Red Sox 2025 Season Review/Offseason Preview Thread

[Jasonbay44]

Red Sox are about to go for a big bat, I heard they’re targeting Donovan Solano! 

[mvp 78]

23 minutes ago, harmony said:

The Red Sox reportedly are trading for former Giants reliever Ryan Watson, whom the Athletics selected with the No. 8 pick in the Rule 5 draft:

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/12/2025-rule-5-draft-results.html

Good K-BB. Has a decent chance of sticking in the pen. 

[mvp 78]

3 minutes ago, Jasonbay44 said:

Red Sox are about to go for a big bat, I heard they’re targeting Donovan Solano! 

Josh Bell, come on down!

[drewski6]

Just now, mvp 78 said:

Josh Bell, come on down!

hallelujah, Pharoahe Monch'll do ya

Maintain the same frame of mind, screw ya
Get the picture, sit ya, seat ya, greet ya with scriptures
I'm equipped to rip ya, reach ya
Pharoahe and Mos is verbal osmosis
Coast to coast, we boast to be the most explosive here
Ferocious, the lyrical prognosis
The dosage is leavin' you mentally unfocused here
MCs just come on 'round
You're the next contestants on Catch a Beat Down

[drewski6]

If we turned Vaughn Grissom into that CF who was jsut picked 8th round with a surprisingly sexy write-up AND a decent reliever* with the vacated 40 man roster spot, thats good work

*Assuming the of'er isnt the return for the reliever

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, Jasonbay44 said:

He’s not an addition. He was already on the team last season. Signing Bregman puts them in essentially same position as last year, while every other team in division is improving. 

The same position but an older Bregman who will take up a ton of budget space for many years to come.

We need better than Bregman (Marte?) or Bregman plus another big bat.

No, that big bat should not be counting on Casas or 300 more PAs from Anthony.

[mvp 78]

Everyone is talking about "flat fastball" this offseason.

[moonslav59]

1 minute ago, mvp 78 said:

Everyone is talking about "flat fastball" this offseason.

We seem to have mastered the trades for Rule 5 picks.

So, that was the open slot on the 40- not ALONSO!

[mvp 78]

1 minute ago, moonslav59 said:

We seem to have mastered the trades for Rule 5 picks.

So, that was the open slot on the 40- not ALONSO!

They could have DFA'd someone else today to make room for a FA if they needed to. 

[Larry Cook]

2 hours ago, Hitch said:

Bregman feels absolutely certain now. Casas and Romy to ride out 1st for the foreseeable. 

I think Bregman is mulling signing with the cubs!! 

[mvp 78]

Justin Riemer IF

for

Ryan Watson RHP, Rule 5 Pick

[Larry Cook]

14 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

We seem to have mastered the trades for Rule 5 picks.

So, that was the open slot on the 40- not ALONSO!

I really thought we were in on the Yankees cohen!! But it appears we are trying to trade for Watson!!  

[drewski6]

17 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Everyone is talking about "flat fastball" this offseason.

I assume that by fastball they mean the ball doesnt drop like our eyes expect it to and therefore it creates an illusion to the batter that its rising.  Im sure youve been in there against one. They actually do look like they are rising!  Thats not just an expression.

My only thing is this - they use to call that "good carry" a term Im sure youve heard.  Thats what it mean.  It stays up, doesnt have the usual arc, and gives the illusion that its rising.  Not sure why the term change.

[drewski6]

1 minute ago, mvp 78 said:

Justin Riemer IF

for

Ryan Watson RHP, Rule 5 Pick

Not the OF we got for Vaughn is a win for me.  They were like this dude was just picked in the 8th round of the last draft, is likely to stick in CF, super athletic, and has raw power but needs to better his hit tool to fully capitalize on teh raw power.

Felt like a good deal for Vaughn Grissom who i expected to get waived/claimed. And now we've also repurposed the 40 man roster spot without parting with the aforementioned acquired OF'er

Thats some good work.

