Trading Prospects at Positions of strength, to help out at Positions of weakness.

Another thing Ownership could have handcuffed DD, we are not going over Salary Cap this year, that stops the FA signings, only way to strengthen team is through Trades. I'm shocked the White Sox didn't ask for Benintendi, E-Rod, plus Prospects. This was a great trade.

I love Dubon, sorry to see him leave, but we'll survive.

Like I said Espinoza did good in Rookie Leagues, that doesn't impress me. Dominance in Pitching goes with you as you jump Leagues. Age means nothing at that Position. Until you reach your ceiling against the Competition your facing. He struggled as soon as he hit Low A ball, tougher competition. If He jumps 3 Leagues like Pedro did at age 19 then I'm wrong. Espinoza makes Triple AAA this year, then Trade was no good.

 

Makes a lot of sense to me. It is how I see it. I also think Dubon is the sleeper here. He really looks like a young up and coming prospect. I feel very much like you do about Espinoza.

More importantly - Joe Foy

[Spudboy]

I hear what you're saying but at the same time I'm not one to go out and 'borrow trouble'. We have quality players locked up for three or more years so it's not imperative that we have ML ready players in AAA. We now have 3+ years to replenish our farm system, at which time we're looking at Groome, etc. being ready to make the jump to Fenway.

 

There's a real chance that by 2022 the Red Sox won't be as good as they look right now but given the changes that MLB is making that may become a cycle in MLB - that the strong teams become weaker as the weaker teams get stronger and so ad infinitum. For now I'm willing to be on the leading edge of that cycle. It's more fun than being on the trailing edge.

 

There's also always the argument to be considered also that the teams with money will always find a way to have an advantage and as long as JH is driving the bus I don't see the Red Sox as ever being a team without the money.

 

So in a nushell, am I "concerned" Sure, a little. But let's see how things shake out before we start wringing our hands.

 

Awesome post.

[Spudboy]

IMO, the changes that are being made in MLB, along with the ever escalating costs of free agents, make the value of a strong farm system that much more important.

 

I know it sounds like it, but I'm not at the point of wringing my hands. I'm just voicing my concerns, which have been my concerns about Dombrowski since he took over.

 

There's a good chance that by 3 years, our farm system will be very strong.

 

I do not want to be the team that George's Yankees were, just because we have the money.

 

I get so much more enjoyment/satisfaction out of watching home grown players play than I do from 'superstar' studs that were acquired elsewhere.

 

 

Holy crap I just spit my coffee out through my nose.

 

Somebody must have hacked Kimmi's account!!!!!!

[cp176]

IMO, the changes that are being made in MLB, along with the ever escalating costs of free agents, make the value of a strong farm system that much more important.

 

I know it sounds like it, but I'm not at the point of wringing my hands. I'm just voicing my concerns, which have been my concerns about Dombrowski since he took over.

 

There's a good chance that by 3 years, our farm system will be very strong.

 

I do not want to be the team that George's Yankees were, just because we have the money.

 

I get so much more enjoyment/satisfaction out of watching home grown players play than I do from 'superstar' studs that were acquired elsewhere.

 

I like this post. Could not agree with it any more than I do. Personally speaking, now that the pieces seem to be assembled, we get a chance to see what kind of impression DD makes with respect to the future future of this franchise. If the same energy can be put into locating, signing, and teaching our future young players that we have seen from our prior two GM's we could actually be in store for an incredible baseball experience going forward. We live in New England. We need this more than many other areas do for many reasons not the least of which is that it is a cold, dark winter. Merry Christmas !!!

[moonslav59]

There is a very small chance our farm will be very strong 3 years from now.

 

Beni, Devers, Travis, Johnson, Hernandez, K Martin and Ysla will all be graduated. We will have Groome and whoever we acquire between now and then. Groome will be close to ML ready by then, but how many of the future acquisitions will be near ML ready in 3 years?

 

These guys in the system now have a chance to move up and be ranked in 3 years (age in 3 years):

 

Dalbec 24 3B (1B?)

Chatham 24 SS (maybe replace the departing Bogey?)

