To me JH seems like he wants to be the smartest guy in the room. Devers getting seriously injured after the team has cashed in for the year would be very un-smart.
Not when it's the smart move to keep him from getting injured in meaningless games, and dropping in the standings might mean a higher draft pick.
And we know JH is all about being smart and patient and not focusing too much on the present.
The thing is though, once they sell off, there are other things that will tend to affect the record in a negative way. Winning games just won't matter any more. That can affect everyone's attitude and the managerial approach. If Devers has a sore knee in August you might tell him to take the rest of the season off.
Oh yeah, if Breslow picks the sell lane, I think we'll be getting back prospects.
Personally I'm having nasty visions of 2012 redux. But I have a pessimistic bias these days with the Sox.
Well, let's see. If we're crediting everything to John as you seem to be doing, he's also proven quite conclusively that he can lose, and lose a lot, with a good shot at finishing under .500 for the 7th time in 13 seasons.
And your whole point is based on the totally arbitrary opinion that 93 wins isn't a strong number. All you're looking at is that one number, with no context.
The 2016 team had a run differential of 184 for a Pythagorean record of 98-64.
They were 88-64, had the division wrapped up and lost 5 of their last 6.