We got a quote from Cora about Story, but just hearsay about Mayer. I couldn't find anything more than "Red Sox would be fine with Mayer at 3b," "prefer him at 3b over 3b" and "are expecting to have Mayer replace Bregman at 3b" are "looking for options at 2b."
This doesn't necessarily rule out them moving him over.
Why can't they move the guy who Cora once called the best 2b in the AL over to that position? It would be "a tough move" to shift Story off of SS as his bad defense down the stretch was due to "a long season."
Wong had a significant shoulder injury prior to '25, so it's not surprising his throwing metrics fell off. It was surprising that he became a net zero framer somehow. In previous seasons, his poor framing tanked his defense (2nd percentile '24, 11th percentile '23). I don't think the elite pop time and CS% from '23 will ever come back.
There are still stars available:
Walker Buehler
Gary Sanchez
Jason Heyward
Nestor Cortes
Michael Conforto
Tony Gonsolin
David Robertson
Craig Kimbrel
Marcus Stroman
DJ LeMahieu
Carlos Santana
Max Scherzer
Is Craig dumb? Doesn't he want to win? These guys are All Stars. Some are MVP and CY candidates. WTH?
Realmuto's catching has been going downhill. I think if they brought him in, it would be to DH/C and take over for Wong. I don't think it would make sense to reduce Narvaez's role for a guy who can no longer frame or block a pitch.
The focus this offseason for Mayer was to hit the weight room. We'll see what results come from it.
Max velo '25
Bregman 83.7
Mayer 83.3
Paredes 84.1
Arias is still a long ways away. Hasn't produces outside of A ball and his bat is underdeveloped IMO.
Not worried about Romy. Probably taking over the Refsnyder role going forward.
Most likely trading one of the starting pitchers (Sandoval?) as they just have to many guys for the innings they need to hand out.
Considering Bello's contract, Shaw is probably worth more in a trade due to how cheap he is. Bello would go up to 4/12.5 AAV or so. If he was still on an arb number, he may have more value in a trade than with the additional years of control. The years of control are good if you want to retain Bello and think he's going to outperform the deal (i.e. be a #2).
They should probably work out a deal for one of the OFers and Paredes as it makes sense for the roster, but HOU would probably rather deal for a pitcher if I had to guess. Sox overvalue Duran, so I wonder what it'll take to move him.
Mayer 359 professional games
Lawlar 335 professional games
Mayer 674 OPS MLB '25
Lawlar 545 OPS MLB '25
Mayer above average defensive player on the left side of the IF
Lawlar needs to be moved out of the IF because of his defense
Donovan and Mayer serve the same purpose both being LHB. I don't see his fit on the roster if Paredes is acquired. Plus, it would get them over the 3rd threshold most likely. I think they just need to decide between Donovan (option B) and Paredes (option A) IMO.