harmony

That's an apt description of another club.

Last year the Seattle Mariners used 29 pitchers but got only 28.2 innings from the three pitchers in their age 30 or older seasons. Before the reported signing of James Paxton the Mariners were projected to open the season with a six-man rotation of pitchers shy of their 30th birthdays, including two 24-year-olds, a 25-year-old and a 26-year-old. https://www.fangraphs.com/roster-resource/depth-charts/mariners The projected rotation does not include 21-year-old Emerson Hancock, 23-year-old Logan Gilbert or 23-year-old George Kirby, who rank No. 31, No. 33 and No. 92 at MLB Pipeline. Top 100 Baseball Prospects | MLB.com WWW.MLB.COM The Official Site of Major League Baseball Happy 29th Birthday to underrated lefthander Marco Gonzales.

Last year, before adding Garrett Richards, Adam Ottavino, Matt Andriese and Hirokazu Sawamura, the Red Sox had one of the older pitching staffs in baseball: https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/MLB/2020-misc.shtml The Sox hitters were on the younger side but the average age should rise with the subtraction of Andrew Benintendi and the additions of Marwin Gonzalez, Kike Hernández and Hunter Renfroe.

Kyle Lewis was projected as a corner outfielder before impressing in center field last year. Lewis could move off center field ala Alex Verdugo and Andrew Benintendi.

My power remains out in Portland, Oregon, but I still hope to get my second Moderna shot today.

Dark horse: Seattle Mariners, who days ago signed another Scott Boras client in James Paxton. Seattle reportedly was in the market for a left hand-hitting outfielder to complement Kyle Lewis and Mitch Haniger. The M’s have a projected 2021 payroll under $100 million. FWIW the Mariners last year had the highest percentage of African-Americans of any team. The drawback is that the Mariners, teeming with highly regarded young outfielders, would want Jackie Bradley Jr. on a short-term contract. FWIW in 2014 Bradley and his wife vacationed in Seattle: http://www.playerwives.com/mlb/boston-red-sox/jackie-bradley-jr-wife-erin-bradley/

In Portland we’ve been without power for 12 hours (and counting) after losing power for 11 hours on Saturday. This morning I shoveled the driveway for the first time in years. Stay safe and warm.

With the trade of Andrew Benintendi, the Red Sox have made more trades this offseason than the Seattle Mariners. That was not expected. The parallel transactions: James Paxton vs. Garrett Richards (top signing of free agent starter) Rafael Montero vs. Adam Ottavino (trade for potential closer) Kendall Graveman vs. Martin Perez (pitchers re-signed after options declined) Chris Flexen vs. Matt Andriese (pitching depth signings) Keynan Middleton vs. Hirokazu Sawamura (bullpen additions) Will Vest vs. Garrett Whitlock (reliever and starter Rule 5 pickups) ... and no match: xxx vs. Enrique Hernandez xxx vs. Marwin Gonzales xxx vs. Hunter Renfroe (less Andrew Benintendi) xxx vs. Franchy Cordero (less Jackie Bradley Jr.) And with that the Red Sox are projected to win 87 games in a 162-game season and the Seattle Mariners 74 games: https://www.fangraphs.com/depthcharts.aspx?position=Standings

This offseason the Red Sox have added Adam Ottavino, Matt Andriese and Garrett Whitlock to the bullpen and reportedly are working on a deal with Hirokazu Sawamura. In a market with 30 teams seeking relief help, the Red Sox did not come up emptyhanded.

James Paxton will join a Seattle rotation headed by fellow lefthanders Marco Gonzales, Justus Sheffield and Yusei Kikuchi, who last year combined for 4.7 fWAR in 30 starts. Fingers crossed.

Some fans are watching with optimism for a Seattle club that has not been to the postseason since 2001. It's that time of year.

Does "tank mode" mean a long-range vision instead of the short-sightedness that leaves many franchises languishing in mediocrity?

