Article: Even Without Rafael Devers, the Red Sox Need to be Buyers on the Rental Market

[TedYazPapiMookie]

6 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

The Sox don't need a #1 catcher. Backup catcher? Sure. They need pitching and a way to clear out some of the other dead contracts on the books.

Raleigh was a first pick for his power and HRS to replace Devers', the fact that we are temporarily OK at catcher was also a factor.  We said we were OK at catcher in 2024 with Wong and we were WONG!!!  I'd love to see Narvaez work out as an all-star catcher going forward but I know Raleigh will be.  The future Red Sox need depth in the category of all-stars like the old days.  

None of that disagrees with your assessment that we need pitching, but we still need to replace Devers' power too.

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

21 hours ago, TedYazPapiMookie said:

Trades are needed but not rentals.  Long term on offense the following players are supposed to be the future:

C - Narvaez, 1B-Casas, 2B-Campbell, SS-Mayer, 3B-Bregman, LF- Anthony, CF - Duran, RF- Rafaela and DH- Abreu with Wong, Story, Toro and Refsnyder the reserves.

This offense is lacking power with Devers gone.  The team has a $18 Million dollar wasted player who is not as good as Abreu/Refsnyder at DH.  So, the goal needs to be to deal Yoshida and pick which starter above is not a potential all-star at their position.

Duran has been one.  Rafaela may be the best defender and if moved to RF he will win GG for the next decade.  Anthony has the star next to his name as an expected all-star.  Abreu/Refsnyder are very serviceable players but nothing special.  Narvaez COULD be an all-star or he may simply be experiencing a career year like Wong last year.  Bregman is an all-star.  Mayer also has a star next to his name as an expected all-star and Campbell the Minor League Player of the Year has earned a star next to his name.  Casas, is an enigma, but does have excellent upside potential.

So where is an upgrade needed for immediate talent growth for the roster?  I think Cal Raleigh stands out as a trade worthy opponent simply because he replaces Devers power and is an all-star catcher.  Having two studs or trading Narvaez to get Raleigh are both acceptable ideas.  The deal needs to include Yoshida and any prospects not listed as starters above other than Abreu and Refsnyder as potential candidates for the trade including any of the players we received in the Devers deal.

Additionally, I personally feel Kurtz from OAK has a far higher ceiling than Casas so trading Casas and prospects to get him makes a lot of sense.  That would leave a 2026 starting defense that would be Division Championship worthy and an offense that should be at the top of the heat within two years.

Actually, Masa is a better hitter than Abreu.

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, SPLENDIDSPLINTER said:

Actually, Masa is a better hitter than Abreu.

Oh, Nooo.. You Dih- ENT!

[TedYazPapiMookie]

4 hours ago, SPLENDIDSPLINTER said:

Actually, Masa is a better hitter than Abreu.

I agree.

[moonslav59]

7 minutes ago, TedYazPapiMookie said:

I agree.

Of course, you do.

He's got Abreu beat by 17 points on BA.

Throw OPS out with the baby's bath water.

Demote DHam.

Move Duran to CF.

Fire Cora and Brez.

This team sucks!

[ocaladick]

I cannot believe what must go thru Cora's mind. Buehler, with a 3 run lead in the first inning, walks 2 men with the bases loaded, then hits the next man to force in another run. I was yelling after he walked the first 2 men to pull him out. I don't care if you want to save our bullpen or not - when your pitcher cannot throw a strike, why is he in there at all. Demote him or trade him immediately! A couple of days ago, one of our pitchers (forget who) threw 12 balls out of 13 pitches and loaded the bases. Yet, no replacement pitcher. Last night, there wasn't anybody warming up in the bullpen while Buehler blew our game for us. Get him and Cora the hell out of there!

