Brock Beauchamp

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This is an excellent article on seam-shifted wake from Brewer Fanatic. Really detailed, fascinating stuff about pitching. https://brewerfanatic.com/news-rumors/milwaukee-brewers/the-most-impactful-pitching-advancement-of-this-decade-understanding-seam-shifted-wake-r3992/

I think there should be more coming from Milwaukee, to be sure. And Milwaukee didn't convert Ashby due to a return from shoulder issues, and lack of space in the rotation, not because Ashby shouldn't be a starter. I'm still moderately bullish on him being a starter given the stuff and the variety in stuff. But yeah, I don't care for this deal from the Sox perspective.

It really depends how Ashby is viewed. There's a real chance he should go back to starting, and his contract is stupid-cheap.

This published over at Brewer Fanatic. I think it's light for Duran, though the 2026 Red Sox get better with Ashby and Mears on board. Personally, I'd want to see a mid-level position prospect come over from the Brewers in the deal along with those two pitchers. Thoughts? https://brewerfanatic.com/news-rumors/milwaukee-brewers/why-milwaukee-brewers-should-trade-for-boston-red-sox-star-jarren-duran-r3989/

The Red Sox are surveying the market for middle-of-the-order help and have been linked to two right-handed sluggers: Pete Alonso and Kazuma Okamoto, and also have interest in Kyle Schwarber and a reunion with Alex Bregman. Both Alonso and Okamoto hit from the right side and would share similar Fenway Park considerations, but their backgrounds and skill sets differ. Alonso is a right-handed first baseman who bats and throws right, and will be in his age-31 season in 2026. In 2025, he logged 709 plate appearances with a .272/.347/.524 line, a .252 ISO, and an 8.6% walk rate. Over 2023 and 2024 combined, he produced a 122 wRC+. He has consistent pull rates in the low-40 percent range on balls in the air, making him a good fit for the Green Monster profile that converts deep flies into extra-base hits. His offensive value is concentrated at first base, so any fit with Boston would be almost exclusively as a primary first baseman and designated hitter. Kazuma Okamoto is a right-handed hitter with experience at third base, first base, and the outfield; he will be in his age-29 season in 2026. In 2025, with Yomiuri, he recorded 293 plate appearances, hitting .327 with 15 home runs. Over 11 NPB seasons, he has 248 career home runs, including six straight seasons with at least 30 homers from 2018–2023. As another right-handed power bat, Okamoto would also work in front of the Green Monster, with Fenway’s doubles-friendly environment potentially interacting with his history of consistent home run power. His positional background at both corner infield spots creates a different roster fit than Alonso, combining right-handed power with some flexibility between third base and first base. Schwarber offers a different offensive profile from Alonso and Okamoto, bringing left-handed power to pair with their right-handed bats. A left-handed hitter, Schwarber has primarily played left field and designated hitter, but is exclusively a DH as he enters his age-33 season in 2026. Over 11 MLB seasons, he has logged more than 5,300 plate appearances with a .231/.346/.500 batting line and 300-plus home runs, producing an .846 OPS across that stretch. He cleared 690 plate appearances in both 2024 and 2025 with on-base percentages in the mid-360s and slugging percentages of .500 or better. View full rumor

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The Red Sox have checked in on free-agent catcher J.T. Realmuto, according to Ken Rosenthal and Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic. Realmuto, entering his age-35 season, just completed his sixth year with Philadelphia and reached the postseason in four straight years as the club’s primary catcher. In 2025, Realmuto logged 550 plate appearances over 134 games and hit .257/.315/.384 with 12 home runs and eight stolen bases, producing a .700 OPS and a 91 OPS+. FanGraphs credited him with a 94 wRC+ and 2.1 WAR. Statcast shows a wOBA of .307 and xwOBA of .316, with a hard-hit rate around 37 percent. On the defensive side, he caught over 1,150 innings in 2025 and remained a high-volume backstop. He posted a 28 percent caught-stealing rate and pop times around 1.86 seconds. Boston’s current catching group centers on Carlos Narváez and Connor Wong. Over the 2024–25 seasons combined, Wong has 675 plate appearances and produced a .255/.314/.374 line with a .688 OPS, .119 ISO and 92 wRC+. Narváez’s 2025 defensive metrics included a fielding run value of +5, +4 blocks above average, +2 caught stealing above average, and +3 framing runs, placing him among the more effective defensive catchers by those measures. With the emergence of Narváez in 2025, do you think Realmuto is a good addition? View full rumor

