Fire Bloom .

[moonslav59]

So Pivetta, who nobody thought much of and not a whole lot else then.

 

And you expected much more?

 

Only Pivetta made it all an "embarrassment?"

[mvp 78]

Do you think Bloom would have taken Mayer if the Red Sox had the first pick?

 

Yes

[mvp 78]

And you expected much more?

 

Only Pivetta made it all an "embarrassment?"

 

I expected the team to be competitive. To be near .500. The team sucked.

[Old Red]

Yes

 

3 teams passed on him, so it will be interesting to see how the top 4 eventually turn out.

[moonslav59]

No doubt, Bloom swung and missed on many of his addition prior to the 2020 season. I don't think anyone is patting him on the back for those winter moves, but- what was really expected? Would a few gems found in teh rough had really made a difference?

 

He was forced to trade Betts (added Verdugo). The return is up for debate, but highly speculative on what else was out there. The core of Bogey, Devers, Nate, JD, Sale, Erod, JBJ, Beni, Vaz, Barnes and deadwood Pedey, Rusney and half of Prices contract were still on the book.

 

I'm not joking about there being 18-22 weak spots on the 40 and precious few prospects with enough value to trade for meaningful pieces, if that was what we should have been thinking going into 2020 or at the 2020 deadline- not!

 

Here is what Bloom ended up doing, and again, this is not signing praises:

 

$6.5M Perez

$4.25M Pillar

$3M Moreland

$2.85M Peraza

$1.5M Lucroy

Near min, min wage or minor league additions: Osicj, Covey, McHugh, Weber, Springs, Brice, Valdez, Hall, Arauz, Hart, Mazza, Grullon, Puello, Leyer, Kickham, Godley, Stock, Tapia (Maybe some of these were acquired during 2020, like Arroyo.)

 

That's less than $20M spent on trying to fill about 20 slots, and Bloom is being bashed for "striking out" on just about all of these guys. Hmmm...,

 

The deadline brought us Pivetta and Seabold.

 

The next winter brought us Whitlock, German, Cordero, Winckowski ( Beni) and these additions (alos, many swings and misses):

 

$10M Richards

$8.9M Ottavino via trade

$7M x 2 Kike

$5M Perez

$3.1M Renfroe

$3M Marwin

$2.1M Andriese

$1.5M x 2 Sawamura

 

That's about $40M spent on these 8 guys, and other min wage guys like Whitlock and the deadline 2020 trade hauls. During the season, he extended Barnes and traded for Schwarber, Iggy, Robles, Shaw and Davis- giving up very little.

 

Yes, we came one game from missing the playoffs while coming 2 games from going to the WS.

 

We carried over Bloom additions to 2020:

Whitlock

Pivetta

Verdugo

Arroyo, Sawamura, Valdez, Arauz

German, Seabold, Winckowski, Downs, RHern, Wong

 

He added:

$23.3M x 6 Story

$10M Paxton (more about 2023>)

$9M JBJ via trade

$7M Wacha

$5M Hill

$4M x 2 Diekman

$3M Strahm

$2.25 Robles re-signed

Min Schreiber (waivers), Danish, Binelas, Hamilton and others

Gave Vaz his $7M option.

 

The progression is significant, steady but still not complete.

 

[moonslav59]

I expected the team to be competitive. To be near .500. The team sucked.

 

On less than $20M to spend on 20 holes in the 40? Wow!

 

Would going 30-30 been something you'd praise Bloom for?

 

(Yes, not going 30-30 got us Mayer, as you pointed out in another post. It also got us a high rule 5 pick: Whitlock)

[Fan_since_Boggs]

By the way, Jordan Lawler has been a stud so far in his production, more productive than Mayer so far. With that said, I don't know how the leagues compare.

 

It is too early to get a full read on Bloom. He has done some really nice things with the minor leagues but his critics make some reasonable points as well. But just because Bloom has made mistakes doesn't mean he can't improve and get better. At this point, it wouldn't make sense to fire Bloom, he deserves more time to see if he will build something special and sustainable. He does seem to prioritize the minor leagues, but maybe that will be in the best long term interest of the organization.

