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If there is it's a boring one...

I was thinking the exact opposite. Playing Hanley at first might increase the likelihood of him incurring an injury and not vesting. Of course I don't think Hanley's option is the deathnail many others believe it to be...

Trading Hanley is easier said than done.and any deal would definitely include enough cash that signing Santana is not likely. ..

I'd also like to upgrade over Hanley at 1B defensively, for a couple of reasons. 1) It's not too difficult to do, and 2) Hanley isn't getting any healthier. The Sox didn't think he could handle the position so easily last year. I'm not sure why they think he can this year...

And I'd keep Holt over Brentz as an outfielder. But I'd prefer a better all-around outfielder than either of them on the bench...

I've always thought that was the biggest factor for most pitchers in the post-season.

Conversely maybe Holt hasn't been traded because no one wants to dedicate another 40-man roster spot this close to the Rule 5 draft. ..

I will say this much. JD Martinez is the most likely to be successful in Fenway. Martinez is largely a pull hitter (39%) with flyball tendecies (38%) who hits the ball hard (39%) very frequently when he makes contact. Santana is more of a pull hitter (51%) who hits about as many flyballs (39%), but fewer hard hit balls (33%). Fenway might be tough on him when hitting lefty. Hosmer is a ground ball machine (53%) who rarely hits the ball in the air (22%), and doesn't always hit the ball hard (33%). He might develop power, as he is about as old as Martinez was when JD did start hitting for power. and Hosmer has been surpressed by his home park, where his 119 OPS+ the past 3 yesr is still impressive and a sign he is developing somewhat as a hitter. I'm not wild about JD Martinez' age, but if anyone thinks the Sox should have signed Encarnacio last yer, his baseball age is 4 years older. If you would have signed him 4 years ago, JD is a decent comparison. The one big disadvantage is position. JD has never played anywhere but OF, where the Sox have 3 excellent players. Sure they could move him to first, but he might not want to go and might not be any good. And if he doesn't want to go to 1st, the Sox would have to break up a terrific defensive OF, likely by moving Bradley. They would still also need a 1B. Bradley to SF for Brandon Belt makes sense talent-wise, but Belt has a longer pricier contract and a very recent and alarming history of concussions. Stanton would trump all these guys, but he won't be as easy to get. And I think a very unlikely acquisition at this point. All of these are career numbers for these players, and certainly all could have developed somewhat in the past 3 years. But that is more math than I want to do right now...

He can field groundballs when he gets to them, but his footrk is horrendous. He never seens to know how to position himself when receivig a throw. He's weak at turning double plays. I could go on. Really, his best position is corner OF. His UZR data for 2B is really less than 900 innings (about 1/2 of a season) spread out over 5 years. It compiles into a nice number, but a lot of the data gets older and is all accrued together despite not necessarily being equally relevant...

At this point, I'm more OK with Swihart in a bench role that Holt. If Swihart does make the team, he doesn't need to be the only backup catcher, if all of these moves trying him around the field pan out. In fact, the team would probably still need a dedicated backup catcher. So the Sox could wind up with a bench of Leon, Swihart, Marrero and Brentz. Holt's cost in arbitration might make him suddenly expendable, even with Pedroia out. (It's not like he was any good at 2B anyway.) If that is the Sox bench, I hope they can do better than Brentz. Dealing Holt for a fourth OF isn't so likely, and certainly near-impossible to figure out a match...

The Stanton and Otani sagas need to end and end quickly. While usually very little happens befre Thanksgiving, in most seasons at least somethingdoes. Yesterday the big splash news on MLBTR was that some guy named Josh Ravin was traded to the Braves. Talk about click bait!! Maybe tomorrow they can discuss in-depth details about what JD Martinez has for breakfast or we can get further insight into Jake Arrieta's favorite movies...

I've never been all that crazy about Brentz, and I still am not. He did have a great year at Pawtucket, but I can't get excited about the future of any player who takes 5 years to put it all together at AAA. I can't get excited about him even in a bench role. If he makes the opening day roster, will he still be there in June? His only real selling point right now is price. If an outfielder actually gets hurt, Brentz could play himself out of the majors in a month. But free agency doesn't dazzle with better options. Ben Revere and Michael Saunders might both be at points where they are willing to take part time roles, but neither will settle for Brentz' money. And Saunders has been particularly unreliable from a health standpoint. It is possible some sort of boring, low level trade like dealing Sandy Leon (2.8 fWAR in 2016-2017) could be dealt for a fourth outfielder like Mallex Smith (1.3 fWAR in 2016-17) or Jake Marisnick (1.3 fWAR in 2016-17). But then not sure if either Tampa or Houston value their backup outfielders more than a backup catcher0 (Both likely do in this case.) Or if they have other solutions better than Leon. Brock Holt could also be dealt, but he will probably be in line at 2B (a position he is horrible at. I prefer Swihart there sight unseen) or flat out non-tendered. Personally, I prefer Marrero over Holt at this point...

