redsoxfan3

I do not really consider Haren as "ace-potential," but I do consider him as an upgrade to our rotation. With Buchholz, Lackey, and Lester probably a lock in the rotation next year, that leaves question marks for Doubront and Morales. If we can trade Doubront, I am all for it for the right deal (only if we sign or trade for two quality starters). The thing we have to think about is what will make our rotation better. I do know that a legitimate ace would be nice, but if we can sign a couple of guys that have potential to put up #2 or #3 numbers, then I think we need to jump on that opportunity. Even if we do not get an ace, anyone that we can sign to improve our rotation is a good move. I would be fine with signing any two of Lohse, Greinke, Haren, McCarthy, Jackson, or Kuroda to a one year deal to improve our rotation. I know that some think Greinke would not be a fit and that McCarthy is a question mark, but we have to do what we can to improve our rotation. A true ace might be out of the equation.

I am glad that we did not offer Ross a qualifying offer. I talked to someone that was extremely surprised by that. I just don't think that Ross is worth 13.3 million a year. I do want Ross back next year, but not for an AAV of 13.3 million. I think 1B is just as much of a need as the OF. Right now, Ellsbury is the only OF that we have signed that should be a starter on a MLB roster. If we resign Ross, then we only have LF to fill. I do not want Podsednik, Kalish, Sweeney, or Nava as a starter. Kalish still needs some work in AAA to improve. Sweeney, Nava, and Podsednik are not bad options as a 4th or 5th OF, but I do not want any of those guys starting. If I had the choice, I would do what I could to trade Nava and Sweeney. jung also mentioned that Ross is looking for Willingham money. Willingham is only making 7 million a year. If Ross is not worth 7 million a year, how much do you think he is worth? He is sure as hell worth more than 3 million a year. He proved that this past year. I know his splits were not that great, but at least he gave us some power.

How did they mess up with resigning Big Papi? He was our best hitter last year when he was healthy. I will say that his Achilles is a concern, but it was important to resign one of our only power hitters who can hit for a good average. You cannot go wrong with that signing. We have more money to work with this offseason. The potential production that we can get from Ortiz will be worth the 26 million if he reaches that potential. He has shown no sign of a drop off in production when he is healthy. I do agree that we need to move on from Youkilis. There is no reason in my mind to resign him. He is a cheap option at 1B who has shown a decline in production. There are better options out there. I would prefer to see what Sands or Gomez can do over resigning Youkilis, but I fully expect to sign a decent power hitting 1B this offseason. Loney cannot be an option. I do not really understand why you are against hiring Martinez or Varitek to work in the FO. They have a lot of history with the Red Sox. A lot of people consider Varitek a future manager. It is smart to have him work in the FO office here to see how the behind the scenes stuff goes, that way when he is ready to become a manager, he has the advantage of knowing how things work in the FO. I would love nothing more for him to get a chance to manage after the John Farrell era is over. I know that some might not want to see Varitek manage, but I am all for it. Martinez is a little different. I see that as more of a PR move and wanting to employ a guy that means something to this organization that can have a positive image with the team. I do not see how that has anything with developing talent. They can still develop talent with Varitek and Martinez working in the FO.

For what it's worth, the Tigers do not plan on pursuing Young or Valverde. I do not really see the Red Sox pursuing either. The only way I see us pursuing Young is as a DH who might get a little action in the OF, only if we do not resign David Ortiz. I think Valverde is on the decline after his performance in the postseason. I don't really see us pursuing Valverde, unless we look to sign him as reliever and not a closer. Odds are someone will look to sign him as a closer. They are looking to sign Anibal Sanchez, but there is going to be a big market for him this offseason. I expect nothing less than the Red Sox at least attempting to sign him.

I don't believe that the date that pitchers and catcher report for 2013 has been released. Last year it was February 19. That is 113 or so days. So it is probably within 110-115 days until they report. That is close to four months. BC has some work to do in what is really not a lot of time.

That is true. Gordon Edes is the one that started the whole Red Sox and Ortiz are finalizing a two year deal. Ben Cherington has publicly stated that he wants to resign David Ortiz. Nowhere have I heard that Cherington has publicly stated that he is wanting to sign David Ortiz two years. A lot of people believe that someone talked to Fernando Cuza and he was the one saying David wants two years.