[notin]

He's had a resurgent year, that's for sure. I can't outright say he's the best though. I think he's definitely a better fit in RF than in CF at this point in his career.

 

Whether or not he’s the best doesn’t change that he is definitely in the argument…

[Fan_since_Boggs]

He was forced to trade Betts (added Verdugo). The return is up for debate, but highly speculative on what else was out there

.

 

This is true. It looks like the return for Betts is going to be disappointing but how many teams were even willing to trade for Betts? Probably very few and so Bloom took the best offer on the table.

 

In the retrospect, the best move would have been to resign Betts, but I don't know what happened there, I'm not sure if anyone does except for the few people involved in the negotiations.

[moonslav59]

Whether or not he’s the best doesn’t change that he is definitely in the argument…

 

With Renfroe on the IL, JBJ has closed the gap:

 

bWAR

0.9 Renfroe

0.6 JBJ (Binelas doing well/Hamilton slumping badly)

 

fWAR

0.7 Renfroe

0.2 JBJ

[Old Red]

.

 

This is true. It looks like the return for Betts is going to be disappointing but how many teams were even willing to trade for Betts? Probably very few and so Bloom took the best offer on the table.

 

In the retrospect, the best move would have been to resign Betts, but I don't know what happened there, I'm not sure if anyone does except for the few people involved in the negotiations.

 

Did anyone hear the Rob Bradfard podcast with Mookie? Mookie kind of explains his side.

[Fan_since_Boggs]

With Renfroe on the IL, JBJ has closed the gap:

 

bWAR

0.9 Renfroe

0.6 JBJ (Binelas doing well/Hamilton slumping badly)

 

fWAR

0.7 Renfroe

0.2 JBJ

 

This is meaningless though for a couple of reasons. (1) We need Renfroe to get injured to make the deal look better for the REd Sox, which is pretty sad. (2) The Red Sox could have traded Renfroe without replacing him with the clown show of Bradley and Arroyo. There is no excuse for the garbage in RF this year--Bloom should have known better.

[moonslav59]

With Renfroe on the IL, JBJ has closed the gap:

 

bWAR

0.9 Renfroe

0.6 JBJ (Binelas doing well/Hamilton slumping badly)

 

fWAR

0.7 Renfroe

0.2 JBJ

 

2022

1.3 fWAR Beni (1.4 bWAR and 3.1 '21-'22)

0.4 fWAR Cordero (0.2 bWAR and -0.6 '21-'22)+ Winckowski and otehrs

 

Team control years total

2.9 fWAR Betts (2020 only)

3.8 Verdugo (2020-2022) + Downs and Wong

[Old Red]

This is meaningless though for a couple of reasons. (1) We need Renfroe to get injured to make the deal look better for the REd Sox, which is pretty sad. (2) The Red Sox could have traded Renfroe without replacing him with the clown show of Bradley and Arroyo. There is no excuse for the garbage in RF this year--Bloom should have known better.

 

I don’t think JBJ is any kind of clown show even when he’s not hitting. Arroyo on the other hand is not an OF, and especially a RF in Fenway. Bloom knew he needed another RHB for a backup outfielder, but still did not get one.

[moonslav59]

This is meaningless though for a couple of reasons. (1) We need Renfroe to get injured to make the deal look better for the REd Sox, which is pretty sad. (2) The Red Sox could have traded Renfroe without replacing him with the clown show of Bradley and Arroyo. There is no excuse for the garbage in RF this year--Bloom should have known better.

 

I never liked the trade, but JBJ has not been "garbage," since the deal. Are you just being hyperbolic, or do you really think he's been garbage?

 

Either way, until the prospects have run their course, the jury is out.

[Fan_since_Boggs]

Bradley sucks. He can't hit--he is a fourth OF. He plays quality defense in RF--you can find players like that all over the place without it costing what Bradley is making.

