Alonso to Orioles!

[moonslav59]

Damn!

[Jean-Sébastien Blouin]

Schwarber stayed in Philadelphia and Alonso is going to Baltimore, which the Red Sox general manager will manage to sign to improve this team.

[Larry Cook]

Thank you Baltimore!!  I hope Alonso does very well against the Yankees, rays and blue jays and sucks when he plays us!! 

[Deja Doh]

This is Red Sox front office fubar.  That's a gut punch.

[vjcsmoke]

Red Sox again allowed themselves to get outbid for a premium free agent. This is not an accident, it's a pattern.

We recently shed Bregman's 40 million dollar salary and Devers 31 million dollar salary. That's 71 million dollars off the books. If we don't replace those lost players with comparable talent that just shows you the tightwad budget orders are still in place.

Alonso earned a 155/5 year contract from the Orioles. 31 million per year was too rich for the Red Sox to afford? Surely not. Sounds like they lowballed Alonso hoping to score a bargain deal but why would he take  a lesser deal to play for a team that barely made the playoffs last year and got bounced out in the first round? I just don't see the plan here for the Red Sox.

[Old Red]

1 minute ago, vjcsmoke said:

Red Sox again allowed themselves to get outbid for a premium free agent. This is not an accident, it's a pattern.

We recently shed Bregman's 40 million dollar salary and Devers 31 million dollar salary. That's 71 million dollars off the books. If we don't replace those lost players with comparable talent that just shows you the tightwad budget orders are still in place.

Alonso earned a 155/5 year contract from the Orioles. 31 million per year was too rich for the Red Sox to afford? Surely not. Sounds like they lowballed Alonso hoping to score a bargain deal but why would he take  a lesser deal to play for a team that barely made the playoffs last year and got bounced out in the first round? I just don't see the plan here for the Red Sox.

The word on the street now is the Red Sox were Leary of signing Alonso, because of his age, so Bregman are Marte are older, and I guess that would leave them out too.

[vjcsmoke]

11 minutes ago, Old Red said:

The word on the street now is the Red Sox were Leary of signing Alonso, because of his age, so Bregman are Marte are older, and I guess that would leave them out too.

It sounds like an excuse not to spend money to me. They had no problem paying Bregman 40m per year when they were desperate and he turned 31 at the time of the deal. Alonso is a year younger than Bregman then.

There's always going to be an excuse. And if a player hits free agency entering their prime they are going to be making Guerrero or Soto money instead. And we KNOW the Red Sox aren't willing to spend that kind of money. 

Again they unloaded 70m annual dollars worth of salary and they still have not replaced with any comparable talent.

Looks like their plan is to spend as little as possible and hopefully limp into the playoffs somehow. As long as they can milk the fans for money they don't really care about winning more than the minimum needed to keep the stadium full. Call me cynical but it feels that way these days.

[Old Red]

2 hours ago, vjcsmoke said:

It sounds like an excuse not to spend money to me. They had no problem paying Bregman 40m per year when they were desperate and he turned 31 at the time of the deal. Alonso is a year younger than Bregman then.

There's always going to be an excuse. And if a player hits free agency entering their prime they are going to be making Guerrero or Soto money instead. And we KNOW the Red Sox aren't willing to spend that kind of money. 

Again they unloaded 70m annual dollars worth of salary and they still have not replaced with any comparable talent.

Looks like their plan is to spend as little as possible and hopefully limp into the playoffs somehow. As long as they can milk the fans for money they don't really care about winning more than the minimum needed to keep the stadium full. Call me cynical but it feels that way these days.

Another word on the street was the Red Sox offered Alonso 3/$85M with an option.

[mvp 78]

Just now, Old Red said:

Another word on the street was the Red Sox offered Alonso 3/$85M with an option.

Too steep for me! 

[Old Red]

2 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Too steep for me! 

$70M short of the O’s, but Brez was at least interested.

[vegasbob]

This may not be popular but at the end of Alonso's 5 year deal in Baltimore  I think hindsight will show that it was best to avoid that deal.....and anything similar for Bregman , or Marte.   

The reasons  that will make this come true include '26 season age ( over 30),  injury history and future,  the likelihood of no season in 2027, and declining abilities . 

Not a defense of Breslow following Henry's dictates but a reality when looking at a premium deal for interesting but not really great players .   

The Sox focus should remain on getting a true #2 pitcher and one more flame thrower in the bullpen.  The Devers money plus Bregman's can pay for the best available.

