SoxProspects lists Soto at 30, Rivas at 37, Ramos at 38 and Delzine at 39.
As we've seen from previous years, the top signed guys get a place in the top 50, but may not stick that high for long (Ascencio, Carrasquel, Freili, Fraymi, Ravelo, Lira).
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.
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).
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.