A Realistic View of the 2025 Red Sox: Part I

[moonslav59]

Mets sign Manaea.

There is no way, after this Buehler signing, we are still in on Burnes or Flaherty. Our best hope is for a good RP'er and RHB.

[Hitch]

8 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Mets sign Manaea.

There is no way, after this Buehler signing, we are still in on Burnes or Flaherty. Our best hope is for a good RP'er and RHB.

Which would be a great off season.

[mvp 78]

Just now, Hitch said:

Which would be a great off season.

RPer probably. I don't believe they need the bat. 

[Hugh2]

With Buehler signing the Payroll is at $216.  $4 million dollars away from $220 million threshold I BOLDLY predicted the Sox would eclipse. 

$24 million below the LT threshold apx, makes you wonder if a Crochet is in the cards for this year.  That alone might eat up the rest of their space. 

That and/or a Bregman signing may also take them over the LT this year.  I'm starting to think they go over that line again now. 

[moonslav59]

6 minutes ago, Hugh2 said:

With Buehler signing the Payroll is at $216.  $4 million dollars away from $220 million threshold I BOLDLY predicted the Sox would eclipse. 

$24 million below the LT threshold apx, makes you wonder if a Crochet is in the cards for this year.  That alone might eat up the rest of their space. 

That and/or a Bregman signing may also take them over the LT this year.  I'm starting to think they go over that line again now. 

We could get Teoscar, Scott or Hoffman and stay under the tax line, which they claimed was not an issue, this winter. (Yeah, right.)

I could see us extending Crochet, starting in 2025. It would make it easier to get him to sign, by giving him more cash, upfront, and keep the AAV a little lower for future budget pinches. I could see them thinking the roster is all set, as is.

The sham goes on.

[moonslav59]

22 minutes ago, Hitch said:

Which would be a great off season.

Joking: I hope. 

Even adding Scott would be a bad overall winter.

[notin]

Given now that the rotation has Crochet, Houck, Bello, Buehler, Giolito, and Crawford, maybe one of them is the new RP.

Or trade bait for a catcher or 3b..

[Nick]

Cot's now has the Sox $36M below the luxury tax payroll limit.

Sign a big right handed bat and then move on?

We'll have $51M coming off the books after 2025 so we can continue to add one year 'rehab' contracts while we look for another diamond in the rough starting pitcher off of our minor league teams.

[mvp 78]

24 minutes ago, Hugh2 said:

With Buehler signing the Payroll is at $216.  $4 million dollars away from $220 million threshold I BOLDLY predicted the Sox would eclipse. 

$24 million below the LT threshold apx, makes you wonder if a Crochet is in the cards for this year.  That alone might eat up the rest of their space. 

That and/or a Bregman signing may also take them over the LT this year.  I'm starting to think they go over that line again now. 

Crochet isn't the only guy that needs an extension (Campbell, Anthony and others would be good business). 

[moonslav59]

11 minutes ago, notin said:

Given now that the rotation has Crochet, Houck, Bello, Buehler, Giolito, and Crawford, maybe one of them is the new RP.

Or trade bait for a catcher or 3b..

It has to be Crawford to the pen, assuming Gio is not on the IL, day one. Reports say he should be ready.

They may not like Crawford in the pen, and when you see what some marginal pitchers are getting in trade, we may just deal him.

Unless we sign Hoffman or Estevez (Scott is a pipedream) I'd keep CC. (I'd keep him, even if we sign one.)

I'm almost ready to give up on any remaining hopes we actually spend on a top 50 Free Agent. This has gotten beyond absurd. We go from "being in on Soto" to Buehler, Chapman, Sandoval and Wilson.

It's all a sick joke.

[mvp 78]

10 minutes ago, Nick said:

Cot's now has the Sox $36M below the luxury tax payroll limit.

Sign a big right handed bat and then move on?

We'll have $51M coming off the books after 2025 so we can continue to add one year 'rehab' contracts while we look for another diamond in the rough starting pitcher off of our minor league teams.

I've stated before that with that amount coming off the books next season, they should be able to go over the CBT and reset immediately without really limiting themselves. 

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

8 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Joking: I hope. 

Even adding Scott would be a bad overall winter.

I'm more optimistic than I was when I woke up. I like Buehler more than Flaherty, who had one great year when he was 23 and has been a model of inconsistency for four teams the past two years.

Flaherty would've cost a lot more for a lot more years, which may have been a waste of money. The same with Burnes, who will look great on a team actually going for it this season -- but not so much in Year Six or Seven of his soon-to-be massive contract.

The Red Sox aren't World Series contenders right now, especially if breaking in unproven youngsters transitioning to the bigs. But they're better in the rotation than last year, with two new starters coming off of star moments last season.

 

 

[notin]

1 minute ago, moonslav59 said:

It has to be Crawford to the pen, assuming Gio is not on the IL, day one. Reports say he should be ready.