Take a chance on Casas waking up, Anthony progressing and both staying on the field for a season.  Then the miracle ask....can K. Campbell actually play at the MLB level ?      

[illinoisredsox]

53 minutes ago, vegasbob said:

This may not be popular but at the end of Alonso's 5 year deal in Baltimore  I think hindsight will show that it was best to avoid that deal.....and anything similar for Bregman , or Marte.   

The reasons  that will make this come true include '26 season age ( over 30),  injury history and future,  the likelihood of no season in 2027, and declining abilities . 

Not a defense of Breslow following Henry's dictates but a reality when looking at a premium deal for interesting but not really great players .   

The Sox focus should remain on getting a true #2 pitcher and one more flame thrower in the bullpen.  The Devers money plus Bregman's can pay for the best available.

Take a chance on Casas waking up, Anthony progressing and both staying on the field for a season.  Then the miracle ask....can K. Campbell actually play at the MLB level ?      

Disagree.  Yes, he may fall off some but even if he falls off to 35 homers a year, it’s still more power than exists on the Sox roster now.  Right now, he’s certainly capable of 40+ for the next couple years.  He’s even acknowledged that DH is likely to be his future position.

Plus the guy has been durable as can be. In 6 seasons excluding  the Covid year (where he still played 57 of 60 games), he’s never played less than 152 games in a season, and only twice has played less than 160.  The last two years, he’s played all 162.

Once again, they lowball someone so they can claim they tried.  Let’s face it, Henry is a cheap prick and nothing’s going to happen otherwise until he sells the team.  They’ll lowball Anthony when his deal is up and he’ll move on or be moved on.  Same with anyone else who figures to make major $.

[drewski6]

2 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

Too steep for me! 

Too rich for my blood

[drewski6]

2 hours ago, Old Red said:

$70M short of the O’s, but Brez was at least interested.

Im interested in retiring, but Im 41 and not a millionaire.

[JoeBrady]

2 hours ago, vegasbob said:

Then the miracle ask....can K. Campbell actually play at the MLB level ? 

That to me is the much more interesting question than which $25M FA we should sign.  Almost every minor league player of the year has gone onto successful careers, and many have had very successful careers.  The past 15 years have included:

• Trout
• Buxton
• Bryant
• Snell
• Acuna
• Vlad
• Witt
• Gunnar
• Holliday
• Campbell

I entered the off-season thinking he should be trade bait, but the company he keeps is very exclusive.

[mvp 78]

15 hours ago, drewski6 said:

Im interested in retiring, but Im 41 and not a millionaire.

Who let the young folx in here? 

[mvp 78]

14 hours ago, JoeBrady said:

That to me is the much more interesting question than which $25M FA we should sign.  Almost every minor league player of the year has gone onto successful careers, and many have had very successful careers.  The past 15 years have included:

• Trout
• Buxton
• Bryant
• Snell
• Acuna
• Vlad
• Witt
• Gunnar
• Holliday
• Campbell

I entered the off-season thinking he should be trade bait, but the company he keeps is very exclusive.

Sox have moved him off 1b and have sent him to LF. I think that says a lot about his long term future (i.e. he'll never be in the IF again). 

[Old Red]

27 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Sox have moved him off 1b and have sent him to LF. I think that says a lot about his long term future (i.e. he'll never be in the IF again). 

KC is an example of not everyone should, or can play multiple positions. The Red Sox messed him up big time last year IMO trying to make him do that, because that’s how things are so called done these days, and now he has to catch up, and develop hopefully at just 1 position.

[mvp 78]

5 minutes ago, Old Red said:

KC is an example of not everyone should, or can play multiple positions. The Red Sox messed him up big time last year IMO trying to make him do that, because that’s how things are so called done these days, and now he has to catch up, and develop hopefully at just 1 position.

I think they played him at multiple positions to see where he could play (and it was nowhere). I don't think it was "gee, this guy is versatile." 

[Duran Is The Man]

2 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

I think they played him at multiple positions to see where he could play (and it was nowhere). I don't think it was "gee, this guy is versatile." 

it's like NOW they try to move guys to a position that's better suited for their skillset. too bad they din't think of that a couple years ago.

[mvp 78]

2 minutes ago, Duran Is The Man said:

it's like NOW they try to move guys to a position that's better suited for their skillset. too bad they din't think of that a couple years ago.

Usually, a guy has a few years to develop and figure out his position in the minors. The timeline was just sped up for Campbell. 

