The 2026 Red Sox Foundation & One Possible Plan

[notin]

5 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

I think when a tiny portion of us mentioned that Pivetta could get a QO, it was because he would either refuse and Sox would get compensation OR the worst is the Sox get a dependable back end guy for one more year. Most posters disagreed that the Sox would even consider giving him a QO. 

Ultimately, he signed for 4/55 which seems like a great deal to me. I wish the Sox did that instead of Buehler. 

Add my name to the “no chance Pivetta gets a QO” list.  Assuming I am not the headliner…

[mvp 78]

12 hours ago, notin said:

Add my name to the “no chance Pivetta gets a QO” list.  Assuming I am not the headliner…

I guess I was the lone person who thought he could get one? Anyone else? 

I thought it was probably 50/50.

[moonslav59]

44 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

I guess I was the lone person who thought he could get one? Anyone else? 

I thought it was probably 50/50.

I never expected he'd get one, and I really liked the guy and felt he was underrated.

[notin]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

I guess I was the lone person who thought he could get one? Anyone else? 

I thought it was probably 50/50.

That’s odd because you think almost no one deserves one…

[drewski6]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

I guess I was the lone person who thought he could get one? Anyone else? 

I thought it was probably 50/50.

I thought he would after the first time I read that he might, but not before.  

[drewski6]

As in the first time I saw 

1 hour ago, moonslav59 said:

I never expected he'd get one, and I really liked the guy and felt he was underrated.

He might have got caught up in an unfortunate "change for change's sake"

[moonslav59]

Pivetta had some very nice 15-25 start stretches over almost every season with the Sox. He just never did it for 32-33 starts.

I think Fenway brought down his numbers:

4.66 ERA at home ('21-'24) 4.34 FIP

4.02 ERA away with a 4.06 FIP

He blew all others away in IP from 21-24, so his fWAR numbers should be higher than others but here they are.

8.1 Houck (414 IP)

7.7 Pivetta (623)

6.8 Nate (293)

4.8 Bello (377)

4.7 Crawford (392)

4.3 Whitlock (243)

ERA- (200+ IP)

78 Whitlock

85 Houck

86 Nate

100 Pivetta and Wink

103 Bello

107 Crawford

xFIP

3.42 Whitlock

3.47 Nate

3.66 Houck

3.92 Bello & Pivetta

4.20 Wink

4.36 Crawford

[mvp 78]

1 hour ago, notin said:

That’s odd because you think almost no one deserves one…

I don't know where you got that idea from? 

[Bellhorn04]

I don't think anyone saw Pivetta making the quantum leap he has this year at age 32.  

His highest bWAR was 2.5 before this year, when it's 5.3.

 

[mvp 78]

26 minutes ago, Bellhorn04 said:

I don't think anyone saw Pivetta making the quantum leap he has this year at age 32.  

His highest bWAR was 2.5 before this year, when it's 5.3.

 

When you look at the splits, there is definitely a huge Petco Park factor at play. He's having a very good year, but his numbers wouldn't be as good if he was pitching elsewhere. 

[mvp 78]

When has Sammy ever lied to us?

[moonslav59]

They've discussed the goal for the next 15 games with Breggie?

Hmmm....

[mvp 78]

28 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

They've discussed the goal for the next 15 games with Breggie?

Hmmm....

He's not going to be on the playoff roster because his hitting has been so bad apparently. 🫠

[moonslav59]

2 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

He's not going to be on the playoff roster because his hitting has been so bad apparently. 🫠

LMAO!

"Hey, Breggie: you gotta hit over .300 or Toro is taking your place!"

[mvp 78]

Just now, moonslav59 said:

LMAO!

"Hey, Breggie: you gotta hit over .300 or Toro is taking your place!"

"Coruh, go out there and tell 'em Breggie's cooked and can't go in the playoffs. That way we gots leverage in the negotiations, see..." 

[notin]

31 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

LMAO!

"Hey, Breggie: you gotta hit over .300 or Toro is taking your place!"

If we’re talking OPS, I agree…

[notin]

3 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

When has Sammy ever lied to us?

I have mixed emotions about Bregman.  He was great to start the year, but has been rather meh since getting hurt.

