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So the NL is LAD or no one? No Braves or Nationals or Brewers?

Shocking. Sorry to hear...

In retrospect, the most obvious trade partner is the Tigers, as they currently have only one catcher on their 40 man roster, a 27yo rookie named Greyson Greinger. And Dombrowski should have some familiarity with a few of the names in their farm system or on their staff...

The Washington Pregnant Teenagers. DC is the teen pregnancy capital of the USA, after all. The Houston Strip Clubs. They might need to tone down the mascot. The Tampa Retirees. And they can have a rivalry with The Arizon Retirees The Texas Annoying People Who Always Remind You How Big Everything In Texas Is. Sure it’s a tad cumbersome, but it’s also the biggest name. The Detroit Auto Workers, but they play their home games in Mexico City...

From what I’ve read, the Mariners want someone that can go to the minors if need be. This disqualifies all 3 Sox catchers...

Now the public statement by Dombrowski is he wants to trade a catcher for “starter depth” to protect against Sale and/or Porcello leaving. The more I think about this, the more I realize this has to be a red herring. The Sox are NOT going to get protection for one of 9-10 fWAR worth of starting pitchers by trading any of their three backup catchers. Dombrowski can’t be this naive. The man has probably negotiated over 100 trades in his MLB career and must have a better notion of how other GMs value players. So this must be a negotiating ploy to add to the bullpen. But even then, what can they get for any of them? I figure the best matches might be: 1) Blake Swihart to Miami for Tayron Guerrero. Guerrero is a 28yo career minor leaguer who throws about 99mph but has battled some control. Sort of like Ryan Brasier. Miami has no urgent need for Swihart, but a 27yo backup catcher with experience at multiple positions can’t hurt a rebuilding franchise, who has the time to see if he can ever regain top prospect form. 2) Christian Vazquez to Atlanta for Aroldis Vizcaino. The Braves are reportedly looking for a closer , which means they don’t think the oft-injured Vizcaino is the guy. The money is roughly equal, and Vizcaino still throws about 97mph on his healthy days. The big obstacle is the Braves might not view catcher as their biggest need. 3) Vazquez to Oakland for Fernando Rodney. Oakland has only Josh Phegley and Chris Hermann on their 40-man roster as catchers, and both are older than Vazquez and probably shown the world their ceilings. The A’s are loaded at bullpen, and 42 year old Rodney, who got his start at closer under Dombrowski, is probably expendable. Money is about the same. The downside for Oakland is they do have Sean Murphy as one of their best prospects ready to step in at catcher. Personally I am no fan of Rodney and his propensity for walking hitters, but he has had a good career and still routinely tops 95mph. 4) Blake Swihart to Oakland for Frankie Montas. When not overstocking his team with 1b and CF, Beane does have a habit of acquiring versatile players. Former Sox prospect Montas is out of options and hasn’t forced his way into the rotation as many hoped he would. Swihart doesn’t create the same logjam in Oakland that Vazquez would. Montas and his 97mph fastball (a trait Dombrowski historically loves) could slide into the Sox pen this year and become a starter option in 2020. His projected 0.9 fWAR doesn’t make him look much more valuable than Swihart. Thoughts?

My best Vlad Guerrero joke was when he got in trouble after a fight with a police officer. Friend: Hey did you hear about that baseball player who threw a punch at a cop? Me: Yeah. That was Vlad Guerrero. He’ll swing at anything... Rimshot

I do wonder how good Tampa really is. They were 54-53 on July 31 before going on a 36-19 stretch to end the season. Are they going to be the April-July team or the one from the last two months? September records can be deceiving because of roster expansion and how it inundates the league with players who may not be major league caliber at the time...

Last year the Sox went 21-17 against Tampa and NY, and went 87-37 against everyone else. The 31-7 record against Baltimore and Toronto certainly helped...

Also Devers doesn’t freak out if you touch his head....

The Guardians just extended Carrasco. They aren’t going to trade him for one year of JBJ, a replacement level catcher, and a pitcher who barely belongs in the majors...

The jury is still out as to whether Vazquez is on the team this year (although I strongly suspect he will be). As for the others, I doubt Moreland, Pearce, Porcello, or Nunez are back at all unless the deal is insanely Sox-friendly. Holt has stated he wants to be a Red Sox for life, a statement undoubtedly made his agent spit up his milk. But certainly one that can be easily tested and accommodated. DD was looking to move Bradley this off-season. Will one less year of Bradley be easier to trade a year from now? I guess that depends on how relevant he makes himself. But here’s a thought to make YOU spit up your milk. What if, one year from now, the Sox deal Price to San Diego for Eric Hosmer? The Sox would gain about $13mill in AAV to help retain the core, and while Hosmer is paid heavily the first two years, after that he either opts out or makes $13mill salary for 4 seasons (equal to what the Sox are paying Moreland and Pearce). The Padres get some desperately needed SP for 3 years. Both players are owed roughly $93mill on their deals, assuming Hosmer doesn’t opt out. Also it frees up 1b for Josh Naylor in SD. Too much lines up. Scared yet?

There really are countless possibilities with many depending on the outcomes of others. But can the Sox keep Betts, Bogaerts and Sale without doing something drastic like trading Price?

And you felt that infringed on your turf?

Even being outside the top 100 is hardly the end. Fangraphs has him at 114, but ahead of fellow Padre property Michael Baez, whom Baseball America puts at 72.

I believe Bogaerts, along with Porcello and Bradley, was made publicly available. There was no word on what following discussion transpired after this announcement, except that Bradley was the player DD tried hardest to move...

As they are already negotiating (or trying to) with Sale and Bogaerts, does that mean they view Betts as the odd man out?

If Henry can spend $260mill and make $300mill, why wouldn’t he?

Right. It is so hypocritical that we are not trashing the deal to trash talk the litany of Padres’ fanswho post here...

Anderson Espinoza has been popping up in a few top 100 lists. He’s not as sunk as you think he is...

Maybe? Tough call because the closest comp is Machado. But Machado has been worth 30.2 fWAR for his career and 15.1 fWAR in the past 3 seasons. By comparison, Bogyhas been worth 17.9 fWAR in his career and 12.9 fWAR in the past 3 seasons. Bogaerts is only 3 months younger, so he does hit FA at approximately the same age...

That was all Joe Kelly, obviously...

D Think Xander gets $25mill? That might be a reach unless he’s AL MVP this year...

Actually look for the Padres to acquire Michael Fulmer very soon...

Now do the Padres use their plethora of prospects to entice the Guardians to trade Bauer or Kluber? If only they hadn’t traded Kluber for Ryan Ludwick all those years ago...