moonslav59

I'm not so sure we will be sellers. I suppose we could be both sellers and buyers, and Buehler might be traded.

He already must be, but Austin Wells is doing just fine, too.

If I had strong feeling our pitching can hold up, like this, I might be as optimistic, but we are talking about Gio, here. We have our hopes pinned on Dobbins and a couple senior citizen pen guys. I actually have more hope in Sandoval and maybe Crawford or Houck than I do in Gio, Buehler and Fitts. It's nice to have more than one or two guys to pin our hopes on, but I can't call it anything more than just "hopes." (I don't have a ton of confidence in our staff, based on 6 games.)

Fair enough. I'm not bragging, but I had high expectations on his defense and brought up the fact that he had decent farm numbers on offense (high OBP and 15-20 HR power if a FT player.) That being said, he blasted my expectations for year one. The guy just might win ROY.

It's painful, isn't it. Verdugo for Betts. We get Story, then lose Bogey. We get Bregman, then lose Devers. We lose Sale, Nate and Erod and get Kluber, Richards and Gio- now Buehler. We couldn't even replace Porcello's lost contract, and he sucked at the end.

Roman AnthonyMarcelo MayerFranklin AriasJhostynxon GarciaYoeilin CespedesLuis PeralesConnelly EarlyMiguel BleisPayton TolleBrandon ClarkeMikey RomeroJohanfran GarciaHunter DobbinsJuan ValeraJustin GonzalesYophery RodriguezDorian SotoRichard FittsDavid SandlinDalvinson Reyes

We can't afford to miss one more winter on our big FA signings. Yes, Bregman was a hit, not a miss, but he's also on the IL for 60 days or so, so even our hit has an asterisk. The Crochet deal was great. I wish we had thrown in someone else besides Meidroth, but I'm thrilled with the trade results and we also did what I said was essential in making the deal an overall plus: we extended Crochet until his peak prime years are over or near over. Yes, bring Bregman back is task one. But, we just have to strike gold on our two biggest signings or trades to more than make up for the loss of Devers. It's gotta be two steps up and one step back and not the Bruce Springsteen song.

Max, I never understood your focus on small sample sizes, like 6 games, but now it's one game? I'm sorry, 3 hits, even if two are homers is not a feather in the offense cap. Our offense is and has recently been in bad shape. Losing 25% of our run production is and will be a major blow. We can hope and pray and explain away. We can point to 2 homers in one game and talk about players coming off the IL, but our team just got a lot worse, on paper. Luckily, they game is not played on paper, and to me, our team was better on paper than our record indicated before the Devers trade, so that was proof that "paper" means little. The fact is that Devers' production was not on paper. It was real. It was fungible. It cannot be easily replace by hopes, prayers and dreams. I'm not giving up on 2025, but I'm not going to try and minimize the loss of Devers by sugar-coating 3 hits, just because 2 were homers. We have 28 hits in the last 6 games. That's less than 5 a game. I don't care if Devers went 0-30 in his last or next 6 games: we'd be a much better offense with him still here.

Let's be honest: which of these players do we have higher hopes on now, vs right before the season started? Significantly Higher: Bregman, Abreu, Narvaez, Crochet (despite having high expectations in March) Dobbins, Chapman, Wilson, Toro/Romy Better: Rafaela, Bello, Whitlock, Weissert, Story & Gio (only because I had low expectations in March) About the Same: Refsnyder, Slaten, Mayer, Anthony, Fitts, Bernardino & Crawford Slightly Worse: Duran, Campbell, Guerrero, Kelly & Wink Worse: Houck, Casas, Wong, DHam, Criswell, Hendriks Am I wrong on any of these?

He really should be viewed as a DH/ emergency back-up 1Bman, going forward, and with Yoshida still in the system, I'm not sure we can afford to have both on the 40, let alone the 26. I'm far from giving up on Tristan's bat. Unlike Max, I think he'd have had a fine year on O, had he stayed healthy. I'm also at the end of the rope on wishing he stays healthy. I'm not okay with looking at a Toro/Romy platoon in 2026 at 1B. I have more faith in handing a 1Bman's mitt to Jh Garcia and giving him a shot. (I hope they prove me wrong and earn those roles for 2026, but I would not bet on it, even if given 3:1 odds.)

