A Realistic View at 2018: Part I

[cp176]

I'm glad we didn't get Stanton, not at the price the Yankees paid in dollars. He's in his prime now, but if he doesn't opt out he's sure to decline, and that contract is backloaded.

 

yes for sure - How many years of his prime plus though do we have to be tortured through? He looks very good to me and at his age I'm thinking the Yanks got a guy who can carry the offense for a few years - Not to mention the rest of the boys. No matter how it is spun, this is a big one. Real rivalry renewed.

[Oscars]

Better fire up Carmen and see what she comes up with.

It's going to need to be more that 1 big bat !!!

[Larry Cook]

Better fire up Carmen and see what she comes up with.

It's going to need to be more that 1 big bat !!!

 

Good pitching beats good hitting!

[moonslav59]

What I read is that the one of the prospects the Yankees traded is comparable to our #1 prospect. In other words, we could not have gotten him for 2 single A farm hands.

 

We could have taken more money, so the prospects wouldn't have had to be as good,

 

We could have given them Castillo (instead of Castro) plus Mata and Brannen, and told them to keep the $30M.

[oldtimer]

We could have taken more money, so the prospects wouldn't have had to be as good,

 

We could have given them Castillo (instead of Castro) plus Mata and Brannen, and told them to keep the $30M.

 

Lets keep Brannen. I see in him the next CF within 2 years.

[Kimmi]

The Red Sox could have competition for Starlin Castro:

 

 

Seattle's newly acquired Dee Gordon might be nominally available.

 

How about Rick Porcello and Jackie Bradley Jr. for Dee Gordon and lefty reliever Marc Rzepczynski?

 

Masslive columnist Christopher Smith today suggested the Red Sox trade Porcello to clear payroll space:

 

http://www.masslive.com/redsox/index.ssf/2017/12/how_boston_red_sox_should_resp.html#incart_river_index

 

A Gold Glove winner at second base, Gordon could fill in for Dustin Pedroia before testing his defensive skills as Bradley's replacement in center field.

 

Gordon is owed $38 million over the next three years with a team option for a fourth year. Bradley, who is only one year younger than Gordon, remains under team control for three years at at a total cost of, say, at least $24 million (including a projected 2018 salary of $5.9 million). Gordon has posted 9.1 fWAR over the past three seasons (with a suspension-shortened 2016), including 3.3 fWAR this year. Bradley has posted 9.8 fWAR over the past three seasons, including 2.3 fWAR this year.

 

Porcello has two years and $42 million remaining on his contract while Rzepczynski has one year and $5.5 million left on his pact.

 

After signing a five-year, $50 million extension, Gordon would count only $10 million for luxury tax purposes, meaning the Red Sox could assume $15.5 million, while shedding about $26.3 million, for the 2018 calculation. That frees up money to pursue free agents.

 

OK, the proposal is not realistic ... but I was bored.

 

I don't know if your proposal is realistic or not, but I am against trading Porcello and JBJ. As ho-hum as Porcello was for us last year, we need the starting pitching and we really need a guy who can eat up some innings. Also, I think Porcello will have some positive regression. Trading him just creates another hole that we don't need.

 

I love our outfield and I hope that Dombrowski does not break them up.

[Kimmi]

We could have taken more money, so the prospects wouldn't have had to be as good,

 

We could have given them Castillo (instead of Castro) plus Mata and Brannen, and told them to keep the $30M.

 

It's possible, but the point remains that Stanton would have wanted to come here.

 

The point of my post was not so much about what we would have had to give up, but rather that perhaps the single A farm hands are better than you give them credit for because the Yankees farm system is that deep.

[Fan_since_Boggs]

Or maybe the Red Sox decided they weren't going to spend 300 million on a corner outfielder, especially when corner outfield is already a strength of the team with Benintendi and Betts. There are plenty of corner outfielders who can hit--why spend 300 million on one?

 

In contrast, spending 300 million on a starting SS who can hit like M.Machado makes perfect sense. Moreover, based on the 2017 season, the Red Sox would greatly benefit from an upgrade at SS.

[Bellhorn04]

Or maybe the Red Sox decided they weren't going to spend 300 million on a corner outfielder, especially when corner outfield is already a strength of the team with Benintendi and Betts. There are plenty of corner outfielders who can hit--why spend 300 million on one?

 

In contrast, spending 300 million on a starting SS who can hit like M.Machado makes perfect sense. Moreover, based on the 2017 season, the Red Sox would greatly benefit from an upgrade at SS.

 

I'm afraid 300 million is way too much for Machado too.

 

Especially when he only hit .259 this year, even more especially when he had a rather dismal .310 OBP this year.

 

Aside from his character issues which are never a good thing when you're investing 300 million.

[jacksonianmarch]

Machado is going to be interesting. He should be a SS, but they have Beckham now. He also has shown unbelievable talent mixed with incredible frustrations. He’s had 3 6+ WAR seasons in the last 5, and 2 seasons of sub 3. He’s got power, but not Stanton level power. He doesn’t take pitches and walk like most major power hitters either. If he has a 6 WAR walk year, he’ll get big big money. If he hits .250 with a .310 OBP and 30 bombs again, his market will not materialize like he hopes.

[Larry Cook]

We could have taken more money, so the prospects wouldn't have had to be as good,

 

We could have given them Castillo (instead of Castro) plus Mata and Brannen, and told them to keep the $30M.

 

The point is mute! Stanton would not waive the no trade clause. The emphasis is not what the marlins could have had, it is what would have enticed Stanton.

 

Kraft gives Brady rent free space at patriots place. Maybe if Stanton has something like what Brady has, we could have gotten him free space outside Fenway. Point is we needed to work the Stanton side of the equation,

 

Problem is I do not think New Miami management took the time to learn stanton’s Hot buttons, so they could make the best possible deal. They just wanted his contract off the books. This was a huge missed opportunity for those guys.