 

he's been garbage?

He's a fourth outfielder, he is not a starting OF anymore. He should not be the starting RF. True, fourth OFs aren't "garbage," they can do a few things, they just shouldn't be starting.

[Bellhorn04]

Bradley sucks. He can't hit--he is a fourth OF. He plays quality defense in RF--you can find players like that all over the place without it costing what Bradley is making.

 

Your take on Bradley continues to be wildly over the top.

 

He's playing his usual great D and has a .760 OPS since May 1.

[moonslav59]

I don’t think JBJ is any kind of clown show even when he’s not hitting. Arroyo on the other hand is not an OF, and especially a RF in Fenway. Bloom knew he needed another RHB for a backup outfielder, but still did not get one.

 

He didn't have to spend much more than he is on Arroyo to get an okay one, either.

 

It was clearly a mistake. Maybe he thought between Kike, Verdugo, JBJ, Cordero and Duran, he could get by not using Arroyo much in the OF. He chose to spend elsewhere. So far, only the Diekman signing looks like a bad FA signing, so in an overall sense, it's hard for me to think this mistake negates all the good.

[mvp 78]

Bradley sucks. He can't hit--he is a fourth OF. He plays quality defense in RF--you can find players like that all over the place without it costing what Bradley is making.

 

 

He's a fourth outfielder, he is not a starting OF anymore. He should not be the starting RF. True, fourth OFs aren't "garbage," they can do a few things, they just shouldn't be starting.

 

79 wRC+ is fine for JBJ.

[Fan_since_Boggs]

Bradley is a starting RF with above average defense in RF and with a 78 OPS+. That's a backup player, a fourth OF. We can only speculate on how well he would play defensively in CF. At one time he was an outstanding defensive CF, but he is older now and defense declines pretty rapidly.

 

Obviously, it comes down to his bat. If he could hit, he would be a nice player but a guy with a 78 OPS+ isn't producing offensively.

[Maxbialystock]

Bradley sucks. He can't hit--he is a fourth OF. He plays quality defense in RF--you can find players like that all over the place without it costing what Bradley is making.

 

 

He's a fourth outfielder, he is not a starting OF anymore. He should not be the starting RF. True, fourth OFs aren't "garbage," they can do a few things, they just shouldn't be starting.

 

He has the 6th best WAR among the Sox position players--+0.6--and is a better overall defensive outfielder than anyone else on the team. His OPS for the season is a lousy .634, but better than Kike's .613 and just a tad worse than Verdugo's .634.

 

Better still, his OPS for May was .737 and for June it's .857. Did you stop watching the games after April?

 

I am happy to admit I thought getting him back was a terrible idea, especially given his salary. But right now he looks like the old JBJ, the guy who stunk in 2013, had an abominable OPS of .513 in 2014 (when he replaced Ellsbury but kept being shuttled back to Pawtucket until something clicked in August), and then clicked at the plate (while also being erratic).

 

His WAR's in 2014-2020 were .6, 2.2, 5.3, 2.8, 2.1, 2.0, and 1.9. His OPS's for the same years were .513, .832, .835, .726, .717, .738, and .814 (short season).

Edited June 8, 2022 by Maxbialystock

[Fan_since_Boggs]

The contract matters too (the Red Sox are paying him 9.5 m?) and the fact that he is a RF and a black hole in the lineup (78 OPS+). The implications of having a RF who can't hit versus a CF who can't hit seem more troubling to me.

 

He has the 6th best WAR among the Sox position players--+0.6--and is a better overall defensive outfielder than anyone else on the team. His OPS for the season is a lousy .634, but better than Kike's .613 and just a tad worse than Verdugo's .634.

 

To be fair to some of the criticisms leveled at Bloom: they do not only revolve around Bradley but around the entire OF that Bloom has assembled. I'm someone who likes Bloom, but the critics have a point when it comes to the Red Sox starting outfielders.

