moonslav59

They stuck with KC a very long time, too, but then again they stuck with Toro for a very long time, too, so I'm not sure we can read too much into length of leashes. Campbell had been ripping up pitchers upon every promotion, then started out very well in early April. I doubt they cut him as much slack, next spring, but who knows. I do think they may hand Mayer the 2B or 3B job. I'm not sure how long his leash will be, but at least he's okay on D. That makes it easier to lengthen the leash. We also have Jh Garcia looking ready for a legit shot at some serious MLB playing time, but with a team looking to get to the next level, I'm not sure how many slots we open up for unproven youngsters beyond Mayer & Anthony.

One 3 week streak? I found one over 100 games long. Try 3+ months. I may disagree with you, but you won't get banned from here for posts like these. We don't have much talent that needs Rule 5 protection. One could argue Sandlin is borderline. To me, we can easily get down to 36 players while keeping Casas, Houck and Sandlin. Say good bye to Grissom & N Lowe. Keep one from Kelly and Guerrero. Keep Sogard over Eaton. Keep two from Criswell, Wink, Moran and Murphy (the first 3 have zero options) That's an easy 36. Leave room for 4 FAs. Houck was our ace in '24. Casas is the only guy on our roster who has averaged 30 Hrs per 650 and an .800+ OPS. You wanna keep Sogard and eaton over him?

The Casas injury is very hard to come back from. With Mayer, it's been different injuries, but none career threatening. I'd trade Duran and Sandlin for Lodolo. Sign one of these pairs: Bregman (3B) and Suarez (1B)- Mayer/Romy plays 2B Suarez (3B) and Hoskins (1B)- Mayer/Romy plays 2B Alonso (1B) and Torres (2B) Castro (2B) Rengifo (2B) or B Lowe (2B)- Mayer/Romy plays 3B KMart (2B via trade) and Suarez/Hoskins (1B)- Mayer/Romy at 3B Maybe bring back Matz & Refsnyder, too.

Yes, I just presented the starting point for the winter and 2026. If we add nobody or just a bunch of scrubs, I'll be driving the anti-JH wagon, myself. (I may not deserve it, but I will very quickly. I don't even think adding Bregman, Hoskins and Merrill Kelly would be "enough," but I might not get rabid over it.

I read somewhere the cost might end up being $110M/4. If so, he shoulda taken the remaining $80M/2 from the Sox. I'd probably offer him that, but we'd still need a bigger bat.

The thing is, we can't afford to let him learn at the MLB level, at least at 2B. We can maybe hide him at 1B or LF, but even then, I'd like to see him play a few weeks/months at AAA first. His best spot might be LF, but we have about 6 of those, not counting Masa. He also needs to earn his way back at the plate, but I feel less insecaure about that aspect of his game. I would not feel comfortable telling him, "You are our starting ____, so work hard over the winter and be ready for ST'ing. The job is yours to keep or lose."

He's 22 and has oodles of control years left. I seriously doubt it, unless we dangle our top young players. Emphasis on the "s."

BA is so out of style. Casas has hit way more than one hot streak. He's been over .766 in 3 of his 4 seasons, although 1 of those 3 was just 27 games (the .766 season.) However, the oner season he did not hit over .766 was 29 games long. He's hit over .800 in his two longest seasons. Both of those seasons, he had OBPs above .337 and SLG above .462. Those two seasons combined totaled 745 PAs with an .838 OPS w 37 HRs. I'll take the .256 BA or even .240, if he hits 30+ Hrs and has an OPS over .800. You should, too. (127 OPS+) So, one hot streak? 2022: .441 in first 14 games and 1.069 in last 13 games- 1 hot streak 2023: .580 in first 29 games and .931 last 103 games- 2nd hot streak and 103 games long! (Over 3 x as long as the cold streak) 2024: .682 in first 11 games and .828 in last 52 games- 3rd hot streak and way longer than the cold one. 2015: .466 in first 21 games and .800 in the 8 games right before going on the IL. I won't count that as hot streak #4, and it was shorter than the cold streak, but basically... Casas has had 4 cold streaks of 14, 29, 11 and 21 games long. That's 85 out of his 251 game career. Sure, he might be the next Dalbec, but Bobby D didn't have 251 games within hot streaks. Look, he may never hit well, again, but we don't have to pretend he was a streaky hitter with long cold snaps.