[TheSplinteredSplendor]

On 6/20/2025 at 12:07 AM, TedYazPapiMookie said:

Trades are needed but not rentals.  Long term on offense the following players are supposed to be the future:

C - Narvaez, 1B-Casas, 2B-Campbell, SS-Mayer, 3B-Bregman, LF- Anthony, CF - Duran, RF- Rafaela and DH- Abreu with Wong, Story, Toro and Refsnyder the reserves.

This offense is lacking power with Devers gone.  The team has a $18 Million dollar wasted player who is not as good as Abreu/Refsnyder at DH.  So, the goal needs to be to deal Yoshida and pick which starter above is not a potential all-star at their position.

Duran has been one.  Rafaela may be the best defender and if moved to RF he will win GG for the next decade.  Anthony has the star next to his name as an expected all-star.  Abreu/Refsnyder are very serviceable players but nothing special.  Narvaez COULD be an all-star or he may simply be experiencing a career year like Wong last year.  Bregman is an all-star.  Mayer also has a star next to his name as an expected all-star and Campbell the Minor League Player of the Year has earned a star next to his name.  Casas, is an enigma, but does have excellent upside potential.

So where is an upgrade needed for immediate talent growth for the roster?  I think Cal Raleigh stands out as a trade worthy opponent simply because he replaces Devers power and is an all-star catcher.  Having two studs or trading Narvaez to get Raleigh are both acceptable ideas.  The deal needs to include Yoshida and any prospects not listed as starters above other than Abreu and Refsnyder as potential candidates for the trade including any of the players we received in the Devers deal.

Additionally, I personally feel Kurtz from OAK has a far higher ceiling than Casas so trading Casas and prospects to get him makes a lot of sense.  That would leave a 2026 starting defense that would be Division Championship worthy and an offense that should be at the top of the heat within two years.

Lol, why on earth would seattle trade raleigh??!! A young power hitting catcher who is just entering his prime and under a team friendly contract till 2031. And they are certainly not taking yoshi and ref back in return. This is beyond hysterical.

And your man crush has only "earned a star" next to his name in your head.

Smh.......

[TedYazPapiMookie]

1 hour ago, TheSplinteredSplendor said:

Lol, why on earth would seattle trade raleigh??!! A young power hitting catcher who is just entering his prime and under a team friendly contract till 2031. And they are certainly not taking yoshi and ref back in return. This is beyond hysterical.

And your man crush has only "earned a star" next to his name in your head.

Smh.......

Why would a team not ask to kick the tires?  That's pure ignorance to not take every opportunity to improve your team.  The worst that can happen is they say no.  See that's how baseball front offices are supposed to behave, with a willingness to kick the tires to see if anything that might benefit the team can be accomplished and not sit on their hands because they are too scared to ask!!! HAHAHA like you suggest!!

Again, ripping a prospect for achieving a prestigious award!!  I'm still trying to figure out if you only have one mode that is negative, or you are a Yankee troll?  A Red Sox fan wouldn't be belittling a prospect for achieving an award only won twice in the history of the award by a Red Sox prospect.  Seems to be an odd way to supposedly support a team.

[TheSplinteredSplendor]

3 hours ago, TedYazPapiMookie said:

Why would a team not ask to kick the tires?  That's pure ignorance to not take every opportunity to improve your team.  The worst that can happen is they say no.  See that's how baseball front offices are supposed to behave, with a willingness to kick the tires to see if anything that might benefit the team can be accomplished and not sit on their hands because they are too scared to ask!!! HAHAHA like you suggest!!

Again, ripping a prospect for achieving a prestigious award!!  I'm still trying to figure out if you only have one mode that is negative, or you are a Yankee troll?  A Red Sox fan wouldn't be belittling a prospect for achieving an award only won twice in the history of the award by a Red Sox prospect.  Seems to be an odd way to supposedly support a team.

There's big difference between "kicking the tires" and proposing something completely preposterous.

And that's great, your man crush won an award in the minors, he's been terrible as a major leaguer. You may still get gold stars on your homework for staying inside the lines, but campbell doesn't as a major leaguer yet.