[Duran Is The Man]

3 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Usually, a guy has a few years to develop and figure out his position in the minors. The timeline was just sped up for Campbell. 

i wasn't talking about Campbell.

[Old Red]

15 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Usually, a guy has a few years to develop and figure out his position in the minors. The timeline was just sped up for Campbell. 

At this point I don’t know if he is any further along than he

was a year ago. 

[drewski6]

15 hours ago, JoeBrady said:

That to me is the much more interesting question than which $25M FA we should sign.  Almost every minor league player of the year has gone onto successful careers, and many have had very successful careers.  The past 15 years have included:

• Trout
• Buxton
• Bryant
• Snell
• Acuna
• Vlad
• Witt
• Gunnar
• Holliday
• Campbell

I entered the off-season thinking he should be trade bait, but the company he keeps is very exclusive.

Im not giving up on KC either.  That doesnt mean I would hold onto him at all costs (those of use who have been following baseball for a long time, know that only Crochet is kind-of untouchable, with Roman "mostly untouchable") ....So while I would flip KC for value/right move, that doesnt mean that I have give up on him or even that I want to (at this point in time)

But also, we shouldnt be relying on him. And thats what a lot of people are overlooking.  Its okay to be excited for RA, KC, MM, maybe even Casas return.  But we should not be counting on these guys to be carrying our offense.  Right now our lineup is:

1. Roman
2.?
3.Duran
4.?

With Duran likely to be traded.  I want to give guys like KC and MM a chance to work there way in, I want to give Casas a chance to work his bay back, but not in the top 5 of the batting order in what should be a compete year.  Even Story and Abreu.  If these guys are hitting 5/6 in your lineup , you have a good offense, if they are hiting 2nd and 3rd , you dont.  If 5.6.7.8.9 was full of a combination of Abreu,Story,Romy, KC, Mayer = great.  But in a compete year , you want proven MLB quality hitters hitting 2-4 (RA stays at 1).

And also, a lot of you, are just ignoring what we are hearing about Casas.  Just the other day Cora said "we need to get him healthy" not "hes progressing" not "we think he'll be ready"....Cora also said "we are hopeful that he contributes next year" (as in, at all).

And even if Casas does make it back, the reinjury risk is so high and the slump risk is high as well.

Like I said, give him a chance to earn his way back onto the team, there will be opportunities, but like all the other bats right now on our team, hes not a guy we should be counting on.  We need 2 bats we can count on. And Sorry Joe, thats not an Asian who has never played in MLB either.  Except maybe if they love something about him and want to take a risk, then okay.  But we need better than someone who has never taken an MLB at-bat who has a high floor because he is servicable defensively at 2 positions.  

Youre setting the bar too low.

[drewski6]

26 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

I think they played him at multiple positions to see where he could play (and it was nowhere). I don't think it was "gee, this guy is versatile." 

They were trying to force in what they thought would be a dangerous righty bat.  If KC is mashing in AAA, and there is no vacancies in OF or DH, boy are y'all in for a surprise.  Cuz its gonna be him or Cedanne in the infield (in that hypothetical)

[drewski6]

23 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Usually, a guy has a few years to develop and figure out his position in the minors. The timeline was just sped up for Campbell. 

If its June and the best 8 hitters include Duran, Abeu, Roman, Cedanne, KC somebody is playing infield.

[JoeBrady]

2 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

(i.e. he'll never be in the IF again)

I was a little surprised by his lack of athletic instinct for a guy that's a pretty good athlete. 

[JoeBrady]

1 hour ago, Old Red said:

At this point I don’t know if he is any further along than he

was a year ago. 

He's not:  he's regressed.  IMO, they should write him off for the full year and keep him in AAA.  Keep him in one spot for the entire year, and work on building his strength.  It was a reasonable gamble that he could handle MLB pitching given his AAA stats and development, but it didn't work.  Need to start over.

[JoeBrady]

1 hour ago, drewski6 said:

That doesnt mean I would hold onto him at all costs

Me neither.  IMO, there will be GMs calling to steal him for a one-year #3 SP.  But I think there will also be GMs that think this is a golden opportunity to acquire a top-15 prospect at a discounted price.  I leaning towards further development, because his ceiling is so high.  But if someone asked for him to be included for Greene, Burns or Chandler, maybe Marte, I would have to listen.

[mvp 78]

2 hours ago, Old Red said:

At this point I don’t know if he is any further along than he

was a year ago. 

He's still going oppo in winter ball.