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deGrom is one year older than Bumgarner and signed for two more years at arbitration costs. You wouldn’t trade Maikel Franco, I mean Miguel Andujar (honest mistake), for him? And while older, Kluber’s AAV (the number that matters) has him paid like a setup guy for 3 more years. If the Yankees want him - and I bet they do - it should cost something similar to what the Sox gave up for Sale. That might mean Andujar and Sheffield...

I’m not so sure Bumgarner would be amenable to an “affordable extension.” He’s one year from free agency. It’s little late to think he wants to be extended now, especially below market price...

If Pedroia’s healthy, the Sox position players could already be set with Swihart, Holt, Nunez and Leon. If that’s the case, either Swihart is the RHH first baseman or Moreland is not platooned. If Pedroia is not healthy, either Holt or Nunez move to 2b and maybe the Sox can take on a real platoon partner for Moreland. Of course, it’s only mid-November and Dombrowski does like trades, so the current roster of position players may not be the same as the one in March...

I think that’s a good thing. The fans of the Reds and the Royals and the Rockies need stars to root for, too...

I think the primary goal is to limit salaries. The financial penalties have the impact of letting some of the star free agents receive offers from teams beyond just the biggest of spenders...

And if MLB put no restrictions on payroll and international signing bonuses, would baseball be any better if the more financially viable teams like New York and LA set up training camps in the Dominican Republic and Cuba and South Korea and every global baseball hotbed in order to sign every 15yo with even a glimmer of talent?

I wouldn’t look too deeply into Chavis’ reverse splits in acseason when he had less than 200 plate appearances. I’m not wild about Swihart as a platoon option but 1) he is here, and 2) Dombrowski apparently likes him...

Cash had no chance. Not with the way they count ballots in Florida...

Nah. Nelson Cruz is like 60. He can go sit on a park bench and feed pigeons during NL road games...

Maybe the Sox move JDM to 1b full time and sign Nelson Cruz to DH against everyone...

Typically a platoon has a left-handed hitter and a right-handed hitter. The only combos you have that work are Moreland-Chavis and Moreland-Swihart (although Swihart hits better from the left side). Still it’s very possible a Moreland-Swihart platoon is what starts the season...

They took heat over Chapman, whose allegations were enough that the Dodgers pulled out of a trade. Apparently Russell is suspended for the first 40 games of 2019. He will probably get non-tendered and might sit out the season

He might be a nice value piece, but it’s flat out silly to think he can replace Porcello, whose barely 2 years older and infinitely more accomplished...

No. I was kidding about trading Moreland. Pearce is a complimentary player. But Moreland is a starter who needs a compliment. It makes no sense to have Pearce over him beyond postseason heroics. But when you look at Pearce, you need to accept that there is a reason he has never started more than 77 games in a season. He’s good at what he does, but you shouldn’t lose sight of what he does...

Oh. Then forget it. Trade Moreland now...

Money is always the primary reason, but any parity they get is an added bonus. It’s good for MLB to have the fans in San Diego or Milwaukee or Minnesota interested in baseball once in a while...

I think Russell ends up on the Yankees. They have a need until Grigorius comes back (which could be longer than early reports) and don’t always allow legal allegations to get in the way. (See Chapman, Aroldis.)

A three run pinch homer off Kenley Jansen definitely helped.

MLBTR published their list of non- tender candidates. Like most years, nothing too intriguing, but a few eye-catching names. The only reliever with closing experience is Tyler Thornburg. I don’t think he gets non-tendered but I understand his inclusion. I also don’t think he closes for Boston in April. (Technically Johnny Venters has closing experience, but that was like 6 arm surgeries ago.) Second base, if the Sox worry about Pedroia, included Jonathan Schoop and Devon Travis. Travis is very good but usually not the cure for injury problems. Schoop could get a lot of interest and strikes me as more of a trade candidate. Defensive whiz Addison Russell made the list, likely due to his potential legal issues. If the Cubs want to cut ties, again, I think he can be traded instead. He is pretty good at baseball after all. One name I liked was Matt Andriese, who is a pretty talented starter/reliever that could slide into the Boston pen in the long relief/spot starter role we assumed Wright had a stranglehold on. Or Andriese could be a fifth starter fallback if the Sox can’t sign Eovaldi and choose to spend their allowance on a closer...

Why would we consider Wright (acquired from Cleveland for Lars Anderson) a homegrown pitcher and not consider Eduardo Rodriguez (acquired from Baltimore for Andrew Miller) one?

I’m not a huge Brian Johnson fan, but I see his role next year as one of 3 options 1. Back-of-the-rotation starter. If the Sox don’t sign Eovaldi , he might be the guy. If the Sox do sign Eovaldi, does Johnson’s presence make Rodriguez trade bait? 2. Bullpen lefty. As he wasn’t so good out of the pen, and was better in the rotation, this seems illogical. But it’s also probably the most likely outcome. 3. Trade bait. He can’t be demoted and the Sox have needs. While there was apparently interest in him last March, not really sure it involved actual useful players. His trade value doesn’t appear stellar to me.

Beeks was no loss. The problem with the Sox farm is an abundance of pitchers like Beeks and a dearth of better ones...

Yes.

I admit I wasn’t wild about. It seemed like a wasted opportunity to add an exciting player (like Edwin Encarnacion). But Mitch has grown on me...

But there’s a lobotomy involved he might not want...