moonslav59

Cora had to find a way to play Ref vs LHPs, and with O'Neill missing some time and Rafaela at SS half the year, playing Ref in the OF worked. Romy never DH'd over Ref, so there is that, too. I kinda like a Yoshida-Ref platoon at DH, but with Abreu sitting vs LHPs, and no real 4th OF;er, I can see needing someone in LF vs LHPs.

Based on what we saw in 2024, I can see that position. I hope we see him sooner, rather that later.

I'm not worried about our rotation or rotation depth. I'm wondering which starter might be used in the pen.

Pivetta would likely be used from our pen, although I like him as a SP'er more than Crawford and maybe even Gio and Bello. He'd be too expensive for the pen. Pass on Pivetta and hope someone signs him and we get a comp pick.

Why platoon Romy at DH and not Ref? You think Ref is a better LF'er than Romy?

Why ask something like this and suggest 2 of our best players?

Altuve sucks on D at 2B, so it makes some sense.

ESPN says Mar 1.

Reports say Yoshida will be ready March 1st. He may start the year on the 10 Day with some added rehab time, but not the 60. ESPN has Giolito ready Feb 1st and Whitlock APR 18th. The 3 players who will be placed on the 60 Day opening day are: Sandoval, Chris Murphy and Perales. The big question will be who do we add? One or two of the top prospects should only be added, if they start the year on the 26. Nate Eaton? (since we need more everyday players on the 40.) Philip Sykes? Fulmer? (If we add him, we may lose him, if we have to DFA him, later.) I Campbell? Mata, if healthy?

Ref & Yoshida both suck on D. Both will probably play some OF, but that should be avoided, if possible. I'd rather DH Ref vs LHPs than Romy, so that is why I labelled them DH only. There is someone ahead of them on D, at every position, including OF, as I'd prefer Romy in LF over Ref and Yoshida. To me, they are 3rd string LF'ers with the ability to play RF in away games at short RF parks. Okay, don't call them "DH only," but the fact is, anyone playing a position over them is a plus on D. Rafaela offers a great service to Cora, and he can be moved to 2B, SS and RF, if needed, at anytime in the game. DHam looks good on D only at 2B. Grissom looks good on D, nowhere. Romy offers the second flex-utility guy, next to Rafaela, who they say they want in CF "as much as possible." To me, it is clear that Romy offers Cora way more options than DHam or Grissom and Yoshida or Ref. I think that is a reason to place him on the 26 over Grissom. You don't. Okay. It's not a slam dunk choice. I'm fine with Romy beginning the year at WOO, and Grissom starting just 30% of the games at 2B, Of course, Campbell could make all these choices moot.

MLBTR reported that the Sox do not want to offer more than 4 years for Bregman, which would end at age 34. This makes sense but might ensure we miss out on yet another "target of interest," because we refuse to meet or surpass other teams' offers (in $ and or years.) I can understand the sentiment, and I'd understand Bregman thinking he won't make mush money as a FA going into his age 35 season. I'd like to know what money we suggested. If it is $124M/4 vs HOU's $156M/6, maybe he takes the 4 years. Maybe we give him a nice buyout on a year 5 team option that could bring his guarantee to $128M/4. That is probably much higher than BOS will go. We probably will offer him $116-120M/4. ($29-30M per) Again, I'm not keen on the idea of Bregman being the second biggest FA signing since Price, but I see a window opening in 2025 with a key addition, like him. All FAs are overpays, and he's the last high impact man standing.

I'm not against the idea. Maybe a double asterisk for a 60 game season and 1 for the others.

I will not be surprised, if Romy begins the year in AAA. Besides DHam, Campbell or the possible addition of Bregman or Grichuk is Romy's biggest 2 obstacles: 1. Rafaela's ability to play SS and 2B makes the need for Romy's better SS defense than Grissom and DHam not so important. 2. Grissom has a lot invested in him, so if it is a close call between he and Romy, they may choose to give Grissom the chance. I do think they want VG playing FT, so maybe they start him in AAA, so he can play everyday. No way I start Grissom over DHam vs RHPs. To me, Romy's superior defense at SS outweighs his ability to play 1B. Yes, Ref may be able to play 1B, in a pinch, but we had a massive pinch at 1B, last year, and Ref never played even an inning, there. The last bench spot is not going to be Ref. With our lack of RHBs, Ref will make the club, and I doubt he plays 1B, at all. Romy makes for a nice short term solution as a back-up SS. Rafaela could do it, too, so it's not a must have, but Romy is more of a utility guy than Grissom. With 2 DH only players on the roster, flexibility has more value on a team like Boston. BTW, reports say the Sox won't go past 4 years on Bregman.

