SoxFanForsyth

Not sure I would give up what it takes to get Harper. Harper is a 4-5 win player. Mookie is 3.5-4.5. Except Mookie has 6 years of control, Harper has 3. I don't know if I would move Mookie for Harper straight up, and the Nats would want Owens and Swihart too

http://bosoxinjection.com/2014/10/22/boston-red-sox-trade-target-bryce-harper/

I have read a couple articles linking the Red Sox to Bryce Harper. That would be an interesting move.

"I’m the guy who keeps writing the line, and I always qualify this by saying I’m not saying Blake Swihart will be this. But Blake Swihart has the closest thing to Buster Posey’s tools since Buster Posey,” Callis said. Read more at: http://nesn.com/2014/07/jim-callis-red-sox-prospect-blake-swihart-has-buster-posey-like-tools/

Two things: 1. A lot of people liken Vazquez to Yadi not only for his defense but also for his offensive ability to put the ball in play, low K numbers, etc. Yadi started slow at the plate as well. High contact guys generally will pan out just fine in the MLB. Also, catchers develop slower than any other position, offensicely speaking. Vazquez has a ceiling of a very good every day catcher on a contending team. 2. Please try to find any Jim Callis article where he doesn't call Swihart a Buster Posey Starter Kit. I've heard him say it so many times its getting old. You know, the head writer for MLB Pipeline and the former Red Sox writer for BA? He probably knows his stuff pretty well.

To deal for Puig, the package would have to include Owens and either Swihart, Betts, or Bogaerts. I would deal Betts for Puig, too, in a heartbeat. I would deal anyone for Puig.

Meh. I would rather just have Nava. They are basically the same player.

With Bogaerts, here's what I see: He hit .289/.369/.453 in AAA in 2013, then came up and played outstanding in the post season (.296/.412/.481), and helped the Sox win a WS. He came into 2014 and really continued to play well, hitting .296/.389/.427 in his first 54 G. In game 55, the Red Sox moved him off of SS and to 3B. Coinciding with this was that the pitchers now had an ample amount of data to make adjustments to him. Moving him off SS clearly affected his confidence and he took it to the plate with him. Combine that with pitchers finding some holes to exploit, and it turned into a very bad situation. It compounded on itself, and he never could get his head out of water. Over the next 45 games, he would play 3B in each one, and hit .182/.217/.300. In Game 99, the Red Sox moved him back to SS. He still had an adjustment period to go through, but with the confidence of knowing that he was the everyday SS, he was able to relax, get back to his routine that he knew in the beginning of the season rather than having to focus on learning a new position, and find a bit more of a groove. In his final 45 games, Bogaerts hit .231/.262/.349. What helped him most was when he hit the 7 day DL. The game certainly sped up on him and he couldn't catch his breath. Understandable, he's 21, learning a new position at the highest level, watching his team struggle, all while putting the teams struggles on his shoulders. During his DL stint, he was able to hit the reset button, take a breath, and find his stroke again, and played well in the final month, hitting .313/.317/.490, 4 HR, 16 RBI (28 HR, 108 RBI pace) which should help alleviate his "not clutch" narrative. Did Bogaerts struggle? Absolutely. Horribly. Can we see any kind of a correlation between his struggles and something else that occured around the same time? Absolutely. Is that an excuse? Absolutely not. I think Bogaerts needed to stay up and out of AA or AAA because the reason he was struggling was because the book was out on him. The pitchers had made their adjustments and he needed to adjust to the pitchers. He can't do that in Pawtucket. He has to do that against the pitchers who have made the adjustments to him, which is at the MLB level. He'll be much, much better for it going forward.

Well said, Spud. Don't attack the trade market until you absolutely have to (unless a stud becomes available, i.e. Strasburg, Sale, etc, who is on cheap dollars for a few years). I would much, much rather see the Sox sign Lester, Shields, Sandoval, trade for Jaso, and call it good. Keep all your prospects for that midseason blockbuster that pushes you over the edge. 100% agree with you.

Outside of a deal for Stanton/Sale, Bogaerts and Betts are going nowhere. Cherrington made that clear when he mentioned them both by name in his presser, saying they are part of the nucleus of this teams future. Believe it or not, our FO is a very smart FO for the most part. They are not going to go nuts and trade away the future of this team if the return isn't worth it. As a side note - a guy I would call everyday about as the backup C/1B is John Jaso. He would be a great fit to split time with Vazquez, he's a very good LHH, which this team needs too.

Apologies. That must not have read as I intended. The Phillies would have to eat a good chunk of Howard's deal. The Sox would then either DFA or trade him and eat some of their portion. Basically if the Phils ate 18mm/year and the Sox took on 7mm, would it be worth it if it allowed the Sox to retain a high end prospect. So, basically, would you rather pay Hamels effectively 31mm/year (bc you took Howard too) instead of 24mm, but keep someone like Swihart because of it, or would you rather save the dough and spend the extra high level prospect?

