example1

They need to find the bat that will ultimately replace Papi as the middle of the order run producer. Whether Papi is one or two seasons away from being less-good we know it is coming. In that regard I'm also a big fan of going after guys like Abreu. While they cost a lot more than draft picks would financially, their contracts certainly aren't absurd in most cases and they are ready to play now. The Sox should have the money to make it happen and this would fit into their immediate and long term plans--assuming that Abreu is clean, good, and actually the age as advertised. As for the list at the top of the thread, I actually like it a lot. Nothing too unrealistic about it and yet the end result is a very formidable team. Ellsbury will probably depart, though if he resigned for something reasonable I would be happy. JBJ has the tools to replicate what Ellsbury does in most facets of the game, except the speed, and it might take he and Bogaerts a year or two to fully acclimate to MLB games. The pitching depth is tremendous right now, without even including Henry Owens, who is the best pitcher in the system. I bet they have 2-3 rotation regulars in the minors right now, with at least the ceiling of Felix Doubront, which is pretty darn good.

I don't disagree with you that Peavy isn't an ace. however, since an ace would have cost Bogaerts and the Sox badly needed a SP upgrade with Buchholz in question, this can't be seen as a terrible deal.

Villarreal is AKA depth, right? Having a semi-viable MLB caliber pitcher hanging around between AAA and MLB isn't terrible. It is all about adding depth and this won't hurt that quest.

Twitter-verse is saying Villareal also heading to Boston. No idea who else Sox are moving. Assuming that's Brayan Villarreal it's not a terrible add-on. I mean, a 2.63 ERA in 50 IP last year with 66 K and a 1.2 WHIP isn't terrible. I will be able to contain my excitement enough to sleep tonight, but a RHP is a RHP

PITCHES BY PERCENTAGE (Career) Player FB SL CT CB CH SF Peavy 56.8 17.1 21.1 9.3 10.7 0 Dempster 54.7 30.9 1.7 0.1 5.5 7.1 PITCHES BY VELOCITY Player FB SL CT CB CH SF Peavy 91.4 82.6 86.6 78.2 83.3 N/A Dempster 90.8 85.1 87.5 84.4 83.4 81.6 They throw different pitches in different ratios; Peavy is 4 years younger, has won a Cy Young and was a 3 time all-star. Dempster is 4 years older, hasn't come close to winning a Cy Young and is a 2 time AS. I think perhaps they are seen as similar because people who don't like either think they are both mediocre. I don't think Peavy is Felix, but at a cost of only Iglesias it isn't a bad acquisition.

This is true but if it really is Iglesias and not much else for Peavy then they will certainly have sold high on Iglesias. I am worried about Peavy's injuries and don't really think he's a big game pitcher. At the same time, injuries aside, over his last 410 IP he has a 1.14 WHIP and an ERA under 4.

Bogaerts is an obvious choice. Middlebrooks is a suitable backup (in theory).

Well, shoot, I had hoped to break the ice with some eloquent post about why I've been gone so long, etc., but there's just too much happening on the trade deadline tip to wait to post. So quickly: Where have you been Example1? I was worried you had died. I'm not dead. I've been really busy with two kids under 4 years old, a new job, home remodels for the past 6 months, etc., Not an excuse, just reality. Never found time to jump back into the fray, though I've wanted to at times. Are you here to stay, or just making a random appearance? Too soon to tell. I would like to come back... sometimes I have random thoughts I would like to share, and this is a great group of posters.. most of the time. What do you think about the season so far? That's best for another post. How about the trade deadline? That is what this thread is about, after all. I would love for them to get Lee. However, like others, I would really be reluctant to move Bogaerts (wouldn't move him at all) or Owens, and probably pretty reluctant to move Bradley Jr, especially with Ellsbury's likely departure. Peavy, Norris, et al., don't excite me very much. Michael Young would be a nice addition though, but the Sox should really milk the Phillies' desperation to move him to get one of those deals that nobody dislikes, like Young for [minor league pitcher nobody has heard of at high-A] and [washed up OF who wouldn't get a chance with the big club anyway]. The Sox have a great farm system. That means that their current best prospect is much better than their previous best prospects have been. Dealing Matt Barnes or Allen Webster shouldn't be too different from dealing Casey Kelly a few years ago. Dealing Bogaerts is more like dealing Stanton would have been a few years back. He's just off the table in every discussion, I'm sure of it. Bradley is better than many of the recent best prospects, as is Cecchini. If the Phillies got Cecchini, Ranaudo/Barnes and another prospect (Swihart) for Lee it would be a GREAT return for Philly. Three likely MLB contributors with the chance for 2-3 all-stars in the group. They can stay greedy, but the Sox shouldn't and won't let their biggest and best prospects move at all. My take on all of this is that their 2013 success is just icing on the cake. They should be a better, more well-rounded team in 2014. Don't jeopardize the future for the present, unless they get a guy as good as Lee without moving their very best. Thanks for indulging my random reappearance.

