moonslav59

Apparently, with that contract, not much to nothing. Certainly, Betts is by far the best of this bunch, but Verdugo is a solid second. OPS 2019-2020 (PAs listed, if under 600) .919 Betts .827 Verdugo .773 Cordero (62) .760 JBJ .751 Beni .749 Renfroe .749 Puello (158) .707 E Hern .698 Marwin .692 Munoz (226)

The thing is, the top 3 picks are hardly ever the 3 names you'd expect them to be, so I'd put the odds at 100:1 one of the 3 listed will be available when the Sox pick 4th. That being said, I'll play along. I'd pick Jaden Hill SP LSU (6-4 215). I'd avoid HS players, right now, as I'm thinking we want to make a strong push in 2-4 years. According to a bunch of mock drafts, these are some names I see often: College Adrian Del Castillo C Miami Matt McLain SS UCLA Kahlil Watson SS Wake Forest Gunner Hoglund RHP Miss Henry Davis C Louisville Sale Frelick OF BC Ty Madden PHP Texas Alez Binelas 3B Louisville HS Jordan Lawler SS Maercelo Mayer SS Brady House SS/RHP

For what it's worth... BTV Trade Value: 48.1 Verdugo 14.0 Duran 10.8 Jimenez 4.6 Beni 3.5 Cordero 0.6 Renfroe 0.6 Munoz 0.5 Kike 0.2 Marwin -4.1 JBJ -5.7 Betts

Other teams will be facing the same sort of issues. While our depth does not look great, it's better than the last 2 years, and we have hope in guys like Duran, Arauz, Munoz, Downs and others, as well as pitchers like Houck, Seabold, Bazardo and others. I'm concerned, too. I'm hoping this doesn't turn into a firesale summer, but at least that would mean we'd likely be better in 2022 and beyond.

Looking forward, I'd much rather have Verdugo than JBJ or Beni and probably even both combined. That is all that really matters. Past accomplishments are just that- in the past.

Arauz does. Hernandez plays CF well.

It does. It's hard to imagine us competing without ERod doing well.

Our 2bmen have all looked good in ST. Hernandez Arroyo Arauz Chavis

Let’s see what Andries has got.

If it looks like more than 2-3 starts, they may call up Houck or Seabold or try an opener here or there. If Andriese does well, maybe not.

Lol. Who takes ERods slot? Andriese? Whitlock? Houck? Opener or pen games?

The news on ERod is troubling, but I guess not entirely unexpected. I hope he can come back soon. I’m wondering if we pushed him a bit to quickly. I think he went 4-5 innings before the 2 inning game.

True, and most players respond well to honesty and pointed constructive criticism, although criticism should be in private. Some people,players included, do not respond well to any criticism, even constructive or veiled and private. A good manager knows what players can take and can't take. Some fans, posters or media members might take what he said about Perez and being too critical, but I trust Cora knows what he's doing. He did not throw him or Beni under any bus. He was being honest and forthcoming. I hope Perez takes his comments to heart and remains a pretty good 5th starter.

I've always been plugging Dalbec's OBP as the negator of his poor K rate. The power makes him a big plus. His defense is still largely unknown, but he shouldn't be a negative at 1B or 3B.

I agree on Arauz, and I'm thrilled he looks to be stepping it up. I have been against starting Duran on the 26 man roster all along, but if Cordero is out, Chavis as an OF option is not too appealing. Someone noted he has not played LF all spring, so I don't think they are thinking of using him there. That leaves Marwin in LF, Verdugo in CF and Renfroe in RF. The back up OF'er is JD. Arroyo does not play OF, nor does Plawecki. They seem to be adverse to playing EHern in the OF, as I have been pleading for almost from his signing, but I guess he's the 4th OF'er until Cordero is ready. That would make a Chavis/Arroyo 2B an interesting battle. The added boost to the Duran case is that AAA does not start until May, so he will be parked at the alternative site not playing real live games. (BTW, why don't they play some alt site games?) As everyone knows, I have not been a big Chavis fan. He reminds me too much of Middlebrooks without the poor attitude, but I've always said he deserves a long look, so we can find out, once and for all, if he's a keeper or more like a AAAA player. It seems like 2021 is the perfect season to play him, but he need not play right from the start. He should get a chance, at some point, unless everyone stays healthy (not likely) and everyone performs well (not likely). To me, this is a real coin toss: Duran, who has hit very well this spring, too, vs Chavis. If I had to choose, now, assuming no Cordero, I'd go with Chavis and be ready to play EHern in CF some games and perhaps in late innings after someone is PH for.

