Sox Trade For Milwaukee 3B Caleb Durbin

[moonslav59]

36 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

Heres a question - does Tony Siegler being 40 man rostered threaten Mickey Gaspar's 40 man spot roster spot?

I doubt it, as Gapser offers 40 man depth as a catcher.

My guess is Cheng gets DFA'd (maybe Eaton) when we officially add Kiner-Falefa.

[UtahSox]

3 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

Campbell is an OFer going forward. Or trade bait if he can recoup value. I think he's another case where internally he's valued higher than externally right now.

WHY did Breslow extend KC so early? Makes zero sense. Virtually went from a top 100 player to a liability in 90 days. Dumbest thing ever. 

[UtahSox]

3 hours ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

I like everything about this trade. The guys we gave up were expendable, and Durbin is going to be a fan favorite: a short, scrappy guy who hustles is great, but here's the refreshing part for this line-up: he doesn't strike out and is a good bunter.

The batting order may be in shock... and that must be why the headline writer for Brandon's scoop called this "shocking."

He is a damn good baseball player…. The height thing isn’t much…. Love this trade. He has way less question marks than Marcelo Mayer. 

[Bellhorn04]

46 minutes ago, jad said:

So Devers for a ,250 hitter  "good at bunting"?   Damn!  Can't wait for those exciting plays that  decades before Moneyball were shown to be negatives.   

Bunting for hits is still good.  Somebody said this guy can do that.

[UtahSox]

46 minutes ago, Deja Doh said:

This guy makes Dustin Pedroia look like a giant (listed at 5'7").  Maybe 2nd base?  Hopefully he keeps hitting.

Strong though, I saw him muscle a ball off his hands vs Chicago last year. Again I’m excited for what we didn’t have to give up as well. 

[moonslav59]

13 minutes ago, UtahSox said:

WHY did Breslow extend KC so early? Makes zero sense. Virtually went from a top 100 player to a liability in 90 days. Dumbest thing ever. 

If KC had a great 2025 season, the reason would have been obvious. It would look like a team discount.

[moonslav59]

8 minutes ago, UtahSox said:

Strong though, I saw him muscle a ball off his hands vs Chicago last year. Again I’m excited for what we didn’t have to give up as well. 

The return package shocked me, and we got a comp pick, too!

People can say what the want about Brez, and I'll agree with some of the criticism and feelings of "meh," but the roster took pretty good shape, this winter, despite not getting a mega big bat or an all star 3B/2Bman.

[Michigan Adam2]

Do we change focus to a trade for a catcher?  One of the bigger weaknesses id say assuming Durbin and Mayer have 2nd and 3rd locked up. It's either that or bullpen right?  Still need to trade of extra body. 

[Old Red]

11 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

If KC had a great 2025 season, the reason would have been obvious. It would look like a team discount.

Well he didn’t, so after a good start he was pretty much much Suspect after that, and so much so he never came back up to Boston.

[moonslav59]

Just now, Old Red said:

Well he didn’t, so after a good start he was pretty much much Suspect after that, and so much so he never came back up to Boston.

Yes, we all know he didn't. I was answering why they extending him early. They were hoping he'd do well, and they signed him before he'd be asking for more.

The deal could still end up looking like a decent contract or maybe even a great one for the team... or not.

[Old Red]

11 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

The return package shocked me, and we got a comp pick, too!

People can say what the want about Brez, and I'll agree with some of the criticism and feelings of "meh," but the roster took pretty good shape, this winter, despite not getting a mega big bat or an all star 3B/2Bman.

Thanks for saying people can say what they want about Brez like they didn’t before. I’ll keep it at meh right now on a wait, and see if Not getting a mega big bat will cost them in the long run.

[moonslav59]

16 minutes ago, Michigan Adam2 said:

Do we change focus to a trade for a catcher?  One of the bigger weaknesses id say assuming Durbin and Mayer have 2nd and 3rd locked up. It's either that or bullpen right?  Still need to trade of extra body. 

Contreras can play catcher a few times a year, but should be viewed as emergency only, until the call-up can arrive.

Gasper is not great on defense, but he's on the 40. We added decent minor league depth in Thaiss, so I think we are done adding catchers.

We also added Anthony Seigler to the 40. He can catch.

While it's no help for 2026, Brez did address beefing up the lowe rminor league catching group by adding:

31. Adonys Guzman A+ (part of Oviedo trade)

32. Luke Heyman A- (Alex Hoppe trade)

33. Franklin Primera FCL & Jorge Rodriguez (IFA signed 2024)

[moonslav59]

8 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Thanks for saying people can say what they want about Brez like they didn’t before. I’ll keep it at meh right now on a wait, and see if Not getting a mega big bat will cost them in the long run.

Good to see you gave an opinion (meh.)

Thanks for thanking me for sayings it's okay to say what you want. I wasn't aware until you pointed it out.

LOL

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

The Red Sox locked up Campbell after one good month in the majors because of what he did the previous season in the minors.

Teammates were calling him "Barry Bonds" in 2024 when he was Minor League Player of the Year. Barry made over $188 million when he played 20 years ago. According to my cousin Ai, that pro rates to $309 million in 2025.

If KC really turns out to be Barry Bonds, Breslow signed him for $60 million (accountants help me out; wouldn't that be a savings of over 80 cents on the dollar?).

