jacksonianmarch

Bradley may have a market. It all depends on his defense. If he rebounds and shows GG caliber defense again, then he will have a market. Bloom has a history with all glove CFers with Kiermaier in TB. It’s a very important defensive position. Heck, how weird would it be if Bloom prioritizes keeping JBJ on a 2-3 yr deal yet dealt Betts and let’s him sign elsewhere?

They will 100% deal him for the right deal. They have money to spend right now but nobody to buy, so the “having money for pitching” thing isn’t useful unless they buy a salary dump, and usually those players aren’t good. Back to the original features of this post, the Sox are poised to be a .500 or worse team in 2020. I expect the Sox to fall behind by Memorial Day and be raided by contenders of their short term assets

The Mets will be a dark horse for Betts

2021 FA market is nowhere near as good

The owners hold the bag right now. The players had no idea how the Lux tax would affect spending and how the new analytics would drop the price of free agency. The very very top are still getting paid, but the second tier is getting shafted

When the entire league treats crossing the tax 3 times in a row an abhorrence, then you just gotta understand that it what it is

Cherries got a year to try and resurrect the team and his signings of Panda and Hanley were what sunk his time in Boston. Bloom will have to rebuild then will likely get a year to exit the rebuild. He won't be allowed to miss

This is an absolute game changer. That game essentially ended that guy's time in the majors. It was likely gonna happen anyway, but it proves the point. He isn't even looking for money himself. He is seeking $31 mil in damages with the intent that the money will be given to charity.

I was legitimately hoping the sox extended Mookie for the insane sum and insane term that was being floated. The sox are on the down phase of a title window. Putting that kind of commitment onto their backs now would significantly hinder their return. Returning to championship level is about quantity of quality players not the quality of a small quantity players. You cannot have big holes in your squad made because you're allocating 3 spot's salaries to one great player. This isn't basketball. There is a reason why the best player in the game hasn't won s***. Bloom is building depth and adding Verdugo and Downs adds two cheap talents with high upside and more importantly, at least 11 MLB seasons of control. He needs to add more.

Move him wherever you want, I just didn't think the sox would have 3 lefties in a row.

I will tell you right now, Betts was moved for WAY more than I thought he would be

I think this is going to be a reset and rebuild. Timing wise, it makes no sense to try to "go for it" while the Yanks are in the window and spending. The Yanks are likely staring at a 3 yr window then a "we'll see" beyond that when it comes to our farm. If the farm produces some cheap replacements and we pick and choose and trade off players as they get expensive, then we can prop this up. But the Yanks are FAR better than the sox and likely will be for 2020-2022, so "going for it" in that frame isn't worth it. Also, if you deal off good assets for a good farm and then you deal the whole farm off again, then you're only repeating what DD did. What you don't realize is that what DD did was not built in one year. It took 3 last place finishes surrounding a fluke WS win to get that type of farm capital and he read the tea leaves right, enough to win a title. Bloom isn't going to get a 4 year rope to rebuild this. When he decides to come up for air and truly build again, he will not be allowed to miss. Cherington tried this and when he failed with his signings, he was axed. Bloom is smarter than that. My bet is this is the start of a total tear down with a core remaining that will be around for the next rise, and a rise will come. My bet is the sox are targeting 2023 and may end up making short term veteran deals the next couple years to pump enough excitement into the masses to keep up the ticket sales

You didn't hire Bloom to sign mega-deals. My bet is the dominos are going to fall this year. If the sox stink as expected or fall out of the race, there will be a bevy of deals: If Sale stays healthy and pitches to his capability, then you are stuck in a catch 22. My guess is Bloom will try to offload him, but it wouldn't hurt to hold onto him If Eovaldi produces and stays healthy, he will 100% be dealt Martinez will be dealt. My bet is the Guardians will be very interested, especially if they know they have 2 yrs of contention left and likely only one year of Lindor left before dealing him off. JD is likely opting out if he has a good season and clearly, he would only be moved if he had a good season, so a few dominos would need to fall. But the Guardians are going to still be good and will need clout. JDM fits JBJ will be dealt. Maybe Bloom believes the metrics for JBJ were skewed by some uncharacteristic errors in 2019. If JBJ comes out and hits his customary .740OPS but displays a return of his GG defense, then the market will return. A team that would absolutely take a player like that is Philadelphia. Their OF defense is bad and a post ACL tear McCutchen isn't going to be patrolling CF. If Odubel struggles in the minors, then a GG defender could cover a lot of mistakes with Harper and Bruce in the OF mix. ERod will be dangled. This one is harder to read since ERod has 2021 for the sox, but it could maximize return, especially if he shows 2020 wasn't a fluke healthwise or by production. A LOT of teams could use ERod. The one team who might be willing to give up the most is SD. SD needs an ace. If SD gets off to a hot start, they will need someone to lead the rotation and they have the prospects to get it done. As much as Jeter Downs was acquired to maximize value, he could theoretically be a Bogaerts replacement. This one is far less likely, but something to consider. Downs is said to be best served as a 2b or 3b. They said the same thing about Bogey. Bogaerts production and contract make him Very valuable, which also means more in return. Those are the moves and the places that could use them. Maybe Bloom comes in, keeps Beni-Verdugo-Devers as his core going forward and rebuilds the farm for the next 2 seasons, then spends the cash he has available and the farm talents acquired to create another window

