Bellhorn04

Unfortunately those non-aging veterans are so darn hard to find! 😉

"If the opportunity exists" (to sign a back end reliever)"we're definitely gonna be open to that pursuit" is just plain annoying. Unless players really are refusing to come to Boston, the opportunity has existed plenty. Of course if you tried to pin Brez down on that one, he would pivot to the "we were actively engaged with several targets but ultimately didn't line up" line.

Just check out some of this gibberish from Brez. It really looks AI-generated. “We’re still very much engaged in trying to bring in a right-handed hitter, obviously one that we think can be a difference-maker. We haven’t been able to line up yet, but the offseason is still underway. I think it’s fair to say that in some respects, maybe the roster is a bit incomplete. But we’re going to continue to work really hard to try to round it out. “The focus has continued to be on building a roster that can compete for the division and for the postseason in 2025, and make sure that we’re balancing that with a look toward the longer term. I think the difference (in January) is that we obviously haven’t been able to get transactions across the line. But in terms of the day-to day-work and engagement and conversations, it hasn’t really been a whole lot different outside of that most important last step.” “We’re open minded. We’ve talked about versatility, we’ve talked about opportunities to improve infield defense. We do feel like we have a very strong outfield defense but I think we’ll be open-minded. Ultimately, some of this — or a significant portion of this — is going to be driven by balancing the lineup and the damage that can be done in the right side of the batter’s box.” “I understand the criticism. But at the same time, my job is to put the most competitive team on the field that I possibly can. I think that we are taking the meaningful steps toward doing that. Some come at the cost of dollars. Some come at the cost of really talented young players that we needed to trade away. Ultimately, I think the barometer for our success is going to be where we finish in the standings. That is absolutely the way that it should be. “Whether or not there’s an appetite or the resources are available for the right player, the answer is yes. I have to balance the kind of urgency and immediacy that Sam spoke about with the responsibility to build a competitive team that’s capable of accomplishing what we’d like to accomplish in 2025, but also beyond.” “There’s probably a little bit of both in reality in that we were able to make some significant transactions and bring in guys. We don’t have control over the timing of the offseason and if that Crochet trade had come together two weeks ago, then there could be a different feeling right now. But I would absolutely balance that with frustration for there being players that we’ve pursued or conversations in trades that we felt like were getting some momentum, but ultimately didn’t work out. Unfortunately, that’s the reality of an offseason. “We’re still actively engaged in conversations around enhancing the bullpen. I think we have a number of guys who have accomplished quite a bit in relief roles ... Our hope is that over time, we can field the bullpen from homegrown pitchers. But right now, we’re not quite there yet. If the opportunity exists to to bring in someone who enhances that back end, particularly someone who can provide leverage innings, we’re definitely gonna be open to that pursuit.”

This is a bit of a generalization. I try to look at each situation on its own merits. It's true that, for example, I'd rather have Kirby Yates than Liam Hendriks because of last year.

I don't really disagree. It's just something to talk about. Not happening anyway.

Arenado killed lefties until the last 2 seasons. No clue what could have happened there or if it's something that could rebound. I guess the BAbips of .220 and .232 didn't help.

Arenado had a 3.1 fWAR in 2024, which worked out to a dollar value of $25.1 million.

I will admit to only looking at the broad strokes here. The truth is I'll be surprised if the Sox do much of anything at this point. I do have the feeling they're going to do something for a RH bat and another reliever, but I don't expect anything exciting.

You might say Yoshida is a victim of analytics. He's a better than average hitter and yet the analytics say he's a worse than average player.

But they sure played the Red Sox tough last year! I'd say even a 5-34 mark reflects a certain amount of randomness, and it's extremely likely they better that mark next year.

If they could keep Yoshida around as an insurance policy that would probably be fine.

Sure, but if he comes away empty-handed in the RH bat department, it's not a job well done. It's just more of the same fiddling around and not doing enough to upgrade the team.

No, I think for most of us the idea is Devers and Casas in the 1B/DH roles.

Yes, it would most likely be Yoshida that's gone. It most certainly wouldn't be Refsnyder.

And cheaper RH bats like Laureano and Grichuk have been scooped up. If Breslow doesn't get a RH bat at all, it'll be pretty pathetic. And yet not shocking.

Serious enough that it's a real world possibility? No. The Sox are just determined to lap the field as Interest Kings.

These things don't seem so important to the Sox and even to a lot of fans any more.

Grissom does get mentioned a lot on places like Sons of Sam Horn, which is of of course overrun by Pollyannas who have no doubt the Sox are entering a new Golden Age.

The fact that Boras keeps getting hired by the biggest number of top players after all these years is a very reasonable criterion for thinking he's the best. You haven't really presented any alternatives, you just keep throwing out unanswerable questions and trying to lead us down the rabbit hole. As for Dershowitz, I don't know about best, but he's clearly a brilliant lawyer and legal mind.

Who is better than Boras and why? Admit it, you've got no response to those questions.

Vegas's 84.5 O/U for the Sox looks golden.

Breslow can't do much with the $2 million left in his budget. 😉

Even at the age of 11 I could detect a slide in quality when I saw that one. Very unmemorable.

And that's where JB comes in.

Hardly anyone can even name other player agents - I mean real names of individuals, not names of agencies - without running to Google.