A Realistic View at the 2027 Red Sox Part I

[NHNative]

We are doomed.

[JoeBrady]

On 10/2/2026 at 9:42 AM, moonslav59 said:

Grissom was not a bum, at the time.

Sale was not projected to do anything at the time.

A lot of fans thought Sale was untradeable at the time.  In the 5 between 2019-2023, Sale was 17-18 in total, with a 4.16.  That's $132M for 17 wins.  The idea that we were getting ANYTHING is beyond preposterous.

[JoeBrady]

23 hours ago, Arnold P Buckleflucker said:

reacted in horror when I mentioned the lisfranc procedure Eli just had.

That was Tyree Wilson's injury when the Raiders drafted him.  It's had to pinpoint what it was that kept him from developing, but it could be the lisfranc.

[Tedballgame]

12 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

I'm wondering if knowing this, JH might allow Brez to "pre-spend" some of that money into a long term deal given to someone who won't pull a Story or Yoshida on us.

Those two Bloom remnants still choke the budget of needed new spending, and while Brez seems to have a better record with mid level to major signings, it's not really a strong suit. He's done better with trades- some for higher priced players like Gray & Contreras but this time with the other team paying some salary down, unlike the Sale trade.

Brez'z largest deals: (remember Devers was extended before Brez took over, but his deal kicked in his first season in 2024.)

$170M/6 Crochet (trade then extension)

$130M/5 Suarez

$130M/8 Anthony (extension)

$60M/8 Campbell

$55M/6 Bello (extension)

$50M/8 Rafaela

$41M/1 Bregman

$39M/2 Giolito

$38M/3 Chapman (2 deals)

$34M/2 Contreras (trade w STL paying $8M of $42M)

$21M/1 Gray (trade w STL paying $20M of $41M)

$21M/1 Buehler

$18M2 Sandoval

$10M/2 Hendriks

 

Hendriks, Sandoval, Buehler, Giolito and Campbell were all terrible deals. 150 million down the drain. Chapman deal was great. Gray and Contreras trades were very good. Suarez signing is good, I think. Crochet trade was good. Bello (to some extent) and Rafaela extensions were good. Anthony's extension may work out but he has to stay on the field and get much tougher.

[JoeBrady]

17 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

I mentioned BLowe last year, too- among many others who did not do so well.

He plays 2B and OF, so we'd have some flex with him.

We have Mead and 4 outfielders.    My mantra from now until opening day will be "what positions are you going to improve, and by how much?".

[Hitch]

I've been holding off posting since that last game as I didn't want anything I write to be over-emotional. But I still feel quite angry over it all. My thoughts on the season and future: 

 

The season - I personally found it exhausting, and far from enjoyable. That run in the summer was sensational and felt otherworldly, but the rest of the year was torture. When we went behind it was almost always over and that is no way to enjoy baseball.  We knew going in the offence had holes, the roster was uneven, but as always there's some hope that things will break your way. We also had some terrible luck with injuries. Every club gets this, but we lost our ace, our most important offensive player, the guy who was supposed to add pop in the run in and post season, taken out in his first game, and important bullpen pieces just before the play offs. It couldn't have gone much worse. 

The play offs - dreadful. I kept reading posts saying we were a 40/60 favourite to win it, and we had a good chance. I never felt that. I posted a few times in the lead up that I had little hope we would beat the Yankees there. But even I didn't think it would be that bad. I have no issue with Tolle being pulled when he did, not not much issue with going to Miller even if he had been cold. I also have little problem pulling Gray - the dude had runners on 1st and 3rd. He can complain and bitch as much as he wants, he didn't get it done in the 4th. No problem removing him. I have a huge issue moving him for Miller again. Absolute insanity. You have to do Suarez there. The season is on the line. Chad's decisions will look terrible with hindsight, but the guy is a rookie manager in the most intense environment possible, mistakes are likely, and we have to give him room to make them. Which leads me to...

Chad Tracy - as mentioned above - he made some mistakes in hindsight (if Miller had kept the score level in both instances we'd be lauding him), but going to Bello was a head scratcher in game 1, especially as Chad's comments were that he'd given up on game 1 at that point. Let's ignore for now how damning and telling that is (when it comes to belief in an offence that a manager had given up on a game down 2-0), why burn Bello then? But yeah, a good learning platform for him. I thought he has been mostly excellent this year since coming in and I'm fine, if not thrilled, with him making mistakes and learning on the job. That's just the rub. I have faith in him going forward.  Not thrilled with Gray or Wilson's comments after the game. Have some class. Throwing the guy under the bus is not cool. 

