Nick

Rays have two players making over $5M. Unbelievable. We're worried about sweetening the pot for Xander making $20M and JD making $22M. And extending Devers for $25-$30M. Different lifestyles.

In the ninth, Verdugo and Dalbec laced back-to-back singles off Yankees reliever Chad Green before Kevin Plawecki lined out for the second out of the frame. Hernández then drove a 1-0 fastball into the gap to plate Verdugo from second and pinch-runner Jarren Duran all the way from first. You give a kid all the bats he needs in minors. But when the big club is fighting for pennant, you do everything you can to make the big club better. You start internally. Then you look elsewhere for help.

Thanks...just seemed odd..

Can I assume Whitlock has higher WAR than Barnes because he hasn't had as many 'bad' games as Barnes?

MLB War Leaders 21. 3.3 Rafael Devers 22. 3.1 Xander Bogaerts 23. 3.0 Jose Ramirez 24. 3.0 Kiké Hernandez 25. 3.0 JD Martinez So I was the idiot that said we overpaid for Kike......sure glad we have him for another year. See how easy it is to admit defeat and jump on the bandwagon? Santana still sucks!

MASH Update Aaron Judge was one of a handful of players placed on the COVID list last weekend, and it doesn’t seem like he’ll be able to come back for this series. Luke Voit is dealing with a bone bruise on his knee that put him on the IL when the COVID issues were arising as well. Voit’s timeline to return is not clear. Luis Severino underwent Tommy John surgery around the same time as Chris Sale, but he had a setback in his rehab so his timeline could be pushed back a bit more. Corey Kluber went down with a significant shoulder injury in May, and while originally he was expected to be out until September, and August return could now be in the cards. Gio Urshela was another one of the players to hit the COVID IL. Clint Frazier left a game with dizziness back at the end of June, and while he’s doing some workout stuff again it’s still not entirely clear what the problem is. Aaron Hicks underwent surgery on his wrist that will likely keep him out all season. Jonathan Loaisiga was another player put on the COVID list, with his absence starting at the end of the first half. Darren O’Day never really got to get going this season and underwent season-ending surgery on his hamstring. Kyle Higashioka was yet another player affected by the COVID outbreak. Miguel Andújar went down with a wrist injury earlier this month, and while he’s still not back there was optimism that it wasn’t anything too serious. Trey Amburgey came up after the COVID outbreak, but quickly tweaked a hamstring that landed him on the injured list. Tim Locastro was recently acquired in a trade, but then tore his ACL last weekend against the Red Sox and will miss the rest of the season. Clarke Schmidt has been out all season dealing with arm issues, but he’s working his way back soon and could be a swingman option for the Yankees down the stretch. Nestor Cortes was also part of the COVID outbreak, though it seems like he could potentially be back sooner than the others. Michael King hurt his finger lifting weights, and it’s not clear when he’ll get back on the mound. Wandy Peralta was the final member of the COVID outbreak How do we lose to these guys except maybe on Friday when Cole starts?

Franchy Cordero could return to Boston Red Sox on Thursday as Danny Santana (left groin) likely will be placed on IL Why not?

I vote for Cordero.

shucks, Santana hurt again...what a horrible route to the ball...

Santana is 0-4.......I have hard time rooting for him....575 OPS... does Cora know it's killing me to see him in the lineup?

Per Fangraph Player Age Level Pos ETA FV 1 Jeter Downs 22.5 AA 2B 2022 50 2 Triston Casas 21.0 A+ 1B 2023 50 3 Bryan Mata 21.7 AA MIRP 2021 45+ 4 Gilberto Jimenez 20.5 A- CF 2023 45+ 5 Noah Song 23.7 A- SP 2023 45 6 Tanner Houck 24.6 MLB MIRP 2021 45 7 Jarren Duran 24.4 AA CF 2022 45 8 Connor Seabold 25.0 AA SP 2021 45 9 Bobby Dalbec 25.6 MLB 3B 2021 45 Then there's this....

How much talent would we need to give up for Max Scherzer? Not endorsing the trade. Just curious.

You are correct. For purpose of luxury tax calculation, $1.5M is initially added to 2021 tax payroll because presumption is not picking up the club option. Once the Sox pick up the club option, our luxury tax cost for Richards drops to $8.5M for 2021. Luxury tax is paid on tax payroll as of 12/31/21. Club options has to be exercized pretty early, definitely before 12/31/21.

Not sure when his two year commitment ends..Ranked #5 by FanGraph Song did not pitch in 2020 and instead began his two-year military commitment, which is just as well since there was no minor league season and next year’s might start later than usual. I’ve updated some of the stuff related to his commitment’s timing, but his scouting report is exactly the same: It’s fairly common for a prospect’s trade value to be affected by something circumstantial, but Song’s situation is unique. He was clearly a first round talent ahead of the 2019 draft, but it was unclear where he’d be picked because of his military commitment. At the time, service academy policy stated that Song had to complete two years of Naval service, after the Trump administration repealed an Obama-era rule that allowed athletes to petition for an exemption in order to pursue pro sports or some other activity that might bolster recruitment or the military’s image in general. Then, weeks after Song was drafted, the now-outgoing president reinstated the rule, with the exemption slated to take effect again in 2020. But Song’s application for a retroactive waiver was denied by the Navy. He is eligible to apply for an early release in May.

