2023 Free Agents

[Hugh2]

This happens early winter every year. There are 30 teams looking to sign or trade for players. Someone always complains after just about every significant signing. Now, in keeping with out times, people are complaining about minor deals.

 

We could sign Judge, Turner and deGrom for $10M each, and someone would still complain about Nimmo signing with the Mets.

 

You know how this progresses right? I know you do.

 

A few names will fall off the board. Someone will sign 1-2 of the big short stops, or DeGrom or Judge will come off the board and people will start crying for the end of the world.

 

Ironically half these people would be complaining we spent too much money if we were the ones to make that deal

[Bellhorn04]

This happens early winter every year. There are 30 teams looking to sign or trade for players. Someone always complains after just about every significant signing. Now, in keeping with out times, people are complaining about minor deals.

 

That has a lot to do with the internet, of course. In the old days most fans didn't know these minor transactions even occurred.

[moonslav59]

You know how this progresses right? I know you do.

 

A few names will fall off the board. Someone will sign 1-2 of the big short stops, or DeGrom or Judge will come off the board and people will start crying for the end of the world.

 

Ironically half these people would be complaining we spent too much money if we were the ones to make that deal

 

Yes, it's a broken record, no doubt.

 

Nobody learns anything.

[notin]

That has a lot to do with the internet, of course. In the old days most fans didn't know these minor transactions even occurred.

 

 

Did teams even make those moves back then?

 

It’s easy to think those MiLB free agent moves were sprays there, but if you go back and look at the transactions from teams even in the late 1980s, B-R doesn’t have any MiLB deals…

[moonslav59]

That has a lot to do with the internet, of course. In the old days most fans didn't know these minor transactions even occurred.

 

That's part of it, for sure, but it still puzzles me how these two minor deals are so upsetting to some. Do they really believe these are the only types of moves Bloom will make, this winter?

[Bellhorn04]

That's part of it, for sure, but it still puzzles me how these two minor deals are so upsetting to some. Do they really believe these are the only types of moves Bloom will make, this winter?

 

No, I don't think they believe that. It's just an opportunity to castigate Bloom.

[notin]

No, I don't think they believe that. It's just an opportunity to castigate Bloom.

 

Well, he’s making player evaluations and completely ignoring batting averages and RBI!! Would ol’ Harry Frazee do that? Huh? Would he? You don’t see Harry Frazee ignoring batting average!! You know why?

 

Because!!

[moonslav59]

No, I don't think they believe that. It's just an opportunity to castigate Bloom.

 

That does seem to be a powerful motivator for some.

[a700hitter]

You know how this progresses right? I know you do.

 

A few names will fall off the board. Someone will sign 1-2 of the big short stops, or DeGrom or Judge will come off the board and people will start crying for the end of the world.

 

Ironically half these people would be complaining we spent too much money if we were the ones to make that deal

I don’t think that I have ever complained about FA spending.

[a700hitter]

That's part of it, for sure, but it still puzzles me how these two minor deals are so upsetting to some. Do they really believe these are the only types of moves Bloom will make, this winter?

These moves don’t upset me. They are nothing moves. They wouldn’t make the editing cut if I ran MLBTR:

[Hugh2]

I don’t think that I have ever complained about FA spending.

 

Does this include “lack” of free agency spending?

 

Which to be fair, with the amount of money coming off the books I don’t think anyone could be blamed for complaining about lack of spending this year.

[Hugh2]

Part of the problem is the media, moves like these always happened and always will. But 20 years ago you never heard about them, but not today.

[Old Red]

These moves don’t upset me. They are nothing moves. They wouldn’t make the editing cut if I ran MLBTR:

 

You are right that these are Nothing moves, but some just don’t realize, and think that even nothing moves get analyzed, dissected, and analyzed again.

[moonslav59]

These moves don’t upset me. They are nothing moves. They wouldn’t make the editing cut if I ran MLBTR:

 

It did not upset most of us.

 

[cp176]

Personally these little nothing moves don't bother me at all. Though I am reluctant to stick a feather in Bloom's cap just yet for making them. Also like many here, I have and will never will complain about how much the Sox spend in free agency. I guess my concern so far is that I haven't seen much out of bloom to date that gives me any confidence that next year's team will be much different than this years. this is not a complaint at all - just a simply stated feeling. I hope that I'm wrong.

[notin]

Personally these little nothing moves don't bother me at all. Though I am reluctant to stick a feather in Bloom's cap just yet for making them. Also like many here, I have and will never will complain about how much the Sox spend in free agency. I guess my concern so far is that I haven't seen much out of bloom to date that gives me any confidence that next year's team will be much different than this years. this is not a complaint at all - just a simply stated feeling. I hope that I'm wrong.

