A Realistic Look at the 2026 Red Sox: Part I

[moonslav59]

31 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Time to deal!

More than just Duran.

[moonslav59]

Last control year (not counting club options)...

2026

Gray, Whitlock, Sandoval, Coulombe & IKF

2027

Chapman, Yoshida, Story, Houck & Oviedo (Contreras has a 2028 option)

2028

Duran, Romy, Crawford, Casas & Wong

I'd think anybody listed above, except maybe Contreras and Romy can/should/will be shopped.

[mvp 78]

9 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Last control year (not counting club options)...

2026

Gray, Whitlock, Sandoval, Coulombe & IKF

2027

Chapman, Yoshida, Story, Houck & Oviedo (Contreras has a 2028 option)

2028

Duran, Romy, Crawford, Casas & Wong

I'd think anybody listed above, except maybe Contreras and Romy can/should/will be shopped.

Why wouldn't you count club options? 

[JoeBrady]

13 hours ago, Duran Is The Man said:

Devers is now Durbin and Monostereo. LOLOL....what a f***ing joke of a trade.

If you want to pay full freight for Devers and his -0.1 bWAR, I'm guessing that SF would send him back tomorrow.  I'd actually like to trade for Devers, but there is no chance I'd pay the full remaining $240M+ contract.

Would anyone in here do so?

[moonslav59]

39 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Why wouldn't you count club options? 

I listed Contreras, because I think we'd take his option and not pay the $7.5M buyout.

I don't think we give Story his option, so he's gone after 2027.

Gray can opt out after 2026, so in a sense, we don't have 100% "control" of his after '26.

I listed Chapman as 2027 despite a mutual option after 2026.

I mistakenly forgot Whitlock has team options after 2026 and 2027 at somewhat reasonable rates, assuming he is healthy and pitching well.  One could argue about not trading him.

Those are my reasons.

[moonslav59]

1 minute ago, JoeBrady said:

If you want to pay full freight for Devers and his -0.1 bWAR, I'm guessing that SF would send him back tomorrow.  I'd actually like to trade for Devers, but there is no chance I'd pay the full remaining $240M+ contract.

Would anyone in here do so?

Brez and JH never would, so talk of it seems pointless.

Too much water under the bridge. I'd say no, even if they took Story, Yoshida and Bello. Once their contracts are up, his contract will be an an issue.

[mvp 78]

1 minute ago, JoeBrady said:

If you want to pay full freight for Devers and his -0.1 bWAR, I'm guessing that SF would send him back tomorrow.  I'd actually like to trade for Devers, but there is no chance I'd pay the full remaining $240M+ contract.

Would anyone in here do so?

897 OPS in May. He'll be fine if he keeps hitting. 

Mar/Apr is historically his worst OPS month. Dude doesn't take his offseason seriously. Then he mashes in May - end of Summer. 

[JoeBrady]

13 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

Yup, and guys like IKF, who play way less than Duran can jump hundreds of points in a matter of a few games.

IKF has the same bWAR as Mayer, Story and Durban combined.  Does the crowd still want to DFA him?

[moonslav59]

3 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

897 OPS in May. He'll be fine if he keeps hitting. 

Mar/Apr is historically his worst OPS month. Dude doesn't take his offseason seriously. Then he mashes in May - end of Summer. 

Is that a yes?

How much would SFG have to pay for that "yes?"

[moonslav59]

4 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

IKF has the same bWAR as Mayer, Story and Durban combined.  Does the crowd still want to DFA him?

Some probably still do.

With Story out and Durbin and Mayer underperforming, I don't see the reason to trade or DFA him.

[mvp 78]

5 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Is that a yes?

How much would SFG have to pay for that "yes?"

How much would they eat? IDK. I think they should keep Devers and deal Adames and Chapman who are much older. 

[mvp 78]

5 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Some probably still do.

With Story out and Durbin and Mayer underperforming, I don't see the reason to trade or DFA him.

If they traded him, the return isn't that great to begin with. You are only dealing him if you're making room for a guy you want to see on the team. With Story on the IL and Durbin/Mayer struggles, there's enough room to bring other guys up to see how they are anyway. 

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

If they traded him, the return isn't that great to begin with. You are only dealing him if you're making room for a guy you want to see on the team. With Story on the IL and Durbin/Mayer struggles, there's enough room to bring other guys up to see how they are anyway. 

Agreed, even if we call up Seigler.

[Duran Is The Man]

15 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

How is pointing out Brez traded for Harrison "defending him." Are you saying he didn't.

Many bashed Brez for making the trade, because Harrison gave us nothing. Nobody blinked when we traded him. Now, we are all experts and Brez is the idiot.

Of course, the Durbin trade looks like crap. I'm not defending it. The Priester trade looked awful, too. Now, it's kinda TBD.

