marklmw

You are correct that it is not a good thing to stock-up players and hold them in the minors ... not good for organization or for the player. However, when you do package young prospects in trade deals for proven talent it is better that the talent that you trade for has more potential then a one year solution. Of course the owners know this. Even the Inglesis deal for Peavy could be questioned and at the same time not since the outcome was a WS Championship. Certainly if the Sox still have Ingelesis he could be the SS for the next 7 years with Bogaerts at 3rd for the next 7 years. Hypothetically speaking here. Middlebrooks could be 1B or traded. Remember when the Sox traded for Anderson, how about the trade for Gagne. I understand that some work out and others do not. You can only have 1 player starting in each of the 8 positions. Better to trade two left fielders who are 8's on a scale of 1-10 for a 9.5. However if the 9.5 is going to cost your organization 15M more per season you have to account for what that extra talent will translate to in wins vs. using the 15M for a SP.

Yeah ... I love a good steak. No one has taken me up yet.

Well said Jung. Sox need to hold the line and not overpay for any player. Players are able to come in now and perform at a younger age. Look at the superstars that are under 25. I also think players like Brentz and Vasquez are not that far away. I would not mind seeing Vasquez / Ross next year. Ross can become his mentor.

I would bet a steak dinner that management is also thinking along these lines. Dempster can be a decent 4-5 in the NL.

Dojji ... I think you are viewing everything in a short-term sort of way. Ownership has to be looking past 2014 when they make decisions. The Sox are in a great position, they are loaded with talent and they will be restocking in the draft as well. they do not have to spend 170M just because they can.

Peavy's contract will be off the books and they can sign Lester and have a savings at the same time. Lester should be a priority. Not to say that Peavy will not wish to stay on for less money in 2015

Put the money in the bank ... look ... Ellsbury could get injured and so can JBJ. You make logical decisions. I would rather spend 100M on Tanaka than 100M on Ellsbury when you have JBJ. From a payroll standpoint I would rather have the combination of JBJ & Tanaka than Ellsbury & Webster in 2014. Not to demean Webster in anyway.

I wonder how closers feel when an 8th inning set-up man is earning more that he is. That has to suck a little although they all are being paid very well so there really is nothing to bitch about.

Absolutely Doubront. Dempster is way too expensive for what he gives you. Unload his 14M contract. Still waiting to hear from Palodios

I actually think that Ellsbury is going to do great over the next 5 years but for the money JBJ is a better play.

As long as he does not mind being in the set-up role ... after all Koji is the man!

What is cheap these days. If the Sox could get Ellsbury for 18M per over 6 it will still not make sense with JBJ in our system.

Dempster's ERA for 2013 postseason was 3.00

True Palodios True but you are talking about baseball economics and you never answered the question. Dempster or Dubront ... if Dubront then Dempster is an expensive # 6 is he not. I would expect getting a prospect in the deal if the Sox eat part of Dempsters contract ... if they don't have to eat anything they can let him go for a piece of cake in return. If your answer is Dubront and a player goes down I would rather call up some of the youngsters and give them MLB experience. Webster, etc.

Assuming that Buchholz is healthy who would you rather have pitching in the # 5 spot ... Dubront or Dempster?

You answered your own question ... why would the selling club want to take less money? These players are assets of the club. The only way this will change is if there is a change in law or guidelines voted on by the governing organization. Why would the owners group agree to this? They will not. This is business and the team ownership invests a lot of money throughout their organization ... sometimes a player works out and they make money sometimes a players does not work out and they loose money.

Dempster is due 14M in 2013. We can have Workman or Dubront take his spot for 500K ... Even if Boston can unload 7M of Dempsters contract that can go a long way in the bullpen.

True that!

It was reported that the Dodgers will listen to offers on Eithier, Crawford and Kemp but not mention of Puig. Puig is an exciting player and puts fans in the seats. Puig isn't going anywhere.

Is it not better to have the younger legs in center ... don't you think?

Dealing with Drew and Ellsbury is quite simple. The Sox would sign both if they did not have young studs ready to fill in for a combined 1/32 of the cost. Why is this so hard to comprehend. The stars are aligned and nobody is looking up to notice. How often does an organization get so lucky where their top 2 prospects happen to fill 2 positions being vacated by free agents who are going to be overpaid by someone. I like both Drew and Ellsbury and I am sure that both enjoyed playing for a championship team this year but this is their profession so they have to max out their earnings when they are lucky enough to have the opportunity to do so. If Ellsbury does not find a club to overpay him which is highly doubtful I would love to see him back. He is one of the premier lead off hitters in the game today.

It occurs to me that most FA signings result in the player being over paid. Perhaps not so much in the 1st and 2nd year of the contract but more so for years 4+. Many of the signings would be well justified if they were of the 2 year kind. This is not to say that signing a young player in his mid twenties to a long term contract is a bad thing because it probably isn't but when management does this they are spending more than they are forced to in the early years and benefiting in the later years ... as long as the player remembers that he signed the deal to begin with for the lifetime of financial security. It always comes down to ownership making a judgement of the character of the player. I look at the FA class of 2013 and it is my opinion that every one of them will be overpaid. Drew included, Ellsbury included, Salty included, even Nap's included because of his hip condition. One player I would not touch with a ten foot poll is Beltran. If he signs for 3-4 years more power to him but anything more than 2 years is like playing Russian Roulette. The difference between Team A. Ellsbury - Drew vs. Team B. JBJ - Bogaerts is about 32M per season for the next 4 - 5 seasons. It will be really interesting to see at the end of 2014 season the aggregate Stats of Team A vs. Team B. I think letting Drew and Ellsbury walk is an easy decision to make. Team B will have some growing pains but they will also have stronger legs after 140 games. What do I know anyway ... just pontificating here.

I like Ruiz and Ross as 2014 catchers. Nothing long term but will get the job done. Ross will love to be back and Ruiz is very solid. We have some very good prospects at the Catcher position.

Dojji is spreading bad JBJ karma all over this site. What did Drew bat in the WS? CF is the SS of the Outfield. You build championship teams up the middle ... Catcher, SS, CF. We won the WS without a top 10 Catcher. JBJ already has shown that he can play CF and produce above average OBP at a very high level. The Sox do not view AAA Pawtucket as the Minors but more of an extended bench of majors. Any player at AAA should be able to contribute when called upon.

JBJ is a plus defender. I think it is best to let the lad have a crack at it. Build his confidence without someone over his shoulder. Remember Pedroia's beginnings? I remember watching a game one day with my father and we were both wondering what the story was with Peddey ... management stayed with him and the rest is history. Should JBJ fail miserably once the season gets underway the Sox can seek out help then. There is always a starter that gets injured without any clear replacement at the time but they manage to fill the slot. Management knows every top CF prospect and it they need to spend capital in the form of players to acquire him they will. I would not be surprised if JBJ is considered the top CF prospect in all of baseball right now.