Brewers (Drohan) vs. Red Sox (Gray): 4/8/26, 1:35pm

[Hitch]

19 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

There wasn't one available for Duran. Nobody wanted him. They wanted Abreu.

I'm not sure that's true. I think plenty of people wanted Duran, just not at the piece we set. 

A price that may look foolish at the end of the season. 

[mvp 78]

6 minutes ago, Hitch said:

I'm not sure that's true. I think plenty of people wanted Duran, just not at the piece we set. 

A price that may look foolish at the end of the season. 

So they get a 3b or 2b around the skillset of Durbin then? It clearly wasn't happening for Paredes or someone at that level. 

[mvp 78]

If plenty of people wanted Duran, he wouldn't be here. 

[Hitch]

3 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

If plenty of people wanted Duran, he wouldn't be here. 

Lots of people want lots of things. Wanting doesn't make it happen. I don't know why these things have to be so definitive. Any player can be wanted and end up not moving. And the Sox obviously value him very highly. 

A never ending cascade of reports from national to local journos said the Astros wanted Duran for Paredes but the Sox wouldn't do it one for one and that they couldn't come together as Boston wanted a lot more value in return. 

This is perfectly reasonable. 

[mvp 78]

13 minutes ago, Hitch said:

Lots of people want lots of things. Wanting doesn't make it happen. I don't know why these things have to be so definitive. Any player can be wanted and end up not moving. And the Sox obviously value him very highly. 

A never ending cascade of reports from national to local journos said the Astros wanted Duran for Paredes but the Sox wouldn't do it one for one and that they couldn't come together as Boston wanted a lot more value in return. 

This is perfectly reasonable. 

Where are the reports that said the Astros wanted Duran for Paredes straight up? The reports said they wanted Abreu for Paredes or Duran PLUS for Paredes. 

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, Old Red said:

I don’t think RAF Man was in high demand, and Bres probably was asking too much. 

No and Yes.

[mvp 78]

Teams wanted Rafaela and Abreu. Breslow wanted to traded Duran and Masa. 

[moonslav59]

28 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

So they get a 3b or 2b around the skillset of Durbin then? It clearly wasn't happening for Paredes or someone at that level. 

Word down here in HOU was that HOU wanted Abreu, but they'd take Duran for Paredes. The sticking point was that Brez wanted more than just Duran. (I suggested one or two from King, Sousa and Janek.)

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

There wasn't one available for Duran. Nobody wanted him. They wanted Abreu.

I find that very hard to believe. Maybe not a guy Brez wanted, but I'm sure some decent and better infielders were there for Duran- straight up.

On sports talk shows here in HOU, Duran for Paredes was talked about a lot, and the bottom line was that the Sox wanted more than just Paredes and HOU said no.

HOU's first choice was Abreu.

There was also some talk of Duran and Bello for Paredes and several other players/prospects, but they could not agree on who the others were.

[Hitch]

15 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Where are the reports that said the Astros wanted Duran for Paredes straight up? The reports said they wanted Abreu for Paredes or Duran PLUS for Paredes. 

What are you talking about? Who was promoting Paredes with less control as a viable trade for Duran (PLUS MORE!) when he has more control? Spier, Jen Mc, Cotillo, McAdams and multiple national commentators all said multiple times across different podcasts and articles that Astros wanted him for Paredes. 

A simple google shows this up straight away - 

"Meanwhile, Houston would jump at a chance to acquire Duran in exchange for Isaac Paredes," McCaffrey writes.

Sending Paredes to the Red Sox for Duran would be a big win for the Astros. Meaning, they'd likely need to attach a bit more to this trade to get the Red Sox to bite.

But landing Duran, a left-hitting outfielder who would be a massive upgrade over their current group, would be a no-brainer if they could pull it off.

And while sending away Paredes would be sad, he'd be more than worth moving on from if it meant that Duran would be coming to Houston.

However, McCaffrey notes that Paredes, with his 115 OPS+ and below-average defense, might not be as enticing for the Red Sox in a trade.

While she isn't shutting down the notion of a deal, the Red Sox would be more likely to explore other infielder additions than that of Paredes.

He's a one-year rental, and while he's tailor-made for the Green Monster in left field in Boston, this swap doesn't fit the Red Sox's needs as much as it does the Astros."

____

The reason it didn't happen is not because anyone in their right mind thought the Sox had to give more.

At the very least it is clearly not true to say there was no interest in Duran. 

[moonslav59]

4 minutes ago, Hitch said:

He's a one-year rental, and while he's tailor-made for the Green Monster in left field in Boston, this swap doesn't fit the Red Sox's needs as much as it does the Astros."

 

Paredes has a club option for 2027. It becomes mutual, if he finishes in top 10 MVP voting.