 

It’s not a complaint so much as a fact that next year’s team looks a lot like last years team so far. But that’s also true for all of MLB…

[moonslav59]

Personally these little nothing moves don't bother me at all. Though I am reluctant to stick a feather in Bloom's cap just yet for making them. Also like many here, I have and will never will complain about how much the Sox spend in free agency. I guess my concern so far is that I haven't seen much out of bloom to date that gives me any confidence that next year's team will be much different than this years. this is not a complaint at all - just a simply stated feeling. I hope that I'm wrong.

 

What really should be the expectations when you are handed these winter spending budgets with so many holes to fill?

 

2020: $40M and about 12 roster slots to fill (The $40M did not even come close to replacing lost contracts that included Betts, Price & Porcello)

 

2021: $40M and about 9 roster slots filled

 

2022: $50M and about 7 slots filled

 

All this with basically just Houck positively contributing anything from the farm over those 3 seasons.

 

Maybe, expectations were set, too high. It's hard to work miracles within this context.

 

Granted, Bloom has not worked all that many wonders with his FA signings, although what is usually expected when forced to sign 2nd and 3rd tier FAs?

 

He did well with Wacha, Strahm, Hill, Refsnyder, Kelly, Kike '21 version, Renfroe & Ottavino (trade w German for Yankee salary dump)

 

Rule 5 & Waiver additions: Whitlock, Schreiber, Arroyo (Ort

 

Trade additions: Pivetta, McGuire, Hosmer (free salary), German, W Abreu, D Hamilton, E Valdez, Verdugo, Wong, Downs, RHernandez

(Seabold, Cordero, and a whole bunch of prospects, including Binelas, Wallace, Koss, Ferguson, Rosier and Park)

 

The Story signing is still too early to judge, but he looks better than Semien & Baez.

 

Not so well with: Paxton, Diekman (although dumping him for McGuire seems to more than make up for the signing), Richards, Perez, Marwin & Andriese (both only $3M)

 

I'm not saying Bloom deserves a "feather" for the overall grade for these moves, but given the circumstances he was handed, he looks to have done a pretty good job building the roster depth and farm to a point where the foundation is to a point where a handful of major additions via free agency or trade and about $90M to spend, this winter, the outlook looks way more positive than it has at anytime since before the 2019 season began.

 

I see an overall plus.

 

We have about 15-18 prospects or recent grads that will likely be given serious looks, this year.

 

The amount of slots on the roster needing serious upgrading is at about 5-7- maybe 8, which is way better than 2020 (about 19-21), 2021 (about 11-13) and 2022 (about 8-10.)

 

The $90M spending budget is more than Bloom has had to spend in any of his other 2 years combined, and that's not counting the $10M he already spent on extending Kike. (He had about $130M winter spending in his 3 years, combined, while losing key salaries like Betts, which to me brings the actual number closer to $100M.) He has about $100M to spend in 2023, counting Kike, so let's give the guy a chance to set his legacy as our GM.

 

This may very well be a sink or swim year for Bloom, but if he does a decent but not great job, and our future continues to grow brighter, as it has every year, I think he may still be the GM in 2024, even if we lose the first round of the WC series.

 

It should be an exciting winter season, for once.

[cp176]

What really should be the expectations when you are handed these winter spending budgets with so many holes to fill?

 

2020: $40M and about 12 roster slots to fill (The $40M did not even come close to replacing lost contracts that included Betts, Price & Porcello)

 

2021: $40M and about 9 roster slots filled

 

2022: $50M and about 7 slots filled

 

All this with basically just Houck positively contributing anything from the farm over those 3 seasons.

 

Maybe, expectations were set, too high. It's hard to work miracles within this context.

 

Granted, Bloom has not worked all that many wonders with his FA signings, although what is usually expected when forced to sign 2nd and 3rd tier FAs?

 

He did well with Wacha, Strahm, Hill, Refsnyder, Kelly, Kike '21 version, Renfroe & Ottavino (trade w German for Yankee salary dump)

 

Rule 5 & Waiver additions: Whitlock, Schreiber, Arroyo (Ort

 

Trade additions: Pivetta, McGuire, Hosmer (free salary), German, W Abreu, D Hamilton, E Valdez, Verdugo, Wong, Downs, RHernandez

(Seabold, Cordero, and a whole bunch of prospects, including Binelas, Wallace, Koss, Ferguson, Rosier and Park)

 

The Story signing is still too early to judge, but he looks better than Semien & Baez.

 

Not so well with: Paxton, Diekman (although dumping him for McGuire seems to more than make up for the signing), Richards, Perez, Marwin & Andriese (both only $3M)

 

I'm not saying Bloom deserves a "feather" for the overall grade for these moves, but given the circumstances he was handed, he looks to have done a pretty good job building the roster depth and farm to a point where the foundation is to a point where a handful of major additions via free agency or trade and about $90M to spend, this winter, the outlook looks way more positive than it has at anytime since before the 2019 season began.

