moonslav59

So much for MLB parity. Who are these 3 non division winning teams with 91+ wins? I assume 2 come from the ALE (TOR/NYY/BAL). Who else? HOU/SEA from the West? DET/CLE from the Central? Texas?

Abreu already averages about 28 HRs per 650. It's all about getting to 650 without sucking vs lefties for him. Story hit 25 in 2025. That's not a big stretch. (650+ PAs, again might be.) Contreras should hit 25 with help from Fenway. Anthony is hard to project. He has added 15 lbs of muscle. Duran & Narvaez hitting 20 might be the hardest ones. Maybe Durbin & Casas hit 20, and Narvaez and Duran 15.

Their pitching staff was projected to do much better than they did. In that sense, yes. They had an easy schedule. They finished 5th in run differential and 3rd in winning %. That looks like, in terms of wins, they overperformed.

So, that might look like... 30 Abreu 25 Story, Contreras, Anthony 20 Duran, Narvaez 15 Durbin, Casas?

I forgot about Cheng, but yes. I agree on I K-F. In a way, he gives us the ability to have just one utility infielders on the 26. Wong and the 4th OF'er are pretty much set. That leaves Masa and IK-F as the 3rd and 4th slots. Masa really messes up the choices for Cora.

I'm thinking they are guessing. Has Sandoval thrown a ball in front of anybody in Florida? How about Crawford?

With the loss of Drohan from the prospects list, soxprospects moved Allan Castro to #20. I cringe. On a recent podcast they mentioned he might be the best everyday player at Pawtucket. (They must think KC begins the year in BOS.) Speaking of sp.com's rankings, here is the winter changeover in the top 30: Gone: 4. Perales (traded for Jake Bennett) 6. Jh Garcia (traded w Travieso for Oviedo, Samaniego & Guzman) 8. Clarke (traded w Fitts for S Gray and $$$) 10. Fajardo (traded w Dobbins & Aita for Contreras & $$$) 12. Sandlin (traded w Hicks for Ziehl) 18. Drohan (traded with Harrison & DHam for Durbin & others) 20. Travieso (traded w Jh Garcia for Oviedo, Samaniego & Guzman) 21. Paez (The end of the even number curse- a Rule 5 loss) Added: 6. Bennett 19. Watson (Justin Riemer trade) 27. Samaniego 29. Ziehl 30. Guzman (31 Heyman, 33 Silverio, 49 Jackson) Brez traded 8 of our top 21 prospects plus some young talent like Dobbins, Fitts & Aita. He added 2 in the top 19 and 8 in the top 49.) Unlike Bloom, Brez is not hesitant to trade prospects or MLB talent. He seems to be making more moves than DD, but many are minor to slightly moderate in nature. The Crochet deal rivals the Sale trade, and he has acquired some decent talent, like Gray, Contreras, Narvaez, O'Neill, Slaten & Fitts/Weissert.

Being consistently "just short" is an argument for a winning in cycles philosophy. Sorry, but the Sox had a way harder schedule than the Ms and way outscored our opponents compared to the M's. I would not say the M's were unlucky in 2025.

That '77 team did finish 3rd in OBP- just .001 from 2nd and .003 from first. Maybe it was the 18th place in ERA, that year. (However, just 8th in ERA-)

Are we even certain Monasterio beats out Sogard, assuming Romy begins the season on the IL? Speaking of the IL, soxprospects.com no longer has Crawford or Sandoval beginning the season on the IL. They don't have Romy projected their either. Only Casas is listed on the IL. They have Sandoval in the pen with 6 SP'ers named (Oviedo #5 & Crawford #6.)

We are going to need better than projected OBP and HRs, IMO.

We did add some interesting pieces to our AAA team. It could be fun watching Casas find his stride, assuming he does. KC could be a force.

Some contend the M's always underperform. 2025 Run Differential +110 Red Sox (5th hardest schedule) +72 M's (20th hardest schedule) Best of luck- you're gonna need it--again!!!

Yes, and us winning 3-2 games while they lose 8-7.

Yes, my whole point was even splits.

Not even close. Promotion is more likely.

We had our share of SP'er injuries, and the Casas injury was no surprise, but other teams had a lot, too. I think we led the league in IL placements and were second in days on the IL, so I guess you are right. Losing Crawford for the full season hurt. Houck was probably hurt to start the year or even to end 2024, and his loss hurt, too. Casas and Sandoval's were known or somewhat expected. Losing Bregman, who never really seemed to return to form and Anthony hurt, badly. Shorter term injuries to Abreu, Narvaez, Slaten and others didn't help. Going into 2025, I only see 3 key guys as significant injury risk players: Casas, Story and Mayer. (Sandoval, too, but I'm not sure how "key" he is.) The Yanks have Cole, Rodon and Schmidt beginning the season on the IL and a bunch of aging players who might be due.

If DHam was on the 26, Cora would have felt obligated to play him, too much.

The trading season is all but over, but here is one last gasp... Story & Crawford for Sean Murphy Mayer & Tolle for KMarte and Comp Rd A pick Arias, Duran & Witherspoon for Neto ______________________________ 1. L Antony LF 2. S K Marte 2B 3. R Contreras 1B 4. R Neto SS 5. L Abreu RF 6. R Murphy DH/C- L Casas DH 7. R Durbin 3B 8. R Narvaez/ L Masa DH 9. R Rafaela CF

Do you see the Sox having more key injuries than the Yanks, Jays and Tigers?

That doesn't make DHam a better 3Bman or SS.

No need for a 2nd ace. Just a big bat, and yes, it's not coming.

Listened to the soxprospects.com's podcast on the Hicks/Sandlin trade. They spoke about how Sandlin had the tools to be a good MLB pitcher, but never seemed to get the good results. It was a salary dump and maybe we had "redundancies" for Sandlin. He was on the 40 and was behind other in AAA not on the 40. That as basically the reason he was expendable, in their opinion. The added slot to the 40 was worth it. The return (Ziehl) needs to add power to become good and he looks like a developmental kind of guy. Good control. Every pitch, except his change-up is in the K zone. They are not sure if he begins the season in AA or A+.

You wonder what MIL is thinking with talk of playing DHam off 2B. The guy only has two skills: 2B ONLY defense Speed

I'm glad Castellanos is playing elsewhere.