Jack Flap

Good stuff, S5...appreciate the exclusive scoop.

The Red Sox inquired on Oakland's Khris Davis and were rebuffed: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2017/12/as-continue-to-have-interest-in-stephen-piscotty.html

Not saying they are or aren't at this point, but that's exactly what he'd say if he was shopping JBJ, too.

The same agent said he thought the Red Sox were more focused on pitching than bats...I'm sure he's being truthful, but I don't know if I'd necessarily trust his insight into what the Red Sox are doing.

Let me put it this way...we've all been assuming Stanton would not accept a trade to Boston because we were not on his preferred list of four, and I've been willing to accept that explanation because it's frankly the only thing that makes sense. The thing is, those four also happen to be the four LCS teams from this year, and I have to wonder if that's why he named them - and if that's the case, it stands to reason that he could be talked into a team that won 93 games this year fell just two wins short of the ALCS. If he has some specific reason not to consider Boston, I've never heard of it and it certainly wasn't apparent from his or his agent's comments today. We know the Cardinals and Giants weren't on Stanton's list, but they still put in the effort to work out a trade with the Marlins, and at least got a chance to sit down with Stanton and make their case as a result...but we never even got that far. Maybe he never would have approved a trade to Boston no matter what, but if we never really tried, we'll never know. There were reports from early on that the Marlins' asking price was unrealistic and too high for the Red Sox, and yet in the end, they settled for very little in talent and even ate some of the contract. I almost have to wonder whether this was a Donaldson-to-Toronto situation where the RS didn't like the initial ask, so they gave up and moved on, allowing a more persistent team to strike and get their target for much less when the price went down. Or maybe we were just never that interested to begin with, which I would find inexplicable. (Stanton is objectively better than Martinez, Hosmer, Abreu, and all the other options being kicked around, and while his contract is huge, $25 million per year shouldn't be crippling and simply isn't that much any more for an elite talent.) So yes, Dave has some explaining to do. If we never had a shot at Stanton, that would be one thing, but if we allowed a player who perfectly fits our biggest need go to our biggest rival for peanuts without first exhausting every avenue to prevent this, that has to be viewed as a colossal blunder, no way around it. Like, I'm on the verge of joining the Jeter-Yankees collusion conspiracy crowd, because that just makes no f***ing sense.

Yup...

http://www.masslive.com/redsox/index.ssf/2017/12/boston_red_sox_never_tried_to.html Welp...this is kind of what I was afraid of.

JBJ in a three-way for Abreu, then signing Martinez to play left field? Just a stab in the dark here. That lineup would be off the chain, but I love our outfield as currently constituted and would rather just have Martinez DH and sign a free agent first baseman.

It probably should have been renamed or merged to begin with, since Votto has never really come up as a legitimate option and this ended up being 98% about Stanton anyway.

Slash, I think you'll like this one better: 7 predictions for MLB Winter Meetings WWW.MLB.COM LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- You want crazy, don't you? Manny Machado to the Cardinals? Yeah, that would do it. How about Evan Longoria to the Giants? See, you're starting to get into the spirit of the thing.If we can't throw a little caution to the wind, what's the point

I think JBJ is certainly tradeable, but the circumstances would have to be right... I don't get the Cubs reference in that tweet...we've been linked to Schwarber, and while I wouldn't necessarily mind buying low on him, I wouldn't think he'd be nearly enough for Bradley, nor could he replace him in the outfield. We'll see...

Bob Nightengale @BNightengale 11m The Boston #RedSox have let several teams know that CF Jackie Bradley is available in their pursuit of a power bat. #Cubs

Stanton wanted to play in New York and (apparently) not in Boston...I think that's really the only story here. The money would not have kept us from acquiring him if he'd wanted to come. And while the Jeter cracks are fun, what kind of a joke of an executive would he be if he was making decisions based on what was best for his old club rather than the one he now works for and represents? The Marlins got a s***** deal because, between wanting to dump the contract and having to contend with the no-trade clause, they had no leverage and Giancarlo essentially forced them to send him where he wanted and take whatever they could get...to suggest that better offers were left on the table because Jeter wanted to do the Yankees a solid just doesn't seem realistic to me.

Stanton was always going to be in control here, but I do think the Marlins played their cards poorly and could/should have been able to do better. Seems like a better way to go about things would have been to make a public show of wanting to keep and build around Stanton while privately figuring out what clubs he would accept and quietly seeing what could be worked out with those clubs; instead, they pissed away their leverage by making it known that Stanton HAD to be traded and by carrying on very public negotiations with teams he did not want to play for, and once he rejected those teams, they were f***ed. It's all an excellent case study in why never to give out unlimited no-trade clauses...

Perhaps not, but it doesn't seem like we tried all that hard, either.

And Stanton's AAV will only be $22 million per year due to the money coming over from the Marlins. Seriously, the whole thing is nothing short of highway robbery.

You can say that again. Can you imagine them landing Ohtani and Stanton in the span of 24 hours? I think I just threw up a little...

I'd rather re-sign Moreland than overpay for Hosmer.

Miami paid some of the contract (about $35 million, it sounds like) and took Castro in return, and it still doesn't sound like the NYY had to give up much in prospects. I wonder what we'd have been able to swing if we'd agreed to take the whole contract, no strings attached...but I guess we'll never know. I never really saw Stanton as our most realistic option this winter (I'm good with Martinez and still think we'll get him), but seeing him go to New York is a real gut punch. Their 2018 lineup is going to be absolutely unreal, and they still have the capacity to make further moves (pitching?). They were already better than us on paper, and this just puts us that much further behind. We'll be okay...but not a fun day to be a Red Sox fan.

Someone take all sharp objects away from Slasher, lest he live up to his handle. Larry Cook too, for that matter. I hope we find out more in the days to come about the reason(s) behind our apparent lack of interest and involvement here. If Stanton was simply dead set against playing in Boston, then there's nothing you can do about that, but I don't think that's ever been reported...if, on the other hand, we stayed away because we weren't interested in his contract, then I'll be sorely disappointed. I'm sure the asking price for Martinez is only going up, too...

Kershaw can opt out after next season.

Jon Heyman‏ @JonHeyman sources: yankees and marlins have a deal for giancarlo stanton

Haha...I don't doubt it!

The Giants announced they are out on Stanton as well...hoo boy, this could get interesting. I hope DD is on the phone with Jeter making one more push as we speak.

The Cardinals have announced that they have been informed that Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton will not waive his no-trade clause to approve a deal to St. Louis. Miami had put deals in place with both the Cards and the Giants, allowing Stanton to speak with both. It’s not certain at present whether a final decision has been issued with regard to the San Francisco organization.. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2017/12/giancarlo-stanton-informs-cardinals-he-will-not-waive-no-trade-clause.html