A Realistic Look at the 2026 Red Sox: Part I

[UtahSox]

1 minute ago, notin said:

I can’t tell if this is facetious or not.

Wanting him to learn English is actually bad requirement.  Not every human is capable of learning multiple languages, and not every franchise face speaks English.  Most notably Ohtani, who would have avoided lots of gambling conspiracy theories if he did…

Nope…… I actually got that from a FO member adjacent I met in SD last year… when RS played Padres. I sat next to him in game 1 of series. 

I’m kinda uniquely qualified to give insight on the “forced” to learn a 2nd language, my experience is effort is really important. If people know you’re trying, they give you grace… So effort to learn is what RS were looking for. Yes there are varying skill levels and successes with 2nd languages. You know how I feel about JH and Bres, I rarely side with them. Yet I understand if you sign a 10 yr 300m deal to be the face of franchise. It’s ok to expect effort. 

But if you look at Ohtani English progression it’s getting better and better. 

Sidebar on Ohtani front you don’t actually believe the interpreter had access to millions of Ohtani’s dollars without him knowing what was going on?

[notin]

17 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Yes Raffy thought of himself as a good 3B, which he was not, so disagreement there. The fact that Cora did not speak to Raffy about playing 1B speaks volumes to me, as as I’ve said before if he did I’d have a different opinion on this, but he didn’t, and I don’t. Once again Raffy had every right telling Brez to do his job. Didn’t you like everyone else see 11 different players have a tryout at 2B two years ago, and didn’t you like everyone else see the constant parade through 1B, and through SS until last year? Raffy saw it too. Didn’t Raffy also speak up at the trade deadline a few years ago saying that they knew what the team needed to get better? All this has been hashed over, and over, and over again. No one’s opinion is going to change, so yes to me 99.5% is on #12.

Cora not speaking can mean multiple things; you just chose the one you want.  You don’t even acknowledge other possibilities.

Telling Breslow to go get a 1b was actually childish.  Theres no way around that.And on May 2, it was unrealistic.  

If Devers has commentary on the 2b and 1b parade that’s.  I support him saying whatever he wants to and in whatever language he chooses.  Those issues were around long before Breslow was on board, and neither of them have anything to do with whether or not Devers gets to refuse assignments 
 

 

 

[moonslav59]

28 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Yes Raffy thought of himself as a good 3B, which he was not, so disagreement there. The fact that Cora did not speak to Raffy about playing 1B speaks volumes to me, as as I’ve said before if he did I’d have a different opinion on this, but he didn’t, and I don’t. Once again Raffy had every right telling Brez to do his job. Didn’t you like everyone else see 11 different players have a tryout at 2B two years ago, and didn’t you like everyone else see the constant parade through 1B, and through SS until last year? Raffy saw it too. Didn’t Raffy also speak up at the trade deadline a few years ago saying that they knew what the team needed to get better? All this has been hashed over, and over, and over again. No one’s opinion is going to change, so yes to me 99.5% is on #12.

Yes, it's telling that Cora would not talk to Devers and force his boss to do it.

Yes, anyone can say what they want to their boss, but expect consequences when you basically call him out on not doing his job, worse yet, he did it publicly.  How many employees do that and keep their jobs?

BTW, nobody is trying to change your opinion, despite the absurdity of it.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

17 minutes ago, notin said:

Telling Breslow to go get a

SECOND BASEMAN. 

More importantly, what's the latest word in the Chicago area about trading Nico Horner to Boston?

It's Febrooary -- the first month of Spring Training 2026.

Sorry, I'm looking for reputable sources, most of which have become extinct since flip phones (though those are making a comeback because they have to be opened to use -- and won't automatically call my sister any time I'm near my dumb phone).

[JoeBrady]

1 hour ago, Old Red said:

A pretty BAD comp it is seeing as Mookie is a far superior athlete than Raffy is,

I agree.  No one ever says it, but I'd bet that Devers was probably a little embarrassed about his fielding, and embarrassed even more so that he lost his 3B job, and Fenway is the last place in the world you to make errors at 1B.  It's would've taken three games before fans started booing him.

