Jack Flap

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2016/06/braves-trade-bud-norris-dodgers.html I never thought I'd be sad that we didn't get Bud Norris, and yet...

It's not time to worry yet...the signing deadline is 7/15, and it wouldn't be surprising if this went down to the wire, but both sides have a lot of reasons to get a deal done. We're not likely to get a crack at drafting a talent like Groome in the near future, and he'd be stupid to turn down ~$4 million and risk becoming the next Karston Whitson.

Maybe Price pitching better would buy us some time, but even if his ERA was 1.74 instead of 4.74, he could only cover for 2/5ths of the rotation being a black hole for so long. We desperately need someone to step up and stabilize the back end.

That'd be correct...well, I'm not predicting a 1.50 ERA, but you get the idea. I like Wright and Porcello a lot, I just think Price will be back to performing like the ace we expected by year's end. As for the rest... again, I'm not excusing Price or saying he doesn't have to be better-- he does -- but Clay has fallen short of even the most minimal expectations anyone had for him this year, and he and the other (cough) esteemed individuals not named Price, Porcello, or Wright who have started games for us have hurt this team far more than anything Price has or hasn't done. But I don't think I'm going to change your mind on this, and it feels like this discussion has gone around and around already.

I am much more concerned about the 4/5 spots in the rotation at this point. (EDIT: And you basically just said that. Need more coffee this morning.)

I don't really get the argument you're trying to make, Slash. I don't think anyone denies that Price's results so far haven't matched expectations. I guess we don't agree that a $31 million guy currently pitching more like a mid-rotation starter (with plenty of encouraging peripherals) and a $13 million guy who is, at this point, barely worthy of being on an MLB roster are on similar levels of bad. I would bet that by the end of the season, you would take Price over Wright or Porcello in a must-win game.

Price has the track record of an ace, which is why he's paid that salary. I'm as nonplussed by his performance so far as anyone else (though he's been a lot better than his ERA would indicate, and equating him with Buchholz this year in any way is kind of a joke), but there is every reason to show him patience. Clay, on the other hand, has a track record that says even if you get a few good, if not great, starts from him at some point, that's just how you know he is about to fall apart or go on the DL for the rest of the year...guaranteed. I used to defend him 2-3 years ago, but I've been around that carousel too many times. As the song goes, he will let you down...he will make you hurt.

Or, you know, not.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/redsox/2016/06/28/red-sox-minor-leaguer-chris-acosta-suspended/LRs2C17gA4e50iOvSPCPPJ/story.html

If we gave up Devers or Espinoza for a rental player, I might have to become a Cubs fan. Hill should not get anywhere near that kind of return.

'While there have yet to be any firm indications that the Yankees will shop Andrew Miller and Aroldis Chapman this summer, ESPN’s Buster Olney writes that some executives from other clubs are becoming more and more convinced that the Yankees will indeed hold a “two-tiered auction” on their imposing lefties. In Miller’s case, the belief is that the Yankees will name a specific price for interested organizations (e.g. Kyle Schwarber from the Cubs) and tell the teams to take it or leave it. Chapman’s status as a free agent at season’s end gives him a lower price tag, Olney notes. He goes on to list the Nationals, Dodgers, Rangers, Cubs and Red Sox as teams with potential interest in late-inning bullpen help, though I personally have a tough time envisioning the Sox and Yankees connecting for a trade of that magnitude.' http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2016/06/andrew-miller-trade-rumor-aroldis-chapman.html If there's any team out there crazy enough to offer someone like Schwarber for a reliever, maybe we should think about shopping Kimbrel.

Nice win. Looked like disaster was about to rain down on us in the 4th, but Porcello really gutted it out. Now Price needs to go out and dominate these guys.... I'm smelling 8 shutout innings and 12 K's today.

FTR, I wasn't advocating trading Moncada or anyone else, just saying that if Fernandez did become a possibility for us, we should be able to make it work with prospects rather than established major league talent. I'd love to get Fernandez, but let's not kid ourselves... 1) the Marlins are just as much contenders as we are right now, and 2) even if he was available, the price tag would be obscene.

