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The deadline is today. The Sox have 5 open spots on their 40 man roster. Chavis, Hernandez and Ockimey are no-brainers. Do they add anyone else?

The average length of an MLB careeer is less than one season. But then that’s why teams like the Long Island Ducks and Sugarland Skeeters exist - to fill their rosters with players who think they can capitalize on just one more chance...

I would think most if not all MLB players have more confidence than any of us can conceive of a person having and it isn’t shattered as easily as many believe...

A lot of these people don’t play baseball or have names as funny as Brock Dyckxhoorn...

Next stop - Cooperstown...

Sure it’s silly. But it keeps it upfront in our minds...

Grady Sizemore’s career was completely derailed by micro fractures. Pedroia is a case of wait and see and probably why DD has looked for stopgap measures like Quiroz

If the last 12 months are any indication, for non-star players it’s the arbitration years that are becoming the costly ones and free agency is becoming cheap control...

As noted before, the Pedroia injury has us (and maybe the Sox?) a tad wary. Really he belongs inRF on this team...

Vasquez is not an arbitration contract. He’s signed for 3 years with $13.3 mill remaining. But if Seattle does try to deal Diaz, it might change their plans. They also might hold him until July, given the abundance of closers on the free agent market...

Not to mention how smart an idea it is to build your team’s future while simultaneously weakening the future of a division rival...

Betts in RF isn’t broken. RF defense at Fenway is important probably more so than in most parks. And in this market, finding another 2b is easier than a RF and probably easier than a DH...

Bullpen thoughts: The Sox need to replace about 125 IP or so in the pen with the losses of Kimbrel and Kelly. Dombrowski is a notorious fan of hard throwers evidenced by his acquisitions of Eovaldi and Brasier. And probably the biggest factor in an Eovaldi reunion. If he signs Eovaldi, it could mean not enough budget for Kimbrel. But it might mean he can target Joe Kelly or possibly Jeurys Familia, as they are two of the hardest throwers on the market not countIng Kimbrel. A second reliever is probably still needed. Two potential targets that should intrigue him is buy-low candidate Corey Knebel in Milwaukee and Alex Colome in Seattle. Both teams might be interested in one of the Sox catchers, probably Vazquez. I’d think a Seattle trade is more likely. Vazquez hasn’t really shown himself to be a huge upgrade over current Brewer backstop Manny Pina. (I think both teams would prefer Vazquez over Swihart). Seattle also might be the one team to value Sam Travis in a trade, given GM DiPoto’s historic obsession with high OBP college hitters. Presumably another minor leaguer needs to be added here as well. I’m open to suggestions. (Maybe two if DiPoto doesn’t like Travis as much as I think he does, which is extremely possible.)

They’re an excellent second choice...

True. But this keeps them in the dark horse category. They do appear to like Barnes. Houston, on the other hand, did not pick up McCann’s option and has an excellent farm. I think of them as front runners for Realmuto. But the Marlins could insist on Whitley, which would be a deal breaker...

Smith was a waste, but what prospects did the Sox give up there? If Thornburg can rebound, he could be a very important part of 2019...

Well if you don’t add Corbin, you’re going to f*** up my entry in the MLBTR Free Agent Prediction Contest....

While possible, they do have Austin Barnes, who fits type athletic mold of Realmuto. But he isn’t the all around player JT is...

The If the Sox sign Eovaldi, will they spend on a reliever? And as they lost about 125 IP from the pen that needs to be replaced, what do they have to trade for another one? One of these relievers will likely be the closer. I think their trade chips include Chavis, Johnson and a catcher (not Leon; he adds nothing to a trade). Reportedly the Sox are working Swihart out as s catcher. This might be to increase his trade appeal, or to make Vazquez available. There seem to be a lot of teams that need catchers right now, and Realmuto and Ramos can only fill two voids (really one, as Miami will need a catcher once they trade Realmuto)...

Me either. He hits like a pitcher and is a utility infielder who can't play short. Lin is a much better alternative...

And I think his post-season heroics are ones people are speculating he can maintain for 4 years. He' a good pitcher, but in his case the risk might outweigh how good he is. If he comes back, I hope it's a short deal that doesn't prohibit keeping other players. And really, as much as I have said it would be a bad idea to bring back Kimbrel, this team lost like 128 innings from the bullpen that someone needs to be able to pitch...

It's easy to name several infielders who were injured in the course of a double play. Not so easy to name a few first baseman who were injured in collisions...

That's a big deal for the Yankees. On the bright side, losing Sheffield makes it that much harder for them to get Kluber...

Because it is the easiest defensive position to play. They get moved there to limit the damage they do defensively while keeping their bats in the lineup. The majority of the chances a first baseman has are throws hat were intended for him to catch. No other position has that advantage, except maybe catcher. But catcher is a whole completely different animal...

While we will never know how many teams contacted Boras about JD, fabricating mystery teams in order to prove your point about DD’s masterful negotiations really doesn’t work. The situation with Eovaldi is already different as 8 teams have reportedly gone public with their interest in him. So the whole strategy that DD used to get Martinez on a good deal by waiting out Boras until the price came down already won’t work. JD signed very late last year, which is the typical result from players with limited or less than expected interest. Eovaldi is already a hot commodity and could easily be among the first to sign. Maybe he does come back to Boston. But if he doesn’t, I can understand why DD would pass. It looks like the asking price is too much for the risk...