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Fitts and Priester both have mid-rotation ceilings, but are more likely to settle in to either the back of the rotation or the bullpen. And both fall behind a healthy Perales. But Boston really lacks the upper minors pitching depth to deal either one without getting significant pitching in return. I think the focus for Boston in any trade is the position player depth. I’ve often suggested Braden Montgomery, but really, his value more than goes up once he takes the field again. Hamilton? I like what he brings, and he should be in the 2b mix to start the season along with Vaughn Grissom, and eventually possibly Kristian Campbell, assuming he ever settles in at a singular position. I don’t see Meidroth as much more than a throw-in on a trade that could probably happen with or without him. Neither said will insist his inclusion or exclusion is a deal breaker…

And yet the largest contract he’s ever given to a player coming from another team was the 4 year $78mill contract awarded to Starlin Marte. (Ok maybe those Verlander/Scherzer deals were higher, but they were also very short and traded away very quickly.) The Mets have gone bigger with internal contracts, like the ones for Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo, But outside deals? They’ve all been short deals, with Kodak Senga’s 5 year pact topping the Longevity Meter..

… or he’s injured…

No. Max Fried type pitchers come and go and are available every off-season. You cannot say the same thing about Soto. Sign Soto and get your pitcher(s) another way…

Fulmer and Wilson have salaries, too…

I’d package either with Abreu for Crochet. Sure it would have been terrible to deal Betts for a RP, but what about dealing Moncada and Kopech - both of whom reached MLB - for a starter? Or throwing in Javier Guerra for a closer? There are examples to go both ways. Remember when the Sox pitching future was Rose/Pavano/Suppan? The best career of those three was the guy that got dealt, and no one (except maybe the then-GM of the Expos) would want to undo that trade…

I don’t see him as a fit unless the Sox are listening to me and want to move Devers off third. Story to 2b certainly worked out before, but the Sox have better options (Hamilton, Campbell, Mayer, Grissom) for 2b at this point than they had in 2022. Moving Devers to 1b/DH with Casas means moving on from Yoshida, and that makes more sense to me - and I’m still the rare believer in Yoshida - than blocking the quartet I mentioned above. Unless the goal is to move Casas as well. But replacing Casas with Adames, while definitely helping the defense, will certainly hurt the offense…

Closer prospects have always been preferred targets, but ranked A-ball players still have value. Sometimes it’s their peak value. Arias might continue down the path towards lofty prospect/MLB player. But he also might not. We’ve all seen numerous ranked players simply disappear, because ranking prospects, like any endeavor that involves predicting the future, is rife with errors. Remember when Garin Cecchini was ranked one spot ahead of Mookie Betts? Im not saying “trade Arias NOW”, but I am saying if I had to include any of the Sox top Gus, he’d be my first option. Of course, he might also be the least desirable for those same reasons. But it only takes one believer!

I’m not as convinced Anthony has that much more trade value than Mayer. They’re similarly ranked (Anthony #2. Mayer #7) on MLB.com. And their surplus values on BTV (Anthony $65.8mill, Mayer $59.8mill) are also fairly close. To me, if Anthony is that much superior as a hitter - and I’m not questioning that - then Mayer being a SS gives him significant value over a corner OF…

Until he gets to AA, I can’t consider Arias anything more than trade bait. Once upon a time, folks got excited about Miguel Bleis…

But this roster with Hye-Seung Kim and Ha-Seung Kim does become the most confusing one ever…

David Robertson? Was Goose Gossage not available?

If Story/Grissom is an upgrade over Rojas/Lux, why are the Sox settling for Rojas/Lux when we already have the former? If they’re not an upgrade, why is LA making this move?

