2026 MLB post-Red Sox postseason thread

[mvp 78]

12 hours ago, notin said:

I would put him in the short list of interesting free agents, especially since early reports have NY not offering a QO…

LHB who can only pull the ball. Not really ideal for Fenway IMO. Plays an "interesting" 2b. 

[mvp 78]

1 hour ago, Old Red said:

5-15-.245-66k’s in 242 AB, and your talking about him being close to an .800 OPS? Those aren’t even good JAG numbers. I watched Tony C come up at age 19. I saw Rice, and Lynne come up in their first full MLB season at age 22, and put up MVP numbers. Those guys were special. little A? Not so much. He can’t even do a pinky swear with Mayer without getting hurt.🤭

That's the second season when he was hurt. I'm sure an injured Tony C would have put up worse numbers too. 

Roman '25: 303 PA, 75 H, 8 HR, 32 RBI, 40 BB, 84 K, 292 AVG, 396 OBP, 859 OPS

[moonslav59]

2 hours ago, Old Red said:

5-15-.245-66k’s in 242 AB, and your talking about him being close to an .800 OPS? Those aren’t even good JAG numbers. I watched Tony C come up at age 19. I saw Rice, and Lynne come up in their first full MLB season at age 22, and put up MVP numbers. Those guys were special. little A? Not so much. He can’t even do a pinky swear with Mayer without getting hurt.🤭

I said he fell way short. I'm not even close to being okay with what Anthony did when he played.

You are inventing opposition, again. It's the one thing you excel at.

Rice and Lynn (no "e) were suspects once, and sometimes top prospects come out doing very well- sometimes they don't.

Sometimes they come around later or slowly- sometimes they are busts.

[moonslav59]

32 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Any guesses on '27? It's someone new every season!

Arias? Mead? Sogard? 

If healthy, I think Mead has more innings at 2B than anyone in the last decade (since Pedey.)

It's not that high a bar:

814 Story in '22

835 Pedey '17

(1293 Pedey in 2016)

1,000 Mead

300 Story

100 Seigler

Is about what I'd expect with normal health, and Arias taking Story's job mid season.

[notin]

34 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

LHB who can only pull the ball. Not really ideal for Fenway IMO. Plays an "interesting" 2b. 

But if the Sox are going to sign a position player, what are the better options?  Especially if QO is a factor, which 

[mvp 78]

3 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

I said he fell way short. I'm not even close to being okay with what Anthony did when he played.

You are inventing opposition, again. It's the one thing you excel at.

Rice and Lynn (no "e) were suspects once, and sometimes top prospects come out doing very well- sometimes they don't.

Sometimes they come around later or slowly- sometimes they are busts.

Dewey only had a 110 OPS+ (759 OPS) through 1947 PA! Should have released him probably. 

Mo had a 96 OPS+ (719 OPS) through 659 PA! Not sure why he even was called up as a 25 year old the next season! Suspect!!!

Xander had a 100 OPS+ (748 OPS) through 2652 PA! Should have traded the bum! Not good enough for what should be a WS contender!

[mvp 78]

2 minutes ago, notin said:

But if the Sox are going to sign a position player, what are the better options?  Especially if QO is a factor, which 

Big IF to b sure. They already have Mead plus Seigler, Sogard, Arias and more! 

Lowe and Jazz both are LHB with huge pull AIR %'s. I just don't know how well that works at Fenway. If they were RHB, sure. They'd lose a lot of the HR pop in BOS. 

[notin]

47 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Any guesses on '27? It's someone new every season!

Arias? Mead? Sogard? 

I take Mead as the favorite.  Not the best glove but I assumed they acquired him to play 2b, so he probably at least starts there…

[moonslav59]

38 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

That's the second season when he was hurt. I'm sure an injured Tony C would have put up worse numbers too. 

Roman '25: 303 PA, 75 H, 8 HR, 32 RBI, 40 BB, 84 K, 292 AVG, 396 OBP, 859 OPS

Career per 650:

2025-2026

.271 BA (Sox .249)

16 HRs (Sox 15 per 650)

40 2B+3B (Sox 29)

57 RBI (Sox 61)

.373 OBP

.433 SLG

.803 OPS

180 Ks- 83 BB

When he's played, these are not bad numbers for any player's first 545 PAs in MLB, but his 2026 numbers were worse.