[mvp 78]

Just now, drewski6 said:

I assume that by fastball they mean the ball doesnt drop like our eyes expect it to and therefore it creates an illusion to the batter that its rising.  Im sure youve been in there against one. They actually do look like they are rising!  Thats not just an expression.

My only thing is this - they use to call that "good carry" a term Im sure youve heard.  Thats what it mean.  It stays up, doesnt have the usual arc, and gives the illusion that its rising.  Not sure why the term change.

There always has to be something new to sling around each offseason. For whatever reason, I've heard the term "flat fastball" a bunch recently and it's really stuck out the past month or two. 

[drewski6]

wish we were as good at fixing the top of the 40 man as we are the bottom, but hey, marginal improvements are still improvements i guess.

Death by 1000 paper cuts, is what they called the bloom years.

But we're looking for something to be positive about.

[mvp 78]

Just now, drewski6 said:

Not the OF we got for Vaughn is a win for me.  They were like this dude was just picked in the 8th round of the last draft, is likely to stick in CF, super athletic, and has raw power but needs to better his hit tool to fully capitalize on teh raw power.

Felt like a good deal for Vaughn Grissom who i expected to get waived/claimed. And now we've also repurposed the 40 man roster spot without parting with the aforementioned acquired OF'er

Thats some good work.

Riemer was a poor man's Chase Meidroth. I had hoped that he would follow a similar path and have a quick rise through the org, but he just never hit all that well. High OBP due to the bb's, but pathetic SLG and contact rate could have been a bit better. For a guy that is destined to be 2b only, it's easy to move on from.

[drewski6]

Just now, mvp 78 said:

There always has to be something new to sling around each offseason. For whatever reason, I've heard the term "flat fastball" a bunch recently and it's really stuck out the past month or two. 

I assume "flat fastball" if meant as a positive is the new way of saying "fastball with good carry"

Throws from the OF can have good carry too, because they are more straight line than "arc'ing throws" so maybe they are trying to be nuanced and thats why they wont just say "good carry" (like they use to)

Still, if someone told me a fastball has good carry, I think I would be able to figure out they werent talking about Raul Mondesi gunning dudes down at the plate from RF.  And would be talking about the "riser"

You are right, they just have to keep the terms fresh to feel smart.  Because before it was a "fastball with good carry" it was a "rising fastball"

And I wonder who the first nerd who was like "actually, the pitch isnt rising, it just looks that way because our eyes are trained to expect a certain level of drop that isnt there, so you are technically incorrect when you call it a rising fastball. Instead call it a fastball with good carry"

ANd everyone is looking at the nerd like "yeah, we know"

[Kimmi]

1 hour ago, Duran Is The Man said:

they'll probably sign Dom Smith. LOLOL,

LOL  Not in any way saying that they should sign Dom Smith, but he was my favorite Red Sox player for a time when he played with us.  He just seems so genuinely happy to be playing baseball.

[mvp 78]

3 minutes ago, Kimmi said:

LOL  Not in any way saying that they should sign Dom Smith, but he was my favorite Red Sox player for a time when he played with us.  He just seems so genuinely happy to be playing baseball.

I was at the first game he pitched for the Sox and it ruled when he came in. Almost made up for Houck giving up three bombs. 

[mvp 78]

 

[Hugh2]

At the end of the day getting Alonso and Bregman was a pipe dream and 3B is a much much much bigger hole so this is kind of whatever.  But the cards are starting to fall....will Breslow be left without a dance partner?

[Kimmi]

45 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

The same position but an older Bregman who will take up a ton of budget space for many years to come.

We need better than Bregman (Marte?) or Bregman plus another big bat.

No, that big bat should not be counting on Casas or 300 more PAs from Anthony.

It's tough to know what we're going to get from Casas and Anthony, but they could potentially provide the big bats that we are in need of.  The dilemma, IMO, is in knowing how to balance signing big free agent contracts (likely to aging players) against going with our young and cost-controlled players.  Casas and Anthony could provide more production than anyone we could reasonably acquire, or they could not.