 

I see an overall plus.

 

We have about 15-18 prospects or recent grads that will likely be given serious looks, this year.

 

The amount of slots on the roster needing serious upgrading is at about 5-7- maybe 8, which is way better than 2020 (about 19-21), 2021 (about 11-13) and 2022 (about 8-10.)

 

The $90M spending budget is more than Bloom has had to spend in any of his other 2 years combined, and that's not counting the $10M he already spent on extending Kike. (He had about $130M winter spending in his 3 years, combined, while losing key salaries like Betts, which to me brings the actual number closer to $100M.) He has about $100M to spend in 2023, counting Kike, so let's give the guy a chance to set his legacy as our GM.

 

This may very well be a sink or swim year for Bloom, but if he does a decent but not great job, and our future continues to grow brighter, as it has every year, I think he may still be the GM in 2024, even if we lose the first round of the WC series.

 

It should be an exciting winter season, for once.

 

Do any of us really know for sure about any budgetary restraints that the Red Sox have?

[cp176]

It’s not a complaint so much as a fact that next year’s team looks a lot like last years team so far. But that’s also true for all of MLB…

 

yup I get it. Like I have said before, this is a year that I think bloom has to do something to really help the club.

[notin]

yup I get it. Like I have said before, this is a year that I think bloom has to do something to really help the club.

 

Oh he absolutely does.

 

I do get some acquisitions are more geared towards long term goals, but some short term improvements are necessary…

[moonslav59]

Do any of us really know for sure about any budgetary restraints that the Red Sox have?

 

I seriously doubt they told Bloom not to worry about the budget. I'm pretty sure they never want to go over the tax line 3 years in a row.

 

The pattern seems to show they stay near the line and try to avoid consecutive years over the line, but to answer your question, nobody really knows for sure.

[moonslav59]

Oh he absolutely does.

 

I do get some acquisitions are more geared towards long term goals, but some short term improvements are necessary…

 

Rebuilds usually entail shorter term or "bridge" contracts, but I expect to start seeing more deals like Story's, this winter.

[notin]

Rebuilds usually entail shorter term or "bridge" contracts, but I expect to start seeing more deals like Story's, this winter.

 

The Sox aren’t rebuilding…

[Old Red]

The Sox aren’t rebuilding…

 

I agree, and the Red Sox haven’t been rebuilding for some time. You don’t do a rebuild with the likes of Raffy, Bogey, and at present Story, and the past JD, and Mookie. If you have been rebuilding, or are going to that’s just a BIG waste of some pretty good talent.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

I agree, and the Red Sox haven’t been rebuilding for some time. You don’t do a rebuild with the likes of Raffy, Bogey, and at present Story, and the past JD, and Mookie. If you have been rebuilding, or are going to that’s just a BIG waste of some pretty good talent.

 

Counter: so is not surrounding the not-a-rebuild with good enough complements -- including 40-man roster depth -- to stay out of last freaking place.

[Old Red]

Counter: so is not surrounding the not-a-rebuild with good enough complements -- including 40-man roster depth -- to stay out of last freaking place.

 

I’m just saying to me that it is a BIG waste of talent to do a rebuild with Bogey, and Raffy, or even just Raffy himself. Future HOF talent at that. Call it what you want.

Edited November 25, 2022 by Old Red

[Old Red]

Do any of us really know for sure about any budgetary restraints that the Red Sox have?

 

Nobody on here. To me I expect a competitive winning team EVERY year, and anything short of a postseason berth is a failure. Like Sam Kennedy said at the year end presser this year we all failed meaning himself, Cora, and Bloom, and he was a 100% right.

[Bellhorn04]

Nobody on here. To me I expect a competitive winning team EVERY year, and anything short of a postseason berth is a failure. Like Sam Kennedy said at the year end presser this year we all failed meaning himself, Cora, and Bloom, and he was a 100% right.

 

You know Bloom has budgetary constraints. You've talked plenty of times about the "allowance" he gets from Henry. That's a fair description of budgetary constraints!

[Old Red]

You know Bloom has budgetary constraints. You've talked plenty of times about the "allowance" he gets from Henry. That's a fair description of budgetary constraints!

 

Everyone has budgetary constraints, but no one knows for sure what they are was my point. Either way it’s no excuse for a losing last place in the Div team. Just like now no one knows for sure how much Bloom has to spend on next years team. I don’t even try to guess.

Edited November 25, 2022 by Old Red

[dgalehouse]

A last place finish is never acceptable as far as I am concerned. It represents failure. In four years under Dombrowski, there were three first place finishes and then a third place. That got him canned. In the past five seasons without Dombrowski, the Sox have finished last four out of the five years. This is the Boston " freakin" Red Sox. Let's see some major improvement in 2023. No more excuses and no more spin.