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I don’t. If you asked me to predict the 2025 Red Sox pitching staff, I’d Tell you the starters will be Houck, Crawford, Bello, Giolito and either Fitts or Priester. Id predict the bullpen to have Hendriks, Slaten, Winckowski, Whitlock, Kelly, Criswell, Fulmer, and Penrod i think Breslow might have already done his heavy lifting…

I cannot agree with that logic. I don’t think the Sox should trade Anthony, but if you want top pitching, you’re going to have to pay with to talent, especially if you’re not parting with top dollar. And for all his hype, Anthony isn’t a star yet. Yea, he’s the #1 prospect in the minors. But so we’re Daisuke and Benintendi - did either become Star Talent? Moncada was #2. Should the Sox have kept him? The Sox need pitching. The Sox need All Stars. Do they do anything right? How did this team ever win 78 games? And how bad off are all those teams that haven’t?

Hey if you think the Sox should only spend on pitching, specifically a young, cost-controlled starter, Ohtani has very little starter left in him and his costs are out of control…

You wouldn’t trade him for Paul Skenes? If you want cheap, controllable pitching, Skenes is the guy. Ohtani has already had TJ twice and his pitching career is going to be limited for whatever little time it has left. (I could easily name a dozen MLB players I’d trade Anthony for, and Ohtani isn’t one of them.)

Urquidy sucks. The only reason to give him the injury contract treatment is he’s much more enjoyable when actually injured…

Well, bad news for you. The Sox have already added much of that pitching. The bullpen loses Jansen and Martin, but figures to add Whitlock (hopefully), Campbell, Hendriks and Fulmer to join the returning Winkowski, Kelly and Criswell. Zach Pernod seems likely to replace Bernardino. Weissert and Guerrero are still around for depth. And Chris Murphy isn’t dead yet. In the rotation, barring trades, expect Houck, Bello and Crawford back. Not sure of Giolito’s timeline, especially since he only had the brace and not full TJ. Fitts and Priester hopefully just provide depth, leaving one spot in the rotation still open. Thats one spot assuming Fitts and Priester are both depth and one of them isn’t slated to start…

Hopefully similar deals (not similar in terms of money) will follow for Houck and Crawford…

Again, the “full throttle” thing is on the fans. Our big problem was a failure to understand that “full throttle” meant “status quo, with a few possible steps in reverse.” Thankfully Werner set that record straight. This off-season, the Sox office will undoubtedly tell us to prepare for the jump to Ludicrous Speed…

If the fans were just more positive, it would become contagious. And as it spread from person to person, it would eventually infect the umpires, many of whom are people. Once the umpires bought into it, they’re going to be more generous with calls to help the Sox. More calls going their way means more wins for the Sox. So you see, Squealer is right. It’s all the fans fault…

No Roki Sasaki? Are you just trying to save Henry’s wallet?

“We feel the fault this year lies with the fans…”

Framber has one year left but is their ace. Still he’s the most tradable. Brown isn’t going anywhere. McCullers is always hurt and has a big contract. Javier is owed $53mill over the next 3 seasons, but had TJ in May and is probably out until August, 2025 at the earliest Urquidy is in the same boat as Javier, except without the contract. Garcia had TJ in May, 2023. He at least could pitch in 2025. That leaves Blanco and Arighetti. Both are question marks IMO. It’s a shame that Houston’s depth might not actually be there, with Javier and Urquidy likely starting next year still on the IL. Because Houston could probably use an outfielder. Or two…

I don’t think Philly is killing their pitching depth for Abreu, a utility infielder, and what’s left of Wikelman…

If the signed Soto (not happening), they could theoretically deal an OF or two for pitching…

I’d be surprised if Zeferjahn lasted all of next season with the Angels. I think I’d also be surprised if he had a better MLB career going forward than Luis Garcia, and Garcia is 37 years old…

The Sox absolutely need Soto. But so do 29 other teams. And given the Sox current OF, need for RHH bats, and probable budget limitations, it’s an unlikely pairing. It’s a shame, because there is a short list of hitters in MLB that could replace Betts on this team, and Soto is near (if not at) the top of it…

Maybe the Phillies like the Sox outfielders, but they aren’t breaking up their staff to acquire one. And their minor league pitching begins and ends with Abel and Painter - not much depth…

The plan is obvious. Hire Lawson. Watch the results. Fire Lawson. Watch the improvement. They only hired him to set the baseline…

Hardly. Two of them are dead and the other two are pushing 60…

Skubal? No. Detroit might make the postseason this week. Crochet? Absolutely. I’ll be surprised if he’s on the White Sox 5 months from now. Other interesting names that might be available include: Aaron Civale, Tyler Anderson, Jon Gray, Sean Manaea. Quite possibly Framber Valdez and/or Zac Gallen, but those last two are only in July and only if each’s resoective team collapses. Tough to do with a third wild card…

Don’t confuse the word “romantic” with the word “antiquated.” All of these organizations, including MLB, Tesm USA, Baseball America, etc., also all have scouts that perform those functions. Does doubling up help, hinder or do nothing?

But why leap past Grissom? Because of one bad year? That may have been impacted by an injury? Grissom himself was, not that long ago, considered a very good RHH prospect…

While I don’t hate him, I am not as on board with some about Kristian Campbell and his role as a RHH savior. At age 22, Campbell’s .898 OPS in AAA is impressive. Of course, at the same age and level, Vaughn Grissom posted a .921 OPS…

The article also mentions that the old school style of scouting might be a dinosaur. Since with all of the organizations and youth programs focusing on elite teenage players, everyone already knows who everyone is anyway…

In the cases of both Ramirez (Pedroia) and Moncada (Benintendi), another prospect was reportedly asked for first and the final trade was a result of some negotiation. If the Sox approached Seattle about any of their younger starters, Anthony would be the first name Dipoto mentioned. The Sox are in a position to offer lesser yet still intriguing prospects, and the Mariners might be ok moving Woo or Castillo. (Castillo being far, far more likely.) If I had Breslow’s job, my goal would be to get the best pitcher possible for a package of Braden Montgomery and Franklin Arias. Of course, I have no idea who that pitcher is. I will say, part of the fascination with Miller is his age. The notion that the Sox need “young, cost-controlled starting pitching” is a fallacy. First of all, that’s all they have right now. Houck and Crawford are their graybeards, each being all of 27 years old. And second, with arbitration and contracts being as they are, it’s a rarity to hold on to a pitcher for too long anyway. And quite often when it does happen, it wasn’t worth it…