Pretty solid analysis overall. Garnett, Pierce, and Rondo are going to be solid, especially if Pierce and Garnett stay healthy. I am excited to see how Jason Terry does this year. Lee, Barbosa, and Terry will man the two. We only get better when Bradley gets healthy. The position that I am looking forward to watching most is PF. I followed and watched Sullinger at Ohio State. He is a good player and will be a nice compliment along with Bass at PF. I am not really going to hold my breath on Milicic. If anything, he could be a nice surprise. He is just a big body who will be able to eat some minutes if needed. I pretty much agree with mostly everything you are saying. I am not sure how optimistic I am about the two seed, but it is definitely not a reach. We definitely are a contender. Health is going to be vital this year.

I completely understand and respect your opinion. Let me say that I do not completely disagree with you. I know where you are coming from. There is a part of me that wants to move on from Ortiz, but I just think the offense would take a huge hit without him. I guess this is just a matter of opinion. I completely agree with you about making him an offer and if he refuses, then move on. We cannot do anything if he does not like the contract offer that we give him. Odds are he settles in Boston because he does not like the other offers he gets on the open market. Then again, I could be wrong because someone might be willing to overpay him. I think we would be fine with no specific one player as DH as well. If we can sign or trade for some decent offensive weapons, we could do a DH by committee. Give a player a day off from the field by letting him DH. That would not be a bad option. Also, we could get a decent DH to replace him if need be. We would probably not get a player with as much power, but I think we could find a cheaper alternative to man the position.

What does everyone think about Andre Ethier? The Dodgers are interested in shopping him. I do not know what they are going to ask in return. Ethier cannot hit lefties, so that might make him a platoon player. He is owed 85 million over the next five years. If he is going to be a platoon player, then that is a lot of money for a platoon player. He is also a friend of Pedroia's, but that is really no reason to have interest in him. If we go after Ethier, the Dodgers will need to eat a lot of his salary, and I am not willing to give up good prospects. I am probably a no on Ethier, unless we can somehow get a steal out of it.

Exactly. It was reported that the deal was close and the next day it was reported that the deal is not as close as previously reported. There is definitely something holding the deal up.

Hopefully Barnes, Webster, and De La Rosa are all pretty close. I know that De La Rosa is closer than Webster and Barnes. I don't know if De La Rosa is going to be an ace. Let's not give him that title. Some sites say his ceiling is as a #3 starter. If he can be a quality #3, then I am okay with that if he can reach that point within the next couple of years. Webster projects as a #3-#5 starter. If he can reach that and be a consistent back of the rotation guy for us in the next two to three years, then I will be happy. Barnes projects as a #2 or #3 starter. If he can reach that potential within the next few years as well, I will be extremely happy. If we can have a rotation of Barnes as our #2, De La Rosa as our #3, and Webster as our #4 or #5 in a few years, then I think there will be a lot of happy fans. Of course that means everyone has to reach their potential and we all know that does not happen a lot of times.

That is always important. Let's not all of a sudden throw offense under the bus, either. Pitching and defense are very important, but I think we need to sign Ortiz. I think it is crucial. When healthy last year, he was by far our best and most consistent offensive weapon. We can still resign Big Papi and look to improve at C, 1B, SS, and pitching. I agree with you about not wasting too much time resigning Big Papi, but that can be done with still being able to resign him. He has clearly stated he wants to come back to Boston. There is mutual interest. A deal is on the horizon. I think it is important to resign Big Papi and Ross as soon as possible so we can solely focus our attention on pitching primarily, and C, 1B, and SS secondly.

Instead of making a new thread for every single new coach we hire, I will just post updates in this thread. Brian Butterfield is the new 3B coach. I do not know much about him personally, but I do know that he has been a 3B coach and a bench coach for the Jays since 2002. I talked to some Jays fans and one specifically said "I will miss Butterfield. He was really the only coach that I did not want to see go. He is a hard worker and always gave everything he had." I know that is just a fan's perspective, but that is a great compliment about Butterfield. It sounds like Farrell is getting the staff that he wants. We have a manager in Farrell who has history with the Red Sox. We have a bench coach who was a managerial candidate for Boston last year and who was a former manager for the Paw Sox. We have a former bench coach in the AL East who has experience in the AL East for a little over 10 years who is now our 3B coach. I think we are making the right moves with the coaching staff. Let's hope the pitching coach is a great choice. I think we are taking steps in the right direction.

Even if it is not before Nov. 1, we still have a manager and bench coach way before we did last year. It is a step in the right direction. Farrell is no guarantee to be successful in Boston, but at least BC did not mess around and went and got his guy early on. That is always a positive.

