A Realistic Look at the 2026 Red Sox: Part I

[mvp 78]

3 minutes ago, notin said:

Only a few times.  He probably out Christian Vazquez at 2b more often.  
 

While I’m not a fan of these weird one-off defensive alignments, Theyre not in the same category as putting Refsnyder in RF…

Huh? They tried converting him to a RFer in '22! He played it on Opening Day! He was out there 17 times before the ASB.

[notin]

5 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Yeah, they look at the young arms in AAA and just believe they'll get better innings out of them for less money than what is left in FA right now. I think they'd like Wilson back, but he wants a larger deal to come back and is leaning towards retirement. 

And they might.

Coulombe is probably the most intriguing option left, and all things considered is extremely surprising to still be available.  Unless he really wants serious cash…

[notin]

1 minute ago, mvp 78 said:

Huh? They tried converting him to a RFer in '22! He played it on Opening Day! He was out there 17 times before the ASB.

17 times?  OMFG! 
 

Thats hardly in the same category as Refsnyder, and if Cora puts Romy in RF 17 times and then gives up, I don’t think it’s a disaster either…

[mvp 78]

31 minutes ago, notin said:

17 times?  OMFG! 
 

Thats hardly in the same category as Refsnyder, and if Cora puts Romy in RF 17 times and then gives up, I don’t think it’s a disaster either…

Hardly the same category? Refsnyder played OF throughout his time in MiLB and prior to coming to BOS. Arroyo hadn't played a single professional inning in the OF before Opening Day in '23. 

Ref played 20-35 games every year. Fine. Arroyo playing 17 games was crazy. 

[notin]

5 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Hardly the same category? Refsnyder played OF throughout his time in MiLB and prior to coming to BOS. Arroyo hadn't played a single professional inning in the OF before Opening Day in '23. 

Ref played 20-35 games every year. Fine. Arroyo playing 17 games was crazy. 

The point is Refsnyder was a lousy outfielder and Cora kept running him out there regardless.  I’m glad he stopped trying to make Arroyo one and I hope if he tries to put Romy out there, he doesn’t just hope it pans out and keep trying it until it does…

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, Old Red said:

Are you saying the roster construction is bad? Who is responsible for that roster construction.

No. I like our roster construction, except for one hole needing to be filled (2B/3B.)

I wish Bloom did not sign Masa, so that is one slot I feel the "roster construction" was off base (1 out of 40 is not bad.) Okay, two out of 40- add Hicks.

I do think we should have traded an OF'er last winter and still think we should, so maybe that counts as a roster tweak I think is called for, but having depth is not "bad construction."

I don't see where you think I'm "saying the roster construction is bad," but by all accounts you often overanalyze.

😜

[Hitch]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

Here's what you missed:

Bad trade conversations. 

Luxury Tax Payroll vs Cash Payroll Supremacy

Did Breslow botch the Bregman deal? A TalkSox Investigation

 

The second one sounds like the kind of conversation I'd have lost three days to, so I lucked out! 

[Hitch]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

He's now doing a "I'm really a nice guy" PR campaign.

I've no doubt. I can't imagine what the locker room was like in the following weeks after pulling that s***. 

[Old Red]

30 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

No. I like our roster construction, except for one hole needing to be filled (2B/3B.)

I wish Bloom did not sign Masa, so that is one slot I feel the "roster construction" was off base (1 out of 40 is not bad.) Okay, two out of 40- add Hicks.

I do think we should have traded an OF'er last winter and still think we should, so maybe that counts as a roster tweak I think is called for, but having depth is not "bad construction."

I don't see where you think I'm "saying the roster construction is bad," but by all accounts you often overanalyze.

😜

4 OF, and 3 DH sounds like a problem to me not to mention no regular 3B, or 2B. I’m not counting on Mayer to be a regular at one of those positions either unless Cora bats him against LHP, and even then he’s still suspect to me.

[mvp 78]

35 minutes ago, notin said:

The point is Refsnyder was a lousy outfielder and Cora kept running him out there regardless.  I’m glad he stopped trying to make Arroyo one and I hope if he tries to put Romy out there, he doesn’t just hope it pans out and keep trying it until it does…

How about this for a '24 lineup:

[mvp 78]

Just now, mvp 78 said:

How about this for a '24 lineup:

Game prior: Duran CF, Rafaela SS, Romy 2B

Game after: Duran LF, Rafaela CF, Romy SS

Cora is a madman. Someone needs to take his keys away.

[mvp 78]

13 minutes ago, Hitch said:

The second one sounds like the kind of conversation I'd have lost three days to, so I lucked out! 

It was all similar to: “it depends on what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is.”

[moonslav59]

43 minutes ago, Old Red said:

4 OF, and 3 DH sounds like a problem to me not to mention no regular 3B, or 2B. I’m not counting on Mayer to be a regular at one of those positions either unless Cora bats him against LHP, and even then he’s still suspect to me.

Mayer is suspect to me, too, but I think they view him as taking one of the two slots: 3B or 2B. Maybe they platoon Romy with him- maybe not.