I know the answer is to improve your fielding, but the reality is that he just didn't.  Betts, OTOH, could've been the pilot on the plane ride home.

[JoeBrady]

1 hour ago, notin said:

Breslow should do his job and get another first baseman

Just backing up a little, was he incorrect?  I'm an agnostic on Devers, but one could easily argue that 1B is one of the easier positions to replace.

[moonslav59]

26 minutes ago, UtahSox said:

Nope…… I actually got that from a FO member adjacent I met in SD last year… when RS played Padres. I sat next to him in game 1 of series. 

I’m kinda uniquely qualified to give insight on the “forced” to learn a 2nd language, my experience is effort is really important. If people know you’re trying, they give you grace… So effort to learn is what RS were looking for. Yes there are varying skill levels and successes with 2nd languages. You know how I feel about JH and Bres, I rarely side with them. Yet I understand if you sign a 10 yr 300m deal to be the face of franchise. It’s ok to expect effort. 

But if you look at Ohtani English progression it’s getting better and better. 

Sidebar on Ohtani front you don’t actually believe the interpreter had access to millions of Ohtani’s dollars without him knowing what was going on?

So, you know Devers is not making an effort to learn or speak English? Maybe he tried hard and gave up. It is not and should not be mandatory.

Sure, it's nice and comfy for Sox fans who refuse to learn the language of the player who is "the face of the franchise" to hear him talk in flawless English, but holding it against him is not anything I would do.

The fact that Ohtani is "getting better and better" does not matter.

As a matter of my own personal perspective, I teach English as a Second Language. I took beginning French 3 times in my life (MS, HS & college.) I had to drop French after one semester, our of fear of failing Sem 2, and I took Sem 1 Latin to meet my graduation requirement. I took Spanish lessons before moving to Mexico to like for almost 4 years. While there, I took 6 levels of Spanish at a university and then hired a personal tutor to help me with conversational Spanish. After all that, my Spanish might be as good as Devers' English. The point? It's just not easy for some people. I might even say near impossible once you get past a certain age, where some your brain paths have shut down in some areas.

I do admire Bregman for learning Spanish, so he could relate to his teammates.

[moonslav59]

9 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

SECOND BASEMAN. 

More importantly, what's the latest word in the Chicago area about trading Nico Horner to Boston?

It's Febrooary -- the first month of Spring Training 2026.

Sorry, I'm looking for reputable sources, most of which have become extinct since flip phones (though those are making a comeback because they have to be opened to use -- and won't automatically call my sister any time I'm near my dumb phone).

I've given up clicking on these sites that headline "Sox make a trade for all star 2Bman."

[JoeBrady]

51 minutes ago, notin said:

I can’t tell if this is facetious or not.

Wanting him to learn English is actually bad requirement.  Not every human is capable of learning multiple languages,

I studied 3 years of French, and couldn't hold a simple conversation.  So everyone in America should learn English.  But most will never become fluent.

And kind of related to this, I've heard that some players don't want to address the press in their second language.  I'll actually try to speak Spanish at the Dominican place I use to visit pre-Yankee games.  But it was never going to be more than a polite chatter.

[notin]

18 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

SECOND BASEMAN. 

More importantly, what's the latest word in the Chicago area about trading Nico Horner to Boston?

It's Febrooary -- the first month of Spring Training 2026.

Sorry, I'm looking for reputable sources, most of which have become extinct since flip phones (though those are making a comeback because they have to be opened to use -- and won't automatically call my sister any time I'm near my dumb phone).

No word on Hoerner, who is quite beloved amongst the fanbase.

IMO Shaw is more expendable of the two, because even if Hoerner isn’t extended, they still have another BA Top 100 prospect right behind Shaw in James Triantos…

[moonslav59]

5 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

Just backing up a little, was he incorrect?  I'm an agnostic on Devers, but one could easily argue that 1B is one of the easier positions to replace.