Breslow - what to make of him? Like every single GM, he is going to get calls right and get calls wrong. He has put together one of the best pitching staffs I've seen, and got them doing the right thing, but he's also traded away a lot of pitching, and we're now very short. I don't blame him for Sale, very few people saw Sale's resurgence coming. I'm perfectly fine with the Crochet trade even if the guys we sent away go on to be good players. But the Rutschman trade has the chance of being seen as an all-time shocker. And a great deal of us felt at the time it was an enormous amount to give up. If Rutschman doesn't sign and extension and be better than what we've seen, that could really bite. I'm a lot more patient than most posters on here (or sports fans in general) so I had no issues with Bres also learning on the job and making mistakes, but now is the time to step up once and for all. This is a big winter for him (assuming there is baseball next year - I think there will be buy much shortened). I was astonished to see posts proclaiming him a possible Executive of the Year. If these win totals had been spread out in a different way and not included that magic carpet ride, I think his job would have been on the online. He has delivered one of the worst offences I've ever seen. And he built a very unbalanced roster with players doing little other than taking a roster spot up (Yoshida, for example). He's got balls, I'll give him that. He's not afraid to make moves. He better get his next ones right or he'll be on the block again. And he has a lot to do for my money.

The future - I'm not feeling as doomsday about it as some, but also, man we've got some work to do. Our pitching pipeline is bare. Our roster is unbalanced. And we have very little leadership. Personally, I would take any salary relief we can get next year for Yoshida and Story - even £10m combined and two roster spots is more valuable than what they give us. Try and trade Duran for a pitching prospect or two. See if there's a way to add some pop/leadership in one swoop. Try and figure whatever in the f*** is going on with Anthony and Campbell (two very different cases) and promote Arias. We need to get power into this line up. I'd personally be fine with us trading Abreu also if it meant making the end product better. He's streaky and can't be counted on when needed. I weirdly feel like I'm straddling two stools - we're in a good place to build from/we need some major surgery. 

 

Things always feel bad this close to the end, but it was so meek, as was September, as was much of the season. It would have probably been better long term if that run hadn't happened and we'd sold hard at the deadline. In fact, no probably about it. It would have been far, far better. But we're where we are at. I'm not worried about the money we will spend, I am worried we do what needs to be done.

A deflating end to a torturous season. 

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

20 minutes ago, Tedballgame said:

Hendriks, Sandoval, Buehler, Giolito and Campbell were all terrible deals. 150 million down the drain. Chapman deal was great. Gray and Contreras trades were very good. Suarez signing is good, I think. Crochet trade was good. Bello (to some extent) and Rafaela extensions were good. Anthony's extension may work out but he has to stay on the field and get much tougher.

"Hendriks, Sandoval, Buehler, Giolito and Campbell were all terrible"

-- guys signed hoping for past glory (Campbell's was in the minors)

"Chapman deal was great. Gray and Contreras trades were very good. Suarez signing is good, I think. Crochet trade was good."

-- guys signed in their primes at market prices (though Chappy did re-emerge)

There's seldom no mystery or magic to You Get What You Pay For

 

 

 

 

 

[JoeBrady]

14 hours ago, notin said:

A missing season costs both sides much more.  We have this “will there be another season” thing at the end of every CBA, but labor disputes haven’t interfered with a single regular season game since 1995…

I'd bet that we don't miss any games, unless it is part of an expanded playoff arrangement.  I don't think the owners are as hung up on a cap as the fans are.  They will look at the percentage of the take that the players get and go from there.

[JoeBrady]

8 minutes ago, Hitch said:

Personally, I would take any salary relief we can get next year for Yoshida and Story

I agree, but I doubt anyone wants either player.  Maybe package them in a bigger deal for an overpaid player that fits better.  Story still had a 29/3 K/W after his return from his injury.  That's unplayable.

[FredLynn]

11 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

It was a fun season, and we got to see that amazing historical stretch.

It ended badly and to the Yanks made it way worse.

I think we were a better team than 2025, and we only lose one key player (Gray.) Last year, we lost 1/2 Devers, Bregman Giolito, Wilson and other decent players.

We may need much better health or some serious upticks, or we can make some big additions. Maybe a little of both.