If we add nobody, this might be the 2026 line-up: 1. L Anthony LF 2. R Story SS 3. L Duran DH 4. L Abreu RF. 5. R Romy 2B/ L DHam 6. L Mayer 3B 7. L Casas 1B/ R Romy 1B 8. R Narvaez C 9. R Rafaela CF Bench: Wong, Romy/DHam, Yoshida, Sogard SP: Crochet, Bello, Sandoval, Crawford, Harrison RP: Chapman, Whitlock, Slaten, Weissert, Fitts, Dobbins, Bernardino, Hicks 13 on Farm + Houck to 60 Day IL Early, Tolle, Perales, Murphy, Kelly, Guerrero, Sandlin (Must clear waivers: Criswell, Wink & Moran) Campbell, Jh Garcia, Eaton (Grissom would have to clear waivers)

Let's assume Story, Houck and Casas are on the opening day 40 man roster with Houck going on the 60 Day IL, shortly afterwards, I still maintain we have no major roster crunch. I'll assume Sandlin gets added but not Mullins or others. Depending on how many players we add vs subtract, here is the starting point: 18 Pitchers: Crochet, Bello, Sandoval, Houck, Crawford, Dobbins, Harrison, Fitts, Early, Tolle, Perales/ Chapman, Whitlock, Slaten, Weissert, Bernardino, Sandlin & Hicks (could be bubble) 6 Bubble Pitchers (options): Murphy (1) Winckowski (0) Moran (0) Criswell (0) Kelly (1) Guerrero (2) My guess is we keep 1 from Murphy & Moran but not 3- 4 zero option pitchers. We may keep 1 from Kelly & Guerrero or two from the zero option guys, We keep 3 of the 3 bubble pitchers making it 20 total pitchers. 14 Everyday players (We will have at least 17 on opening day.) 2 Catchers: Narvaez & Wong 2 1B: Casas & Campbell (LF) 2 2B: Romy (1B/3B) & DHam 1 SS: Story 1 3B: Mayer 2 LF: Duran & Anthony 1 CF: Rafaela 2 RF: Abreu & Jh Garcia 1 DH: Yoshida 4 Bubble: Sogard, Eaton, Grissom, N Lowe (non tender?) I think we keep Sogard and maybe Eaton, and that would make 16 everyday players. 20 Pitchers + 16 everyday players leaves room for 4 net additions. SP2 1B 2B/3B ??? (maybe someone on the 40, now) Then, we add someone when Houck goes on the 60. If we can pull off a 2 or 3 for one trade, we'll have even less of a roster crunch. (I'm thinking Duran & Sandlin for Lodolo) Some bad depth teams might like guys like Murphy, DHam, Kelly and Guerrero enough to make a 2 or 3 for 1 type trade, where we obtain just a slight upgrade player.

"not counting on Casas" as the FT 1Bman does not mean writing him off. Of course, if they tender him, they think he might play a key role, someday. I think he can easily beat out Yoshida as the DH, if he gets back to health and previous form. My point was we need to plan on another FT 1BMan for 2025- not a Toro type add. Not a Casas-Romy-Campbell dice roll, although I do think they may like that "mix" enough to go one more year running the same crew out there again. I hope we add a 1Bman PLUS a 3B/2Bman with Mayer/Romy covering the "other" slot. Casas can be viewed as possible 1B depth or DH full-timer status, if healthy. Again, we'll run up against the what to do with Yoshida issue, and even if we trade Duran, I doubt he'll be viewed as having LF opportunities. We'd have to tarde Abreu, too, and even then, we have Garcia & Campbell as LF competition for Masa, even if we see him as a possible OF'er. (I hope not.) I don't trade Casas. I would not non-tender him. He has .800+ and 30+ HR potential, which is just what we need most. He might be a long shot, but how many other players do we have with that potential? Abreu? Anthony by 2027 or 2028? Not Story. Not Mayer. Not Yoshida or even a Yoshida/Romy platoon. Not Narvaez & Rafaela. Maybe Jh Garcia is a long shot, but that would most likely be 2-3 years away as with Anthony. Campbell? I doubt it. I guess one could argue we don't need an .800 and 30+ HR guys, if we can have 9 guys batting .750-.790 with 20-25 HRs, but how likely is that?