Every offseason, we offer our You’re The GM! tool to build your ideal Red Sox roster. This year, we’ve updated and streamlined the tool a bit to improve the experience. The idea behind this feature is to give fans a chance to play the role of General Manager (or CBO or PoBO… you get the idea) for their favorite team, the Boston Red Sox. It’s meant to give fans the opportunity to discuss (and, let’s be honest, argue) how they would approach the long, dark MLB offseason. This tool is intended to be informal and fun, so we’ve left it as open as possible. There is a payroll “budget” that loosely resembles the Red Sox's 2025 payroll, but there is no penalty for going over that number. It’s a guideline, nothing more. Second, you can submit as many blueprints as you like throughout the offseason. As the offseason landscape changes, users often return multiple times over the winter and create new blueprints. Before we get into the breakdown of the tool, you can save your blueprint and come back to it at any time. The only restriction is that you must register an account on the site to create a blueprint (so we can save a draft for you and also post the blueprint for others to discuss). Let’s get into the tool itself. It has four quadrants that work best if addressed in a counter-clockwise order (this tool works much better on a desktop due to its complexity, but it will work on mobile devices if need be). Top Left: The 26-Man Roster We have created a rough guideline for the Red Sox's 26-man roster today. The roster is flexible; you can add or remove players as you see fit. We’ve also included either guaranteed salaries or, in the case of arbitration and contract options, the recommendations of MLB Trade Rumors. This section is where you build your roster and make changes based on the following two sections. As you make changes to players and salaries, the total payroll number (right side of the screen) will change, allowing you to track your budget on the fly. The bottom field in both columns is for any dead money you assume during the course of your offseason. Acquiring dead money should be uncommon, but we want to give users the option to take on dead salary if it suits their purposes. Bottom Left: Arbitration & Trade Decisions Here, you will find a selection of arbitration options and internal options (usually from the 40-man roster or minor leagues) to assist in building your offseason roster. On the right-hand side of this column, you will see Trade Candidates, a list of the 40 players most likely to be traded this offseason, per MLB Trade Rumors. To help you get up to speed with these candidates, we offer a direct link to the MLBTR write-up on trade candidates. Bottom Right: Free Agents Here, you will find the top 50 free agents, again per MLB Trade Rumors. These are sorted by position to facilitate quickly finding your desired free agent and include the recommended salary for that player. Because this is a blueprint for a single year, we only include their projected salary for the coming season, not the number of years or anything else. To help you get up to speed with these free agents, we offer a direct link to the MLBTR write-up on the best 50 free agents available this winter. Top Right: Dead Money, Your Total Payroll, & Commentary The only unalterable field on the page is Dead Money; it is players to whom the team has committed money but has no reasonable way to get out of the contract. Below that, you will see the recommended budget, your current total, and the percentage you are over or under that budget. Again, keep in mind the budget is only a guideline, and you can go above it as much as you like… But defend your choices, coward! The following field is Title, which gives other users an idea of what to expect with your blueprint (e.g., Be Unreasonable, Sign Kyle Tucker!). When your blueprint posts for other users, it will read “Your Username’s 2025 Payroll Blueprint: Be Unreasonable, Sign Kyle Tucker!”. The following field is Your Comments & Explanation, a long-form field meant to type out the rationale behind your decisions. Here is the place to fully explain your trades (including which players are leaving the Red Sox to bring in new players), why you targeted specific free agents, and any promotions from the minors you advocate or any options you declined to extend to a specific player. This is often multiple paragraphs; you can write up as much detail as you desire. That’s it, you’re done! At this point, you can either publish your blueprint to the forums or save it for later if you feel it’s incomplete. Thank you for joining us at Talk Sox. I hope you enjoy playing the role of general manager, at least for a moment! Start Your Payroll Blueprint Now View full article

We made some significant changes to logins this morning; most of you will not notice a difference, but some of you might see your passwords "change" or other oddities pop up. That's because we just rolled out a new parent site, DiamondCentric.net. Here is a quick rundown on what it is and why it exists. Introducing The All-New DiamondCentric! - DiamondCentric - DiamondCentric DIAMONDCENTRIC.NET You've used one of our team sites; now we have an MLB site!

Yeah, this was a tough call in the moment. Going for one run when you're leading late in a game makes sense, but it really bit the Jays in the ass later on. Overall, I can't fault the decision too much.

What are your thoughts on him? Who Will Land This Offseason's Biggest International Free Agent? - Padres - Padres Mission PADRESMISSION.COM Munetaka Murakami is ready to make his highly anticipated move to Major League Baseball in 2026. Who makes the most sense to land the star slugger?

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The Red Sox's season has concluded, but do you need your next baseball fix over the long winter? Fans who follow the Red Sox know the thrill of building a team from the ground up — from scouting promising talent to developing all-stars. But what if you could experience that same excitement firsthand, managing every detail of your own franchise? That’s where Franchise Ball steps up to the plate. It’s a free online baseball simulation game that lets you become the general manager of your own team, competing in real-time leagues against other passionate baseball minds around the world. In Franchise Ball, you’re not just watching the game — you’re building it. You’ll draft players, negotiate trades, and fine-tune lineups to maximize performance. Each simulated game unfolds with advanced stats and analytics that reflect real baseball logic, making every managerial decision matter. Whether you prefer to model your team after the [blog team name] balanced strategy or carve out your own unique identity, Franchise Ball gives you the tools to do it. The experience runs 24/7, with games played daily across competitive divisions and playoff seasons. As you progress, you can develop player depth charts, scout prospects, and manage your team’s finances for long-term success. The system rewards strategy, patience, and smart decision-making — the same skills that front offices use in Major League Baseball. Unlike many sports games, Franchise Ball doesn’t rely on flashy graphics or pay-to-win mechanics. It's a pure test of baseball management and intellect. You can join leagues, form rivalries, and climb the global rankings while keeping tabs on your stats through the game’s detailed dashboard. Every box score and scouting report feels like a genuine piece of baseball management history in the making. Franchise Ball is completely free to play, with membership upgrade options, and we're constantly listening to our community to bring new features to the game as they come in. So if you’re inspired by the way the Red Sox rebuild, retool, and compete year after year — now’s your chance to run your own team and see if your baseball instincts can match up. Visit Franchise Ball today, start your own franchise, and take your first swing at baseball greatness.

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