moonslav59

Sounds like a Leonard Cohen song.

Singer's 5.17 FIP Singer: 4.35 ERA/5.17 FIP Dustin May at the 2025 deadline: 4.85/4.79 I'm not dead against someone like Singer, but we'd essentially need him to improve for him to be much help. Of course, he'll cost less because he is not doing all that great.

It's very hard to put total trust in Monasterio, and to a lesser extent Siegler- only because Monasterio is the only real SS on the 26. Okay, Sogard can play SS, but in no way does any of us feel Sogard will lead us to a ring. Middle infield has been such a major nightmare for a very long time. We've seen so many players come and go, and several had some decent but all-to-short stretches, before falling off the radar. I'm not convinced that either or both are the answers to those problems, but man, they have looked real good for a couple weeks, anyway. From 2018 to 2026, we've had 42 players play 2B. Here are but a few with innings: 1248 Arroyo, 914 Holt, 832 Nunez, 825 EValdez, 813 Story, 679 DHam, 584 Kike, 556 Chavis, 471 KC &418 Romy. Nobody else had more than 300 innings! The fact that Valdez places 4th and KC places 9th on this list pretty much says it all. SS is a bit better, as Bogey held down the fort for many years- not great on D but very good overall. 5408 Bogey, 1913 Story, 692 Rafaela, 592 DHam, 566 Kike with nobody else over 300 innings. (Chang, Reyes, Holt and Lin over 175)

I did feel like I was run over by a train over a month ago.

Agree. Narvaez is the remaining black hole still playing. At least Duran bats in some runs.

Monasterio & Seigler have been big parts of our recent success. The sample size is small, but so were the Harrison on Drohan samples. One start taints these numbers, but Harrison has a 6.15 ERA and 4.50 FIP in his last 6 starts- near the same time Durbin and them Monasterio & Seigler started coming alive Drohan is 4.00/2.88 in last 6 GS but also 4.81/2.60 in last 4. We could sure use both those arms, right now, but I like the trade. The Priester trade is also very much TBD.

I’d rather get Dustin May than Scherzer, and that’s no feather in May’s cap.

I’m not against this idea, although I do not have an optimistic view on the start of his MLB career smack in the peak of a run at a ring. Monasterio is doing what I hope Arias can do, so I’m not sure now is the time to promote Arias. I know this sounds contradictory, since I’ve been putting the SS in the top 2-3 high needs list, but this whole season seems to be contradictory to everything logical and sensible, right? ,

Trial and error has ended up sorta working. Demoting Duran was a big first step.

This team is for real. period.

Abrams is my new KMarte.

Not at all. He's trolling for someone to bite at the bait of doom and gloom.

Yes. I was NOT predicting it.

I've been high on Moran since we traded for him. He's done very well this year, but you can't make a pitch like that to Ohtani. Bummer.

The price for long term Catchers is probably way too high. It's too high in the winter, too, but now would likely be foolishly too high. I get that. I've been talking up Jeffers as a Catcher/DH rental, but his cost may be too high, too, and he doesn't add much power. I'm also thinking a LHB might be better than a RHB, so maybe two strikes on Jeffers might be enough to say no. Francisco Alvarez seems ideal, but with so many years of control, the Mets would want a mega-haul. Goodman turns 27, soon, so he is peak prime, but he K's a lot. His OBP is around .320-.325, so to me that kinda evens out the high Ks, but if he's more of a DH, that's 2-3 strikes and a no for me. Liam Hicks might be the best choice, but why would MIA trade a 27 year old pre-arb catcher? They do DH Hicks a lot, so I worry about his defense. The price for SSs is about as high as it gets. Waiting for the winter or Arias might be the best option there, too. Abrams is a game-changer on offense, but again, at what mid-season cost? Maybe our best options might be... 1 or 2 from: P Mize (Gausman, Holmes, Wacha, Lugo) 2B Arraez/G Torres C Jeffers (T Stephenson) LHB Nate Lowe DH/1B (Springer?)

I fully agree. We cannot trade for a pitcher having a bad year and hope they turn it around post trade.

Could all this major pissed of Sox Nation at Duran be what he needed to snap out of it? Not doubt, the guy has some real talent. With Duran the Yogism shifts from "baseball is ninety percent mental. The other half is physical" to "baseball is 90 percent emotional. The other half is mental."

I used to suggest getting Singer or Mitch Keller, but Singer's boat has passed. 5.17 FIP is a big YIKES!

Yes, I'd give... Arias or Eyanson (not both) Witherspoon or Gonzalez (maybe both) Maybe add Godbout/Phillips/Holobetz if one and one from above.

Abrams would be a massive boost to the offense. If Arias becomes who many think he may become, Abrams could slide to 2B and Mead to DH or 1B, once Willson's days are done. I've kinda soured on Neto due to his defense and high K rate. He'd still help our offense and power, but at too high a cost?