LOL....we aren't getting any "big additions". Not in 27, not in 28, not as long as the cheapskate owner owns the floundering and poorly managed franchise. I read an article by one of the Flops beat writers who ended his missive by stating that "we deserve better". I agree. If Henry doesn't want to put the necessary talent on the field then he should sell the team-as some of the chanting demanded at Fenway this year. We will likely be WORSE next year, what with the lack of spending, the departure of Gray, and the likely regression of our best hitter. 

Something to look forward to.......🙄

[NHNative]

Let us march surely and with crusty determination directly to the World Series next year. Fenway itself will swell with pride and joy.

[Old Red]

1 hour ago, Hitch said:

I've been holding off posting since that last game as I didn't want anything I write to be over-emotional. But I still feel quite angry over it all. My thoughts on the season and future: 

 

The season - I personally found it exhausting, and far from enjoyable. That run in the summer was sensational and felt otherworldly, but the rest of the year was torture. When we went behind it was almost always over and that is no way to enjoy baseball.  We knew going in the offence had holes, the roster was uneven, but as always there's some hope that things will break your way. We also had some terrible luck with injuries. Every club gets this, but we lost our ace, our most important offensive player, the guy who was supposed to add pop in the run in and post season, taken out in his first game, and important bullpen pieces just before the play offs. It couldn't have gone much worse. 

The play offs - dreadful. I kept reading posts saying we were a 40/60 favourite to win it, and we had a good chance. I never felt that. I posted a few times in the lead up that I had little hope we would beat the Yankees there. But even I didn't think it would be that bad. I have no issue with Tolle being pulled when he did, not not much issue with going to Miller even if he had been cold. I also have little problem pulling Gray - the dude had runners on 1st and 3rd. He can complain and bitch as much as he wants, he didn't get it done in the 4th. No problem removing him. I have a huge issue moving him for Miller again. Absolute insanity. You have to do Suarez there. The season is on the line. Chad's decisions will look terrible with hindsight, but the guy is a rookie manager in the most intense environment possible, mistakes are likely, and we have to give him room to make them. Which leads me to...

Chad Tracy - as mentioned above - he made some mistakes in hindsight (if Miller had kept the score level in both instances we'd be lauding him), but going to Bello was a head scratcher in game 1, especially as Chad's comments were that he'd given up on game 1 at that point. Let's ignore for now how damning and telling that is (when it comes to belief in an offence that a manager had given up on a game down 2-0), why burn Bello then? But yeah, a good learning platform for him. I thought he has been mostly excellent this year since coming in and I'm fine, if not thrilled, with him making mistakes and learning on the job. That's just the rub. I have faith in him going forward.  Not thrilled with Gray or Wilson's comments after the game. Have some class. Throwing the guy under the bus is not cool. 

Breslow - what to make of him? Like every single GM, he is going to get calls right and get calls wrong. He has put together one of the best pitching staffs I've seen, and got them doing the right thing, but he's also traded away a lot of pitching, and we're now very short. I don't blame him for Sale, very few people saw Sale's resurgence coming. I'm perfectly fine with the Crochet trade even if the guys we sent away go on to be good players. But the Rutschman trade has the chance of being seen as an all-time shocker. And a great deal of us felt at the time it was an enormous amount to give up. If Rutschman doesn't sign and extension and be better than what we've seen, that could really bite. I'm a lot more patient than most posters on here (or sports fans in general) so I had no issues with Bres also learning on the job and making mistakes, but now is the time to step up once and for all. This is a big winter for him (assuming there is baseball next year - I think there will be buy much shortened). I was astonished to see posts proclaiming him a possible Executive of the Year. If these win totals had been spread out in a different way and not included that magic carpet ride, I think his job would have been on the online. He has delivered one of the worst offences I've ever seen. And he built a very unbalanced roster with players doing little other than taking a roster spot up (Yoshida, for example). He's got balls, I'll give him that. He's not afraid to make moves. He better get his next ones right or he'll be on the block again. And he has a lot to do for my money.

The future - I'm not feeling as doomsday about it as some, but also, man we've got some work to do. Our pitching pipeline is bare. Our roster is unbalanced. And we have very little leadership. Personally, I would take any salary relief we can get next year for Yoshida and Story - even £10m combined and two roster spots is more valuable than what they give us. Try and trade Duran for a pitching prospect or two. See if there's a way to add some pop/leadership in one swoop. Try and figure whatever in the f*** is going on with Anthony and Campbell (two very different cases) and promote Arias. We need to get power into this line up. I'd personally be fine with us trading Abreu also if it meant making the end product better. He's streaky and can't be counted on when needed. I weirdly feel like I'm straddling two stools - we're in a good place to build from/we need some major surgery. 