There will still be an ump behind the plate. Let's get consistency into the game. YES to ROBO-UMPS!

I am only giving my opinions and not trying to project what Cora and Brez will decide. Unless something changes drastically in ST'ing, I'd like to see us start the season with DHam at 2B vs RHPs and Romy vs LHPs, with whoever is not starting being the IF utility guy. I'd be okay with Grissom over Romy, but I am not sure he can outhit Romy, and I am certain he is not a better defender at 2B, SS and maybe 3B. Plus, Romy can play 1B. Yes, so can Ref, but they never tried Ref in 2024, most likely for good reason. I'm not sure why defense does not seem to be an urgent issue for Cora (and maybe Brez, too.) Cora was a more glove than bat player, so it is kind of surprising. I fully understand the position on not making radical position changes for gains on defense, if it upsets players or hurts the offense. I can't for the life of me figure out why he kept playing Kike at SS. Maybe he fully believed he was a plus defender, who was just going through a funk. He also stuck with E Valdez, Reyes and Grissom at 2B in 2024, for a long time. E Valdez ended up leading the team in 2B innings, despite being god-awful on D. Innings at 2B: 468 Valdez 435 Grissom+Wesstbrook, Reyes, Gasper & Wong 267 DHam (played good D aat 2B in 2024.) 130 Romy (decent defense) 147 Sogard, Rafaela & Short (decent defenders) While Rafaela did okay on SS defense, he wasn't a plus, and he played way more innings than anyone else at SS: 647 Rafaela (not real bad) 433 DHam (Bad at SS D) 228 Story (end of season plus D) 80 Romy (looked okay, to me) 51 Sogard and 14 Reyes

Cubs talking trade w HOU for Pressley. Word was that if DET pays for a RP'er they may be out of the Bregman bidding. This makes me wonder, if HOU saves some money on a Pressley trade, would they up their "standing offer" on Bregman? TOR may end up signing Alonso, not Bregman. This could come down to HOU vs BOS, and since HOU is looking to cut salary, maybe this is a bidding war we can win.

Some interesting choices will have to be made during ST'ing and before AAA's opening day. Looking at the the rosters listed on soxprospects.com's 2025 Projected roster page, there is a vast shortage of everyday players, especially on the 40, and way too many pitchers listed to fit the roster sizes. Of course, some could start in AA, but here is a look at all the pitchers listed. For the sake of making more room for everyone, let's assume Sandoval and Murphy are placed on the 60 Day IL on opening day, and this is the 13 man Sox staff: Crochet, Houck, Beuhler, Bello, Giolito, Crawford Hendriks, Chapman, Slaten, Whitlock (10 Day IL?) Winckowski, Wilson & Guerrero Who makes the 14 man AAA staff? (My guess) Crisell, Fitts, Priester, Dobbins, Fulmer, Gambrell, Drohan Bernardino, Penrod, Kelly, Weissert, I Campbell, Mata (IL?) , J Moran Outside the bubble: A Adams, Wyatt Mills, Noah Davis, Hobie Harris, Jose Adames, Robert Stock, Brendan Cellucci, Wyatt Olds, Brian Van Belle

