moonslav59

If we are looking to reset after 2020 (more likely) what about these 2 year players? $16M Morton or $12 M Gio Gonzalez? Plus... $8M Cody Allen and $5M Jesse Chavez?

If we are looking to reset the tax after 2019 (doubtful IMO), then how about signing 3-4 of these projected one year players? $10M Dozier $8M Herrera $8M Sabathia (another lefty?) $6M E Santana Maybe Harvey, Ryu or Cody Allen would take a 1 year deal to try and reset their value.

The pitcher performance levels between Leon and Swihart and Vaz and Swihart are frighteningly significant in almost all cases involving our starters. Those who want to dump Leon and make Swihart the back-up should be prepared to defend that choice by showing his offense projects to make up the difference. The differentials between Leon and Vaz are less significant, but with Sale one could argue, it's worth keeping Leon just as Sale's personal caddy alone. Career ERA for Sale with.... Leon 2.42 (319 IP) Vaz 3.40 (53 IP) Swihart (Zero IP with Blake) Price did well with Vaz this post season, but here are the career numbers: 2.83 w Leon (194 IP) 4.32 w Vaz (263 IP) 5.73 w Swihart (11) Porcello: 4.14 w Leon (483) 4.15 w Vaz (134) 4.59 w Swihart (118) ERod 4.00 Leon (99) 4.08 Swihart (71) 4.24 Vaz (276) Wright 3.35 Vaz (97) 4.06 Swihart (71) 5.59 Leon (56) I guess one could argue Swihart would be okay with ERod and Wright and maybe Porcello as well, so if used correctly, he would not hurt the staff that much, but if you take away Leon from these trends, you should expect significant declines from Sale and Price, even if only Vaz catches them.

I agree, and when I mentioned the word "demand," it was in the context of what I would be okay with and not what I thought was going on. In Sale's case, I'd be okay with him demanding that Swihart never catch him to start a game. I probably would not be okay with him saying he demands Leon over Vaz, unless he has a very good reason.

Not only are owners making huge money off baseball, the value of their teams, when they go to sell them, are extremely higher than when they bought them. That gives them the sense that they can spend to win. Then, you might have some owners who don't care if their team loses money, they just want the status as a winning owner in the sports world.

I might try... $15M Eovaldi $10M Ottavino and hope we can squeeze Pearce in. or... $11M Familia $8M Cody Allen $7M Kikuchi Save $4M for in-season acquisition(s)

For argument's sake, let's assume the Sox have $30M to spend this winter and the 2019 season, and every FA would agree to sign with us at the amount MLBTR projects. Who would you sign? SP: $21.5M x 6 Corbin $20.5M x 4 Keuchel $16M x 3 JA Happ $16M x 2 Morton $15M x 4 Eovaldi $12M x 2 G Gonzalez $11M x 3 Ryu $11M x 2 A Sanchez $11m x 2 M Harvey $11M x 2 T Cahill $8M x 2 L Lynn $8M x 1 Sabathia $7.5M x 2 D Holland $7M x 6 Yusei Kikuchi $6M x 2 B Norris $6M x 2 W Miley $6M x 1 E Santana $6M x 1 Pomeranz $5M x 2 G Richards RP: $17.5M x 4 Kimbrel $11M x 3 J Familia $11M x 3 Z Britton $11M x 3 Robertson $10M x 3 Ottavino $9M x 9 A Miller $9M x 3 J Kelly $9M x 2 J Soria $8M x 2 C Allen $8M x 1 Herrera $6M x 2 B Brach $5M x 2 J Chavez 1B/3B (move to 1B or move Devers to 1B) $20M x 1 Donaldson $9M x 4 Marwin Gonzalez $8M x 2 Moustakas $?? x ?? S Pearce (not listed on MLBTR's top 50 list) C $16M x 4 Y Grandal $12M x 3 W Ramos $4M x 2 M Maldonado $4M x 2 K Suzuki 2B $10M x 2 D Murphy $10M x 1 Dozier $9M x 2 DJ Mahieu

Yes, Cora makes the call, but to think the pitcher's opinion is not a part of the equation is missing a key component of the decision. I'm fine with Sale wanting, needing or demanding Leon catch him. If it works, don't "fix it." The real issue here is if we dump Leon for Swihart, it won't just be Sale complaining and doing worse when Swihart is behind the plate.

Me, too.

Losing Britton and Robertson might be a reason, but they have larger needs elsewhere.

Great post, CP. We are so lucky Henry bought the team.

Yes, there is a zero chance we reset this year. The big question is about the $40M penalty line and how close we come to it or go over it- probably for just one year. I'm not even sure we reset after 2019. I'm thinking after 2020 is the likely time, but a lot depends on how we look next year. I wouldn't be surprised, if we end up signing just Eovaldi and Kelly or something similar. We keep some budget space for DD to work his in season magic, if and where it might be needed.

Plus, we could see an improved Nunez knee, continued improvement with Holt's durability and endurance and input from Lin or Hernandez before Quiroz gets a look and we decide to look outside the organization for a 2Bman. Then, there's a slight chance Pedey gives us something good. Too many choices at 2B to spend precious resources there this winter. Wait it out.

