Red Sox sign Jake Bauers

[moonslav59]

8 minutes ago, Old Red said:

You call all these Red Sox fans clowns, and down radio pundits like you are better than them. You are not. Posting on talksox is not a higher form than sports talk shows like you think it is, and you’re the best example of that over, and over, and over again.

No, it's the just your friends who are the clowns. I do agree and disagree with what a lot of "pundits" say. I just don't think being more in touch with them adds more to what the truth is, liek you do.

The fact that you come right out and say it make it clear to everyone.

I do not have a superiority complex. Far from it. I know I am often wrong and freely admit it. In no way do i ever view myself as being right more than others (just you.) Your armchair pychobablling only hurts your case. I know what words mean. I don't invent new meanings to avoid admitting I was wrong. I actually answer points people make and not invent warped points nobody makes. When I misinterpret what someone said, I try to ask follow up questions to know more about their positions. I don't deflect, deny and distort.

Stop while you are behind. Seek shelter with your feeble-minded friends. Keep showing them my posts as some sort of affirmation that your beliefs are correct. There is comfort in the  numbers of feeble-minded enclaves on your corner, your gym, your office drinking fountain and social media podcasts. Go forth and prosper.

 

[moonslav59]

21 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Has anyone else done it since?

Who cares? Has he done it since?

Oh, and by the way, many have hit .236 or better.

[notin]

On 11/13/2026 at 12:02 PM, a700hitter said:

When I mentioned him during the World Series, people Pooh-poohed it.  I guess the Red Sox thought differently.

 

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/11/red-sox-sign-jake-bauers.html

I pooh poohed it then and am still Pooh pooping it now.   I’m not sold Bauers is much more than a glorified Mickey Gasper.   I’ll cheer for him (it’s not like he’s that dirty whiny cheatin’ Bregman) and hope he succeeds.  Just don’t have faith just yet….

[notin]

22 minutes ago, notin said:

Oh well then educate me on how the world is a different place if Breslow had signed Alonso….

Still waiting.

Hopefully this lesson is better than that pathetic “it doesn’t make them wrong” argument you threw out there to defend a stance that you’re passionate about to the point where you complain daily.

So how much better would the Sox be with Alonso over Contreras?

[a700hitter]

What are you predictions/projections for Casas ‘ future?

[notin]

6 minutes ago, a700hitter said:

What are you predictions/projections for Casas ‘ future?

Offered and accepts arb.  Has 3 options left so goes to Worcester and tries to prove the prolonged layoff didn’t destroy a previously promising career.  If he does bounce back, he becomes emergency depth/trade bait for 2027.

But there is always the chance he is flat out non-tendered and becomes a free agent who most likely gets a minor league deal…

[NHNative]

Wow! A couple of you fans are hard to read.

What was that line in Stripes?

"Lighten up, Francis"

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Bauers received down-ballot MVP votes from two reporters, the same amount as Rafaela did.

It's good to have another good player, even if he wasn't as valuable as Abreu (5 votes) or Contreras (17 votes)... who was almost as valuable as Bregman (21 votes).

[moonslav59]

44 minutes ago, a700hitter said:

What are you predictions/projections for Casas ‘ future?

I heard he might be healthy enough to play winter ball.

To me, DH was the slot he best had a chance to win. With Bauers and many others, I'm not sure he has a path anymore.

[moonslav59]

15 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

Bauers received down-ballot MVP votes from two reporters, the same amount as Rafaela did.

It's good to have another good player, even if he wasn't as valuable as Abreu (5 votes) or Contreras (17 votes)... who was almost as valuable as Bregman (21 votes).

Those reporters/voters must be off Ole Red's grid.

[JoeBrady]

4 hours ago, NHNative said:

I just think its bad juju to rag on a Bauers.

I like to preface at least one remark with 'I hope I'm wrong, but...'.

And honestly, it could work out.  Sometimes guys figure it out, or start taking advice.  But my abacus just keeps saying no.

[JoeBrady]

3 hours ago, JimEd said:

i immediately thought of Panda as soon as i heard they had signed him. and yeah...Pablo had done far more before he was signed than this guy.

Yup, similar in some ways.  I took a look at Panda, and all I could see was someone whose OPS+ went from 155 to 123 to 116 to 111.  Add to that 14 HRs/season in the previous three years, not really a glove, and in terrible condition.

[JoeBrady]

3 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

I have some hopes for Bauers. We are a better team with him on it.

When you spend $58M, you'll be better with any player.

[JoeBrady]

3 hours ago, UtahSox said:

resign Bregman, help him mold your young superstar.

trade Early and Mayer for Marte 

sign Alonso.

That's ~ $78M.  That means Suarez, Contreras and Gray, plus ~ $10M of other signings.  That's 13.3 bWAR instead of the 16 bWAR we got from the players we acquired with that money.  As I've mentioned before, the acquisition side of the equation was perfect.

It was Story, Anthony, Crochet and Narvaez that killed our season.

[moonslav59]

15 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

When you spend $58M, you'll be better with any player.

On paper, yes.

In reality, that is not always true.

Even players like Story, who has something like an 8 bWAR in 5 years with the Sox, created a situation that was harmful to the team's chances. 

1. His contract prevented other additions.

2. Counting on him to play SS after year 1 with Boston, and then watching him play just 133 games combined for 3 of the last 4 years hurt like hell.