Edited June 8, 2022 by Fan_since_Boggs

[mvp 78]

Bradley is a starting RF with above average defense in RF and with a 78 OPS+. That's a backup player, a fourth OF. We can only speculate on how well he would play defensively in CF. At one time he was an outstanding defensive CF, but he is older now and defense declines pretty rapidly.

 

Obviously, it comes down to his bat. If he could hit, he would be a nice player but a guy with a 78 OPS+ isn't producing offensively.

 

Would there be similar complaints if it was Randal Grichuk, Nick Castellanos or Whit Merrifield?

[moonslav59]

The contract matters too (the Red Sox are paying him 9.5 m?) and the fact that he is a RF and a black hole in the lineup (78 OPS+). The implications of having a RF who can't hit versus a CF who can't hit seem more troubling to me.

 

 

 

To be fair to some of the criticisms leveled at Bloom: they do not only revolve around Bradley but around the entire OF that Bloom has assembled. I'm someone who likes Bloom, but the critics have a point when it comes to the Red Sox starting outfielders.

 

He had to reconstruct much of the team, not just the OF. Should he not have signed Wacha, so he could address the OF in a more meaningful way?

 

If he had, we'd be bitching about neglecting the rotation.

 

I agree on the trade, and from day 1, I stated I was most concerned about the money part of the deal, especially the $8M buyout on next year's $12M option. When the winter spending budget has seemed to be so tight, the moves made for JBJ and last year's Ottavino seem like head-scratchers, but the prospect part is still to be determined, and on a team that looks to have a better chance in 1-3 years, than 2021 and 2022, maybe that's what those deals were mostly about. (Same with Beni.)

[Fan_since_Boggs]

and on a team that looks to have a better chance in 1-3 years, than 2021 and 2022, maybe that's what those deals were mostly about. (Same with Beni.)

This is what I like about Bloom--he is building more for the next few years rather than the immediate and I think that was a prudent approach. It goes back to the early days and the debate that Theo brought up: is it better to compete every year or is it better to compete 7 out of 10 years, using 3 of those years to build a stronger foundation. Bloom may have made the strategic decision to build more for the future than the immediate and I prefer that approach. I like what Bloom has done with the farm system. The organization is moving in the right direction and I'm hoping the Yankees soon fall off the cliff--they have some big contracts coming up: Judge & Tallion while locked in to some other big contracts (Cole & Stanton) and have a pretty weak farm system. In contrast, the Red Sox have a lot of young talent that will soon be ready to burst on the scene.

 

I wonder what the REd Sox OF will look like in a few years. Obviously, an aging bench player like Bradley won't be there thankfully. Maybe Rafaela in CF, Duran in LF, but RF remains a mystery. They don't really have a future RF in the upper levels of the farm system. Jimenez is a possibility but a long shot.

[moonslav59]

This is what I like about Bloom--he is building more for the next few years rather than the immediate and I think that was a prudent approach. It goes back to the early days and the debate that Theo brought up: is it better to compete every year or is it better to compete 7 out of 10 years, using 3 of those years to build a stronger foundation. Bloom may have made the strategic decision to build more for the future than the immediate and I prefer that approach. I like what Bloom has done with the farm system. The organization is moving in the right direction and I'm hoping the Yankees soon fall off the cliff--they have some big contracts coming up: Judge & Tallion while locked in to some other big contracts (Cole & Stanton) and have a pretty weak farm system. In contrast, the Red Sox have a lot of young talent that will soon be ready to burst on the scene.

 

I wonder what the REd Sox OF will look like in a few years. Obviously, an aging bench player like Bradley won't be there thankfully. Maybe Rafaela in CF, Duran in LF, but RF remains a mystery. They don't really have a future RF in the upper levels of the farm system. Jimenez is a possibility but a long shot.

 

There's a good chance maybe only 1-2 prospects gained in those 3 trades I mentioned amount to significant net pluses. Maybe none do, but increasing the quantity and quality of the farm improves your odds.

