Mookie Betts and David Price have been traded to Dodgers

[moonslav59]

Verdugo will be a stud.

 

I'm optimistic, too. Bloom seems to have a knack, but this is a big roll of the dice.

[moonslav59]

Another thing is how well Bloom played the Padre interest to put some fear into LA.

[Nick]

I'm optimistic, too. Bloom seems to have a knack, but this is a big roll of the dice.

 

I think he's relentless. He knows how to navigate.

[Oscars]

Red Sox blew up the team. Verdugo is an average MLB player. Nowhere close to Betts 6+ WAR and MVP contender status every season.

But they do immediately remove 57m from their cap this year. So I'm assuming they are under the luxury cap now.

 

Next step is to trade Jackie Bradley Jr. and insert Verdugo into the CF position.

As for RF, we can plug in Benitendi.

Good bye Mookie Betts.

 

I hope this doesn't hurt us as much as the Ruth trade did. Didn't win a championship again for how many years, was it?

 

No way Beni plays right field in Fenway with his noodle arm

[moonslav59]

I think he's relentless. He knows how to navigate.

 

Bloom is the main reason I still have optimism for a quick turn around.

[jad]

Red Sox blew up the team. Verdugo is an average MLB player. Nowhere close to Betts 6+ WAR and MVP contender status every season.

But they do immediately remove 57m from their cap this year. So I'm assuming they are under the luxury cap now.

 

Next step is to trade Jackie Bradley Jr. and insert Verdugo into the CF position.

As for RF, we can plug in Benitendi.

Good bye Mookie Betts.

 

I hope this doesn't hurt us as much as the Ruth trade did. Didn't win a championship again for how many years, was it?

 

I don't think they do. They still have to pay a good amount of Price's salary, and they also have to pay the players who are coming in.

To me, what they did is get rid of a popular, MVP calibre player, whom they could have gotten for one year at WAY below market value.

 

But JH is happy--that's the important thing. And, since TB is the model, the 14,000 fans who attend each game will be able to stretch out over a bunch of seats and relax.

[mvp 78]

Nobody is trading for $11M JBJ.

[TylerD]

Bloom is the main reason I still have optimism for a quick turn around.

 

Me too. Still think it takes at least a couple years to be competitive again though. Maybe closer to 5. But maybe I’m just being depressing.

[Larry Cook]

Me too. Still think it takes at least a couple years to be competitive again though. Maybe closer to 5. But maybe I’m just being depressing.

 

Does hang’em Chaim have a plan?

[harmony]

Another thing is how well Bloom played the Padre interest to put some fear into LA.

We don't know whether the consummated deal was better than, worse than or the same as earlier offers.

 

We're confident that Chaim Bloom waited until late in the offseason to pull off the trade.

[jacksonianmarch]

Verdugo will be a stud.

 

Stud isn't the word. Verdugo will not be Betts. That is what sox fans need to get out of their head. But can he be .290/25/80, steal 10 bases and play above average D. Yes, I think he can.

[a700hitter]

By Verdugo's age, Betts had 2 All Star seasons under his belt and a second place finish to Trout in an MVP vote. He also had 54 HRs. Verdugo is no Betts, not even close.

[jung]

Just a question if our Starters are healthy ? Sale ,Erod ,Bruiser ,Evo and openers ? What about The lineup ? Xander ,JDM ,Verdugo ,Devers ,Chavis ,Benny ,Vaz ? Pretty good right ? How about the fact Paxton may not be healthy all year not just 3 or 4 months ? Is the Yankee Starters besides Cole really that formidable with our lineup ? Would any one be shocked if this team as constructed may win over 95 games ? Do we remember 2013 ? why is the sky falling on most of you ? Do we root for Boston or the players names ? Was Mookie also a war hero ? Did he cure cancer ? I’m excited about this team and until I see different we can win a World Series in 2020 .....I’ll say it first we should not pay Mookie 400 million we should let some other team Pay Mookie 400 million .Thanks for 18 Mookie but we are on to 2020 and beyond we are title town still.

 

The sky is not falling. We just are not going to really compete for a little while.

 

In 2013, we had tough hard nosed vets up and down the bench and lineup and a perfect blend of very talented players earning league minimums integrated with them. We have neither at this point. We have a couple of almost vets like X and Moreland and we have JD. X will have his hands full taking care of the guys to his immediate left and right in the infield. JBJ can barely take care of himself. He is not an example to anybody. Vaz is not the sort of catcher in the mold of our Fisk or Munson of the Yankees. He can barely keep up with the pitching staff. Holt is gone. We have virtually nobody that is to this team what X, JBJ, Moreland, Wright. even Middlebrooks were as young guys making league minimums in 2013 other than Rafi. I would suggest that Chavis will have a difficult year because he can only hit one pitch and the league knows it now. Verdugo is simply nothing to be excited about and does not represent what we had for the 2013 younger players. Beni will have a hard enough time fitting into a batting order that does not have Mookie in it.