 

Things always feel bad this close to the end, but it was so meek, as was September, as was much of the season. It would have probably been better long term if that run hadn't happened and we'd sold hard at the deadline. In fact, no probably about it. It would have been far, far better. But we're where we are at. I'm not worried about the money we will spend, I am worried we do what needs to be done.

A deflating end to a torturous season. 

Good post. I agree with some, but not much. Outside of the 27-3 run the Red Sox were not an exciting club, or even a good club. Yes Crochet was lost, but if you’re referring to little Anthony as the most important offensive player I strongly disagree there. He had plenty of hype, and expectations, but those don’t always pan out as this one didn’t. Agree on the playoffs were dreadful, but from all the fans I talked too, and heard on the airwaves most of pissed on how Tracy handled the pitching decisions, and don’t care who the game plan came from it was Tracy who made the actual moves being a puppet, or not. I said before the season the Red Sox took the cheaper way out, and we’d see how things would work out. bresLOW lowballed Alonso, and went to a cheaper option in Con Man. He lowballed Bregman to start with, and then negotiations fell apart from there, and went to a much cheaper option in DUBin. Then we get to the 5 inning $130M man who was turned to after Bregman bolted, which was cheaper, and didn’t even pitch 1 inning in the postseason. A defeating end to a torturous season I Agee. Playoffs? Did someone say playoffs?

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Again, returning from the moon after a year, I'd see a winning record and a postseason berth. Decent season, right?

Then I check the data: one-fourth of a season world beaters and 75% of the rest of the schedule total losers. 

And the way it ended -- getting absolutely obliterated by arch rivals -- couldn't have been more obscene.

Indecency bias.

 

 

 

[Hitch]

1 hour ago, JoeBrady said:

I agree, but I doubt anyone wants either player.  Maybe package them in a bigger deal for an overpaid player that fits better.  Story still had a 29/3 K/W after his return from his injury.  That's unplayable.

Yeah, it won't be easy. But he's in DFA territory now and hopefully there's a way to get him, Duran and Yoshida off the team and come out okay. 

[Old Red]

5 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Again, returning from the moon after a year, I'd see a winning record and a postseason berth. Decent season, right?

Then I check the data: one-fourth of a season world beaters and 75% of the rest of the schedule total losers. 

And the way it ended -- getting absolutely obliterated by arch rivals -- couldn't have been more obscene.

Indecency bias.

 

 

 

Spot on! The magic carpet ride came back to earth.

[Hitch]

38 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Good post. I agree with some, but not much. Outside of the 27-3 run the Red Sox were not an exciting club, or even a good club. Yes Crochet was lost, but if you’re referring to little Anthony as the most important offensive player I strongly disagree there. He had plenty of hype, and expectations, but those don’t always pan out as this one didn’t. Agree on the playoffs were dreadful, but from all the fans I talked too, and heard on the airwaves most of pissed on how Tracy handled the pitching decisions, and don’t care who the game plan came from it was Tracy who made the actual moves being a puppet, or not. I said before the season the Red Sox took the cheaper way out, and we’d see how things would work out. bresLOW lowballed Alonso, and went to a cheaper option in Con Man. He lowballed Bregman to start with, and then negotiations fell apart from there, and went to a much cheaper option in DUBin. Then we get to the 5 inning $130M man who was turned to after Bregman bolted, which was cheaper, and didn’t even pitch 1 inning in the postseason. A defeating end to a torturous season I Agee. Playoffs? Did someone say playoffs?

The Anthony view is skewed heavily by hindsight.

Going into the season after an encouraging signs last year and an encouraging World Baseball Classic, he was seen very much as our most important offensive player. Unfairly so, and too much pressure and expectation was on him, but the fact remains. Going into next year, not so much. Now there will just be concerns.

[Hitch]

8 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Again, returning from the moon after a year, I'd see a winning record and a postseason berth. Decent season, right?

Then I check the data: one-fourth of a season world beaters and 75% of the rest of the schedule total losers. 

And the way it ended -- getting absolutely obliterated by arch rivals -- couldn't have been more obscene.

Indecency bias.

 

 

 

Yeah another way to frame it - imagine you were told about that summer run and then told we made the playoffs, you'd check the standings and play off results with excitement and no small amount of expectation of a huge season. Then you'd see the standings and results of the play offs and be left in disbelief. 