 

I won't count the Betts trade that brought us Verdugo, Downs & Wong, and the deadline sell off of 2020, by definition is about the future (Pivetta, Seabold and some long shots), but let's look at the other 3 trades: Beni, Ottavino and JBJ:

 

Beni>

Cordero: Looking much better, this year and has 2 arb years left

Winckowski: .595 OPS Against in AAA- about as good as we could have expected.

Gambrell, de la Rosa & F Valdez: all long and far-away shots that have not wow'd anyone, yet.

 

Nothing>

Ottavino: gone

German: May be the best prospects of this whole group. .485 OPSA in AAA (5 IP)/.495 in AA (11.1 IP)

Renfroe (arguably obtained from the money saved by trading Beni)>

JBJ: High cost defensive whiz who seems to be improving his offense from 2021

Binelas: .813 OPS in A+ with 11 HRs in 160 ABs

Hamilton: .728 OPS in AA but dropping quickly

 

I like the odds we get something nice from 2, maybe 3, of these guys.

 

What JBJ, Cordero and Ottavino do or did might not matter, so much.

[moonslav59]

When we hired Bloom, I know my expectations were that he'd excel at finding cheap "gems in the rough", I call them, which would allow us to focus more resources on filling a few key roles not filled by gems or rising prospects. I use the word context a lot, as I think some forget just how bad our 40 man roster looked after 2019. They remember the 2019 roster being very similar to the great 2018 roster and somehow think Bloom should have been able to create a winner in 2020 out of thin air. Yes, he had a nice but small core of stars (Betts, Bogey, Devers, Beni, Eovaldi, Sale & ERod), but Betts was forced out the door by Henry, and Sale got hurt while ERod got COVID.

 

2020: I did expect Bloom to hit on more of his cheap additions than he did, and it's fair game to criticize him for that. He was hired to work magic with $20M to spend on 20 slots to upgrade. He failed on nearly every addition, that winter. His biggest signing, Perez, is doing very well, now, so maybe Bloom's timing- not judgement- was all that was off on that one. The Betts trade has been beaten to death, so I won't add anything to that.

 

2021: The additions made from during the 2020 season to the offseason were significant, but what is often most remembered are his largest cost additions, mostly failing: Richards at $10M gave us some relief help and scattered starting plusses, but has to be viewed as a failure at that cost. Perez started out well, and had the best of second best starter numbers after a third of the season, but he fell off a cliff and gave nothing afterwards- failure. The Ottavino trade was largely a failure, except we obtained Frank German, who might be our most promising pitcher on the farm, right now. I hesitate to call spending $3M on Marwin and $2M on Andriese major failures, but Bloom did fail at "finding gems" on those two, as well as Santana and others. He had enough failures from pre-2020 to the start of 2021 to think he wasn't the magician some of us expected or hoped for. The Beni trade has also been beaten to death, but Cordero is showing signs of worth, and maybe Winckowski can end up filling a role.

 

2022: The Diekman signing looks like the only "failure," so far, but there is a lot of season left, and he's one of the few signed beyond 2022. The Story signing was Bloom's first and only major signing in 3 off seasons. With 5.6 years to go, the jury is still out. The JBJ trade has been beaten to death, too, and again, the jury has to still be out on that one.

 

Now for the pluses:

 

Pre-2020: Not many additions have had any lasting affects. I guess the Springs and Mazza additions can be viewed as not bad, but he traded them. Maybe R Hern can be our back-up catcher, next year. Valdez, Arauz and a few others do not look all that promising.

 

During 2020: The Pivetta & Seabold trade was a solid hit. Other prospects gained have not amounted to anything promising. The claim of Arroyo off waivers looked good, at first.

 

2020-2021 off season: The Whitlock steal is Bloom's crowning achievement, so far. Signing Kike at just $7M x 2 also looks like a plus, so far, despite his 2022 struggles. The Renfroe signing, using the savings from the Beni trade was a big hit, and we now have JBJ, Binelas and Hamilton to show for that addition (good or bad?)

