Early Trade deadline deals the selling Sox should make

[Bellhorn04]

40 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

This is when my girl would say "regurgitating the last 2 words of what I said isnt listening"

Sounds like something my girl would say too.

[JoeBrady]

2 hours ago, Bellhorn04 said:

Sounds like something my girl would say too.

I guess the real question, is she wrong?

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, JoeBrady said:

I guess the real question, is she wrong?

Even asking if the girl is wrong exposes a fatal flaw in your thinking.

[JoeBrady]

20 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Even asking if the girl is wrong exposes a fatal flaw in your thinking.

If one were to ask every girl in the country if their SO listened to them, would any guy get a positive?  And if that is the case, is not listening then a negative, or just an unfixable flaw?

Or just an informal survey, has anyone in here NOT been told they don't listen?

[notin]

5 hours ago, Bellhorn04 said:

Sounds like something my girl would say too.

Are you two dating the same girl?  And how weird is it to find out on this forum?

[notin]

20 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

If one were to ask every girl in the country if their SO listened to them, would any guy get a positive?  And if that is the case, is not listening then a negative, or just an unfixable flaw?

Or just an informal survey, has anyone in here NOT been told they don't listen?

My wife says I’m a good listener.  At least I think that’s what she is saying.  Honestly I usually just walk away after a sentence or two…

[mvp 78]

15 hours ago, JoeBrady said:

Chapman would've been a great signing 3 years ago.  That's when we could've had the Devers conversation.  A move to DH would've precluded Yoshida.  But such is life.

Past that, we won't get any elegant solutions.  You have to give up something regardless.  Even if a real good 27 year old was available, they would still want a contract taking them to age 35 and beyond.  You have to pick your poison.

That said, I am glad that opinions are starting to turn against acquiring aging players.  Just 4 weeks ago, there were a lot of people that were adamant that we needed to acquire Bregman (32), Suarez (34+), Alonso (31+). Marte (32+).

Alonso's contract ends before Adames's. Marte is a better player than Adames. Bregman is a better clubhouse guy than anyone else listed. I'm not making a case for Eugenio.

[mvp 78]

15 hours ago, drewski6 said:

The future is 6'5 guys and up.  So clear.  Stop with the noodlebat fundamental position players and just get a bevy of freaks.  Keep Justin Gonzales.

You can only play so many 1b, LF and RFers. 

[Hugh2]

The Sox have the 10th hardest schedule the rest of the way,  

After the division leading Braves they travel to Cleveland to take on the Central division leading Guardians (stil typed out Indians first).  

Then we have back to back series away vs. the Rays and the Yankees the top two teams in the A.L.

A west coast trip, then back home to face the Yankees again and another west coast trip. 

This is not a very good team and the schedule isn't going to give them any kind of break coming up.  I think it's very reasonable to assume we are sellers this year.  The only thing stopping us from selling right now is you want to wait until there are more buyers near the deadline.  

Anyone who has value and is on an expiring contract really needs to be moved. 

The guys they absolutey must move. 

Sonny Gray.  He will also come super cheap to any team as STL is paying most of his salary. 

Aroldis Chapman is still pitching like an elite closer, some team will pay an arm and a leg for him. It would be insanely stupid to not trade him at this point. 

Isiah Kiner-Falefa he's been sneakily good this year, not great but not bad a .720 OPS with plus defense is something teams will pay for at the dealine, sure he's not a big bat but there will be teams looking to plug their defense up the middle at the dealine.  he's on a 1 year deal and isn't part of this core, sell. 

Someone they don't have to move but they COULD move is Wilson Contreras who is under contract for one more year, but given the liklihood of a lockout in 2027 and the fact that he will be 35 next year the Sox are probably better off selling him.  He's been hitting well and teams will always pay a premium for hitting at the deadline. 

 

MAYBE,  MAYBE you sell Duran if a team doesn't try to lowball the Sox for him. 

 

 

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

The Red Sox have never traded a star player in his prime for a prospect haul. Never.

They traded Betts because they knew they weren't going to pay him market value and had to accept what the Dodgers were willing to give up in exchange for taking back Price: a decent prospect with character questions, a minor leaguer with a major league name, and their 3rd or 4th-best catching prospect. No limo service to escort those newcomers; just a pick-up truck with room in the bed, and use your duffel to sit on.

Once they traded Fred Lynn in his prime, but again knew they weren't going to match his worth in free agent bidding, and were forced to receive broken-down veteran players who were past their primes.

Nomar was still young when he was traded, but damaged goods and never the same. Manny overstayed his welcome and pushed his way out the door.

None of the other many stars in Boston got traded in their primes because the Red Sox were always competitive and paid up for them to stay.