Wilson fits into the category Jeff Passan used to describe as “is left-handed, has pulse.”…

If the Sox do that, I promise a Sale injury…

Once Fulmer is officially added, my guess is Hendriks, Fulmer, Whitlock, Slaten, Wilson, Bernardino, Criswell, and Winckowski. But I would accept Weissert, Kelly, Booser, or Guerrero over Winckowski…

Actually I need you to add options like Whitlock and Fulmer to the bullpen. I’ll play by the existing rules…

Since you brought it up, those are both guys Bloom has acquired before. Of course if he turns it down, f*** Helsley. I keep Hamilton and Winckowski and demote Sogard. And at that point I have still 1. Added two ace caliber arms to the rotation 2. Upgraded the bullpen 3. Added Juan Soto to the lineup and 4. improved the defense at catcher and 5. Made all those upgrades and still stayed under budget while only trading away one top prospect, and not one of the Big Four. Lets see Breslow do that…

So Hamilton was a 2bWAR second baseman with excellent defensive metrics, came in 5th in the AL in stolen bases, and has 5 full years of control, but you’re saying all that is overshadowed by him playing FIVE GAMES in Worcester. And we didn’t even discuss the progress Hamilton made last year as a hitter and a laughably bad fielder initially. And despite all that, he still only played FIVE GAMES in Worcester. Its a good package for the privilege of paying Helsley $7mill for one year, which might amount to all of 45-50 IP. Maybe the Sox should have tried to acquire Helsley a year ago, when he was coming off a season where he played FIVE GAMES in the minors…

I sold high and got 5 years of an All Star, while also making room for my own internal budding superstar. That move was a win for everyone involved!! But if you’re going to be that way, I’ll take my blueprint to NY, and use it to force my way into Cashman’s job, and then I’ll take over the AL East! And then tomorrow, the world (series)!!!! Insert evil laugh emoji here…

Crochet was 107.1 IP / 3.02 ERA in the first half, 38.1 IP / 5.12 ERA in the second half. Looks like he tired out as well, and did so with 40 fewer IP…

Not at Brock’s price point. I tried to go over as little as possible. But for the same money I got Ryan Helsley and Kyle Higashioka.

Trade Abreu and Montgomery for Garrett Crochet. Trade Hamilton and Winckowski to St. Louis for Ryan Helskey (who is reportedly on the block). Sign Kyle Higashioka to catch. Add Garrett Whitlock to roster. Trade Duran to Philly for Cristopher Sanchez. Sign Juan Soto. Play ball!! C: Kyle Higashioka ($7.5M) 1B: Tristan Casas ($0.80M) 2B: Vaughn Grissom ($0.80M) 3B: Rafael Devers ($27.07M) SS: Trevor Story ($22.50M) LF: Juan Soto ($46.00M) CF: Ceddanne Rafaela ($1.25M) RF: Roman Anthony ($0.80M) DH: Masataka Yoshida ($18.60M) 4th OF: Rob Refsnyder ($2.25M) Utility: Nick Sogard ($0.80M) Utility: Romy Gonzalez ($0.80M) Backup C: Connor Wong ($0.80M) NA: Add Dead Money Here ($0.00M) SP1: Tanner Houck ($4.50M) SP2: Garrett Crochet ($22.00M) SP3: Cristopher Sanchez ($4.90M) SP4: Kutter Crawford ($3.20M) SP5: Lucas Giolito ($19.00M) RP: Liam Hendricks ($6.00M) RP: Michael Fulmer ($1.50M) RP: Ryan Helsley ($7.00M) RP: Justin Wilson ($1.50M) RP: Garrett Whitlock ($3.50M) RP: Brayan Bello ($2.66M) RP: Justin Slaten ($0.80M) RP: Brennan Bernardino ($0.80M) NA: Add Dead Money Here ($0.00M) Payroll is 3.54% over budget

Tyler O’Neill? 1.180 OPS vs LHP in 2024, .923 for his career. Also Suarez’ option was picked up by Arizona; he’s not a free agent. And is Santander listed twice because he’s a switch hitter?

How much pull does Fernando Abad have?