[mvp 78]

Just now, notin said:

I take Mead as the favorite.  Not the best Glive but I assumed they acquired him to play 2b, so he probably at least starts there…

I believe they don't like Masa at all end wind up dumping his salary. Mead is moved to DH. Sogard starts at 2b. Arias is called up during the season at some point. If Story gets hurt, Arias takes over at SS. Will depend on when Story gets hurt. 

[Old Red]

14 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

I said he fell way short. I'm not even close to being okay with what Anthony did when he played.

You are inventing opposition, again. It's the one thing you excel at.

Rice and Lynn (no "e) were suspects once, and sometimes top prospects come out doing very well- sometimes they don't.

Sometimes they come around later or slowly- sometimes they are busts.

Yes Rice, Lynne, and Tony C were all suspects once, but they went from prospects to MLB stars in a hurry. We agree there.

[notin]

5 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Big IF to b sure. They already have Mead plus Seigler, Sogard, Arias and more! 

Lowe and Jazz both are LHB with huge pull AIR %'s. I just don't know how well that works at Fenway. If they were RHB, sure. They'd lose a lot of the HR pop in BOS. 

Siegler and Sogard are more reasons to acquire a 2b that solutions.  Arias is very likely sitting in line behind Story at SS. 
 

Mead is probably 2b or DH.  So if he is DH…

[moonslav59]

8 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Dewey only had a 110 OPS+ (759 OPS) through 1947 PA! Should have released him probably. 

Mo had a 96 OPS+ (719 OPS) through 659 PA! Not sure why he even was called up as a 25 year old the next season! Suspect!!!

Xander had a 100 OPS+ (748 OPS) through 2652 PA! Should have traded the bum! Not good enough for what should be a WS contender!

We could make a very long list.

My main concern with Roman is his health.

His ceiling seems a little lower than I thought a year ago, but it's still pretty high. His Floor is lower, too.

The Ks will never bother me, if he keeps up the .370 OBP and hist 16+ HRs & 55+ XBHs per 650.

 

[notin]

2 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

I believe they don't like Masa at all end wind up dumping his salary. Mead is moved to DH. Sogard starts at 2b. Arias is called up during the season at some point. If Story gets hurt, Arias takes over at SS. Will depend on when Story gets hurt. 

Agree that is most likely the fate of Yoshida.  Best case for him is the bench.

Mead could be Dh.  But I do think they had 2b in mind when they acquired him so i wouldn’t be shocked if he started there.  Everyone you mentioned is optionable, so those backup plans still exist…

[moonslav59]

3 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Yes Rice, Lynne, and Tony C were all suspects once, but they went from prospects to MLB stars in a hurry. We agree there.

It happens for some players more quickly than others. Some never come around.

If injuries make a player a bust, then you must feel Tony C was one.

 

[Old Red]

1 minute ago, moonslav59 said:

Career per 650:

2025-2026

.271 BA (Sox .249)

16 HRs (Sox 15 per 650)

40 2B+3B (Sox 29)

57 RBI (Sox 61)

.373 OBP

.433 SLG

.803 OPS

180 Ks- 83 BB

When he's played, these are not bad numbers for any player's first 545 PAs in MLB, but his 2026 numbers were worse.

 

45 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

That's the second season when he was hurt. I'm sure an injured Tony C would have put up worse numbers too. 

Roman '25: 303 PA, 75 H, 8 HR, 32 RBI, 40 BB, 84 K, 292 AVG, 396 OBP, 859 OPS

Anyone would put up worse numbers if they were hurt, but staying healthy is a Big part of the equation. Bad numbers, or not, but there was NO talk of how few AB he had in MLB when there were all the hype put on him before this past season, and some speculation about him being in the running for MVP, or possibly winning it. 

[moonslav59]

1 minute ago, notin said:

Agree that is most likely the fate of Yoshida.  Best case for him is the bench.

Mead could be Dh.  But I do think they had 2b in mind when they acquired him so i wouldn’t be shocked if he started there.  Everyone you mentioned is optionable, so those backup plans still exist…

I'd love to see Duran & Yoshida gone.