Ockimey 24 1B

Chavis 24 3B

Longhi 24 1B

TBall 25 P

Raudes 21 P

Shawaryn 25 P

Lakins 25 P

Anderson 25 P

Cosart 25 P

Shepherd 27 P

Pimental 25 P

Bautista 24 P

Matheny 25 C

Beeks 26 P

Y Abar 22 OF

B Mata 20 P

 

We're going to have a low draft pick next year and probably lower ones over the following 2 years, and getting players on the international market by outbidding poorer teams just got a lot more difficult.

 

If we can find more Mookie Betts in the 5th round, we could get there, but I wouldn't say there's a "good chance".

 

I agree, kimmi's account was hacked or she missed typed her thoughts.

 

 

 

 

 

.

[S5Dewey]

True enough, but there are a couple of things to think about also.

 

We're not going to lose ALL of the players we currently have. At least I hope not! It's going to be hard-to-impossible to retain them all but some will be re-signed somehow. The FO is just going to have to be judicious about which ones they sign and which ones they let go. There's at least some sort of a 'rotation', where they're not all coming off at the same time!

 

And.. it may not be realistic to think that we're going to be in the WS every year. I mean... nobody else is. And if we can pull out a couple of appearances and at least one ring in 2017-2020 - not unrealistic when looking at our roster and who's coming off/when - we could probably survive a couple of years when we weren't there as long as we remain competitive.

 

I still think the future is bright, even into the mid 2020's. And I wouldn't begin to predict what the team will be after that. That's 8 years down the road, the equivalent of 2009 when looking backward and look how much has changed since then.

[Kimmi]

I am concerned. But not enough to fail to recognize that DD did what he did for a very good reason and that it was probably the right thing to do. Basically he hit fast forward on the timetable we'd had for several of our prospects and replaced them with young, cost controlled, skilled players instead. He did this for a very good reason, because the team was ready to compete now and there was no reason not to pull out all the stops and give us the best possible chance to compete for a title.

 

If DD had gone after aging stars or guys with limited control left, I'd be concerned about the price he paid, but what he's actually done is line up a 3 year playoff window during which this team is going to be at its maximum potential competitiveness. Instead of perennial contention and creating a rolling peak with a few guys peaking ay any given time, as Theo liked to try to do in his later years here, DD's lining up a max peak team, the way Theo did in 04 and the way Theo did again for the Cubs in 2016. Theo seems to agree that that's a good ploy to play when you're a new GM coming into a market and trying to make an impression.

 

We'll pay for it on the back end, and DD is probably full aware of that, just like Theo was in 04 (05 and 06 were not particularly fun, then the farm system recovered and delivered us a huge win in 07) and probably is with this Cubs team. but I'll take it if it gets us another banner, even if it means some poor years in 2021 and beyond.

 

I will take it too, if it gets us another World Series banner. That is the ultimate goal. It will most assuredly get us to the playoffs, but we all know that anything can happen once we're there.

 

FTR, Theo lined up a max peak team in 04 and with the Cubs in 16, but he did not gut the farm in either situation to do so.

 

I just think that we could be in nearly as good of shape for the short term as we are not AND not sacrificed our long term.

[Kimmi]

Do like me, recite 'The Serenity Prayer' and the song 'Forget Domani' and be happy.

 

LOL

 

I'm very happy. I'm always happy. Usually.

[moonslav59]

True enough, but there are a couple of things to think about also.

 

We're not going to lose ALL of the players we currently have. At least I hope not! It's going to be hard-to-impossible to retain them all but some will be re-signed somehow. The FO is just going to have to be judicious about which ones they sign and which ones they let go. There's at least some sort of a 'rotation', where they're not all coming off at the same time!

 

And.. it may not be realistic to think that we're going to be in the WS every year. I mean... nobody else is. And if we can pull out a couple of appearances and at least one ring in 2017-2020 - not unrealistic when looking at our roster and who's coming off/when - we could probably survive a couple of years when we weren't there as long as we remain competitive.

 

I still think the future is bright, even into the mid 2020's. And I wouldn't begin to predict what the team will be after that. That's 8 years down the road, the equivalent of 2009 when looking backward and look how much has changed since then.

 

We can't look that far, you are right, but we do know that not having all these promising prospects and adding a few more players that will require expensive contracts to keep around once their contracts expire is going to make staying a good to great team beyond 3-4 years is going to be very difficult or very expensive for Henry.

