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If you think all Dalbec is worth in a trade is a middle of he pack reliever, why exactly are you arguing so strongly to keep him?

Very strong agree. If anything, keeping Dalbec "just because" he is a prospect seems like the short-sighted move. If there is no plan to use him where he fits best, then he is expendable for someone who fits better.

And how many of those possibilities go away if the Sox keep him?

There are a few who look at it that way. Very few. But then, if i bring up Pedroia, who is on the VERY SHORT list of Red Sox players with 3 World Series rings since World War I, and who has a list of accomplishments as a player for the Sox that could fill the Internet, yet how many fans have called for his retirement so he can stop making money that could be better spent elsewhere?

Recency Bias. Since 2013, Wheeler has 749 IP and Eovaldi has 763 IP...

So far he has made two acquisitions. And both of them have been Josh Osich...

He also might turn into Will Middlebroks 2.0, meaning he does nothing, marries a NESN sportscaster, and then is out of MLB in 3 years...

If he returns to Cy form, you would deal him? Then why keep Mookie if the plan to is break up the biggest question mark when the answer is looking positive?

If they won't make the best offer - certainly possible - why keep him? Think this 84 win team can return to 100+ wins? If we had one unhealthy and expensive question mark in the rotation, I might agree. But we have three, and no depth behind them. That's a lot to expect Mookie to overcome...

Mookie wants to hit free agency. That we know. What we don;t know is why. There are 3 possibilities 1) He wants out of Boston altogether. 2) He wants to try another team 3) He wants as much money as possible. If it's anything but option 3, why keep him? To take "one last shot" at a title, and then have a few seasons of potential overpriced mediocrity? I know a lot of fans say they are ok with the bleak future if they get a title, but that is only true f th future stays where it is - out of the present. Because once the team has that downturn, so few are happy with the title way back when, despite how long flags fly for. We have all seen it on this board. Who liked 2014? Or 2015? Or 2019? Would you say: a) most some or c) a very small amount? And bear in mind, this team only won 84 games last year and has bigger questions independent of Betts. Mookie was healthy, but the team was not. Another 84 win season is actually more likely than another 108 win season. Or even a 100 win season. If Betts just wants the most money, the Sox do need to make some arrangement to accommodate him. Despite Henry's immense wealth, he has a budget. If Mookie is dead set on hitting free agency just for the cash (IMO most likely reason), why not trade him for one year and re-sign him? The whole "his feelings will be hurt if he gets dealt" scenario laughable. First of all, none of us know his personality. Secondly, there are very few "insults" that cannot be cured with $300 million plus. That's one heck of an apology...

Yeah that's what Aroldis Chapman was thinking, too. If the Red Sox have the best offer once he hits free agency, think he won't sign out of spite?

It is possible to trade a prospect or two and still "rebuild the farm." Or at least get a minimum wage player on the MLB roster. Dalbec isn't "the farm." He is one very small piece of it...

The Sox farm system might not be very good, but let's be realistic here. There were several minor leaguers I thought fit that bill (Ona, Cronenworth, Fox, for example), and all of them were added to a 40 man roster. Bloom probably had a better list, and I bet saw the same thing happen.

Wheeler's career is remarkably similar to Eovaldi's, right down to the significant injury history.. And Eovaldi has only $51mill left plus represents the opportunity to dump an unproductive contract. Yet Wheeler is the Hottest New Thing while Eovaldi is completely unloved. I guess in this respect, Eovaldi is a bargain...

Yes it is. Price’s contract for the pitcher that he is now is borderline, if not full-on albatross. Teams will look elsewhere for short term options who are just as good and won’t be owed $80mill for the next 2 1/2 seasons. And as of now, finding a pitcher as good as Price for less than $80mill isn’t the most complex task. Hopefully the Sox can move him, but it isn’t likely without taking back an equally cumbersome contract...

While true, those same big name pitchers are often a hindrance to getting championships at some point during that ontract. Fans might like championships, but they also hate hindrances to championships. Have you read any positive posts about Price this off-season? I think I’ve been the closest to saying anything good about him...

GMs may not use a trade calculator, but they do have a method of evaluation beyond the typical fan, which is quite often nothing more than “I would like my team to get this superstar player, and the team that has him needs a shortstop, and we have a spare one. It works out perfectly.” Or “we have this reasonably decent bench player, he should be able to get a superstar pitcher in return.” If a Mets fan read your proposal, I can promise you he would have agreed with me. That “trade calculator “ just compare future WAR projections to future salary projections. Do you think GMs don’t do anything like that? Also, the Yankees fans appear to be the only ones high on Clint Frazier. The Yankees don’t want to play him. And no team wants to trade for him...

Change the name “Cole” to “Price” and I was having this exact same verbatim argument with Red Sox fans back in 2015. BTW, your next counterpoint is to tell me how Scherzer’s deal has worked out. Then I can counter with a list of deals that didn’t. We don’t even need to continue this argument. I can do both parts. Just consider your team lucky that Cole is going to sign with the Angels and give them a couple great years before completely dragging them down. The Yankees really just need to acknowledge they have an ace-in-waiting and then go get a mid-tier innings eater not named Porcello (where the true bargains really are, despite your claim to the contrary) and move forward. But to fans, free agency is about PR and ticket sales and big names. And fans do like big names...

While true, that selling point is less than encouraging...

If the Sox make trades, it’s ok. But wasting a roster spot and a year of service time is great for the player, but not so much for the team. And since almost all of them spend their claiming year on the bench, they lose a year of development,too. Finding a pitcher and burying him in the back of the bullpen for a 40-50IP role might be ok. Maybe. But most players get returned, and a ridiculously small percentage pan out. I’ll take trades and free agency over the Rule 5 draft...

What exactly are you basing this on?

I know what it is. But most of the players taken are NOT MLB-ready. So what it really is is a method of giving away a year of service time and development to a minor league player at the cost of a roster spot in hopes that it doesn’t burn you later. It’s really works best if teams just complete a trade for the player selected...

Unless GMs view the 26th roster spot as an opportunity, I hope not. The Rule 5 draft is the dumbest way to acquire a player. The Sox have 6 open roster spots, but Bloom is an infrequent participant in the Rule 5 draft. I believe he’s only done it once...

Obviously predicting a specific trade with all the names involved is difficult, even with only two teams. But I really don’t know if Lindor and Kluber are so readily available for a Cleveland team that won 93 games last year and could easily compete again. I look for Bloom to try and find one of those Tyler Glasgow type former top prospects who still has potential. One name I like there is Lewis Brinson in Miami. Maybe a simpler deal where the Sox send JD Martinez out to, say, the Rangers (after they fail to sign Rendon) who then send, say, Guzman to the Miami and Brinson comes to Boston and Betts stays. Sox then deal Bradley for a DH or 2b...

1) Exactly how does a "dollars to donuts" bet work? If I win, I get dollars, but if you win, you get donuts? 2) Really condifent that would bet that it's PROBABLY seperate. Exactly how do we determine a winner there? mvp: "Ok so they are not seperate, but I only bet that it was PROBABLE that they were." notin: "Oh darn. You win. Here's a donut." 3) The point of the joke being that that particular trade would cost LA a ton of money next year, close to $70mill, with another $64 mill on the books spread over the next 2 seasons. But would take the last 3 years of Pollock's contract away, valued at about $40mill total, plus one year of Pedereson at maybe $6mill-ish. So it would cost LA close to about $90 mill over the next 3 seasons...