I totally agree. Your perspective is right on point. Players are often "underpaid," in terms of comparing them to players of similar value who have reached the open market, for several years. Sale was underpaid even beyond the normal years of team control. He "earned" the contract he signed, and whether he gets hurt or sharply declines does not take away from the fact that he earned that contract. One could claim he earned enough to have gotten a bigger contract. The 20/20 hindsight often neglects these aspects of contracts. I loved the Sale contract and thought he would have gotten more, despite the injury concerns. I still think he will give us some very good to great productivity over the rest of his contract. I also think ERod should be extended, perhaps at a slightly lower rate due to his unique health concerns, but I would not be upset, if we paid him FA market money for 4-5 years. (He turns 28 very soon.) He's still got prime years left. The Eovaldi signing was more problematic. He played well for us after the trade and had an inspiring playoff season that (bigly) helped pull the team together and win a ring. His record and injury issues beforehand probably showed he did not "earn" $17M x 4 years, but I'm not blasting any GM for that contract. I know Houston was very interested in him. (He was born and raised in and around Houston.) Even his deal is only half over, so the 20/20 hindsight judgments are still TBA. I'm glad we still have Sale on the team. I think we will become strong contenders in 2022, and Sale will be a big part of the winning team.

Arroyo is a lock. If Cordero is ready, Marwin is the other bench guy, if not it's between Chavis and Duran not Arauz. Good to see him doing well.

I totally agree. It's hard to fault a player for trying to improve his build and get in "better shape." There are different kinds of "better shape," and maybe Beni went down the wrong road. Maybe he didn't. Let's see what he does with KC. His sample size, post build up, was rather short. I agree on Cora going too far. I was just saying maybe he did not intend it to be critical, but just pointing out how good intentions don't always pay off. I wonder if he makes a follow up statement that maybe mentions something like I just said.

Glen & Trevor Hoffman Carney and Jody Lansford Spike Owen had a brother in MLB Jose & Ozzie Canseco Drew & Stu Pomeranz Denny & Brian Doyle Marty & Tom Barrett Mike and Rob Andrews Garin & Gavin Cecchini Tony Armas and can't remember his brother's name. Danny Darwin and ??? Otis Nixon and ??? Adam and Andy LaRoche Alex and Joey Cora

Fathers and Sons... Marc & Haywood Sullivan Damon Buford (Don was his father.) Kevin Romine had two sons play in MLB. Edwin Escobar (I know his father played, but I don't know his name) Didn't Jose Tartabull have a son play? Dick Schofield had a son play in MLB. So did Diego Segui. Lew Krause Jr. (Played with the Brewers while I lived in Milwaukee, then was traded to the Sox. His dad played a little somewhere.) Tony Pena had two sons play in MLB. Does Terry Francona count? (Tito was his dad.)

Agreed, but I doubt Cora thought he was trashing Beni. I can see how Beni will think he was.

Smart man.

He's nice to have but not at that price. I hope he earns it, this year and next.

Good point, but Eovaldi has just 2 years left, and Sale has 4. I'd still rather have Sale and his remaining deal over Eovaldi's.

If he was his "normal self" at the end of 2018, he'd have gotten a much bigger contract. Maybe you wouldn't have loved that.