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Which means jacko has undoubtedly found some equivalent or better improvements on the Baltimore roster to keep them ahead of Boston. I am aquiver in anticipation to hear about them...

I also think as presently constituted, it is still December, a month in which no games are played. If I check the standings, the Sox have the same record as the Yankees at 0-0, you know, as presently constituted...

OK, but did it end there? "Mookie, how is $300 million?" "Not convinced." "OK. I tried."

Whether or not it make more sense depends upon your pre-determined narrative. I would argue the offer to Eovaldi never made sense under any circumstances. And now we have the argument that maybe the Sox needed to make an offer with deferred money to lower the AAV on the table, a proposal as far as any of us know was never made, but maybe should have been. I am also not as flat out convinced as you are that Henry simply said "No. Too much. Move on."

I think there is a difference between not extending a 33yo Pedro Martinez vs a 26yo Betts. Not to mention, Epstein liked to take advantage of draft pick compensation rules back then for his Type A free agents, particularity the rules that allowed you to gain 2 picks for losing a Type A but only lose one pick for signing another one. It allowed him to rebuild the farm system while staying competitive. None of that was in play with Betts. The problem is, the contract Betts was seeking and eventually received was not exactly out of line for his market. He was one of the best players in the game, and other lesser players are making close to what he makes. Gerrit Cole? Bryce Harper? This was getting to be the cost of doing business. Betts' deal with LA was more in line with the value of recent deals than the one the Sox gave Manny Ramirez 20 years earlier. And one that Henry paid despite it being one to set market value rather than follow it. And, do you really think committing over $200 million to Eovaldi and Sale (and over $42mill AAV) had no impact on whether or not the team had budget room for Betts?

Today? Sure. They have only 4 starting pitchers we can name and a bullpen that needs serous help. But then being a sub-.500 team in December is pretty meaningless...

I'm thinking not. I think they dumped DD because he went all in to try and continue the success of 2018, and it did not work and left the team in a very questionable position...

And you seem to think Henry - who has an equally impressive track record for paying huge bills racked up by various GMs - suddenly decided enough was enough - but NOT do to any other deals already made. And NOT due to the existing budget. But rather, just because. There was a time when Manny Ramirez’ deal looked rather ominous, too. Second largest deal in MLB history at the time. Did Henry balk them?

Not really. That’s just press talk. We all know when asked why he didn’t try to tip the Padres’ offer for Snell, the real answer is “because we couldn’t. Not with this farm!” It had nothing to do with future plans. Chaim Bloom (and Erick Neander) both know not only is there no guarantee Patino even approaches Snell in terms of ability, but with prospect attrition rates being what they are, there’s no guarantee any of the others even see Day One in Tampa. But publicly admitting the farm sucks - even though everyone knows it - is counterproductive for Bloom...

Also with non-elite talents, which lead to the situation I’m talking about...

Then Dombrowski needed to offer it rather than spending more money and a higher AAV on a couple of sore-armed pitchers...

Whether he was coming back or not, it’s not unreasonable to think a looming pandemic that had already cancelled multiple sports season was not a factor in Betts’ decision to sign that extension ...

Technically the Sox had him for a lower AAV for 2020 prior to the trade. But let’s say the Sox did sign him for that amount, what’s the luxury tax impact of keeping him and Price?

Unless Betts only took it due to the unknown impact of the COVID outbreak...

Another possibility is you’re being impatient Ignore Bloom’s quotes about why he didn’t trade for Snell; we both know he didn’t have the pieces and now know he was not going to answer to the press by saying “Because our farm sucks! That’s why!” When was the last big Sox off-season free agent acquisition? Have they signed a notable since JD Martinez? That was on February 26, 2018. Nearly 3 years ago. So why the belief it all started with Bloom?

If you understand the need to reset, then you get why nothing happened last offseason. So that means you think November and (most of) December are the new normal. If so, the entire league has adopted those spending habits. So far, the largest free gent contract was given to James McCann and the largest AAV to 37yo Charlie Morton. Maybe we could at least try acknowledging the uncertainty from the pandemic has been a much bigger influence on league-wide spending? COVID > Chaim?

Yep. Bloom missed the boat. There are no good free agents left as he took too long and Henry was too cheap. And who would have guessed the largest contract would have gone to James McCann and the largest AAV to Charlie Morton. But, hey, once those two were off the board, it was all over...

Still shocked Henry gets labeled as cheap. Last year’s team was not just a complete dumpster fire, it was also a dumpster fire with the third highest payroll in MLB. Even Henry’s disasters are luxurious...

But do they see him as a $25 million player over the next 2 seasons?

I don’t think the trade from the Rays’ point of view would be anything but a salary dump. I do doubt they would include Pete Fairbanks and his 101mph fastball as enticement or a player they seem to like. But if the Sox offered a token player like Arauz or Wilson for Kiermaier straight up, I would be surprised if they declined. The main reason they might is because the status of Arozarena is in a bit of flux right now... I

Yes but they were reportedly contemplating moving Kiermaier this off-season. Morton was already off the books and therefore not a new factor to be considered...

Of course it’s also possible they just dealt Darvish as a sell high maneuver. In the first two seasons of that deal, he only gave them 89 IP total. They might have been worried about more of that level of consistency from him from ages 34 thru 36...

Profar can play OF but his 2b skills have come into question. Why do you suppose they avoid Bradley and Hand? Bloom is far better known for strengthening bullpens over rotations...

Well, they didn’t cut Morton loose so much as watch him reach free agency. Point being they knew his salary was already gone (as Glenn Frey used to say) during any period where they were contemplating moving Kiermaier...

I know very little about them except Muzziotti, whose been moving up in the Phillies’ system...