Opening Day Lineup/Rotation/Pen alignment 1. Verdugo RF 2. Bogaerts SS 3. Benintendi LF 4. Martinez DH 5. Devers 3B 6. Vazquez C 7. JBJ CF 8. Chavis 1B 9. Dalbec 2B Depth- Plawecki C Moreland 1B Martinez 2B/UTIL SP1- Sale SP2- ERod SP3- Eovaldi SP4- Perez SP5- Johnson CL- Workman SU- Barnes SU- Hembree MR- Taylor LR- Neck Tat There will be battles for the 5th spot as well as the fill in spots in the pen as well as 2B and 4th OFer. Versatility is the name of the game

The sox did not get hosed. Everyone needs to understand the realities of cost for these owners. No, Henry isn't getting in the food stamp line, but the escalating penalties for crossing the lux tax are real and are limiting. No team wants to be a 3 time offender. The Yankees and Dodgers have reset and seem intent on "going for it" for 2 years then resetting thereafter. Until the CBA is changed, this isn't changing. They offloaded a dead contract on a pitcher who's health is in question and he's at an age where decline is expected. Yes, they're paying $16 mil per season for 3 years, but it's better than paying $96 mil for a guy who has a real chance to not be healthy or good enough to be in the rotation. They cut their losses with him. They dealt off a bona fide star, one who would not sign an extension and is adamant about testing the market. Why hold onto him when the team looks like it isn't making the POs? Also, Bloom is in town and he maximizes value. There is negative value in megadeals. 2020 would have been the last year of Betts regardless. Why have a swan song for him without getting anything? If the sox FO thought this squad was a title contender, then you keep him. Clearly, that wasn't their internal evaluation, which tells you a lot. Verdugo replaces Betts. Is he the same, hell no. But does he have MLB production and a projection to being an All Star maybe more than once in his career? Yes, he does. You've got him for 5 seasons and the first two will be on the minimum, which helps the sox reset. Jeter Downs can play. He's a 5 tool guy who likely ends up as a 2B or OFer (sound familiar) who is a probable 25-25 guy going forward. He's immediately your #1 prospect. Connor Wong has power and has some versatility, even capable of playing catcher in a pinch. Sounds like a pretty good 26th man candidate right there and a guy you could use to PH or start vs tough lefties Listen, is it the best return for prime Mookie Betts? No. Is it the best return for one season of prime Mookie Betts? Yeah, it probably is.

That’s true, but re-signing Mookie is the kind of thing that re-opens the cliff talk again. Most big contracts make their hay in the first 3-4 years. If the Sox are building a rotation at that time and in the midst of a rebuild, then the first one to two years could be shot with or without Mookie, which is a stupid way to spend your money. My bet is Mookie will not be coming back to Boston. It has nothing to do with the fact that he was traded. It has everything to do with the fact that the Sox hired a guy who’s entire focus prior to coming to Boston has been value based. 12 year deals aren’t value based, they’re iconic, but they don’t provide value

It’s a loss, albeit one you can recover from. This is the price that is paid when you have a guy like DD saddle your team with long term deals, burn you farm to the ground, and essentially break the development machine. You lose generational players

The cliff is real. It happens to every team that entirely burns down their farm and fills their big league roster with highly expensive, long term deals for players beyond their usefulness.

With the haul the Sox got today, it definitely seems like a tear down and rapid rebuild is on the agenda. Otherwise, if the plan was to contend in 2020, why wouldn’t you get a pitcher?

Bloom did well here. Jeter Downs is a look alike for Mookie Betts. Remember, Betts was a MIF coming up through the system. Short, African American, power and speed combo player. Doesn’t have the same contact skill Mookie had, but the kid has potential to be an all star. Wong looks like a powerful back half of a catching tandem. Verdugo is a now player who could progress into a cornerstone player. To get those 3 and have someone pay half of Price’s deal is a nice get for the Sox. In doing so, Bloom effectively killed 2020. Dealing off Price and having literally nobody behind him and nobody left on the FA market sinks the Sox to 3rd or 4th in division. Since this deal doesn’t address the rotation and at the very least, Bloom will want his rotation to have some young arms in it, my bet is he isn’t finished. More dominos will fall. But if he gets value like he did for one year of Mookie Betts, then you’ll be happy when the Sox finally rise again

The kid isnt going to rake in the majors next season. He got in 12 games in AA. He’s likely ticketed back to AA with an outside chance to make it to AAA if he continues to rake. He’s got a chance to be a mid year call up in 2021

Connor Wong to the Sox as well

Trade is done. Downs to the Sox with Verdugo

You love me, who are you kidding

It seems the newest alignment tweeted about is: Verdugo and a Dodgers prospect to Boston Maeda to Minnesota Graterol, Price, and Betts to LAD