That is true. I was on my phone and did not feel like looking at stats. I just went with what I already knew from his time in Oakland. Thank you for helping me prove my point. I agree with you. I think even 10-11 per year is a lot, but like jackso said, someone will probably offer him a ridiculous contract in desperation to sign him. Let's just hope we do not offer him more than 10-11 a year.

I was just giving you a hard time. I know that Achilles injuries are very serious. I just hope that he can fully recover from this and it is a non-issue down the road, but realistically nothing is guaranteed.

Agreed. Since David Ortiz is 36, it is 35+ that Chronic Achilles injuries are big problems for someone that is over 35. If it was Derek Jeter with the same problem, I am sure you would say that Jeter would be okay because he is 38 and Chronic Achilles injuries are not big problem for someone unless they are 40 or older.

I said three to five years in the range of 30-55 million. I guess I should elaborate more. I am thinking three for 30 to 33 million or at the most five for 40-55 million. Obviously I would like the cheapest price, but 11 million per year is probably a lot per year, but that is the most that I would be willing to spend on him.

Interesting read. I am happy that you are proud of your son. It sounds like he is on the right track. To become a MLB player is a rare opportunity. I understand that your son wants to play for the Red Sox, but there is not a lot any of us can do on this website to help your son achieve that goal. My advice to you and your son is to take the opportunity as it comes. If your son is truly as good as you say, then he will probably get drafted. I am a huge Red Sox fan, but even if I got offered by only one team to play in the minors and that was the Yankees, I would take that opportunity. My point is, even if the Red Sox do not draft your son or have an interest in him, there are other teams that might. If he does get drafted by another team, don't hesitate to take that opportunity. Baseball is a business and not everyone can play on teams that they wish. Maybe one day we will all be watching your son play Major League Baseball for the Red Sox, but for now, just take it one step at a time.

That is probably true, haha. It can almost be said that we have two managers on this team. Obviously Farrell is our guy, but it is an advantage that Lovullo has been said that he is capable of managing. I like that both guys have roots in our system and have worked together in Toronto.

I agree that he is very comparable to Josh Willingham. Willingham's average annual salary is seven million. The Yankees are prepared to offer Swisher a 13.5 million qualifying offer. I realize that Swisher is looking at 50-80, but how many years does he want for the price? The 13.5 million qualifying offer is inflated for a one year contract purpose. I doubt it is possible, but if we can sign Swisher for three to five years in the range of 30-55 million, then I say that might be an okay price range. He is only 31. I like the fact that he can play 1B and the OF. I do agree with you that he will probably be a rip off. He is going to get more than what he is worth. If the price is right, then I am okay with signing him. This is an offseason idea thread. Swisher is a FA and is a potential FA target for the Red Sox. Stop telling people to "let it go." You don't want Swisher, you have clearly stated that. Don't tell other people not to discuss the idea of signing him. People can talk about what they want in this thread, especially when it is relevant. His numbers are not inflated by playing at Yankee Stadium. He has had career numbers in Chicago and Oakland that are similar to the numbers he has put up in New York, not to mention Oakland is not as hitter friendly as New York. To say his numbers are inflated in New York where he has had four consecutive 120 OPS+ seasons is not necessarily true when he had two 120 OPS+ seasons in Oakland. He has proven that he can hit in other ballparks. Swisher is a switch hitter, so he could use the Green Moster to his advantage when he bats RH. If the price is right, I don't see why anyone would not want to give Swisher an opportunity with his ability to play 1B and in the OF. The last time I checked, we need a 1B and a LF.

"Blue Jays/Red Sox Farrell compensation talks came down to two players: Mike Aviles or Andrew Bailey. Aviles gives TOR flexibility w/Escobar." -Buster Olney on Twitter It is on several websites as well. I know that Bailey is not going to be handed the closing job.

The thing I got out of this the most is what is Bailey's future like with the Red Sox? Is he going to be a trading chip for us? I am kind of hesitant going forward if they ware willing to give up Bailey for Farrell. That could mean we look for a new closer this year.

Jeremy Lin already went to the Rockets, now Che-Hsuan Lin is going to the Astros. Linsanity is officially hitting Houston. I wonder if this could be some sort of small PR move.

David Ortiz and the Red Sox are close to finalizing a two year deal. http://espn.go.com/boston/mlb/story/_/id/8542106/david-ortiz-finalizing-deal-boston-red-sox-according-baseball-source?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter I think this was important. I know some may question his injury, but I think he is going to be a big part of this team next year.