Nick

Good stuff....took me a minute to figure you had the dates of games pitched...... Surprising that Perez has the best % .667

I also think it's a good deal for the Sox. It's just a two year deal. If it goes well, we'll have him for third year, 2024. In essence we've flipped Ottavino's contract to Barnes. We can acquire inexpensive addition to the pen, if we choose to do so. We'll need to replace Ottavino with someone internal, maybe Houck or some another minor leaguer will step up. We'll have Barnes, Taylor, Darwinzon, Brasier, Whitlock (if not a starter), Houck (if not a starter) and Sawamura. I think the brass likes Rios. Healthy Chris Sale will improve our starting rotation, Sale > E Rod if he's not re-signed. Bello maybe on a fast track. Perhaps a September call up in 2022.

Yep

There's a big difference between improving production from 1B for the pennant chase and giving up completely on a player playing that position. It's way too early to give up on Dalbec. I too am frustrated, much like waiting on JBJ to break out of his slump in the past. That said, second half of season should be presenting our best line up day in and day out. Dalbec obviously hits the lefties. Find a left handed bat. That should not be a difficult task. No, no, no. It can't be Santana and it can't be Marwin.

I'm hoping that he's not the same player he used to be......thus the optimism from Bloom.

This is the baseball operation that thinks Andriese should be given more time to work out of his issues despite his performance over the last two and half months. If nothing else, Bloom is patient and cautious. I doubt we'll give up on any of our young players. Surely not our #1 high school pick from year ago or a centerfielder that Bloom said has "chance to be great." No Moon, he absolutely does not say that about ANYBODY. He was not prompted to say it. He could have said he's good. NO, HE WENT OUT OF HIS WAY TO SAY HE HAS CHANCE TO BE GREAT. I just want to be accurate. We should all listen to what the MAN says. He may not say much, but when he says something, I pay attention. Same with Cora. As management has stated, Chris Sale is the best GET for the Sox in July trade deadline. And he costs us NOTHING. Time to be patient with Dalbec is over. Get a platoon partner for him. Drop Santana. His 2019 production must been a fluke. Really need Tanner to return. I'm sure they want to stretch him just in case one of the starters fail or gets hurt. He can help in the pen at some point soon. Not sure when Brasier will return. We probably need another reliable reliever at minimum.

$10M comes off for Richards and $7.25M for Ottavino. We maybe able to do without Richards if Sale comes through and or not pick up Perez' $6M option and keep Richards. If we decide to convert Whitlock as many think we will (Sox have also expressed this) then we can get rid of both Perez and Richards.

Speaking of Duran, many here are too old school. These people keep making a point that he only comes up if he plays everyday. Wrong. We're in a pennant race. He comes up to help the ball club. Sure if we had the record of Orioles, you bring him up and let him play every day. That won't be the case. He'll be used to help the team win. That may be base running in one game and starting in another. If he can't help the ball club, keep his ass down in the minors. He is NOT the Dalbec experiment #2. It's about getting into the playoffs.

With Barnes extension, we'll probably lose two relievers, Ottavino and Whitlock. It would be surprising to see both Houck and Whitlock start next year, although I'm not oppose to it. I'm always about upgrading at every spot. I agree with Oldtimer in that I'm not convinced Rios is a horrible pitcher. So we now have Barnes, Taylor, Darwinzon, Sawamura, Whitlock, Houck, Brasier, Rios, Valdez (?).....we'll see what our farm teams will do for next year's varsity team. Between Barnes and Ottavino, they made close to $11.25M.

Moon You have Carlos Santana of Kansas City Royals....Danny Santana's full salary is only $1.75M

Yeah, I heard $17M for 4 years....

You Don't Have to Baby this Guy Cole completed his memorable night by gassing a 99.1 mph fastball past Yordan Alvarez, letting loose a guttural roar. The right-hander’s 12th strikeout came on his 129th pitch, a career high and the most thrown by any pitcher in the Majors this season, surpassing a 126-pitch effort by the Dodgers’ Trevor Bauer. Beat Houston 1-0. We don't have this type of pitcher on our staff right now.