[a700hitter]

The point is mute! Stanton would not waive the no trade clause. The emphasis is not what the marlins could have had, it is what would have enticed Stanton.

 

Kraft gives Brady rent free space at patriots place. Maybe if Stanton has something like what Brady has, we could have gotten him free space outside Fenway. Point is we needed to work the Stanton side of the equation,

 

Problem is I do not think New Miami management took the time to learn stanton’s Hot buttons, so they could make the best possible deal. They just wanted his contract off the books. This was a huge missed opportunity for those guys.

The word is moot for goodness sakes.

[Larry Cook]

The word is moot for goodness sakes.

 

I phone spell check gets me again! My bad!

[Bellhorn04]

The point is mute! Stanton would not waive the no trade clause. The emphasis is not what the marlins could have had, it is what would have enticed Stanton.

 

Kraft gives Brady rent free space at patriots place. Maybe if Stanton has something like what Brady has, we could have gotten him free space outside Fenway. Point is we needed to work the Stanton side of the equation,

 

Problem is I do not think New Miami management took the time to learn stanton’s Hot buttons, so they could make the best possible deal. They just wanted his contract off the books. This was a huge missed opportunity for those guys.

 

It's hard to say if the Marlins could have gotten more than they did. If the reports are accurate, the Dodgers were Stanton's first choice, but the Dodgers offer was not as good as the Yankees...the Dodgers were naturally concerned about Stanton being a DH type the last few years of the deal.

[a700hitter]

I phone spell check gets me again! My bad!

I hate that iPhone spell check. It can really mangle up what you write.

[Kimmi]

Or maybe the Red Sox decided they weren't going to spend 300 million on a corner outfielder, especially when corner outfield is already a strength of the team with Benintendi and Betts. There are plenty of corner outfielders who can hit--why spend 300 million on one?

 

In contrast, spending 300 million on a starting SS who can hit like M.Machado makes perfect sense. Moreover, based on the 2017 season, the Red Sox would greatly benefit from an upgrade at SS.

 

I definitely agree that spending $300 million for TEN years is too much. I never wanted the Sox to sign him. I don't like that he went to the Yankees, but I'm glad that we don't have that contract to deal with.

 

I would not give that kind of contract to Machado either.

[Fan_since_Boggs]

You're right: 300 million is too much for Machado. But I would defend my larger point: I would rather invest big bucks in a guy who can play SS than corner outfield. The Red Sox have two awesome corner outfielders going forward, but I'm not high on Bogaerts--I see Machado as a significant upgrade. The other alternative is to sign Machado for 3b and move Devers to 1b, but that wouldn't make sense if Devers shows improvement defensively, which might happen.

 

To be sure, I'll be disappointed if the Red Sox miss out on all three players: Stanton, Machado, and Harper. They need to sign one of the three -- after all, they are the big market Red Sox competing against the big market Yankees. Machado is my first preference due to position scarcity.

 

Harper is interesting but you would have to move Betts to CF. I'm not sure if the Red Sox would be willing to do that.

 

While 10 years, 300 million is too much for Machado, I would certainly be willing to give Machado a 10 year contract. He is young enough for that kind of contract. I'm not sure about his yearly salary, but to sign him you might have to pay him 25 mil per year, especially if he has a big 2018 season.

Edited December 10, 2017 by Fan_since_Boggs

[Nick]

So desperate Dave didn't go for the deal? Amazing.

[moonslav59]

Gregerson signs with the Cards for $5M/1 with a vesting $6M option with a $1M buyout.

[moonslav59]

Cubs to sign Brandon Morrow to about $10-11M per year.

[moonslav59]

The Red Sox are “very interested” in White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, which runs contrary to previous reports.

[jacksonianmarch]

They can be interested all they want. The question is, who are they giving up? You don’t have the parts in the minors to make this deal happen. You’re going to have to part with something painful

[Larry Cook]

Did anyone else hear that Wright got arrested for domestic abuse?

[mvp 78]

Yup. Release him.

[mvp 78]

Team statement: 'We are aware of the incident involving Steven. This is certainly a matter that the Red Sox take very seriously. It is my understanding that both local police and MLB are looking into this and for that reason, the club won’t have any further comment at this time.

 

Not good enough.

[notin]

They can be interested all they want. The question is, who are they giving up? You don’t have the parts in the minors to make this deal happen. You’re going to have to part with something painful

 

Like a fringe prospect like Guzman?

[Spudboy]

This is not a good off-season for the Sox so far.

 

This thing with Wright is just another example. I am not so sure what he did wrong other than argue with his wife as it has been reported that he did not hit anyone.

 

Still, I can see the Sox releasing him and looking for another 4-5 type.

 

Wonderful.

[a700hitter]

This is not a good off-season for the Sox so far.

 

This thing with Wright is just another example. I am not so sure what he did wrong other than argue with his wife as it has been reported that he did not hit anyone.

 

Still, I can see the Sox releasing him and looking for another 4-5 type.

 

Wonderful.

And I could see the Yankees acquiring him and having him put up 15 wins.

[harmony]

Did anyone else hear that Wright got arrested for domestic abuse?

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/redsox/2017/12/11/red-sox-steven-wright-arrested-for-domestic-assault/ziFPerJUzvfckoT3ssbIzN/story.html

 

http://www.weei.com/blogs/lucy-burdge/steven-wright-arrested-domestic-assault-charges

[harmony]

Boston Herald columnist Michael Silverman suggests the Red Sox sign J.D. Martinez and Eric Hosmer:

 

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/red_sox/2017/12/silverman_red_sox_need_to_sign_both_eric_hosmer_jd_martinez