 

Let's try to look at the next few years, in terms of who we'll need to replace and how much money will be coming off the books:

 

2018 $197M Limit: We lose Buch $13.5M, Young $6.5M, Moreland $5.5M $ Abad ~$2.0M (Total: $27.5M)

-- We may be able to fill next year's needs from within (Moreland>Travis, Young>Swihart and Buch> Owens or Johnson), but we could also just sign one year contracts to fill the gaps and carry over the $27M savings to the next year. We will also have arb raises to account for.

______________________________________________

 

2019 $206M Limit:(assuming we keep Sale & HanRam on options) We lose Kimbrel ($13M), Pomeranz, Kelly, Ross (CK + all arbs: estimate $25M)

 

-- Replacing Kimbrel could be costly. Maybe Thornburg, Smith or Kelly will be capable and ready to be a closer. We'll still have 5 starters on the books, so maybe we can get by without replacing Pom in kind. Again, arb raises will eat up some of the available money. One year contracts can hold us over for next year's must year for extending Bogey and replacing Porcello and others. I'm not sure any farm products will help this year.

_________________________________________

 

2020 $208M Limit: We lose Porcello ($20.6M), Sandoval option ($17M or $5M option), Bogaerts (last arb), Thornburg, Holt, Rutledge, Workman (Total: estimate $70M-$5M buyout=$65M)

 

-- This when the reckoning really begins. It's hard to project this far out, but I think we can keep Bogey and Porcello or replace them with high cost FAs and still be under the limit, assuming we haven't signed any big FAs from the previous 1-2 years. Maybe Groome will be ready by this time, but expecting him to replace Porcello is a lot to ask.

 

____________________________________________________

 

2021 $210M Limit: We lose Betts, JBJ, Wright, Smith, Vazquez &Leon (Total estimate: $55-70M)

 

-- Too far away to project, but here is when having top prospects ready for the bigs would have helped out.

[Kimmi]

Then you should rejoice because the vast majority of this team is homegrown.

 

The vast majority of that huge prospect pool weren't traded but GRADUATED. They're not prospects anymore because they're on the team. Betts. Bogaerts, Bradley, Benintendi, Barnes, and several people whose names do not start with the letter B. these guys were all top prospects 24 months ago and now all of them look to be big league regulars.

 

We lost far more of our top prospect pool to the Boston Red Sox over the last 2 years or so than we did to the White Sox, Padres, Brewers and Mariners combined.

 

I have posted many times that I'm very excited about our team for the short term. I realize that many of our top prospects graduated to the major league team. Why? Because Theo and Ben refused to part with them.

 

Even with all of the young players now graduated to the majors, our farm system was still ranked as the best and had other GMs in awe. Our long term outlook beyond this '3 year window' was very promising.

 

It no longer is. We really do indeed have a short window in which to get it done.

[Kimmi]

...which may be one of the reasons I like this team. When you look at Beni, JBJ, Mookie, XBo, Pedey, and Vazquez (and maybe even Hanley) you find a bunch of home-grown players there. No, we don't fill every position with home-growners because we've traded/signed for our pitchers, but I see nothing wrong with that.

 

Bill James said many years ago that the best way to use Free Agency is to fill as many positions as possible from within and then fill in the holes with FA's. In the case of the 2017 Red Sox we've filled the holes with home-grown players (in trades) and then filled the remaining holes with FA's. This has Bill Jame's long-term fingerprints all over it. It may not be practical to think that we can do this every three or four years but we should do it when we can.

 

But once this short term period is over, will we be able to fill any roster spots with home grown talent?

 

We no longer have a strong farm.

[Kimmi]

Holy crap I just spit my coffee out through my nose.

 

Somebody must have hacked Kimmi's account!!!!!!

 

LOL

 

While I disagree with Dombrowski's team building philosophy so far, I do realize that he's been a GM for a long time and that he knows more about building baseball teams than I do.

 

I still strongly disagree with his tearing down of our farm, but I'm willing to give him a chance to make it right.

 

People seem to think he can and will do it. Maybe he can.

[Kimmi]

I like this post. Could not agree with it any more than I do. Personally speaking, now that the pieces seem to be assembled, we get a chance to see what kind of impression DD makes with respect to the future future of this franchise. If the same energy can be put into locating, signing, and teaching our future young players that we have seen from our prior two GM's we could actually be in store for an incredible baseball experience going forward. We live in New England. We need this more than many other areas do for many reasons not the least of which is that it is a cold, dark winter. Merry Christmas !!!