Phillies are looking to dish Hamels, Sox and Cubs most interested. Also noteworthy is that they will do anything to get Ryan Howard off the team. Definitely do not want Howard, but if you can say "ok we'll take Howard too" and the cost of Hamels goes down a bit, well then maybe you do it. http://www.nj.com/phillies/index.ssf/2014/10/mlb_hot_stove_phillies_will_look_to_trade_cole_hamels_chicago_cubs_boston_red_sox_interested_per_rep.html

have you never met Pal the Lowrie Lover before?

Eduardo Rodriguez, Blake Swihart, Rafael Devers, and Manuel Margot are all blue chippers

Vic is too much of an injury risk to count on as a starter and especially trade depth to retain. Trade Owens, Barnes, Craig, and Middlebrooks for Hamels. Amaro has an infatuation w Middlebrooks. Give Shields 4/76. Sign Sandoval to 4/48, he can play 1B/3B/DH (once ortiz retires) so he won't block Cecchini.

This is funny. The Red Sox are 2 SP and a 3B away from being a WS contender. If the Sox go out and sign Lester and Shields, or trade for Hamels and sign Lester or Shields, then sign Sandoval, that's a WS caliber team. That's all it takes. That's a quick fix. Xander turned a corner after his DL stint. Betts was on pace for a 5-6 win season. Ortiz hit 35 homers. Cespedes, while he didn't have a great OBP, hit the ball well. A lineup of Betts Pedroia Ortiz Cespedes Napoli Sandoval Bogaerts Castillo Vazquez is going to score a ton of runs. A rotation of Lester/Shields - Hamels - Buchholz - Kelly - Rookie is going to be a strong rotation. Anyone here knows a pen can be pieced together pretty easily, but Koji Taz Mujica Layne Webster is a really good start. To say the Sox, given their resources and their nucleus, isn't going to be a 'quick fix' is pretty delusional

No he's not. Victorino will be either traded for pennies on the dollar, or he will be the Sox 4th OF. He makes no sense to have on this team with Cespedes, Betts, Castillo, and Craig all as RHH outfielders, and Vic is virtually a RHH OF now too. No chance he starts in the OF. The starting outfield will be Cespedes - Castillo - Betts

'Betts and Owens is about all we have' Clearly you don't follow the Sox prospects. Aside from them, what about Swihart, Devers, Margot, Rodriguez, Johnson, Chavis, and Barnes? That's 10 prospects we can deal from. Not 2. You wouldn't be upset if our future SS nets us Cole Hamels?? That would be the most lopsided trade the Sox have made since the Varitek trade, except this time in the wrong direction.

It will be really interesting to see where the Sox go at 3B. Sandoval makes a lot of sense, but he's going to cost some big money and will block Cecchini. He could feasibly move to 1B after this season, though, when Nap's deal runs up. Wonder if Chase Headley can be had on a 1 year pillow contract a la Beltre?

Cherrington today mentioned 4 players as the Red Sox nucleus of the future - Bogaerts, Castillo, Betts, Vazquez. That right there tells me that, unless it's for Chris Sale, Steven Strasburg, or Giancarlo Stanton, the Sox aren't moving any of those four (referring more to Betts in this case). I know there has been a lot of talk about trading for a starter, but you're not going to see the Sox send over elite prospects for a guy like Cole Hamels, who is a very good pitcher but certainly is paid to be a very good pitcher. Sox OF next year will be Cespedes - Castillo - Betts.

I honestly don't see it. Lester is too much of a family man. NYC is not a family friendly environment. I think Lester would rather go somewhere that he can raise his family and is comfortable and take less money, but that's just my take on what he's been saying to the media. Who knows. I thought Ells would go to the Yanks ever since he had his 30/30 season and I saw he and Granderson hit FA at the same time. But I don't think Lester does. I still think Lester and Shields sign with the Sox.

Beltre has a mutual option for 2016, which I would expect to be exercised, particularly given that he liked his time in Boston in 2010. The big day arrived on 8/21/14. Total hours of sleep since then is still in double digits.

Given the pitching depth we have, particularly now with Eduardo Rodriguez, I couldn't disagree more. It's a steep price to pay for a player who only has 1 year and an option left, but if you get Beltre, that's a WS favorite. Either way it sounds like the Sox are looking for a LHH 3B according to Lucchino. So, Beltre is out. Probably wasn't available anyway. I think they'll probably end up with Sandoval but I didn't want to just repeat Pal's projection.

I think Swihart, Ball, Eduardo, and taking on Papelbon is an enormous price for Hamels and Ruiz. Enormous. And they were asking for Seager, Pederson, and Urias from the Dodgers. The Phillies need prospects way more than salary relief. Way, way more. As for the package for Beltre, that's a pretty damn big package for a player with 1 year plus a mutual option left on his deal (Eduardo/Owens + Ranaudo + Cecchini)

You do realize that Bogaerts has 16 RBI in his 21 G in September, right? He's hitting .317 and slugging .512. He's certainly turned a corner and appears to be much more comfortable in the box. Maybe hit a little reset button since he had his concussion. Either way, certainly a promising step forward and something you can build on. You were way, way, way too early to write this guy off.