[Old Red]

1 minute ago, Hitch said:

The Anthony view is skewed heavily by hindsight.

Going into the season after an encouraging end of last year and an encouraging World Baseball Classic, he was seen very much as our most important offensive player. Unfairly so, and too much pressure and expectation was on him, but the fact remains. Going into next year, not so much. Now there will just be concerns.

Well said.

[vegasbob]

On 10/1/2026 at 6:05 PM, notin said:

He also hasn’t had his 23rd birthday yet…

True, but I bet it will be a helluva party

[moonslav59]

2 hours ago, JoeBrady said:

We have Mead and 4 outfielders.    My mantra from now until opening day will be "what positions are you going to improve, and by how much?".

I'm counting on Duran being gone. I could be wrong. I think we trade White or Jones. 

I'm not counting on Anthony, although I think he can be a big plus to our offense, if he stays on the field (or in the dugout as a DH.)

I'm not a Story-hater, but certainly he is one we can identify as "upgradeable." He can't be easily traded, but I would if Arias is slotted as out 2027 SS. If not, he's my back up SS and can share time with Mead at 2B or DH some.

Mead can DH and back up Contreras at 1B, but if Anthony is the DH with BLowe in LF, there is no room for Mead to DH. If Anthony is in LF, then Mead can DH and BLowe can play 2B.

So, no Duran or Story allows for us to hedge against Anthony's health and still play BLOwe, Anthony and Mead FT, if they are all healthy at the same time. Rotating the 3 through the DH slot could help them all stay fresh or still play through an injury that does not affect their batting,

I'm a big Arias fan, but just to let those who think I over-hype prospects too much, I'm not expecting more than a .720 OPS and plus defense from Arias in year one. I am fully aware he may hit .650, too, but if we keep Story as depth, we are at the same point as now. Otherwise, we'll rely on Monasterio, Cheng or Sogard in a pinch. (I doubt Godbout will be a 2027 factor.)

BLowe gives us a big power boost. He bats LH'd and does struggle vs LHPs, so it would be a lot of money to pay for someone who may be best used as a platoon player. He his .548 v L in '25 and .648 v L this year. His career mark is .684, so he's gotten worse as he ages. He just turned 32, so there is that issue as well, but many other choices out there have the same issues of play positions that cause the same or more complex maneuvering.

Lowe has 66 HRs in the past 2 years (59 2B+3B)in 1209 PAs. I'd like a better OBP than .320, but I think this is my top bat to target. I can be convinced to change my mind.

 

 

[moonslav59]

36 minutes ago, Hitch said:

Yeah another way to frame it - imagine you were told about that summer run and then told we made the playoffs, you'd check the standings and play off results with excitement and no small amount of expectation of a huge season. Then you'd see the standings and results of the play offs and be left in disbelief. 

Two games never leave me in disbelief, but of course we all know this was more than just 2 games. We played poorly or near .500 for most of the season, and couldn't hit for a month before those two games.

We put our eggs in the pitching basket, and we went against a team with eggs in both baskets.

[NHNative]

What would Brandon Lowe cost us?

[NHNative]

40 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Two games never leave me in disbelief, but of course we all know this was more than just 2 games. We played poorly or near .500 for most of the season, and couldn't hit for a month before those two games.

We put our eggs in the pitching basket, and we went against a team with eggs in both baskets.

Fair enough.

[moonslav59]

6 minutes ago, NHNative said:

What would Brandon Lowe cost us?

I'm not good at these guesses. He's had two straight 30+ HR seasons, so that must up his value, but he's a year older (32) and has worsened vs LHPs. He's great v RHPs and kinda sucks v LHPs. When you pay as much as he will get, you kinda want a FT'er, right? Maybe the split thing is a fluke- maybe not. I still want BLowe, but do I want to pay a 32 year old a ton of money on a 4-5 year deal? Maybe a 3 year deal would be worth the risk, but someone may offer 4-5.

$85M/3?

$100M/4?

$115M/5?

My guess is Suzuki gets more, even though he's 32 also.

[NHNative]

5 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

I'm not good at these guesses. He's had two straight 30+ HR seasons, so that must up his value, but he's a year older (32) and has worsened vs LHPs. He's great v RHPs and kinda sucks v LHPs. When you pay as much as he will get, you kinda want a FT'er, right? Maybe the split thing is a fluke- maybe not. I still want BLowe, but do I want to pay a 32 year old a ton of money on a 4-5 year deal? Maybe a 3 year deal would be worth the risk, but someone may offer 4-5.

