moonslav59

It could be more about wanting to reset in 2020 and dumping half of Price's deal, so we'd be better situated for 2021 and beyond- maybe even to re-sign Betts, despite many here thinking that was all but impossible.

I'd have trade Betts, Price ($16M/yr) and Chavis for Verdugo & Gonsolin and maybe tried to add someone else to get Downs, too.

No way that would ever have happened, even if we threw in Chavis and Duran. Maybe Gonsolin.

Of course, but IMO, I would not sign Price to a $32M/2 year deal this winter. It's an opinion not a fact.

I get the reasoning, and yes, I'm hopeful the reset will allow the wallet to be re-opened, but that doesn't take away from the fact that the Sox haven't had a pick above #7 since I can remember, and when we finally suck enough to get one, the rules are changed for just this one year. I can understand why they are doing it, but it doesn't mean I have to like it or agree with it. We suck way more than we did last year, but it matters little.

Then, you simply deal with that hole, then. We have so many holes to fill, we need to decide which ones are most likely to be filled from within the system and address the ones that are least likely to be filled within the system. Clearly, pitching is the area where we have the least in-system hopes, especially within a year two. CF is probably second. While 2B and 1B look weak, having Dalbec, Potts and Casas at 1B and Downs with a slew of marginal wanna-bees could be pushed off until mid season 2021 or later. Also, signing a one year 2Bman and calling him a "placeholder" for Downs does not mean the idea sucks just because Downs fizzles out. It just means we address the 2B opening with more resources after 2021. Pedey's deal drop soff the ledger as well as a few others.

I've always liked Dalbec, and certainly much more than Chavis. That's part of the reason I included Chavis in just about every trade I suggested on the trade simulator site. (Plus, they had Chavis way over-valued. He's off to great start, but it's way too early to judge.

No. I didn't mean trade one for a 2Bman. I meant 2B is a bigger hole than 1B, so trading a 2Bman makes less sense. The idea of trading anyone would be for a pitcher(s). While we do need a CF'er for next year, pitching is a higher priority. I think we will not seek a 2Bman, except for maybe a one year FA as a bridge to Downs.

We probably could have gotten Verdugo and Maeda for Betts & Price (+Cash). I suggested that trade on the tradevalues site.

I know. Blaming Chaim for having a very limited budget and injury plagued pitchers making ungodly money is beyond me. Even blaming Henry makes more sense than Bloom, but to me, the writing was on the wall. Too bad, when we finally look to be able to maybe get a first 2-3 pick, they change the rules.

With a gaping hole at 2B, maybe Casas or Mata/Ward will be traded.

Then, right after we sign him, he becomes the best ever!

I don't disagree, but for a "hack," a .282 BA and .335 OBP is pretty damn decent. Here's a narrower look: ages 22-23 only: Betts: .306/.353/.508/.861 Devers: .304/.355/.550/.905 The BA and OBP are nearly equal!

His defense and base-running will never match Mookie, but the bat could. Here's a simplified look at the two at certain ages: OPS/Level Age Devers 20-21 1.006 AAA/.944 AA 20 .819 MLB (started MLB a year earlier than Betts) 21 .731 MLB 22 .916 MLB 23 .864 MLB Age Betts 20 .923 A and A+ (lower level than Devers at age 20) 21 .920 AAA/.994 AA 21 .812 MLB 22 .820 MLB 23 .897 MLB 24 .803 MLB Total Ages 20-23 (Mookie 21-23) Devers: (1616 PAs) .282/.335/.505/.840 Betts: (1597 PAs) .304/.355/.500/.855 (Betts had an .803 season at age 24, so Devers could easily pass him, next year by putting up a .880+ season.) Let's see if Devers explodes on offense as he enters prime. His defense has shown signs of becoming plus, but he's has seen too many backslides, mostly with throwing, to show GG hopes. His base running instincts do not look promising. It's hard to compare the two, and one could argue they shouldn't be compared, but Devers may end up the better hitter of the two, when all is said and done.