[Hitch]

Just now, moonslav59 said:

Paredes has a club option for 2027. It becomes mutual, if he finishes in top 10 MVP voting.

That's McCaffery's line not mine. Regardless, it is what it is right now.

[drewski6]

1 hour ago, moonslav59 said:

I don't get why we didn't trade Duran or Rafaela for a 3Bman or 2Bman better than Durbin.

Sure, prospects are nice, but we had a big hole at 3B on the big club.

Because there are very few 3b and 2b who are better than Duran or Rafaela.  Paredes is not, btw.

[drewski6]

1 hour ago, Old Red said:

Sooner, or later this will work themselves out hopefully. It’s not like Duran is tearing up the baseball. I don’t see any trades happening now outside of an injury. Duran’s rumors were for pitching last year, or an infielder this year, but didn’t happen. I don’t think he would have been traded for suspects, or just to open up a spot.

I agree I dont think they would have subtracted for the sake of subtraction.  To move any of our 4 outfielders, the primary why should start with who we are getting, not about creating everyday roles for guys already in house.

[mvp 78]

8 minutes ago, Hitch said:

He's a one-year rental, and while he's tailor-made for the Green Monster in left field in Boston, this swap doesn't fit the Red Sox's needs as much as it does the Astros."

____

The reason it didn't happen is not because anyone in their right mind thought the Sox had to give more.

At the very least it is clearly not true to say there was no interest in Duran. 

Take Jen for what she's worth then, because Paredes would NOT have been a one year rental if he was traded for. Sox would have control of him through 2027. If she doesn't even know the basic facts, how would she know how the Astros would evaluate Duran or what the Astros were asking for. 

When I'm saying the Astros WANTED Abreu and not Duran, it's with the hindsight of 20/20 and what we heard after the Durbin signing. There were conflicting and mixed reports prior to then. Some radio shows saying the Astros were prepared to deal multiple players for Duran (laughable). A day later, another Houston guy said Duran wasn't involved in any trade negotiations at the time. What we know now is that they asked for Abreu and the Sox said no. Sox countered with Duran and Houston couldn't figure it out as they weren't inclined to move Paredes in a deal for Duran. 

[drewski6]

32 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Word down here in HOU was that HOU wanted Abreu, but they'd take Duran for Paredes. The sticking point was that Brez wanted more than just Duran. (I suggested one or two from King, Sousa and Janek.)

And these are all bad trades.

[mvp 78]

5 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

Because there are very few 3b and 2b who are better than Duran or Rafaela.  Paredes is not, btw.

Paredes is a better 2b than Rafaela. Rafaela is a better CF than Paredes is a 2b. 

[mvp 78]

Just now, drewski6 said:

And these are all bad trades.

After they traded for Durbin, it didn't matter anymore. A lot of the offseason chatter was more about generating clicks on stories than the likelihood of a deal actually getting done. 

[drewski6]

3 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Take Jen for what she's worth then, because Paredes would NOT have been a one year rental if he was traded for. Sox would have control of him through 2027. If she doesn't even know the basic facts, how would she know how the Astros would evaluate Duran or what the Astros were asking for. 

When I'm saying the Astros WANTED Abreu and not Duran, it's with the hindsight of 20/20 and what we heard after the Durbin signing. There were conflicting and mixed reports prior to then. Some radio shows saying the Astros were prepared to deal multiple players for Duran (laughable). A day later, another Houston guy said Duran wasn't involved in any trade negotiations at the time. What we know now is that they asked for Abreu and the Sox said no. Sox countered with Duran and Houston couldn't figure it out as they weren't inclined to move Paredes in a deal for Duran. 

I believe that Astros preferred Abreu over Duran.  I believe Astros were willing to include significantly more alongside Paredes for Abreu than they would alongside Paredes for Duran.    I believe they asked for Abreu and we said no.  But that last part, that we offered Duran for Paredes and tried to make that happen.  And they turned it down.

I think people here are making the mistake of grouping Paredes and Marte together because they were both targets at one point and both all-stars with at least an above-average bat.  "Get a Marte for Paredes" but in actuality, Marte is like 88-89 overall ballplayer (if I were to assign him a video game rating), whereas Paredes is like an 81 and thats a big gap.

[Hitch]

3 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Take Jen for what she's worth then, because Paredes would NOT have been a one year rental if he was traded for. Sox would have control of him through 2027. If she doesn't even know the basic facts, how would she know how the Astros would evaluate Duran or what the Astros were asking for. 

When I'm saying the Astros WANTED Abreu and not Duran, it's with the hindsight of 20/20 and what we heard after the Durbin signing. There were conflicting and mixed reports prior to then. Some radio shows saying the Astros were prepared to deal multiple players for Duran (laughable). A day later, another Houston guy said Duran wasn't involved in any trade negotiations at the time. What we know now is that they asked for Abreu and the Sox said no. Sox countered with Duran and Houston couldn't figure it out as they weren't inclined to move Paredes in a deal for Duran. 