But the Breslow Sox are at a crossroads after canning their entire non-Brez coaching staff, only to find out all his players still suck. Would Craig consider the unthinkable and field offers for the only Red Sox star in his prime: Garrett Crochet? 

Quality pitching depth is maybe at an all-time high throughout the Boston system, and the best path to acquire position player talent. What might a package for a 26-year old Cy Young runner-up yield?

More than Teel and Meidroth?

 

 

[notin]

1 hour ago, Hugh2 said:

The Sox have the 10th hardest schedule the rest of the way,  

After the division leading Braves they travel to Cleveland to take on the Central division leading Guardians (stil typed out Indians first).  

Then we have back to back series away vs. the Rays and the Yankees the top two teams in the A.L.

A west coast trip, then back home to face the Yankees again and another west coast trip. 

This is not a very good team and the schedule isn't going to give them any kind of break coming up.  I think it's very reasonable to assume we are sellers this year.  The only thing stopping us from selling right now is you want to wait until there are more buyers near the deadline.  

Anyone who has value and is on an expiring contract really needs to be moved. 

The guys they absolutey must move. 

Sonny Gray.  He will also come super cheap to any team as STL is paying most of his salary. 

Aroldis Chapman is still pitching like an elite closer, some team will pay an arm and a leg for him. It would be insanely stupid to not trade him at this point. 

Isiah Kiner-Falefa he's been sneakily good this year, not great but not bad a .720 OPS with plus defense is something teams will pay for at the dealine, sure he's not a big bat but there will be teams looking to plug their defense up the middle at the dealine.  he's on a 1 year deal and isn't part of this core, sell. 

Someone they don't have to move but they COULD move is Wilson Contreras who is under contract for one more year, but given the liklihood of a lockout in 2027 and the fact that he will be 35 next year the Sox are probably better off selling him.  He's been hitting well and teams will always pay a premium for hitting at the deadline. 

 

MAYBE,  MAYBE you sell Duran if a team doesn't try to lowball the Sox for him. 

 

 

Trading Duran makes sense, but at some point the Sox probably need veteran hitters while the first and second year players establish themselves one way or another.  Getting more prospects seems like a way to extend this issue rather than solve it…

[Hugh2]

12 minutes ago, notin said:

Trading Duran makes sense, but at some point the Sox probably need veteran hitters while the first and second year players establish themselves one way or another.  Getting more prospects seems like a way to extend this issue rather than solve it…

Veteran hitters like Duran and Story? now at this point you don't get veteran hitters unless:

You're willing to pay the FA price. 

or

You wait for guys like Roman Anthony to become a veteran hitter. 

[drewski6]

14 hours ago, JoeBrady said:

I guess the real question, is she wrong?

Good question, usually when I get called out for not listening , Ive stopped within the last 3 minutes, but what I dont get credit for is the 20 minutes of solid listening I was doing before that and the effort that took.

It comes down to a negotiation over when I stopped listening.  ANd how much time I owe her back.

[drewski6]

2 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

You can only play so many 1b, LF and RFers. 

Elly De La Cruz, Oneill Cruz....A few other Cruz's that dont play the positions you list.  Jordan Walker was almost a 3b.  Would you trade IKF for JDub right now if you could only play Jdub at 3b?  Chasing ideal defensive alignment is how you wing up needing a big bat but only being able to choose between Paredes and Durbin.

[drewski6]

2 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

You can only play so many 1b, LF and RFers. 

But I do appreciate how you didnt go harder against what this was responding to.

[mvp 78]

1 hour ago, notin said:

Trading Duran makes sense, but at some point the Sox probably need veteran hitters while the first and second year players establish themselves one way or another.  Getting more prospects seems like a way to extend this issue rather than solve it…

Having Duran/Rafaela/Masa/Anthony/Abreu all on the same unit doesn't work. Unless you are making Anthony a fulltime DH, two guys gotta go. Rafaela is your best option at CF. Abreu is great at RF. Sitting Duran doesn't work to keep him on track. DH'ing Duran doesn't work. Masa doesn't have the power profile that this team needs for a DH. 

[mvp 78]

18 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

Elly De La Cruz, Oneill Cruz....A few other Cruz's that dont play the positions you list.  Jordan Walker was almost a 3b.  Would you trade IKF for JDub right now if you could only play Jdub at 3b?  Chasing ideal defensive alignment is how you wing up needing a big bat but only being able to choose between Paredes and Durbin.

Oneil Cruz is a HORRIBLE CFer. He's a corner OFer in everything, but starting position. 

