Red Sox 2025 Season Review/Offseason Preview Thread

[Hitch]

Cubs have released Shota Imanaga 🤔

[mvp 78]

49 minutes ago, Hitch said:

Cubs have released Shota Imanaga 🤔

 

[moonslav59]

3 hours ago, Hitch said:

Cubs have released Shota Imanaga 🤔

cots had the club options as this...

57M club option ($20M each in 2026-27, $17M in 2028), 27:$15M player option

[mvp 78]

 

[mvp 78]

Wake up Brezzz, it's almost Thanksgiving! 

[moonslav59]

21 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

He had an $8M option, right?

[vegasbob]

Duran's personal  and economic future may be best served by  getting traded.  If  Speier's report is correct, Jarren will not be getting an extended deal at premium pricing from the Red Sox.   A trade and sign deal with another team who actually needs an outfielder with some plus tools  will be his way to bigger money.

Otherwise, Duran's ship is leaving port without enough lifeboats.    As a guy who plays hard, he is one leg injury away from being made irrelevant.    

[jad]

25 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

He had an $8M option, right?

Team option, I think.  (What was the point of bidding him down $250??  Just a show of power? Anyone know?   Why not just say "Great to have you with us! We're lucky to get you at that price!" and start off on the right foot?)

[moonslav59]

3 minutes ago, jad said:

Team option, I think.  (What was the point of bidding him down $250??  Just a show of power? Anyone know?   Why not just say "Great to have you with us! We're lucky to get you at that price!" and start off on the right foot?)

Kinda the point I was getting at.

It was an $8M option with $100K buyout and then a possible arb, if no deal was reached.

I thought $8M was fair to the team and close for the player.

[mvp 78]

34 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

He had an $8M option, right?

Team turned it down.

[moonslav59]

11 minutes ago, vegasbob said:

Duran's personal  and economic future may be best served by  getting traded.  If  Speier's report is correct, Jarren will not be getting an extended deal at premium pricing from the Red Sox.   A trade and sign deal with another team who actually needs an outfielder with some plus tools  will be his way to bigger money.

Otherwise, Duran's ship is leaving port without enough lifeboats.    As a guy who plays hard, he is one leg injury away from being made irrelevant.    

He has 2 arb years after 2026. There is no urgency for any team to extend him. He showed some decline in offense, defense and baserunning (SBs) in 2026.

While he just turned 29, he will be 31 during his last controlled season.

[mvp 78]

7 minutes ago, jad said:

Team option, I think.  (What was the point of bidding him down $250??  Just a show of power? Anyone know?   Why not just say "Great to have you with us! We're lucky to get you at that price!" and start off on the right foot?)

Saved 700k because... well you know...

[jad]

This is why I absolutely DESPISE this management.   All that idiotic chest-thumping (NO WAY WE GIVE YOU 8 million, you chump.  Here's 7.8 million!  Take it or leave it!) for no reason.  (Similar b.s. with Devers--bad-mouthing him out the door, just as they did Francona years ago).  Look, as a boss, you may like a deal, you may hate it.   But you at least PRETEND to be happy and supportive of those who work for you.  Treating employees like enemies may be good for your testosterone levels, but it's not going to make anyone want to work for you.

[moonslav59]

I thought it was $8M bonus not 8.4.

So he gets $7.7 +$100K buy out + maybe $75K, which could mean $7.85M (or $7.8M)

[mvp 78]

15 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

I thought it was $8M bonus not 8.4.

So he gets $7.7 +$100K buy out + maybe $75K, which could mean $7.85M (or $7.8M)

Who are you to doubt Stats Masterson? 

[drewski6]

1 hour ago, moonslav59 said:

He had an $8M option, right?

we had an 8m option on him, we declined it prob because we wanted to pursue 7.6 in arb for him and he wanted to pursue 8m in arb , and so we figured just go through arb because worse case he gets the same. The risk is pissing him off, but we dont even have to worry about that because we avoided arb.

Ask the bruins about how touchy arb can be.  Sometimes relationships are forever damaged, but no arb here.

[moonslav59]

18 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Who are you to doubt Stats Masterson? 

A few sites had $8M.

[mvp 78]

Story opting in per Chris Cotillo. 

[moonslav59]

Hoskins mutual option decline: he's a FA.

[Duran Is The Man]

3 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

Saved 700k because... well you know...

but these same tightwad motherf***ers will give an injured pitcher that won't throw a single pitch $10 million. 

[UtahSox]

On 11/3/2025 at 12:58 PM, Nick said:

7. The best Red Sox player or prospect traded will be:

 

 

COTILLO: Ceddanne Rafaela

 

 

My hot take of the winter is that the Red Sox are going to find Duran’s value to be lower than they expect and Rafaela’s to be much higher than expected across the game. Therefore, headlining a trade package with Rafaela — most teams won’t balk at the six years and $48 million (plus a club option) he’s guaranteed — can’t be ruled out. Trading the Gold Glover is not Plan A for the Sox but would allow a (left-to-right) outfield of Anthony, Duran (who is better in center than left) and Abreu with someone like Schwarber getting a full load of DH at-bats.

