Jack Flap

Haha...I'm guilty. With Devers coming into the season as a 20-year-old who had put up a .779 OPS in High-A the previous year, I saw no reason to think we'd be seeing him in the majors before 2018 at the earliest. Obviously he accelerated that timetable in a huge way with his breakout in Portland, and never really let up. Extremely happy to have been wrong!

Are you talking about releasing him? I'd be shocked if that happened, but who knows. I think there's enough upside left there to give him a chance, but he needs to earn it...if he can't outproduce Moreland and/or whatever other DH candidates we have around (Brentz/Swihart/Travis/etc), then he should see his playing time cut back accordingly. Not saying it wouldn't be a difficult and uncomfortable situation for Cora to navigate, but I think it can be done.

With regard to Hanley's option: it's an issue because 2 of his 3 seasons in Boston have been sub-replacement level (granted, injuries and the disastrous 2015 move to LF have played a part in that) and there's a good chance you'll want to use that $22 million and lineup spot on a better player in 2019. I'm not for releasing him outright, and if he produces, he should play (the return of July-September 2016 Hanley would be a game-changer) - but I just hope there are plans in place in case he doesn't. I just don't want to let the option vest by default while he coasts through another just-healthy-enough but mediocre season like 2017.

So what you're saying is that we are headed towards a steep, vertical, or overhanging face of rock, earth, or ice, perhaps even a precipice?

I guess I don't consider .245/.323/.402 and 17 HR from a GG-quality center fielder "horrible." Below average, sure, and he definitely had "horrible" stretches, but I hardly think of him as a negative in our lineup. I do think we could see some positive regression from several of our young guys, and JBJ having a season closer to 2016 then 2017 wouldn't surprise me, either.

No worries, I think I understood your post. There are definitely times when throwing around our financial might is called for, and this offseason (and probably the next) does feel like one of those times. I do think the Moreland signing was a precursor to bigger things, and if we could somehow land Martinez and a solid starter I'd definitely come away a happy camper.

Yeah, I'd say Mookie has earned that moniker for sure...the others have been too inconsistent or just don't have enough of a track record yet.

Lol...I tried to have that discussion not too long ago and didn't get very far.

Bingo. We all "care about the money" at some point, whether we admit it or not (don't tell me Pablo would have been so reviled if he was making $650k a year), and sometimes I've observed that the fans who are quickest to say "not my money" are the loudest to complain when the money gets spent in a way they don't like. Personally, I care about contracts and so forth only to the extent that (as you mention) spending on one player affects what we can spend on another. Posting fees, signing bonuses, contracts that don't count towards luxury tax (hello Rusney), and so forth might as well be gravy. Also, with regard to JBJ, isn't it fair to say that he was a pretty middle-of-the-pack starting center fielder in 2017 by most standards? I'm not sure what the hair-splitting about qualifying players is really adding to that discussion. He doesn't have to be a superstar or tops at his position to have real value.

I agree with you here...I think putting someone like Martinez in left and trading Bradley is less of an upgrade to the team as a whole than simply making Martinez the DH and keeping Bradley. I love our outfield as currently constituted and would hate to see it broken up...of course, it all depends on what we could get for JBJ, I suppose, but it would have to be a really great return to make it worth it.

A center fielder who turns 28 next season with three years of control remaining, who and is coming off 2.8 bWAR and 2.3 fWAR (5.3 bWAR/5.0 fWAR the year before) has no trade value. Yeah, okay.

Dave listened!

A new peanut vendor?

I don't really recall feeling like we "won the offseason" that year...we expected Hanley and Pablo to give a boost to our offense, but there was a lot of skepticism about those signings as well, and there was plenty of apprehension about fielding what was seen as a rotation of #3-5 starters. Certainly, no one was saying "Hell yeah, we got Justin Masterson - start printing those World Series tickets!"

Good point.

I wouldn't mind seeing us move quickly to land a Morrison or Duda type or even re-sign Moreland - someone who won't cost a ton and could split 1B/DH time with Hanley if necessary - then we can play the waiting game with Boras and JD with a bit less pressure. Guys like that are probably waiting for the bigger fish to set the market, though.

We haven't been active, but few teams have so far. If deals were going down while Dombrowski sat idle, that would be one thing, but other than Stanton and Ozuna (and there are reasons to doubt Boston acquiring either was realistic and/or a good fit) and maybe some relievers, what has happened that we should be disappointed we weren't in on? All of the major free agents remain unsigned. This offseason has been full of far more talk than action all-around. (Unfortunately, it just so happens that one of the big movers and shakers has been our hated rival, but I don't see that as reason to freak out.) The "Desperate Dave" nickname really isn't aging well this offseason, and if anything we're seeing that the desperate ones are the fans and media types who start to get panicky when a few weeks pass without a big splash. Perhaps we should start calling him "Deliberate Dave" instead?...some might say "Dormant Dave," but I'm not fooled by the inactivity. We'll get the bat or two everyone is craving, and possibly more besides...but in good time.

Yeah, I don't think Hosmer is a bad player or anything - he's just very inconsistent from year to year, not really the sort of middle-of-the-order game-changer we could use (though that's less of an issue if we're also signing JDM), has a QO, and seems headed for a significantly bigger contract than I'd prefer...but it all depends on the price tag, of course.

I'd love to add a solid starter in addition to a bat, but I don't know if that's in the cards. I do think we'll add a reliever before all is said and done.

Bob Nightengale‏ @BNightengale The San Diego #Padres have become clear-cut favorites to sign 1B Eric Hosmer after two face-to-face meetings with #Redsox still lurking I'm okay with this.

Kingface in da house!! Good to see you around.

Oh, now you're just teasing us. I'd be surprised if Machado gets dealt within the division, but if the O's are amenable to doing so, you guys could probably blow any offer of ours out of the water if you were so inclined...

Evan Drellich @EvanDrellich 6m Source says Red Sox 90-10 in their pursuit of J.D. Martinez vs. other(s). Makes sense: he’s the best free agent bat available in terms of production, no qualifying offer.

He Who Must Not Be Named?

It sure feels like the MFY are owning the winter meetings so far (for whatever that's worth). Meanwhile, no matter how many times I refresh Twitter, the rumor mill remains quiet for the Red Sox....for now.