Nick

Cot's has Sox being $35M under the cap BEFORE $7M for Vaz. If we pick up his option, we'll only have $28M to spend. Devers up to $10M+ and Renfroe up to $7M in arbitrations. Assuming we stay under the cap at 2021 level, not much money there.

It's always a trade off......If it takes $30M to retain Xander, question is did we improve? Absolutely no. Maybe we're better team with say Downs and adding a $30M free agent ace.

I wouldn't do either....18 years for 3 years.....

yep....or maybe it's the manager.

100%....at the very least, it will take away 'favoritism' many players are shown. It's human nature to have a bias.

Biggest Issues for Chime... Finding 2 Starting Pitchers 1 5 days after the World Series, we'll find out the status of E Rod 2 amount of money spent on a free agent starting pitcher will give us hint as to what roles Houck and/or Whitlock will play in 2022. Filling out the Bullpen This will probably be an on going task all the way through Spring Training JD/Schwarber situation Even if JD remains, it's a one year dilemma. Please don't bring back Santana/Gonzalez type players. Please. Having another 'starter' won't hurt the team. JD will turn 35 during 2022 season, Schwarber will be 29. Think about that.

Jeter Downs’ Torrid Fall League Run Is Perfect Start For Red Sox In Pivotal Offseason NESN It’s a terribly small sample size, but Downs’ grand slam Monday night was his fifth home run in six games out in the desert. It doesn’t mean Downs is ready for the big leagues, of course, but it must be viewed as a positive given the relative struggles Downs faced in 2021. The 22-year-old, who entered the season as Baseball America’s No. 71 prospect, hit just .190 while playing in 99 games for Triple-A Worcester. He did showcase some pop, hitting 14 home runs with nine doubles, but obviously, expectations are much higher for the infielder acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers as part of the Mookie Betts trade. However, any conversation about Downs’ 2021 showing in Worcester should be accompanied by the following caveat: He was 4 1/2 years younger than the average Triple-A player. It’s probably not a coincidence that he’s now raking in Arizona where the average age of his Scottsdale Scorpions is 22, and he’s just a half-year younger than the average age for the entire league. I'm pretty much opposed to trading away any of our prospects. Fans here casually make Groome as part of a trade package as an example. Just not sure why we're so eager to trade away 6 years of team control. He's just getting into his groove. We complained how DD emptied out our farm (which seems not entirely correct) yet we're eager to trade away potential 18 years for 3 years of control as some of the trades on here have been suggested.

I'd take Betts over Kike. Kike plays deep. Betts was not afraid to go back on balls. Visually Betts looked to cover more grounds.

Will they move the World Series games out of Atlanta?

sure it didn't...probably fired for letting Vaz steal 2B all the time...

Reds fans will always point out that they had the best overall record but did not quality because did not win either 'seasons'.

Games Played 148 JD 146 Verdugo 144 Renfroe 134 Kike 133 Dalbec Assuming 10% is 16 games, basically they all played 9 out of 10 games. Distributing playing time is not a problem.

Why is it so hard to find information/status of Noah Song? By my calculation, his flight school training should have been completed. Any military guys out there?

November 3rd will be the 7th game. So by November 9th at the latest, we'll know the fate of JD, E Rod, Schwarber and Vaz. Then Bloom will go searching.....

Not as broken is what I meant. Sure, if we get the pitching situation squared away, by all means upgrade our catching.

This is forward way of thinking. JD will eventually leave. Kike at 2B is an upgrade over Arroyo. Schwarber will be protected by the Wall in 81 games. He can resume his DH duties in 2023. It's also not out of question to think Kike can play SS if and when that time comes. Will be much cheaper option than paying someone $30M. We'll need to save that money for Devers.

Absolutely you're correct. We have other areas of concern. Do go create one.

And for me that includes the World Series champ, Dodgers. Not a real season. If any baseball record needs an asterisk, that's one of them.

Red Sox’s impressive assets should have Yankees very concerned NY Post...make the Yankee fans worry.... 1 and 2 (tie). Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers 3. Alex Cora 4. Garrett Whitlock 5. Chaim Bloom

Question for you Moon Are we destine to be that wait for that big inning team? I don't know if we can manufacture runs. Most frustrating thing at Fenway is three singles will not guaranty a run. I don't know if there are any stats out there for percentage of run scored from second on a single but I'm sure we're at the bottom, having to play half of our games at Fenway. Just not sure what our 'identity' should be going forward.

Good points.... I'm also wondering if teams are factoring in the cost of traditional starting pitchers..... Has nothing to do with anything but I read in a Tampa paper indicating 3 starters that were used against the Sox lacked major league experience (very little that is)....that they were all newbies if you well. Feeling is they are all good pitchers and will be a factor in 2022. I'm wondering if the owners are beginning to question G Cole type signings. It's scary to think the Yankees have eight or nine more years at $36M per for Cole (that's $10M+ more than Sale).....if they can win couple of World Series then maybe it would have been worth it. Bottom line is they need to upgrade the team. G Cole alone will not get them to the Promise Land.

8 starters and 5 closers...that works for me....

Possible Help from the Farm per Sox Prospects Position Players 2022 1B Casas OF Duran SS Downs C Wong 2023 C Hernandez 2024 SS Mayer 2B Yorke 3B Blaze OF Jimenez Pitchers 2022 Seabold Winchowski 2023 Bello Groome Matta Murphy Walter Ward 2024 Song

I agree 100%....... It's impossible for home plate umpire to be consistent on over 300 pitches per game or whatever that number is.....it's f***ING IMPOSSIBLE. We live in technological society. What idiot here thinks we have to adjust the strike zone for every hitter before each game? Unless you have guys that's still getting taller during baseball season, the strike zone can be set once a year, first before the season and then reviewed at year end. What the hitters are craving for is consistency. They will get it with robo ump behind the plate.

What I want and what Bloom will do are two different things.....I trust Bloom. I really don't know much. You start with what you have and make improvements. C Vaz (no reason to think we won't pick up his option) 1B Dalbec (he has potential plus he's back up options for Devers, Casas and DH) 2B Arroyo (we may look to upgrade this position and make him a utility player) SS Xander 3B Devers LF Verdugo CF Kike RF Renfroe (he was a bargain at $3M) DH JD We'll know shortly after the World Series, what JD will do. Not too much concern here. If he opts out, we have $22M to play with. Next DH won't be that expensive. SP Sale SP Eovaldi SP Pivetta SP ???? SP ???? Again we'll know shortly the fate of E Rod. Pen Barnes (yep, we're stuck with him after giving him a $5M raise, his trade value is all time low) Whitlock Houck Brasier Darwinzon Taylor Sawamura Valdez (?) The bullpen may take work especially if one or two are moved to starter status Is this lineup (assuming JD returns and E Rod stays) good enough to win the Division? We were 8 back. Probably not. Pluses We'll have Sale for entire year and he maybe improving. I would expect Pivetta to continue to get better. Eovaldi has become a pitcher, not just a guy that throws 100mph. Minuses Barnes falling off the ridge. Not sure if defense can improve.