Haven't posted here in awhile (busy with two young kids and working a ton) but this Bogaerts thing seems like the perfect example of the Sox just over-thinking a situation. No need to plan for what Xander is going to be after he's failed at SS, until he's failed at SS. If you have an amazing offensive talent who can play SS then you keep him there and see if he can make it work.

Generally I agree with you here about the top 2-3. Depending on when the Marlins actually decide to move Stanton I would really advise the Sox waiting to make that move. He will be more tradeable as he approaches FA and at that time hopefully the Sox will have their current group of prospects actually contributing to the team and will be on to the next wave, which will not cripple them in terms of long-term development. I think losing guys like Bogaerts and Barnes right now would hurt their ability to build a winner in the future. That said, this would be the kind of move that would both make a splash in the mind of fans AND not be inherently crippling like signing an enormously overpriced FA would be.

I haven't seen anyone mention the interview Pedro gave the other day on WEEI. It is worth listening to, as it was 25 minutes long or so. He's extremely bright and seems to at least believe that he's not just there as a figurehead. The guys interviewing him seemed baffled to understand what this role was about and asked if the Sox had ever had a position like this before. Pedro noted that Johnny Pesky is probably the best example. He wasn't a coach, wasn't a GM, would do anything from taking guys out to dinner to hitting ground balls, but could also be a go-between from management to the players on the field. It could turn into a complete PR move, but you better believe that if the Sox have a big series coming up, I sure as hell want Tek and Pedro in the room with the pitchers and catchers strategizing about how to best work the opposition. I think with a team like the Red Sox that is so top heavy in analytics that the guys on the field may have come to see that group as completely removed from the "reality" of the game. This very well may be the case and there's no doubt that Pedro and Tek acting diplomatically as a bridge--in addition to imparting baseball wisdom--could be a good thing. In any case, I strongly recommend people listen to that podcast. it was really interesting.

I agree. He's a really special player. Hopefully he will finish his career with the Sox.

I just went ahead and took the numbers of the 19 2B listed in the HOF here (http://www.baseball-almanac.com/hof/hofst2b.shtml). Then I projected Pedroia's seasons moving forward through his age 36 season, assuming that he has another season or two that is at or above his career averages, and then a steady decline down to 75% of his career average production in age 36. I kept an optimistic OBP projection, because that's a good skill of his. Anyway, these would be his career totals and rank among that group of 19 in each Hits: 2,299 (12) Avg: .295 (10) OBP: 365 (12) SLG: .461 (7) OPS: .826 (9) HR: 203 (7) RBI: 916 (16) R: 1,257 (12) SB: 230 (10) I think the fact that he would be in the middle of the pack in all of those categories among current HOF 2Bs means that he would be a very, very strong candidate to get in. Add another couple GGs and I think he would be in for sure. of course, this assumes he keeps up something like his current production.

I'm still waiting for someone to tell me why Morse is a good option for this team. People are treating him like he's a superior talent worth trading some decent pieces for. I don't get it.

It's actually that there are people here who will call for "Move A" and then when "Move A" doesn't work out they will insult the intelligence of people who also liked move A (such as the FO), but who didn't have the information at the time to know that Move A wouldn't work out. They will call this hypocritical criticism "holding people accountable" even though it is in no way holding anyone accountable by any reasonable use of that term.

It was absolutely a completely random accident, not something that can be predicted. If anyone here can find a single post on this site (or any other for that matter) saying that moving Ellsbury to LF was a bad idea because Beltre might run into him, I will absolutely take it back. People may have said moving him to LF wasn't a good idea, but it had nothing to do with Beltre.

That is playing for the World Series instead of the Division. They won two of them. Lets stop ignoring that fact and give credit where it is due.

I think Speier is missing the fact that relievers like Hanrahan could be valuable trade pieces at the deadline, even on a bad club.

If they were really worried about being able to sign Napoli why would they have moved Sands, who put up a respectable season last year in AAA and actually played some 1B, for a RP--where they have some relative depth?

I hope the Sox wouldn't do something as stupid as to move Kalish for Jones. His last 1647 PAs have led to a .314 OBP and a .765 OPS. Kalish has about 6 years of cost controlled-ness left and Jones has much, much less. Let's not include Kalish for Jones.

I hope the Sox wouldn't do something as stupid as to move Kalish for Jones. His last 1647 PAs have led to a .314 OBP and a .765 OPS. Kalish has about 6 years of cost controlled-ness left and Jones has much, much less. Let's not include Kalish for Jones.

Supposedly 4 for 2 deal-- sox deal four. Curious about the other piece.

I think you are highly undervaluing Iglesias here. I'm not sure the Sox should expect a great return, but guys with virtually no MLB service time and all-star skills in a pretty important category have value to other clubs. Hell, minor league rosters are filled with guys who have significantly less upside than Iglesias and I could see him having some success in Pittsburgh. This is the kind of trade that makes some sense.

This sums it up pretty well. The team is not without hope, but they could also completely flop if there are considerable injuries or Lester/Buchholz suck. They also need to get Napoli or LaRoche done before they get neither.

Definitely could. Also, giving him some playing time could boost his trade value a bit if they get a suitable replacement or find that they have too many OFs.