[TedYazPapiMookie]

2 hours ago, TheSplinteredSplendor said:

There's big difference between "kicking the tires" and proposing something completely preposterous.

And that's great, your man crush won an award in the minors, he's been terrible as a major leaguer. You may still get gold stars on your homework for staying inside the lines, but campbell doesn't as a major leaguer yet.

Again, with the wrongful criticism of Campbell.  Why do you hate the guy?  You are supposed to be a Red Sox fan but nothing you write suggests it.  He's done SO much more than both Anthony and Mayer in his first month.  That's irrefutable.  Then he dropped back to Mayer's level and he's still way ahead of Anthony.  You should really start dealing in facts not the fantasy world you live in.

Let me introduce you to the LAD organization since your knowledge of trading is so incredibly limited.  The preposterous happens all the time and it could in Boston too which means it's not preposterous, you simply can't think big.  That's your issue and fortunately it doesn't have to be Breslow's!! 

Also, your man crush comments are juvenile.  It's called being a fan.  You should try it some time.

[TheSplinteredSplendor]

11 hours ago, TedYazPapiMookie said:

Again, with the wrongful criticism of Campbell.  Why do you hate the guy?  You are supposed to be a Red Sox fan but nothing you write suggests it.  He's done SO much more than both Anthony and Mayer in his first month.  That's irrefutable.  Then he dropped back to Mayer's level and he's still way ahead of Anthony.  You should really start dealing in facts not the fantasy world you live in.

Let me introduce you to the LAD organization since your knowledge of trading is so incredibly limited.  The preposterous happens all the time and it could in Boston too which means it's not preposterous, you simply can't think big.  That's your issue and fortunately it doesn't have to be Breslow's!! 

Also, your man crush comments are juvenile.  It's called being a fan.  You should try it some time.

Just because mayer & anthony are floundering doesn't mean that your man crush was a viable major league player. One has nothing to do with the other. The fact is that campbell slashed .223/.319/.345 which is terrible no matter how you slice it and certainly does earn anyone any "stars".

And, again, you never explained why a playoff contending mariners would trade their star catcher who is the face of the franchise?

Do better.

[TedYazPapiMookie]

4 hours ago, TheSplinteredSplendor said:

Just because mayer & anthony are floundering doesn't mean that your man crush was a viable major league player. One has nothing to do with the other. The fact is that campbell slashed .223/.319/.345 which is terrible no matter how you slice it and certainly does earn anyone any "stars".

And, again, you never explained why a playoff contending mariners would trade their star catcher who is the face of the franchise?

Do better.

First, I don't answer to a bitter troll like you who struggles to understand the game.  I explained if you had even the lowest level of comprehension and willingness to open your mind that Raleigh may not be a person you would get in a trade, but it never hurts to ask AND I pointed out LAD pulls off trades like one for Raleigh on a regular basis.  So, try to pay attention next time.

Next, Campbell your victim of hate talk, was Minor League Player of the Year like Mike Trout and many other superstars not just good MLB players so it shows he has the potential for being great and for a month he displayed that potential until teams adjusted to him.  It's a familiar story among great players.   As soon as they learn to adjust, the have a break-out year.  If you weren't blinded by hate, you would realize he's on a very familiar path to greatness.  In the meantime, neither Mayer nor Anthony has enjoyed similar success.  That doesn't mean they won't end up being great too.  It's very clear Cora is doing everything possible to establish Anthony as the franchise player despite his lack of success, but he's now dropped Mayer like he did Campbell in the batting order and it appears he'll be the next to be sent down but at least he hit a few home runs before Cora pulls the plug on another future star of the team.   We've seen this Cora story since 2022.  He plays his favorites and pretends he has a shot at the playoffs, but his batting orders and weak AAA players that he promotes to the MLB always come back to bite him. 

