Red Sox Pre-Offseason Mega Thread

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

That sounds unlikely. Mayer was relied on for an Opening Day roster spot. They wouldn't part with him for Ketel Marte!

Mayer was platooned from day one, right?

I'm not so sure about that KMarte report, either.

[mvp 78]

2 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Mayer was platooned from day one, right?

I'm not so sure about that KMarte report, either.

Well, I'm glad that you "person without sources" is able to be unsure about reporting from people with sources.

[Old Red]

34 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Well, I'm glad that you "person without sources" is able to be unsure about reporting from people with sources.

The reports were that it was a so called blockbuster, but fell through when the Red Sox wouldn’t include Mayer. Supposedly Arizona wanted Mayer, and Tolle, or Early, and the Red Sox countered with Arias, and Tolle, or Early, and Arizona said no.

[NHNative]

December is a long way away.

[JimEd]

6 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

 

"...add power..." somebody like, oh, i dunno......Pete Alonso, maybe? this is the same situation we were in last year and that stupid f***er did nothing. 

[JimEd]

6 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

 

then he is a truly a gotdamn idiot.

[JimEd]

5 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

Last note for now:

 

so says the quacks on the Sox medical staff. 😂 

[JimEd]

2 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

The biggest thing was his laissez faire attitude and just not being a professional ballplayer. Roman takes his game very seriously. Marcelo has always had it come very easy to him so he doesn't work at it. I think we're seeing Marcelo hit his ceiling right now unless he's going to put work in, but he's spent his whole life not having to be that way. Hard for him to turn the ship around now. 

my wife knows just enough about baseball to be dangerous but she doesn't get into like we do. however, she has instincts and intuition like nobody i've ever known. anyway....we were watching (well i was, she was kinda sorta watching) a game just after Mayer had been called up. she didn't know anything about him but the very first time she saw him, she mentioned that he looks lazy and acts like he doesn't care if he plays or not. i told her he is the Sox #1 prospect and just got called up. she just laughed and said he'll never make it.

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

Well, I'm glad that you "person without sources" is able to be unsure about reporting from people with sources.

So, you believe every reported offer, as long as there is a reported "source?"

I'm not denying it- just questioning the veracity.

[moonslav59]

After the 2026 season, I think I'd rather have Mead than KMarte.

[NHNative]

Some good points made here.

https://www.si.com/mlb/red-sox/onsi/red-sox-s-biggest-free-agent-mistake-to-avoid-this-winter-pat3

[Hugh2]

On 10/4/2026 at 2:22 AM, notin said:

No.  
 

Teams are extending younger players and this is the impact…

This has been the trend for a few years now.  Which is why I've always been a big advocate of those early exensions before guys get too costly. 

I'm not sure if the Sox stink at identifying who to extend, or if they're just cursed because lately it feels like you need to flip a coin when they give someone money. 

I haven't given up on Anthony yet though. 

But the point is if you want to bring in high end talent, for the most part you either have to draft and develop it or trade for it.  And we don't have much for trade chips...unless we want to start dealing from our MLB pitchers. 

[notin]

Just now, Hugh2 said:

This has been the trend for a few years now.  Which is why I've always been a big advocate of those early exensions before guys get too costly. 

I'm not sure if the Sox stink at identifying who to extend, or if they're just cursed because lately it feels like you need to flip a coin when they give someone money. 

I haven't given up on Anthony yet though. 

But the point is if you want to bring in high end talent, for the most part you either have to draft and develop it or trade for it.  And we don't have much for trade chips...unless we want to start dealing from our MLB pitchers. 

Or if the Sox are having the same success rate as everyone else….

[Deja Doh]

Marte was already a head case long before this season.  I've been saying it for two years, a trade to Boston is not going to cure his problem or help us.  I hope his mia antics this past season shut down this talk.

13 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

After the 2026 season, I think I'd rather have Mead than KMarte.

 

[Deja Doh]

Arozarena would be another mistake (while announcers like to pronounce his name).  A two year contract at most.  He's never hit more that 27 home runs in a season (that was 2 years ago, he's not big enough), so he cannot be classified under any metric as a power hitter.  I'd stay away.

28 minutes ago, NHNative said:

Some good points made here.

https://www.si.com/mlb/red-sox/onsi/red-sox-s-biggest-free-agent-mistake-to-avoid-this-winter-pat3

 

[mvp 78]

14 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

So, you believe every reported offer, as long as there is a reported "source?"

I'm not denying it- just questioning the veracity.

What's the point in questioning it? Most local reporters believe it. 

We have heard from multiple sources that they didn't want to give up Mayer in a trade to AZ for Marte. We have heard from multiple sources that they didn't want to give up Duran because they overvalued him.  

[mvp 78]

13 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

After the 2026 season, I think I'd rather have Mead than KMarte.

