moonslav59

I'm glad we have 3 healthy SP'ers and two long men (Bello & Bennett, who are both doing well.) Chapman and Whitlock have been among the league leaders in tandem results and WAR. Miller has been shaky, but maybe Bello & Bennett can bridge the gap between starter and our top 2 guys for 2 games.

Unless he dies under the next GM. The marker should read: "The Sox GM Sucks!"

Only 12 current Sox players were on the 40 Man Roster before Brez arrived: Houck, Wong, Whitlock, Duran, Crawford, Bello, Story, Kelly, Casas, Rafaela, Abreu & Masa. In the system but added later: Anthony, Sogard, Campbell, Olds & Paez That's 17 total. Top Prospects inherited: 1. Arias, 4. Valera, 10. Cespedes, 13. Wehunt, 16. Paez. 18. Bastardo 22. Romero, 24. Monegro, 26 Ge Rod, 37 Jo Garcia, 38. Brannon.

How about those Astros? Despite winning 9-0 today to clinch the ALW title, they ended up -32 runs in run differential and a record of 81-81. They can thank the Sox for going 1-5 against them. The Sox ended up with the 3rd best AL record and 9th best in MLB. In run differential, the Rays passed us for second in the AL, so we ended up 3rd, but 7th best in MLB and 7th best in MLB, which is top 1/4th tier. (Significantly better than PHI and SDP, who both had better records.) Runs scored: 10th in the AL (-1 from 9th) and 23rd in MLB. 12th in HRs. 2nd in 2B and 1st in 2B+3B. 3rd in HBP, Sac hits and Sac flies. Middle pack in BA (.245) 4th in OBP AL/12th MLB and 9th in SLG AL/ 20th in MLB. 9th in OPS AL/ 19th MLB ______________________ PITCHING 2nd in ERA AL/ 3rd in MLB 2nd in runs allowed (10 more than NYY)/ 3rd in MLB Fewest HRs allowed (153)

His injuries have been legit, but hurting yourself running to 1B or just swinging a bat makes one wonder....

Casas still has options left, so IMO several teams could and would park him on their 40, including the Sox. He just kept him all 2026- knowing we was toast..

And both could hold very important roles on the 2027 team, if healthy. I'm not ready to write off a career .800 hitter with 30 Hrs per 650 (Casas) nor a top 13 batter vs LHPs since 2024 (Romy.) BTW, it would not shock me, if we can't sign Duran before arb, we non tender him.

I don't disagree, but the return would be much better than for Seigler or Monasterio, and the drop off to Seigler/Monasterio, while significant, would not be catastrophic. Besides, we have 3 middle infielders in Arias, Mead and Story plus Romy, so we are talking about the 3rd string 2B/SS. Romy is okay at 1B, and maybe Casas gets healthy, so the depth at 1B should be okay, too.

They might have called him up for today's game. I doubt he gets the nod, unless there is yet another infielder injury.

Houck starts the last game of the season. Many felt Crawford, Crochet and Oviedo had an earlier ETA from the IL. This guy battled hard. Best of luck for Tanner.

The major factor is Gray or replacing him close to in kind (Nick Martinez?) I'm thinking they may want Houck in the pen- maybe Crawford instead or also. Bello will be handed a rotation slot and deserves it. He's over the starter yips, and after missing time in June, he put together an excellent 2.5 to 3 month, 14 game stretch: 55.1 IP with just 45 hits and 12 BBs. The 48 Ks is not great but not bad. 2.11 ERA and 2.81 FIP is mind-boggling. Only 4 of those 14 games were starts, but he went long in most other outings, and if you take away the back-to-back games in the middle of that stretch (7.1 IP and 8 ERs, 12 hits+ 3 BBs) those remaining 12 games had this look: 48 IP 33 Hits 9 BBs 5 ERs 0.94 ERA Crochet is no given, but apparently he looks sharp, now. I could see this: Crochet, Tolle, Gray, Suarez, Bello (Bennett, Oviedo/Houck/Crawford in pen?) I hope Brez does not think Crochet replaces Gray and this is enough: Crochet, Tolle, Suarez, Bello & Bennett) I'm not thrilled with the AAA depth of Paez, Holobetz, Wehunt, Ziehl, Mullins but there are worse groups out there in MLB, and with Houck, Crawford and Oviedo slotted before needing them, maybe it's enough.

