moonslav59

It sure beats a comp pick. We'll never know about winning in 2020 had we kept Betts, so that argument can never be settled. I see Verdugo as better than "run of the mill". Downs has real talent and is immediately our 1 or 2 best prospect. Wong is a long shot but could be a nice DH/utility guy. The $16M saved on Price x 3 years could be huge, especially if Bloom works his budget magic.

Many of us wanted and expected many prospects to be traded- not nearly all of them. It wasn't an all or nothing choice. It was also about who we traded for as much as who we traded away. It was also about the quantity of trades. Of course the farm is to be sued as the GM wishes, but that does not mean all decisions are beyond reproach. As for the 3 last place finishes: going into each of those seasons, we had a lot to be optimistic about. We can probably blame one last place on Bobby V. We also had a ring between all those bad seasons, so it was not like all was lost, and we had some long extended streak of futility. DD was hired the get us a rings, and he did. That doesn't mean all discussion must and will end concerning his possibility of going overboard. Even if we all agree, which will never happen here, that every trade was needed to win that ring in 2018, it still does not mean we have deny the effects of all those trades on our future. Sadly, the future came upon us quicker than many of us expected or hoped for, but I guess what bugs me a little, is how some refused to believe this day would ever come.

I thought it was a very well thought out statement. Yes, it was calculation and was designed to calm the masses by explaining what's going on, but I thought it all made sense.

DD traded these top prospects (soxprospects.com highest ranking): 1 Y Moncada 3 A Espinoza 3 M Margot 5 D Marrero 6 J Guerra 5 M Kopech 5 J Beeks 7 L Basabe 9 M Dubon 11 S Anderson 13 L Allen 16 B Taylor 17 T Buttrey 17 W Jerez 18 L Basabe 20 C Asuaje 20 S Nogosek

Not surprising. Especially, when you consider he'll be a Sox again next year.

Agreed, and if you take each major DD trade made, here's what I thought of them at the time of the deal: Kimbrel: hated it due to too many prospects given and CK not being a financial bargain Pomeranz: disliked the trade not Pom. Thought a bigger package with maybe some from the CK trade could have gotten us better. Sale: loved it and still do. Thornburg: liked it Nunez, Kinsler, Eovaldi & Reed: liked them. We likely could have won without Pom, Thornburg, Kinsler and Reed, but taking back just those trades (in hindsight) would not greatly improve our farm or future outlook all that much. Winning without Kimbrel and or Sale is another issue.

I changed Devers to Moncada. I'm still very happy we traded for Sale and resigned him. I am very confident he will return to form. That being said, trading Moncada and Kopech were part of decimating the farm. I think it was a worthy part of the whole decimation, but they were part of it. When Sale returns to form, we should not trade him. He is a big part of the rebuild plan. He's part of the core we build around- Sale, Bogey & Devers. We all await the glorious return of... Chris Freakin' Sale!

I'm not, and maybe just saying, "He lost the ball club" would have been enough to keep the media and fans happy. Somehow, I think it wouldn't have been enough. I'm not disagreeing with much of what you have been critical of. There's been more than just Tito leaks. I'd like to see none or less of that, but to me it pales when compared to the overall excellence Henry has brought to this organization.

Every baseball organization has bad times. Most struggle with them and try to spin the perception in their favor. High media sports attention areas, like Boston, make it much more difficult. People had to know WHY Tito was let go, who was to blame for this signing or that trade. If they kept quite, they'd be criticized for that, too- and have been. Sure, some things have gone wrong. Sure, mistakes were made. Sure, it's okay to talk about them and be critical, but to me, some context is needed. This organization cares about winning AND does something about it. Since Henry took over, we have been one of, if not the top spending teams every year- even the "down" ones. When change is needed, change is made. Sure, that looks like loyalty be damned, and maybe to some extent it is, but it's worked every time we've changed GMs. Henry has brought us 4 rings and many good to great seasons in between. Even the last place teams had hope in the springs of those seasons. Even 2020 does not look totally lost. There's a lot of good things to look forward to, and our extended future looks brighter due to the latest big change. I'm not going to pretend everything has gone the way I'd like it to go, but big picture? This is the best 2 decades of Sox baseball I have ever seen, and it ain't even close! Thanks, Henry. Thanks, Theo, Ben, DD and Bloom. Thanks Tito and Cora and others. Thanks Papi and Manny and Pedro and Schill and Beckett and VTek and Lester and Betts and...

