mvp 78

Yup, he'll want injury protection (long term deal), but the ability to opt out if he turns into one of the best starters in the game.

It makes more sense to get a look at him in ST. I'm not sure it being done by Feb 1 is the end goal here. I think they'll keep working at it whether we hear about it or not. The Bello and Rafaela extensions appeared out of nowhere. I think that's what will happen with this too. They may be negotiating and it's just not reported. I'd be flabbergasted if they traded all those prospects for only 2 years of Crochet.

A one year extension would really be weird bad.

You're putting Soto at 21 before he's even played a DSL game? That's either quite a projection or the system is really bad right now. You don't even rank Justin Gonzales who hit 908 last year in the DSL and was the best offensive performer there (even brought to Fenway).

Where's your property located?

No wonder SF didn't tender him this offseason!

He's a switch hitter with pull power as a LHB. Not ideal for Fenway.

Sox tanking the season already?

He was very close to it at times. 2014: Napoli 16M (highest paid) Ortiz 15.5M

If they sign him for at or more than the HOU offer, it's a mistake.

If Chapman is pitching the seventh? Great. If Chapman is pitching the eighth? Ok. If Chapman is pitching the ninth? Change the channel.

They will most certainly churn the 40 man roster for bullpen arms this season. You can set your watch to it.

They have the pieces to step forward, but I don't think it's necessarily a step forward by 15 games even if they add more at this point.

Seems like a very shaky plan to me.

Red Sox have the top 2b prospect in the game and should be ready on Opening Day. No, let's sign Bregman to play 2b for 5 years!!!

They added Crochet and still haven't replaced their closer or RHB. Doesn't that make them clear favorites in the division?!?!?!

Yes, Judge went from 4.5 bWAR in an injury shortened 2023 to 10.8 in 2024. It wasn't all because of Soto and hand nothing to do with Verdugo. In 2023, Cole was the only starting pitcher above 1 bWAR. It was just a rough year for them.

I wondered about the option buy out. The club can buy out the option, not the player. Duran is already under club control through the 2028 season as a Super Two player. Even if the 2026 option is bought out — which would occur if the Red Sox feel his projected price in the arb process checked in south of the eventual option value — he would remain arbitration-eligible with the Sox for another three seasons. In addition to his 2025 guarantee, Duran will earn $50K bonuses for reaching 450, 500 and 550 plate appearances. So long as he’s healthy, he should get the $4MM salary at which he filed. (The Red Sox had countered with a $3.5MM submission.) As for the 2026 option, the base price will reportedly jump to $9MM if Duran finishes between 11th and 20th in AL MVP voting. (He finished eighth on the MVP ballot this past season.) It’ll be a $10MM option if he finishes between sixth and tenth, or an $11MM option if he lands second through fifth. If Duran is named the American League’s Most Valuable Player, the price of that option would jump to $12MM. If Duran is traded at any point between now and season’s end, the option would be eliminated and he’d receive a $100K assignment bonus from the acquiring team rather than the $100K buyout on said option.

No clue. They offered 700M for Soto. Do they really want to spend? None of us on here really know either way.

That's a migraine for me. You can have the wine, I'll have some bourbon.

If it's mostly packed with rocks?

The Yankees were in the WS last season and lost Soto, but got Fried, Goldschmidt, Bellinger, Devin Williams, Pablo Reyes and Colten Brewer. Unless there's an injury to Fried, there shouldn't be much of a falloff as that rotation is very good and much better than the Sox. Yanks: 48.8 fWAR Sox: 41.3 + 4.1 (Bregman) + 1.0 (Scott) = 46.4 fWAR still behind the Yanks