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For you

Is Ward's issue with walks (3.9 BB/9) really that much more of an issue than Deivi Garcia's (3.8 BB/9)? That's all of 1 walk for every 90 innings, or maybe 2 per season...

Or retire...

While I don't think the Sox are going to let every expensive player walk, what would you prefer? To be in contention every year or have a player Devers on the occasional last place team?

No, but it is a lot for a pitcher who has missed almost all of the last 2 seasons. He's become Tyson Ross with a better pedigree. And no one offered Tyson Ross an MLB deal last time he reached free agency. When you start using the phrases "$5 mill" and "multiple Cy Youngs" in the same sentence, that's an admission that there is something very wrong or very risky here. Kluber only gets a guaranteed deal if he starts receiving multiple offers, which is possible, but certainly not a guarantee. In fact, there is no guarantee he could pass a physical...

I think they do want them to pitch above A-ball before they reach MLB. The 4 prospects ranked ahead of Houck - Mata, Ward, Groome and Song - have combined for 53.2 innings above A ball, all of them from Mata. And he did not exactly dazzle at that level himself to the tune of a 5,03 ERA / 1.45 WHIP...

He pitched 5 innings against the Marlins. It was a terrific debut, but possibly too small of a sample size to go thinking the entire scouting industry got everything wrong...

And presumably more good years and a better ROI...

I would agree, although I wqould hope hje would be less wary of a legitimate generational superstar at age 27 than a 31yo pitcher with a very good (but not generational) resume...

It becomes much less probable when you do not have that many in the farm system. Because if you do not supply them yourself, it is very difficult to acquire them from other teams or free agency (especially when you cannot spend because you have a ton of cash tied up in one superstar)....

No chance on a minor league deal? The guy has 36 IP since 2018. I do not see many teams if any throwing a lot of guaranteed money at him, especially since a lot of teams might not be spending at all.

Maybe money was more important to him than being major leaguer. If all he wanted was to play baseball, he was still doing that in Pawtucket...

Minor league deal or heavily incentive-laden deal...

Always a bid idea, IMO. Those teams could have been easily derailed by injuries. And even in the face of a third place finish, slapped their fans in the face by saying "Why watch a good team now when you can gamble we might have one in the future?"

I'm not so sure there...

Possible, but it always seems like these type of downturns in the market do not impact the top tier free agents as much as everyone else. I think Bauer will get paid. As will Realmuto, Semien, and Springer, and possibly Ozuna and Hand. The rest might be looking at paydays less than normally expected...

And that is why he is where here is...

He might very well have been a 4th outfielder in MLB, but a 4th outfielder is still a major leaguer...

I think it depends on the market and the definition of Big Splash. No way they take the rebuild another year. Not after the negative PR following the Rest Button tweet. And some of the industry taking heads feel most teams will be cutting spending, but not the Sox. The best approach might be to take on the lower risk free agents for long term deals rather than jump right back in with a 7 year deal for a 30+ yo pitcher. Think more like the Cherington pre-2013 offseason as oppposed to the Dombrowski pre-2016 offseason...

Even then, maybe the Sox can deal Benintendi and Vazquez each for a SP, and maybe sign one. But he isn't as likely to go all in for, say, Trevor Bauer, a man whose insistence on going year-to-year for arbitration is probably based on his desire to get paid heavily. Bloom's free agent history with Tamps is obviously limited by the budget, but when he did sing a SP, it was someone like an aging Charlie Morton. So if he goes for a short-term aging SP, who are the better candidates? A return of Jon Lester? A return of Anibal Sanchez? Cole Hamels? Jake Arrieta?

