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Not the same situation. Betts had a $27mill salary and required taking as much of David Price as possible. It was a straight up salary dump. Getting Verdugo was a coup in that scenario…

Can we also ask them if all they possession plate appearances were “clutch”?

Brasier’s last Soxgame?

With the exception of a pandemic-shortened 2020, Hosmer has not posted an OPS north of .800 since 2018. He’s just not a DH..

I got to stop dragging my finger around this matchbook sized keyboard….

He’ll be gone before opening day. He’s just not needed and radios up a far too valuable 40 man roster spot. He might get traded, but more likely is just DFAd. Ironically the best fit in a trade is San Diego, as their current 1b will be a free agent, they dealt their top 1b prospect, and they’re already paying Hosmer anyway…

Yeah yeah yeah. Old news. I guess I just shouldn’t have had higher expectations from you…

Not to mention no one thinks Binelas was a worthwhile get in that deal because he posted a .630 OPS in AA at age 23. Renfroe himself posted a .670 OPS in AA at age 23 and apparently he’s the second coming of Dwight Evans. Yes that comp has been made on this board! That deal is not over yet…

I can’t pretend to follow the logic here. Bloom tried to replace a slugging RF and a hodgepodge of 2b with a slugging 2b and a Gold Glove in RF, but he was was supposed to anticipate it not working out? Or players getting hurt? If Story had played 160 games and Renfroe played 80, did it mean his logic for making those moves was more sound? And bringing Schwarber into it is moving the goal posts. It has nothing to do with whether or not Renfroe’s production was replaced. And the reason Schwarber wasn’t retained was obvious to me. The Sox shouldn’t be dropping $20 mill on another DH while still having holes in other positions. If JD had opted out, Schwarber then became a realistic option, for reasons related to money and position. Story was a different matter since he filed an immediate vacancy. I always suspected he was also a Plan B against Bogaers leaving, but given all the reports on his elbow, I can’t say for certain that was ever really the case. But if it was, Schwarber does very little to help in that capacity…

Devil Rays? They haven’t used that name since 2007…

Story didn’t replace Renfroe’s bat? If you look at the 2b/RF combos, the 2021 team had Renfroe along with the Arroyo/Chavis/Marwin/Iglesias crowd. The 2022 team had Story and Bradley (plus). As bad as Bradley was offensively, if he simply posted numbers equivalent to that 2b crowd (who are not to be confused with Dustin Pedroia), then the Sox would have seen similar production from both lineup spots and improved defense at both 2b and RF…

Absolutely, although replacing the innings from Eovaldi, Wacha and Hill needs to happen. Fulmer and Montero are a great start for upgrading the bullpen. If you have a healthy Houck and Taylor, leave them in the bullpen all year long with Whitlock and Schreiber. Barnes will still be here barring a salary dump swap. And then add a LHRP. That’s a pretty RH bullpen, especially if Taylor isn’t back…

Nimmo! Nimmo! And more Nimmo!

Well, while he is no Bradley/Kike/Coco Crisp with the glove, Brandon Nimmo is a CF. I won’t speak for him, but playing CF might be something he is looking for in a new contract. If so, I’d keep Kike as an infielder on the table. Of course that still means the Sox need a RF. Presumably one found via the trade market. (Ramon Laureano?) I think my personal choice would be Kike and Nimmo in CF and RF, not real adamant about which one plays where. And pry SS Ha-Seong Kim from the Padres where, if Tatis returns, he becomes a $7mill AAV utility infielder who was worth 3.5 fWAR last year. Even if you think the Padres will retain Snell (certainly possible), do they want or need or are they able to budget $15mill for a utility infielder the next two seasons? Especially if they want to extend Soto?

He does own the forum pay-per-view rights…

We assume Kike to CF. Or the adventurous think maybe Kike could go to 2b. But what about SS? If Story’s arm problems do prohibit a move back to SS, Kike is the best internal option for 2023, and his metrics at SS are pretty good, although to be fair, the encompass like 700 innings spread out over 8 seasons or something like that. That would mean the Six need to add 2 outfielders, needed to replace Bogaerts and improve the offense. Nimmo can replace Bogaerts, or at least the overwhelming bulk of his production. But then who for the other OF?

The Sox are now officially played .500 ball since that 10-19 start…

Now if Bogaerts opts out, the Sox have something like $80mill committed for 2023, and nothing says “trying to win” more than just spending. The big problem for the Sox is - spending on who? Sure they could add a closer, but how many last place teams were one closer away from first place? (Hint:None. Ever.) They have some obvious needs in the rotation, but is this the free agent class to fill them? Seems like the best pitchers are the oft-injured type who are more likely to create a void in the rotation than they are too fill one. The Sox could grab an outfielder, but, after Judge there isn’t much in the way of headline grabbers. And Judge will never be an option. (I stand by the unsexy Brandon Nimmo as the Sox biggest free agent need.) They could spend on Devers, but they had Devers last year. How does making Devers financial future more secure make this team better? Shortstop, I could see. There are a few options available who are team changers, like Turner and Correa. Certainly Bogaerts is an option albeit he’s the status quo. James Dansby Swanson is a good all around shortstop, but he really isn’t the elite game-changing, ticket-selling, franchise-altering player the Sox should be looking at for PR purposes. If he replaces Bogaerts, he’s a good player that’s tough to sell, like Jose Offerman as a replacement for Mo Vaughn.

He said “can” outspend, not “will outspend” or “did outspend”…

Houck has a much better closer track record than Bard had prior to joining the Rockies. The grass is always greener, I suppose. If we had Bard and the Rockies had Houck, fans would be complaining about how other teams develop their own closers while the Sox with their huge payroll have to dig up guys who have been retired for 8 years…

Did the Sox ever really want those guys to pitch and hit? Rodriguez had a slew of plate appearances his first year and then none after. Ball had 0 players appearances in his first 5 minor league seasons…

The Sox final payroll was $234 million. Adding Jansen takes them to $250mill, which I believe is territory even Dave Dombrowski was not allowed to go. Just because they went over the tax limit doesn’t mean the budget was suddenly infinite…

I don’t think converting minor league starters to major league relievers counts as an unexpected source. Every team does that and has been doing it for decades. Heck Mariano Rivera was a starter in the minor leagues. Want a reliever from an unexpected source? Maybe convert a minor league shortstop! Sure the Sox fans will scream about this clear abomination, but this is how Joe Nathan and Trevor Hoffman started their careers. Ditto for former Red Sox minor league shortstop and Rockies closer Rafael Betancourt. Jeter Downs has a good arm. Maybe?

You could get three Pham’s for that price and it would still be an overpay…

Exactly. Teams only exercise options if the player is expected to be a bargain. Players only exercise player options if they know they can’t do better in free agency. And these two situations never coincide…