A Realistic View at the 2027 Red Sox Part I

[NHNative]

I enjoyed the article by Caulder on Tolle---the beautiful mustache.

;-)

[moonslav59]

2 hours ago, notin said:

I can promise you the that Sox didn’t sign Alonso nothing to do with Yoshida.  I can also promise you that criticism was made up by people who wanted Alonso and needed a rallying cry…

The main cry was Duran and Anthony can't both play LF. 

It wasnt about Yoshida, although some said we should dump him.

The idea was Alonso at 1B, but we got Contreras instead. We coulda got both, and not many hated that idea.

[moonslav59]

My wish is two big bats, but I doubt we get one from...

DLC

Abrams

Suzuki

Sato

Maybe some other big bat could be traded (Yordan, Schwarber, Alonso, Kurtz or Wood)

We may not even add these types: BLowe, Arozarena, Harper, Bauers, Pena...

[notin]

4 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

The main cry was Duran and Anthony can't both play LF. 

It wasnt about Yoshida, although some said we should dump him.

The idea was Alonso at 1B, but we got Contreras instead. We coulda got both, and not many hated that idea.

Exactly.  The inability to trade Duran had already relegated Yoshida to the bench.

Duran had been worth over 12 WAR in the 2 previous seasons.  That in itself is an elite level.  They weren’t going to just bench him because some fans started crying “spend more! Spend more!!”  They clearly had no problem benching Yoshida, having already done it the year before as well.

And they’ll probably bench him next season, too…

[moonslav59]

8 minutes ago, notin said:

Exactly.  The inability to trade Duran had already relegated Yoshida to the bench.

Duran had been worth over 12 WAR in the 2 previous seasons.  That in itself is an elite level.  They weren’t going to just bench him because some fans started crying “spend more! Spend more!!”  They clearly had no problem benching Yoshida, having already done it the year before as well.

And they’ll probably bench him next season, too…

Many of us were for trading Duran and signing Alonso, and the added cost would have meant no Suarez. IMO, I'm just not convinced JH says yes, if Brez came to him with a top offer for Alonso, but I could be wrong. (No way he says yes to Breggie & Alonso.)

Alonso>Duran in 2026 would have been a formidable offensive boost. We'd likely have kept Early in hopes he'd be back and with no Suarez, the need would have been higher.

[Randy Red Sox]

On 10/12/2026 at 10:15 AM, mvp 78 said:

The guys that are signing 1-2 year deals aren't the upper echelon guys that tend to hit big. Sox take little swings in FA and aren't finding much impact there. 

agreed totally

[Randy Red Sox]

6 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

The main cry was Duran and Anthony can't both play LF. 

It wasnt about Yoshida, although some said we should dump him.

The idea was Alonso at 1B, but we got Contreras instead. We coulda got both, and not many hated that idea.

right now JH has Brez pondering over the list of SP on long term injury rehab. So long as he is ready sometime in 2028

[notin]

2 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

Many of us were for trading Duran and signing Alonso, and the added cost would have meant no Suarez. IMO, I'm just not convinced JH says yes, if Brez came to him with a top offer for Alonso, but I could be wrong. (No way he says yes to Breggie & Alonso.)

Alonso>Duran in 2026 would have been a formidable offensive boost. We'd likely have kept Early in hopes he'd be back and with no Suarez, the need would have been higher.

Do people think JH approves everything over a certain amount?  I mean, there’s a saying among executives to their delegates “if I need to approve everything, then I don’t need you.”  I kind of think Henry sets budget limits or parameters and lets Breslow work from there…

[notin]

31 minutes ago, Randy Red Sox said:

right now JH has Brez pondering over the list of SP on long term injury rehab. So long as he is ready sometime in 2028

Not sure why the Sandoval deal bothers so many.  Do people really think the other option for that $18mill was Dylan Cease?

Sandoval came back just when the Sox needed another starter and gave the Sox 70 innings.  He was brought on to be depth, and depth he was.  

I assume the Sox will sign another rehab pitcher at some point, if the right deal can be found…
 

 

[JoeBrady]

On 10/20/2026 at 8:48 AM, NHNative said:

What do you suppose the conversation between Gray and Brez looks like?