Spring baseball is beginning, and our 2020 roster might be pretty much set. I like the Pillar signing and feel the Betts/Price trade was essential and likely the best we could do, under the circumstances. All that has been debated and argued over for days, and will likely be debated for months and years to come. Here's a look at how I see the 26 man roster shaping up, as well as who might be contributing something meaningful in 2020. C- Vazquez & Plawecki (Centeno & Bandy) 1B- Moreland (Chavis, Dalbec & Ockimey) 2B- Peraza & Chavis (Lin, Arauz, Marco & Chatham) 3B- Devers & Arauz (Dalbec, Chavis & Marco) SS- Bogaerts & Lin (Arauz, Marco & Chatham) LF- Benintendi (Pillar, Puello & JD) CF- Bradley & Puello (Pillar & Castillo/Duran) RF- Verdugo & Pillar (Puello, JD & Castillo/Duran) SP- Sale, Rodriguez, Eovaldi, Perez (Velazquez, Weber, Johnson, Houck, Hart, McGrath, Mata, Ward, Reyes) RP- Workman, Barnes, Taylor, Walden, Hernandez, Brasier, Hembree, Brice (Brewer, Osich, Mazza, Shawaryn, Springs, Hall, Poyner, Feltman) To me, the weakest slots are: SP5 RP 2B RP 1B SP6 OF

LOL. Your posts are always top notch, even if I disagree, at times.

I haven't given the 2020 team much of a chance, even before the Betts & Price trade, but I'm going to enjoy watching every game. We still have a very good offense, some decent pitchers and a lot of young players to follow.

I thought DD went overboard, but it's all good with the shiny ring, but since you asked, I'll take these deals back... Dubon & Shaw for Thornburg Ty Buttrey for Kinsler Espinoza for Pomeranz Plus,many of us were not about keeping all of these prospects. We were about packaging many of them differently for better returns, and the sheer volume of prospects traded away. Would we still have a ring without Kimbrel or Sale? We'll never know. Without Pom, Thornburg and Kinsler? Probably yes?

I don't question any of the GM moves all that much. At each point a change was made, a different direction seemed like a valid option. Of all the changes made, I like the DD to Bloom change the most. Of course, the jury is out, but I'm talking about "at the time of the change." Most liked (in order): 1. DD to Bloom 2. Theo to Ben 3. Ben to DD.

To me, the plan looks like we may stay semi-competitive in 2020, get better in 2021 (maybe get lucky) but be back in the top 3-5 contenders by 2022 and beyond. I'm assuming we go back to spending near or above the tax line again. Verdugo, Downs and/or Wong may all be a part of those teams. The $16M opened up for the next 3 years should help. Resigning Betts or opening up his contract money for other signings should help, too. Will it be enough to replace Betts? Only time will tell, and I'm not talking 86 years or even 8.6 years.

Well, he could bomb on the $16M x 3, but the prospects could all do well and make the deal a good one. It's good to see you have a sliver of hope things might work out.

Great posts Sox 75.

bingo! ..

I remember people being upset with Beckett being part of the AGon trade. The Crawford dump was hailed by all, but Beckett was borderline. He was owed $17M x 3 from 2012 to 2014. While that's not Price money, it was a lot in 2021. I'm not saying Price will duplicate what Josh did after the trade, but Beckett, who was 32 when traded, went on to go 8-14 3.39 (106 ERA+) in just 202 IP in 2.3 seasons with LA. He retired after 2014. Many of us who were okay with the Price signing and those who loved the signing knew the last 3 years might be sketchy. I realize we are still paying Price $16M x 3 to pitch elsewhere. That sucks, but we got out of those last 3 years and gained $16M x 3 to spend. (Also, the reset saves millions.)

Yes, but on top of that, we have $16M to spend (and to replace) Price and some hope we'll get something from 2 or 3 from Verdugo, Downs or Wong.

The problem was dumping Price. Betts is not a salary dump, although many teams cannot afford him at $27M. Waiting to July to dump Price would have been a huge risk, and any dump would be pro-rated on the budget. Say we get someone to pay half his salary on July 31st. Half is actually one-third of half, because that's all that's left of the season. We'd save $5.3M on the lux tax for 2020 by trading half of Price's deal then. Could we trade Price alone, this winter, and get $16M relief? I say, no, but several here think he's worth $16M x 3 or more. Even so, that alone would not be enough to reset, and we'd have done nothing to help the farm.

No,it wasn't, or it was meant to temper expectations. Nobody is happy about Verdugo's health concerns, and I'm hoping the Sox medical staff knew what they were doing. (I'm not sure what I base that hope on with their record.)

Let's not get political. I'd still rather have Verdugo with no Downs or Wong or any Price salary relief than a comp pick after the 2nd or 4th rounds. Sure, Verdugo could flop and that comp pick could be a great one, but the odds are greater Verdugo adds more value. I'm glad we didn't trade for Myers or wait to the deadline- like we're still waiting for Trump's healthcare plan that will "greatly improve coverage, lower drug prices, protect existing conditions, cost less and let us all choose any doctor we want." (Ooops, did I say that out loud?)

Henry said many things- some sounding polar opposite of each other. If some chose to believe what they wanted to believe and disregard the rest, then I can see why they are crying, now.

So,it's not a fact Verdugo is immoral?