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Based on what? Stories written by people you don’t know about other people you don’t know? Nomar was the better hitter and the better fielder. And like X, he wanted to be paid accordingly with his peers….

True. Which does make Bogaerts’ opt out inevitable. But at the end of the day, all decisions are in the hands of Bogaerts. The original question was whether or not Boras has had his clients waive NTC’s. And he can’t have them do it or not do it. He’s an adviser and a negotiator and, to Bogaerts anyway, an employee. What he is not is a decision maker…

So the trade is a bust if Bradley goes into a slump? Bradley is the better overall player of the two. One bad season in 2021 doesn’te that….

And if the Sox can trade Bogaerts and it leads to a ring, I’m all for it. Aren’t you? I don’t expect him to get dealt. And I’d be surprised if he was and the Sox won it all…

Boras has no say in whether or not any client waives a No Trade Clause. Even if Boras advised against it, Bogaerts could waive it and all Scott could do is read about it on Yahoo sports…

I think K% works and more important is the K/BB ratio

1) I did work "Somehow" into my statement about Downs. 2) So who replaces Story? Will he be playing both 2B and SS? 3) Unlike Fitzy, Downs in already on the 40 man. And if (a very unlikely if) they deal Bogaerts and give his 40 man spot to Fitzy, what do they do with whatever they got for Bogaert? E-Bay?

Yes, K/9 and BB/9 are kind of usel;ess since no one goes 9. At some point, ERA might face a familiar fate..

Bogaerts won’t command an elite return at the deadline because of his limited control, but unless the Sox are out of it, he’d be more valuable to Boston. Unless Jeter Downs somehow becomes someone who just forced his way into the lineup…

Very true. The save has gone through several alterations. The quality start might need to as well. But right now the I’m not even sure the QS is recognized as an official stat (or what that even means), so redefining it could be simple. And like WAR, it might even vary depending on who’s counting. OBP, for example, was around forever and was never recognized officially until recently, and sac flies have gone through stages of being recognized and not. It’s all very variable…

There’s always a bigger market for team players. A lot of teams already have shortstops, and no one will be signing Bogaerts for his glove. The Sox offered Story more than the reported offer to X. Team player aspect matter? Maybe…

The same ones who were all over Correa for even less?

And there is a big reason. For all of these extensions (especially Beckett’s first but not his second), these pitchers were a lot younger. Most FA pitchers are on the wrong side of 30 and (obviously) have six years minimum of wear and tear. Despite how unpopular it was, history does tell you that Henry’s decision to not extend/sign pitchers over 30 to long term deals did make sense…

What in baseball isn’t arbitrary? They need some quickie guidelines to make everything official. 6 IP and 3 ER. Why not? Why 502 plate appearances? Why 162 IP for an ERA title? I know where the math comes from both (3.1 PA/game and 1 IP/game), but that doesn’t tell me why? And in all of these, the reasons are the same - had to choose something…

With DHern , I usually expect that colon to move one place to the left…

I agree. Even the Sox free agent success stories at pitcher like Lackey and Eovaldi both started off with multiple terrible seasons with the team…

The early returns on the Sox bullpen are definitely an overall positive…

And what I said is just my opinion. Aren’t others allowed them?

Right. You’ve already written this whole narrative about how Bogaerts felt disrespected and didn’t even see the point in making a counteroffer, but really, really wants Boston as his top choice, but the Evil Management won’t let it happen…

Ok if you don’t think the Sox sound serious. But what has Bogaerts done to tell you he is? Negotiations are not a one-sided affair…

Of course it was worth countering. If X has a price that would keep him in Boston, why would he NOT let Boston know? Making them play his guessing game doesn’t make him sound very serious…

Ok but it still covered 4 years. In terms of AAV, it was probably in range. But I have to think a team needs to offer 6 years minimum for X…

Since he didn’t counter, we don’t know what he wanted. But I would imagine the 4 years was the bigger disappointment than the $22.5 mill AAV. That AAV is probably in the range he should be expecting….

I’ve been predicting it all winter. If Groome can stay healthy, he should debut (probably from the pen) this summer. He has a huge advantage over other system pitchers in that he’s already on the 40 man…

First of all, in your own post you admit that Boston isn’t his top priority and money is. I agree and hey, it’s his career. I’ve left jobs for more money, too, and I don’t consider it trailblazing. But Bogaerts isn’t “vastly” underpaid. He is a bit underpaid, but his $20mill AAV is not far behind the only two shortstops within his fWAR neighborhood - Semien ($25mill) and Story ($23mill). It looked to me like X’s only goal right now is to see if the Sox blow him away. Maybe that’s why he never made a counteroffer - he didn’t have a number in mind for what it would take. Even Devers - a full year further away - made an informal counter (“about $100 million short.”). It’s a bit vague but it gives Bloom something to work with. This is a business transaction that fans want to make personal so they can blame someone. Each side has a goal of getting the highes or lowest extreme. The Sox, with Story on board, have all the leverage right now. When X opts out, he will gain more leverage by having other teams to talk to. And if he doesn’t talk to Boston, sure his agent might say the offer was “insulting” or whatever. But really it will be because Boston didn’t make other offers or didn’t increase the years. And really, it is the years that are the problem. Xander might be able to get a better AAV than $22.5mill, but not by much. His ceiling as I’ve said all along is probably closer to $25mill. But I also would be surprised if X wanted to be a free agent again at 33….