notin

And what was the value of the 3 quality prospects traded for him?

All the Sox needed to do to be that efficient is win a mere 260 games...

You said that about the Marlins in 2003, too, right?

In a 7 game series, starting pitching is a huge advantage for Washington over everyone. Bullpen? That's another matter...

Rays vs Nats. An all play-in World Series!!

Apparently most teams have given up on winning those 1999 division titles, which was the last time Valentine was relevant as a manager...

Catillo’s Salary next year is like $14.2mill, but he’s getting paid either way. His AAV, which is what matters, is closer to $10.5 mill. Ironically this is roughly what Bradley would get in arbitration. So does it make sense to let Rusney play while non-tendering Bradley? In a financial sense, yes. If the Sox tender Bradley an offer and he winds up making $11mill, the Sox are then paying $25.2mill for Bradley and Castillo next year. Since they can’t non-tender Castillo, his part of the salary is a lock. But if they non-tender Bradley and put Castillo in MLB, it only costs $14.2mill, plus the Sox save money towards the tax limit, albeit not much. The only savings on Castillo’s contract by keeping him off the 40-man is on the luxury tax. But if the Sox deal Betts or whoever and get well under the cap, this might be the Sox one chance to recoup some value from Castillo, and might happen at a time when they need an outfielder. And if he sucks, releasing him has no consequences beyond this season. Of course, Castillo is going to need to make one helluva impression this spring. Apparently he has already made one in the minors where former Pawtucket manager Ken Boles has called him a big leaguer and wondered why he was still in Pawtucket when he had him (although I think Ken really knew why)...

Sometimes these overpay contracts can chnge the market to the [point where they are actually values. When Andrew Miller signed his deal with the Yankees, the entire universe thought it was too much money for a set up guy. But a couple years later, it was viewed as a bargain and an extremely valuable trade chip for the Yankees...

Isn't that more evidence of my point? Kimbrel went to Boston before Chapman went to Chicago...

Ironic, because that failure should be on Klentak, not Kapler...

I'd be hesitant to think that. Dalbec is certainly older than all of them except Margot. But I think he needs to get at least one MLB plate appearance before I definitively state he will be better than even Buttrey. And I have much higher hopes for Kopech and Allen. Of course, Kopech was at least a prospect well spent, since he is not going to become Chris Sale 2.0. I am not even convinced Chavis is a regular starter in MLB. In my little world, I see him taking over Brock Holt's supersub role, while Dalbec takes over 3B and Devers moves to 1B. But in reality, I am not so convinced the Sox have any plans to move Devers, and I have no idea what they think of Chavis. In fact, it is entirely possible Chavis' lack of position leads to him being dealt, as those smaller market teams prioritize salary over defense sometimes...

And the hero was Howie Kendrick, the man who struck out to end the 2015 NLDS when he was on the Dodgers...

Excuse me. Swamp Shark. As a fellow fan of garbage television, I would think you should appreciate that about him...

Somewhere out there, Bud Black is staring at a ringing cell phone, and deciding not to answer it...

It would have been much more legal to just fire him...

Bear in mind, he was the highest paid closer at the time. And taking the whole contract plus giving up 2 top 100 prospects and another good prospect (who became a top 100 prospect) did impact the price for closers at the time. If the Sox did not give up so much for Kimbrel while paying fuill fare, does Wade Davis get his contract? His agent likely at some point said "Look, you can trade for a closer, but it will cost you all these prospects and the other team won't kick in a dime."

I figured you of all people would want Dalbec at 3B and Devers at 1b. Even last spring, Dalbec impressed Cora enough with his fielding to last a lot longer in ST than a lot of other players....

I think his glove, range, and arm play better at 3B, and I think he can handle the position better than Devers (even with the leaps and bounds Raffy made this year). Dalbec has some overall good minor lrague numbers, but at the plate, his swing and miss tendencies might become a major issue. However, if he hit at 3b, at least he is contributing defensively. As for playing 1b, certainly. The overwhelming majority of the chances for a 1b are balls thrown to him i.e. meant to be caught. Outside of catcher, this is the only position that can make this claim. That's why most questionable fielders are moved to 1b. If you look around MLB, most first baseman fall into at least one of three categories - (1) left-handed, (2) very tall or (3) moved there because they were lousy defensive players somewhere else. But if Dalbec struggles at the plate, why put him at the easiest position to field?

As illinoissoxfan reminds us, Who is on first and What is on second...

The one bright spot in your scenario is this is the last year of Rusney's deal. That and the fact that the Sox might lose two outfielders might actually put him on the radar for the MLB club...

I'm living in a world where JDM doesn't leave. Even if he opts out, I still think the Red Sox will be his best fit and most aggressive suitor. And if the Sox lose both Betts and JDM, then maybe it is tie for a fire sale. As for Dalbec, my attitude is simple - make room for him or deal him. and I think 3B is the best position to make room, and slide Devers over to 1B. It's not like Chavis has a lock on that position...

While a lot of managers do get fired for near misses, Dave Roberts has been with the Dodgers for 4 seasons and has 4 first place finishes and this is the first season he did not reach the NLCS. His playoff runs the three previous years were all ended by eventual World Series champions. (Much to the delight of Nats' fans.) If the Dodgers fire him today, he'll be managing the Mets or Cubs tomorrow...

I think he might be referring to the silly notion that the Sox farm DD inherited wasn't very good because most of the under-25 crowd he dealt away have not become all stars. It's a silly mantra to keep repeating...

I would in certain cases. I wouldn't make any sweeping generalizations like that, especially taking into consideration how important the bullpen is in today's game. And how important it will be for the 2020 Red Sox if they need to shorten games if any or all of Sale/Price/Eovaldi can't pitch well or can't pitch at all...

I think the "Stop please" refers to your attempt to paint the idea of trading prospects into two extreme categories only, known as "always" and "never". It is an absolute necessity for a team to do it sometimes. However, Dombrowski absolutely went overboard in that regard. In fact, my biggest complaint about Cherington, which I have made multiple times, was that he never traded any prospects. Certainly it was wise to hang on to Betts and Bogaerts, but he did not need to hang on to all of them. What the Sox need is a Happy Medium. A GM who trades some of the good prospects for neeeded MLB talent but also holds on to some and gives the Sox a necessary influx of dirt cheap MLB talent as well...