Lefthander James Paxton reportedly is off the board, heading back to the Seattle Mariners: https://www.lookoutlanding.com/2021/2/13/22282456/james-paxton-returns-to-seattle-mariners-on-one-year-deal

Redundant for emphasis only.

In 2018 catcher Chris Hermann posted an OPS+ of 107 in 36 games as Mike Zunino's lefthand-hitting platoon partner on the 89-win Seattle Mariners: https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/herrmch01.shtml?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-

That's the hope ... ... and expectation.

Some cliffs are steeper than others. The Red Sox may have hit bottom in 2020. Or not.

That could be an indication of Rick Porcello’s high demands rather than a lack of interest by teams. Or not.

Rick Porcello makes a ton of sense for many teams. Steamer and ZiPS project Porcello with 2021 WAR of 1.7 in 28 starts and 2.0 in 27 starts: https://www.fangraphs.com/players/rick-porcello/2717/stats?position=P

The comp of James Paxton and Jake Odorizzi since the start of the 2019 season: JP 34 GS, 171.0 IP, 4.16 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 3.92 FIP, 4.02 xFIP, 11.16 K/9, 3.26 BB/9, 16-7 WL, 3.8 fWAR, 2.1 bWAR JO 34 GS, 172.2 IP, 3.75 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 3.58 FIP, 4.36 xFIP, 9.90 K/9, 2.92 BB/9, 15-8 WL, 4.2 fWAR, 3.4 bWAR Over that period the Yankees won 136 regular-season games and the Twins 137 games. Paxton is about 17 months older than Odorizzi. Steamer and ZiPS project Paxton with 2021 WAR of 2.1 in 26 starts and 2.7 in 23 starts while projecting Odorizzi with 2021 WAR of 1.7 in 28 starts and 1.8 in 24 starts.

Marwin Gonzalez has an interesting comp in Asdrubal Cabrera, who Friday reportedly signed a one-year contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks for $1.75 million plus up to $1.05 million in incentives. Both are 6-foot, 205-pound, switch-hitting Venezuelan utility players, although Cabrera has never played in the outfield. Cabrera, who is three-plus years older than Gonzalez, has posted 29.1 bWAR and an OPS+ of 106 in 1,712 career games while Gonzalez has posed 13.9 bWAR and an OPS+ of 99 in 962 career games. Steamer and ZiPS project Cabrera with 2021 WAR of 0.5 in 73 games and 0.9 in 125 games while projecting Gonzalez with 2021 WAR of 0.7 in 78 games and 0.9 in 127 games. The Red Sox signed Gonzalez to a one-year, $3 million contract with up to $1 million in incentives. Trivia: On June 30, 2006, Seattle traded 20-year-old minor leaguer Asdrubal Cabrera to the Cleveland Guardians for 36-year-old first baseman Eduardo Perez, who retired after posting a negative 0.9 bWAR in only 43 games for the Mariners that season. As a point of reference, Heathcliff Slocumb posted 0.4 bWAR for the Mariners. More trivia: The following month, on July 26, 2006, Seattle traded 24-year-old outfielder Shin-Soo Choo to the Cleveland Guardians for 29-year-old first baseman Ben Broussard, who posted a negative 0.7 bWAR in 155 games with the Mariners. Choo has since posted 35.0 bWAR in 1,638 games.:(

But probably not Chris Mazza, whom the Red Sox designated for assignment after the now 31-year-old righthander made six starts for the Sox last year:

Thank you for the correction. To be precise, Jarren Duran was the MVP of the 2020-21 Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente Final Series in late January (not the later Caribbean Series). Both series occurred after the FanGraphs scouting report.

From the FanGraphs scouting report posted a month ago: https://blogs.fangraphs.com/top-47-prospects-boston-red-sox/ Fans should hope for the best but be prepared for something less.

To be precise, Andrew Benintendi, who had a higher prospect pedigree, was 22 years and 27 days old when he made his MLB debut on August 2, 2016, in his age 21 season: https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=benint000and