jacksonianmarch

Theyre saying no Gardner. I wouldn't deal Gardner for Castro. I am all for getting Castro, but with him being in position limbo last yr, he wasn't very good. He is also being paid like a starting 2b as well. If we get him, we shouldn't have to give up more than a Heathcott/Williams type and a C level pitching prospect assuming we eat the contract or straight up for a Refsnyder type player. That being said, I like the idea of getting Castro. The guy still plays good D as a SS, which means he should translate well to 2b. And his bat has been excellent at times and maddening at others. His 2014 season was solid with a near .800OPS. His first half of 2015 was abysmal, but he got back to his .750+OPS ways after the ASB. He can run, although he doesn't run as much as he used to. He also would be a good right handed bat to add to a team full of lefties. And it isn't like he's old, he is only 25 and should be coming into his physical prime. Per fangraphs he was worth $6+ mil and is being paid a shade under $9 mil a year, so not a huge dropoff. If we can get him, give him the keys to 2b and let him work his way at the bottom of the order, we might see something solid out of him. Also, by getting him, we can have an insurance policy on Didi in case his breakout 2015 campaign turns into a mirage

So this leaves... 1. Price 2. Buchholz 3. Rodriguez 4. Porcello 5. Kelly/Owens? The deal is a steal for Boston but it now thrusts guys who are either known to be inconsistent or unknowns into the 5th spot and forces more of the spotlight onto Porcello as he moves up the pecking order. It's a good rotation if healthy, but the likelihood of Buchholz staying healthy is low and with an elbow that cost him half a season, we don't even know if he will be healthy from the start. I don't have Elias in there right now because I don't think he is in Boston long. I could see Elias and Owens or Kelly flipping for a durable but more productive pitcher than Miley all the while adding Smith to the pen. This move gave Boston a lot more options. DD has been money this offseason

Dojji, you're full of s***. Elias is a lefty who has been mediocre in Safeco. Sanchez has been a borderline ace until last year. Comparing the two is dumb. The M's wanted a durable starter behind Felix, especially with Iwakuma gone. They'll have Karns and Miley out there and roll with the rest

Espinosa is the only one I think could be truly special and he is a long ways away. Not a believer that Kopech will end up a starter and Johnson and Owens look like Miley type guys at best

The sox have also had the aid of some last place finishes as well, since Benintendi had no shot of falling to Boston had they been competitive. The sox have positional player development down. They still have something to learn about all types of pitching development

I think Elias could be a lefty option and long man. But in actuality, his trade worth to the sox is likely higher than what he'll give you in production. This is the precursor of another deal. Move Miley for pen help and a trade chip.

Elias is much less durable for sure.

Dombrowski may be getting a bigger checkbook at his disposal compared to BC, but he is also making huge splashes and improving the team immensely. The pen now looks formidable minus a solid lefty and they basically subtracted a guy and added the same guy back in the same trade. He has had a significant offseason to this point

Kimmi, it is not hypocritical at all, especially since Ben overpaid for both guys and they were both declining. Price is improving

Hard to top Heathcliff

The sox deal Aro and Miley for Elias and Carson Smith. Wtf? I thought Zjurienczyk was gone? This is a fleecing for Boston. Elias provided the same production albeit in a bigger ballpark and Smith has been a hell of a reliever. Aro is a throwaway. What a dumb deal by Seattle