I am on board with this move, but if the Sox keep the existing arrangement of Devers at 3B and Dalbec at 1b, I will assume it is being done with more inside knowledge than I will know or understand. Despite the insanely small sample size, I actually do like the idea of letting Munoz and Arroyo battle for the starting 2B role (with the other taking on the utility infielder role). Both are very capable of disappointing, but both also have some history that I like. I really doubt they use Chavis, who is a role player best used in a weakside platoon role, as the starting LF. Now if the Sox deal Benintendi for a SP and bring in, say, Joc Pederson to play LF, Chavis might make a for a good platoon partner since he has decent numbers vs LHP. I think Lin gets DFAd and released. CF is wide open. Duran would not surprise me, but I think he becomes Plan B and the opening day CF is a placeholder like Pillar, Marisnick, Taylor or Lagares. Bradley, a Boras client, might price himself out of Boston and does have teams who like him. I expect him to land in Cleveland or San Francisco. Well, Vazquez does represent the one trading chip that intrigued the most teams, and more importantly, intrigued the ones with SP depth. If Cleveland or Tampa would give up a SP for him, it is certainly worth considering. Especially since the one free agent worth breaking the bank for on the free agent market is J.T. Realmuto. I do like Eovaldi to the bullpen for a "high leverage" relief role. Check. (Love the use of the phrase "high leverage relief" as opposed to the stone age term "closer." Rotation? Acquisition-Rodriguez-Perez-Pivetta-(Mata?/Seabold?/Godley?/acquisition?/eventually Sale). If I had to peg one pitcher to be most likely to be acquired (and even then, the odds are in the 1% range), I go with Matt Boyd. Bullpen should return Eovaldi, Barnes, Brasier, Taylor, Hernandez, Houck and maybe Valdez. Outside of maybe Stock, the rest of this year's staff can get DFA'd. This means a minimum of two relief pitchers (Ken Giles? Keone Kela? The underrated Hector Rondon?) are needed to join the team. Why bother? Martinez has struggled, but the team is going nowhere anyway, and the Sox would probably have to eat the bulk of his deal to trade him. Might as well pay him to hit here. I don't think any of them are knocking on the door. Only Potts has more than a dozen games above A ball, and he did not exactly tear the league up (663 OPS in 537 PA). But he is also younger than Downs and Groome, so this is not a cause for alarm. No rush for any of them.

Not real sure, but potentially not insignificant. For example, if the Sox had kept Margot, would they have paid Bradley over $20 million the past two years?

Well, according to a few articles about him in the minors, there was a feeling around the league of "Why is this guy still here?" But his chances died with the hiring of Dombrowski, who was never a fan, and reportedly left Castillo's pre-signing tryout commenting he was, direct quote here, "a fourth outfielder at best." He never got a fulll chance, but i don't think you will ever find a single person who pities him for it. A lot of people will never get a chance to play in MLB, but he is the only one paid $72 million to not play in MLB...

I listed 3 names, but Boyd is clearly the most likely, since the Tigers have been actively trying to move him. No idea of the others (Eliezer Hernandez and Reynaldo Lopez) are available or for what price. Now, per BTV, a Chavis/Boyd swap is a massive overpay for Boston, but trades that lopsided using BTV criteria have been done before. But with Boyd entering his arbitration years, his price will drop considerably...

Pivetta started 58 games in 2017 and 2018. He started 13 in 2019 before being removed from the rotation. And this year has been a shortened nightmare for any player where even the smalelst slump ruins your numbers. Like Pivetta or not, Bloom trade for him and clearly viewed him as someone he wanted. He didn't just settle and take the best offer; if he wanted more, he had a few more days before the deadline to work something else out. Now, it is possible he does no view Pivetta as a starter. But I think he does, which is why he is not with the parent club yet and is being stretched out in the alternate training site. I think most likely case is Bloom acquires one established starter to go with the 4 he is expecting back, acquires some other depth pitchers or (close to) MLB-ready minor leaguers, and also gets several relievers, which is where the Sox real problem is anyway. Maybe two, if the Sox (wisely?) move Eovaldi to the bullpen. Although who knows what the plan is for Darwinzon Hernandez? No way he tries to get 4 established starters without a much more massive overhaul....