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Or .. I think he should at least wait one more year to opt out since he still makes $23.4mill in 2020 before his salary drops (to a food stamp level $19mill). If so, the Sox might have an opening in the OF if Bradley walks. Martinez-Benintendi-Betts might be the OF in 2020...

If the Sox are starting the year with 13 pitchers as Cora said, they can’t carry all three. Butler was replaced a long time ago by Juan Centeno...

Well, we do have Juan Centeno and Oscar Hernandez, both of whom have MLB experience. The biggest reason the Sox have to dump a catcher is they can only carry 25 players. After the 9 starters and the 13 pitchers, that leaves 3 spots. 2 belong to Pearce and Nunez (or Holt, if Nunez starts at 2b). That leaves one spot of Leon or Swihart. Otherwise they’d probably have no problem carrying all three catchers...

I’m sure Sale is constantly being reminded of what a great deal he gave the White Sox last time and how many millions he cost himself. He might be getting advised to not take a discount offer again (as if $30-35mil per year should be considered a discount.)

I’d like to see Swihart stay and pan out, but that means either Vazquez or Leon has to go...

The Sox do have 2 open spots on the 40 man roster, but I doubt they add anyone at this point. (They might be holding them for someone like Feltman, Mejia, or Ramirez.) So that last spot will probably go to someone already on the roster, and probably not Reyes or Shepherd. Walden, Brewer, Hernandez and Poyner are the top candidates in my eyes. Last year, it was Walden...

I’d actually be surprised if it was Hernandez. Those last pitching spots always go to some Lenny DiNardo type whose borderline talent at best, more for the idea of preserving some depth. Hernandez has probably been the story of camp, but it’s not just about that. Most pitchers in camp are warming up and working on new pitches and doing other activities that lead to struggling, so the stats are not always so important. What usually is more important is the plan for the pitcher. If the Sox think of Hernandez as a starter - and they may need him as one next season - then they’re going to want him to build up some endurance on AAA or AA this year and to enhance his secondary offerings. Stamina being the key here. Hernandez has never thrown more than 107 IP in a season and has only thrown 6 IP above A ball. And for all the pitching depth the Sox acquired, the only starters were Erasmo Ramirez and Josh Smith. And Smith sucks. This leaves the Sox with starter depth of Johnson, Velasquez, Ramirez and maybe Sharwyn. (And the forgotten man in Chandler Shepherd, who will continue to be forgotten.). That’s actually not a lot of depth, especially since there are no guarantees about who will be healthy when needed. The Sox are probably better off letting Hernandez build up some stamina in the minors rather than making him a stopgap pitcher while Pedroia recovers. The 2 or 3 innings he pitches in that time won’t make any difference to anyone. As for Mejia, why not? He’s the most experienced closer in the entire organization. I’m a bit surprised they’d go to him after a 3 year hiatus, but if he can pick up where he left off, that’s a huge booon for Boston’s bullpen. And if he can’t or he sucks without “help,” he can be quickly cut with no real commitment...

It makes sense until we learn the 13th pitcher is someone like Marcus Walden...

Except that Cora said if Pedroia starts the year on the IL, the Sox would carry an extra bullpen pitcher, not a third catcher...

Freitas isn’t a 31yo career minor leaguer by accident. Opinion seems to be wildly divided about what Sox catcher is gone, but if there is any truth to Cora’s comments about a 13th pitcher starting the year on the Sox staff, moving a catcher is a definite. Unless they bury one on the IL with a severe case of Fenway Flu. But it seems the pitchers are talking up Sandy Leon, which doesn’t bode well for Swihart. I also think he won’t clear waivers, but I do think the Sox might try and hope he does by DFAing him as close to opening day as possible...

How many four game series have the two teams played since 2010?

They will have to make some sort of a decision fairly soon...

Think JD opts out and gets a huge raise at age 32?

Maybe he can get a counterpoint from Dan Clark...

Not only Kimbrel. The Sox had little to no involvement in half a dozen available closers...

The NBA isn’t fixed. People say that about every league they don’t like. NCAA football does have severe issues with hypocrisy when it comes to punishing players, especially SEC players...

That’s very true. It’s weird to think the professional leagues filled with drug use, gun arrests, and criminal violence are the honest leagues...

For a lot of people, they went to college and get excited for their alma mater. None of us are alums of the Boston Red Sox. I also see my alma mater was overloooked AGAIN!! Oh NCAA Committee, when will you acknowledge the basketball prowess of Worcester Polytechnic Institute?

Absolutely. Fewer years is always king...

So why did we let Kimbrel walk and bypass all the other closers? If free agency has taught any lessons, it’s that closers are the safest signings. (Mostly because they take fewer years.) But instead, you’re saying our limit-free budget ignored the bullpen while simultaneously backing up right against the highest spending limit and that’s purely a coincidence...

I still like Brock Dyckshoorn the best...

As long as Betts, Benintendi, Bogaerts and Martinez are the top four in almost any order, I’m good...

5 years $170mill ($34mill AAV). Does he bite?

So two free agent pitchers have gotten 7 year contracts and no one got 8? Scherzer is probably the best comparison. But even his contract was when teams were doling out bigger deals. Sale isn’t going to be cheap. He’ll get a better AAV than anyone listed. But I don’t think he necessarily gets 6 or 7 years. Especially with all the buzz that has been around forever about the risks associated with his throwing motion...

I’ll take the under. Who was the last free agent pitcher to receive an 8 year contract?