 

I can only hope that now that he has our short term set, he focuses on replenishing the farm.

 

I have moved further south where it's not quite as cold, but the 30 degree temps we had last night were cold enough for me. It was dark when I drove to work yesterday morning, and it was dark when I drove home from work.

 

April cannot get here soon enough for me.

 

Merry Christmas!

[Kimmi]

If we can find more Mookie Betts in the 5th round, we could get there, but I wouldn't say there's a "good chance".

 

I agree, kimmi's account was hacked or she missed typed her thoughts.

 

Yeah, I probably shouldn't have said 'good chance' but just 'a chance'.

 

Dombrowski's a smart man. I'll remain hopeful until I can't anymore.

[Fan_since_Boggs]

Think Dombrowski goes after him? All the speculation on MLB Network is that Jose is garnering has no interest from anyone and will likely settle for a one year deal.

 

And since Dombrowski seems to like tbe idea of going all in when you're close, isn't Bautsta more "all in" than Mitch Moreland?

 

I know he will cost a first round pick. But when you've already dealt a top ten prospect and a major leaguer for Tyler Thornburg, is a late first round pick really a stumbling block here?

 

If Bautista is still available mid-January, I would be surprised if Dombrowski didn't make a move...

 

Right now the Red Sox's first round pick is 24th and could go a few spots higher, which would be awesome. They could draft a total bust with that pick. They could also draft the next N.Syndegaard with that pick. The other important consideration: by losing their first round pick, the Red Sox would have a much smaller draft budget, and this would make it more difficult to sign an over slot prospect later in the draft (to buy out his college commitment). So, in some ways, the Red Sox would lose two prospects by signing Bautista, not one.

 

When you factor in Moreland's ability to prevent runs, something Bautista is no longer good at, the difference between the two is not as significant as we would normally think, especially if we factor in a decline in Bautista's production (age) and an increase in Moreland's (Fenway might augment his BA).

[moonslav59]

I can only hope that now that he has our short term set, he focuses on replenishing the farm.

 

Not an easy task with projected low draft picks and smaller international spending pool money.

 

DD's farm building resume is sorely lacking, but he has different scouts now.

 

I'm trying to stay hopeful, but I am deeply concerned, as you are.

[Fan_since_Boggs]

Draft order:

http://www.baseballamerica.com/draft/2017-draft-order/

 

The Cards and Rockies have given up their picks, moving the Red Sox to 24. I would like to see the Marlins sign Janson, moving the Red Sox up another spot.

 

The White Sox, Yankees, Pirates aren't giving up their picks. It sounds like the Tigers aren't spending. The Royals probably won't spend. I'm not sure about the Astros, but with Beltran signed, they don't need Bautista, Encarncion, or Trumbo.

 

If the Guardians or Rangers sign Encarncion it wouldn't improve the Red Sox's first round draft position (alas).

Edited December 10, 2016 by Fan_since_Boggs

[moonslav59]

Our last few picks in the mid to late 20's:

 

2014: Chavis 26

2012: Marrero 24

2011: Swihart 26

2010: Vitek 20

2009: Fuentes 28

2008: Kelly 30

2006: Jason Place 27

2006: D Bard 28

2005: Ellsbury 23

2005: Hansen 26

 

[OH FOY]

Teams signing FA's this year with QO's makes 0 sense to me, when next year you sign them and wont lose a 1st Rounder. Wait a year wont kill you. JB is smart he would take QO, next year he wont be blocked. Get his numbers up, and make 18 million this year. According to new CBA, you can make 1 QO to FA's, but that's it.

That's why Buchholz has value, he can still get a QO next from a team, split the difference in Salaries this years and next, and your still getting value. QO's should be around 19 million next year.

[Kimmi]

I can only hope that now that he has our short term set, he focuses on replenishing the farm.

 

Not an easy task with projected low draft picks and smaller international spending pool money.

 

DD's farm building resume is sorely lacking, but he has different scouts now.

 

I'm trying to stay hopeful, but I am deeply concerned, as you are.

 

Well, another concern is that several of our top scouting people recently left.

 

We have no choice but to wait it out and see what our team looks like in 3-5 years.

 

In the meantime, at least we should have a very exciting, young team to watch!

[OH FOY]

Mozeliak surprised me taking Fowler, but it makes sense. He needs a CF plus he weakens the Cubs. Fowler was big asset to the Cubs.

