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True. But also 100% irrelevant to the initial question...

Once again, you're going to get a hernia if you keep moving those goal posts. 5Gold wanted the Sox to add a late inning defensive replacement OF, "like most contenders". I asked which ones have one. He made a very specific request, and IMO it was nowhere near as rife as he indicated. The whole "stolen base specialist"/pinch runner is a different matter. (And Kielty was neither a defensive specialist not a stolen base specialist.) Kotsay is the only player you listed who fits what 5Gold was asking about...

And at one point I thought it as supposed to be Benintendi/Renfroe in LF, Verdugo in RF and someone else in CF. Not even sure who it was supposed to be. Bradley? Pillar? Conversations with Bradley did go deep into the offseason. My point is there was a lot of supposition on whatever alignment Bloom envisioned, or if his goal was just to accrue people who played anywhere and let Cora figure it out...

But no matter who you get to play 1B, the biggest defensive hole on the team is at SS. And it's not a position the team can really mess around with mid-season. The Sox could drag Keith Hernandez and his, what 534 Gold Gloves, out of retirement and put him at 1B, and it wasn't going to help Bogaerts go get a grounder in the hole...

So.. one? And he was acquired off waivers less than 3 weeks ago...

Actually I was wondering who all these defensive outfielders that contenders are using as late inning replacements are...

Was that the actual plan? I thin we all suspected it was something like that, but that doesn't mean that's what it was...

Well, the team he did put together was a bit better, as the Arroyo (2B), Hernandez (CF), Verdugo (LF) Renfroe (RF) arrangement actually worked out pretty well. And Marwin was certainly a capable defensive player whose bat was probably supposed to get him more time at 1B. But health has also played a part is the poor defense. And if any sort of major mistake was made by Bloom, it was his bizarre desire to collect multipositional players as if teams need more than one of them. Maybe sticking with some players who have actual repeated MLB experience at one position might help. Kike was enough to fill the versatility needs. Adding Marwin was just flat out redundant. Bringing Danny Santana and Taylor Motter into the mix is evidence that maybe Bloom has some sort of addiction problem going on here...

You sure?

No one acquires Kyle Schwarber for his glove. No one...

His .507 OPS brings him overall value down. But I'd take JBJ back as a 4th outfielder. would you trade Duran for Hader and Bradley? Would Milwaukee? (They might, solely for financial reasons.)

Like who?

Well, there was one who did not approve of the Eovaldi contract and did so vociferously...

He made an error!! He’s gone!! The Sox do need to improve the defense, but it cannot turn into a witch hunt where they realign every position because someone made a booboo

Because two teams will go to the postseason, therefore the odds for all teams will add up to 200%, not 100%. After all, when Team A clinches a spot and has 100% shot at making the postseason, it doesn’t eliminate the other two. One of them (or another of the unmentioned contenders) is still going to qualify…

Yes…

Being 3rd in K’s and 21st in K% does speak volumes about the defense…

More strikeout pitchers. Can’t make errors if no one puts the ball in play…

And it seems like about 95 of them started rallies after the first two batters went down…

Well, the Mets’ fans love him. No one cares about Mets’ fans…

The guy is getting overlooked sometimes over the shiny new toy that is Duran, but I think a lot of people forget (or just never knew) that Verdugo is only 4 months older than Duran and is a much, much better player across the board...

Bogaerts hired Scott Boras to represent him, knowing full well that Boras' primary tactics are to get to free agency and then ask for lots and lots of money. That's how Boras operates. I know it. You know it. And certainly Bogaerts knows it. I do not think any of us knows Bogaerts well enough to know where money falls on his list, but we do know he hired Boras to be his agent, so it is certainly a priority for him on some level. If Bogaerts had any interest in a cheaper deal, there would have been no need for the opt out clause, which was absolutely not put in there so that he could take less money instead of reaching free agency at age 29. If Bogaerts extends, it will be or money similar to what Correa/Seager/Baez/etc. will be getting this off-season. And all of them will be benchmarking something in the neighborhood of Francisco Lindor's extension (10 years $341mill). They won't all get it, and maybe none will, but that will be the starting point. The most likely bargain of the bunch is probably Baez, who is the same age as Bogaerts and started the season off struggling heavily (although he has been flat out thumping since being dealt). But his right-handed pop bat would play well in Fenway and he does bring extremely strong defensive play that you just don't get from Bogaerts...

Duran over Verdugo?

Because he is very likely to opt out of his contract after 2022. And this is the ideal off-season to find a replacement shortstop with Correa, Baez, Story, Seager, Crawford, and Simmons all reaching free agency...

That’s a pretty weak thing for the Mariners to complain about. They knew where Seattle was when they put the team there…