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In 2004, starters went an average of 5.8 IP/start. In 2013, starters went an average of 5.9IP/start. But in 2018, starters go an average of 5.4IP/start. Teams are more reliant on their bullpens now then they were in either of those seasons...

Yeah he was a borderline case before today. While it may not have sealed the deal in the eyes of management, it will probably weigh heavily against him...

He is having a crappy injury-filled season, but that's not what his 2016 and 2017 post-season stats are about. I think the shorter outings are agreeing with him right now...

3 outings over 2 years. I bad start. 1 good relief appearance, one not so good. I think saying he has a propensity to melt down might be a bit premature after 5.2IP spread out over 2 seasons...

I can understand that. But I do think he is more valuable than Johnson as a reliever right now.

Well, Wright does have some experience. (Actually, Pomeranz does, but he should probably not be used that was if he is in the bullpen.) And Porcello is showing he can be a great pinch hitter, as he has the highest OPS on the team (1.143). (Sarcasm, folks) Lin is not gong to the post-season, unless one of Holt or Nunez is injured. Not to mention, he has 6 SBs and 10 CS for his career above AA ball. He might not be the best option for a key steal. Tony Renda (the "Moonlight Graham" of the 2018 Sox) has had more success stealing bases, and his chances of making the Sox post-season roster are not much greater than mine...

Actually, if the Sox had some sort of Dave Roberts/Quinton Berry type to steal a key base, that last roster spot might be have another argument. Right now, who is their best pinch running option? Brandon Philips was not added to the 40-man roster in time to be that guy. And Nunez is not running like he did in previous seasons. Hopefully the Sox won't need to steal a key base. (As Leon s the most likely Sox player to be run for, Swihart is an option there.)

Wright is another possibility. Certainly Wakefield proved his worth as a reliever in 2004 by taking some serious lumps over 3+ innings in that total beat down game 3 of the ALCS...

I have no idea how much other teams value Swihart, but he is the best trading chip among the 3 Sox catchers because he is not as horrible defensively as previously thought, he is the youngest, he has the most potential, and he makes the least amount of money. I do think he gets more back than an AAAA reliever. Devin Mesoraco was traded for Matt Harvey this year, and I think we can agree Harvey is not an AAAA reliever. Even if any MLB GM valued Mesoraco more than Swihart, probably not by all that much, given Mesoraco's history of significant injuries and his massively greater salary ($13mill next season). That's a fairly big difference in money taken on and what was still obtained in return for a player who Fangraphs says has only been worth 0.4 fWAR per season each of the past 2 years. If Swihart has the potential to reach that value, do you think it is really impossible to get back even an average starting pitcher under a short contract for him? Especially since Swihart still makes the league minimum for another year?

1. 12 man staff, at least in the AL playoffs. If the Sox make the WS, since it is unlikely the stupid "pitcher batting" rule is finally going to change between now and October, the extra pinch hitter does become more important. But really, not until then. 2. 2 catchers for the ALDS and ALCS. 3. I hope the Sox do not carry Johnson. I'm feeling a little better about carrying Pomeranz, whose numbers out of the pen are starting to look more respectable. 4. I'm hoping the Sox bring Kimbrel, Barnes, Kelly, Hembree, Workman, Poyner, Eovaldi and either Thornburg or Pomeranz. Pomeranz looks like the better option of late, which I would not have thought would happen a month ago...

Or Leon/Swihart. Although if some other team overvalues Swihart, he might be a decent trading chip. I think you will (dis)agree that a Swihart/Devers swap for deGrom makes sense...

Teams also use their bullpen with more regularity in the post-season. Last season, teams used their starters for 5.5 IP/ start. This season , starters have gone an average of 5.4 IP/start. This means in a full game, teams are using their bullpens for 3.6 IP/game, a slight increase over last season. By the same token that Moreland or Pearce might be better than Leon, would't you rather see Poyner (.125) over Velasquez (.279) or Thornburg (.270) or Eovladi (.301) or Wright (.239) or Brasier (.220) or Johnson (.225) or Pomeranz (.240) in a key situation against a dangerous LHP? You're just valuing the one potentially key pinch-hit appearance over one potentially key opposing at-bat. If you really believe the biggest team weakness is bullpen, then why should the Sox use that final roster spot to shore up the lineup, which is the biggest strength of the team this year?

Not necessarily relevant (and difficult to look up). I might also ask how many times this year have the Sox used 3 catchers in one game. But in the post-season, teams typically go to their bullpen earlier. At that point in the season, a lot of pitchers have thrown their share of innings and might not be as effective as they were in April and May. Certainly starters are more worn out. And if there is anything to Sale's injury, it might not be so easy to pencil him in for 6 or 7 innings. If the Sox have a reliever or two who is not 100% or simply not having a good week, the more options to replace him the better. Don't overvalue the pinch hitting. The benefit of pinch hitting for, say, Leon, really only gives you a slightly better chance at getting a necessary hit. And really, how many times per game will they be doing so? If it comes down to keeping Christian Vazquez (clearly not a good pinch hitting option) over, say, Bobby Poyner, I'll take the situational lefty in that case and take my chances of stopping the opposition... Really, the only advantage to keeping 3 catchers would be if the Sox have an injury at the position that necessitates removing the catcher from the game. While that has happened

I'd rather have 12 pitchers and not need them than need 12 pitchers and not have them...

It definitely won't happen. Castillo would have had to be added to the 40-man by August 31, and his contract would be on it for the remainder of it's duration...

Buy him a 1b mitt and say tell him this is as close as you get...

It’s not often you see a player banished from the rotation, only to return for the ALCS

No doubt he should be extended. And thought given to extending Betts and Bogaerts, too. All the Sox need is for Scott “No Extensions” Boras to retire....

You are probably going to have to repeat that “I don’t dislike like WAR” mantra until at some point in time you can mention it in sentence that also doesn’t contain the words “is flawed.” Not following up with a question about why people use it will also help. Also, your reply really didn’t point out any inherent defects in WAR. Really what you pointed out was your predictions for Bradley’s future, which is alternative method that has nothing to do with WAR. And certainly did not point out any incorrect conclusions drawn from WAR, just conclusions that didn’t agree with your personal opinions. That’s not the same as pointing out inherent flaws. Your (and my) opinions and observations are probably more flawed than WAR...

And while it’s certainly not going to be a provable fatal flaw, it still begs the question of why no bullpen moves were made...

You did start off with an entire paragraph about how we were using WAR all over again even after we all agreed it was as flawed. We get it. You don’t like the stat. That’s fine. No one is forcing you to like it. But you may have to consider actually accepting the fact that many people do like it and, despite its inherent flaws, is still enormously useful, and it’s very likely to continue to make appearances in discussions on this board in the future...

Which leads to a bigger question - why?

We've all seen similar things happen before.

I'd actually say no way does donaldson take the QO. He's 32 and probably not excited about the prospect of hitting the market again without at least exploring it first. He would defintely prefr a multiyear deal, and his chances are not as good of getting more years at age 33 next season anyway...