moonslav59

Those numbers are scary and not worth the package sent to BAL. Clearly we need better numbers. Rutschman has been considered the best defensive catcher in baseball by some, so that is helpful. An adjustment with our staff is needed, but I think it can be seemless.

THis was the main reason I chose Catcher as a priority over LF/DH.

Sox are now 2 GB the NYY and only 1 in the loss column. I'm a little worried about having 1-2 more games to play than most teams and 2 starters who need to see their innings reduced or managed. I'm not pessimistic. This team is looking solid, focused and confident.

Mayer had options. I'm thinking we should have let him build some value back. We still are far from set at SS going forward. Mead looks to have 2B locked up when he returns, but he could also DH or play 1B, when Contreras moves on. Our 3B depth is not great, but the rise of Monasterio & Seigler have improved that outlook. It seems we put our eggs in the Arias basket. That's fine with me, but keeping Mayer for a few more months or a year was not going to cause roster issues, IMO. I'd prefer him over Story, if it came to a choice.

Probably the best idea, and having Bello to relieve him could be a great set-up. Bennett might be trickier, as having two starters scheduled to go 3 IP can be taxing.

The rise and fall of Duran's stock has and may continue to be hard to project, but normally player value is highest at the deadline, especially a player with multiyear control at arb prices. We should have traded him for the best we could get. Like we did with Mayer- a questionable trade.

I never had a beef with DD. I also did not sugar coat the fact that all the trades would eventually create a system whereby it would be very hard to win, unless JH became the Dodgers. (I won't say the "C" word.) Almost every major trade worked well. The ones that didn't, the guys we traded rarely did well or very well. When trading Travis Shaw was your biggest trade blunder, you did okay. DD was fine in my book. BTW, I never said he "emptied the farm" or used the word "decimated," but he did take a big chunk out of it. Lucky or not, he kept the right ones, Devers, Houck, Duran, Crawford and okay... Casas & Dalbec too. I'm not sure this farm purge is going to end up like 2020 or 2022-2024. We don't have big stars about to make big money or bolt or retire. We have a nice young core of players controlled for 3-6 years, plus a bunch for 2 years. We did not really have that many in 2018 and 2019. That was a great run, and I have no regrets for anything DD did.

Yup. Those wanting Brez to be bold last deadline would likely see this team with no Tolle.

At least he started swinging.

They bet Mayer could or would not build back value even in AAA. Miller may not be an improvement at all, but it doesn't hurt to add an arm. To me, guys like Miller are often found on the waiver wire. He's like T Guerrero or maybe D Hern.

Does White have options? If not, Jones does not either. DFA Jones or Duran (lol)?

Yanks lost!

Good one. In many ways, Brez has trades as many top 5, 10 and 20 prospects as DD but in shorter time. Note: we traded 4-5-8-18 for more control years of Crochet than 2-3-6 for Rut. Ranks at time of trade: 2 Eyanson 3 Witherspoon 4 Teel 4 Perales 5 Monty 6 Azocar 6 Jh Garcia 7 Tibbs 8 Meidroth 8 Clarke 10 Fajardo 12 Sandlin *12 Fitts (not a prospect when traded) 18 Wikelman 19 Jordan 19 Uberstine 20 Travieso

Gotta be, but also Monasterio, Seigler, Cheng, Sogard and even IKF to add 2026 depth. (I won't mention Story.)

That's kinda the bottom line, and by the end of next year or 2028, Primera, Delzine & Soto might be more highly regarded than Eyanson, Witherspoon & Azocar. If not them, maybe Valera, Godbout and Gonzales. We have a very controlled team with very few past-prime players in key roles. Even losing Gray, this winter and Chapman next does not seem like insurmountable losses. Our rotation looks awesome for many years to come. We have many everyday players for 3+ years and a deep bench, especially at middle infield. We'll need a LF/DH, soon (Anthony fills just one), a catcher after Rut and a 1Bman after Willson. We'll need a closer after 2027.

No doubt, and with the Sox recent results from players on the IL or "just about to come off it," this is scary as SH*T. It's a big gamble. It's not a rental, so not really like a usual deadline move, but a big roll of the dice. It's suspects for a proven vet with suspect health. This is "BOLD" Brez almost everyone wished he was last year.