3. He played well at 2B for half of 2021 and did very well over the second half of 2025. That combines to about 1 full season in 5.

On paper he was a plus. In reality he hurt the team badly. I'm not blaming him for the injuries, but that was a harmful signing.

[NHNative]

1 hour ago, JoeBrady said:

I like to preface at least one remark with 'I hope I'm wrong, but...'.

And honestly, it could work out.  Sometimes guys figure it out, or start taking advice.  But my abacus just keeps saying no.

That's fair. We now have the chance to watch and see.

[moonslav59]

There are many examples of players that get it all together later in their careers, and with Mead, he's just 26, his career before 2026 is not all that significant, to me.

With guys like Rutschman, who starter off strongly and have gone years never coming close again, I have less hopes of more greatness, but from him, just being pretty good might be enough. We paid a steep price for 1.3 years of just pretty good, but when all these moving parts get fit together, maybe some sort of special machine has been built.

[UtahSox]

1 hour ago, JoeBrady said:

That's ~ $78M.  That means Suarez, Contreras and Gray, plus ~ $10M of other signings.  That's 13.3 bWAR instead of the 16 bWAR we got from the players we acquired with that money.  As I've mentioned before, the acquisition side of the equation was perfect.

It was Story, Anthony, Crochet and Narvaez that killed our season.

I get it but not all WAR are created equally. And I think Breslow did the best he could given JH’s self imposed “no long/big contracts” 

IMO our team would have been much more dangerous with Breg, Marte, Alonso. And figuring out how to get 27 outs creatively. 

[JoeBrady]

2 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

On paper he was a plus. In reality he hurt the team badly. I'm not blaming him for the injuries, but that was a harmful signing.

Sure, but it mostly hurts because we spent money that could've been spent elsewhere.  Everyone loves signings, until they don't.  I could be wrong, but I see a lot of downside to this one.

[moonslav59]

35 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

Sure, but it mostly hurts because we spent money that could've been spent elsewhere.  Everyone loves signings, until they don't.  I could be wrong, but I see a lot of downside to this one.

I do too, and the part about spending it elsewhere is what rubs me most.

I wanted "elite" and instead we added one more "Mr. Hopeful" to our already long list of like players.

[notin]

18 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

I do too, and the part about spending it elsewhere is what rubs me most.

I wanted "elite" and instead we added one more "Mr. Hopeful" to our already long list of like players.

Who would be the elite option?

[JoeBrady]

8 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

You've even admitted you were happy Brez didnt pay Bregman what he got.

It's not really worth your time when someone blames Breslow for NOT getting a player that he DIDN'T WANT Breslow to get.

[moonslav59]

14 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

It's not really worth your time when someone blames Breslow for NOT getting a player that he DIDN'T WANT Breslow to get.

It's circle jerk at it's core.

I'm fine with saying he "botched" the negotiations, but then he blames him for not getting someone he didnt want.

He uses BA as the only start that counts, sometimes, and HR and RBIs on others. 

He thinks that because we didnt want to bring Renfroe back, we deny he hit a lot of Hrs and got a lot of RBIs. He won't respond to the fact that Renfroe never came close to repeating those RBI numbers and was more of a journeyman than Bauers and Mead combined. Yes, he was "right" and we were "wrong," somehow.

I should just go to ignore again and do everyone a favor.

[JoeBrady]

7 hours ago, notin said:

Oh well then educate me on how the world is a different place if Breslow had signed Alonso….

On paper, it makes us worse.  But that don't matter.  Better or worse, there is no argument that can be made that either one is materially better than the other.

[JoeBrady]

8 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

Our predicament is on JH, but hoping he gets replaced is a pipe dream.

I think some fans dream that a new owner would be spending $300-400M.  More than likely, a new owner would be spending less.

[JoeBrady]

7 hours ago, a700hitter said:

What are you predictions/projections for Casas ‘ future?

I think he can play, but just not with us.  It would take 3 months to prove himself.  And it is likely that he cannot play 1B, and we already have 6 mediocre DHs.

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, notin said:

Who would be the elite option?

I've answered this:

DLC or Abrams

I'd count Schwarber or Alonso as one, but it would be hard to trade for them.

I don't count Suzuki or Sato as elite but they are close to it than Bauers. I'd prefer Arozarena to Bauers, but probably not at way more money.

[JoeBrady]

4 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

There are many examples of players that get it all together later in their careers

Just for fun, anyone else having a career year at age 30?  I'd be curious to project a future for guys like that.

[moonslav59]

2 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

I think he can play, but just not with us.  It would take 3 months to prove himself.  And it is likely that he cannot play 1B, and we already have 6 mediocre DHs.

I realize DH is a cheaper position to upgrade, but I thought we were okay at DH, especially with Mead and Anthony as partial of full DH options.

I also think we could have had a platoon or two options that could combine for .800.

That "upgrade" to Bauers is not as significant as one at SS from Story/Arias to DLC, Abrams or even Lopez or Neto. (No Pena due to one year of control, but he'd be one, if we could keep Arias to get him.)

[moonslav59]

2 minutes ago, JoeBrady said:

Just for fun, anyone else having a career year at age 30?  I'd be curious to project a future for guys like that.

Many had career years at age 30 or later, but the Bauers rub is how bad or not good he was before 30.

Jose Bautista comes to mind as one we hope Bauers can copy.