moonslav59

Depending on how much of Bregman's contract is deferred, we may be very close to the first tax line. Next focus: 1. Add a RP. 2. Work on extensions for Crochet, Campbell, Anthony and maybe Houck.

Maybe we can find a taker for Yoshida, but that is likely near impossible, unless we pay all but $12-15M of the $54M owed. I bet we play Bregman at 2B to start the season, but we better see Devers getting a look at 1B in ST'ing. (I hope he takes it seriously and does not pout.) To me, Bregman at 3B maximizes his value and helps the team way more than at 2B. I'd even sacrifice some LF defense to allow Casas & Devers to share 1B/DH. 1. L Duran CF 2. R Bregman 3B 3. L Casas DH/1B 4. L Devers 1B/DH 5. R Story SS 6. L Yoshida/ R Refsnyder LF 7. R Campbell 2B (maybe moves to 2nd or 5th by mid season) 8. L Abreu/R Rafaela RF 9. R Wong/R Narvaez C Utility: DHam (Romy/Grissom/Anthony/Mayer in AAA)

So, now we know, JH will spend, at times. My guess is the deferred money keeps us under the tax line, and any extensions will start after opening day.

We already have 2 of our best hitters that should DH or play 1B.

Sox lose a comp pick, but we get one for Pivetta. To be honest, this is not "the guy" I would have chosen to blow away the highest AAV in team history, but he turns us into a playoff favorite and legit contender for the AL crown. Please, please, please- do NOT play him at 2B!

WOW! I mentioned opt-outs and was bashed for it, but I'm not taking credit for predicting this. I'm shocked. I hope there will be no Casas trade, unless they know something about his injury. We need Tristan's bat, even vs LHPs. This really takes some heat of Henry.

I'm glad he got a nice payday. I liked him. He was durable and pretty consistent. I was starting to worry about the comp pick. Glad he's in the NL.

How about Bryan Mata? IFA signing in 2016. 9 years in the Sox system without a peep in the bigs. (8 seasons due to COVID) 105 IP in 2019 (A+ and AA) 83 IP in '22 (2.49 ERA in 4 levels combined) Not much, since due to injuries. Made it up to #2 in the summer of 2018 and again in the fall of '19. He was still #3 at the end of '20 and 6-7th through '22. He was even 5th to start 2023, but dropped quickly, afterwards. He's 56th, now and seems to have lost all hope. soxprospects.com's summary: Potential volatile up-and-down reliever. Ceiling of fringy middle-reliever. Injuries and lack of consistency make him a very risky player. Was once seen as a potential starter, but was pushed to the bullpen due to inability to stay healthy and hold stuff for multiple innings. At his best now, will show two averageish pitches, but stuff has trended down. Unclear where velocity will be at when he is truly healthy as he has not been for several years. In 2024, looks showed okay stuff, but really struggled with command and control which was a question even before he missed considerable time.

It might be hard for the Crochet deal to end up being a plus, without a decent extension.

I agree, and Criswell was largely an unknown, last year at this time. Priester could end up being the best in AAA or as a call-up. I have my doubts on Dobbins, but he keeps doing better than I expect. I've mentioned how we are the only team in MLB with 6 SP'ers with a projected 1.2 fWAR or better. Having a decent #7-9 or 10 is very nice, too.

They should have a John henry Bobblehead that only shakes his head no.

How many times have we signed someone like Paxton and Hendriks, where the ETA was July or August, but they missed the full first year of the two year contract? What are the odds we see Sandoval by August? Paxton lasted 19 starts in '23. Let's see what Hendriks gives us in '25. Am I missing someone else?

That's probably the plan. If someone gets hurt, before 3 times, through we'll jump to a 5 man. I think Criswell is slotted #7, for now, but that could change during ST'ing.

So, 4 of our 6 starters had TJS or the internal brace thingy and Houck had back surgery.

Yes, counting on Sandoval in August is likely a no-go. I can see Crochet, Houck, Bello and Crawford getting 27-33 GS. Maybe Buehler and Gio can get 24-30. The closer these 6 can combine to get 162 GS'd, the better we should be. I'm not down on Criswell, Fitts, Priester and Dobbins, but we should expect better from our top 6. In 2024, we had 13 different pitchers start 6 or 7 "opener games" and "pen games." 0 Giolito and 4 Whitlock, really set us back, but Houck (30) and Criswell (18) filled in well. We also got 6 GS from Wink, 4 from Fitts, 3 from Paxton and 1 from Priester.

I think the best we can hope for is that 5 are healthy, at any given time.

I did not remember Kutter's TJS. Wow, yet one more to the list.

Me, too. Gio has been good, at times, since 2021, but not for a full season. 2022: He was okay for his first 9 games (3.54 ERA.) He still had a 4.06 FIP on the season, which was better than 4.42 over those first 9 games. 2023: 3.41 ERA after 16 GS (but 4.19 FIP) He was still at 3.85 at the end of July (22 GS) Not great but close to Bello & Crawford numbers.

Crawford had TJS, too?

ST'ing games will begin, soon. The talk will pivot to that.

Where is the "train?" Red thinks he may be our #2, but other than him, I think everyone thinks he's a decent 4/5 slot pitcher- similar to Crawford. They both have areas, where they are better than the other, and overall, from '23-'24 Crawford leads in more categories, but the HR issues loom large. July>SEP '24: 3.66 Bello (3.67 FIP suggests it was not a fluke) .662 OPS Against (.724 for season) 5.22 Crawford (5.31 suggests not bad luck) .735 OPSA (.702 for season is barely better than bello's.) Recency matters to many posters.

Yup. .505 to .515 is likely.

We've beaten the injured pitcher issue to death, and the trade of oft-injured Sale and his subsequent turn-around and injury right before the playoffs sparked a heated debate. Here is a look at our 2025 pitchers and their injury history. Crochet: TJS in '22 and recently converted to a SP'er. Houck: Back surgery in '22 and missed time with facial fracture in '23. Buehler: has a long history of injuries: Rib, elbow and hip along with blisters Giolito: had pretty good durable stretch until March '24, when he had the internal brace procedure on his elbow. Bello: missed time in the minors and had a Lat and back issue in '24, but missed very little time. Crawford: I'm not sure why he did not get over 96 IP in the minors in 2019 and 2021, but he's been healthy in the bigs. Hendriks: TJS in August '23- had set backs in '24. Chapman: Seems to have stayed relatively healthy, but he turns 37, soon. Slaten: missed time in '24- not sure about minors. Whitlock: has missed a lot of time over the years w BOS, and had major surgery in minors. Fulmer: has not pitched in a long time. Mata: is the poster boy for missing time with injuries. Murphy: missing almost 2 years

Good to know. He is younger, and near average is a big boost up from Wong. How good is Pages?

2023-2024: HR/9: 0.79 Houck, 1.21 Bello, 1.47 Crawford xFIP: 3.76 Houck, 3.94 Bello, 4.34 Crawford ERA-: 87 Houck, 97 Crawford, 100 Bello BAbip: .256 Crawford, .288 Houck, .305 Bello (Maybe some luck helped Crawford.) Granted, Crawford leads in many more stats and metrics.