I know getting hurt can hamper a player’s performance.  But we are talking about a long term deal here, and is more or less likely to keep getting hurt as he ages? Also at some point I did hate this guy for the way he whined about the fan treatment  The Cheatin’ Astros received.

I’m on the Ketel Marte Bandwagon now.  Sure Hes pretty whiny, too.  But he doesn’t cheat…

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, notin said:

I have mixed emotions about Bregman.  He was great to start the year, but has been rather meh since getting hurt.

I know getting hurt can hamper a player’s performance.  But we are talking about a long term deal here, and is more or less likely to keep getting hurt as he ages? Also at some point I did hate this guy for the way he whined about the fan treatment  The Cheatin’ Astros received.

I’m on the Ketel Marte Bandwagon now.  Sure Hes pretty whiny, too.  But he doesn’t cheat…

I'm moving that way, too. Or signing a big bopper 1Bman (Alonso or move Suarez to 1B and play Story/Mayer at 3B.)

[drewski6]

36 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

I'm moving that way, too. Or signing a big bopper 1Bman (Alonso or move Suarez to 1B and play Story/Mayer at 3B.)

Both. Get greedy.

[drewski6]

Why Marte specifically? Hes not especially available

[moonslav59]

42 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

Both. Get greedy.

So, Alonso at 1B, Suarez (gasp) at 3B and Mayer at 2B.

Okay with me, as long as we trade for Joe Ryan.

Alonso or Suarez at 1B, Marte at 2B and Mayer/Story at 3B is fine, too.

[drewski6]

15 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

So, Alonso at 1B, Suarez (gasp) at 3B and Mayer at 2B.

Okay with me, as long as we trade for Joe Ryan.

Alonso or Suarez at 1B, Marte at 2B and Mayer/Story at 3B is fine, too.

Mayer in the minors. Not because I dont like him or that he isnt deserving.  Because : see my long winded post in the other thread about using your farm to expand your 26.  Redundancy for expected attrition.  If you have Mayer in the minors, you can whether an injury better.

[drewski6]

Or in the deal, not because I dont like Mayer, but because Ketel Marte is signed to a team-friendly contract with more than a few years left and right now leads MLB in OPS among middle-infielders, so um, not cheap.

When Notin talks about trading for Marte, Im almost thinking gee, you think you can get them to throw in Corbin Carroll too, and cash, and their top 7 prospects.....

No offense Notin, Im sure you know that asking for Marte is asking for a lot.  

[mvp 78]

2 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

Mayer in the minors. Not because I dont like him or that he isnt deserving.  Because : see my long winded post in the other thread about using your farm to expand your 26.  Redundancy for expected attrition.  If you have Mayer in the minors, you can whether an injury better.

Mayer would be injured when you needed the callup. 

[mvp 78]

1 minute ago, drewski6 said:

Or in the deal, not because I dont like Mayer, but because Ketel Marte is signed to a team-friendly contract with more than a few years left and right now leads MLB in OPS among middle-infielders, so um, not cheap.

When Notin talks about trading for Marte, Im almost thinking gee, you think you can get them to throw in Corbin Carroll too, and cash, and their top 7 prospects.....

No offense Notin, Im sure you know that asking for Marte is asking for a lot.  

No different than penciling in Suarez AND Alonso. 

0% chance that happens. 

[moonslav59]

25 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

Mayer in the minors. Not because I dont like him or that he isnt deserving.  Because : see my long winded post in the other thread about using your farm to expand your 26.  Redundancy for expected attrition.  If you have Mayer in the minors, you can whether an injury better.

I totally agree. We can not pencil in Mayer as a FT 2Bman or 3Man. We need to plan on a 150 day IL stint.

I'm not happy with Suarez at 3B: but he could be plan B, if Mayer is hurt, but then we'd need a plan B at 1B, and I'm not sure we can say Casas is for the same reasons as Mayer. I'm not sure we pay Lowe $10M to be plan B (Saurez to DH as Lowe plays 1B.)

[notin]

1 hour ago, drewski6 said:

Or in the deal, not because I dont like Mayer, but because Ketel Marte is signed to a team-friendly contract with more than a few years left and right now leads MLB in OPS among middle-infielders, so um, not cheap.