Plus, Brez is always playing the odds -- like when one of his Asst. VPs notes that around 90% of the past 25 Minor League players of the year became solid big leaguers -- if not stars -- in The Big Shoe...

[Yaz Fan Since 67]

I like the trade too and I'm glad we have a complete team this close to spring training. But this lineup is still weak and we give up way too much power and offense from our corner infielders when compared to our opponents.  

[mvp 78]

1 hour ago, UtahSox said:

WHY did Breslow extend KC so early? Makes zero sense. Virtually went from a top 100 player to a liability in 90 days. Dumbest thing ever. 

Internal metrics. 

[mvp 78]

Also EVERYONE thought the KC deal was great at the time. 

[mvp 78]

1 hour ago, Bellhorn04 said:

Bunting for hits is still good.  Somebody said this guy can do that.

Wrong, bunting for hits is GREAT.

[UtahSox]

1 hour ago, moonslav59 said:

If KC had a great 2025 season, the reason would have been obvious. It would look like a team discount.

But he didn’t….. he looked awful and it was unnecessary. Like I get the what if game but we had 6 years left.
 

A’s waited til season was over before extending Kurtz. I’d argue we extended Roman too quickly as well. Just WHY?

[UtahSox]

18 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

The Red Sox locked up Campbell after one good month in the majors because of what he did the previous season in the minors.

Teammates were calling him "Barry Bonds" in 2024 when he was Minor League Player of the Year. Barry made over $188 million when he played 20 years ago. According to my cousin Ai, that pro rates to $309 million in 2025.

If KC really turns out to be Barry Bonds, Breslow signed him for $60 million (accountants help me out; wouldn't that be a savings of over 80 cents on the dollar?).

Plus, Brez is always playing the odds -- like when one of his Asst. VPs notes that around 90% of the past 25 Minor League players of the year became solid big leaguers -- if not stars -- in The Big Shoe...

But you could have done that in Sept, again in November, hell you could do it this week. Or in 6 months…. We had 6 years. The timing deserves criticism. Kurtz got his extension last week. 

[UtahSox]

7 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Also EVERYONE thought the KC deal was great at the time. 

I didn’t….. I thought RA extension came too quickly as well. 

[moonslav59]

28 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

The Red Sox locked up Campbell after one good month in the majors because of what he did the previous season in the minors.

Nope. The signed him on April 2nd.

[moonslav59]

12 minutes ago, UtahSox said:

But he didn’t….. he looked awful and it was unnecessary. Like I get the what if game but we had 6 years left.
 

A’s waited til season was over before extending Kurtz. I’d argue we extended Roman too quickly as well. Just WHY?

The why is that if they first prove they are great, their extension will be at a much higher cost, or they will see dollar signs in their eyes and "want to see what the FA market has to offer." Sound familiar?

This is done to help prevent the next Betts & Bogey situation from happening. We will likely miss on some.

Last winter, we heard some wondering on why we extended Rafaela & Bello so early. I'm not hearing that anymore.

[notin]

1 hour ago, UtahSox said:

WHY did Breslow extend KC so early? Makes zero sense. Virtually went from a top 100 player to a liability in 90 days. Dumbest thing ever. 

This  happens more often than many realize - extension for a player you think will be really good di you lock him up before he even debuts.

Detroit did the same thing with Colt Keith, who is still in MLB (unlike Campbell) but is limited to platooning roles.  Although some of that might be because AJ Hinch is overly dedicated to platooning.  

Something about those ex-Astros garbage can bangers, I guess.  One can only assume Carlos Beltran would have overutilized the strategy as well…

[Kimmi]

5 hours ago, Old Red said:

Wow! I’m so relieved BTV said we did well. Enough gloves now with IKF, but having enough bats will be the question. 

The Red Sox have addressed my biggest concern with the infield in acquiring Durbin, IKF, and Rodgers (minor league deal).  We now have some solid depth and some solid flexibility all around.  For those concerned with Mayer playing every day, the trade for Durbin also addresses that.  Durbin may not be the big bat that some were hoping for, but Durbin does make us a better overall team.

As as added plus, we did not have to trade Bello.

[moonslav59]

9 minutes ago, Kimmi said:

As as added plus, we did not have to trade Bello.

...or Duran!

[Kimmi]

5 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

Wow, I did not realize he had a 2.6 fWAR and 2.8 bWAR.

Matt Shaw: 1.5/3.1

Paredes: 2.5/2.3

Cost controlled and under team control through 2031.  What's not to like?

He sounds like a solid player offensively, defensively, and on the basepaths.  Not a superstar in any regard, but solid.

[Randy Red Sox]

6 hours ago, iortiz said:

Wow! Can’t believe the Brewers accepted that trade. This was a steal. We got a promising and controlled IF for literally pure garbage.

Harrison was the PRIZE we got back when FLEECED in the Devers trade.

[moonslav59]

Before I saw this trade announced, I was about to relay a 3 way trade I saw on BTV that looked doable:

To BOS: Paredes

To HOU: Nootbar

To STL: Soto

Made some sense for all teams.

[Randy Red Sox]

6 hours ago, Jasonbay44 said:

So the aftermath of the Devers trade is now essentially Rafael Devers for Caleb Durbin? 

exactly-hopefully he is not Vaughan Grissom pt 2