As of today, our big three have averages of; Anthony .114 in 14 games, Mayer .216 in 26 games and .223 in 67 games.  FYI at 26 games Campbell was hitting .290 and at 14 games Campbell was hitting .333 once again proving the point that Campbell has had more success so far than Mayer and Anthony.   I believe all three will eventually become great players but not if they keep getting sent down to AAA instead of transitioning their game in the majors like Devers did.  He sucked in 2018 but played the whole year despite hitting .240 and making a billion errors.  Campbell should be doing the same and learning his new position - 2B.  Mayer should be learning MLB level SS right now as well.  Story is just an expensive back-up who should be filling in for Bregman and Toro should be going head-to-head with Gonzalez for the 1B position since no trades seem imminent.  That's not how Cora will play it though.  His favorites are his favorites and will get plenty of playing time because at heart he is a bench guy and prefers to lose a game each series with his scrubs than putting his best players forward and building his team of the future.  Four years in a row all with the same results, a .500ish team with no focus on the future.  It's time to move on and get a real manager.

 

[TheSplinteredSplendor]

17 minutes ago, TedYazPapiMookie said:

First, I don't answer to a bitter troll like you who struggles to understand the game.  I explained if you had even the lowest level of comprehension and willingness to open your mind that Raleigh may not be a person you would get in a trade, but it never hurts to ask AND I pointed out LAD pulls off trades like one for Raleigh on a regular basis.  So, try to pay attention next time.

Next, Campbell your victim of hate talk, was Minor League Player of the Year like Mike Trout and many other superstars not just good MLB players so it shows he has the potential for being great and for a month he displayed that potential until teams adjusted to him.  It's a familiar story among great players.   As soon as they learn to adjust, the have a break-out year.  If you weren't blinded by hate, you would realize he's on a very familiar path to greatness.  In the meantime, neither Mayer nor Anthony has enjoyed similar success.  That doesn't mean they won't end up being great too.  It's very clear Cora is doing everything possible to establish Anthony as the franchise player despite his lack of success, but he's now dropped Mayer like he did Campbell in the batting order and it appears he'll be the next to be sent down but at least he hit a few home runs before Cora pulls the plug on another future star of the team.   We've seen this Cora story since 2022.  He plays his favorites and pretends he has a shot at the playoffs, but his batting orders and weak AAA players that he promotes to the MLB always come back to bite him. 

As of today, our big three have averages of; Anthony .114 in 14 games, Mayer .216 in 26 games and .223 in 67 games.  FYI at 26 games Campbell was hitting .290 and at 14 games Campbell was hitting .333 once again proving the point that Campbell has had more success so far than Mayer and Anthony.   I believe all three will eventually become great players but not if they keep getting sent down to AAA instead of transitioning their game in the majors like Devers did.  He sucked in 2018 but played the whole year despite hitting .240 and making a billion errors.  Campbell should be doing the same and learning his new position - 2B.  Mayer should be learning MLB level SS right now as well.  Story is just an expensive back-up who should be filling in for Bregman and Toro should be going head-to-head with Gonzalez for the 1B position since no trades seem imminent.  That's not how Cora will play it though.  His favorites are his favorites and will get plenty of playing time because at heart he is a bench guy and prefers to lose a game each series with his scrubs than putting his best players forward and building his team of the future.  Four years in a row all with the same results, a .500ish team with no focus on the future.  It's time to move on and get a real manager.

 

Lol, too funny.

I "struggle to understand the game" but yet you think you could acquire a stud, MVP caliber, cost controlled superstar catcher for a package including a hurt DH (yoshi) and a platoon player who is ready to retire (ref). Too funny, no wonder you struggled past tee-ball.

As far as "Minor League Player of the Year", so what. Doesn't mean squat at the major league level where your man crush has failed so far. Remember, guys like Mike Bielecki, Jon Rauch, Jeff Francis and Yoán Moncada have all won the award. Let me know how many "stars" would go next to their names.