I don't see Gray arguing a lot.  I'm guessing he'll have a number, but might be just as interested in what the RS are going to do to get to the WS.

[moonslav59]

55 minutes ago, notin said:

Do people think JH approves everything over a certain amount?  I mean, there’s a saying among executives to their delegates “if I need to approve everything, then I don’t need you.”  I kind of think Henry sets budget limits or parameters and lets Breslow work from there…

I think they set parameters, not cold hard budget limits.

Large and long deals need to be approved.

Going significantly over the budget guideline, even with several mini moves needs the okay.

Not every deal needs approval. Most do not.

[JoeBrady]

13 hours ago, Hugh2 said:

Imagine what 2027 would look like right now if we trade Payton Tolle and Franklin Arias for Joe Ryan last year?

Folks also wanted to trade Tolle+ for Marte.  Shiny Object Syndrome (SOS).

[JoeBrady]

13 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

He puts the ball in play, doesn't whiff, but is really slow. It's not a tremendously useful profile. 

Oddly enough, both Yoshida & Sato have almost identical OPS+ in the final two years in Japan (Yoshida was one year older).

[JoeBrady]

11 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

The lock out is a choice! They could just play baseball under the old agreement and work out a new one during ST or the regular season. 😁

Last time they did that, the players went on strike and canceled the WS.  Unless they are one small step from signing an agreement, there is a -0- chance of no lockout.

[JoeBrady]

10 hours ago, notin said:

I can promise you the that Sox didn’t sign Alonso nothing to do with Yoshida.  I can also promise you that criticism was made up by people who wanted Alonso and needed a rallying cry…

It was made up because we acquired Contreras, who had a better year.  Rather than admit that Contreras was the better choice, it was easier to move the goal posts.

[JoeBrady]

10 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

Why do the greedy owners that charge a family of 4 $500+ to go to a KIDS GAME do this to the fans? Well, because they are greedy owners that charge a family of 4 $500+ to go to a KIDS GAME.

That's a choice.  You can go to a mid-week Yankee game, bring in some food, and get out without even spending $200.

[Old Red]

13 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

Folks also wanted to trade Tolle+ for Marte.  Shiny Object Syndrome (SOS).

By folks you mean bresLOW of course.

[Old Red]

14 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

It was made up because we acquired Contreras, who had a better year.  Rather than admit that Contreras was the better choice, it was easier to move the goal posts.

Huh? Made up? Alonso played 30 more games, hit 16 more HR, and drove in 32 more runs. Con Man did get HBP more though, so talking about moving a goal posts. Con Man was the CHEAPER option, which was most likely the deciding factor of who ended up in Boston.🤭🙈

[moonslav59]

53 minutes ago, notin said:

Not sure why the Sandoval deal bothers so many.  Do people really think the other option for that $18mill was Dylan Cease?

Sandoval came back just when the Sox needed another starter and gave the Sox 70 innings.  He was brought on to be depth, and depth he was.  

I assume the Sox will sign another rehab pitcher at some point, if the right deal can be found…

What bothers me about that deal is so many similar deals like that back-to-back that we coulda signed a much better pitcher to to multiple years adding up...

$18M Sandoval

$21M Buehler

$10M Paxton

$10M Kluber

$10M Richards

(Throw in $10M Hendriks)

$80M

You can add Gio and get to about $120M/5 and replace em all.

 

[moonslav59]

32 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

Folks also wanted to trade Tolle+ for Marte.  Shiny Object Syndrome (SOS).

Look who Brez wanted to trade for Ryan.

[moonslav59]

24 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

That's a choice.  You can go to a mid-week Yankee game, bring in some food, and get out without even spending $200.

Look at what bands charge for concerts.

[notin]

1 hour ago, moonslav59 said:

What bothers me about that deal is so many similar deals like that back-to-back that we coulda signed a much better pitcher to to multiple years adding up...

$18M Sandoval

$21M Buehler

$10M Paxton

$10M Kluber

$10M Richards

(Throw in $10M Hendriks)

$80M

You can add Gio and get to about $120M/5 and replace em all.

 

You left ones like Wacha that was pretty good and Hill that was actually surprisingly acceptable…