One of my biggest beefs with Sox management goes back years: they should have had Devers learn 1B over the offseason, back when Bloom was the guy. Instead, he's the one who apparently promised Devers he'd be the 3Bman forever.

I'm fine with people disagreeing on his capabilities to play 1B, but when you have one of the worst defensive 1Bmen (Casas)  in Sox history playing 1B, you automatically should be thinking, "What do I have to lose by trying Devers at 1B?"

Okay, we had Masa at DH, so no room for Casas there, but all along they kept claiming they had no issue with Masa in LF, and this was before Duran, Rafaela and Abreu were even in MLB or were just starting to prove they belonged.

Here was my thinking: one of the major issues with Devers' defense was his inaccurate arm. His glove was not great, but he seemed to be pretty quick for a "big guy." I felt his strengths might translate well to 1B, or at least be better than Casas. So, moving Devers to 1B should improve the defense over Casas, and almost anyone you put at 3B would be an improvement. Plus-Plus: no brainer. If Cora disagreed with my thinking, I may have an issue with that, but I trust he knows what he's doing. Maybe the "issue" was not so much he disagreed with my take, but that he felt trying to get Devers on board with the idea was too risky. It appears he knows his players very well, as we saw what happened when the attempt was made by Brez.

This doesn't take Devers or Cora off the hook for any fraction of blame, IMO. Apparently it is enough for some to say it's all on Brez. He shoulda known he had a selfish player on his team and pampered him, instead. (note: that is sarcasm.) Bad- bad Brez!

[JoeBrady]

50 minutes ago, UtahSox said:

Sidebar on Ohtani front you don’t actually believe the interpreter had access to millions of Ohtani’s dollars without him knowing what was going on?

Here is my usual analysis.  There is $10M on the table.  If you guess right, you get the $10M.  If you guess wrong, you get -0-.

Was Ohtani involved?  I don't need a split second before answering yes, and I'd be absolutely shocked if I was wrong.

[notin]

20 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

Just backing up a little, was he incorrect?  I'm an agnostic on Devers, but one could easily argue that 1B is one of the easier positions to replace.

I’m back to back posts, you cite Devers fear of making 1b errors and then how easy it is to get anyone to play 1b.

And the Sox probably didn’t want another Franchy Cordero situation.  But on May 2nd, you’re pretty limited to your own organization for solutions.  And it’s not real easy in the off-season to get an MLB-caliber 1b to sign that minor league deal that allows you to stash him; teams usually just sign players like Abraham Toro that are willing to sign minor league deals…

[moonslav59]

5 minutes ago, notin said:

No word on Hoerner, who is quite beloved amongst the fanbase.

IMO Shaw is more expendable of the two, because even if Hoerner isn’t extended, they still have another BA Top 100 prospect right behind Shaw in James Triantos…

I really want to avoid giving up top talent for one year players. The Sonny Gray trade gave up good talent, but not really top talent, and we didn't know Suarez was going to be added, later.

Shaw interests me more, but I'm afraid of a Grissom repeat. He hit .690 in his rookie year. His value is almost all speculative. I guess it depends on who they want, but I'm not giving up one of our 4 OF'er for him. I'd hesitate to give Bello, but I view the step down from Bello to the mix below him as relatively minor compared to the step up in hope on Shaw vs hopes on DHam/Sogard & Co.

I think someone like Baty is more of a sure thing. I may be too hung up on the need for a RHB, but I think I'd prefer the LHB Baty over the RHB Shaw. Close call, I guess.

Of course, my first choice was KMarte, and I'd prefer Paredes, despite just 2 years vs 4+ on those other two guys.

[Old Red]

23 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Yes, it's telling that Cora would not talk to Devers and force his boss to do it.

