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Yeah! Backup catcher! Ironically BTV values him the same as Jo Adell…

Right now other than Castellanos, not sure who is available. And if anyone else is, are they worth it?

Clearly Detroit has heard of my interest in Gleyber Torres and is now telling the world he isn’t for sale because they’ve “back in it.” But what he means is the Tigers are not selling at that price. Well played, AJ Hinch. Well played…

If you start referring to it as a “false sense of hope”, you clearly don’t have one…

He’s lost somewhere in the vicinity of Patrick Sandoval Point. Lots of folks get stuck there as the thick underbrush can destroy your elbow on your machete arm…

I’m waiting for Johan Oviedo to get back to me on that….

If he could help, he’d be a Pirate…

Breslow finally making bullpen moves that should have happened in December. Not that LaSorsa should have been a target, but, hey, only 6 months late…

The Orioles are also killing him this year. Bello has pitched the first inning 8 times and allowed 15 runs; 10 of those runs came in two starts against the Orioles. The Orioles team OPS vs is 1.417, highest against any team. Theyre also the only team he has made two starts against. (He has faced Detroit twice, but not as a starter and their team OPS against him is much, much lower.)

There will be bats available. To me, the best fit is Gleyber Torres. Especially if Anthony is back by July. Yordan is signed for two more years; he’s not moving…

And the risk of watching Anthony reach free agency at 27 was worth all these deals combined. It’s not a “league wide fad;” it’s the new economic reality. And yes, occasionally it doesn’t work out. Can’t the same be saud for free agents? The complaints around this “fad” all revolve around who else the Sox could have signed instead. But those players are ALWAYS on the wrong side of 30 and watching their skills fade at various rates. And Ive never once heard anyone say “thank God we signed David Price instead of extending Mookie Betts.” If you’re going to play in that arena, there are two sides. Also Bregman has a 103 OPS+ this year. He’s basically another Yoshida - the guy everyone wants to dump. Is that really the missing piece? The big difference is Yoshida has only one more year; Bregman cost twice as much per year snd is signed for 4 more years. Did the Sox really miss out here? None of these Sox deals really add up to much. Campbell’s AAV is high end utility infielder money. As a former Minor League Player of the Year and MLB Rookie of the Month, I think he can at least be a utility infielder. Bello was good last year (9th in the AL in ERA), but struggled down the stretch and early tjis year. He was never a top prospect, but he really was establishing himself after a good 2023. When is a player “established”? If you wait too long, many players (re: agents) know they can make more money and fewer years in arbitration. Think of it this way - Anthony’s injury history is not that significant. While it happened twice in MLB (hardly trailblazing), he really never got hurt on the minors playing the same game. If he reaches free agency at 27, he could easily make command money than all of these extensions combined. Think Boston pays it then? Fans want the team to spend more, but then don’t like it when they do…

Chapman does have a mutual option, but any team acquiring him will view him as a rental. As for where he goes, who knows what makes him to decide to trigger his part of the option? Most likely he only triggers it if he has a bad year, in which case thr team declines it anyway. Both sides exercising a mutual option is so rare. As the deal is for two months of Chapman, a top prospect and a big bat is not happening. Not without a third team. No team in the hunt is breaking up their lineup. It’s surprising that most closers traded at the deadline have more than 2 months left. Jhoan Duran, for example, had 2.3 years left last year, and he got a fringey top prospect (Mick Abel) plus a 19yo A ball catcher with some promise. Now two months Chapman himself was traded in 2023 for Cole Ragans plus. Three years later, he likely won’t command the same price. If the Sox get one good (not great) player out of this deal, it’s probably the ceiling. But he’s not some Golden Ticket to patch multiple holes for 2027…

Plus they’ve scored 8 runs or more 4 times in the past 7 games as opposed to scoring 8 or more only 5 times in the first 53. Arguing whether or not thr offense is good now is one thing, but it’s not very easy to argue that it isn’t any better recently…

It’s AA possibility, but I have no idea. Someone has to play SS until Story returns. Right now IKF is doing a pretty good Vern Stephens impression, but that should end abruptly any day now…

Isnt 16-17 with Tracy an improvement over 10-17 with Cora?

If the Sox are a wild card team, winning at home is a less important skill.

And that’s the point. They’re getting better even without Crochet and Anthony. So why give up and hope no one gets hurt in 2027? To me, Torres is a no brainer. He had negative BTV value, so if he can be had for a 0.0 value A baller, why not? The whole purpose here is to buy time for Mayer in AAA. I’m ok with longer term fixes, as long as they’re not stupid…

I think the “throw strikes at 102 mph” approach to pitching does work well for anyone that can do it…

Whats the point in not trying to get to the postseason? Better draft pick? Hey that might help the 2031 team! And if the goal is 2027, why would the Sox consider adding players like Adell, whose biggest hope at this point is that maybe someday, someone somewhere might consider him mediocre? Do some quick, temporary fixes that don’t create future problems the way that acquiring Chapman, Semien or Adames will. And leave Adell in Anaheim…

Even an addition like Gleyber might help. The Sox are 3.5 games out with 102 games left to play - hardly insurmountable. Are we supposed to already start that Magic Number countdown until elimination? And it’s not just about Torres. Duran is hitting again. Durbin is hitting now. They can keep Gasper at DH until he runs out of steam (or Anthony returns). And lately, this team has been scoring runs. Although to some, it seems to have evoked a “the Sox will never fix this offense if this team keeps scoring” attitude. They have the pitching and defense. Even an average offense might make a significant difference. Although another reliever would be nice, too. Maybe Kahnle and Bello can be the bullpen fix this team also needs…

Also the Sox have players that can’t hit all over the place. Adell is a perfect fit! And, if you like pull-happy s***** outfielders that bat right-handed and are a couple miles south of a .700 OPS, Nick Castellanos was just DFAd by the Padres and is therefore even cheaper than Adell…

There was some commentary that Durbin finally ditched the flyball pull approach Boston was trying to impose and went back to what worked last year. Not sure when that happened, but his 1.027 OPS in the last week might be an indication…

Nothing like clogging up the OF/DH situation even more. I think Gleyber Torres makes much more sense. Detroit is also in last place, doesn’t need Torres, and cannot even offer him a QO. The biggest downside is that he’s a rental and if the goal is to build for 2027, he’s a poor fit.

If we get to go by last year’s numbers, a lot of our hitters look much better and we don’t need Adell at all. And we don’t…

Adames makes $13mill this year. Next year it jumps to $31.5mill per year for 5 more years. That increases his availability far, far more than a couple of 3 HR weeks reduces it…