Dojji

In his first year? That too is a pretty neat stretch. You're talking about a rookie putting up an .850 OPS out of centerfield as if that's a modest goal. We'll be lucky to get .750 out of him. Williams himself (the comp you used, and an interesting one) went .280/.354/.406 in his second season. that in itself is a job well done in centerfield.

He won us two World Series and never gave us a losing season. you might give Tito a bit more credit. We saw the difference between Tito and an incompetent manager in 2012, and he did well with the Guardians last year. The man knows his job.

Can be, sure, but that OBP Choo can sport makes it a tall order for a rookie to match that in his first 2-3 years.

Tell me where I ever advocated trading Will Middlebrooks

I'm not MVP, but unless we sign Drew, third base is Middlebrooks' to lose, and I honestly don't think we'll be signing Drew (I'd like to, you don't let good high quality veterans go on a whim but not sure Cherington agrees with me). That said, my faith in the future of third base for the Boston Red Sox lies with Garin Cecchini. That plate approach should cover a multitude of sins and Cecchini is every bit as athletic as Middlebrooks, so the power ought to come around in time. Middlebrooks could be a 30 HR guy, but Cecchini has the toolbox and approach to be a consistent 20-20 player if the power develops like I think it will (and like it did for hitters like Youkilis), and I value that just a bit more.

If he's actually demonstrated 30 HR ability, what I think about it becomes irrelevant. Until then, let's keep things grounded. He's got good power potential, but so did Wily Mo Pena. Those gaps in WMB's plate approach are not merely inconveniences -- some players never make the leap you're assuming Middlebrooks is just going to conquer offhand.

Talk to me when Middlebrooks actually hits 30 HR's. Right now he's got a nice rookie surge and a pretty bad case of the sophomore hiccups. Not endorsing trading him or anything, but calling WMB a 30 HR hitter as if it's a near certainty is a bit optimistic. Keep things in balance.

A #62 prospect in all of baseball would be on average some team's second best guy.

that pleases me. Stephen Drew is one of the best shortstops out there, frankly I think he's fully capable of a better season than he had last year.

It's gonna take 5, 4 at the very very least.

Easy. You trade Peavy because he has enough value to fetch a return: Dempster may or may not.

I see no particular reason Holt can't back up at SS, my issue is will he hit enough not to be a liability taking games at third. My preference would be either to re-sign Drew, or go for a short term deal for Omar Infante.

But that's the thing. We're not desperate to fill holes, our roster could contend as constructed, so we can go out looking for the luxury moves that make sense, ones that help us next year but don't put us in trouble going forward. And we don't really have to make any moves at all unless they are slam dunks. That's a fantastic place to be.

Or we could do a deal at the deadline for an RF. It's not like there won't be some decent options coming due.

I'm not so much worried about a righthanded hitting OF as I am just a plain ole garden variety backup. For that kind of role, you could do a fair bit worse than Gregor Blanco. He's a lefty, but his splits are practically dead even, he's got some speed, plays all 3 OF positions and gets on base OK. I'd expect the Giants to be in on an upgrade at left field, since we have 3 left fielders right now I'd imagine we can get something done.

Very happy to have Napoli back. We're a few minor tweaks away from being ready to go. Ben has done a great job of keeping the team competitive for next year. All we need to do IMHO is grab ourselves a utility infielder. I'd like to pick up some backup help in CF too but that's a luxury, not a need.

Don't see why. Plenty of room and playing time for all of Bogaerts, Drew and Middlebrooks if they're handled intelligently.

No. No he is not. he is a bit better when both are healthy but let's not exaggerate.

Solid addition. Nice work ben.

I think whatever we do to upgrade the lineup will involve a trade for a contract.

What's the consensus of the board on, if Napoli falls through, going after Joe Mauer? Apparently he's moving to first base just like Napoli did, his team's going nowhere, and he's got a bloated contract for the next 5 years that is pure undistilled bad news, especially if you're Minnesota. Minny unloaded Morneau last year so you have to think they know what price they'll accept for Mauer too. I would not mind seeing him play the role they had in mind for Napoli last year before they learned about the hip injury -- a handful of games at catcher and a lot at first base. He's not a premium power hitter but he doesn't need to be -- Mauer is one of those rare hitters that can generate a ton of offense without homers. If a package for some of our flawed or extraneous guys, plus one solid prospect they can sell to their fans, would get a deal like that done I'd say the Sox would be silly not to go for it.

My guess is, their next move will be signing a utility infielder actually. And they'll address the big issues the same way they did last year, by picking up the guys the feeding frenzy passed over. I expect them to take their time this offseason. They're in a position where they really don't have to get bent over, so they won't. I wouldn't be too shocked to hear the Sox were inquiring about Joe Mauer, by the way. That move to first base has to be the last thing the Twins wanted to do, and they're going nowhere at the moment, with that monster contract to eat. If they can score some kind of return in areas of need and unload that contract, they might just have to consider it. Mauer doesn't have top end power the way Nap does, but he's pretty much exactly the kind of offensive player this front office loves -- with his discipline and contact ability, playing in a park that favors exactly his kind of offensive style, and without a catcher's wear and tear, he could be a Youklike 1B for us, and that would be very exciting.

I'd be on board with a move for Granderson. None of the injuries that kept him out this year are the kind that are likely to linger.

No on Choo. Choo is an overreaction when we have a decent chance to get reasonable production out of CF from Bradley next year. Just because I don't think he'll produce at an all star level doesn't mean I think the positives won't outweigh the negatives.

Did you really think that just because Bradley's a black CF he's got the talent to steal bases and just doesn't know how? Talk about your stereotypes. Don't put Ellsbury on Bradley. No more than Bradley's best should be expected of Bradley. Take what you can get and set your expectations somewhat short of escape velocity for this unproven kid. That's what I've been trying to tell you all all offseason, and for that I get accused of hating on the kid. I don't hade JBJ, I just recognize that we don't know what we'll get, and I don't want him held up to jacoby's standard. Evaluate Bradley for what he is, don't set the kid up to fail because he's not Ellsbury. As for Dyson, yes, as a speed guy off the bench with a bit of usefulness against lefthanded pitching he makes some sense for the team. I stand by that opinion. If you want to disagree with it, feel free.