We'd be better off waiting to the mid season for any 2B acquisitions.

I'm not complaining, but I expected more PH'ing, even in the playoffs. I expected some more games would see our catchers PH for twice. It did happen more often in the playoffs, but I still expected more. Again, I have no beefs with the best manager in Red Sox history.

If we don't resign Eovaldi, Pearce and Kelly, here are some possible alternative options. SP (Eovaldi) Corbin- signing him would likely mean we get no outside help at 1B or pen. Morton- close to what E-O will get. G, Richards- long shot RP (Kelly) Kimbrel- likely too costly Andrew Miller- likely too costly Ottavino- possible Robertson- I'm not high on him. Z Britton- I'm not high on him either. T Sipp- Lefty 1B/RH'd hitter (Pearce) Marwin Gonzalez (OF & SS also)

SBNations top Free Agents Rankings 1. Machado 2. Harper 3. Kershaw 4. Corbin 5. Donaldson 6. Kimbrel 7. Happ 8. Keuchel 9. N Cruz 10. Pollock 11. A Miller 12. Morton 13. Brantley 14. Eovaldi 15. Ottavino 16. Ramos 17. Y Grandal 18. LeMahieu 19. Robertson 20. McCutchen 21. Lowrie 22. Ryu 23. Murphy 24. K Suzuki 25. Marwin Gonzalez 26. Jose Iglesias 27. Adam Jones 28. Gio Gonzalez 29. Z Britton 30. CC Sabathia 31. Joe Kelly 32. Wade Miley 33. J Chavez 34. T Sipp 35. Markakis 36. Buchholz 37. M Harvey 38. L Lynn 39. E Santana 40. G Richards 41. Shawn Kelley 42. Ian Kinsler 43. B Dozier 44. Asdrubal Cabrera 45. B McCann 46. E Gattis 47. M Wieters 48. A Sanchez 49. B Norris 50. Hellickson/Cahill/D Holland

If we get a platoon (Pearce?) for Moreland and Pedey makes the roster, there will be no room for Swihart, unless we unload Nunez or Holt (not).

Yes. If our starters can stay healthy, we may have Johnson or Velazquez in the pen as well.

Yes, I know. Again, I'm not putting Tito down by saying Cora is the best. My opinion on Tito has not change any.

I've always liked the idea, especially if Swihart could play other positions and hit over .750 (didn't happen), but I don't think we PH for our weak hitting catchers enough.

Look, I even qualified my position by saying I'm always bashing people over using small sample sizes, but I actually made my claim even before we won this year's ring. To me, watching how he manages, gets players focused (some for the first time) and exudes confidence and determination in everyone around him makes him our best manager ever. I have no issues with anyone wanting a larger sample size or believing Tito's longer record places him #1.

I'm not out to disrespect Tito. he was the greatest Sox manager ever, even with the 2011 season included. I really liked almost everything about Tito, but not as much as with Cora. I don't really want to get into the specifics, but I do think 2011 does take away a little from Tito's overall record. I know Cora's tenure is tiny compared to Tito's 8 seasons, and longevity does matter, but I still think Cora is a better manager than Tito was (is).

My numbers show... In Luxury Tax Dollars 31.1 David Price 22.0 JD Martinez 20.1 Rick Porcello 18.7 Mookie Betts 13.8 Dustin Pedroia 15.0 Chris Sale 11.9 Xander Bogaerts 7.9 Jackie Bradley Jr. 6.5 Mitch Moreland 5.0 Eduardo Nunez (with PA bonus reached) 4.8 Eduardo Rodriguez 4.5 Christian Vazquez 3.4 Brock Holt 2.3 Tyler Thornburg 2.3 Sandy Leon 1.5 Matt Barnes 1.4 Brandon Workman 1.4 Steven Wright 1.2 Heath Hembree 1.1 Carson Smith 1.1 Blake Swihart $174M Total (21 players) $2.2M Min for 4 MLB roster players $2.2M 15 players in minor leagues on 40 man roster $14.5M Player Benefits $18.5M Sandoval $211M Total

Updated budget with no Carson Smith. In Luxury Tax Dollars 31.1 David Price 22.0 JD Martinez 20.1 Rick Porcello 18.7 Mookie Betts 13.8 Dustin Pedroia 15.0 Chris Sale 11.9 Xander Bogaerts 7.9 Jackie Bradley Jr. 6.5 Mitch Moreland 5.0 Eduardo Nunez (with PA bonus reached) 4.8 Eduardo Rodriguez 4.5 Christian Vazquez 3.4 Brock Holt 2.3 Tyler Thornburg 2.3 Sandy Leon 1.5 Matt Barnes 1.4 Brandon Workman 1.4 Steven Wright 1.2 Heath Hembree 1.1 Blake Swihart $173M Total (20 players) $2.2M Min for 4 MLB roster players $2.2M 15 players in minor leagues on 40 man roster $14.5M Player Benefits $18.5M Sandoval $210M Total