Our pen is pretty close to needing a total re-haul. It looks like only D Hern, Barnes and Valdez have much hope. Our rotation hope lies mainly on health. If Sale, ERod and Eovaldi don't gives us much, next year, all we have is Perez, who may have just seen a somewhat outlier half season. In reality, to be a very competitive team, we might get by with just 2 meaningful SP'er additions, but we likely will need 3-4 new and good pen arms to make a difference. 6 pitchers out of 13 is not "from scratch," but it's a major overhaul.

IMO, Bloom is going to spend like he has never spent before, so it's hard to know what he will do. Lord knows we have a very weak 40 man roster, starting from about #15 to 18. He could spend on 12-18 players and "spread the wealth," or he could spend larger on a smaller group of player. He could seek as many shorter terms/higher cost deals as possible. He could identify up to a handful of players he sees as being part of a longer term rebuild and spend large and long on them while trying to back fill the remaining holes from within a thin ML ready system. If he ends up with $70 to maybe $90M to spend, dividing that money by 5 to 7 players versus 10-14 0r somewhere in between will show us more about Bloom's spending philosophy- something hard to get a read on with his history at Tampa Bay. Since his M.O. seems to be doing well with finding cheaper gems in the rough, it might make more sense for him to spend larger on 6-8 players and then try to find 4-6 "cheaper gems" to fill the slots our system does not appears to be well positioned to adequately fill, right now. One could imagine a competitive team by signing an ace, 2 top RP'ers, a swing man and a CF'er. That's just 5 players. He'd have to strike gold on almost all 5 AND hope for good health from others to be highly competitive in 2021, but building a deeper lasting core would, at worst, be a stepping stone to a solid 2022 team, when more money will be freed up to fill the remaining slots, and a better understanding of which farm hands can be counted on (or not) will be known. Lets go with 5. SP1 __________ SP2 ERod SP3 Eovaldi SP4 Perez SP5 Pivetta>Sale SP6 ________ (Pivetta) Godley/Weber/Mata/Ward/Seabold) RP1 ________ RP2 ________ RP3 Barnes RP4 D Hern RP5 Taylor RP6 Valdez RP7 Brewer/Brasier/Brice/Covey/Mazza/Houck C Vaz & Plawecki 1B Dalbec (Chavis) 2B Chavis/Munoz/Peraza/Lin/Chatham > Downs 3B Devers/Arroyo SS Bogaerts LF Beni/Puello (Chavis?) CF ______/Duran (Lin) RF Verdugo/Wilson DH JD

I thought the deal was the best we could expect, despite not prying a prized pitcher from the pitcher-stocked Dodgers. Unlike many here, I think dumping $16M a year from Price's salary made an already good deal even better.

I'm not sure it matters when he makes the jump. It matters how well he does, if and when he arrives.

Here is next year's Sox pitching staff: 1. Stroman 2. ERod 3. Eovaldi 4. Perez 5. Pivetta>Sale 6. Godley/Seabold/Mata/Ward (Pivetta) Closer: Treinen RP2: Colome RP3: Barnes RP4: D Hern RP5: Taylor RP6: Valdez RP7: Brewer/Brasier/Weber/Houck/Covey/Brice/Walden Maybe we sign Brantley for the OF or Springer, if we miss out on Stroman.

They are all "make believe" pitchers.

I'm not sure it matters.

Yes, I read that in the article I found. He chose to not get paid. I still think it makes the trade look better, along with Verdugo shining brightly.

Sox OPS after tonight's game: (1.177 Moreland) 1.118 Dalbec 1.040 Munoz .884 Verdugo .869 Bogaerts .864 Devers .836 Plawecki (.795 Pillar) .761 JBJ .717 Vazquez .672 JD Martinez .622 Chavis .617 Peraza .547 Arauz .546 Arroyo .478 Lin .478 Beni

I read Price gave up the $12M (pre-rated pay) to opt out. He gets nothing, this year.

True, but not paying $16 or $32M due to him opting out makes the deal look better. Do players who opted out really get nothing at all?