 

During the 2021 season: the rentals traded for and what we gave up for them has to be viewed as a significant plus. (Schwarber, Iggy, Robles, Shaw and Davis)

 

2021-2022 off season: This has to be viewed as an overall plus, so far, but we still have 2/3 of the season to play out and over 5 years of Story to evaluate.

Story

Wacha

Hill

Strahm

Diekman

Schreiber (waivers)

Danish (minor league FA)

Accepting the Vaz $7M option

 

I won't discuss the drafts and IFA signings, except to say Bloom's additions to the farm through the draft, IFA and trades has been significant and largely viewed as positive.

 

The 40 man roster is much deeper and stronger. The farm is deeper and stronger. The 26 man roster is light years better than the 2020 (post Betts) roster.

 

Maybe the upgrades have net been as good or fast as some wanted or expected, but I'll come back to the word "context." $20M to spend year one with 20 weak slots on the 40. $40M to spend the next winter with 10-12 weak slots on the 40. Much more money to spend, this past winter with 6-8 weak slots. The progression and lessening of weak slots is noticeable and significant.

 

 

[mvp 78]

This is what I like about Bloom--he is building more for the next few years rather than the immediate and I think that was a prudent approach. It goes back to the early days and the debate that Theo brought up: is it better to compete every year or is it better to compete 7 out of 10 years, using 3 of those years to build a stronger foundation. Bloom may have made the strategic decision to build more for the future than the immediate and I prefer that approach. I like what Bloom has done with the farm system. The organization is moving in the right direction and I'm hoping the Yankees soon fall off the cliff--they have some big contracts coming up: Judge & Tallion while locked in to some other big contracts (Cole & Stanton) and have a pretty weak farm system. In contrast, the Red Sox have a lot of young talent that will soon be ready to burst on the scene.

 

I wonder what the REd Sox OF will look like in a few years. Obviously, an aging bench player like Bradley won't be there thankfully. Maybe Rafaela in CF, Duran in LF, but RF remains a mystery. They don't really have a future RF in the upper levels of the farm system. Jimenez is a possibility but a long shot.

 

2023:

RF JBJ

CF Duran

LF Verdugo

 

2024:

RF Fitzgerald/McDonough

CF Rafaela

LF Verdugo

 

2025:

RF Fitzgerald/McDonough

CF Rafaela

LF Binelas/Hickey

 

2026:

RF Bleis

CF Rafaela

LF Binelas/Hickey

[moonslav59]

2023:

RF JBJ

CF Duran

LF Verdugo

 

2024:

RF Fitzgerald/McDonough

CF Rafaela

LF Verdugo

 

2025:

RF Fitzgerald/McDonough

CF Rafaela

LF Binelas/Hickey

 

2026:

RF Bleis

CF Rafaela

LF Binelas/Hickey

 

I'd put Duran in LF for 2024.

[Maxbialystock]

When we hired Bloom, I know my expectations were that he'd excel at finding cheap "gems in the rough", I call them, which would allow us to focus more resources on filling a few key roles not filled by gems or rising prospects. I use the word context a lot, as I think some forget just how bad our 40 man roster looked after 2019. They remember the 2019 roster being very similar to the great 2018 roster and somehow think Bloom should have been able to create a winner in 2020 out of thin air. Yes, he had a nice but small core of stars (Betts, Bogey, Devers, Beni, Eovaldi, Sale & ERod), but Betts was forced out the door by Henry, and Sale got hurt while ERod got COVID.

 

2020: I did expect Bloom to hit on more of his cheap additions than he did, and it's fair game to criticize him for that. He was hired to work magic with $20M to spend on 20 slots to upgrade. He failed on nearly every addition, that winter. His biggest signing, Perez, is doing very well, now, so maybe Bloom's timing- not judgement- was all that was off on that one. The Betts trade has been beaten to death, so I won't add anything to that.