Yes and a .376 OBP in 150 PAs while Rut had a .278 OBP in 72 PAs since Hick's 2nd homer ago.

Yes, but as I pointed out value is relative to a team's playoff chances and recent vs future outlooks and focus. We got a highly valued player for 2 playoff cycles. Other teams got Mize and Skubal for one. The Yanks got Garcia for the same time frame as Rut, but Rut is better and represents a huge upgrade over a .550 batting Narvaez. What's the differential on Garcia vs whomever he replaces?

BTV Projected Value per year: Kind of how good they think each guy is.... 33 Mize $11/0.3 (but for 1 playoff cycle?) 26 Rutschman $35M/1.3 years (2 playoffs?) 17 Luis Garcia Jr $22/1.3 yrs 7 Hicks $31M/4.3

I agree that BTV had Mayer overvalued, and it's sometimes interesting to take away the money aspect of their numbers and just compare projected production value and years. They gave Eyanson a 31 value with no money deducted. Mayer was given a 28 value over 5.3 years and only a $4.1 projected salary. If the guy was going to give $32M value, why would he only make $4M in arbs? So, just values and years: 33 Mayer 5.3 yrs (6 per year) 31 Eyanson 6 yrs (5 per year) 24 Azocar 6 yrs (4 per year) 20 Narvaez 4.3 yrs (likely over-rated, too at 4.5/yr) 12 Witherspoon 6 yrs (2/yr) 2 Uberstine 5.3 yrs (.4/yr) ________________ 35 Rutschman 1.3 years (26 per yr) 9 E Miller 3.3 yrs (2.5/yr) 5 Gutierrez 6 yrs (1/yr) 1 Ely White 0.3 yrs (3/yr)

I fully expected to overpay for top talent. I didn't expect us to the one trading for top talent- maybe the top of the day, and when comparing 1.3 years of Rut vs 0.3 years of Skubal, this trade might be for the top player of the deadline. Top 2-3 without question. My initial reaction was why the need to add Witherspoon and Azocar to an already hefty package. Maybe I'm too high on Eyanson. I know I could be. The team got better through two possible playoff cycles. Much better. That value could be immeasurable. It could also be an injury or two away from a long term disaster if the return package turns out top rate. I'm already feeling better about the trade. This looks like a damn good team. Of all the posters on this site, I might have been the most vocal one on upgrading Catcher over other slots, and I got what I wanted. It kinda seems hypocritical to not like this trade and not just based on just that. Within the context of my defending the Sale, Harrison and Priester trades, why am I so afraid Eyanson or others do well? If they do, so be it. It doesn't mean the trade had no merit or was or will be bad for us. We just need Rutschman to do well, especially in games that matter, and we have him for two playoff cycles, assuming we make the next two. The switch hitter aspect is also nice. I kinda wish he did better vs RHPs than LHPs, but he's close enough on both. He's actually better v RHPs this year, so maybe he's evening it u as he ages. I think I'm beginning to flip from my initial gut feeling. My worry about his health is still legit, but other trade options all had downsides, too, and Rut is no rental.

On paper: Replaced worst batter Narvaez at 53 OPS+) with a 115 OPS+ career and 2026 batter (Rutschman.) We replaced Uberstine with Erik Miller. We added some RHB OF depth in Ely White. We kept Duran, Bello & Arias. We kept Gonzales, Primera, Delzine, Valera, Soto & Godbout. We even kept some Rule 5 guys, but most will not be selected: Jo Garcia, Wehunt, Paez, Ward, Song, Mullins & more. We lost... (besides our worst batter) Mayer (formerly a top 3 prospect) Eyanson #2 prospect Witherspoon #3 Azocar #6 We are a better team now, We may not be in 2028 and beyond, as a result of these deals.

Yup, and Rut has played about 58% of his games in 1.6 seasons. That's about the 2026 Narvaez GS rate. We replaced our worst bat with a much better one. We certainly should be better this year and next. I'm not down on RUT, but we should know he's missed a lot of time, and us Sox fans knows how that usually goes, so we should be worried.

We added Miller to take Uberstine's roster slot. Miller will likely be on the 26, so someone better than Uberstine will be demoted. Does Miller have options?

No doubt, if he's healthy, we will be a better team, since the only MLB player we gave up was our worst batter in Narvaez. This is what big deadline deals are supposed to do. The return package can still be dissected and debated.