mvp 78

Ferguson is not ahead of Mayer on the depth chart though. Hamilton is past the point of being able to fake it at SS. They are actively pushing him towards OF. Koss is ok at SS, but he's not going to be ready for playing time in BOS before Mayer. Honestly, Mayer has a shot to debut around the trade deadline this year. At 19, his OPS in A+ was higher than what Devers' was in A+ at the same age. Devers debuted at the deadline at age 20 the following season. I think Mayer is more likely to be a Super Two call up in 2024, but I'm not going dismiss him getting a rocket attached to him this year. Why else would they be so lax with addressing this need?

The Romero money went to Anthony.

WINTER HAVEN, Fla., Feb. 17 (AP) — Carl Yastrzemski of the Boston Red Sox signed a three‐year contract today that may make him the highest paid player in professional baseball history. No figures were announced, but Dick O'Connell, vice presi dent and general manager of the Red Sox, said the contract made Yastrzemski “the highest paid player in the American League.” He just turned 30! We know he's on the decline! What a waste of money! He's just playing a kid's game!

Wrong.

Stop it. Devers is better and younger than Xander.

So are Raffy's numbers if he continues his trajectory at 3B.

That's just going to incentivize him to get caught more!

Andrus probably wants a multi-year deal. You can probably get Iggy on a MiLB deal with a ST opt out if he doesn't make the MLB team.

With the money, you can reach and grab someone above slot that fell in the draft. Now, it's one less above slot HS guy? Brooks Brannon signed for 700k and a lot of people figured that he'd go to college rather than sign.

Iggy is not a great SS anymore, but he'd be cheap and serviceable. He's also a guy that would probably enjoy playing here again.

72 in 2018 was Josiah Gray 73 in 2016 was Jose Miranda played 125 games for the Twins as a rookie last season 74 in 2016 was Akil Baddoo has played 197 games for the Tigers the past two seasons for the Tigers after being taken in the Rule 5 draft The bigger issue is the loss in $$$ to spend in the MLB Draft pool based on pick slot.

Bench bat replacement for Dalbec I guess? I'd pass on Guriel.

Rumor is that the Sox are signing Yuli Guriel.

When Soto is a FA, only Sale, Story, Yoshida and Devers will be on the books. I guess they could clear out room and go crazy? Soto's contract will be bonkers though. 15/500?

Why are you calling Bell a liar?

If they add a Marlins pitcher, who gets bumped to the pen? Paxton? Pivetta?

MLBTR has it as an ARB settlement and a separate 10 year extension. The 20M would be paid "up front" in '24.

Park was DFA'd a few days ago. He passed through waivers and was outrighted to AAA today.

Whitlock 22 Starter: FIP 3.60 WHIP 1.26 BABIP 315 Reliever FIP 2.99 WHIP 0.79 BABIP 217 He should be given a chance to start.

Is it a 1 year deal with a 10 year extension or an 11 year deal? I'm not sure we really know the answer right now.

Again, I'm not sure if the actual contract details have been leaked. Does "up front" mean 2023? Are we 100% sure of that? Like I said earlier, there's lots of conflicting reports, so I don't know if we have the right details ATM.

Luxury tax calculations are different than actual cash payments.

The 20M is spread out over the course of the contract for AAV purposes I believe.

https://blogs.fangraphs.com/red-sox-add-corey-kluber-to-rotation-of-question-marks/ Kluber... makes sense for Boston in a lot of ways, and indeed the two parties have been pretty frank about their mutual interest over the years. The two-time Cy Young winner has lost some velocity since his prime, but velocity was never his main weapon, and his spin rates remain above average, which helps his pitches retain some of their value. Thanks also to a still-effective cutter, changeup, and curveball, he’s able to entice hitters to chase and produce weak contact as well as ever. In 2022, he finished with 3.0 WAR in 31 starts for the Rays; for context, no Boston pitcher reached 2.0 WAR. Kluber also happens to be elite in one facet of the game that sticks out among Boston’s acquisitions this winter. After Red Sox pitching finished 21st in walk rate last season, they appear to be intent on winning the walk battle in 2023. Kluber has allowed fewer than two walks per nine over his whole career; his career-best 1.15 BB/9 rate led all qualifiers last year (among pitchers with 50-plus innings, the leader was Martin at 0.80). Having Chris Sale and James Paxton back in the mix would add two more above-average control pitchers after the losses of Eovaldi and the still un-signed Michael Wacha. Kluber’s ability to control his pitches was a big part of what made him effective in 2022. He worked the fringes of the zone all year, improving his Edge% from 40.8% in 2021 to 44.3%, good for the 15th-best improvement among 228 qualifying pitchers per Statcast. His called strike percentage also increased, from 16.7% to 18.3%, the ninth-highest rate among major league qualifiers. Outside the zone, he induced a 35.7% chase rate, ranking in the 96th percentile in the league, and in many cases, bad swings led to bad contact. Another factor that led to Kluber’s productive 2022 was a change in approach against righties, who went from a .352 wOBA against him in 2021 to a .309 mark in ’22. He ramped up his use of the cutter against same-handed hitters, going from 21.6% to 34.6%, making it his most-used pitch — and it was his most effective, too, at 5.8 runs above average. But he also was able to limit the damage done by right-handers on his sinker by bringing it up and inside instead of trying to beat them down and away with it. Right-hander Nick Pivetta is the only true holdover from the 2022 rotation, and he struggled to find a consistent rhythm last year. Sale’s last three-plus seasons have featured a truly terrible string of luck: Tommy John surgery, a bout of COVID, a fractured rib followed by a non-baseball medical issue, a fractured pinky finger on a comebacker in his second and ultimately final start of last season, and a bicycle accident resulting in a broken wrist. Paxton has yet to make his Red Sox debut after suffering a lat tear during his own Tommy John recovery last summer. After a promising rookie stint in 2022, there’s hope that 23-year-old righty Brayan Bello could earn a rotation spot for years to come, and the Red Sox have told 26-year-olds Garrett Whitlock and Tanner Houck to prepare to join the rotation, though the latter may be more likely to return to the bullpen with Kluber now in the mix. That’s seven names, and if any five of them are pitching at or near their ceilings in 2023, they could make for a solid rotation. But each comes with his own concerns, and Kluber is the only one with even a 2.5-WAR season in any of the last three years. Red Sox fans will be holding their breath and crossing their fingers for good health.

Still a lot of conflicting information out there. Regardless, just glad it was done.