Yes, anyone can say what they want to their boss, but expect consequences when you basically call him out on not doing his job, worse yet, he did it publicly.  How many employees do that and keep their jobs?

BTW, nobody is trying to change your opinion, despite the absurdity of it.

Yes it’s is telling Cora DIDN’T talk to Devers about playing 1B despite what others say. I will say this that if Cora Actually thought the Red SOX would be a better team with Raffy at 1B, and wouldn’t even talk to Raffy about let alone do it then Cora should have been fired. Also when Raffy spoke up at the trade deadline a couple of years ago saying OPS knew what the team needed to get better wasn’t that calling out his boss? Absurdity? Love it!

 

 

[JoeBrady]

4 minutes ago, notin said:

No word on Hoerner, who is quite beloved amongst the fanbase.

IMO Shaw is more expendable of the two, because even if Hoerner isn’t extended, they still have another BA Top 100 prospect right behind Shaw in James Triantos…

Do we have any prospects, besides Arias, that qualifies as a middle-infielder?  And I mean someone that looks like they have a reasonable shot at being decent+?  I don't see any, and that guides my decision as to whom to pursue.  Assuming we have no one, then Shaw makes a lot more sense than Hoerner, even if we have to pay up.

[moonslav59]

2 minutes ago, notin said:

I’m back to back posts, you cite Devers fear of making 1b errors and then how easy it is to get anyone to play 1b.

And the Sox probably didn’t want another Franchy Cordero situation.  But on May 2nd, you’re pretty limited to your own organization for solutions.  And it’s not real easy in the off-season to get an MLB-caliber 1b to sign that minor league deal that allows you to stash him; teams usually just sign players like Abraham Toro that are willing to sign minor league deals…

The biggest mistake was waiting until May 2nd to try and get Devers to put on a 1Bman's mitt.

Either they were fine with Toro, or they were too afraid to ask Devers to practice 1B in ST'ing. If they had any balz, they'd have had Cora go talk to Devers the day after the Breggie signing and ask him to start working out at 1B- "just in case."

Devers could cry "broken-Bloom-promise" all he wanted, but this should have been foreseen and dealt with before the year started.

[Old Red]

10 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

One of my biggest beefs with Sox management goes back years: they should have had Devers learn 1B over the offseason, back when Bloom was the guy. Instead, he's the one who apparently promised Devers he'd be the 3Bman forever.

I'm fine with people disagreeing on his capabilities to play 1B, but when you have one of the worst defensive 1Bmen (Casas)  in Sox history playing 1B, you automatically should be thinking, "What do I have to lose by trying Devers at 1B?"

Okay, we had Masa at DH, so no room for Casas there, but all along they kept claiming they had no issue with Masa in LF, and this was before Duran, Rafaela and Abreu were even in MLB or were just starting to prove they belonged.

Here was my thinking: one of the major issues with Devers' defense was his inaccurate arm. His glove was not great, but he seemed to be pretty quick for a "big guy." I felt his strengths might translate well to 1B, or at least be better than Casas. So, moving Devers to 1B should improve the defense over Casas, and almost anyone you put at 3B would be an improvement. Plus-Plus: no brainer. If Cora disagreed with my thinking, I may have an issue with that, but I trust he knows what he's doing. Maybe the "issue" was not so much he disagreed with my take, but that he felt trying to get Devers on board with the idea was too risky. It appears he knows his players very well, as we saw what happened when the attempt was made by Brez.

This doesn't take Devers or Cora off the hook for any fraction of blame, IMO. Apparently it is enough for some to say it's all on Brez. He shoulda known he had a selfish player on his team and pampered him, instead. (note: that is sarcasm.) Bad- bad Brez!

Oh no! Another I don’t agree with Cora, but I don’t think he’s wrong, and always with the theory that Cora didn’t want to upset Devers, so he didn’t make ANY moves that you suggested, which is nothing new anyway. That should tell you something that none of those suggestions happen.