Story is probably our best back-up SS for Arias and can maybe play a decent defensive 2B (Mead to DH?)

Yoshida allows us to keep White (or maybe Jones.)

Duran allows us add a bigger bat (saves us $11M AAV.)

 

[Old Red]

3 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

We could make a very long list.

My main concern with Roman is his health.

His ceiling seems a little lower than I thought a year ago, but it's still pretty high. His Floor is lower, too.

The Ks will never bother me, if he keeps up the .370 OBP and hist 16+ HRs & 55+ XBHs per 650.

 

You asked the question before this past season started on what little A’s ceiling is, and answered nothing more than Fred Lynne’s caddy.🤫

[moonslav59]

1 minute ago, Old Red said:

 

Anyone would put up worse numbers if they were hurt, but staying healthy is a Big part of the equation. Bad numbers, or not, but there was NO talk of how few AB he had in MLB when there were all the hype put on him before this past season, and some speculation about him being in the running for MVP, or possibly winning it. 

Yes, most of us assume normal health, unless a guy has a long history of injuries.

Most of us had high hopes for Roman, and maybe not stardom in 2027 but more in the beyond.

I still have high hopes, but nothing in baseball is a sure bet. Most of us know that all too well.

[moonslav59]

Just now, Old Red said:

You asked the question before this past season started on what little A’s ceiling is, and answered nothing more than Fred Lynne’s caddy.🤫

You can't even spell Lynn's name right, even after being told.

Who's caddy are you? A fence post?

[Old Red]

10 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

You can't even spell Lynn's name right, even after being told.

Who's caddy are you? A fence post?

Oh no! I misspelled. Like you haven’t done that many times🤔. A fence post from THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN. How gosh.🤔

[moonslav59]

4 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Oh no! I misspelled. Like you haven’t done that many times🤔. A fence post from THE MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN. How gosh.🤔

Yes, I misspell words. 

BTW, you misspelled Gouache. My GOSH!

[notin]

3 hours ago, Old Red said:

5-15-.245-66k’s in 242 AB, and your talking about him being close to an .800 OPS? Those aren’t even good JAG numbers. I watched Tony C come up at age 19. I saw Rice, and Lynne come up in their first full MLB season at age 22, and put up MVP numbers. Those guys were special. little A? Not so much. He can’t even do a pinky swear with Mayer without getting hurt.🤭

Are we going to play the “he’s no Rice or Lynn or Tony C” ********, like those guys are the bare minimum for Special Rookie Performance now?

Despite his injuries, Anthony is off to a good start in his career and has shown he can hit.  Even if you don’t like his RBI numbers from last year. Or grasp how RBI numbers get impacted by batting leadoff.

If you’re going to keep telling us how special Lynn is, learn to spell his name.  Misspell Yastrzemski or Conigliaro?  I’d let it go.   Understandable.  But Lynn? It’s 4 f***ing letters and spelled just like the city north of Boston…

[Old Red]

12 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Yes, I misspell words. 

BTW, you misspelled Gouache. My GOSH!

Yes a little cerebral fecalitis. My bad.🤭

[moonslav59]

2 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Yes a little cerebral fecalitis. My bad.🤭

Lance Lynne was great CF'er for the Sox.

[Old Red]

6 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Lance Lynne was great CF'er for the Sox.

Like I said my bad. And you said I didn’t admit things. Cerebral fecalitis is pretty bad.

[moonslav59]

2 minutes ago, Old Red said:

And you said I didn’t admit things. 

An apology couched with saying others do it too rings very hollow, but there was a first time for you. Nice!

[NHNative]

[moonslav59]

Nice win  by the Rays.

[mvp 78]

2 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

We could make a very long list.

My main concern with Roman is his health.

His ceiling seems a little lower than I thought a year ago, but it's still pretty high. His Floor is lower, too.

The Ks will never bother me, if he keeps up the .370 OBP and hist 16+ HRs & 55+ XBHs per 650.

 

I agree about his health. I also worry about the FO overlooking the "swing hard at all costs" approach that is hurting players.