So what is it that makes Boston a "world class city"? Or Chicago? I'm interested in knowing, having lived in both. St. Louis, while not my favorite city, is definitely a baseball town with some of the friendliest fans in the game. And they have an excellent front office that always keeps them competitive. While I have been saying Stanton will head for LA at first chance, he wouldn't be the first player to enjoy being a Cardinal. Not sure why you brought up money. Regardless of where Stanton plays, he still gets $295mill over 10 years, which was the point. It turns out those dollars are legal tender in every city. Would he be more marketable in NY? Or LA? I'm not as sure as you. Right now it seems like MLBs most marketable player plays in Washington. The best player in MLB plays just outside of LA and does far fewer national commercials...

And if he isn't all that OK with it, he opts out 3 years and $77mill later. The Marlins reportedly hd some crazy asking price, but it does look more and more that, while no one will probably hit it, some team will offer at least enough that it isn't a straight up salary dump. I do doubt it's Boston, given the current stage of the farm system. I think the only way is if Dombrowski gets a little creative and move players like Bradley and/or Bogaerts to get an actual MLB-ready prospect or two a little more enticing than Chavis...

So... more like Isiah Thomas than Elway?

The Twins might not be as inferior as you think. Try not base base too much on one game. And if Otani thinks he can carry a good team to the post-season, he will find himself at the forefront of the Twins team as opposed to being behind a few other ready-made stars on the Yankees. It's going to be his choice. But don't count out the Twins...

Uehara and Okajima didn't heal them?

Plenty of them have been successful. The failure rate among Japanese players is probably about the same as the failure rate of any other country...

Every team that has ventured in to the Asian marketts has had their share of players who didn't pan out. Passin on Otani because Park, who came from a different country altogether, did not pan out would be like passing on Bryce Harper because Matt Bush didn't pan out...

You ever oversell your players from their overseas days. Matsui was a great player in Japan, but he benefited from playing for the most popular team in the country, the Yomiuri Giants. Ichiro played for a far lesser team, the Orix Blue Wave, but when he left for Seattle, attendace plummeted for the team. Heavily. Conversely, post-Matsui Giants continued a half-century long string of sold out games. Really, while the Yankees are certainly putting together a good team, so is Texas, and so is Minnesota (surprisingly). If Otani wants to be the proverbial Big Fish, he stands a better chance there. Seattle has the obvious proximity advantage, and the Angels do as well. The Mariners in particular have a long history with Japanese players tha extends beyond Ichiro (who I would bet is not remembered as a Yankee in Japan). But really, the most popular player over there in the past few decades was Daisuke, a player Otani possibly idolized at one point. But the Sox are going to be on the outside looking in on this one, unless the situation is unresolved this year..

Reportedly, the Giants offered Joe Panik, Tyler Beede and Chris Shaw for Stanton and Dee Gordon. Beede did struggle in the PCL, but every pitcher struggles in the PCL.

He already has a contract that guarantees him $295 million over the next 10 years. Those pockets are lined and stuffed. As for being a houselhold name, he just won MVP. I think that got him some fairly decent PR...

I don't see him at 2B, either. That seems like a despearte move, but then, their staff is certainly more familiar with his ankle than any of us. But at the very least, I could see Swihart as a catcher-corner infielder-corner outfielder as a part time player. I don't think that's the craziest of expectations...

No one really knows how much money is a factor. The only party it seems to matter to is the Nippon Ham Fighters. It certainly doesn't seem like Otani cares, or he would postpne his arrival by one season to let his ankle recover fully. The Yankees figure to be in the running for him regardless, but do they have a selling point over the Rangers or Mariners? The Mariners might have made even more sense had Nintendo not old off the majorty of their shares...

Usually very little happens before Thanksgiving. THe next winter meetings from December 10-14 should be much more eventful...