[notin]

10 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

I really want to avoid giving up top talent for one year players. The Sonny Gray trade gave up good talent, but not really top talent, and we didn't know Suarez was going to be added, later.

Shaw interests me more, but I'm afraid of a Grissom repeat. He hit .690 in his rookie year. His value is almost all speculative. I guess it depends on who they want, but I'm not giving up one of our 4 OF'er for him. I'd hesitate to give Bello, but I view the step down from Bello to the mix below him as relatively minor compared to the step up in hope on Shaw vs hopes on DHam/Sogard & Co.

I think someone like Baty is more of a sure thing. I may be too hung up on the need for a RHB, but I think I'd prefer the LHB Baty over the RHB Shaw. Close call, I guess.

Of course, my first choice was KMarte, and I'd prefer Paredes, despite just 2 years vs 4+ on those other two guys.

Shaw did have a .839 OPS in the second half last year…

[notin]

7 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

The biggest mistake was waiting until May 2nd to try and get Devers to put on a 1Bman's mitt.

 

Agreed.  It should have been done in 2021…

[Old Red]

3 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

The biggest mistake was waiting until May 2nd to try and get Devers to put on a 1Bman's mitt.

Either they were fine with Toro, or they were too afraid to ask Devers to practice 1B in ST'ing. If they had any balz, they'd have had Cora go talk to Devers the day after the Breggie signing and ask him to start working out at 1B- "just in case."

Devers could cry "broken-Bloom-promise" all he wanted, but this should have been foreseen and dealt with before the year started.

Did you see Cora say on NESN in a post, or pre-game that he was fine with the play at 1B. so he had already answered that. You keep saying Cora is making all these mistakes, so anything you don’t agree with, or suggest that Cora doesn’t do is a mistake? That’s pretty ABSURD.

[FredLynn]

1 hour ago, notin said:

Arraez is now a Giant.

If Brendan Donovan is really a target, being a right-handed hitter might not be a priority…

We aren't even getting Donovan. Too much for Henry to pay for. Think someone of the caliber of David Hamilton.

[moonslav59]

4 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Yes it’s is telling Cora DIDN’T talk to Devers about playing 1B despite what others say. I will say this that if Cora Actually thought the Red SOX would be a better team with Raffy at 1B, and wouldn’t even talk to Raffy about let alone do it then Cora should have been fired. Also when Raffy spoke up at the trade deadline a couple of years ago saying OPS knew what the team needed to get better wasn’t that calling out his boss? Absurdity? Love it!

It is absurd to not even acknowledge there is some merit to the idea of Devers at 1B. 100% absurd and stubbornness, I might add.

You so easily pretend to know what everyone is thinking and what their motives are- from fellow poster s to what Cora was thinking when he wouldn't talk to Devers. I have never pretended to know why he didn't. That's the difference you never see. I have no idea if Cora thought Devers would be better than Casas at 1B, and even if he did, he might not have wanted to make 2 or 3 moves to do it. It might have had nothing to do with hurting Dever's fragile ego. I'm claiming we don't know. You convince yourself on what Cora's motivations were and now say he should be fired, if it was not about what he felt was best for the team on the field. Somehow, you come up with 1/2 a percent that it could be true, and place "99.5% on #12." Your disdain for Brez is so obvious, but then you pout and cry unfair overalaysis when confronted with it. The whole #12 thing in itself is "telling."

You thin k it was wrong to move Devers to 1B. That's fine, but assigning blame based on your personal idea of what was right on the actual move to the point where a player's can be insubordinate, because he's right is very much absurd.

Then, you look at the Breggie negotiations where your position was that Bregiie was not worth the contract the Cubs gave him, but somehow the bottom line on what you think was right or wrong is discarded, and it's still #12's fault something happened that you wanted to happen- no overpay on Breggie. Brez can never win with you, whether he's right or wrong. He's a bumbling #12 and always will be, and yes it's totally absurd.

Glad you "love it." I just wish you'd own it.

