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Duran ended last year in Portland, where he posted a .634 OPS in 352 PA. I don't think service time is why he is not in MLB yet...

It is significant, until you realize Oder has morphed into a replacement level player and it will cost more than $8.75 mill to replace Eovaldi. Now if Oder can return to being a 2.4 fWAR player, that’s another matter...

Since te Sox are not likely to move him without eating money or taking back some sort of Rougned Oder-type hideous deal, he probably stays. Hopefully they move him to the bullpen. He simply cannot handle the rotation...

Well, some of those current commitments will also come off the books, too. For example, after 2021, Pedroia is off the books.

Downs might be one of the better prospects, but he should have ZERO impact on decisions made about the 2021 team. He's an A-ball middle infielder. Teams do not build around A-ball players. The Nationals had both Juan Soto and Victor Robles in A-ball, and that did not stop them from acquiring Adam Eaton. Teams can make these kinds of depth problems work out. Now if Arroyo or Munoz can earn the 2B position, great. But by no means should either be given the role so Downs can take over in 2023 with a clear path. By the time Downs get to the majors, he might not even be a 2B or SS any more. (Remember our last good 2B prospect. Some guys named Betts.)

FTFY. As we discussed somewhere else in the archives of this board, some of those minor league team names are flat out awesome...

These are among the reasons I'd rather see him moved to a closer role, which is hopefully in the future for him. He simply struggles to handle a full time starter role. With Eovaldi, and many other pitchers, it's never been a question of ability but rather one of durability. He's like Brett Anderson that way, and why I would never give Brett Anderson a 4 year big money deal, something every GM in MLB clearly agrees with me on...

True, but it never cost $68 million to find out...

Even if they did not restart the club, the trademark might still be valid. Of course, this is usually the type of problem easily solved with massive amounts of cash. But new owners would probably want to brand their own way. So Portland Pioneers or something boring like that is more likely....

Some of those were two TJ surgeries ago. He's a very, very high risk and was at the time of signing and has done nothing to prove me wrong when I said so. It's a shame, because a pitcher who can throw 98mph as often as he does is indeed a rarity, although it may also be the source of the problem...

Two years after he was traded, he gave Arizona 98 innings of 2.01 ERA/209 ERA+ baseball. Will we ever get a 209ERA+ from Eovaldi in a season? Or 98 IP?

Had? Who stopped?

They did trade Buchholz...

Tht depends on the team's ability to guess how well he recovers. This is uncharted waters. With Sale, at least they know that pitchers with his problems do come back eventually, but they also (likely?) new he was a big question mark for 2020. With ERod, that is not necessarily the case...

There have been no playoffs on this contract, much less any heroics. There is time, correct. Lackey is a great example of a player who was worthless for 2 years, then missed a year, and was only really any good the last 2 years of a 5 year deal. But we all remember him positively. Thank you, 2013 postseason...

Guilty. I didn’t...

Again, not the biggest sample size. With the benefit of hindsight, has signing Eovaldi been a good move or a bad one? Now, granted, he does have 2 years left to go all Lackey on us and make it look like a good deal...

Any reason? I mean, it's better than the Portland Baseball Team. Personally, I like the name Portland Trash Pandas...

Right now there are no other MLB teams within 800 miles of Seattle. Can we get another team or two up there? Portland and Boise get my vote. If Green Bay can have football, Boise can have baseball. OK, Sacramento makes more sense from a population standpoint...

Since post times are the same, I’m thinking I was writing mine simultaneously with yours and you hadn’t published it yet...

It’s nice that you found a great inning out of the 105 he has pitched since 2018. But it doesn’t change that he’s only pitched 105 innings...

I think an attempt will be made to be competitive in 2021. It's not unheard of. The Sox have finished in last place 3 times in the last 8 years, and then finished in first place the next year after two of them, with one World Series title in one of those season to boot...

????????

I think if the Sox trade Benintendi or Vazquez (or both) to get pitching, they will still acquire other players from outside the organization to fill both/either role(s). Chavis is really a bench player anyway, and is best used in the roles he excels at (such s hitting LHP). He's the new Steve Pearce, and if his career plays out like Pearce's, he'll be fine. Now, will the Sox fill C and/or LF wth expensive players? Like Realmuto or Ozuna? Probably not. But just because pitching is the primary need does not make it the only need, and if the Sox deal one or both players for pitching, they very likely lessen the need to spend as much money on arms. As it stands now, they might only acquire one MLB starting pitcher, since they should have 4 returning if you count Pivetta (which we probably should, since Bloom clearly wanted him). As for contributions from below, Dalbec is clearly in play and Duran might be. Beyond maybe a bullpen arm or two, I don't think the farm can supply enough players to turn this into a competitive team. As it stands, even relying on both Dalbec and Duran might be too much already. But if the idea is to bulk up the pitching and depend on getting 600 PA's each from Dalbec, Munoz, Arroyo and Duran, there is no real point in improving all the pitching...

Public perception only becomes critical if the team is losing. Like I said, "chicken and beer" might have been going on forever. Let's not lose sight odf the fact hat I am saying that particulr fiasco is overblown. Do we know when it really started? I would bet prior to 2011. And probably long prior. But the Sox were losing, so "SCAPEGOAT TIME"!! It's the pitching staff. The guys not playing are in the locker room!! With BEER!! It's killing the team!!! The Sox were in first place at the end of August that year, and guess what was happening all year long in the clubhouse? It didn't become a scandal until the team collapsed...