If you want to go by small sample sizes, look at our offense in the last 3 games, without Devers. Before the trade, the team scored 355 runs. Devers score 47 and knocked in 58. Minus the HRs that count as an RBI and Run, he accounted for 90 of those 355 runs! That's over 25% of all our run scored, while only being 1/9th of the line-up. BTW, 1/9th is 11% of the line-up. Let's not minimize how much of an impact Devers had on our offense. Yes, we can win with continued good pitching and improved defense, but we need to take up some of the slack our offense just lost. Bregman and Abreu's return should help, but they counted a lot in our previous offense over 2025, already. Bregman 67 Runs (32+35-11) 19% Abreu 47 runs (28+32-13) 13% We will need to make a trade or hope everyone step it up, like Story has been doing. None of the 3 kids are jumping out as the next Fred Lynn. (Mayer has done fine in his tiny sample size.) Just when Rafaela creeps over .700, and we start thinking, maybe he can hit well enough to at least not be a drag on the offense, he slips back down to .680 or worse. Campbell showed us some enormous potential, over his first week or so, but he's looked lost, almost the whole rest of the season. Anthony may just be an adjustment or two away from being a force, but we have no reason to expect him to be great- year one. We could easily think Narvaez has overachieved and could regress. Duran has regressed as some of us expected, but we could just as easily think he could hit like 2024, down the stretch. Abreu could also take on a heavier load. Bregman may bat second, now, so let's see how he ends the season. Can we really count on Toro/Romy to hit over .800 over the next 3.5 months? I'm hoping Ref continues being Ref, but we can't expect more from him. We will likely need several players to improve on O for us to have a legit shot at anything special, this fall. The loss of Devers is monumental.

True, but we've had some bloopers and seeing eye grounder hits over the last 6 games, too. Glad you got us another "Double You."

If we can forget about the start to Houck's 2025 season, the top 7 or 8 guys we have on the IL are better than some team's best 8 pitchers, right now. Houck, Crawford, Sandoval, Murphy (Perales/Drohan) Slaten, Winckowski, Burdi, Hendriks (Webb) On the active roster, only Buehler is stinking up our rotation of Crochet, Dobbins, Bello & Gio. We have a pretty solid top 4 in the pen: Chapman, Whitlock, Wilson and gasp... Weissert. The bottom 4 could use a serious upgrade: Bernardino (too up and down) Guerrero (maybe not quite ML ready) Kelly (about used up his leash length) and Alcara (fill in the blank on our 8th pen slot)

It's too bad his SS defense sucks, or he'd be a much more useful utility man w great PR value.

Very nice win, but the offense getting just 3 hits cannot go on for much longer. 28 hits in the last 6 games. (4 HRs) In the last 4 games: 15 hits w 6 of them XBHs (4 HR & two 3Bs)

Yes, they could afford Devers, but I think they view it as not an either or thing. It's do we pay $31M x 8.5 years for a DH only pouter/complainer/dogger or on someone else?

This year, Brez did have the foresight to create a rotation with depth to the 10th to 12th slots, and we've already gone that deep (Newcomb) but have yet to use Criswell and traded away Priester (but added Harrison & Hicks, who will be in the pen.)

You get what you pay for, agreed. I will say that other teams have better track records on these same types of deals, however. We did step it up a little from the $10M/1 deals like for Kluber and Richards or less for Wacha, Hill, Paxton and Perez, when we signed Gio to $39M/2 and Buehler for $21M/1 w a buyout for year 2, but yes, these are not deals given for proven studs. I will also say that looking at the largest deals given in the history of MLB, more than half do not meet expectations, with a sizable chunk being busts from year 1 or 2 onwards. Our biggest signings over the past 9 or so years: Price, Sale (extension), JD, Story, Pablito, HRam, Lackey, Bogey (extension) and Nate. One can argue that hasn't worked either.