I'm all for adding a pitcher- even an older one or expensive one or both. I just want one who is pitching well. I don't want to trade for someone we need to hope he turns around his 2026 season post-trade. I'm tired of DMay, Paxton & Brad Peacock.

Romy was on the IL almost all year, so I'll cut him some more slack, but this is a ring run we are in, so he better start hitting soon, or he might get demoted for IKF. Seigler has been earning a FT job and is a switch hitter, but let's be fair. If we are going to put Romy on notice for his splits, we need to be honest about Seigler, too: .652 v L in 2026 (.691 career) Romy is at ,618, now, but his last few years should carry some weight. (Romy even did pretty well vs RHPs, last year. .718 in 198 PAs Seigler is .647 career vs RHPs (159 PAs) and not much better than Romy's 2025 number vs RHPs: .743 to .718. I love Seigler's defense. I'm liking what I see and would keep rolling with him FT at 2B for a while. A FT DH add might force Romy to 2B vs LHPs, but it would still be Seigler starting about 70% of the games and coming in on D or to PH.

I'd like to avoid losing good prospects for rentals, but that is often the case at deadlines. Getting longer term players usually costs was more at the deadline than during winter months. Look at Brez's winter trades, and it kinds makes me wanna scream, "Don't overpay- wait for next winter!" but we have a nice looking team with a chance to advance, so what will we do? Thinking in terms on 2027 and beyond and our 2026 needs, I think with Early being traded, Gray probably becoming a FA and Tolle & Bennett on limited IP plans, trading for a SP has to be a top priority. In terms of prioritizing everyday positional needs with 2027 and beyond as a major factor, here is how I might rank our priorities in reverse order (most set positions listed first.) 1. CF: Rafaela is set for CF for many years. (Azocar is 19 and could be a top prospect soon.) 2. RF: Abreu is set for 3 more arbs. (Azocar could replace Abreu.) 3. 3B: Durbin has impressed me enough to think we are set here for 4+ years. 4. 1B: May have some scary depth issues, but Romy and Mead are not bad, and the flickering hopes of a Casas return remain. Contreras is old, but he has another season plus a team option, so 1B is not a top priority, yet. (Gonzales offers some future distant hopes.) That's 4 slots I see as all set, for now. In baseball anything can change on a dime. The next positions are more volatile, skeptical and difficult to project, but I'll take a stab at it: 5. LF: I'm still a believer in Anthony and have to think he offer more long term hopes than other position players in these next slots. I've all but written off Duran- okay- I have already, Yoshida and Jones are the current starters. They would make LF near the top priority, if I was looking at just 2026. This screams of a rental trade, here, and then roll the dice on Anthony. Gonzales and Azocar are long away pieces that could help, but not now and not in 2027. 6. 2B: I debated making this #5 as Mead looks like he could be the next Durbin but with power. Having Seigler, Monasterio, Romy, Mayer and maybe even Story in the mix for 2027 and beyond moves 2B ahead of those listed next. (Arias could push every SS in the system to a 2B outlook for many years to come.... or not.) 7. DH: While some may place this at #8 or 9, I see the DH position as one where some other positional players can DH often or sparely and give it a boost. Yoshida has another year, and Romy has been a top 20 batter vs LHPs since 2024. They make a decent platoon. Depending on the LF situation, Anthony could be used here. If Casas every gets straightened out, I always saw him as a DH. It might help with hsi fragility, although he seems to get hurt when he sneezes, so maybe it won't help. Maybe Brannon, Cespedes or Gonzales can help here before too long and longer. #7 is pretty close to #8 and #9. 8. SS: Arias kinda makes this slot one massive wild card. I hate to put too much hope on a guy who just got to AAA to become a force in 2027. It's speculative enough to pencil him in as a sure bet for 2028 and beyond. That's why I put SS at #8. Story should play 2B, be traded or maybe even DH, if his bat returns. Mayer is a coin toss, and could play 2B and 3B, too, if he earns it. He'd have to be really good to beat out Durbin and Mead. Beating Arias & Story seems his best shot. TBH, I don't have a ton of faith in any of these guys for 2026 and 2027. Monasterio, IKF and Cheng could be okay for 2026, but I could see a trade for a rental or longer term SS, now. C: I know some disagree, here, but Wong is too up and down on offense, although his defense has improved. Marvaez looked like a keeper, last year, but has looked totally clueless at bat, all year long. He's barely even had a decent 5 game stretch. We have some decent looking offensive catchers in the system, but many may end up at 1B or DH and maybe Jo Garcia is the closest to the bigs, right now. Yup, catcher is a big need now and going forward. If we do trade for a longer term player, Catcher might be the best slot to look. Expensive, too. (SS is second to me.) Sorry for rambling.

You often leave me in stitches. You outdid yourself on this one. 😂

Hard to tell. Maybe it's wishful thinking, but I think he bounces back strong.