Nick

Per SoxProspect on Kutter Crawford.....Sale has better outlook on the guy than SoxProspects.....another bionic arm guy.... Career Notes: Reportedly taught himself his cutter over winter break during his junior year. Transferred to FGCU after two years at Indian River State College. Brother, Jonathon, was a first-round pick out of the University of Florida in 2013 by Detroit. Was invited to 2017 Fall Instructional League prior to it being cancelled. In 2019, pitched just one game after July 15, that in mid-August, due to a forearm strain, and eventually underwent Tommy John surgery in late October 2019, then had another procedure to remove bone spurs from his elbow in June or July 2020. Participated in 2020 Fall Instructional League, although he did not participate in simulated games at that point in his rehab. Summation: Projects as future reliever due to overall lack of pure stuff and high-stress delivery. Potential for two above-average offerings, but lacks a third pitch at present.

Right, in the year earned and not pro rated over the terms of contract (obviously it would be difficult to re prorate is performance bonuses are on going...ie every year of the contract...say Sale earning top 3 votes for Cy Young award each year of his contract).

Okay, one thing I was wrong on..... Luxury tax is calculated on December 2 each year for 'Championship Season' which concludes on December 1st (which coincides with CBT calendar date, December 2nd to following year December 1st.) Which means club option on Richards will be settled by that date.

Wait you just confused me. Performance bonuses are assigned to the "Championship Season" when earned, never prorated. I don't understand what you're saying in second part.

If we can get into the playoffs, this season will have been a successful season. We have learned great deal about our players. Kike was a player that Cora and Bloom envisioned when he was given a two year, $14M deal. Arroyo is one of those grinders that Sox always seems to have in their lineup. Dalbec despite his late push is still unknown commodity BUT it's not time to trade the guy. Not even close. Chavis turned out to be like several players we've had in the past. We all had our fingers crossed but the former first rounder just didn't make the grade. Traded and good riddance. Verdugo may never reach stardom but he's a keeper. Renfroe with his rocket arm and surge in power (I suppose he's always hit hard and long) is ideal right fielder for the Sox. Xander even without the 'star power' plays and produces like one. Some guys are born to hit. Devers is that guy. He more than anyone else on the roster is a keeper. Quote from Rounders. "Pay the Man. He beat me." Schwarber enhances any lineup. Natural born hitter without relying on analytics. See the ball, hit the ball kind of guy. Duran, work in progress. Not time to trade him either. Whitlock has mental makeup along with elite arm to be an ace someday. Houck, listen to what Chris Sale has to say about him. "He has better slider than me". He's one 'splitter' away from being a stud starter. Pivetta, not sure of his ceiling but you can do lot worse as him as our fifth starter. He came cheap, another one of Bloom's nice pickup. Taylor and Darwinzon, probably shouldn't get excited about relievers because they always seem to start all over again each year when it comes to their effectiveness. But good lefties are hard to come by and they are under team control for four more years. Wong, good solid backup catcher for the future. Eovaldi, answered critics about his durability this year. On the cusp of being a solid #2/#3. May warrant extension at some point. E Rod, frustrating as ever. Waiting for him to get to another level. But there's no doubt we have won more times than lose by wide margin when he starts. I'd say we bring him back and focus solely on our bullpen. I hate hearing people say his production went down due to overuse. Well that's most overused excuse for Barnes. What changed? No longer seems 'team friendly' contract. Meanwhile our farm ranking went up to 9th. We got the best player in the draft according to many experts. We also signed couple of other potential high ceiling guys. Life is good in Boston.

MLB Reportedly Proposes $180MM First Luxury Tax Threshold, $100MM Salary Floor To MLBPA https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2021/09/mlb-proposal-to-players-association-included-changes-to-service-time-structure.html This is a must read.....talking about 2022 without knowing where the negotiation is headed seems fruitless. Current contract expires on December 1. First question is will there be a 'freeze' in transactions (ie opt outs, free agency, etc) until the new CBA is finalized? Historically, there's not been a freeze (with exception of COVID period when both sides agreed to 'freeze') Ultimate question is will the new season start on time?

We save $45M off of expiring contracts of Pedey, Beni, E Rod, Richards, Marwin, Ottavino less $5M pay increase for Barnes for a net of $40M. Arbitration increases will come from Devers, Hunter, Verdugo, Pivetta, Arroyo, Taylor and Pivetta. Moon probably has an estimated number for the increase. Position players are fixed other than adding Schwarber. I'm not going to worry about JD until he decides to opt out. What's interesting is that JD has to decide before the new CBA come out whether to opt out if I'm not mistaken. Any chance Schwarber would accept the mutual player/club option at $11.5M?

Beauty of adding Schwarber is he'll hit anywhere in the lineup, he just wants to hit. Once Kike, Xander and Arroyo comes back, our offense will be solid. It's too bad JD hasn't expanded his marketability by working on playing 1B in addition to outfield. He certainly has the length to be a 1B.

“I think a lot of pieces came together today. Slider was pretty good, especially whenever I needed it,” he said. “The splitter was definitely the go-to offspeed pitch today. I’m incredibly excited to have that pitch as effective as it is now. It’s been a long year of learning and developing that pitch and pushing myself to make that as big a weapon as it is now.” Houck sure doesn't sound like he's working towards being a closer. He's close to being a very good starter and that's what we need first. And that's where the money is. Every pitcher wants to be a starter at first. Whitlock, Pivetta and Houck, our young guns. When you throw in Seabold, Bello and Matta into the equation, you have some starters on the horizon.