They may not like Crawford in the pen, and when you see what some marginal pitchers are getting in trade, we may just deal him.

Unless we sign Hoffman or Estevez (Scott is a pipedream) I'd keep CC. (I'd keep him, even if we sign one.)

I'm almost ready to give up on any remaining hopes we actually spend on a top 50 Free Agent. This has gotten beyond absurd. We go from "being in on Soto" to Buehler, Chapman, Sandoval and Wilson.

It's all a sick joke.

It seems odd to replace our most durable pitcher with one of the least durable ones in all of MLB.  But the reality is this team is already better than the one that finished 5 games out of the postseason last year…

[moonslav59]

2 minutes ago, notin said:

It seems odd to replace our most durable pitcher with one of the least durable ones in all of MLB.  But the reality is this team is already better than the one that finished 5 games out of the postseason last year…

Well, Crawford would be our long man/ spot starter, and with the injury history of our staff, he may get 33 starts, anyway. (But only if our SP'ers do us a favor and only miss time, one at a time and not all at once. Yeah, right!)

[Hitch]

37 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Joking: I hope. 

Even adding Scott would be a bad overall winter.

So we add Teoscar and bull pen help and it's a bad winter?

 

Absolute nonsense. 

[Duran Is The Man]

9 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

I've stated before that with that amount coming off the books next season, they should be able to go over the CBT and reset immediately without really limiting themselves. 

LOLOL...and we all know that's not happening.

[Hitch]

9 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

 

I'm almost ready to give up on any remaining hopes we actually spend on a top 50 Free Agent. This has gotten beyond absurd. We go from "being in on Soto" to Buehler, Chapman, Sandoval and Wilson.

It's all a sick joke.

You have lost all perspective. 

[Bellhorn04]

2 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

You think the switch actually needed to be flipped? 

It was probably in the 'detent' position. 😁 

[mvp 78]

3 minutes ago, Hitch said:

You have lost all perspective. 

Moon is very Grinchy today for some reason. I will let him be upset that the Sox acquired Crochet, Buehler, Sandoval and Chapman BEFORE Christmas. There's more work to be done obviously. Just relax a little.

[mvp 78]

3 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

It was probably in the 'detent' position. 😁 

Obviously it's a switch on Henry's back like Vicki from Small Wonder. 

[jdc69]

What about Yoshida playing LF and Devers at DH and getting a serviceable 3B man, especially on D, if not Bregman?

[Bellhorn04]

3 minutes ago, jdc69 said:

What about Yoshida playing LF and Devers at DH and getting a serviceable 3B man, especially on D, if not Bregman?

No room for Yoshida in the OF when we have Duran, Rafaela and Anthony.

[notin]

25 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Moon is very Grinchy today for some reason. 

That means he’s either got garlic in his soul or termites in his smile.  Either way it leads to having all the tender sweetness of a seasick crocodile…

[Hugh2]

Sox payroll, who I trust more than Cots puts the payroll at $24 million under the luxury tax

[notin]

7 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

No room for Yoshida in the OF when we have Duran, Rafaela and Anthony.

And Abreu, the Unloved Gold Glover.

That they’re talking to Grichuk could mean Abreu is still the opening day RF…

[mvp 78]

26 minutes ago, Hugh2 said:

Sox payroll, who I trust more than Cots puts the payroll at $24 million under the luxury tax

Cots is whatever at this point. It's valuable for historical stuff, but that's about it for me. 

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Don't trade Crawford.

You just added quality depth to the starting rotation. Don't thin it back out the same day.

This isn't like trading an incumbent position player to make room to promote baseball's #1 prospect or Minor League Player of the Year.

Every starting pitcher in the rotation will break down or at least need a rest at some point. Sign more pitchers to preserve the bullpen arms.

[mvp 78]

59 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

No room for Yoshida in the OF when we have Duran, Rafaela and Anthony.

And Abreu! 

[jdc69]

1 hour ago, Bellhorn04 said:

No room for Yoshida in the OF when we have Duran, Rafaela and Anthony.

I wasnt considering Anthony but I was considering Abreu. Still it seems like a seamless transition since Devers isn't that good at an important defensive position and Yoshidas position isn't as important. DH should be for power hitters anyway.

[mvp 78]

7 minutes ago, jdc69 said:

I wasnt considering Anthony but I was considering Abreu. Still it seems like a seamless transition since Devers isn't that good at an important defensive position and Yoshidas position isn't as important. DH should be for power hitters anyway.

2024:

Jorge Soler 422 SLG, 754 OPS, 113 wRC+

Justin Turner 370 SLG, 717 OPS, 111 wRC+

Masataka Yoshida 403 SLG, 747 OPS, 110 wRC+

JD Martinez 408 SLG, 728 OPS, 108 wRC+

Yoshida's right in line with 3 other guys that this place has wanted to be our DH at various points. Sox need to see this contract through for better or worse.