Now that most of the names have come off the board, I doubt we see Cueto in pinstripes. My guess is he ends up in the NL somewhere. Regardless, without a deal, we are stuck where we are. We have a ton of talent, a ton of NOW talent. The problem is, we don't have now durability. Starting with Severino, I think he will end up being the ace of the staff come the end of the season. His AVERAGE FB velocity was 95+ last yr with a 90 mph slider and 88mph change. His stuff is filthy, and for a kid his age, his command is solid. Health is obviously the big issue, but he eclipsed 150IP and should be on a rather high innings limit for 2016. The major drawback with him is that he is so young. Even some of the best pitchers had their bumps early, so while I think he ends up being the staff ace at year's end, I think he had some months where he is less than desirable Tanaka is probably the ace going into the season, but something changed with him last yr. He tried to change his identity coming into April and after getting shellacked, he reverted back to form. One year further from the elbow scare and we will either see one of two things. Either he rips it in ST or he should go into the yr with a mostly healthy elbow. The reason why I am not convinced he finishes the season as the ace is mostly because he may end up finishing the season recovering from elbow surgery. While he has given us over 3WAR each year in NY, he hasn't given more than 24 starts. I really hope he gives us a healthy season, although I think the chances of that are 50:50 at best Michael Pineda gave us 27 starts last yr, but he clearly wasn't right when he came back from his forearm injury. The guy has the talent of a superstar yet the body of a 40 yr old. His pre-all-star numbers were fabulous. 111-13 K/BB with a mid 3 ERA. He just cannot seem to stay healthy. I am concerned about his elbow also. The guy who was pitching in Sept and October was not the guy who started the yr. If his elbow is healthy, then we are good to roll him out there. He has ace potential every time he takes the mound. I am concerned if he can stay healthy though Nathan Eovaldi gained a full mph on his fastball and is consistently atop the list of hardest throwing starters in baseball. This yr he demonstrated significant improvement in his slider and at time a devastating splitter. He also regressed a little on the control front, but saw his K rate rise to a career high. He also was dominant post all star game posting nearly a strikeout per inning and an ERA in the 3's. Normally, I'd be over the moon about a 25 yr old showing the progress he did and with the stuff he has, but he also ended the season on the shelf with elbow tightness. They say he would have made the ALDS roster if NYY made it, but take it for what it is. He is another injury ??? coming into 2016. Adam Warren was our best starting pitcher early on and then he went on to be a lights out pen guy. He carries solid velocity into his starts and improved until the point where Nova returned. It remains to be seen what role he starts the yr in, but I have faith in him staying healthy more than the guys above this list. But his flexibility and capability to be lights out out of the pen makes it more likely he starts there for 2016 Ivan Nova is a major wild card. They say starters don't regain their feel and stuff until about 18 months after surgery. Nova recovered nearly 2mph on his fastball after surgery. He should be completely healthy come this season. He was highly inconsistent in his return yr and now he is healthy and in the final yr of arb. While he is no sure bet to stay healthy, he is a sure bet to be motivated. That is 6 options before CC. And after CC, we have Mitchell who has starting experience and stuff beyond his years. We are entering the yr with 8 legit starting pitchers, and none who are surefire bets to be there at the end of the season. It will be interesting, that is for sure

The Braves want Pollock from the DBacks for him. That's equivalent to Mookie Betts. My guess is he isn't moving

Porcello at his best is a contact first pitcher. Shark at his best is a strikeout machine power pitcher. Power pitching always costs more, even if you are betting on a rebound

I have a theoretical for the prospect huggers. If Craig Kimbrel saves 4 games in the 2016 world series then precipitously declines while Margot and Guerra go on to be all stars, would it be worth it?

Even if you deal off the "wrong ones", if what you got in return was phenomenal then the deal was great. You don't want to be on the losing end of a one sided deal. Would you say the deal of Hanley and Anibal for Beckett and Lowell was a dud? Long term maybe, but there is no way you have that 2007 banner up there without it

If the sox win the WS, it's because Dombrowski put the team over the top. Similar to how Duquette built the 04 Sox, but Theo made the move for Schilling which put them over the top. I think Henry sees that the foundation is solid, but they needed moves to put the team over the top. DD is doing that now

Maeda will translate well. I just don't think he's going to be an ace

He hasn't succeeded in the majors because he was drafted in 2013 and basically was rushed up to a pitching starved Colorado team. When we drafted him in the 10th round, the buzz around him was a jump in velocity and how he was going to be a sleeper. Sadly, he didn't sign. The thing I see with him is that he misses too much in the zone and he is a sinkerballer, so being in Colorado probably isn't going to be good for him ever. If they left him in AAA and let him work his way up instead of being rushed, he probably would be ready

When Igawa came over the NY, he couldn't touch 90. Maeda doesn't have the world's best splitter like Tanaka does, but he has just as good if not better command. Maeda doesn't have the power Tanaka did when he came over either. Regardless, he's young (27) and has proven he can shut down good offenses in international play and has dominated in Japan. He will translate well. My only concern as it is with all Japanese pitchers of shorter stature (he's 6'0") is if he will break down

Acevedo isn't really much of a sleeper as he won the NYP pitcher of the year and should probably be a top 100 prospect in all of baseball. Coshow and Adams have big arms and should move fast. Garcia is going to be moved along VERY slowly because he has Mateo in front of him as well as Avelino. They wont push him unless he forces the issue. I have loved seeing the resurgence of Mason Williams. But it took him 2-3 years to recover from his first shoulder surgery. He's had a second. I would love to see him return to the prospect circles as a legit big league option, but I have my doubts

Maeda posted. I'd jump at him immediately

Maybe Jenny goes into porn?

Those "top prospects" are basically Kopech and Espinosa plus Owens and Johnson. Owens and Johnson look like mid to back of the rotation guys. Kopech and Espinosa have much higher upsides but are a lot further away.

Ben didn't like committing to dealing off his players or spending money on pitching. Your pitching farm is basically barren with the only real top notch starting prospect coming over in a trade for Miller. I was entirely unimpressed with Owens and he was supposedly the crown jewel of the org on the pitching side. Without a philosophy change, you were doomed to repeat the same issue. Inconsistent yet overall top notch offense paired with incredibly bad pitching