Thats a good lineup. I bitch about our D but thats not something u can change overnight.

Unlike maybe others on this team, you will never hear him complain about where he bats in the lineup. He just wants to hit.

Isn't it odd that Sox fans value JD (I do) but when push come to shove there aren't many takers for his 1 year $19.325 pay? Don't even talk about what we would get in return. Probably not much. As you said, we would have to eat some of the money.

Someone here made fun me about Devers playing second base to cut down on his throwing errors. What say you now? Dalbec at 3B.....we can hit every good hitter on the team.

I'd want to know how many outs did Duran not get compared to 'average' CF. Otherwise what anyone says in meaningless. Who is an average defensive center fielder by the way?

Obviously. I've moved on to the wild card race. We could use Seabold. If he sucks, so what?

Let's not forget we're talking about Red Sox 2021 with what's transpired. I'll quit being a dick. Of course I would love for Duran to be in minors working on his game. But we were in the middle of division race. Santana and Marwin were just plain awful. We also needed Kike at 2B. I was asking for the team to turn over every rock to find help. I saw Duran maybe as that piece. I still feel we need help with our pitching staff NOW. Why not bring up Seabold instead of using the two losers we acquired at trade deadline? I would love for Seabold to continue to work on his craft but that's a luxury we may not have. Context is very important. Bloom owes 26 players at least a fighting chance even if it's just a placebo/mirage.

I 100% agree. These are men. You think they'll refuse the promotion saying they're not ready? What it does do is to expose their weaknesses. Then they can work it out. Dalbec is just doing that. So what good will it do for Duran to go back to AAA? AAA pitchers can't throw the pitches that major league pitchers are throwing and getting him out. He's a major leaguer. Quit treating them like they're 12 years old. MOON. If I'm the owner, I rather hear the bad news NOW.

Dalbec is rookie of the Month... The 26-year-old slashed .339/.431/.774 (1.205 OPS) over 24 August games, smashing seven home runs and driving in 21 runs. Among all players with at least 70 plate appearances during the month, Dalbec’s park-adjusted wRC+ of 214 (more than double the MLB average) put him behind only the Rockies’ C.J. Cron -- the NL Player of the Month for August -- across the Majors. Dalbec's damage included a two-homer, seven-RBI game against the Twins on Aug. 26 at Fenway Park. He ain't going anywhere.....

Rico Petrocelli was my favorite Red Sox. June 1967, when I entered America not knowing the language.

I like it.

Casas will be there soon. Duran in CF. Dalbec DH. Casas at 1B. Dalbec can backup both 3B and 1B. I'll be pissed if we trade either one. Who knows, a light bulb may turn on in Dalbec's head. You know, figure out the strike zone.

What would cost Sox to get him? Rays: What will they do with Tyler Glasnow? Perhaps the most intriguing bit of business the Rays must address is their path forward with ace Tyler Glasnow, who is expected to miss all of next season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in August. Glasnow is arbitration-eligible for two more years, meaning he’ll get a raise from his $4 million salary next year and earn that same pay when he’s healthy and ready to return in 2023, his final season before reaching free agency. Among the Rays' options: releasing him to free themselves of the financial/roster commitment, which seems highly unlikely; keeping him on the roster through the end of his club control, but no further; attempting to extend him beyond 2023, delaying his free agency (likely not something Glasnow would want, keep in mind) in return for guaranteed money; trading him this offseason, assuming another team would be willing to invest heavily in his ‘23 return; or waiting to trade him until later, either after he’s proven his return to full health next year or closer to him becoming a free agent. -- Adam Berry

Red Sox: Can Kyle Schwarber fit on ‘22 Red Sox? Per MLB At least offensively, Schwarber has fit like a glove since he joined the Boston lineup on Aug. 13. Can there be a fit beyond this season? There’s at least a chance, given that Schwarber and the Red Sox have a mutual option for $11.5 million that includes a $3 million buyout. The question the Red Sox must ask themselves is this: Can Schwarber fit defensively? In part, that could depend on if J.D. Martinez decides to exercise the final opt-out in his contract. In a perfect world, Schwarber would DH for the Red Sox. But given the quality of Schwarber’s at-bats, the Red Sox could be tempted to keep him regardless of the defensive fit. If Schwarber can gain some comfort at first base, it would make him more appealing for Boston. In that scenario, he could rotate between first base, DH and left field.

Might Boston Red Sox use prospect Connor Seabold (3.29 ERA, 5 starts for Worcester in August) as multi-inning reliever? MassLive Is Pope Catholic? “It was ridiculous,” Sale said about Seabold’s stuff. “I mean, plus fastball, plus breaking ball. I know his first one back his command was a little bit off. But as long as he keeps filling up the zone, his stuff plays anywhere. I wouldn’t be too surprised to see him out there (in the big leagues) sooner rather than later. He looks like he’s polished enough to come up here and start getting some big outs.”

When I watch Devers, he seems to cover more ground than Xander. Can he play better SS than Xander? Or can he be moved to 2B where the throws are shorter?