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Yes that one trade 12 years ago is the definitive one. Did David Robertson work out or not for the Yankees as a much more recent mid-season closer acquisition? (I know Robertson didn’t close for New York, but Gagne didn’t close for Boston, either. Jon Papelbon was the Sox closer that season.)

I think they’re also hoping Robertson will come down to one year and possibly Ottavino and maybe Cody Allen as well. Ottavino has been an active commodity, so he is less likely. But so far the buzz around Allen has been non-existent and the buzz around Robertson only tepid...

Cut him some slack. He played for 9 different teams by age 30. He played for 11 seasons and managed to play on 9 different teams. Hopefully he waited until he retired to buy a house...

Normally the retirement of a mediocre to borderline player like Tuiasosopo is barely newsworthy and certainly not worth a thread on its own. But Matt Tuiasosopo is a rare case. It’s somewhat common for family members to play the same sport professionally whether it’s father and son or two or more brothers. It’s much rarer to find a father and son who play different sports professionally or two brothers who play two different professional sports. But as his father Manu and brother Marques both played in the NFL, Matt Tuiasosopo has the rare distinction of having both a father and brother who played a different sport professionally. Not sure if I can think of another similar case, especially where all reached the highest level in their respective sports. Or maybe I’m the only one intrigued by this...

And Chad Gaudin...

I really don’t mind the present catching logjam, but rumors of interest in Cervelli did and still do make me think it’s on DD’s radar. The free agent upgrade of Yasmani Grandal is still possible. But if DD isn’t spending on a closer, he isn’t likely to spend on a catcher. Unless... The Moustakas comparison for Grandal (by Passan) is more apt than many think and Grandal eventually settles for a one year deal. If that is the case, he doesn’t impact any ability to reset. So far, none of the bigger name closers have indicated they will accept a one yer deal. This might be one of the factors DD is waiting on...

I missed his going to the Twins, but my point remains that he’s a better option than Tulowitzki despite the low ceiling...

You left out the part where you win the lottery, Jessica Biel calls you up and proposes marriage, you both strike oil on your honeymoon, and Netflix writes you a blank check for the rights to your life story. The Blue Jays didn’t release Tulowitzki because there was a slim chance he would return to prime form. They released him because they felt the chances of his contributing at all were somewhere in between microscopic and non-existent. They decided that paying $19.45 million to give his spot on the 40 man roster to some aging journeyman on a minor league deal seemed like a better allocation of resources. It’s worthwhile for the Yankees to give him a shot because they can cut him before the season and only have to pay his travel expenses to Florida. But I think we all know how this is going to play out. Meanwhile, out here in Chicago, Ronald Torreyes is screaming “WHAT THE #%%#€?!!!”

He was signed as an insurance policy against not signing Machado. If the Yankees sign Machado, they can release Tulowitzki before opening day and pay nothing. So you might get your wish. I’m hesitant to think there’s any upside. Toronto didn’t release him wantonly. He’s their Pablo Sandoval. If the Sox are going to gamble on a veteran middle infielder, I would prefer Neil Walker...

There’s still about a dozen or so experienced closers on the market, and a few more who are free agents next season who might be available via trade. If the budget concerns are real, I don’t expect Kimbrel, Britton or Ottavino. If there is no budget limit for DD, I lean towards him signing Robertson (whom we know will go as low as 3 years). Otherwise, I think the Sox trade for a reliever. Worst case is Barnes closes...

Also not sure why you find Wohlers’ opinion on the subject so worthless. The man was an All Star closer after all. While him home run to Leyritz certainly wasn’t a high point, the it also may not have ruined his career. He did save 33 games in 1997. In 1998 he had his infamous bout with Steve Blass disease, but that may have been more related to a divorce he was going through at the time...

Three blown saves. Not 3 saves. Huge difference. It is possible you underestimate the number of saves that get converted. Boxberger was one of, if not the worst, and he was successful 80% of the time. (Edwin Diaz was successful 93% of the time, so there is the range.) I do think Dombrowski is going to get a good back of the pen arm, likely via trade. But absolute worst case scenario for the 2019 Sox is Matt Barnes, who I would expect to be a great deal better than Boxberger....

Let’s play bWAR as was proposed. Last year the worst closer was Brad Boxberger with 8 blown saves (Kimberly had 5! A difference of 3! Mark Wohlers was right!) in 40 chances for an 80% success rate. Given the same 47 chances Kimbrel had, Boxberger would get 37.6 saves at his current conversion rate, or 4.4 saves less than Kimbrel. Boxberger was valued at -0.7 bWAR, or 3.5 fewer wins than Kimbrel and his 2.8, putting bWAR values within 1 win. Now not every blown save is a losss. If we assume one of Boxberger’s 4.4 extra blown saves is a win, the numbers match up.

It’s not that we don’t value it. It’s that that relationship is largely unknown to fans watching. And really, a good defensive catcher could and should be able to establish himself with the pitchers. It might not be as personal as I am inferring, but catchers routinely work with12 plus pitchers on the staff as part of the job. So they are probably used to dealing with new pitchers. Now I have heard Cora would like a defensive 3b. I do doubt that happens. The Sox presently have 5 players battling for 4 bench spots, which is already too difficult to resolve (although there is no rush to right now). I would agree the Sox will add two relievers with names and quality depending on the budget. Beyond that? Maybe a catcher, but we are getting into some less likely territory here. But I could definitely see upgrading starting catcher as a higher priority than backup 3b, especially if DD starts looking at catcher as an area of need. I think the 6th starter is already here in Brian Johnson. Same for the seventh if Wright is healthy. But hey, I have no problem with minor league pitching contracts. But does this mean you want Buchholz back?

And let us all be thankful this team was never owned by Carl Pohlad...

Or Philadelphia...

The more I think about it, I’d actually prefer they signed Harper, because it would mitigate their need for an outfielder when Betts’ contract is up. The downside is - whoever doesn’t sign Harper still has the money and needs an outfielder...

Dozier and LaMahieu as well. The big reason is most of the players to sign have taken deals of two years or less. Theee players all likely want longer deals that are just not being offered...

In some ways, I can see that. Really I think his legacy rests more on 2020. Right now he is still benefiting heavily from a roster that isn’t in flux. But once Sale and Bogaerts are up for free agency and Betts enters his final year, he will have an immense job keeping any momentum going....

Dombrowski is doing better than Cherington already, but criticism of Dombrowski doesn’t mean praise for Cherington, much in the same way criticism of Cora (which there was a whole thread on) isn’t praise for Farrell or Valentine or Francona. All independent. I’ve praised Cherington more than a lot of people, but I’ve criticized him as well. I did not like his failure to trade any prospects, for example. I also hated the Sandoval contract before the ink was dry. (I never pawned his bad moves off on Lucchino, whom I have also defended more than most people.) I don’t think Cherington deserved the same legacy some want to leave for him. He did pull the team out of an awful situation he didn’t create and turn a rebuild trade into a title in one year. Not sure why so few find that unimpressive. I like Dombrowski more than I thought I would when he was hired, but that doesn’t mean everything he has ever done or is going to do gets to be above criticism. I am still hesitant to say DDis better than Epstein was for the Sox. The man ended the title drought while rebuilding the farm and then won another title quickly. But even Epstein wasn’t perfect...

I was going to say before April 1, but I gave him another month in case they didn’t sign Machado...

True in almost all cases. While the Sox don’t have an abundance of prospects to deal from, they can certainly get at least one impact reliever...

He’ll be released again before May 1...

And you accuse other people of trolling....

I’d rather have Pedroia, Chavis and Johnson...