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The most fascinating thing about Kutter Crawford is that his older brother, also a minor league pitcher, is named Jon. How on Earth do you go from "Jon" to "Kutter" when naming your kids?

Probably worth noting there is always a chance Bloom trades away a starter in a deal no one saw coming. We all saw Betts getting traded from a mile away. But who foresaw Benintendi getting moved? Will there be a Benintendi this offseason?

I could see the entire off-season revolving around "getting the band back together." Bringing back ERod and Schwarber would be the highlights. Soxprospects.com lists the Sox as acquiring 4 pitchers - two starters (one they name in ERod) and two relievers. But it is very likely two of these acquisitions are filled by Houck and Whitlock, both of whom they have in undetermined roles. So if the starting roles are filled by Whitlock and (probably?) ERod, and Houck takes one of the reliever roles, that really just leaves one roster spot available for a new pitcher. So the notion of spening all available cash on pitching does seem a lot less likely, although certainly ERod or his replacement will take up a big chunk as well. The only real question mark in the lineup is 2B. Internal candidates include Hernandez, Arroyo, Downs and possibly Bogaerts (where there were some rumors exterior to this forum that he was amenable to a change in position). The current consensus opinion is that Arroyo will be around, but cannot be counted on to play a full time starting role, and tht Downs in just not really ready. So that leaves Hernandez as an option to move in from CF or Bogaerts to move over from SS. Either way, it creates a vacancy, and the only viable option with the current players involves Dalbec at 1B, Schwarber in LF, and Verdugo in CF. Two of those moves represnt definitive drops in defense, and the thrid one can go either way but is on a pretty weak position to begin with. So if we assume the Sox leave Hernandez in CF and if Schwarber returns, he plays 1B (with Dalbec), that means the Sox need to add either a 2B or a SS. 2B feels more likely to me. C: Vazquez 1B: Schwarber (Dalbec) 2B: Acquisition 3B: Devers SS: Bogaerts LF: Verdugo CF: Hernandez RF: Renfroe DH: Martinez BN: Plawecki (or Wong?), Arroyo, Dalbec (Acquisition if Schwarber doesn't sign), Locastro SP: Sale, ERod (Or ?), Eovaldi, Pivetta, Whitlock RP: Houck (CL), Barnes, Brasier, Taylor, Davis, DHernandez, Sawamura, Acquisition. And then adding a few arms for MiLB depth. It's nice to know who the top 5 starters are, but a team hoping to contend has to also plan for 6-10...

Too late. He’s already on board…

Much like everyone Bloom signs, Suzuki apparently has experience in both the infield and the outfield just to keep everyone guessing at the defensive alignments…

Don’t blame me. I’m not the GM/President of Ops linking the Sox to these guys. I’m just coming up with radical theories to explain them. And Locastro is the fourth outfielder. End of story. I’ve made up my mind on that!!

Well maybe for a starting 2b?

Well they’ve been linked to Suzuki and Schwarber…

I bet they spend less on pitching than most people expect. Also didn’t they get the fourth outfielder already in Locastro?

The Sox are not going to sign Freeman. I know it. You know it. Bloom knows it. Even Freeman knows it, But he is a better defensive first baseman than Dalbec. Other than maybe throwing Schwarber into the mix, I would prefer the Sox pretty much ignore 1B. I'm OK with Dalbec, maybe more satisified than most at least with his offense, which was among the best for AL 1Bman after mid-June. And the Sox still have Casas, as well...

Mine was much simpler. One transaction....

Freeman isn’t a step down from Dalbec defensively. Probably not over Casas either…

Or… Kyle to LF, Verdugo to CF, Hernandez to 2b, and Dalbec stays at 1b, where he eventually pairs with Casas…

He’s not in the free agent prediction contest, which is limited to the top 50…

I went wth the cheap and versatile infielder types, much like Bloom did last year. I am also operating on the assumption that Taylor and Iglesias accept their QO's and will therefore be unavailable...

Yeah, he's horrible. I mean, only one MVP award...

MLBTR free agent contest is up. For the Sox, I predicted ERod, Jon Gray, Graveman, Eduardo Escobar and Jon Villar. I do not expect them to sign all five, but I do expect them to fill some of those holes via free agency...

Don't fall into the trap of actually trying to call Yankee ownership cheap. Bad enough when Sox fans do that with Henry/Bloom. Like Hal or not, he is not turning the Yankees into the Pirates...

Despite the differences in defense, the contract Nolan Arenado (8yrs / $260mill) received might be the baseline. Of course, Arenado has been worth significantly more WAR than Devers...

So far the only players connected to the Red Sox this early in the offseason are 1B/DH/LF Kyle Schwarber and 3B/SS/RF Seiya Suzuki. Two guys who play six positions the Sox don't need help at...

Really, Major Obvious? I assume this type of work has merited a promotion. In other news, trade proposals made on internet forums are not legally binding for MLB GMs...

It’s just the date he got in his CBA office pool…

Steamer is the Magic 8 Ball of the MLB projection world…

All the more reason to reject his QO…

Doubtful. He’s going to reject it; teams are already expressing interest in him…