Like it or not, I think that's the plan.

I'm not sure the plan is any worse than starting the season with DHam or E Valdez as a slot holder. (Not that they should be where the bar is set.)

It seems simple: trade an OF'er for a 3B/2Bman.

[Old Red]

3 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Mayer is suspect to me, too, but I think they view him as taking one of the two slots: 3B or 2B. Maybe they platoon Romy with him- maybe not.

Like it or not, I think that's the plan.

I'm not sure the plan is any worse than starting the season with DHam or E Valdez as a slot holder. (Not that they should be where the bar is set.)

It seems simple: trade an OF'er for a 3B/2Bman.

Mayer will field, but I’m not sure how he will hit. As I’ve said before he lost a lot of developmental time due to injuries, and I don’t believe he’s where he should, or could be with the bat. Yes a trade for a 2B/3B seems simple, but still hasn’t happened yet for one thing or another.

[mvp 78]

4 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Mayer will field, but I’m not sure how he will hit. As I’ve said before he lost a lot of developmental time due to injuries, and I don’t believe he’s where he should, or could be with the bat. Yes a trade for a 2B/3B seems simple, but still hasn’t happened yet for one thing or another.

I think he can get to 100 wRC+ this year at 3b (around 715 OPS), especially if they platoon against tough LHP. 

[moonslav59]

3 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Mayer will field, but I’m not sure how he will hit. As I’ve said before he lost a lot of developmental time due to injuries, and I don’t believe he’s where he should, or could be with the bat. Yes a trade for a 2B/3B seems simple, but still hasn’t happened yet for one thing or another.

It's not like trades after January are all that rare, and there are still a FA or two out there. Maybe some team is waiting to see what happens with Suarez, before a trade occurs.

I'd feel okay with a 2B platoon of Mayer v R and Romy v L. I'm not sure I'd say the same about Romy at 3B, and a Mayer-Eaton 3B platoon is not on my radar. I hope it's not on Cora's either.

Both Paredes and Donovan, as well as infielders like Baty, Vientos, Smith and Hoerner are still, bay all accounts, still available, and some of those teams need an OF'er and or a SP'er, where we have a couple logjams.

I think a trade is still probable,

[moonslav59]

5 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

I think he can get to 100 wRC+ this year at 3b (around 715 OPS), especially if they platoon against tough LHP. 

As shaky as Mayer looked at the plate in limited MLB action, last year, he still hit .,739 v R.

I'm not a fan of Romy at 3B, but his .978 split vs LHPs is talking pretty loudly. Together, they might hit .800+

We'd need a 2Bman, otherwise Romy might be our FT 2Bman and cannot platoon with Mayer at 3B.

[JoeBrady]

7 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

Of  course the Mets don't want Masa,

In any big trade, teams have to do something they don't like.  Duran is undoubtedly better than Baty.  I'd be fine with them giving us a pretty good minor leaguer instead of taking Masa, but they have to add something.

[UtahSox]

4 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

It's not like trades after January are all that rare, and there are still a FA or two out there. Maybe some team is waiting to see what happens with Suarez, before a trade occurs.

I'd feel okay with a 2B platoon of Mayer v R and Romy v L. I'm not sure I'd say the same about Romy at 3B, and a Mayer-Eaton 3B platoon is not on my radar. I hope it's not on Cora's either.

Both Paredes and Donovan, as well as infielders like Baty, Vientos, Smith and Hoerner are still, bay all accounts, still available, and some of those teams need an OF'er and or a SP'er, where we have a couple logjams.

I think a trade is still probable,

At this point I don’t see what is stopping us from signing Suarez….. oh wait I bet he wants a NTC and Beta Breslow isn’t willing to do it.
 

I’m calling my shot right now….. They will sign Miguel Andujar to a 2yr 20m deal with year 2 mutual option…. and say the advanced analytics blah blah blah…..

[moonslav59]

24 minutes ago, UtahSox said:

At this point I don’t see what is stopping us from signing Suarez….. oh wait I bet he wants a NTC and Beta Breslow isn’t willing to do it.
 

I’m calling my shot right now….. They will sign Miguel Andujar to a 2yr 20m deal with year 2 mutual option…. and say the advanced analytics blah blah blah…..

He's horrible on D at 3B and hasn't shown much power since 2018.

Nope.

That spin would not work with him.

Vientos, maybe.

[moonslav59]

45 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

In any big trade, teams have to do something they don't like.  Duran is undoubtedly better than Baty.  I'd be fine with them giving us a pretty good minor leaguer instead of taking Masa, but they have to add something.

One reason I included Masa was because the Mets and money make it more possible, even though highly unlikely.

I still think the most likely (not my first choice) is Donovan.

Second might be Paredes, but I do wonder what the hold up is. It could be the Sox are waiting to see how low Suarez will cost before saying yes to a Paredes deal.

Baty and Shaw are names mentioned. Don't hear much about Hoerner, anymore. Chisholm is reportedly being shopped. I've mentioned Torres, but he is not being shopped. One year guys don't excite me. Who else? Stott?