 

For the older vets we have nothing that is the equivalent of what Steven Drew, Pedey, Napoli, Gomes, Ventorino, ORTIZ for God sake, the last really good year of Ells were to this team in 2013.. That was one hell of a veteran group. You want to put JD, Moreland, Vaz, X, JBJ in their league as a group? Good luck with that.

 

Plus assuming that any pitching staff and particularly THIS one is going to be healthy is simply wishful thinking. Sale WILL be protected because he has to be protected. Eovaldi will not be protected but neither will he get through a full season. ERod absolutely MUST pitch a full season and start 30+ games this year. Something he has done one time so far, 2019. The 2013 pitching staff was possibly more talented as a group than what we have today and they were tough. They took the ball even when their arms were ripped to shreds.

 

So no, I see no comparison between the 2013 team and anything we will field in 2020. Nor will there be any comparison between the 2020 edition and what we put on the field in 2018. Do we have a Kimbrel on this team? We are stuck in the worst place for an MLB team. No depth in the minor leagues that can come up, and really play MLB while getting paid league minimum and nobody that will come close to filling the hole Mookie leaves in his wake. Christ we don't even have Sam Travis any longer.

 

We have Chavis who can only hit one pitch and Lin who regularly falls asleep right in the middle of plays.

 

We shuffled the deck constantly through 2016-2019 and we are now stuck with a pair of twos every time we reach down to find a player in this organization. Well you don't win many hands with a pair of twos. Won a championship in 2018. Buts its the kind of Championship that left us a bit short. And THEN we signed Sale to the deal that starts in 2020 and paid Eovaldi too much money for a guy that simply cannot get through a season.

Edited February 6, 2020 by jung

[Donnie Sadler was short]

In the Agon trade we didn't give up a player as good as Mookie Betts.

 

Anthony Rizzo.

[Donnie Sadler was short]

He hopes to be ready for opening day.... hopes... a much longer heal than expected

 

But has he..."started baseball activities" yet?

[harmony]

But has he..."started baseball activities" yet?

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that Alex Verdugo has been "medically cleared," according to MLB Trade Rumors:

 

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/02/latest-on-potential-mookie-betts-trade.html

[enlightened]

Man - some of you guys are so entitled!

 

I'm a UK based Sox fan and as you probably know the number 1 game over here is football (or soccer as you will know it).

 

Many UK football teams have no chance of ever winning a title but their supporters are loyal and follow them regardless. Some of the more well known teams have been very badly managed financially in recent years with the FSG run Liverpool being an exception. From over here it looks as if John Henry has been a great owner for the Red Sox and has brought us riches that we could only have dreamt about before the turn of the century. We've had a good run in recent years and now we have to rebuild. You have to take the rough with the smooth in sport. Our day will come again.

 

A 12 year $420m contract is such a massive gamble - if it was your money I bet most of you wouldn't take that risk. Sometimes you have to accept that you just can't have what you want.

Edited February 6, 2020 by enlightened

[Hitch]

Area owner hires GM to build a winner and green lights numerous large contracts for said goal. Results in the best team of the century of MLB.

 

Area owner greenlights a VERY shaky extension to pitcher who has been hurt frequently. Extended pitcher gets hurt.

 

Area owner fires GM for doing exactly what he asked him to do - pivoting to reduce payroll because, reasons. (fortunately GM hired in stead looks pretty promising)

 

Area owner mandates trade of a Top 5 player in his prime as a vehicle to dump salary without getting All-Star level ceiling in return.

 

Area owner raises ticket prices - among the highest in the league already - while doing something the Pittsburgh Pirates would have blanched at.

 

 

We have different levels of definition for 'awful' I guess. Were mistakes made? Sure. The only 'awful' thing they've done, is hike up ticket prices, especially in light of this trade being a possibility.

 

They gave DD the job and let him run with it. He made lots of mistakes, some of which they likely green lighted. It happens. They've also brought this club incredible success, you'd think maybe they could be cut some slack and allowed to see what their plan is. I guess continually making the Red Sox one of the biggest pay rolls in Baseball affords no slack either.

