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JDM was barely capable of playing outfield this season and had some back issues. He’s a DH and nothing more at this point...

The Sox could keep Dalbec as a 1B. I'm not particularly wild about him anywhere but 3B, where at least he offers defensive skills. At 1b, you lose his defensive skills at the easier position and his offensive game is basically that of a three true outcome hitter - all walks, home runs, and (especially in his case) strikeouts. Since the Sox have very little on the farm and are going to need some pitching, and will probably find free agency expensive and counter to any reset plans. So they are going to need to trade someone. To me, Dalbec is the perfect candidate. He is blocked by Devers at third, an unfavorable type of hitter for 1b, and useful to teams that really do need him at his proper position. The goal is to keep that exact core you listed intact - meaning don't trade Betts. Otherwise, how should the Sox replace Porcello? Hernandez is probably better suited to the bullpen. Brian Johnson sucks. And Shawaryn doesn't excite me much either. Any other internal options? Also plugging Sam Travis in as the everyday LF, or even a part time LF, is an option that will grow old fast. If the Sox need a cheap OF, better off with a glove first candidate for CF than an offensive gamble at a corner. If Travis or whoever gets plugged into LF doesn't hit, you have no offense from LF and weakened the defense in CF to accommodate that player. Not a good idea IMO...

It does seem like the best options if a reset is imminent is either 1) reset this year while keeping Betts, and then try to re-sign him after the season, or 2) just trade Betts after this season, and hopefully whatever the Sox get back can help them stay competitive in 2020 and beyond...

Well, the duties are being handled by Romero, Scott and O'Halloran. It's not like they didn't put interim people into the role. The CBS Sports article repeatedly cited Speier and stated the Sox plan to reset within the next 2 seasons. While it certainly doesn't mean Mookie defintely goes elsewhere, I would also think that option is not off the table...

Per Alex Speier, the Sox are thinking about trading Betts, solely for financial reasons. The reset talk might seem like nonsense for a large market team, but I have to think Henry isn't all that wild about repeatedly paying ever-growing luxury tax payments that offer 0 chance of ROI. That he capped DD's spending this season does show even he has his limits...

That was also Dombrowski's attitude, and it contributed - possibly heavily - to his getting fired...

Well, that would explain it. So... yes...

In that plan - which, for those who hate it, bear in mind it ain't gonna happen - he's at 1b with Lin at 2B.

A Reset Plan for 2020 Per sportsrac, the Sox have about $56mill they can spend this offseason and still reset. I think the arbitration cases (Betts, Benintendi, Barnes, Workman, Rodriguez) easily eat up about $45mill. As Bradley already makes $8.8mill, he is easily looking at $10-12mill and simply cannot be afforded. If JD Martinez comes back (which I expect him to for 2020), the Sox would have about $10mill to spend on a SP, CF, RP and either a 1B or 2B, depending on what happens to Chavis. If they deal Betts and/or Martinez, that number does go way up. The Sox could try to fiull 1b or 2B internally. To me, the 1B options (Dalbec, Travis, Ockimey) aren't all that exciting, especially if they want Dalbec at 1b, as it negates the defense he brings. Dalbec is a prime trade candidate (which might be why the Sox didn't call him up.) I am not a fan of either Travis or Ockimey, even as a pltaoon players. Now, maybe the Sox could deal the dirt cheap Travis to Washington for defensive-oriented offensive crapshoot Michael Taylor. While the trade values are a nice match on baseballtradevalues, that site can't gage interest. And I see no reason why Washington would want Travis, except for liking his minimum wage salary. I do suspect the Sox could trade Dalbec for Jose Urena to fill the rotation spot, as that deal actually does make some sense for both teams. It also eats up about half of the Sox remaining budget. The Sox would have to try to get a very cheap CF/OF, someone like Juan Lagares (free agent), Cameron Maybin (free agent), Billy Hamilton (free agent) or Travis Jankowski (trade). Not sure what San Diego would want in that del, and it's tough to tell, since they can basically field a lineup with prospects. So it's likely the cheapest FA, probably Maybin. But I'd hope it's Lagares. If that happens, the Sox probably go internal at 2B, with Hernandez, Lin, or Chris Owings. I'll assume it' Lin, since I think he's the best of the bunch. And a dirt cheap bench - Oscar Hernandez, Sam Travis, Marco Hernandez, and hopefully an outfielder. Like maybe Cole Sturgeon, who deserves some love. But honestly, probably Owings. SP: Sale, Price, Rodriguez, Eovaldi, Urena BP: Workman, Barnes, D Hernandez, Taylor, Brewer, Walden and Brian Johnson. C: Vazquez, Hernandez INF: Chavis, Lin, Bogaerts, Devers, Travis, Hernandez OF: Benintendi, Lagares (or ?), Betts, Owings, Martinez. And that team probably puts the Sox right about at the limit. I can see why there is so much talk about trading Betts...

