jacksonianmarch

We don’t agree often, but I absolutely agree here. He left money and years on the table

He easily could have made more on the open market. He chose to play for his favorite team and win again. It is honorable if not financially stupid

He chose to win. Good for him

Lester has out-WAR’d Porcello 13.7 to 11.5 since Porcello came to Boston. Who knows, maybe if you still had Lester, you have 2 rings? Clearly, I like Porcello’s chances over the next 3 seasons compared to Lester’s, but Lester outperformed Rick in the first four years of the deal.

Dombrowki has a history of poor pen composition. That being said, he’s always had a good closer. In Florida, it was Nen. In Detroit, it was KRod and Valverde. In Boston, it’s been Kimbrel. Since he hasn’t anointed anyone at this point, I’d assume he brings in a tried and true name to close

Sox are in the market for another starter. They’d like Eovaldi, but plan to add a starter if he goes elsewhere

Kiermaier got $9 mil AAV after his third year of service. On the open market, he’s have gotten much more. I expect Bradley’s defense to price himself out of Boston and with teams looking to compete by the time he’s an FA, I think wallets will be more open

JBJ’s contract is gonna be fascinating. A below average bat with tantalizing ups and crushing lows with top notch defense in a premium position. He’s a Boras client, so he won’t be cheap. I’d say he’s a Kiermaier comp, but he signed his extension after three years service time. My guess is Bradley would see somewhere along the lines of $15 mil per season unless he has an offensive renaissance in his final two years of control

Franco did have a very strong 80 game start, but Andujar had his “start” over a full 149 game season. No flash in the pan half season of greatness. Also, Andujar’s WAR is driven down by his freakishly bad defense, not his very strong offensive numbers. The defensive improvements may or may not come, but he has the tools to improve as he’s quick, has good hands and a great arm, just seems to be mechanically unsound. The big difference between Andujar and Franco comes in the types of contact. Andujar’s 2018 saw him make “soft contact” only 14% of the time as opposed to Franco’s 22% rate in his shortened rookie campaign. Hard contact rates were in Andujar’s favor as well, 36% to 28%. When you’re hitting the ball harder 8% more of the time, you’re going to have a better shot at keeping your offensive game in good position. Franco walks more. Andujar has better power and a far better ability to hit for extra base hits. Andujar also proved to be able to hit for high average in the minors which Franco didn’t. Franco’s final full season in the minors saw him hit .257. Andujar hit .315. Slapping a label of Franco on him is wishful thinking from a pink hat.

Andujar is not Franco, that’s just entirely stupid

And drop 35 bombs

Johnson is a homer prone 4-5 inning pitcher who is well beyond the age of standard prospects. Porcello gives you 200IP or close to it every year. Johnson won’t get anywhere near that. Add in that your chief rival in the division murders lefties and you’ve got an issue

Moreland has been a touch above replacement level as a Red Sox player. His cost is what you’ll have to spend to fill spots with guys a touch above replacement level at other positions

Madbum would really solidify the rotation for sure. Heck, watch us deal for him, sign him long term then lock up Machado and Corbin and roll with a stupidly good club ready to kick the s*** out of everyone.

Velasquez turns 30 at th end of the month. Brazier is 31. Both were minor league free agents. Johnson’s HR rate was ridiculous and led to his 0.3 WAR, which effectively makes him ultimately replaceable. Of the three, only Brasier has the stuff to make waves in 2019

It is difficult to sustain greatness without some input from the farm. In 2016, Beni came up. In 2017, Devers came up. 2018 yielded no fruit. 2019 looks to not yield any either. You can only go so long with young guys without replenishing them because young guys eventually get pricy. I legitimately think 2019 is the final year of Sale in Boston. His arm will either be shredded or the sox will make a calculated move not to pay big bucks for a long term deal for him due to his injury history. I also think DD lets JD walk. I think he will re-sign Xander. He will be in on Bumgarner next year and try to bring in an ace from the outside. He will leave enough money on the table to try and re-sign Betts. But without them replacing 2b, 1b, and many other spots with guys from the minors, he will have to spend on guys who aren't worth it and the house of cards falls

I agree on JD being an FA at the wrong time. He was also coming off a Lisfranc injury. I think there were legitimate durability concerns with JD and getting him on a long term deal for his 30+ seasons didn't seem reasonable. Now, if Boras had come to the Yankees early in the process and offered them the same deal he signed with the sox, then we wouldn't have dealt for Stanton and JD would be in NY. Boras has had lots of success as a super agent, but he read the tea leaves very wrong last offseason. When the big spenders pull back and tons of teams are tanking, you need to be aggressive and get a deal done early lest you run out of bidders

I guess you're right. My concern with MadBum would be the contract. One year of control isn't enough to deal 5 years of Andujar

Micro fracture surgery for the knee should be treated akin to labrum surgery in the shoulder. Unknown if ever will be able to return

The one thing about DD is that he doesn’t settle for good. If he’s gonna make a big deal, he goes for top available talent. He’s not afraid to overpay. This won him a title in Miami. This won him a pennant in Detroit. It won him a title in Boston. Detroit is headed for a long rebuild, but people forget how good his teams were. A rotation with Scherzer, Verlander, and Price one year. All time greats like Cabrera in the lineups. He had some great teams that were fun to watch

And you have to give him credit for it. The Sox haven’t developed well after hitting a lottery with the B’s. The concerning thing I’m seeing with DD is that he seems to be drafting out of the BA handbook and not giving a s*** about boom or bust players. He seems to shoot for the moon on every pick and he hasn’t hit on any. It’s time he develops some players who may have limited ceilings but high floors so they can at least develop some above league average minor leaguers capable of filling in. Heck, just getting replacement level journeyman costs a few million. He needs to have guys who can at least place hold at league minimum and he doesn’t have that

I’d max out at 3 and $18 mil. If he takes a higher AAV and shorter years, good luck. He’d have trouble topping that cash outlay

Debridement and cleanout after having microfracture. Anyone counting on him should put him in the Pedroia pile of mystery

Maybe. That being said, Voit deserves a shot out of the gate

And how many of those were due to Moreland’s injury