Maybe if posters would stop talking in absolutes, like saying "every move he makes turns to sh**, we wouldn't have to point out the fallacy of the statement. Then when we do, you assume we are defending him.

Was the Crochet trade Sh**?

The Contreras & Suarez signings?

The Gray trade?

The O'Neill trade?

The Chapman signing and extension?

Not only was your statement wrong, you used the word "literally" to emphasize that EVERY move he makes is wrong. There is no need to be untruthful to make the point we kinda all agree on: Brez has made too many mistakes.

The Harrison trade sucks, but I'm not so sure he does this well had he stayed with BOS. The Brewers seem to have a magical potent that turns no-names into princes then they gat hurt and become pumpkins.

BTW, would you trade YRod, Holobetz and Phillips for an injured Priester, right now? I'm not sure I would or would not, but in just a matter of one month, the view can change.

Brez made a major blunder, this past winter. Almost all of us agreed that a big bat was needed beyond Willson. The idea that better pitching plus Durbin would make up for it, was horribly wrong. I really like the Suarez addition, but the hole in the line-up cancels that out and then some.

I hope you guys get what you want- we can all the bums, and the guys we get to replace them are so good, you all (and I) will never bitch again. (Funny, right?)

 

i said at the time, and i'll say it again, i felt like he could have got more for Devers, especially if he had waited til the trade deadline. then he trades the "centerpiece" of the trade (Harrison) for a utilityman that can't hit his weight. that's insane. guys like durbin/monostereo/hamilton/cheng/etc. are a dime a dozen. and he gave up a pitcher for one. just nuts. whatever. 

i'd say the Crochet trade is TBD (as you always like to say). so far, he's been far less reliable than Chris Sale was at the same point in their Sox careers. 

Contreras and Suarez look good so far, but, again, lets go with TBD.

same with Gray. TBD.

signing Chapman was excellent. it's just too bad the offense sucks so bad that he doesn't get more chances.

instead of "literally", next time i'll use "nearly" so i'm not crucified for grammatical context. my bad. 

so...bottom line: Brez has made a couple of good moves, a few meh moves and a s*** ton of garbage moves.

 

 

[drewski6]

15 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

How is pointing out Brez traded for Harrison "defending him." Are you saying he didn't.

Many bashed Brez for making the trade, because Harrison gave us nothing. Nobody blinked when we traded him. Now, we are all experts and Brez is the idiot.

Of course, the Durbin trade looks like crap. I'm not defending it. The Priester trade looked awful, too. Now, it's kinda TBD.

Maybe if posters would stop talking in absolutes, like saying "every move he makes turns to sh**, we wouldn't have to point out the fallacy of the statement. Then when we do, you assume we are defending him.

Was the Crochet trade Sh**?

The Contreras & Suarez signings?

The Gray trade?

The O'Neill trade?

The Chapman signing and extension?

Not only was your statement wrong, you used the word "literally" to emphasize that EVERY move he makes is wrong. There is no need to be untruthful to make the point we kinda all agree on: Brez has made too many mistakes.

The Harrison trade sucks, but I'm not so sure he does this well had he stayed with BOS. The Brewers seem to have a magical potent that turns no-names into princes then they gat hurt and become pumpkins.

BTW, would you trade YRod, Holobetz and Phillips for an injured Priester, right now? I'm not sure I would or would not, but in just a matter of one month, the view can change.

Brez made a major blunder, this past winter. Almost all of us agreed that a big bat was needed beyond Willson. The idea that better pitching plus Durbin would make up for it, was horribly wrong. I really like the Suarez addition, but the hole in the line-up cancels that out and then some.

I hope you guys get what you want- we can all the bums, and the guys we get to replace them are so good, you all (and I) will never bitch again. (Funny, right?)

 

sure, he misused the word literally. Its a very commonly misused word. ANd if we are saying that maybe Harrison wouldnt have been great here just because hes doing so well in Milwaukee, can we say that maybe Devers wouldnt be the same player he has been in SFG had he remained here?  I do believe in the butterfly effect.

These arent even my main points , I havent gotten to that yet (arf arf)....What I feel you often miss (respectfully) is the "why".  To me, you keep summarizing the movie well, but wont address the behind the scenes.  How was this movie made?  Why was it made?

And the answer is ..... Breslows monster arrogance and pettiness.

He fired our best scout for saying "stiff" faster than that guys finger could hit the mute button.  Cuz his ego  was bruised.
The Devers trade? Say whatever you want about it, but the truth is that it was mostly water under the bridge by the time Devers was traded. We were winning, Devers was on fire. That trade was out of freaking nowhere.  All the you wouldnt switch positions thing , all the youre a bad teammate stuff was water under the bridge cured by a consistent cure-all known as winning.  We were hot, we were winning.  BUT Breslow came back around and dumped a guy he had an ugly public feud with.  He made sure he got his revenge.  Sounds like someone else who I wont name.