 

Trying to talk down the word of a respected journalist and wriggle out on a technicality is quite the low.  I think it's safe to assume her, along with everyone else that said similar have better sources on this information than you.

s*** like this is so tiresome. Just admit you made stupid and incorrect comments. Jesus. 🤡

[drewski6]

27 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Paredes is a better 2b than Rafaela. Rafaela is a better CF than Paredes is a 2b. 

I agree, but I still dont think Id do Cedanne (or Duran or Abreu) for Paredes, even if they threw in a prospect and reliever.  I like getting the best player in the deal, and I honestly just think that all of Cedanne/Duran/Abreu are better players than Paredes, even though I agree that a trade could have made sense from a balance perspective.  

But to me, there is a big gap between the 2b/ss/3b worth going out and getting and the ones who are "fine options" aka "serviceable" and I think that both Durbin and Paredes are in this latter category.

My disagreement with regret talk is more about Paredes than anything else.  I think hes kind of par/run-of-the-mill.  Its like theres "special guys" (and by definition of the word, "special" - there cant be too many of em) and there are "guys".  I dont think Paredes or Durbin are special , but I think they are both fine.

I honestly think there are not a lot of 2b/3b/SS who are available and worth "going out and getting"

And these names dont excite me.  YOu want me to consider trading Duran or Abreu, drop a name like Seager.

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, drewski6 said:

Because there are very few 3b and 2b who are better than Duran or Rafaela.  Paredes is not, btw.

Even if Duran is better than Paredes, which only time will tell, we'd be better with Paredes, since Duran, Rafaela or Masa are on the bench because of the OF/DH logjam, anyway.

[JoeBrady]

2 hours ago, Hitch said:

the Astros wanted Duran for Paredes but the Sox wouldn't do it one for one

I wouldn't have done so then, nor would I do it now,  Abreu is a better player with more years of control.

[JoeBrady]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

After they traded for Durbin, it didn't matter anymore. A lot of the offseason chatter was more about generating clicks on stories than the likelihood of a deal actually getting done. 

I doubt any writers have serious inside information.  They write for entertainment and clicks.

[moonslav59]

13 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

I wouldn't have done so then, nor would I do it now,  Abreu is a better player with more years of control.

I would have demanded King, Sousa or Janek, but not one for one.

Would you have given Rafaela one for one?

[Hitch]

22 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

I wouldn't have done so then, nor would I do it now,  Abreu is a better player with more years of control.

Duran was the framing (not Abreu). But otherwise I agree 100%. I think mostly everyone does outside of the Astros FO trying it on.

[mvp 78]

1 hour ago, Hitch said:

Trying to talk down the word of a respected journalist and wriggle out on a technicality is quite the low.  I think it's safe to assume her, along with everyone else that said similar have better sources on this information than you.

s*** like this is so tiresome. Just admit you made stupid and incorrect comments. Jesus. 🤡

I'm not wrong. Jen saying "the Astros WOULD want Duran for Paredes" is meaningless. That internal Sox sources said the Astros didn't want Duran for Paredes straight up (per Jared Carrabis after the Durbin trade) has much more meaning. 

Duran is so great. Everyone wants him! Sox just aren't able to trade him for some reason. Now he'll languish on the bench because he can't find an AB in 2 out of 3 games against the Brewers in April. 

[mvp 78]

19 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

I doubt any writers have serious inside information.  They write for entertainment and clicks.

It's the only reason people got excited about Zach Neto for a hot minute. That had ZERO chance of happening. Now we get to hear "well, they could have had Neto." No, they couldn't! There was no chance of them getting Neto at that point in the offseason. 

[Hitch]

16 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

I'm not wrong. Jen saying "the Astros WOULD want Duran for Paredes" is meaningless. That internal Sox sources said the Astros didn't want Duran for Paredes straight up (per Jared Carrabis after the Durbin trade) has much more meaning. 

Duran is so great. Everyone wants him! Sox just aren't able to trade him for some reason. Now he'll languish on the bench because he can't find an AB in 2 out of 3 games against the Brewers in April. 

McAdams and Cotillo are hacks unless you need them to back up a point. Carrabis isn't a journalist and his scoop shop is ******** unless you need him. Now Mcaffrey can't be trusted. Laughable. 

To say Duran wasn't wanted by anyone is ridiculous. No matter how many tiresome strawmen you throw at the conversation. 😴

[moonslav59]

25 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Duran is so great. Everyone wants him! Sox just aren't able to trade him for some reason. 

It is possible many teams want(ed) Duran, but Brez valued him more highly and could not agree on any returns offered.