I've mentioned this several times. Cot's does not have a value filled in for Santana. I've e-mailed them but no action so far. It will be a portion of $1.75M, I believe the major league contract kicked in sometime in May.

I keep hoping for Pedey clone to show up but future utility guy Arroyo keeps showing up....

Sorry, I keep forgetting that there's a draft thread...

Absolutely NOT.....just following up on Moon's thread.... We should not be a seller at this point.... I'm holding back my impulse to buy the championship this year........you know trade away the farm to get Kimbrel, Verlander, etc...lol Just little tweaking and hope Sale, Houck and Brasier returns to their old self.

To follow up, we can replace the three with Sale, Houck and Brasier. We'd also shave off $5M from luxury tax. World Series rotation would be Sale Eovaldi Pivetta Perez/Richards Whitlock, Houck, Brasier, Taylor, Darwinzon, Sawamura

Draft Strategy...something many of us may not be considering..... The Red Sox used the 17th overall pick in 2020 on high school second baseman Nick Yorke who entered last year’s draft ranked the 139th-best player by MLB.com. Boston signed Yorke for $2.7 million — under the $3,609,700 slot value for the 17th overall pick. The Sox then used the money they saved to give third-rounder Blaze Jordan an overslot signing bonus of $1.75 million. Each team has a bonus pool for its Rounds 1-10 selections that it cannot exceed. The Red Sox have the sixth largest total bonus pool ($11,359,600), just over $2.5 million more than the average pool in ’21, per Baseball America. It is $6.2297 million more than the Red Sox’s bonus pool in 2020 and $6.5715 million more than their allotment in 2019. With higher picks in each round, will Bloom save money for later rounds?

Vaz is pudgy, he can't rotate his body.

So let me get this straight 1. Trade Downs for Kimbrel and not pick up his 2022 option. So you give up Downs for a rental. or 2. Trade Downs for Kimbreal and pick up his 2022 option along with $16M? If he makes that trade we might as well have kept DD. It's not in Bloom's DNA.

Does anyone really think Sox would have traded 13 years of Betts for Verdugo, Wong and Downs? There goes that theory.

Not sure I want to pay a prospect AND $16M for 2022 for Kimbrel.....Bloom won't do it....we already passed on him in the past when he signed with the cubs.

yes on High A...but he'd be on fast track assuming he checks all the boxes along the way....

Okay, Davis it is.... But it’s not just the numbers Davis put up last season. Scouts agree with what the numbers say, which is that this is a truly special bat with a chance to make an impact at the highest level sooner than later. The 21-year-old (he’ll turn 22 in September) is the total package at the plate, showing a good understanding of the strike zone and an ability to put the bat on the ball. FanGraphs’ scouting report linked above notes that he swung and missed just eight percent of the time this past season. But it’s the power that really carries the day. Listed at 6’2, 210, he’s a big kid and he hits the ball how you’d expect. The raw power is plus, and given his other abilities at the plate he should be able to tap into it consistently. If there is an issue for Davis, it’s his defensive future. This is something I’d plan on discussing in much more detail if/when the Red Sox do select Davis, but there’s a real debate over whether or not he’ll stick at catcher. On the one hand, he has a huge arm that will be a big asset behind the plate. On the other, his framing skills are well below-average — though robo umps could make that meaningless — and his ability to move and keep the ball in front of him needs improvement as well. The good news is his bat will play even if he has to be moved off the position, but obviously he’s a much more intriguing prospect if he can combine that bat with an ability to stick behind the plate. My sense over the last week or so is that it is more and more likely (though by no means a sure thing) that Leiter, Mayer, and Lawlar (all already covered here) will go with the top three, leaving the Red Sox their choice of who’s next. Davis has his flaws, but he has experience at Fenway and with Red Sox pitchers, and he’s as safe a bat as there is. They could do much worse than this selection.....Per OvertheMonster What level would you start him at? Low A as a 4th Pick? I don't think so....

Moon has spoken and there you go.....Don't give me Betts' stats for this year or next twelve years. Whatever WAR value he accumulated last year will have to stand up against WAR values for Verdugo, Wong and Downs while they are controlled by the Sox organization (Pre Free Agency). As KC and the Sunshine Band sang, Moon says..."That's the way I like it...."