harmony

Pitching remains the greatest concern if the Red Sox lose Nathan Eovaldi, Michael Wacha and Rich Hill from a staff that this year ranked 22nd in fWAR: https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&stats=pit&lg=all&qual=0&type=8&season=2022&month=0&season1=2022&ind=0&team=0,ts&rost=0&age=0&filter=&players=0 Kenley Jansen and Chris Martin could provide 120 effective innings but many question marks remain.

Agreement with notin is uncomfortable but Joey Gallo would be a good fit in right field at Fenway Park. With the qualifying offer, Nathan Eovaldi could be facing a depressed market in free agency. The righthander's price might be right for the Red Sox. Elvis Andrus could work. Still the Red Sox might be challenged to field a better team than the 2022 version. Or not.

The Red Sox still have seven days to peddle Jeter Downs to the Seattle Mariners: https://www.talksox.com/forum/threads/20473-A-Realistic-View-at-2023-Part-I?p=1500689&highlight=downs+mariners#post1500689 :D

Will Jeter Downs be claimed after being designated for assignment to make room for Masataka Yoshida?

Signing a top free agent does not guarantee immediate on-field success. Of MLB Trade Rumors' Top 20 free agents last offseason, only eight signed with teams that advanced to the postseason in 2022: 1. Carlos Correa MIN 2. Corey Seager TEX 3. Freddie Freeman LAD (lost NLDS) 4. Kris Bryant COL 5. Kevin Gausman TOR (lost WC) 6. Marcus Semien TEX 7. Robbie Ray SEA (lost ALDS) 8. Trevor Story BOS 9. Max Scherzer NYM (lost WC) 10. Nick Castellanos PHI (lost World Series) 11. Marcus Stroman CHC 12. Javier Baez DET 13. Starling Marte NYM (lost WC) 14. Eduardo Rodriguez DET 15. Kyle Schwarber PHI (lost World Series) 16. Chris Taylor LAD (lost NLDS) 17. Raisel Iglesias LAA * 18. Carlos Rondon SFG 19. Jon Gray TEX 20. Seiya Suzuki CHC * traded midseason to ATL (lost NLDS) https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/11/top-50-mlb-free-agent-rankings.html Postseason teams that had signed a Top 20 free agent all ended the season with a loss. Castellanos and Schwarber were the only Top 20 free agents who played beyond a divisional series.

The Kansas City Royals reportedly will sign lefthander Ryan Yarbrough to a one-year contract for $3 million plus up to $1 million in performance bonuses:

The Cleveland Guardians reportedly have signed catcher Mike Zunino:

The comments at BTV share your sentiments: https://www.baseballtradevalues.com/trades/trade-114286/

Taijuan Walker signed with the Philadelphia Phillies: Taijuan Walker, Phillies agree to four-year deal WWW.MLB.COM The Phillies on Friday announced they've signed right-hander Taijuan Walker to a four-year deal. Terms of the contract were not announced, but a source told MLB.com it's for $72 million. To make room for Walker on the club’s 40-man roster, right-hander Tayler Scott was designated for assignment. Walker, 30, will

In terms of age and prospect grade at MLB Prospects, righthander Bryan Mata would be the comp: Red Sox Top Prospects | MLB.com WWW.MLB.COM The Official Site of Major League Baseball Athletics Top Prospects | MLB.com WWW.MLB.COM The Official Site of Major League Baseball In terms of position and prospect grade, Miguel Bleis: Red Sox Top Prospects | MLB.com WWW.MLB.COM The Official Site of Major League Baseball

From Sunday's MLB Trade Rumors chat with Mark Polishuk: https://live.jotcast.com/chat/mlbtr-live-chat-14579.html

Columnist Rob Bradford at WEEI reports that Nathan Eovaldi is not a priority for the Red Sox: https://www.audacy.com/weei/sports/red-sox/other-teams-showing-more-interest-than-red-sox-in-eovaldi?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Under the new CBA the compensatory draft pick for Nathan Eovaldi would come after the fourth round. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2022/11/which-draft-picks-each-team-would-receive-for-losing-a-qualified-free-agent.html

F The qualifying offer should depress the market for Nathan Eovaldi.

Chris Cotillo at MassLive.com spoke with Chaim Bloom about the departure of Xander Bogaerts: https://www.masslive.com/redsox/2022/12/red-soxs-chaim-bloom-on-losing-xander-bogaerts-it-got-to-a-point-to-we-werent-going-to.html

Fans who don't understand projections should probably ignore them.

J.D. Martinez remains available: This source has not earned credibility.

Michael Conforto and Brandon Nimmo, born the same month, have played their entire MLB careers with the Mets, including six seasons as teammates in the Queens. Conforto, who did not play this year, has played 757 MLB games and Nimmo 608 games. Their career lines: BN 608 G, .269/.385/.441/.827, OPS+ 130, 17.2 bWAR MC 757 G, .255/.356/.468/.824, OPS+ 124, 15.7 bWAR Nimmo has about four times as many plate appearances as Conforto has at the top of the order, but here are their career lines as leadoff hitters: BN 1675 PA, .273/.380/.450/.829, tOPS+* 100 MC 414 PA, .258/.379/.504/.884, tOPS+* 114 Nimmo is projected to land a nine-figure contract while Conforto may need to settle for a one-year pillow contract. Of course, Conforto may be broken after undergoing shoulder surgery. Conforto's agent, Scott Boras, might tell teams otherwise. * tOPS+ -- OPS for split relative to Player's Total OPS. Above 100 is good; below 100 is bad.

With the signing of Xander Bogaerts Spotrac has the San Diego Padres' competitive balance tax payroll at $233,442,959: https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/san-diego-padres/payroll/ The competitive balance tax threshold is $233,000,000.

From a Pinstripe Alley blogger minutes before Kenley Jansen reportedly reached a deal with the Red Sox: https://www.pinstripealley.com/2022/12/7/23497672/kenley-jansen-yankees-free-agent-target-atlanta-braves-brian-cashman

With the reported signings of Kenley Jansen and Masataka Yoshida, Sportrac estimates the 2023 Red Sox tax payroll at $192.459 million: https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/boston-red-sox/payroll/ Will the Red Sox sign Xander Bogaerts and a starting pitcher such as Kodai Senga? Or will the Sox look elsewhere?

Chaim Bloom and staff had a busy day. The Red Sox roster looks better than it did at sunrise.

Any interest in nearly 30-year-old Minnesota right fielder Max Kepler, a plus defender who is owed $8.5 million in 2023 with a $10 million team option, or $1 million buyout, for 2024? The Twins reportedly are shopping Kepler (whose warts differ from Joey Gallo's in that Kepler's strikeout rate is lower than the league average). https://www.fangraphs.com/players/max-kepler/12144/stats?position=OF Baseball Trade Values assigns Kepler a modest surplus value of $5.8 million: https://www.baseballtradevalues.com/players/8620/

The June 2023 draft order is taking shape subject to compensation for free agents who were given qualifying offers: 2023 MLB Draft Order | MLB.com WWW.MLB.COM Complete order for the 2022 MLB Draft

Jose Quintana may have preferred a likelier contender.