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I'm taking the over. He won't have thrown a pitch in over 2 years. Expecting MLB that quickly is a bit much, especially if he starts out slowly...

There will be several defensive CF types on the market. Bradley, Pillar, Taylor, Maybin, Marisnick, and Dyson are all going to be free agents, and you'll probably see others like Lagares. And there will be others who would not be difficult to trade for like Almora, Kiermaier, and Roman Quinn. The LF market has one intriguing name in Ozuna, but if the Sox are only trying for a shorter term contract, Joc Pederson is another option (both of these guys also have plenty of experience in CF)...

Song won't be contributing the the MLB club as early as 2022. He'll just be starting out in the minors around that time...

I don’t see the Red Sox adding 4 established starters next season on top of the 3 1/2 they’re expecting back. Maybe one established starter, especially since you seem to be setting the bar a bit higher for what counts as an “established starter”...

But that doesn’t mean it had no financial impact on the team while he was here...

Ben can be responsible for signing Castillo, but the decisions that lead to keeping him in AAA seem to be a bit further reaching...

Per BTV, Benintendi for Boyd is a moderate overpay for Detroit, but Benintendi for Reynaldo Lopez is an even trade. As the White Sox use Nomar Mazara as their third outfielder, Benintendi is an upgrade. Duran is an option for CF, but Wilson strikes me as Michael Coleman 2.0...

You taught Yaphet Kotto?!?!

Is that counting or in addition to the two SPs Bloom already added (Pivetta and Seabold)?

The Brewers DFA's a RHP named Trey Supak today, in the "Name That Sounds Like a WWE Wrestling Move" category...

What about them? It's really what a good GM should do is anticipate the value over time of a pitcher/player. It looks like DD just went all in for the big name/splash and got what he was expecting, short term success and long term expenditure. He had to know this was the case, because it pretty much always is with long term contracts given to players on the wrong side of 30, and was probably hoping to circumvent it with the opt out. But being part of a GM is having some sort of method of determining who will be the best value going forward, not basing everything on solely who was in the past. Do you think DD tried this? Price seemed like a surer bet in the short term future. Do you think he as a sure bet for 7 years through age 38? If 12 years of a 28 year old player was too risky, per your criteria, why was 7 years of a 31yo player acceptable?

BTV does give Boyd a surplus value of $5.7mill and Benintendi a surplus value of $3.6mill. Both are plummeting fast. Benintendi for Lopez ($3.7mill) is a much better match up using their criteria. But I would be surprised if Detroit did not accept a Benintendi/Boyd swap. I think I'd be more surprised if Bloom offered it. Hernandez (surplus value $7mill on BTV) looks like the real gem there, but he also has the least experience. Miami has enough needs and their biggest criteria appears to be a low salary...

ftfy

There were only 4 free agents that year? Even limiting just to free agency, there was Kenta Maeda, whose 10.6 fWAR exceeded Price's 10.2 fWAR in that same timeframe, and for a very small (~10%) fraction of the cost. And really, JA Happ (10.1 fWAR) and Rich Hill (9.1 fWAR) were right behind Price. Price was a big name and a PR splash. But it's actually OK for a GM to use other criteria for free agents...

Undervalued pitchers (worth targeting?) I have no idea what it would take to get any of them,. 1. Elieser Hernandez (Miami). Leads all SP the last two seasons in Zone % and is among the for lowest Contact %. Basically he is throwing strikes that very few can hit. Insane 6.80 K/BB this year (in only 25 IP). 2. Matt Boyd (Detroit). Z-Contact % and Sw Str % are both top 20 in MLB since start of 2019. Per BTV, his trade value is plummeting, but Detroit might not share this notion. However, the Tigers have hitting needs and a ton of young pitching, and Boyd is first-time arb-eligible so he is expendable. Big issue is control problems, although he is not horrible here. (Benintendi for Boyd?) 3. Reynaldo Lopez (White Sox). Lopez has been top 20 in throwing strikes, having batters swing at strikes, and having batters miss strikes since the start of 2019. He has had some injury issues this year, but he could be poised for a huge breakout season if he can stay healthy. Biggest question is what exactly do the White Sox need, if anything? I actually expect Bloom to be looking at pitchers like this to fill out the rotation. Naturally, he will use a different (better?) analysis...

The only good thing about Price's deal was DD did put in the opt out, which nearly every other player who ever received one had exercised. Had Price not gotten injured in his second season (or third, I suppose), he might have exercised it and not left Boston in the bad position they were in. But then there was really no excuse for going crazy on Eovaldi's deal...

Correct. In fact, Lee had issues with Zimmer not starting him in games in 1978 against the Yankees as part of this quarrel. And according to Lee, that decision prevented the Sox from winning the 1978 pennant...

Down was clearly Plan B - which became "Get the best player possible." . It's possible he never plays a game for the Sox...

Trevor Bauer is the obvious Big Splash. But I can see why he could and maybe should be avoided. If Bloom signs him, load that contract with opt outs!! Otherwise he could be Price 2.0...

As much as I don’t like that we rejected that deal, I think I get why Bloom did it. He couldn’t trade Betts and get back a pitcher that he feared would spend half his career on the IL...

Season saved!! In all seriousness, a good move. Audition time!

Oh I will do occasional “research,” by which I mean poking around sites like Fangraphs and B-R for some data. And while I form staunch opinions, I can be convinced otherwise. (Something 5GoldGloves does more often than I care to admit) Heck the very post you challenged me on was a point made by S5 that gave me pause. (S5 and I are not known to agree on things, going back to other websites, back when he just used the name “S5”). But I also felt he made a rather astute observation and I threw some data behind it...

But this is the fallout from that unprecedented run...

While I get your point, I just attribute all deals under a GM to that GM. Except Hazen, although his departure might also explain Dombrowski’s sudden carelessness with some deals...

Fair...