They didn't choose between Paredes and Durbin. They couldn't pull the trigger on a Paredes deal and I'm not sure HOU really wanted to trade him to begin with. If they did want to trade him, Brez really messed up. Durbin was the booby prize and they overpaid for him. They spent more on Durbin than they would have on Paredes. 

[notin]

13 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Having Duran/Rafaela/Masa/Anthony/Abreu all on the same unit doesn't work. Unless you are making Anthony a fulltime DH, two guys gotta go. Rafaela is your best option at CF. Abreu is great at RF. Sitting Duran doesn't work to keep him on track. DH'ing Duran doesn't work. Masa doesn't have the power profile that this team needs for a DH. 

Yoshida was supposedly just the bench guy, and probably a better option than Eaton if hes needed for an extended time.

It makes sense to ease Anthony back in as a DH.  At least for now.
 

Duran has a total of 34 plate appearances as a DH.  While his OPS is only .698, that’s not much lower than his OPS when starting in the field.  And, again, it’s only 34 plate appearances.  That’s really quick to say he isn’t going to work out as a DH.

The irony now is the post-Ortiz Era, far too many didn’t want a dedicated DH and would prefer Cora use it to “rest” starters rather than give them days off (which wasn’t the full reason they got days off).  Now the Sox have that model and “we need a dedicated DH.”

 

[mvp 78]

14 minutes ago, notin said:

Yoshida was supposedly just the bench guy, and probably a better option than Eaton if hes needed for an extended time.

It makes sense to ease Anthony back in as a DH.  At least for now.
 

Duran has a total of 34 plate appearances as a DH.  While his OPS is only .698, that’s not much lower than his OPS when starting in the field.  And, again, it’s only 34 plate appearances.  That’s really quick to say he isn’t going to work out as a DH.

The irony now is the post-Ortiz Era, far too many didn’t want a dedicated DH and would prefer Cora use it to “rest” starters rather than give them days off (which wasn’t the full reason they got days off).  Now the Sox have that model and “we need a dedicated DH.”

 

Jarren Duran is having his worst season since 2021. Having him go back and forth between bench, DH and LF is a failed plan. It's not working. 

Sitting Masa doesn't work as he provides no flexibility for you off the bench as he can only play LF and DH. 

I don't mind a fulltime DH if the guy is a legit bat. If Anthony is that guy, fine. He might have that ceiling. Masa doesn't. Otherwise, they need to go out and acquire a legit power bat. 

[notin]

18 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Jarren Duran is having his worst season since 2021. Having him go back and forth between bench, DH and LF is a failed plan. It's not working. 

 

Is he having his worst season because he’s been going back and forth, etc?

Duran has DHd in 6 games this year and has an .829 OPS in them.  Small sample size but it’s also where he’s been doing his best.  And he’s only been benched 5 times, mostly in April.  He hasn’t really been bounced around that much and has been out in LF nearly every game lately.

Duran, like many others, might be having a bad year or a bad couple months.  Not every slump is related to usage…

[mvp 78]

48 minutes ago, notin said:

Is he having his worst season because he’s been going back and forth, etc?

Duran has DHd in 6 games this year and has an .829 OPS in them.  Small sample size but it’s also where he’s been doing his best.  And he’s only been benched 5 times, mostly in April.  He hasn’t really been bounced around that much and has been out in LF nearly every game lately.

Duran, like many others, might be having a bad year or a bad couple months.  Not every slump is related to usage…

He used to be a guy who posted every day and was left alone. Now he sometime sits, sometimes is leadoff, sometimes is at the bottom of the order, sometimes is DH. It's not good for a guy in Duran's headspace to have to deal with that. He's had a terrible year because of it. 

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

1 hour ago, notin said:

Duran, like many others, might be having a bad year or a bad couple months.  Not every slump is related to usage…

... though every slump Durbin has is related to Durbin usage...

(... and how the Brewers used Breslow in the trade).

Even after dumping Durbin, Milwaukee is still last in the NL in home runs, just like Boston is last in the AL. But somehow, the Brewers have scored 4.94 runs per game vs. the Sox AL-worst 3.77 runs per game.

Possible factor: the Red Sox have grounded into the most double plays in the AL, while the Brewers have the least GDP in the NL. Milwaukee also leads the NL in sacrifice hits, something we've heard for years that Boston considers a waste of outs.

It just must be coincidental Milwaukee is a first-place team and Boston is dead as a doormat.

[Hugh2]

Hmmm yes, lots of good points being made about deals at the trade deadline going on. 

[moonslav59]

15 hours ago, JoeBrady said:

If one were to ask every girl in the country if their SO listened to them, would any guy get a positive?  And if that is the case, is not listening then a negative, or just an unfixable flaw?

Or just an informal survey, has anyone in here NOT been told they don't listen?

It doesn't matter what we think.