$85M/3?

$100M/4?

$115M/5?

My guess is Suzuki gets more, even though he's 32 also.

Ya---I think 3yr is better with maybe some kind of option. 

The real question is 'will he hit the Pesky Pole?

[moonslav59]

35 minutes ago, NHNative said:

Ya---I think 3yr is better with maybe some kind of option. 

The real question is 'will he hit the Pesky Pole?

Good point. The park dynamics could significantly reduce his HR totals. Maybe some other batter's Fenway profile is a better fit. BLowe's numbers vs LHPs is scary.

I'm thinking he'll be cheaper than Suzuki, and Lowe's ability to play 2B and LF kinda allows for a double chance at filling either hole.

It's hard to know what Brez & Co. are thinking. Some major factors will influence who they will be targeting, and if we knew the answers to these and more questions, we might be better positioned to discuss who to sign.

1. Do they plan on Arias being the wire-to-wire SS for 2027? (2B with Story at SS? Is there room for Arias, Mead and Story at the keystone positions?)

2. Do they still consider Duran having a significant role in the 2027 team? (If yes, then Anthony is the DH not Mead. See #4)

3. Do they view Crochet as the Gray replacement and not seek another top SP'er? (Maybe just add depth like they did with Bennett & Oviedo last winter.)

4. What's up with Anthony? The answer here might affect their plans for Duran and DH roles for Mead/Story and others.

5. Do they see Houck &  Crawford as the pen boost we need or SP depth- or both?

6. How strongly do they view Sogard, Campbell, Bello, Gasper/Yoshida and Guerrero/Slaten/Weissert?

Note: knowing how their views on these issues would clear some thinking, but not necessarily solve the questions/issues.

[notin]

2 hours ago, Hitch said:

The Anthony view is skewed heavily by hindsight.

 

No it isn’t.

Anthony has 545 career plate appearances with an OPS of .803 and an OPS+ of 126.  At AGE TWENTY-TWO!

Thats not hype. That’s not hindsight.  That’s hitting…

[notin]

1 hour ago, NHNative said:

What would Brandon Lowe cost us?

Our dignity?

[moonslav59]

4 hours ago, Tedballgame said:

Hendriks, Sandoval, Buehler, Giolito and Campbell were all terrible deals. 150 million down the drain. Chapman deal was great. Gray and Contreras trades were very good. Suarez signing is good, I think. Crochet trade was good. Bello (to some extent) and Rafaela extensions were good. Anthony's extension may work out but he has to stay on the field and get much tougher.

Gio redeemed his deal a little bit, but yes, overall it was not a great deal. Fangraphs gave his 2025 value as $15.3M. We paid him $38M.

Campbell has been paid him $3M, so far, and he makes $3M in 2027, where he is not projected to have a significant MLB role. It's what comes after 2027 that will likely decide the bust claim. No Yoshida and Story. Probably no Duran and others could open up a role, but only if he earns a slot on the 26. He will be owed $54M/5 starting in 2028. That's a lot, but he does have time to rebuild his value.

I'm actually fine with these early extensions, as I view them as ways to counter the situations where we lost Betts, Bogey and other prematurely. I expected some to work and some to not work. Some questioned the Rafaela extension, at the time. What would it cost to extend him right now? The guy is 27th in fWAR (8.0) since 2026 and just turned 26! His two year bWAR is 10.6! The Anthony deal will suck, if he can't stay healthy, but I still think it's a good deal, assuming he isn't hurt 1/4 or 1/3 of the time. Bello's deal looked horrific in May, and now seems hopeful. The big plus was not extending Mayer & Casas.

I hate those Sandoval & Hendriks type deals, and it's a carry-over from the Bloom philosophy is puzzling.

The Buehler gamble looked better to me than the Kluber, Richards and Paxton deals combined, but it was a major whiff. At least it was just one year. He did do slightly better with the Padres, this year, but he's toast.

The Suarez signing is Brez's only long term FA signing to date. The jury is still out.

The Crochet extension was something many of us felt was necessary to validate the package we gave up to acquire him. His injury now throws a different light on the whole thing. Can't say Brez should be blamed, but it's not like Crochet had a history of high IP and stellar health.

[moonslav59]

8 minutes ago, notin said:

Our dignity?

Explain.