When Notin talks about trading for Marte, Im almost thinking gee, you think you can get them to throw in Corbin Carroll too, and cash, and their top 7 prospects.....

No offense Notin, Im sure you know that asking for Marte is asking for a lot.  

Marte might be more available than you think.

https://sports.yahoo.com/article/diamondbacks-rumors-arizona-open-trading-140557610.html

The internet is littered with stories about his diva attitude, some of which might even be true.  Certainly that makes a good argument against acquiring him, but he is also a legitimate superstar who is the best overall player at a position at which the Sox have had a void for well over half a decade now.

BTV gives him a surplus value of $77mill.  A deal sending Duran ($60mill) and LHP Brandon Clarke ($16mill) certainly seems fair.  Another player (2b replacement David Hamilton? 1b Tristin Casas? Rule 5 eligible RHP Jedixson Paez) could make tjis deal more enticing.

Does Arizona need Duran? Maybe.  A couple years ago, their OF of the future appeared to be set with Carroll, Alek Thomas, and Jake McCarthy.  But it turns out, there is a really good chance Thomas and McCarthy both suck.

Still ridiculous?

 

 

[notin]

49 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

I totally agree. We can not pencil in Mayer as a FT 2Bman or 3Man. We need to plan on a 150 day IL stint.

I'm not happy with Suarez at 3B: but he could be plan B, if Mayer is hurt, but then we'd need a plan B at 1B, and I'm not sure we can say Casas is for the same reasons as Mayer. I'm not sure we pay Lowe $10M to be plan B (Saurez to DH as Lowe plays 1B.)

Depth is a good thing, but that doesn’t necessarily mean burying Mayer in the minors where he starts blocking those coming up behind him.

If Bregman doesn’t come back, Mayer is the best internal option for 3b.  Trevor Story compared him to a Nolan Arenado, which is high praise.  (Although Story might also have been motivated to keep Mayer at 3b for obvious reasons.)

Mayer could certainly get injured again, although maybe surgery finally corrects this problem.  But the Sox could backup him up internally (Romy?), from below (Romero?) or with a multipurpose free agent (Luis Rengifo?) that also fills other needs. Or, if they tender arbitration to Nate Lowe, trade Casas for a candidate.  (Also an option in the unlikely event the Sox put a Polar Bear at 1b.)

[mvp 78]

21 minutes ago, notin said:

Marte might be more available than you think.

https://sports.yahoo.com/article/diamondbacks-rumors-arizona-open-trading-140557610.html

The internet is littered with stories about his diva attitude, some of which might even be true.  Certainly that makes a good argument against acquiring him, but he is also a legitimate superstar who is the best overall player at a position at which the Sox have had a void for well over half a decade now.

BTV gives him a surplus value of $77mill.  A deal sending Duran ($60mill) and LHP Brandon Clarke ($16mill) certainly seems fair.  Another player (2b replacement David Hamilton? 1b Tristin Casas? Rule 5 eligible RHP Jedixson Paez) could make tjis deal more enticing.

Does Arizona need Duran? Maybe.  A couple years ago, their OF of the future appeared to be set with Carroll, Alek Thomas, and Jake McCarthy.  But it turns out, there is a really good chance Thomas and McCarthy both suck.

Still ridiculous?

Fine with any and all of those ideas. 

[mvp 78]

8 minutes ago, notin said:

Depth is a good thing, but that doesn’t necessarily mean burying Mayer in the minors where he starts blocking those coming up behind him.

If Bregman doesn’t come back, Mayer is the best internal option for 3b.  Trevor Story compared him to a Nolan Arenado, which is high praise.  (Although Story might also have been motivated to keep Mayer at 3b for obvious reasons.)

Mayer could certainly get injured again, although maybe surgery finally corrects this problem.  But the Sox could backup him up internally (Romy?), from below (Romero?) or with a multipurpose free agent (Luis Rengifo?) that also fills other needs. Or, if they tender arbitration to Nate Lowe, trade Casas for a candidate.  (Also an option in the unlikely event the Sox put a Polar Bear at 1b.)

I don't know if Romero's hit tool will be good enough to be playable at MLB. He may need another full year in AAA for a true breakout. Health is also a concern for him.