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He’s unlucky, but the ball isn’t…

He’s looking like a future star. Play him at one position, even if it’s first base…

Toglia is a terrible fielder. He couldn’t catch COVID if he licked every doorknob in 2020. The 5’5” Vaughn seems like a plausible albeit unexciting target. If the Twins fall off the pace, Ty France might be the best of the stopgap options…

I’m sure the Athletics would love Abreu. Ive suggested deals for Soderstrom involving him. Casas? He’s just not good trade bait. I mean, you tried to pass of his career bWAR of 2.0 in a season and a half worth of games as an accomplishment; it’s not. That’s utility infielder production. I have doubts Oakland moves Kurtz, and other doubts about how useful he’ll really be in 2025 anyway. I could see moving Abreu, but I’d actually rather not. He’s becoming a star player before us. And moving him to get Anthony in the lineup - while acceptable - might also be a step down. The Sox should get a stopgap 1b. No one is trading for Casas right now. Like Casas or not, BTV gives him a surplus value of $0. For comparison, Nick Kurtz has a surplus value of $44.1 million. (And Abreu has a surplus value of $64.5million, suggesting a straight up trade of Abreu for Kurtz is a MASSIVE overpay by Boston). Casas will likely be offered arbitration next year and try again to be the starting 1b in Boston. Kurtz will start in (Sacramento? Vegas?) for minimum wage for his current low budget team. And Boston will explore the rental market for a stopgap 1b to fill out the year Josh Bell? Wilmer Flores? Ty France? Mitch Garver? Andrew Vaughn? Someone unexciting, but an upgrade nonetheless…

I think the plan involves keeping both Anthony and Mater in their current positions, as both are top tier defenders. Mayer will likely be held back until Story has his annual injury. Grissom, on the other hand, has no real defensive home and might get a chance. As Grissom is already on the 40 man roster plus has options, it’s a very easy change to undo with no collateral damage (like no one DFAd to get him on the roster).

Correct. Anthony Rizzo didn’t retire because he couldn’t get offers. He retired because he couldn’t get offers he didn’t find insulting. Rizzo’s OPS is approximately 590 since guy he suffered a concussion in May of 2023…

2.0 bWAR in 251 games isn’t that good. For comparison, Romy Gonzalez has 1.3 bWAR in only 106 games. Plus Casas is arbitration next year. Kurtz will still be making the league minimum…

And bench Campbell?

The Athletics aren’t trading Kurtz. BTV suggests his value is equal to Marcelo Mayer, but the Athletics are unlikely to make that move given the performance of Jacob “Jack Jr.” Wilson so far. That leaves Anthony. Willing to deal Anthony for Kurtz?

Abraham Toro has brief history of going on hot streaks when initially called up, causing many fans to remark “where was this guy hiding?” They’re inevitably followed by cold streaks where those same fans ask “can we send him back there?” We never got the hot streak…

And yet plenty of passable 1b in MLB were bad third baseman. Some, like Mark Teixeira, went from horrific 3b to elite defensive 1b. That whole clip about Brad Pitt (as Billy Beane) telling Chris Pratt (as Scott Hatteberg) while Brent Jennings (as Ron Washington) rambles on about the difficulty. Of course this scene ignores reality- Hatteberg did move to first and was part of the resurgent team that year that had one of the longest winning streaks in recent MLB history. Can Devers learn first? Absolutely. Will he? This year? TBD..

Sacramento/Vegas isnt trading their top hitting prospect for that package. Yoshida is of no interest to them at any cost, as Brent Rooker holds the DH role. And Casas is of questionable value and durability. Abreu straight up for Tyler Soderstrom makes more sense. Kurtz has relegated Soderstrom to LF, where he is horribly miscast. Abreu is a defensive star in the OF. The Athletics OF of Butler-Bleday-Abreu looks pretty solid, with Kurtz at 1b and Rooker at DH. Boston could move former catcher Soderstrom to 1b and let Roman Anthony replace Abreu in RF. Yoshida is still in limbo, but that’s of no concern to the Athletics…

Yoshida is a good fit for the type of disciplined hitter they need. But with Devers at DH, he really doesn’t fit. His contract makes him a difficult move, but he doesn’t fit have 3 options remaining…

Which makes DH easier to fill. All Star or not, he’s not a good defensive 3b. If Cora said he didn’t think Devers should play first because he wouldn’t be very good, thats one thing. That’s a managerial decision. (Or if Devers said the same thing, that’s ok too.) But Devers saying he doesn’t refusing because want to be moved around again is completely different. If Chapman blew a few saves and refused to go to the setup role, would you agree with him?

Are the Red Sox on that list? Cause Devers isn’t getting traded…

I’d rank him over Toro. The Sox don’t need a first base solution right now, but they could use a first base improvement…

It’s probably worth pointing out at this juncture Devers clearly isn’t being forced to play first either. This entire scenario is because the CBO - not even the manager - asked him about fist base…

Cora put to gun to Kyle’s head himself…

So… Toro?

They’ve been looking outside, but the only players who get moved this time of year are guys like Connor Joe. Joe is the Dalbec Deluxe package. Ive suggested Andrew Vaughn. Pros: Available. Plenty of 1b experience. Cons: sucks. Internal options have the popular Story/Campbell to 1b to clear a path for Marcelo Mayer. Those are common. I’ve seen Yasmani Grandal as a suggestion at 1b. Why not Grandal at catcher - where he still has defensive skills, and Wong at 1b? Wong is a former infielder and not much of a catcher (for framing at least. He can throw.) And all the Sox lose is Toro…

Trade Ceddane Rafaela (-2.4) and Nazzan Zanatello (2.2) for Andrew Vaughn (-4.5) and Jordan Leasure (4.7) Fills a bullpen role, the 1b role and opens LF for Roman Anthony. The White Sox get a GG center fielder who can play anywhere else until July when the inevitable trade of Luis Robert takes place. And really if they don’t like Zanatello, I’m open to a dozen other options…

We don’t even know if Breslow likes Yoshida. He might consider Masataka to be every bit the financial burden many fans do. Not like he signed him…

Cora was apparently openly campaigning for Bregman, just he wanted him for 2b…

No, but it makes the most sense to get him back. The goal as I see it is to get Abraham Toro OUT of the lineup. Yoshida is an actual MLB hitter. The prospects might be better, but will that be today? The Orioles brought up several players that were all obliterating AAA pitching, and we all saw Holliday, Kjerstad, and Mayo suddenly struggle upon being promoted to MLB. (A year later, Holliday does appear to be catching on.) Yoshida could struggle, but he’s less likely to than Anthony or Mayer. And certainly less likely to than Toro. If the Sox had some Rowdy Tellez type waiting in Worcester, Toro wouldn’t be here, Yoshida would be recovering, and Devers would be the DH. If the goal was to get Yoshida back to DH, Devers would have started playing first base a couple months ago. I suppose the Sox could go out and acquire someone like Andrew Vaughn. Let’s face it, he’s available now. But you have to bear in mind the 5’6” Vaughn really does suck…

Oh Ive acknowledged the possibility that Cora prefers Devers at DH, possibly over all other positions. And that might be the right call. Im calling out Devers and his insistence on playing the victim card over simply being a team player like most players do in similar situations.* *Notable exception - Derek Jeter. Not exactly a feather in Derek’s cap IMO…