I agree. I doubt we sign and trade Duran either. I think we should choose one and deal them for the best we can get, and by that I mean the most money saved for Yoshida or Story. For Duran, it's more complicated. If he goes to arb he might get $8-9M. I would not pay that, and if no GM would pay that, why let him win that in an arb and then not be able to trade him without pitching in money. If that's the case, just non tender him or try to get him to sign for $6.5M. I actually don't mind Yoshida as the DH, at least as much as others seem to dislike the idea, but with Anthony & Duran at LF/DH and Story & Mead at 2B/DH, plus so many other DH platoon combos out there, I'd prefer we trade Yoshida and try to save $5-6M, but maybe settle on $3-4M or just take back a high priced pitcher to balance the money to the same extent. I'm not a Story-hater, either. I think he'd be fine at 2B with Arias at SS, and maybe Mead at DH and back-up for when Trevor gets hurt. Again, if this happens, it further squeezes Yoshida and the LF/DH plans for Duran & Anthony. It's like we'd have 3 DHs: Mead or Story, Duran or Anthony plus Yoshida. I suppose we could platoon Story with one of the LHBs, but that's an expensive short-side platoon, and he actually has decent splits vs RHPs, unlike Yoshida and Duran vs LHPs. I'd prefer not to go into 2027 with a Gasper-Romy platoon plan at DH, but we'd also have Jones and maybe Casas as depth. To me, we have too many moving parts and logjams, while having a few clear need areas. Trading Monasterio or Seigler and Jones or White would free up some room, but none are bringing back a solid RP'er or opening up a line-up slot for the 3+ DHs. It would just clear up the 26 man roster issues and lack of options for Jones & White that creates issues. Trading Sogard could bring a better return, and maybe Sogard + White could fill one major need (pen help or a 6th SP'er type.) Something has to give, and we know Brez does not hesitate to trade bubble players, significant role players and even stars. 1B: Contreras, Mead, Sogard, Gasper, Romy, Casas, Brannon (Jo Garcia/Gonzales?) 2B: Mead, Story, Sogard, Seigler, Monasterio, Cheng (Rodgers/Romero/Cespedes) SS: Arias, Story, Monasterio, Cheng, Sogard (Godbout) DH: Yoshida, Duran or Anthony, Story or Mead, Casas, Gasper, Romy, Jones, Campbell (Brannon, Jo Garcia, H White, Cespedes, Gonzales, Winnay, Cespedes, Ro Hernandez) LF: Anthony, Duran, Jones, White, Campbell, Eaton (Gonzales, Ward) Depth is great, and we can see how it is often needed. This year is a perfect example, especially when you look at our revolving doors at 2B/SS/DH. However, when we have high needs at SP (Gray's slot) and SP depth (especially if we use Houck and or Crawford in the pen) and the pen. We'll also be facing a 26 man roster crunch, in part because some players are out of options. IMO, the 40 man roster crunch is not all that bad. I'm pretty certain, Brez will wheel and deal. I can see us trying to make an upgrade on offense, somewhere, but DH seems like the easiest to upgrade, but I just showed the logjam we have there and at 2B/LF that spills over into the DH slot. Do we want to upgrade in CF and lose our top WAR guy (Ceddanne?) Big NOPE from me. Do we give up on AR and trade even more top young players to upgrade there? NOPE. Do we try and do better than Durbin's .730-.750 projections? He does play great D at 3B, so I'd say NOPE. We are not touching SS (Arias/Story) LF (Anthony) or RF (Abreu.) We just gave up Early to get Mead, who has many years of control, and with Arias pushing Story to 2B, that position seems more than set. Now, Arias could stumble, and Story could get hurt, and suddenly we need a SS. This is not an easy situation to address.

Good to hear from you. Max. Brez has not added a pricey bat since Bregman, and that was a one and done. Contreras was a trade and at a below market salary after STL paid down some of it. AR and Mead were lower than market price additions. Even the pitchers he added were below market value, except for Suarez. Gray at $21M was a bargain, Oviedo was a cheap stab in the dark, and RP'ers Guerrero, Coulombe, Kahnle and others were super low priced. Eric Miller was not high-salaried either. Brez has formulated a strategy to pay a price but not beyond the market price. Bregman was an exception, but he was needed and the one year took away the higher risk. Buehler was one and done. Suarez was a gamble- his truly largest one. In your breakdown, I don't see 2B as an issue anymore. I think Mead is the real deal. DH looks sketchy but there are so many options, I'm thinking one will work. Anthony or Duran (non LF) Mead or Story (non 2B) Platoons: Duran-Story/Romy Duran-Jones/Romy Story-Jones/Romy Yoshida-Jones/Story/Romy Gasper-Jones/Story/Romy Casas Campbell Sogard-Brannon/Jo Garcia The possibilities are near endless. IMO, we can get by without a new bat, as long as we can keep Gray or replace him with Nick Martinez & Morejon. I'm not against adding a big bat, but this time it should be a LHB. It does seem like DH is our weakest area on offense, but we could use Anthony there and add LF'er. I don't think 2B is our next worst position by comparative outlooks: that might be CF or Catcher, if AR struggles or Ceddanne reverts to pre 2026 batting. I do NOT see us looking to upgrade at those two slot. We gave up a ton for AR and Mead, so I just don't see 2B, C or CF as upgrade slots. Now, I've gone full circle back to DH.