Can we just move away from 3 lefty hitting outfielders? I will not shed a tear over Duran leaving. You get to keep 2 Gold Glovers, young outfielders not named Anthony. Why is this so difficult?

Man they both sucked down the stretch when we needed production out of OF. After RA went down, Rafaela hit barely .200 and Abreu sat out for 2 months with a “calf strain”. And when he came back did absolutely nothing. We need to move on from 1 of those 2. 

[UtahSox]

On 11/3/2025 at 2:59 PM, Hugh2 said:

Red Sox were 7th in MLB in runs scored, and 10th in fewest runs allowed.  Saying hitting is a priority over pitching may not be 100% accurate. 

Bregman leaving aside, there should be a ton of potential to get better offensively by the youngsters improving and guys getting healthy.  

I think it became glaringly obvious down the stretch, our offense was lacking to win in October…. I will say if our hitting with RISP moderately improved in 2026, that could make your point true. I still believe we need two power bats in lineup that scare people. RA is #1 need to go get #2.

[UtahSox]

11 hours ago, drewski6 said:

Vancouver on the radar to get a team?

There is a lot of smoke around Utah getting expansion team. Pretty far down the road in terms of stadium funding etc., I have a source high within the miller family

1. I believe Vegas is a done deal, I was there last month and stadium is moving along nicely.

2. Rays need to figure out stadium deal in Tampa, or move team to Nashville.

3. Nashville is obvious next choice for expansion if Tampa finds stadium deal. 
4. SLC or Portland look like the next 2 obvious choices. I can’t speak for anyone in Portland, but Millers feel like they will have a team by 2032. 

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, UtahSox said:

Man they both sucked down the stretch when we needed production out of OF. After RA went down, Rafaela hit barely .200 and Abreu sat out for 2 months with a “calf strain”. And when he came back did absolutely nothing. We need to move on from 1 of those 2. 

I have mentioned this as a possibility, because we need hitting. It seems counterintuitive to trade Duran or Abreu, when they are out 2nd and 3rd best hopes on O, next year, after Anthony.

I love Rafaela's D and think he'll be okay enough on O to be a solid plus, but he does have trade value, too. He's locked up long term, too. Anthony or Garcia can play CF (please no Duran!)

LF: Duran, Campbell

CF: Anthony, Garcia

RF: Abreu, Garcia

I'm not sure what we get for Rafaela. We may need to add Campbell or Garcia, then pay to bring Ref back, but keeping Duran & Abreu makes a lot of sense. (And i'm this site's leader in suggested Duran trade scenarios.)

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, UtahSox said:

There is a lot of smoke around Utah getting expansion team. Pretty far down the road in terms of stadium funding etc., I have a source high within the miller family

1. I believe Vegas is a done deal, I was there last month and stadium is moving along nicely.

2. Rays need to figure out stadium deal in Tampa, or move team to Nashville.

3. Nashville is obvious next choice for expansion if Tampa finds stadium deal. 
4. SLC or Portland look like the next 2 obvious choices. I can’t speak for anyone in Portland, but Millers feel like they will have a team by 2032. 

I've always though North Carolina would be the spot for a MLB team. They must have a thousand minor league teams, but they lack one major metro area and trying to find a more central location to draw from many smaller cities might draw nobody.

Indianapolis, Buffalo, San Antonio & Vancouver might be long shots, too.

[Hitch]

15 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

cots had the club options as this...

57M club option ($20M each in 2026-27, $17M in 2028), 27:$15M player option

What I don't understand about this - he and that contract is very tradeable. Why not just exercise it and take a piece in return? 

[Hitch]

14 hours ago, jad said:

Team option, I think.  (What was the point of bidding him down $250??  Just a show of power? Anyone know?   Why not just say "Great to have you with us! We're lucky to get you at that price!" and start off on the right foot?)

I really don't get this deal at all. You agreed the price with him - just pay it. What good does this do anyone? 

[moonslav59]

3 hours ago, Hitch said:

What I don't understand about this - he and that contract is very tradeable. Why not just exercise it and take a piece in return? 

Agreed. I'm pretty sure he gets more than that as a FA, unless he has a serious medical issue.

[mvp 78]

11 hours ago, UtahSox said:

I think it became glaringly obvious down the stretch, our offense was lacking to win in October…. I will say if our hitting with RISP moderately improved in 2026, that could make your point true. I still believe we need two power bats in lineup that scare people. RA is #1 need to go get #2.

I think the high k offensive approach makes those RISP just look miserable. It wasn't a surprise that they would get tore up by a pitcher throwing heat. The team just can't make contact. It's a roster construction issue. 

[mvp 78]

40 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Agreed. I'm pretty sure he gets more than that as a FA, unless he has a serious medical issue.

Had a blow up start o 9/25 and lost Game 3 of the WC. I guess his velo is down. Cubs may know more than anybody else, but he was really good for him for the first 95% of the time he was there.