Smh......

[TedYazPapiMookie]

8 hours ago, TheSplinteredSplendor said:

Lol, too funny.

I "struggle to understand the game" but yet you think you could acquire a stud, MVP caliber, cost controlled superstar catcher for a package including a hurt DH (yoshi) and a platoon player who is ready to retire (ref). Too funny, no wonder you struggled past tee-ball.

As far as "Minor League Player of the Year", so what. Doesn't mean squat at the major league level where your man crush has failed so far. Remember, guys like Mike Bielecki, Jon Rauch, Jeff Francis and Yoán Moncada have all won the award. Let me know how many "stars" would go next to their names.

Smh......

So, your template response again.   Lol, too funny and a condescending blurb that completely misquotes what was written so you can feel good about yourself.  It's pathetic that you can't engage in baseball conversations without taking things out of context to try to win discussions.  You've made being a jerk and artform. Congrats, I'm done with you.

[TheSplinteredSplendor]

8 hours ago, TedYazPapiMookie said:

So, your template response again.   Lol, too funny and a condescending blurb that completely misquotes what was written so you can feel good about yourself.  It's pathetic that you can't engage in baseball conversations without taking things out of context to try to win discussions.  You've made being a jerk and artform. Congrats, I'm done with you.

Misquotes? Out of context? It's all in black and white.

And you're the last person who should complain about anyone being condescending.

Hypocrite much?

[TedYazPapiMookie]

3 hours ago, TheSplinteredSplendor said:

Misquotes? Out of context? It's all in black and white.

And you're the last person who should complain about anyone being condescending.

Hypocrite much?

HAHAHA wrong tense!!!  Wow!!  Another one of your famous, "no you are" responses.  Also, a tidbit for your education.  It's not condescending to present data from Baseball Reference that contradicts your ridiculous opinions.  Facts trump opinions when it comes to discussing baseball and all you have are opinions and thank you for pointing out you can precisely measure every word you've spun to change the discussion.  It is in black and white and that works against you not for you!! hahaha.

[TheSplinteredSplendor]

4 hours ago, TedYazPapiMookie said:

HAHAHA wrong tense!!!  Wow!!  Another one of your famous, "no you are" responses.  Also, a tidbit for your education.  It's not condescending to present data from Baseball Reference that contradicts your ridiculous opinions.  Facts trump opinions when it comes to discussing baseball and all you have are opinions and thank you for pointing out you can precisely measure every word you've spun to change the discussion.  It is in black and white and that works against you not for you!! hahaha.

Lol, that's rich considering that you offer your opinions as proof.

The fact is that your man crush has sucked at the major league level. Look that up on baseball-reference,

The fact is that you think seattle would trade the face of the franchise stud catcher for package including a broken down DH and a platoon player who is ready to retire. 

We all read it and laughed at you.

[TedYazPapiMookie]

3 hours ago, TheSplinteredSplendor said:

Lol, that's rich considering that you offer your opinions as proof.

The fact is that your man crush has sucked at the major league level. Look that up on baseball-reference,

The fact is that you think seattle would trade the face of the franchise stud catcher for package including a broken down DH and a platoon player who is ready to retire. 

We all read it and laughed at you.

Your rhetoric is very tired.  You've beaten both stories to death, inaccurately as usual.  

The only people that would laugh would be the ignorant baseball fans; the rest are rooting for you to give it a rest.  Nobody likes a chronic whiner who can't even restate simply facts accurately.

[TheSplinteredSplendor]

1 hour ago, TedYazPapiMookie said:

Your rhetoric is very tired.  You've beaten both stories to death, inaccurately as usual.  

The only people that would laugh would be the ignorant baseball fans; the rest are rooting for you to give it a rest.  Nobody likes a chronic whiner who can't even restate simply facts accurately.

Ah, so you're a liar as well.

Got it, thanks for playing.