Duran does have 3 years of control, so it's not like a team needs to totally be in win now mode, but your point is well taken. Yes, CIN and KC might be the best match-ups, and MN is rarely in total tear down mode. (My guess is they keep Buxton, so that kinda shows they want to stay somewhat relevant all the time.) We can also include enough prospect or young player value to entice a team to give us a good, young pitcher with some team control. (They could also flip Duran, later, like at the deadline.) Another obvious solution would be a 3 way trade, where we send Duran to a contender, they send team C prospects, and we get a guy like Ryan or better. I think a Duran & Sandlin/Mullins for Lodolo makes a lot of sense to both teams. That trade would then allow us to make up for the loss of Bregman and Duran via free agency. The hope that Anthony more than makes up for the loss of Duran is central to this idea, but in reality, we also have to make up for the loss of Devers, too. Devers, Bregman and Duran were our top 3 offensive players going into 2025. Replacing them will not be easy, even if some kids step it up, bigtime. IMO, signing Alonso or Schwarber would not be enough. I'm not sure Bichette & Hoskins would be either. Maybe Suarez and Hoskins or Alonso & Suarez, but how realistic is that? We'd be over the tax line.

IMO, we need to plan on Casas never coming back, and if he does, he could DH and maybe be an emergency back-up 1Bman. We have Yoshida at $18M x 2, so that throws a wrench into the idea, and both are LHBs. I do not think we non tender Casas, as his potential to return to form is too valuable to throw away, and I do not see a 40 man roster crunch that others seem to think we have. Sure, it makes it tough to have the right depth, when we have to start the season with Houck taking a 40 man slot, and then Casas, too. Someone like Dobbins, Crawford, Fitts and perales might need to be on the 10 Day IL to start the season as well. That's a lot of unknown health issues to carry over the winter, but guys like Grissom, Eaton, Sogard, DHam, de Leon, Wink, Kelly, Guerrero and maybe others are near replacement level value or waiver wire similar. It's not ideal, but we should keep Casas, at least until ST'ing. This is also a reason I would like to see us add just 3-4 HIGHER QUALITY players this winter (maybe even just 2 top quality) over 4-6 semi-high quality guys. Stay away from adding more highly questionable players. We are already maxed out.

Agreed. His value on another team as an OF'er is much higher than to us as a 1Bman. I was just showing a way we could keep his plus offense on the team without spending or trading for a 1Bman. I am not for this idea. I think we should trade Duran as part of a package for a solid SP'er. My second choice would be to trade Abreu or Rafaela. Duran to 1B is not even my 10th idea.

I was really pulling for an Alabama loss. They needed a late score and 2 pt conversion to pull off the win. I'd love to see Vandy make the playoffs.

He's not all that streaky. He was off to a horrible start in 2025, and has had slow starts in other seasons, but over his small sample size career, he seems more consistent than many others. By month: .766 in 27 games in 2022 (Rookie) 2023: .576 APR>.766>.851>1,199>.918>.858 (one of the few who stayed hot to the end) 2024: .857 APR> Injured> .749 AUG>.790 SEP 2025: .590 in 29 games He's basically had 2 months under .749 out of 11. (I counted 2022 and 2025 as one month samples, as he played in 27 & 29 games..) To me, this guy is a proven hitter. The doubts about his future are almost all tied to his unique injury that can be career ending.

I'm very hesitant on trading young pitching, too, but it is a strength we have and others want. We have great rotation depth, but in the form of 8-11 number 4/5 slot levels. Then, we have 3-4 ML ready very promising pitchers followed by groups of 3-4 promising prospects at 1-2, 2-3 and 3-4 years away. I know the risk of trading the next Priester is very concerning, and that trade puts into doubt the ability of Brez and Co. to judge who are the right young pitchers to include in trades. This was one of the few times I suggested trading young pitchers as part of packages for everyday players. My main plan would be to only trade young pitchers when we get an established, young & controlled pitcher in return. Sign FA everyday player.