 

2021: The additions made from during the 2020 season to the offseason were significant, but what is often most remembered are his largest cost additions, mostly failing: Richards at $10M gave us some relief help and scattered starting plusses, but has to be viewed as a failure at that cost. Perez started out well, and had the best of second best starter numbers after a third of the season, but he fell off a cliff and gave nothing afterwards- failure. The Ottavino trade was largely a failure, except we obtained Frank German, who might be our most promising pitcher on the farm, right now. I hesitate to call spending $3M on Marwin and $2M on Andriese major failures, but Bloom did fail at "finding gems" on those two, as well as Santana and others. He had enough failures from pre-2020 to the start of 2021 to think he wasn't the magician some of us expected or hoped for. The Beni trade has also been beaten to death, but Cordero is showing signs of worth, and maybe Winckowski can end up filling a role.

 

2022: The Diekman signing looks like the only "failure," so far, but there is a lot of season left, and he's one of the few signed beyond 2022. The Story signing was Bloom's first and only major signing in 3 off seasons. With 5.6 years to go, the jury is still out. The JBJ trade has been beaten to death, too, and again, the jury has to still be out on that one.

 

Now for the pluses:

 

Pre-2020: Not many additions have had any lasting affects. I guess the Springs and Mazza additions can be viewed as not bad, but he traded them. Maybe R Hern can be our back-up catcher, next year. Valdez, Arauz and a few others do not look all that promising.

 

During 2020: The Pivetta & Seabold trade was a solid hit. Other prospects gained have not amounted to anything promising. The claim of Arroyo off waivers looked good, at first.

 

2020-2021 off season: The Whitlock steal is Bloom's crowning achievement, so far. Signing Kike at just $7M x 2 also looks like a plus, so far, despite his 2022 struggles. The Renfroe signing, using the savings from the Beni trade was a big hit, and we now have JBJ, Binelas and Hamilton to show for that addition (good or bad?)

 

During the 2021 season: the rentals traded for and what we gave up for them has to be viewed as a significant plus. (Schwarber, Iggy, Robles, Shaw and Davis)

 

2021-2022 off season: This has to be viewed as an overall plus, so far, but we still have 2/3 of the season to play out and over 5 years of Story to evaluate.

Story

Wacha

Hill

Strahm

Diekman

Schreiber (waivers)

Danish (minor league FA)

Accepting the Vaz $7M option

 

I won't discuss the drafts and IFA signings, except to say Bloom's additions to the farm through the draft, IFA and trades has been significant and largely viewed as positive.

 

The 40 man roster is much deeper and stronger. The farm is deeper and stronger. The 26 man roster is light years better than the 2020 (post Betts) roster.

 

Maybe the upgrades have net been as good or fast as some wanted or expected, but I'll come back to the word "context." $20M to spend year one with 20 weak slots on the 40. $40M to spend the next winter with 10-12 weak slots on the 40. Much more money to spend, this past winter with 6-8 weak slots. The progression and lessening of weak slots is noticeable and significant.

 

 

 

Great stuff, as always. Thanks.

 

My view is a little simpler.

 

Thanks to Devers, Bogey, and JDM--and maybe even Story--the Sox hitting is getting back to the standard needed for the Sox to succeed in the toughest division in MLB. The problem, however, is that those first three want more money.

 

The pitching is just the opposite. Bloom and John Henry are still paying $36M for Sale and Price, who have done zilch for this team this year--and hardly anything for last year's team. Eovaldi @ $17M/year was a good addition, but is pricey compared to Pivetta, who has the same WAR, 1.2, and is paid just $3M, and Wacha, WAR 2.0, who is paid $7M. Whitlock and Houck are even bigger bargains.

 

So my no doubt simplistic view is that, since the hitters actually deliver the goods that the expensive pitchers don't deliver, the smart thing--and I'm astounded I am writing this because I am one cheap bastard--just might be to go ahead and pay Raffie, JDM, and Bogey enough to keep them.

 

As for the pitching, Bloom should continue to do what he has been doing: keep looking for bargains. Big bucks for great arms don't make sense to me even though I know there are some great starters who earn their huge paychecks.