I am, too, but how realistic is that even 3-4 players can make up for even half of what we just lost? Remember, they have to do way better than they have, so far. That might be possible for Mayer and Anthony, and even Campbell, but not so much for anyone else, except Story and to some extent Duran. Most others are already doing as much or more than expected. Let's assume all 3 rookies do this going forward: 162 game pace: .280 25 90 Is that enough, and how likely is this?

All true, but appears to be our best chance at taking up the slack...and a lot of slack it is.

This highlights how our FO should not be let off the hook on this. Once again, they expose themselves as having little or no foresight or people skills.

What's the big deal about maybe playing some 1B and some DH? It's not we asked him to play SS and CF. DH is not even a defensive position. I know it sounds like we are making excuses to explain why trading Devers was what we had to do, but I feel like saying he said he'd play 1B only is doing the same thing from the other end of the issue.

While I totally get your position on avoiding mega contracts, there is an unavoidable dilema with the Sox. I'm sure I'll get some push back, here, but I think we have a very solid and deep roster & farm. Our weakness lies in the lack of standout players that are head and shoulders better than what most teams have at any given position, except our ace and 3Bman, whn healthy. To get a top player, we have to pay top dollar, Over the last few years, we had so many holes to fill that it made sense to not spend it all on 1-2 players but to instead try and spread the wealth and risk over several player additions. I don't see us in that boat anymore. This winter, I think we'd become a much better team with just 2-3 targeted major signings or trade additions: 1. A second ace. 2. A top closer to replace Chapman (maybe just bring him back.) A far #3 would be another solid arm or a big bat for 1B. (I would not pay for a mostly DH profile player.) Maybe we could trade for a significant bat or pitcher. I know many here have given up on Casas and don't want us to count on or younger players to blossom quickly and fully, but I think we have to. SP: Cease or Framber/Gallen or maybe M King/Ra, Suarez/Flaherty/Lugo Closer: Helsley or Ro Suarez/ E Diaz Maybe trade Casas and an OF'er for a 1Bman or sign Hoskins/Naylor or Alfonso, if he opts out. (Take a chance on Murakami?) I would not sign a DH like Schwarber or Ozuna.

Here are the highest 1Bman OPS, this year. This is the only position besides pitching, we might look to make a trade for: .961 Alfonso (not happening) .960 Soderstrom (Hmmm....) .953 Freeman (zero chance) .951 Aranda (highly doubtful) .848 Busch (Cubs aren't looking to sell) .826 Pasquantino (Name is too long and hard to spell) .819 Olsen (I doubt ATL is retooling) .800+ Vladdy, Torkelson & B Harper (doubtful) Hoskins is at .747 (Toro & Romy are doing better) Naylor is at .725 (see above & AZ may not be sellers) Arraez is at .714, this year. If we do anything major, via trade(s) this summer, it has to be upgrading our pitching, and IMO rental pitchers cost too much. Our hope lies with the returns of Bregman, Abreu, Houck, Crawford, Slaten and our first look at Sandoval, or perhaps some comeback by Fitts, Hendriks, Murphy or Buehler.

I don't see us trading for bat, rental or otherwise, except at 1B, and I don't like using this kind of logic- like about how poorly Casas was doing, so replacing him with Toro and Romy made his injury fortunate, but how much will a guy like Hoskins improve on Toro-Romy. What size chunk will that take out of the Devers replacement apple? We'd have to trade for Alfonso to come close, and that ain't happening. ATL ain't trading Olsen, either. As much as we can say there is room for a big bat at 2B or SS, we are not trading for someone that benches Mayer or Campbell, and we aren't going to even look at an upgrade in the OF. I think we are satisfied with Narvaez as our catcher for the next 5 years. The biggest area we can improve on is pitching and trying to win in different ways than with our bats. That being said, we do have some hopes that little bites can be made to the Devers replacement apple by the kids, Story, and the returns by Bregman, Abreu and maybe Yoshida. We can't even hope the whole or even half of the apple gets eaten for 2025.