He is not a capable starter. He's far from "very" capable. He's a 0.5 WAR player. He's not a DH, and beside, we have about 7 better DHs or DH platoon combos. I'd prefer White and Jones to Duran. Maybe KC is a better 4th OF/DH option. Maybe Mead can play LF and bat 150 points higher. Can Duran regain some magic? Sure, but I would not pay $8-9M to find out. Anthony LF, Rafaela CF, Abreu RF White/Jones & Yoshida as the reserve platoon. Eaton, KC and Ward/Gonzales in AAA. Mead as a possibility. The budget will likely be too tight to pay Duran. Maybe if we save $9M by trading Story and Yoshida, it would make more sense. He'd basically be paid for by the two trades, and Yoshida would be replaced by Duran as the LH'd DH and 4th OF platoon guy. This needs a lot to happen to work, and Duran might still keep getting worse and not rebound. Staying the same would still not be worth $9M. We can use $9M on a RP'er or to boost our offer to Gray or Morejon.

I doubt Brez trades any pitching depth, unless it's for pitching.

Mead might be activated for playoffs.

He's likely to get $8-9M via arb. That's a lot for a 4th OF'er/PR.

Owen can do fine without Roman sucking.

For a guy who missed a lot of time due to injury, I'd say a .341 OBP is decent and a .400 SLG is a bit low but not bad. .400 SLG is the league average. The league .318 OBP is 23 lower than Roman. He doesn't even have 550 career PAs under his belt, and this is his line: .272 BA (MLB .244) .372 OBP (MLB: .316) .435 SLG (MLB .402) .807 OPS (MLB .718) HRs per 162: 17 XBHs per 162: 60

K% in 2026 (MLB: 22.3%) and OBP/SLG 33 Story .270/.353 31 Jones .419/.603 27 Duran .267/.362 27 Anthony .342/.400 25 Contreras .387/.518 24 Wong .309/.349 23 Rutschman .268/.383 ___________ League AVG ___________ 21 Abreu .328/,448 20 Sogard .340/.386 20 Rafaela .318/.442 19 Monasterio .297/.374 17 Gasper .357/.466 16 Seigler .327/.400 15 IKF .322/.311 14 Durbin .333/.379 11 Yoshida .347/.399

I just don't see any need for Eaton, except as a PR. I'm not dead set on the idea of Romy, but the guy has been one of MLB's best batters vs LHPs, and you know the Yanks will be using several during the series.

The game 1 starter gets to start the next round game 1, while the game 2 starter gets extra rest before his next start. I think Cam and Gray start game 1. Tolle starts game 2. I think Fried starts game 2 for NYY, but it's a tough call.

LF defense is important in NY, but our offense is what concerns me.

K% in 2026 (MLB: 22.3%) 34 Narvaez (gone) 33 Story (1 year left) 32 Cheng (3rd/4th string SS) 31 Jones (platoon OF'er) 29 Romy (not on 26) 27 Duran (2nd on team in PAs and might be gone in '27) 27 Anthony (as long as he gets on base, this doesn't concern me) 26 Eaton (like #38 on the 40 man roster) 25 Contreras (not a concern) 24 Wong (could be gone in '27) 23 White (out of options & 5th OF type) 23 Rutschman (near league avg) ___________ League AVG ___________ 21 Abreu 20 Sogard & Rafaela 19 Monasterio & Mayer (gone) 17 Gasper 16 Seigler 15 IKF (FA to be) 14 Durbin 11 Yoshida

When Early was traded, his ETA from injury was an unknown. I think missing the season was sort of expected. Mead was expected to be healthy. I think this was the main reason we made the trade. I think Early was viewed as slightly better but we needed a bat "NOW" and Mead had several years of control, too.