Its all connected.  Breslow doesnt human well.  ANd so he gets Contreras because he can fit that contract alongside another big bat (Great!) But he accidentally (cant help himself) spits in teh face of the "other big bat" hes trying to resign (regardless if it worked out for the better), so he loses that fish.  So he has to pivot. But all the hitters are gone, so he pivots to pitching.  But rut-roh raggy, we are now 14 deep in starting pitching with a bad position player mix.  So he again makes a reactionary move, all downstream from his inability to respect fellow humans, this time flipping pitching depth in a desperate attempt to get an infielder Durbin.

None of this needed to happen. And none of this was by design.  This is a mess of Breslows own making.  And his biggest flaw, his fatal flaw, is not his inability to understand baseball.  Or a lack of intelligence.  Its his thirst for revenge, his arrogant personality flaws, his inability to communicate respectfully getting in his way.

That is how the 2026 Red Sox were made.  And then he came back for Cora and axed him to get more even revenge and consolidate power.

And he contributes to the toxic culture. For example, telling Whitlock and Story "no you dont get to ask questions about Cora, you must shut up and play baseball because thats what we pay you to do"..... Yer boy Joe Brady squealed with delight at the authoritarianism and went further to scream at the nerve of story and whitlock for daring to question the dictator....Dont forget sam kennedy clarified, removing cora was the whim of one man.  Sounds like someone else who I wont name.

I wish I was whitlock, I would have flipped him off and cut the juiciest media promo ever.  But even whitlock and story let me down by letting it blow over.  Getting told to shut up and dribble.....they shouldnt have let that blow over

[notin]

2 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

Brez and JH never would, so talk of it seems pointless.

Too much water under the bridge. I'd say no, even if they took Story, Yoshida and Bello. Once their contracts are up, his contract will be an an issue.

Devers would still be here if he was amenable to 1b then as he is now.  Contreras might not be here in that case, but i can’t say that for certain.

At one point, Henry and FSG did agree to pay Devers over $300 mill for the next decade.  I do doubt they left that meeting thinking “ok next step is to trade him outta here!”

[mvp 78]

10 minutes ago, notin said:

Devers would still be here if he was amenable to 1b then as he is now.  Contreras might not be here in that case, but i can’t say that for certain.

At one point, Henry and FSG did agree to pay Devers over $300 mill for the next decade.  I do doubt they left that meeting thinking “ok next step is to trade him outta here!”

No, that happened directly after the John Henry/Devers meeting in KC. I don't know what Devers did, but that was the tipping point for Devers and the franchise. 

[moonslav59]

48 minutes ago, Duran Is The Man said:

i said at the time, and i'll say it again, i felt like he could have got more for Devers, especially if he had waited til the trade deadline. then he trades the "centerpiece" of the trade (Harrison) for a utilityman that can't hit his weight. that's insane. guys like durbin/monostereo/hamilton/cheng/etc. are a dime a dozen. and he gave up a pitcher for one. just nuts. whatever. 

i'd say the Crochet trade is TBD (as you always like to say). so far, he's been far less reliable than Chris Sale was at the same point in their Sox careers. 

Contreras and Suarez look good so far, but, again, lets go with TBD.

same with Gray. TBD.

signing Chapman was excellent. it's just too bad the offense sucks so bad that he doesn't get more chances.

instead of "literally", next time i'll use "nearly" so i'm not crucified for grammatical context. my bad. 

so...bottom line: Brez has made a couple of good moves, a few meh moves and a s*** ton of garbage moves.

I dont get why Contreras, Suarez and Gray are TBD, but the Harrison trade is determined.

[mvp 78]

 

[Old Red]

13 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

I dont get why Contreras, Suarez and Gray are TBD, but the Harrison trade is determined.

Con Man, and Ranger were settlements. The three are playing for the Red SOX. Harrison is not. 

[Old Red]

44 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

No, that happened directly after the John Henry/Devers meeting in KC. I don't know what Devers did, but that was the tipping point for Devers and the franchise. 

Probably said the same thing as before that Brez needs to do his job.

[mvp 78]

4 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Probably said the same thing as before that Brez needs to do his job.

It was true though. They needed a 1b! 

It took the Nats having to DFA Lowe for the Sox to find somebody. 

[drewski6]

3 hours ago, JoeBrady said:

If you want to pay full freight for Devers and his -0.1 bWAR, I'm guessing that SF would send him back tomorrow.  I'd actually like to trade for Devers, but there is no chance I'd pay the full remaining $240M+ contract.

Would anyone in here do so?

Instantly. Take Devers at 240m.  Without hesitation.  And Id send value back too.

[moonslav59]

17 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

Instantly. Take Devers at 240m.  Without hesitation.  And Id send value back too.

The horror- the horror.