Vientos has some power but is not good at 3B D and looks like yet another DH or 1Bman.

I'm not sure how highly COL values Tovar, but he might be a target not talked about much. I'm not up on all the fine young players in the bigs, now, but Kearschall would be nice.

Anyone else?

[UtahSox]

10 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

One reason I included Masa was because the Mets and money make it more possible, even though highly unlikely.

I still think the most likely (not my first choice) is Donovan.

Second might be Paredes, but I do wonder what the hold up is. It could be the Sox are waiting to see how low Suarez will cost before saying yes to a Paredes deal.

Baty and Shaw are names mentioned. Don't hear much about Hoerner, anymore. Chisholm is reportedly being shopped. I've mentioned Torres, but he is not being shopped. One year guys don't excite me. Who else? Stott?

Vientos has some power but is not good at 3B D and looks like yet another DH or 1Bman.

I'm not sure how highly COL values Tovar, but he might be a target not talked about much. I'm not up on all the fine young players in the bigs, now, but Kearschall would be nice.

Anyone else?

I like the idea of Donovan but I don’t think St Louis wants Bello or Duran. (Just speculating where they are in the reboot.) I’d trade him for Harrison, Romero and Casas. But then I think you still need a power right handed bat. Suarez and Donavan would be best case scenario. With what’s available/ realistic. 
 

 

[moonslav59]

27 minutes ago, UtahSox said:

I like the idea of Donovan but I don’t think St Louis wants Bello or Duran. (Just speculating where they are in the reboot.) I’d trade him for Harrison, Romero and Casas. But then I think you still need a power right handed bat. Suarez and Donavan would be best case scenario. With what’s available/ realistic. 

It's hard to know how much other teams value players like Harrison, Casas and Romero.

I have to think Casas would be "selling low," but who knows.

BTV has Donovan at 31. They have Casas at 7, Harrison at 5 & Romero at 4. That comes to half his value for 2 years of control.

BTV accepts Crawford 20, Casas 7 and DHam 4.

[Duran Is The Man]

4 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

It's hard to know how much other teams value players like Harrison, Casas and Romero.

I have to think Casas would be "selling low," but who knows.

BTV has Donovan at 31. They have Casas at 7, Harrison at 5 & Romero at 4. That comes to half his value for 2 years of control.

BTV accepts Crawford 20, Casas 7 and DHam 4.

i think they're a bit high on Donovan and a bit light on Casas and Harrison. i'd do that deal, obviously.

[moonslav59]

2 minutes ago, Duran Is The Man said:

i think they're a bit high on Donovan and a bit light on Casas and Harrison. i'd do that deal, obviously.

I think Donovan should be about 22-26. 

Casas has enormous upside, but I think 7 might be too high. Crawford has a lot of questions to answer but seems about right. DHam was at 1 a couple weeks ago and now is at 4.

I'd do that trade, too, but only because we just added Ranger and Crawford might be pushed to the pen.

I'd prefer other options to Donovan, especially ones with 3+ years of control. I'd prefer a RHB, too. He'd be fine, though, although our power need would still be our biggest wish.

[mvp 78]

18 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

As shaky as Mayer looked at the plate in limited MLB action, last year, he still hit .,739 v R.

I'm not a fan of Romy at 3B, but his .978 split vs LHPs is talking pretty loudly. Together, they might hit .800+

We'd need a 2Bman, otherwise Romy might be our FT 2Bman and cannot platoon with Mayer at 3B.

739 isn't good enough because he'll still have to hit against a few LHPs here and there. 

[mvp 78]

12 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

It's hard to know how much other teams value players like Harrison, Casas and Romero.

I have to think Casas would be "selling low," but who knows.

BTV has Donovan at 31. They have Casas at 7, Harrison at 5 & Romero at 4. That comes to half his value for 2 years of control.

BTV accepts Crawford 20, Casas 7 and DHam 4.

Not sure the Cards want three 40 man guys for Donovan. They'd want Casas or Crawford and prospects most likely. 

[Old Red]

4 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

739 isn't good enough because he'll still have to hit against a few LHPs here and there. 

That’s the thing" Everyone has penciled in Mayer at 3B/2B and that position will be fine, but he hasn’t proven his bat is that good. If it’s just fine that’s a step down at 3B.

[mvp 78]

13 hours ago, UtahSox said:

At this point I don’t see what is stopping us from signing Suarez….. oh wait I bet he wants a NTC and Beta Breslow isn’t willing to do it.
 

I’m calling my shot right now….. They will sign Miguel Andujar to a 2yr 20m deal with year 2 mutual option…. and say the advanced analytics blah blah blah…..

They are waiting for the price point to go down to their level.

[mvp 78]

1 minute ago, Old Red said:

That’s the thing" Everyone has penciled in Mayer at 3B/2B and that position will be fine, but he hasn’t proven his bat is that good. If it’s just fine that’s a step down at 3B.

I'm fine if he's platooning at 2b with Romy and they've added another bat to the roster. If they're just putting Mayer at 3b and Hamilton at 2b, it'll be rough.