[moonslav59]

9 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Oh no! Another I don’t agree with Cora, but I don’t think he’s wrong, and always with the theory that Cora didn’t want to upset Devers, so he didn’t make ANY moves that you suggested, which is nothing new anyway. That should tell you something that none of those suggestions happen.

I suggested it might be a reason. Unlike you I did not pretend to be all-knowing.

Of course, Cora might think Devers would have sucked at 1B. Afterall, he did suck at 3B, it's not a big leap. Sucking at 1B, as in dropping clean throws could be worse than having him at 3B.

Not knowing doesn't mean I have to pick a lane, assign it as truth and base everything on an assumption.

[FredLynn]

17 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Yes it’s is telling Cora DIDN’T talk to Devers about playing 1B despite what others say. I will say this that if Cora Actually thought the Red SOX would be a better team with Raffy at 1B, and wouldn’t even talk to Raffy about let alone do it then Cora should have been fired. Also when Raffy spoke up at the trade deadline a couple of years ago saying OPS knew what the team needed to get better wasn’t that calling out his boss? Absurdity? Love it!

 

 

Devers was a selfish "me first" schmuck. If he was told to play 1B then he should have done his best to obey that order. That was his job, to place the team above personal desires. Its what he was paid to do. I don't miss him at all.

[moonslav59]

6 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Did you see Cora say on NESN in a post, or pre-game that he was fine with the play at 1B. so he had already answered that. You keep saying Cora is making all these mistakes, so anything you don’t agree with, or suggest that Cora doesn’t do is a mistake? That’s pretty ABSURD.

You make no sense and misstate my position once again.

I do not call something I disagree with Cora on a "mistake" That's another lie or a total lack of an ability to understand what words mean. I'm not sure what's worse.

I'd say "strawman" again, but you cant comprehend the concept of what that even means.

[moonslav59]

3 minutes ago, FredLynn said:

Devers was a selfish "me first" schmuck. If he was told to play 1B then he should have done his best to obey that order. That was his job, to place the team above personal desires. Its what he was paid to do. I don't miss him at all.

To say disobeying your bosses request is less than 1% of the problem is even worse than calling it just "absurd."

Then, on top of refusing, he publicly calls out his boss by essentially saying he's not doing his job well. It doesn't matter if he's right or wrong on that opinion: no boss will tolerate that. It's more than absurd to think they should and that it's 99.5% the bosses fault for not giving into an insubordinate employee.

I'm an English teacher and can't even think of a more fitting word than absurd.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

35 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

I studied 3 years of French, and couldn't hold a simple conversation.  So everyone in America should learn English.  But most will never become fluent.

Everyone should speak the native language of their country. So all English speakers that live in the U.S. should learn how to speak Algonquian... but wait, didn't their ancestors once enter the continent across the mythical land bridge to Alaska?

That does it, anyone east of the  Mississippi needs to speak brook trout -- not rainbow trout or brown trout, because those were imported -- but brookie: the one true indigenous freshwater species.

[FredLynn]

2 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

To say disobeying your bosses request is less than 1% of the problem is even worse than calling it just "absurd."

Then, on top of refusing, he publicly calls out his boss by essentially saying he's not doing his job well. It doesn't matter if he's right or wrong on that opinion: no boss will tolerate that. It's more than absurd to think they should and that it's 99.5% the bosses fault for not giving into an insubordinate employee.

I'm an English teacher and can't even think of a more fitting word than absurd.

"stupid" fits too.

[Old Red]

4 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

You make no sense and misstate my position once again.

I do not call something I disagree with Cora on a "mistake" That's another lie or a total lack of an ability to understand what words mean. I'm not sure what's worse.

I'd say "strawman" again, but you cant comprehend the concept of what that even means.

Didn’t you say the BIGGEST mistake made was waiting until May 2 for wanting Raffy to put a 1B glove on. Who’s mistake was that, and how is that misstated ?