Righty Garrett Richards, who starts Wednesday, has made three starts against the Blue Jays this year. He has allowed 10 runs, all earned, 22 hits and 12 walks while striking out 10 in 16 ⅔ innings. We better score some runs....early

Budget by Nick So Moon and I do our 'budgets' little differently. He always starts with zero. I like to start with current year's tax payroll and then add/subtract to it. Either way gets you to same place. 205.466M 2021 Luxury Tax Payroll add 004.125M Increase in Barnes new contract substract 010.000M Garrett Richards, $10M club option for 2022 007.150M Ottavino's expiring contract (FA) 008.300M E Rod's expiring contract (FA) 004.517M Vaz expiring contract (club option for 2022) 005.000M Martin Perez (club option for 2022) 003.000M Marwin Gonzalez (FA) 002.100M Matt Andriese (club option for 2022) 001.000M Brandon Workman (FA) 013.750M Dustin Pedroia 002.800M Beni 004.534M Amount under the tax line of $210M 058.026M Amount Available to the $210M tax limit assuming this does not change in new contract. Assume $ 25M for arbitration raises...(Devers, Renfroe, Plawecki, Braiser, Cordero, Pivetta, Verdugo, Arroyo, Taylor, Chavis, Rios), it maybe little high. We now have $33M to spend We lose following that needs to be replaced E Rod...SP Richards....SP ($10M club option) Martin...SP (6M club option) Ottavino....RP Workman..RP Andriese...RP Vaz....C ($7M club option) Gonzalez..Utility Priorities $7M Sox will pick up Vaz's club option (I think we'll pick us his $250K option payoff if we use the club option for 22) $15M. short term deal for E Rod? Now we'll down to $11M to get to the $210M tax line, assuming no change to the tax limit. SP Sale, Eovaldi, E Rod, Pivetta, Whitlock RP Barnes, Sawamura, Houck, Taylor, Darwinzon, Brasier, RP, RP C Vaz/????? 1B ????? 2B Arroyo/Kike SS Xander 3B Devers LF Verdugo CF Duran/Kike RF Renfroe DH JD Utility ?? Utility ?? I'm going with 13+13=26 We have $11M to spend....it can come internally I'm counting on Devers to get $10M raise via arbitration so we can use $11M to extend Devers....work his annual value down to $25M. 2 relievers 1 1B...Biggest Need in my mind.... 1 C 2 utility players This is the budget I'm submitting to Sox brass, if asked, and not going over the 'tax limit'. If replacement all come via internally, then there's chance we can stay below the tax line for another year.

Will the Sox pick up Richard's $10M club option for 2022? Or will they use the same strategy as they did with Perez and attempt to re-sign for less money? What is his market value? Can he get a multiple year contract? I suppose what he does for remainder of season will tell.

Barnes, Ottavino, Sawamura, Whitlock, Taylor, Darwinzon, Houck, Richards/Perez in the pen. Sale, E Rod, Eovaldi, Pivetta should be a decent starting four for the playoffs. Unless Houck jumps in front of Pivetta.

It was a rare contest under the lights for the FCL Sox, and the on-field events were worthy of the event. Connor Seabold, out since the start of the season with right elbow inflammation, took the mound in a rehab start against fellow rehabbing hurler Chris Archer. Seabold, currently ranked 6th in the system, went 2 2/3 innings, allowing two runs on one hit. Seven of the eight outs he recorded were via strikeout. Seabold also walked three and hit a batter. A trio of relievers followed, with Wilkelman Gonzalez the most impressive. Gonzalez was perfect over five innings, striking out nine batters. Here you go Moon, blurb came on 7/13 so I'm assuming Seabold pitched on 7/12.

Time to go big was at the beginning of 2021 and not on July 31, 2021. Sox took calculated risks and for most part it has paid off. Locking up couple of players will be expensive. I think we'll extend E Rod, start the conversation on Dever's extension and maybe rework Xander's contract this winter. Sox likes Eovaldi and JD also. It'll be expensive without really adding new talent. That means 'fringe' players making any money will be considered for trade, etc. Richards, Martin and Ottavino (obviously he's not a fringe pitcher) comes to mind. We only get relief from Pedey's contract this year and Price's contract next year. I doubt we let JD go. We have no replacement and he's one of our top 3 hitters. We can't afford to lose Devers, Xander and JD.

It maybe easier to find an outfielder/infielder and move Kike to 1B. If we trade for an average 1B, we're basically stuck with him and he'll get the bats that he may not deserve.... Arroyo going to IL has screwed things up. I'm inclined to go with the lineup we had when Arroyo got hurt. Just change positions. I think you've said it before, turn Kike into a super utility guy that plays every day, just at different positions.

My buddy Santana is back in the lineup. Oh Gooody!!!

Connor Seabold is pitching again, may have just pitched in his second rehab stint.

Obviously there's a stud at 1B from Toronto, but Most disconcerting thing about our 1B production is that our team OPS at the position is .393 behind the leader. There are 4 AL teams with OPS greater than .800. Compare that position to catching, where the Sox are close to bottom but the difference between the top spot and the Sox is only .144. There are no teams posting ops greater than .800 in the American League. Not sure how to fix it now that Arroyo is hurt and I doubt he returns to that position this year. I wanted so much for Dalbec to succeed but he looks completely lost at times.

I worked for a small firm (30+) so we did tax returns, mostly for our clients, in addition to year end audits. Thus I did not see the sun except on Saturday afternoons and Sundays....January through April. Pretty depressing really.