moonslav59

I do, and he doesn't have "starter yips." It's not a slam dunk feeling. I'm open to other choices. I mentioned Lugo, because he might have a price tag next to free, if we take on his complete salary. KC might even pay a sizable chunk.

Yes, he had gotten himself over .700 by batting much better than that for a while, but the expectation is about ,650 with him and maybe .625 with a Monasterio-Cheng platoon. Story's expectation is a big unknown, to me. I see our 3 biggest needs now being SP and Catcher with SS being close. (With Story, Mayer and Arias on the team, I don't think Brez & Co. agree with me on a SS need.)

I'm also for adding someone like Lugo.

They won't. They may move Reynolds, but even that might not be too probable. When's the last time they had a playoff shot at the end of July? They are 2 GB the last WC slot with just one team (STL) between them and AZ.

Indeed. I assumed that was implied. So, if we bat Yoshida first vs RHPs, do you lead Romy off vs lefties or do some line-up juggling?

Well said, and baseball even less so than "life." Look at how many got upset when the talk of trading Duran even after his great 2024 season continued. That was largely based on the belief he was not suspect, anymore.

last year, when people were complaining Brez was not doing enough at the deadline, the "suspect" most mentioned was Tolle. Are the same people complaining about Brez upset we didn't trade Tolle? BTW, one other name from last year was Early, and we ended up trading him a year later. The year before the names were Anthony, Mayer and KC. Looking back on them now, some of many might have wished we did trade them (at peak value.) It's not an easy call to make. The talk now (after Early's trade and before) is Arias and Eyanson.

Mead does have more power and Yoshida's OBP is close and has improved over 2026, so I could see it. I'm not sure about Yoshida batting first v LHPs.

I guess Tracy has already said Mead to 2B. YEAH!!!!

I really liked Early. He seemed supremely confident on the mound and had a knack for getting out of jams. I'm not sure how sustainable that was/is. The guy walked too many guys, and that usually bites pitchers in the arse. A 3.3 BB/9 is not the end of the world for a young pitcher still developing, but it was worrisome. It was 3.5 in the minors and 3.4 in college, so it wasn't some new issue with him. Of all the pitchers Brez has traded, this guy was the one I liked the most at the time of the trade. I still am thinking this was and will be a good trade for Boston- more so for 2026 than beyond, but beyond could be good, too

Here are just the pitchers traded or obtained by Brez in less than 3 years at the helm: Traded: Sale, Early, Drohan, Dobbins, Perales, Clarke, Murphy, Schreiber, Booser, L Guerrero Wikelman, Aita, Hoppe, Portes, Zeferjahn, Bolivar, Batista __________________________ Added & Subtracted or vice versa: Fitts, Harrison, Priester, Drohan, Sandlin, Newcomb, Hicks, Fajardo __________________________ Added: Crochet, Suarez, Gray, Bennett, Tolle, Chapman, Giolito, Buehler, Sandoval, Oviedo, Slaten, Moran, WeissertSamaniego, Watson, T Guerrero, Gamboa, Rivera, Holobetz, Phillips, Jose Bello & many draftees, including Eyanson & Witherspoon. Criswell, Hendriks, DMay, Matz, Paxton, Burdi Luis Guerrero (the other one) Lucas Sims, I Campbell

Agreed. Despite the apparent trust in Story at SS (by Cora & Co anyway,) I seriously doubt we go into 2027 with Story, Monasterio & Cheng as the only major SS options.

BTV says: 11.4 Mead for 30.7 Early They agree with you.

2026 OBP .389 Contreras .358 Wong (just 152 PAs) .352 Mead .341 Yoshida .333 Siegler (115) .326 Abreu .322 Rafaela Does this make Mead our lead-off hitter? I'd say Siegler and Wong are not really options. 1. R Mead 2B/3B/DH/LF???? 2. R Rafaela CF 3. L Abreu RF 4. R Contreras 1B 5. L Yoshida DH/LF or L Romy DH/2B 6. R Durbin 3B/2B 7. L Duran LF or L Yoshida/ L Romy 8. S Monasterio/ R Cheng SS 9. R Narvaez or R Wong (I'd put L Duran here.)

I agree, but he'd be rock solid at 2B, too.

Another obvious idea might be trading Arias for a Catcher or Pitcher. They'd have to have faith in Cheng-Monasterio, because they can't rely solely on Story.

That could very well be the idea. Duran benched or traded. Yoshida to FT LF. Mead to FT DH. Romy/Siegler at 2B (Story dream) Cheng/Monasterio and Arias at SS. Okay, I pinch myself and see Story back at SS.

I think we trade an infielder, and I'd say that even if Story was not on the horizon. Arias is MLB ready, now. They promoted him to AAA, so they've all but announced his readiness. Maybe they are so happy with Cheng-Monasterio-Siegler that we trade Arias in some wild blockbuster for Goodman or Neto.

I'm happy to see Suarez healthy. With no Early to return, we'll need Suarez to not miss a start.

Could Mead be used at DH, 1B, LF (at Fenway), 2B and 3B?

1. SP (Maybe someone like Lugo) 2. Catcher (Maybe someone like Jeffers- a rental or Langeliers/Goodman for the long haul and big bat addition.) 3. SS (Maybe someone like Neto, Abrams or even Pena. Adames might be the least costly impact SS we could obtain.) I don't think we add a SS, unless it's Story or Arias.

Romy has only started 2B three times, this year. He still looks like Yoshida's DH platoon, to me. Now, if the idea is to DH Mead, then Romy might be a 2B platoon guy.

Or how much everybody here was so thrilled to have them. The Stork probably poo-poo'd the Yorke for Priester trade and the Devers for Harrison trade, too.

This recent trade really helped to balance the team, but I do not think Brez is done. The need for a pitcher to eat some innings is greater now than before the trade, and maybe we trade for a big salary, so it offsets the need for giving up a top prospects- someone like Lugo. I'd still like to see us get a SS, but the 2B need is likely not high on the list, if on the list at all. I don't think this trade makes an Arias trade less likely, but I think we hold onto him, even if we deal for a SS. Catcher is clearly above 2B now. A SP'er is almost a given, even if it's someone like the 2025 Dustin May (eeek) trade. (BTW, he's not doing horribly this year.) I'm not sure about the Neto rumors, of if this trade nullifies our pursuit, but this would be a formidable infield: 1B Contreras (Mead/Romy) 2B Mead (Romy/Seigler) or Durbin (Arias in '27?) SS Neto (Cheng/Monasterio) Arias in '27? 3B Durbin or Mead

While I agree on keeping Durbin at 3B for Mead, my guess is Durbin would be a much needed Vacuum at 2B, too. I see us slotting Mead at 2B or DH with some time at 1B, as we rest Contreras some by DH'ing him here and there. (Willson's suspension did give him a nice break recently.) I think another significant trade involving one or two of our infielders or infield prospects is in the works- perhaps even to add a SS or 2Bman. If we trade Yoshida, who has improved his value over the last 4-5 weeks, then we know Mead's 2026 position will likely be mostly DH. I really like what I'm reading about Mead, especially for 2026, since I was really doubting how much (more) Early could give us down the stretch. His injury might have meant zero. From what I hear, we traded 5 years of Early for 4 years of Mead. We needed offense and got it. Pitching and pitching depth was our strong area and we used it to further balance the roster. It's scary because we have 4 SP'ers on the 60 IL, Suarez still out, others on IP limits and Gray being a free agent-to be. You gotta give to get, and I'm liking this trade the more I read about it.