Could have both. One is better suited for DH.

[mvp 78]

3 minutes ago, Deja Doh said:

Arozarena would be another mistake (while announcers like to pronounce his name).  A two year contract at most.  He's never hit more that 27 home runs in a season (that was 2 years ago, he's not big enough), so he cannot be classified under any metric as a power hitter.  I'd stay away.

 

Arozarena having a career year going into FA, what could go wrong? 

[Old Red]

5 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

What's the point in questioning it? Most local reporters believe it. 

We have heard from multiple sources that they didn't want to give up Mayer in a trade to AZ for Marte. We have heard from multiple sources that they didn't want to give up Duran because they overvalued him.  

They named what Arizona wanted, and they named what Boston offered, so I think this report was pretty legit.

[NHNative]

At the risk of sounding like a simpleton, do we need to acquire power or develop what we have?

[Old Red]

3 minutes ago, NHNative said:

At the risk of sounding like a simpleton, do we need to acquire power or develop what we have?

I think Breslow is asking the same question.🤔

[moonslav59]

37 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

What's the point in questioning it? Most local reporters believe it. 

We have heard from multiple sources that they didn't want to give up Mayer in a trade to AZ for Marte. We have heard from multiple sources that they didn't want to give up Duran because they overvalued him.  

I question almost every report I read and for obvious reasons: tey are often wrong.

Of course they over-valued Mayer. My questioning the report is unrelated.

Same with Duran and others.

They've undervalued some, too.

Such is baseball.

 

[mvp 78]

58 minutes ago, NHNative said:

At the risk of sounding like a simpleton, do we need to acquire power or develop what we have?

Both.

[mvp 78]

29 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

I question almost every report I read and for obvious reasons: tey are often wrong.

When you have one rando guy reporting something in real time, it can be wrong. When several reporters all believe the same story and aren't backing down months later, it's most likely legit. 

[moonslav59]

19 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

When you have one rando guy reporting something in real time, it can be wrong. When several reporters all believe the same story and aren't backing down months later, it's most likely legit. 

I never said it wasn't "most likely legit." It does sound truthful. I have less doubts about these reports than many other rando reports, but I still have some doubts.

To me, it seems absurd to have Tolle and Early on the table and walk away because Mayer would not be added. Tolle or Early, yes, but not both and certainly not all three.

[Old Red]

54 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

I never said it wasn't "most likely legit." It does sound truthful. I have less doubts about these reports than many other rando reports, but I still have some doubts.

To me, it seems absurd to have Tolle and Early on the table and walk away because Mayer would not be added. Tolle or Early, yes, but not both and certainly not all three.

It was Tolle, or Early, not both, and certainly not all three. Then during the season he trades Mayer for a relief pitcher. Rember also that Brez wanted to sub Arias instead of Mayer to Arizona.

[mvp 78]

From Jen McCaffery today:

With a potential lockout looming when the current collective bargaining agreement ends on Dec. 1, Breslow said he will continue operating as usual until then.

“I’ll put whatever CBA situation exists aside,” he said. “I would just say that every offseason is unique, and we’ve seen certain offseasons where free agents sign early, others where it drags out, where there’s a flurry of trade activity early, others where, you know, significant trades take place after the new year. It’s really hard to pinpoint exactly how the kind of natural sequence of the offseason will go this year. I think as teams become more competitive, there are fewer and fewer teams that are willing to move current major league talent because everyone wants to be competitive. And so we’ll have to be creative in figuring out how we improve our roster.”

 

If the FA list is bad and teams are less likely to deal, how will they improve the roster. Do they really think internal options are going to fix their problems?!? Maybe they try looking for players that aren't reaching their potential elsewhere that would be better fits here? Deal guys that seem like part of the solution (i.e. Abreu) to make room for guys that can really impact the lineup? 

[mvp 78]

49 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

I never said it wasn't "most likely legit." It does sound truthful

You said you "questioned the veracity" of the Sox not wanting to trade Marcelo for Marte. You can't have it both ways. 

[mvp 78]

20 minutes ago, Old Red said:

It was Tolle, or Early, not both, and certainly not all three. Then during the season he trades Mayer for a relief pitcher.🤔

Early and Mayer for Marte

or

Early and Mayer for Mead and Miller

Which would you prefer? 

[NHNative]

17 hours ago, JimEd said:

my wife knows just enough about baseball to be dangerous but she doesn't get into like we do. however, she has instincts and intuition like nobody i've ever known. anyway....we were watching (well i was, she was kinda sorta watching) a game just after Mayer had been called up. she didn't know anything about him but the very first time she saw him, she mentioned that he looks lazy and acts like he doesn't care if he plays or not. i told her he is the Sox #1 prospect and just got called up. she just laughed and said he'll never make it.

My wife is much the same way.