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Which would make it virtually identical to the contract Jeff Samardzija got that same off-season. In that respect, it looks like a good deal...

I have forgotten that. If that's true, should they have signed Sale? If they don't think they can keep Betts, they should probably trade him this off-season. That will be tough, because trading a superstar rarely brings back even remotely equal talent...

So.. Bogaerts and Sale are dummies? Mookie might wait, but if he gets a good offer he thinks is worth it, he'll sign. Now whether or not the Sox make that offer is another matter. I have no idea if he thinks he should get more than Harper or Trout or Machado. But Harper's contract is really just crazy long, and his $27.5mill AAV is actually less than Arenado's ($32.5mill). And so is Machado's ($30mill AAV). With Betts being about 2 years older when he hits FA, getting an Arenado contract would certainly be similar to those deals, possibly slightly better...

I’ve said since Arenado signed that Mookie’s next contract would look similar (8 years / $32mill AAV). Arenado was in a similar position, entering his final contract year...

The Sox do keep trying to extend him. Maybe they will, but not announce it until after the season for luxury tax reasons. (Can they still do that?) I didn’t think Bogaerts would take the extension before his final season, but here we are...

I think/hope Feltman can do something and turn it on to make his MLB debut next year. Mata is really one step away already by being in AA, but as he’s only 20, no reason to rush him. Make him force the promotion. I don’t care if Velasquez and Johnson get DFAd. At least Velasquez has options. Johnson has better show something relatively soon. Houck and Reyes could be depth at some point, possibly Hart, too. The free agent doesn’t have much for closer types. Maybe Hector Rondon fits the budget? Sergio Romo? He won’t command as much at age 38. Under normal circumstances I’d recommend a low cost flier on oft-injured Arodys Vizcaino, but if the budget is that tight, it better be a really low cost. And there is always Dellin Betances, who strikes me as Ramiro Mendoza 2.0 if the Sox sign him. Of course the rotation is the issue. And the Sox are going to struggle to do anything with Price, Sale or Eovaldi. And they can only add one MLB body right now, and not an expensive one...

It’s outdated now. My point. We need new cliches. And I want someone to explain to me “kill two birds with one stone.” When was this ever necessary? In what time period did we have an abundance of problem birds and a shortage of stones? I think this one needs replacing too.

Here’s how I see it. The Sox are very likely keeping Sale, Price and Eovaldi. None of them did anything this season to interest another team. Bradley is likely gonna if they try to reset (which isn’t a given right now). But even if they don’t reset, JBJ has also done very little to garner much trade value. (I predict he is non-tendered.) If they reset, all the potential free agents are likely gone. Maybe not Holt. But everyone else. Also I would think Hembree and Wright (especially Wright) get non-tendered. So they would have 4 starting pitchers. And the bullpen could bring back Barnes, Workman, Walden, Brewer, Hernandez, Taylor, and Johnson. If they add a reliever, one of these pitchers is expendable. Infield could be solved internally. Bogaerts and Devers are locks. 1b and 2b have numerous internal and unexciting candidates, including Chavis, Dalbec, Travis, Lin, Ockimey and Hernandez. And a couple more could take the bench. Leon goes. Oscar Hernandez replaces him? Or Juan Centeno? Outfield needs someone to go with Benintenfi and Betts. Sportrac says the Sox have $56mill to spend and stay under the limit. Arbitration cases for Betts, Rodriguez, Benintendi, Barnes and Workman could run $40-45mill. If the Sox don’t want the internal solutions everywhere and maybe want another outfielder or two, there’s not a lot of cash in the budget...

What’s with this nail in the coffin analogy? Coffins have lids with hinges...

Oh no! Whose going to handle both of his innings?!?!

Actually nobody has to do it...

If the Sox do a cheap reset using internal parts for the infield, I think the best lineup might be Lin at 2B and Chavis at 1b...

So now you're correcting other people's corrections?

By that argument, ERod is nothing but a fourth starter in Boston...

If you use Fangraphs fWAR, you would know that Porcello has averaged more fWAR per season than Keuchel, Arrieta, and Zimmermann, and is barely behind Cueto. You're actually convincing me it was a good contract...

So... a decimated farm and bloated payroll that the owner won't let him add to at the trade deadline don't count? How about a contract for Steve Pearce despite losing two key relievers?

This guy wrote earlier this week that the Sox should be able to trade him to the Seattle Mariners. http://dailycampus.com/stories/2019/9/3/columnnbspits-time-for-the-boston-red-sox-to-trade-jackie-bradley-jrnbsp I don't think he took into account that 1) the Mariners already have an all-Glove/no-bat CF in Mallex Smith and 2) they have been doing everything possible to unload every lucrative contract they can. Sure, they'll hand over Dee Gordon or Kyle Seager for Bradley. But they would hand those guys over even without getting Bradley...

How many other teams really wanted him and how badly did they want him? I remember 2 teams making reported offers. Cleveland offering Edwin Encarnacion and hi $20mill contract, and the Dodgers offering Yasiel Puig and his (-$20mill) attitude. Both of those were also when Bradley had 3 years of control left...

The Phillies and Braves disagree with this. And the Mets have one of the least effective bullpens in MLB and are 1 game under their Pythagorean record. In fact, using fWAR as a measure, the Red Sox have the 4th best bullpen in MLB this year...

It is possible to trade any player. Robinson Cano proved that this past offseason. But I would think that Eovaldi and Price would be tough moves given that neither has been very healthy. Eovalidi does have age on his side. I think one year of Jackie Bradley at $10-12 mill is a very tough move. Especially if the idea is to not eat any salary. I think the best option to handle Bradley at his expected salary is a straight non-tender...

$20mill isn't an elite pitcher salary, and wasn't even in 2016. That same off-season, Jordan Zimmerman signed for 5 years $110mill, Jeff Samardjzia signed for 5 years $90mill and Wei-Yin Chen signed for 5 years $80mill. You might want to re-adjust your scale for "elite" pitchers. The elite pitchers that offseason were Price and Greinke, both of whom signed for substantially more than a $20mill AAV. Porcello was also 26 at the time, and it was a rare case of paying a pitcher for what he was going to do as opposed to what he had already done...

I'm not all that wild about Ockimey, Travis or Dalbec. But it is possible at least 2 of them are in Boston next season...

I bought one to replace my old-fashioned Tim Spooneybarger...

I know. If not having his number retired means he was overpaid, I guess Dwight Evans was a contract bust as well...

If there is truth to the rocket ball having a smaller thread height, Porcello is exactly the type of pitcher who could see the worst negative effects. He doesn't throw exceptionally hard so as to blow his fastball by hitters, and his heavy reliance on the two-seamer could be problematic. The reduced thread height would mean the pitch broke less away from right-handed hitters, making it a straighter low 90's fastball. That type of pitch gets punished in MLB, unless you have an excellent changeup to keep hitters off-balance. Porcello's offspeed offerings are probably breaking less due to the reduced seam height, making his sinker basically the same pitch as his changeup, and his curveball would hang a lot more often. He's already given up more flyballs than he did all of last season...