Jack Flap

At the end of the day, we traded a lot of bodies, but quantity does not equal quality. One issue I have with the "cliff" and "depleted farm" narratives is that they make it sound as if keeping all those guys around would have vastly improved our long-term outlook, which I think is far from evident. If you think we're headed for a rough patch somewhere around 2020-2021, then I doubt still having Manny Margot, Javier Guerra, the Basabe brothers, et. al. would change that much. Meanwhile, the White Sox trade where we did give up the most quality could end up the biggest win of all, given how incredible Sale has been and the uncertainty that still surrounds Moncada and Kopech. Speaking as someone who fully admits his own bias towards building through homegrown talent, Dombrowski's trades have by and large been shrewd ones, and as I've said before, he's showed a discretion and patience at times (see his refusal to trade Benintendi or Devers, or putting Bryan Mata off limits in the Sale talks even before he was on the radar as a serious prospect) that has impressed me and really puts the lie to his "Desperate Dave" reputation. It's tough to find a whole lot to go back and quibble with, particularly as we enjoy watching what may well be the first 100-win Red Sox team in most of our lifetimes. Of course, it seems Dave will ultimately be judged by whether he delivers a title in the next several years, but for the moment, it's hard not to see his body of work in Boston as overwhelmingly positive.

Can't wait to rehash the Kimbrel trade for the 987th time, and read a few doctoral dissertations on the Cliff Theory.

Preach! He just does not seem like a guy we'd want to be counting on in high-leverage situations down the stretch or in October...can't really see him being any more reliable than Kelly and Barnes, to be honest. I'm glad the RS seem to be casting a wide net in their search for relief help, but hopefully they'll take a pass on Rodney.

Beni wasn't just setting the table this weekend, he was laying out a feast. I'm loving the Pearce pickup, too. Seems like all he's done is hit every time he's been in the lineup since joining the Sox.

It's amazing to think that the Royals are probably going to get even worse after they trade Moustakas. There's really no excuse not to mop the floor with these clowns.

Red Sox Interested In Fernando Rodney https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2018/07/red-sox-interested-in-fernando-rodney.html

FWIW... he threw a glove, didn't he? That's a bit different in my mind than if he'd punched a wall or a water cooler or something like that. Sounds like the way it happened it was kind of a freak occurrence and more horrible luck than anything else.

And the question then becomes how much more should we pony up to keep him around. He's looking pretty damn near irreplaceable right now, but he'll also be 32 at that point, and he and Boras will surely come up with some more pie-in-the-sky demands. With Sale, Bogaerts, Porcello, and probably some others that I'm not remembering also due for free agency, that's going to be an interesting offseason.

This is why we can't have nice things.

I'm not trying to pile on here, but this sentence kind of made me laugh. I don't disagree with Buttrey getting a shot, but what on Big Papi's green earth makes you think he will be any more consistent than the "three stooges" you just named? The grass is always greener, I guess...

Someone mentioned Marco on another thread, so I was just thinking it's been a long time since I've heard any sort of an update about him. Searched a bit on the SoxProspects forum, but couldn't find anything. Can't be a good sign...

I think our lineup has already been lengthened lately simply through improvement from the guys we have - Devers, Bradley, Vazquez/Leon, and even Nunez have all hit a bit better lately, and this looks like a completely different lineup when the bottom of the order is pulling its weight. Obviously there's all kinds of SSS at play there, but I think there's reason to hope that some or all of those guys could hit better in the second half than they did in the first. None of that, of course, diminishes the value of having a guy with some pop who hits lefties coming off the bench, whichis why I like the Pearce move as well.

I agree as well. I could see maaayybbe seeking a further upgrade at second, but between Holt, Nunez, Lin, Phillips, possibly Pearce, and of course the hoped-for Pedroia return if it happens, DD may feel we have enough there. Anything else would be a major shock at this point, I think.

I see Espinal at 15th on Soxprospects' most recent rankings. He's raised his stock a lot this season, and has been one of the few legitimate prospects delivering positive results consistently, but I wouldn't bet on him being someone we'll miss terribly.

I'm going to go back to this post by dgale, because it was a good one. This is a great team that could stand to add some depth and make some improvements at the margins, not one in need of some sort of major surgery. I mean, obviously we're all just shooting the s*** here, but why in the world would you trade Benintendi and Bogaerts? WTF?

I hate to say it, but Swihart has to be the one to go, whether now or in the pretty near future. He's just taking up a roster spot at this point with no apparent reason for being there other than that the team doesn't want to DFA him and get nothing in return. I hope we can find a trade partner, even if it's just for some international cash or a PTBNL...it would suck to see him go somewhere else and contribute, but the status quo is helping neither his development nor the team. I do like the Pearce pickup. He seems a very good fit for what we needed.

I admit I have not consulted the defensive metrics this year on JDM (I doubt he has enough of a sample size to be able to say much definitively anyway?), but based on the eye test I have to agree with the crowd here that he's been fine. He's no Jackie or Mookie out there, but I can't remember at any point thinking "Man, this guy is killing us," either. I love what our regular three bring defensively, but if sticking Martinez out there now and then keeps him happy and everyone else fresh, I don't think there should be any issue with that. Offensively, obviously, the results speak for themselves, and I'm not even sure we've seen him at his absolute best yet. Love, love, love this signing.

Lol. Mine are nearly 6 and 1.5, and I already can't wait for them to move out. (Kidding, kidding...mostly.) Many congrats to you and your family, Hugh.

Seems like kind of a dick move to non-tender a guy who's in the middle of recovering from Tommy John...but maybe that's just me. I'm sure it has happened before.

I don't think our starting pitching is nearly deep enough to be talking about trading Eduardo...and if we add a second baseman, I think it'll be a stopgap type if anything. Right or not, I get the sense that they'll wait on Pedroia until his leg falls off (and perhaps after that, too).

Alex Speier @alexspeier Steven Wright (knee) to the DL. Justin Haley recalled from AAA. Well that's not good.

Britton is also just coming back from a major injury (torn Achilles?) without great results so far, nor was he exactly dominant last season. He seems like a good target based on pedigree alone, but a close review of his medicals would be crucial.

I can't really disagree with any of that. I don't know how I get roped into sticking up for Clay even two years after the fact...fool's errand if there ever was one, lol.

That's a very black and white way of looking at the world (particularly when we can only guess at the level of association between Hanley and this guy, or how aware Hanley was of whatever criminal stuff he was into), but I respect that you feel that way.

I always thought we should have been able to find a way to talk Hill into staying. The "we had no room for him" argument was based on the presence of Buchholz and Kelly, who (not shockingly) combined for just 27 starts and ended up sharing the rotation for about three weeks out of the season. Regardless, Buchholz was pretty good in 2015 before getting hurt (my preference was to trade him that July and get some value in return, but alas), and picking up his option for the following year was a reasonable decision. After Price and Porcello, our 2016 rotation was full of question marks (it took an unexpected breakout from Wright and a midseason trade for Pomeranz for us to make it through the year), and as Notin pointed out, it's unlikely anyone else we could have gotten for the same money would be any more of a sure thing.