How about Casas, Kelly & Crawford for Peralta and Duran, Dobbins, Sandlin & Perales for K Marte. Sign Alonso, Ref & Matz. 1. L Anthony LF 2. S K Marte 2B 3. L Abreu RF/R Ref RF 4. R Alonso 1B 5. L Yoshida DH/ R Romy DH 6. R Story SS 7. L Mayer 3B/ R Romy 3B 8. R Narvaez C 9. R Rafaela CF

How about trading for Peralta ($8M/1 remaining.) They could use a 1Bman to replace Hoskins. I'm not sure they want to take a big flyer on Casas, but Romy might be someone the want. They'd probably like some pen help or one of our younger SP'ers, but no way they get Early, Tolle or other top pitching prospects for 1 year of Peralta. Would MIL accept: Casas & Crawford or Dobbins? Romy & Harrison or Perales? Maybe we'd need to add Dandlin or Mullins. Maybe offering Harrison, Perales or Dobbins is too much. Casas or Romy plus Crawford? Could we do this with a Duran for Lodolo deal? Crochet, Lodolo, Peralta, Bello and _____ (Sandoval/Harrison/Dobbins/Early/Tolle/Perales) Spend the winter budget on a couple big bats.

No bid losses, today. Alabama almost lost. Next week: Penn St at 1 Ohio St 2 Indiana at MD Florida at 5 GA 7 GA Tech at NC St. So Car at 8 Ole Miss 9 MIA at SMU 10 Vandy at 22 TX (only 1 of two games among top 20's) 12 ND at BC 13 OKL at 17 TN (second game between top 20's) 14 TX Tech at K St 16 VA at CA

Hendriks was a RP'er. I only listed starters, and brace yourself: it will be $10M for Hendriks, not $8M. It's not that Brez has done awful with pen additions. Our pen has done very well under Brez. 2024-2025: 10.3 pen fWAR placed 6th in MLB. Brez Pen Adds: Chapman: the best season by a Sox closer EVAH! Slaten: 4.24 (34 IP '25) & 2.93 (55 IP in '24) Weissert: 2.28 (67 IP '25) & 3.13 (63 IP in '24) Wilson: 3.35 (48 IP '25) Matz: 2.08 (22 IP '25) Newcomb: 3.38 (19 IP '25) Alcara: 3.31 (16 IP '25) Burdi: 0.00 (5 IP '25) Meh: Chase Anderson: 4.11 (50 IP '24) Shugart 4.15 in 9 IP ('24) BUST: Hicks, I Campbell, B Keller, Joely, Horn & Hendricks

Pytho said we shoulda won 92.

VTek expected to sign extension soon to be back as a coach for the Sox. Soteropulos was promoted to assistant hitting coach.

We have some very nice rotation depth but do need a solid #2. Crochet _______ Bello, Sandoval, Crawford, Dobbins, Harrison, Fitts (Houck '27) Early, Tolle, Holobetz, Clarke, Paez, Aita, Wehunt Criswell, Winkowski, Uberstine, Drohan, Monegro Valera, Fajardo, Witherspoon, Phillips, Eyanson Tygart, Neely, Travieso, J Bello, Morgan, Patton, Delzine, Cason

Brez has been all hot or miss on SP'er additions, with very few in the middle. Crochet trade: great Crochet extension: looks great, so far, Sale trade: biggest bust under his tenure. Giolito: started off badly, but worked out okay. (The one middle of the road add.) Sandoval: so far TBD, but he was supposed to give us 1-2 months in 2025. Buehler: Big waste of $21M Priester: great get (N Yorke) but TBD trade (looked bad for 2025, but Holobetz, YRod and J bello TBD.) Fitts: could work out okay. (Weissert had been the prize.) Criswell: good deal for a flyer add. D May: Deadline trade bust. Paxton: near deadline bust Newcomb: shoulda kept him for the pen. That's a lot of moves for 2 seasons, and I did not include drafted SP'ers.