Great post, Oldtimer. I hope we see more of you, once the games begin. I'm all for bringing in the kids, even if there is a dice roll element to the idea. I also see the value in waiting a few weeks to gain that extra year of control, and that also fits with the idea that some players we have, now, appear to have earned or come close to earning another look in 2025. Abreu has earned a platoon role, and maybe deserves a shot at proving he can hit LHPs. Rafaela did not look godawful on offense, as many felt he would, but he still has to show improvement to earn a FT position. His defense and flexibility is a great asset. Duran has earned a FT OF position. Yoshida and Ref can platoon DH, so neither needs to play 1 inning in the OF, unless there is an injury, or Casas/Devers get squeezed into a DH or PT DH role. That's 3 OF'ers, so if Anthony gets the call, it should not be as a back-up, so it would mean Abreu or Rafaela get platooned, benched or in Rafaela's case maybe moved to 2B or SS. For this reason, maybe waiting those few weeks for Anthony makes sense. Let's see how the OF shakes out over the first 6-8 weeks. Now, Campbell: The health of Story is the key to so much of what happens in 2025, and who plays where, and it's getting tiring, when that key never seems to unlock the box of success. Since Campbell will not likely be our SS, his slot seems to be 2B. (I doubt we move Devers to 1B/DH, so Campbell plays 3B, but I suppose it could happen, if the vet 2Bmen are doing well, or Mayer pushes Story to 2B.) IMO, DHam looked pretty good at 2B defense, hit RHPs okay and stole enough bases to make his offense a clear plus in 2024. I'd like to see him start the season as our 2B platoon. I'm not sure Grissom has earned any further looks, but he did have some early career success and was the return for Sale, so maybe someone thinks he should get a few weeks to show he can stick in the bigs. I happen to like Romy, especially in a platoon role w DHam, and our back-up SS (short term only) and 1B. He can also play OF. I can see waiting a few weeks, to see how our 3 secondbasemen look, before giving Campbell the call-up. Lastly, Mayer: If Story is healthy, I see no reason to rush Mayer to the bigs. I'm not even sure if he or Story would play SS and who would move to 2B, when he does get the call. Maybe somebody plays 3B, if Story, Campbell and Mayer are all playing well. IMO, we will wait, and I'm not against the idea, but I think once we pass the line of adding an extra year of control, the equation changes. Depending on how the players I just went over are doing, a call-up or two could happen swiftly, and we could see a couple prospects still get 500-550 PAs, this season, assuming they do well, out of the gate. I'd bet on Anthony and Campbell over Mayer, but all three could get a long look in 2025. 1. Duran LF 2. Campbell 2B 3. Casas 1B 4. Devers 3B 5. Story SS 6. Anthony RF/CF 7. Abreu RF/Rafaela CF 8. Yoshida/Refsnyder DH (If Mayer plays: Devers to 1B/DH, Casas to DH/1B and maybe Campbell to 3B) 9. Wong/Narvaez C This looks pretty good, to me. It would certainly spark some intense interest by fans.

Ref started 6 games in Fenway's RF, last year. I'm not the one saying he should play more RF in Fenway. And, yes, I fully understand why some changes have not been made. I'm not for moving Devers to 1B, unless we add Bregman or Arenado, which has not happened. The thing you keep saying about "bats overcoming" poor fielding, in the case of Devers moving to 1B/DH and Casas to DH/1B, the idea does not change the bats. The bats stay equal and don't have to overcome the poor D. The only change on O would be who's bat does Bregman replace? If that is a plus or equal, we lose nothing or improve on O, but gain on D. Of course, if the equation does not work out that way, then I would not be for the plan. I'm not for signing Bregman to play 2B. Hell, a DHam-Romy platoon might his .795, and we gain nothing on D.

Only because they won't give Devers a 1Bman's mitt. IMO, I keep Romy over Grissom, because he can play SS way better.

I saw an article that showed us spending something like 40% of our revenue on payroll, and 3-4 teams that spent less than us, so this looks about right. Sad, but hey, this is a business.

Ref started 6 of his 20 games in RF, at Fenway. He could start 20-25, this year, but wouldn't that "be a change from last year?" We had O'Neill, last year, but had Rafaela play SS, a lot. Hopefully, he won't be needed there in 2025, but a lot has changed from 2024 to 2025, concerning the OF and who plays where. I could see just doing a strict Ref-Abreu RF platoon- home and away. I'd prefer having bad fielders play LF in Fenway- not RF. I love Rafaela in CF, but Duran is very good there, too. This is a better defensive OF: Ref LF, Duran CF and Rafaela RF than Duran-Raf-Ref. It just is. We can keep playing inferior defenses just to "make it easier," or to stroke some fragile egos, or we can put the players where they do best, and actually try our best to win.

I don't stick Ref in Fenway's RF, just so Rafaela plays CF as much as possible, especially when Duran played CF pretty damn well, in 2024. (He did start 6 of his 20 RF starts in Fenway, last year, but I would like to see that at zero.) Moving Duran from LF to CF is no big deal. He started 89 out of 160 in CF, last season. I do see us adding someone like Grichuk or Laureano, which would force Ref to a DH platoon, and I'd bet Romy gets sent to WOO over Grissom. I'm just saying, in my book, I have Romy ahead of Grissom based on better SS defense than Grissom or DHam and his 2024 numbers vs LHPs, which is an area we need all the help we can get. If we start 3 guys on the 60 Day after opening day, there might be a chance Anthony and or Campbell make the 40, but they will not be added until they are to be sent to the 26. I could see Fulmer or someone like Nate Eaton added. Mayer would be added, if Story is on the IL. Instead of signing Grichuk or Laureano, we could just go with Anthony, despite him batting lefty. His splits should be much better than Abreu's.

My Kroger bills went way down due to self-checkouts. LOL!

I think Murphy & Sandoval start the season on the 60 Day IL. Perales is probable for the 60, as he will not be called up by June, anyway. That's 3. I think Whitlock should be ready within weeks of opening day. (ESPN says April 18.) ESPN has Giolito & Yoshida ready by Feb 1st.