Wondering if it makes sense for the Sox to investigate a past target I’ve thrown out there (and they’ve not been connected to publicly) by moving either Yoshida (2 yr $37.2mill) or Hicks (2 yrs $25mill) to Atlanta for C Sean Murphy (3yrs $45mill).
BTV gives Murphy a surplus value of minus $25mill, Yoshida a surplus value of minus $31.1mill and Hicks a surplus of minus $19mill.
Drake Baldwin is likely NL ROY or NL ROY runner up. Atlanta will likely lose Marcell Ozuna to free agency. Murphy is an option to replace him, but he’s not close to the same hitter. And possibly less of one than Yoshida at this point.
But if I’m GM of Atlanta, I’d still prefer Hicks. Bigger financial savings, lower AAV, and he does still throw really, really hard. And it might be as simple as keeping him out of the rotation to get him back to the reliever he used to be…