Edited February 6, 2020 by Hitch

[Hitch]

I think by demanding the Dodgers take Price, we got less of a return for Mookie than we would have otherwise.

 

Yup, 100%. Which is the part of the trade I had the problem with. Trade Mookie, but get maximum return, don't trade half a contract away of one our healthiest (not saying much) starters.

[Hitch]

Man - some of you guys are so entitled!

 

I'm a UK based Sox fan and as you probably know the number 1 game over here is football (or soccer as you will know it).

 

Many UK football teams have no chance of ever winning a title but their supporters are loyal and follow them regardless. Some of the more well known teams have been very badly managed financially in recent years with the FSG run Liverpool being an exception. From over here it looks as if John Henry has been a great owner for the Red Sox and has brought us riches that we could only have dreamt about before the turn of the century. We've had a good run in recent years and now we have to rebuild. You have to take the rough with the smooth in sport. Our day will come again.

 

A 12 year $420m contract is such a massive gamble - if it was your money I bet most of you wouldn't take that risk. Sometimes you have to accept that you just can't have what you want.

 

There's a lot of truth in this.

 

I mean for sure people have the right to be a bit pissed off with the trade. Sport is irrational. People have their favourite players and they don't give a s*** about logic when it comes to that. There's also plenty of questions marks over the trade, too. I don't like the Price side of things for sure. But yes you do often wonder if a fan base that has been excellently managed by FSG and brought incredible success has become entitled and spoiled.

 

All this 'at least we saved a billionaire some money' is nauseating at best, willfully missing the point at worst.

 

People do have a legitimate grudge against the ticket prices, however. They should take a leaf from us 'Pool fans. Singing for a sustained period of time 'you greedy bastards, enough is enough', before walking out on mass during the game got the message through and the prices increase were cancelled.

[enlightened]

Some reports now that Graterol's medical records are a bit iffy! Could be further developments.

[mvp 78]

Trade is held up. Sox stated that the medicals are showing he’s at best a reliever. Not sure what they found. Weird phrasing.

 

“ The Red Sox, after viewing the medical records of Twins right-hander Brusdar Graterol, projected him more as a reliever than as a starter.”

[Hitch]

The report I've read is that it's because they believed he was ready to go back to the rotation, but Twins had information that said he would need to stay with the bullpen. Meaning a less valuable piece coming back than a starter.

 

edit: What he said ^^

 

Drop him and Price from the deal. Tell Dodgers to cough up more for Betts. Happy days.

[mvp 78]

What in the medicals would state that tho? He’s either healthy or not.

[Hitch]

Yeah I don't know, it struck me as really odd, too. I'm really hoping we pull this part of the deal, personally.

[mvp 78]

Dodgers should just add another relief arm to the trade and be done with it.

[jung]

Trade is held up. Sox stated that the medicals are showing he’s at best a reliever. Not sure what they found. Weird phrasing.

 

“ The Red Sox, after viewing the medical records of Twins right-hander Brusdar Graterol, projected him more as a reliever than as a starter.”

 

That is interesting phrasing. Are they saying he is already so much of a fat f*** that he can only go out there and throw 20 pitches? Are they saying his arm/shoulder are so screwed up that he won't be able to do anything but relieve?

 

This is going well.

[S5Dewey]

 

A 12 year $420m contract is such a massive gamble - if it was your money I bet most of you wouldn't take that risk. Sometimes you have to accept that you just can't have what you want.

 

Nice phrase. You (and Kimmie) have chanced my thinking on this. It reminds me of what the great philosopher Jagger said, "You can't always get what you want, but sometimes.... you get what you need.'

 

We'd all like to see Mookie around for his entire career, but at what price? Do you want to see him here forever if it means we never win a WSC again because JH can't/won't spend enough additional money to put quality players around him?

 

We may not like this but it may be what we need.

[jacksonianmarch]

Graterol has shoulder issues as well as a prior TJS. I wonder if there’s some chronic anatomical issue in the shoulder

[cp176]

You're always pointing out the high ticket prices. But no one is forced to pay them.

 

And the Red Sox are not the #1 team in revenues. They are #3 behind the Yankees and Dodgers. But they outspent those teams the last two years.

 

No Red Sox fan should have a beef with Henry's spending on the team.

 

You are so right about those ticket prices and the fans. I'm a disturbed disgruntled fan right now. it is the players on the field that matter to me. Giving away a future Hall of Famer for likely very little in return, does it for me. I would be curious to know if there are any others seeing things as I do. I have no interest in paying the price to visit Fenway again. This is usually where someone says that I'm whining or not looking at things correctly. Possibly true I guess but there you go.