In May we looked like the best team in the AL...in June we suck. There are some really serious issues with this team, but also time and resources at hand to find solutions. I don't see this as panic time yet. Let's see what happens over the next month or so.

Perhaps in theory, but someone like Betts (one of the game's rising young stars) is not easily replaced, either...nor are we exactly awash in quality outfielders right now. I'm also not a fan of the "Create one hole to fill another" strategy. If Fernandez became available, and if the Red Sox wanted to go down that road, I would think that some combination of several (maybe all) of our top 4 prospects, Swihart, Kopech, etc. should get us in the discussion without having to include Betts, Bogaerts, or anyone else who's indispensable to the major league roster.

Benintendi and Devers are top 20 prospects in the game. Swihart is a very recent top 20 prospect whose stock has fallen somewhat, but who is still quite young. Kopech is a top 100 guy and our second best pitching prospect who really hasn't pitched in a year. I would have no real qualms about giving up Lakins or Dubon at this time, but I'd be very wary of selling low on Swihart and Kopech. We might even be selling low on Devers, given that his box score results have not exactly matched his talent thus far. For a package like that, I think we'd better be getting a young ace in his pre-arb years, or with 3+ years of reasonably-priced control beyond 2016 -- think Chris Sale-level -- and even then it would be pretty painful.

Aaron Wilkerson: 7 IP, 4 H, 0 BB, 2 R, 8 K last night. 2.00 ERA/1.01 WHIP between Portland and Pawtucket this year. He is 27, signed out of an independent league in 2014 -- not really a prospect, but he's pitched well at every level so far and seems worthy of a shot in Boston. We're well into "f*** it, who else do we have?" territory at this point.

Not trying to be a doom-and-gloomer, but the more I watch this team, the more I hate the idea of mortgaging the future in some quixotic attempt to get to the World Series in Papi's final season. In order to even consider trading top prospects, I'd have to see a major turnaround between now and the deadline -- at minimum, Price consistently pitching like the Price we know and a fourth reliable starter emerging -- because the way we've played lately, we are a lot more than just one SP away from being a championship-caliber club. My fear for this summer is that Dombrowski doesn't see it that way and pulls something like the Kimbrel trade on steroids.

Exactly. I don't know what the Padres would want, but you have to assume they wouldn't be giving him away cheaply. A big trade for an outfielder doesn't make much sense when we have Benintendi and (maybe) Moncada on the horizon. Regarding the Teheran rumors...all of the reasons I didn't want to see a prospects-for-Hamels blockbuster a year or two ago don't apply here: he's young, on a great contract, and presumably has his best days ahead of him. In theory, that's the type of pitcher you break the bank for, but you'd have to be damn sure he's a TOTR type in this division/league. I've read opinions that his stuff wouldn't play up in the AL East, and FIP and other ERA estimators don't make him look nearly as good as his sub-3 ERA would indicate. The Braves will want a big haul, and who can blame them, but I'd hate to give up one of our top 4 prospects plus 2-3 other pieces and have Teheran be only a #4 type pitcher for us. With that said, it doesn't look like any Sale or Fernandez type is walking through the door this summer. Teheran might be the best thing out there, and in that case I don't really know what I'd do. Will be interesting to see how this develops.

Anyway...Moncada with his first AA home run last night.

I'm pumped up to see they're finally giving Bryce Brentz a shot. Hopefully he shows up locked and loaded and ready to blow us away. Texas' pitchers will look like they brought a knife to a gunfight.

Butterfinger strikes again.

4.28 ERA, 1.14 WHIP at time of trade, 4.04/1.16 after (and also coming off a 3.37 ERA, 5.2-win 2012 season), but I won't get into a debate about what "decent" means in this context. Your basic point stands.

I think 2013 Jake Peavy meets the bar for "decent."

High 80's/low 90's wins sounds about right. The offense will be neither as good as it looked a few weeks ago or as bad as it has looked the last few games, but not a concern over the long haul, and the big D will bring in pitching help one way or another. (Hug your favorite prospects a little tighter tonight, folks.)