Like this team is some sort of democracy and we have a say. They don't even read these message boards, let alone consider our opinions...

True. Somehow, they will need to replace Porcello. But that will be tricky as the restr of this scenario plays out since you don't advocate a reset. But you still really won't get a worthwhile SP - even an innings eater - for a 1 year deal unless that pitcher is about the same level of crapshoot as Porcello. Might as well just offer Rick a QO. Martinez makes about $23mill in 2020, and then it drops to about $19mill the last two seasons. He will opt out after 2020, if he ever does, due to that salary drop. Love JBJ, but that part of the plan along with step 6 does ensure a really dry spell. I expect this. Or a trade for a displaced reliever (Blake Treinen?) Pearce is a free agent. Just let him walk Bad move. Resetting after 2020 guarantees the Sox lose both Bradley and Betts. And Martinez will likely opt out for reasons unrelated to losing those two. The Sox will be left with Bogaerts, Devers, Benintendi and hope that Price, Sale, Eovaldi can all pitch. No help from below and obviously none coming in via free agency. Everyone always says "this one last title will be worth it," but no one means it. I didn't see anyone saying "But we still have 2013" as the Sox stumbled across the finish line in last place for the second consecutive season in 2015. If the Sox plan to reset, the best idea is to do it before Betts can reach free agency. Bradley is likely gone after 2020 and Martinez is a good bet as well. But if the Sox reset, they can at least afford to get a replacement...

It's not like the choice is up to us. Not sure why people always make the "why do you want to save this guy's money?" argument. It's not about whether or not we want to; it's about whether or not it will happen. Predictions are not wishes. And we all saw this year, Henry absolutely has limits on what he will spend. We have no reason to believe he is ever going to allow an increase...

It's not that simple. first of all, just coming up with another internal option isn't so easy as making a phone call and meeting the guy at the bus depot. The Sox used a bunch of internal options this year, and how many ere any good? Heranadez stood out, but he had clear flaws - such as having less control than Keith Richards in a narcotics detective's evidence locker. As for a $10mill pitcher, great if you get the next Lance Lynn. Not so much if you get the next Trevor Cahill or Matt Harvey...

It really also depends on who you think of as a core player for this team. The obvious "is he or isn't he" is Bradley. I think - and i might be wrong, especially in the wake of incomplete information - that the Sox can reset this off-season and still keep Betts, but that absolutely necessitates non-tendering/trading Bradley and replacing him with a cheaper alternative. And I think of the staff is healthy, the Sox can still be competitive if they do that. Of course, there is no way right now to even guess what the plan is, as we don't have a GM with some sort of history that allows for educated guesses. So it's just about looking at payroll numbers...

Whiule true, shutting him down might also have been influenced by the already-delivered verdict on the Angels' season...

I would defintely ay the Sox dealt a lot of prospects who were worth keeping, but in most cases, there was no other option if you wanted to get Sale, et al. But it is a fair discussion to bring up these prospects because there is a trade off when you make those deals. And maybe the trade off can be justified, but that doesn't mean it can be ignored...

Quad cities?

And it’s not like this team is 60-85 here. If the Sox were in the NL, they’d be 2 games out of a wild card. Probably closer, because Cora wouldn’t be starting Gorkys-style lineups so much...

Not necessarily...

I don’t think shedding Eovaldi’s contract is worthwhile. The amount of money the Sox would have to pay plus the amount to replace him with another pitcher is probably greater than his salary. Possibly by a lot. At first when you said “eat Pedroia’s contract,” I also thought you meant in some sort of trade. But I can see where you could also just mean that the Sox are stuck with it. Can you clarify?

Why not? It’s been done before...

And a lot of others are like Pawtucket or Batavia or the Quad Cities where your entertainment options are either a minor league baseball game or a spitting contest...

Next season, the pitcher should pitch from a hole...

I’ve been saying all along he gets $10-12 mill and I think he should be non-tendered if they plan to reset and keep Betts...

But just comparing stats frequently allows people to lose some sense of scale. Batting average itself basically tells you everyone in the majors gets a hit between 20% and 30% of the time, and the ones who don’t are not far outside that range. ERA creates a larger misleading range, too. Sure a pitcher with a 3.50 ERA has been allowing runs at a greater pace than a pitcher with a 3.90 ERA. But how much greater? Four runs over 90 IP. Is that really a huge difference? It certainly gets treated like one by a lot of people. Heck, having a worse shortstop behind you can lead to a lot more than 4 earned runs over 90 IP...