moonslav59

I just listed like-skilled starters. I'd prefer the others over Tanaka, too, but he's not a bad pitcher.

+100

I'm not saying don't sign anyone until bargain basement time, but I do think the quality of players, including pitchers, leftover will be better than usual. I could see us signing a good mid ranged pitcher, like Ordozzi, Quintana, Tanaka or Paxton and maybe a decent CF'er or RP'er, then wait until near the end and swoop to sign 4-7 decent players.

I think a better quality "bargains" will be available late this winter- better than Perez & Plawecki.

That's that major reason, yes.

I wondered that about some on this list. I will say, Bauer seems more "worth it" than these guys, although the climate seems to have shifted on the value of draft picks.

They may, however, later be used in deadline trades to net us more prospects.

I hope he didn't get yours revving!

Maybe not any headliners, but maybe a couple.

My guess is there will be some decent, but maybe not great, players available near the end of the off season that will be great bargains. Watch Bloom wait and swoop.

There is a history of giving up a draft pick for a 1 year deal. The Sox lost a pick when signing Stephen Drew. Other one year qualifying offer FA singings for that year were Ervin Santana (ATL), N Cruz (BAL) & K Morales (MN). A few years later: Dexter Fowler- 1 yr with the Cubs, Ian Desmond with Texas. In 2018, Greg Holland (STL) & Lance Lynn (MN). Did the Braves lose a pick to sign Dallas Keuchel to a one year deal?

Teams that think they are one great pitcher away may think it's worth it. Others that have low picks may not value it highly. Others may feel that once they get him on their team, he'll want to stay- like Mookie did.

He may bank on the market spiking after COVID. That's the only reason he may go with a 1 year deal, IMO.

I think he could be a plus 1Bman within one year of learning. DH may be further down the road.

Finally, some Sox news! (Not that most teams have big news stories, already.)

I totally agree. The Devers part of the idea was one of the least worrisome.

We apparently couldn't afford Mookie due to the need to reset and several underwater contracts at the same time. By the time Devers reaches free agency, some deadwood will be gone. Remember, even in our reset year, we still outspent the vast majority of teams. I seriously doubt we ever fall out of the top 4-6 spending teams. That doesn't mean we can afford everyone, like proposed here by the soon to be O's fan, but it also does not mean we can't afford a few big ticket players.

I thought $15 was high, too, for these times, but 1 year, low-risk deals are often higher.

Where the hell is the draw to even follow this gutterball team ? Please, find another team to follow, soon.

He just turned 24. He's got an .830 OPS from ages 20-23! He also hit .944 in AA at age 20 and 1.047 in AAA, that year, in a smaller sample size.

My comment was not directed towards just the Devers part of the positions put forward, but yes, let's get real on Devers. The kid just turned 24. He's played in leagues way above his age group and exceled in nearly all of them. He's already got 1680 career PAs and has a 162 game average of .279 31 105 (.830 OPS). He hasn't even come close to his prime years, yet. Yes, his one great season pads his numbers, but there is no reason to think he can or will not repeat or improve on that season. In his 730 PAs prior to that season's 702 PAs, he hit .254 31 96 (.760 OPS). That's damn good for any player's first 180 games. After 2019, his 162 game average in 2020 was .263 31 122 (.793 OPS). Those are dome damn good "down" seasons for a 20 to 23 year old! Okay, his defense has been an extreme yo-yo, granted, but he has the tools to be a plus defender at 3B, and could very well be a very good defensive 1Bman, if it doesn't work out at 3B. His contract price is a bargain, at a time when we are near maxed out by many mega deals. Getting real involves looking at a realistic spending budget. Losing a bargain contract like Devers, even in his last arb year or two and taking on the contracts of Arenado (not to mention what we trade for him), Springer (not a good splurge FA), DJ L (likewise) and Snell's future arb raises is totally unrealistic. Even if we did trade Devers, we'll never come close to even making serious offers for all those 4 guys. Truth.

If the plan is to go $50M over the lux tax line, we'd have just signed Betts. Let's stay real, here. This isn't fantasy baseball.

I'm glad you are not out GM. In all seriousness, I'd have to switch teams.

Maybe we go the 2013 route and sign a bunch of mid level players. The prices might be just right for that plan.

You're talking 26 man roster. I think Chavis gets traded, assuming some GM values him enough to give us something useful (RP'er/CF'er). Maybe he can be included in a larger deal. Munoz has one option left, so he'd be AAA depth, if we acquire a 2Bman. Plawecki could even be traded, assuming Bloom & Cora think Grullon/Wong can be ML back-ups.