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I will say, not every team is fully on board with speed bring some sort of need. For some odd reason, Colorado non-tendered Garrett Hampson, who is basically Jarren Duran, but with average fielding abilities…

But who would be this #2 starter? Certainly no one on the free agent market. Trade front? Maybe if they sign Bogaerts or Correa to a long term deal, they can have trade Mayer for a starter…

Well you’ve spent 3 years trying to spread the fears of turning into Tampa North. In that time, Tampa has made the postseason 3 times. And now that they’ve made the postseason 4 straight times, they’ve done something neither Bloom nor Dombrowski nor Cherington nor Epstein nor Duquette nor Lou Gorman nor any Sox GM or owner has done. So I’m simply wondering - what’s wrong with being Tampa North?

SP right now includes Sale, Paxton, Bello, Whitlock and Pivetta. If they are actually all healthy, that’s not bad. Also a very big if. The Sox need injury depth starters and bullpen improvements…

Benintendi is also available if we want him back…

Heck, why does anyone assume there’s interest at all? I’m sure the overwhelming bulk of MLB off-season rumors are just click bait to connect a key player and a team in a Google search. Or they’re just based on passing conversation and played up like negotiations have reached Stage 3. (That’s where the player’s wife looks into local schools.) There’s a reason the sites that inform carry names like MLBTradeRumours.com and not MLBTradeSolidFacts.com

Welcome to Boston, 5Gold. Can we all assume this means you’ve finally left Tampa North?

Not what I asked. Not even close…

But those don’t matter. The point is taking away the Red Sox top three scores makes their offense worse. Sheesh…

You’ve seen Friedman do all that and more, and he is Bloom’s mentor. Do you honestly think Henry is saying “Chaim, you have $110mill to spend in the budget for next year.” And Bloom is replying “I only want $30mill”?

So which team has a track record of good baseball and being respectable recently?

But what if you like the signing? You’ll have wasted your opportunity to complain!!!

So back to Tampa North I see. Probably worth noting that for all the Fear of Tampa North and the “what works in Tampa won’t work in Boston” rhetoric I see on this board, Tampa has made the postseason each of the last 4 seasons. Four years (and counting) in row of postseason play. Know when the last time Boston made the postseason 4 years in a row? NEVER! Despite being 94 years younger, the Rays have a streak that the Sox never have had. And yet I still see on this board and multiple other forums (notably MLBTR) that Bloom needs to stop running this team like it’s the Rays. And that he has a budget now. And what worked in Tampa blah blah blah. Well, what’s been working in stamps is still working. So my question is - do Boston fans want a team that wins or a team that just spends? I do think a lot of fans forget about the winning much faster they forget about the not spending. And why exactly do we NOT want to be Tampa North? Fenway gets too cold after the first week of October?

It’s a bit early to say “No verdict? No crime.” Which I would bet is how that Bob Marley song appears on kissthisguy.com

Not really. Back then, we still had Selectively Used Shifting and also LOOGY’s to deal with lefties. Now there is no shifting and a rule against LOOGYs. This year could be interesting for a lot of left-handed hitters…

Yes. It’s the only move he will make. This is it. End of off-season. Unless he also trades Devers a gallon of fudge. Without walnuts, of course…

Fields biggest contribution was being worth giving up Yordan Alvarez for…

I’d have kept Ward and Wallace and DFAd Ort and Brasier…

Shortstops, second basemen, and right fielders will all have to cover more ground when left-handed hitters are up.

I never really considered Cincinnati a threat in the Bogaerts sweepstakes. That they dealt Farmer to Minnesota (who is since they just lost Correa) might be a factor. Although anyone capable of landing an MLB GM position isn’t likely to say “we have Kyle Farmer so we have SS all locked up.” Unless they view him as a placeholder for Royce Lewis. The Angels trading for Gio Urshela also might take them out of the running. Besides Boston, others looking for a SS likely include the Phillies (Dombrowski has signed Bogaets once already), the Cubs, the Dodgers, and the Giants. And of course some upstart team looking to generate some interest (Orioles?). Although all things considered, I’d prefer Correa over Bogaerts as an overall player. But I do hate Carlos Correa…

In might have misread that. At the very least I didn’t know where you were going with the whole Cora vs Kennedy aspect. I still don’t. Little help? My “Gallo Fervor” that started out as a prediction was based almost exclusively on one thing. Defense. Gallo actually is an extremely good defensive right fielder. Extremely good. And in Fenway, that a need. And why I wanted Betts extended over the Price signing (I have no idea if Betts even wanted to talk contract back then.) I do think the banned shift will allow for Gallo to bounce back someday. Ditto Bellinger. Ditto Verdugo. Walks aren’t the same as hits, but OPS also doesn’t treat them the same. So not sure where you’re going there either. I’ve been out on Judge all off-season and in on Nimmo over Bogaerts, but I don’t any of those three wind up in Boston. (If forced to choose, I would say X was most likely.). But Judge? I’m out on a guy who wants well over $300mill and can’t stay heathy. Contact hitters are great and hitters like Devers are special. But in 2023, with no shifting anymore, defense will be at a premium. I assume this is a big part of why the Sox have been, we’ll say hesitant to re-sign Bogaerts. And why I still think they will sign Gallo…

After Nimmo, Bellinger is probably the number two option for CF on the market. This assumes Judge is a RF…

Gee, no. If signing Gallo for 1-2 years slows the Sox to re-sign Devers, I think Sox fans will be disheartened. Did you realize that in spite of his high K rate, Gallo still has a higher OPS+ than Bellinger? Not by much, 79 to 78. But with the fervor that you are arguing for Bellinger, you’d think he was definitively better at something. He’s basically the same as a hitter. Far worse as a fielder. But yes, he does have some more speed and steals a few bases on the rare occasion he actually gets on first base. Of course, if the Sox need a lefty-hitting outfielder with speed and a 78 OPS+ and a sub.300 OBP, why overpay for Bellinger when Jarren Duran is already here?

Of course the Sox could try to sign both, play Gallo in RF, Bellinger in CF, move Kike to SS, and avoid the Albatross Future’s Market at that infield position while hoping Mayer stays the course. And the go get some pitching. Estevez, Rogers, Fulmer, Eovaldi. And maybe a catcher…

I’ll take the guy who has been a better hitter and a significantly better defender to play in the toughest RF in MLB. In one season, Bellinger would have to steal roughly 100 bases to make up for the difference those 10 defensive runs saved per year make…