Time will tell. Cubs had an unreal record with Fowler in the line-up, so-so without him.

[notin]

Mozeliak surprised me taking Fowler, but it makes sense. He needs a CF plus he weakens the Cubs. Fowler was big asset to the Cubs.

Time will tell. Cubs had an unreal record with Fowler in the line-up, so-so without him.

 

It didn't surprise me once we saw what the asking price for Adam Eaton was...

[moonslav59]

Well, another concern is that several of our top scouting people recently left.

 

We have no choice but to wait it out and see what our team looks like in 3-5 years.

 

In the meantime, at least we should have a very exciting, young team to watch!

 

To me, our biggest hope for the long term is not in rebuilding the farm to close to what it just was, that's nearly impossible; my hope is that we can just keep all our young players beyond their last year of current team control.

 

Losing over $25M next winter (Buch, Young & Moreland) and then maybe another $25M after 2018 with Kimbrel, Pomeranz, Kelly and Ross may be enough to extend Bogey & Pomeranz and pay the arb raises at the same time. The real moment of truth comes after 2019: we lose HanRam, pay $5M to lose Pablo and then have to extend Sale & Porcello and ready ourselves to extend Betts & JBJ the following year. Assuming Travis and Devers can replace HanRam & Pablo in kind, I'm not sure their $41M savings will be enough to do all we want, but to me, there's a stronger chance of this happening than counting on our farm to bail us out if 3-6 years.

 

Here's how young we are now:

I bolded any years over 32.

 

Ages under team control

SP'ers

28-30 Sale

31-32 or 36 Price (opt out)> 33, 34, 35, 36

28-30 Porcello

24-28 ERod

28-30 Pomeranz

32- 35 Wright 33, 34, 35

32 Buchholz

(Owens, Johnson, Groome)

 

RHP'ers

29-30 Kimbrel

28-30 Thornburg

27-30 C Smith

29- 30 J Kelly

28- 29 R Ross

27- 31 Barnes

(Elias, Abad, Hembree, Scott)

 

Catchers

28-31 Leon

26-29 Vazquez

25- 29 Swihart

 

1B/DH

33-34 or 35 Ramirez 33, 34 & maybe 35

31 Moreland

(Sam Tavis/Ockimey)

 

2B

33-38 Pedroia

29-31 Holt

 

SS

24-26 Bogaerts

24-29 Hernandez

(Chatham)

 

3B

30-32 or 33 Sandoval-option

(Rafael Devers/Bobby Dalbec)

 

LF

22-27 Benintendi

33 C Young

 

CF

27-30 Bradley

 

RF

24-27 Betts

Edited December 11, 2016 by moonslav59

[Emp9]

Maybe if Price pitches well enough to opt for FA and Groome is good enough to start on a ML rotation?

 

I'm mean, ther's really just 3 contracts that are hampering our payroll right now. Price, Sandoval, & HanRam's. As far as I can tell.

 

Our future depends on Groome & Devers panning out when the time comes, Having Price opt out, having Sandoval increase his trade value, maybe trade HanRam like the Yanks traded Beltran (unless it makes more sense to keep him if they're making a post season bid).

[bosoxmal]

I can only hope that now that he has our short term set, he focuses on replenishing the farm.

 

I have moved further south where it's not quite as cold, but the 30 degree temps we had last night were cold enough for me. It was dark when I drove to work yesterday morning, and it was dark when I drove home from work.

 

April cannot get here soon enough for me.

 

Merry Christmas!

How far are you from Ft Myers? it'll be about 82 here today. Still shorts weather.

[moonslav59]

Maybe if Price pitches well enough to opt for FA and Groome is good enough to start on a ML rotation?

 

I'm mean, ther's really just 3 contracts that are hampering our payroll right now. Price, Sandoval, & HanRam's. As far as I can tell.

 

Our future depends on Groome & Devers panning out when the time comes, Having Price opt out, having Sandoval increase his trade value, maybe trade HanRam like the Yanks traded Beltran (unless it makes more sense to keep him if they're making a post season bid).

 

Could happen, and it might be helpful, but if Price is doing very well, which he'd have to be doing to want to opt out, if might cost more than $30M to replace him. We may need Groome to replace Pomeranz, and Porcello will be a FA the year after Price's opt out winter.