harmony

Fair enough.

From Monday's chat with MLB Trade Rumors owner Tim Dierkes: https://www.jotcast.com/chat/live-chat-with-tim-dierkes-4390.html

From Monday's chat with MLB Trade Rumors owner Tim Dierkes: https://www.jotcast.com/chat/live-chat-with-tim-dierkes-4390.html

In the same exchange I provided contract numbers that would enhance the trade value of Christian Vazquez versus the trade value of Felipe Vazquez: Objectivity is a heavy cross to bear.

LOL If a poster offers a player value that strikes me as a bit off I will provide numbers I find relevant to the valuation. The reader can choose to incorporate or ignore those numbers. Sometimes the numbers enhance the valuation of a Red Sox player and sometimes the numbers detract from the valuation. Because of the pro-team bias on the forums of most clubs, the numbers detract more frequently than they enhance. That's the nature of the beast. Instead of addressing the valuation issue at hand, some posters change the subject by responding that I'm a fan of a team with the longest postseason drought in North American professional sports. That's certainly true but adds little to the discussion at hand. The Red Sox have won four World Series in the 17 years since the Seattle Mariners made their last postseason appearance. I'm OK with that. Over the years I have gained knowledge by visiting baseball forums across the spectrum. I hope to continue my participation. Best regards. PS: A poster at a Seattle forum started a thread about Blake Swihart when MLB Trade Rumors reported his potential availability: http://forums.seattletimes.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=247843

The same can be said of Xander Bogaerts, Rick Porcello and perhaps other Red Sox.

Because of luxury tax implications the Pirates may have fewer problems than the Red Sox with Francisco Cervelli's 2019 salary of $11.5 million.

The search goes on:

And they share a last name, were born less than a year apart and each has a guaranteed contract that runs through 2021 with a team option for at least one more year. Felipe's $19 million guarantee outshines Christian's $13.3 million guarantee. Of course the Pirates would be disinclined to pursue Christian Vazquez as the current Sox would be blocked by Francisco Cervelli, who last year posted the third-highest fWAR of all catchers: https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=c&stats=bat&lg=all&qual=100&type=8&season=2018&month=0&season1=2018&ind=0&team=0&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0 ... not to mention that the Pittsburgh bullpen would be significantly weakened.

Steamer600, which assumes 200 innings for each starting pitcher, projects about 312 starters with a higher 2019 WAR than Brian Johnson: https://www.fangraphs.com/projections.aspx?pos=all&stats=pit&type=steamer600&team=0&lg=all&players=0&sort=19%2cd Steamer600,, which assumes 450 plate appearances for each catcher, projects 239 catchers with a higher 2019 WAR than Blake Swihart: https://www.fangraphs.com/projections.aspx?pos=c&stats=bat&type=steamer600&team=0&lg=all&players=0&sort=27%2cd Trivia: In consecutive years Brian Johnson and Seattle lefthander Marco Gonzales won the John Olerud Award as college baseball's best two-way player. Each was a first-round selection as the Red Sox took Johnson with the 31st pick of the 2012 draft and the St. Louis Cardinals took Gonzales with the 19the pick of the 2013 draft. Each lefty has five years of team control although their careers have taken different trajectories. Gonzales made his MLB debut a year before Johnson did and picked up two MLB postseason wins in relief after only 16 months in professional ball.

Steamer600, which assumes 200 innings from each starting pitcher, projects 28-year-old lefthander Brian Johnson with a 2019 WAR of 0.7 and an ERA of 5.10: https://www.fangraphs.com/projections.aspx?pos=all&stats=pit&type=steamer600&team=3&lg=all&players=0&sort=19,d Steamer600, which assumes 450 plate appearances for each catcher, projects nearly 27-year-old Blake Swihart with a 2019 WAR of 0.2 and an OPS of .652: https://www.fangraphs.com/projections.aspx?pos=c&stats=bat&type=steamer600&team=3&lg=all&players=0 I question whether two barely replacement-level players, who are out of options, will bring back "a very good, cost effective" reliever.

Unless Nathan Eovaldi is last year's Drew Pomeranz and Steve Pearce is last year's Eduardo Nunez. Eovaldi and Pearce may have overperformed in 2018 ... or not.

Another site's inventory of free agent relievers: https://metsmerizedonline.com/2019/01/taking-inventory-of-free-agent-relievers.html/

From today's chat with FanGraphs managing editor Jeff Sullivan: https://blogs.fangraphs.com/jeff-sullivan-fangraphs-chat-1-18-19/

Cody Allen may be off the board as well:

Yup.

The Red Sox may have the last laugh (again) but a Yankee fan writes ... http://www.nyyfansforum.com/showthread.php/138716-Official-2018-19-Offseason-Hot-Stove-Thread/page917

From a Yankee forum regarding Craig Kimbrel: http://www.nyyfansforum.com/showthread.php/138716-Official-2018-19-Offseason-Hot-Stove-Thread/page911

James Paxton reportedly settled for $8.575 million as the Yankees apparently avoided arbitration with everyone but Luis Severino: https://www.sny.tv/yankees/news/yankees-arbitration-tracker-austin-romine-greg-bird-settle-on-contracts/302606774

Hence the "up to $7.5 million" in my post.

To be precise, with a trade of Sonny Gray the Yankees could jettison up to $7.5 million, the 2019 salary the parties agreed upon to avoid arbitration.

I joined the discussion when the honorable notin asked whether Bobby Dalbec and Darwinzon Hernandez would be enough to land "stud" reliever Will Smith: https://www.talksox.com/forum/threads/19013-A-Realistic-View-at-2019-Part-I/page147?highlight=stud Feel free to follow the discussion from there, including when notin directed me to the FanGraphs FV.

The highest FV for a Red Sox prospect is 45 while the other 10 teams ranked so far each have at least three prospects with higher FV, including the Atlanta Braves with 10 prospects with higher FVs.

Working off the FanGraphs rankings released on Thursday: https://blogs.fangraphs.com/top-26-prospects-boston-red-sox/

I don't have access to the Baseball America rankings but Bobby Dalbec and Darwinzon Hernandez are ranked No. 4 and No. 5 by SoxProspects, No. 6 and No. 7 by MLB Prospect Watch and No. 2 and No. 7 by FanGraphs.