Breslow did promise that the Sox would repurpose the money saved from trading Devers.  They have used some of that to extend our young players, but I think some of that money needs to be spent on newly acquired players as well.

[JoeBrady]

42 minutes ago, Hugh2 said:

...will Breslow be left without a dance partner?

That's always the fun part.  Did teams trying to get ahead of the competition do so by overpaying?  Will there be players struggling to find a contract in January, or will there be teams struggling to find a play in January.  I always, always measure these things by who is left, not who has signed.  My favorite DD signing was JD.  JD waited and waited.  Boras put out one leak after another about the number of teams interested.  But DD knew the RS had the best offer and never batter an eyelash and landed him at a good price.

[UtahSox]

3 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

No, once again you are wrong. I said, if the offers were even, "I THINK" he'd prefer BOS. 

Big difference.

He preferred Boston — everyone does — just not for two years and millions less. We absolutely botched this. Mets and Alonso were never reuniting. This was ours to lose… and we lost it. I’m honestly speechless.

We’re running the Boston Marlins right now — an ownership group trying to moneyball an AL pennant while hoarding the third-most revenue in baseball. It’s pathetic. And if they’re really “losing money,” then open the books. Show us.

They won’t —

They’re posting paper losses from bonus depreciation while banking real cash, $100M+ every single year.

[moonslav59]

2 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

They could have DFA'd someone else today to make room for a FA if they needed to. 

Of course- or 2-3 ...lol.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

1 hour ago, Kimmi said:

Breslow did promise that the Sox would repurpose the money saved from trading Devers.  They have used some of that to extend our young players, but I think some of that money needs to be spent on newly acquired players as well.

And stationary! Don't forget Red Sox stationary: it's now green monster green to match the new City Connects.

Fans may not appreciate it, but Henry just told a bunch of Staples clerks, "Color printing's expensive."

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, Kimmi said:

It's tough to know what we're going to get from Casas and Anthony, but they could potentially provide the big bats that we are in need of.  The dilemma, IMO, is in knowing how to balance signing big free agent contracts (likely to aging players) against going with our young and cost-controlled players.  Casas and Anthony could provide more production than anyone we could reasonably acquire, or they could not.

Breslow did promise that the Sox would repurpose the money saved from trading Devers.  They have used some of that to extend our young players, but I think some of that money needs to be spent on newly acquired players as well.

I like Casas on offense a lot. I've been posting his numbers for weeks, but we can't put this window of opportunity on his shoulders, not have him share it with Anthony, Mayer and others. We also have to factor in new injuries and regressions from a few players. It happens every year.

We expected more from Abreu, but got more from Story, instead.

We expected more from Houck, but got shocked by Gio, instead.

We were hopeful on DHam and or Campbell and then watched Romy steal the show.

We ended up counting on Lowe, Romy, Matz, Early, Tolle and Weissert. Sure, there will be some upticks from guys like them, but we can't just run back the same team and expect better. It does happen, sometimes, but when you see a team like this- poised to explode, why not go a little overkill. Maybe not like DD did in 2018, but something to make us noticeably better.

Please don't say Sonny Gray is going to lead us to the mountain top.

[moonslav59]

It's not like Alonso was the next Soto, but it makes you think, if the offer to Soto was legit, why can't we afford Alonso?

[UtahSox]

3 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

Bringing Bregman back is fine, but we get no better than 2025 with just him coming back.

definitely not better, We can’t expect Crochet to be THAT dominant again, bullpen most likely regresses some. And our young players get better, but our older players might regress. Oh and NOTHING HAPPENS IN A VACUUM:

BlueJays: improved pitching, might get Bichette or Tucker back. Went to WS better than us.

yankees: get Cole back. Probably will sign Bellinger back. TBD but they handled us last year so we are not better right now. 

orioles: Added 70+ HR’s probably the deepest 1-9 in league….. and have young pieces/ money to still add. 
 

sweet deal Breslow/JH.