moonslav59

The horror- the horror.

I dont get why Contreras, Suarez and Gray are TBD, but the Harrison trade is determined.

Not a single person said it's "all right." I'd say "strawman," but he thinks it's the scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz.

Agreed, even if we call up Seigler.

No, but Durbin is in his second year. (Abreu is a vet.)

It's clear Brez wanted another bat and pivoted to Suarez and Durbin, but Contreras was clearly the best bet to be our best hitter on day one. Yes, I think Brez thought: 1st Bregman (He was wrong on several counts.) and 2nd Contreras (maybe Abreu or Anthony.) Fangraphs projected OPS: .804 Contreras .775 Abreu & Anthony .749 Duran .737 Romy .726 Rafaela

Some (not all) of these young players will turn things around, if the odds remain true. It just might not be quickly enough for the impatient or nonbelievers who think no player ever changes from what they have done in the past year, month or even week. Counting on every young player to mash in year one or two is a mistake, but I don't think Sox management did that. They clearly expected some to do better than they have, but they did have 4 OF'er & masa in case Anthony struggled or got hurt. They signed IKF and added Monasterio & Seigler as depth for Mayer. They added over 5 catchers to the farm system for both immediate MLB depth (Thaiss, Delay & Gasper) as well as longer term depth in case Narvaez turned out to be a flash in the pan. They didn't even have Tolle and Early in the opening day rotation, so they were clearly not penciling them into an immediate FT role. A lot has gone badly, this year- some beyond even our worst thoughts, but these kids will get more chances, either now or down the road. 22 Anthony 23 Tolle & Mayer 24 Early 25 Rafaela & Bennett 26 Durbin 27 Abreu & Narvaez (Bello & Samaniego)

Some probably still do. With Story out and Durbin and Mayer underperforming, I don't see the reason to trade or DFA him.

Is that a yes? How much would SFG have to pay for that "yes?"

I think notin might have been the only poster not complaining about the lack of a second bat behind Contreras. I was big on a second big bat, but I did not view Bregman as that guy. I was fine with Suarez over Bregman for that reason. Suarez, Gray, Contreras and Paredes (for Duran, even if involving a 3rd team) would have been fine by me.

Brez and JH never would, so talk of it seems pointless. Too much water under the bridge. I'd say no, even if they took Story, Yoshida and Bello. Once their contracts are up, his contract will be an an issue.

I listed Contreras, because I think we'd take his option and not pay the $7.5M buyout. I don't think we give Story his option, so he's gone after 2027. Gray can opt out after 2026, so in a sense, we don't have 100% "control" of his after '26. I listed Chapman as 2027 despite a mutual option after 2026. I mistakenly forgot Whitlock has team options after 2026 and 2027 at somewhat reasonable rates, assuming he is healthy and pitching well. One could argue about not trading him. Those are my reasons.

In some ways, this season reminds me of 2022. After failing with signings like Martin Perez, Richards and other, Bloom had his best winter of SP'er additions with Wacha and Hill, but we got worse- way worse. This winter, Brez seemingly did well adding Contreras, Suarez & Gray, but we got worse- way worse. Of course, other holes we not addressed in both cases, but when you compare just the winter moves made between pre-2019 and pre-2026, two of the best appear to be before 2022 and before 2026.

Kahnle & Samaniego.

Last control year (not counting club options)... 2026 Gray, Whitlock, Sandoval, Coulombe & IKF 2027 Chapman, Yoshida, Story, Houck & Oviedo (Contreras has a 2028 option) 2028 Duran, Romy, Crawford, Casas & Wong I'd think anybody listed above, except maybe Contreras and Romy can/should/will be shopped.