Nick

You also have to throw in Sale....big difference between on injured reserve and Sale's case. I'd wish he return tomorrow but there's no guaranty that he'll return this year. I keep saying $43M of our contract is shut down. How often 'a setback' results in weeks of shutdown?

Cora is too busy preaching peace and unity. Someone should tell him he was hired to coach.

You made my point. Some posters come up with some half assed ideas which has no chance of happening. There's no way JD is traded or just let go. Also there's no way JD is extended beyond 2022 with same pay and just DH'ing. Not happening. Not in Bloom's DNA.

I would be happy to trade JD and his $44M luxury tax payroll amount. Do you honestly think there's a team out there willing to pay that EVEN without ANY compensation in return? If not, how much are you willing to pay? And for what? We're already under the tax limit for 2021. Let's think through and have an honest discussion. Give me a viable trading partner in AL. And how much are you willing to eat?

Marwin looks good at 2B. Kike to CF? It's game 1 and I'm not getting excited about the start. But long term, why are we trying to please Devers by playing him at 3B? His biggest issue seems to be throwing. He maybe better suited for 1B. And at some point, if Xander sticks around, I'd say he maybe candidate at 3B but that's in few years. And to the poster who wants to eat JD's money, are you freaking nuts?

Well what do you expect? Cora thinks our guys can play multiple positions. Maybe he should put everyone at their best position to start. Devers on 1B, Dalbec on 3B, Verdugo in RF and Kike in CF. (But Cora is a genius).

He will turn 30, how long can he play SS? If he's opting out, he'd want something like 8 yr, $200M? Maybe I'm way off base.

.........while Kluber and Taillon sit on the bench nursing their sore scouting reports.. That's really good.... Back in late 60's, my favorite day of the week was Thursday. That's when our local drug store had the new edition of Sporting News. It was either 25 or 50 cents at the time. I'd read cover to cover. The paper would have publication by columnists from several major cities....some had great writing style....

Michael Chavis wasn’t happy when the Red Sox optioned him to the alternate training. But manager Alex Cora views that in a positive way. He likes Chavis having that type of attitude. Chavis will begin the 2021 season in Worcester. The Red Sox chose Christian Arroyo for the final position player roster spot. “There’s a lot of circumstances that go into the decision but one thing we like about Christian, he can play shortstop,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “Michael, he made some strides. And I’m glad he was upset because that’s part of it. Nobody’s happy when they send you down. But we talk about a few things that he needs to do to be the complete hitter we know he can be. I think at the end, he didn’t control the strike zone. He was very aggressive chasing pitches out of the zone.” Chavis went 13-for-43 (.302) with a .362 on-base percentage, .767 slugging percentage, 1.129 OPS, six home runs, two doubles, 10 RBIs, nine runs, two walks and 12 strikeouts in his first 18 games of spring training. But he went just 2-for-17 with eight strikeouts in his final seven games. “Now with his swing, knowing that he knows boundaries of the strike zone up, now we have to make sure, ‘Hey, we can drive pitches in the zone,’” Cora said. “So he’ll work on that. And I’ve been saying all along, it takes more than 26 guys to win this thing. Because you’re on the Opening Day roster, it doesn’t mean you’re going to be here the whole season. There’s circumstances and injuries and other stuff, especially nowadays. ... He needs to be ready. Not only him. All those kids down there.” No way he was making Cora's team. I told you.

Is this the new Yankee mentality? They are gloating because on paper, they are better than the Sox? So that's their goal, now? Just to be ahead of Sox? Sox mentality is this. We want world series championships. We get it that it probably won't be this year even if everything goes right. But Bloom is building a winner. I don't really give damn about the Yankees. They've shown me that they're not good enough to win it all. They are the Atlanta Braves of 1990's.

I'm just asking if we were all in, what players were out there for us to improve the outfield situation? Obviously the management didn't think much of JBJ and Beni after the 2020 season. Problem I have is posters not presenting solutions to their perceived problems with the Sox. I'm not trying to be a jerk. I was thinking there was an outfield free agent available. I'm old and I can't remember. To me it appears that with all the short term deals, Sox is trying to find up a core group going forward. I like the idea of Hernandez playing CF also; although Bloom has said on record he thinks Duran has chance to be 'great' so Sox thinks he's our future CF. Quite frankly, I'm excited to see which new comers are 'keepers'. Let the season begin.

Why don't you tell us which outfielders will get us to 'we'll all in status'? Did you consider JBJ and Beni as core of contenders?

Yesterday, he spoke about Perez as "he is what he is......he just needs to be himself....not trying to do too much.....just go out and gives us a chance to win" or something to the effect. He's candid about his players. And there's nothing wrong with that.

“Zero — zero concern,” pitching coach Dana LeVangie said. “Not at all. He dialed it up when he wanted to. It’s there. But he knows how important he is to his team. He can pitch, regardless of the velocity.” After Sale's first start in 2019 (after the extension), his velocity being down from norm I hope we fired this guy.

"Shoulder trouble limited to Sale to 17 innings the final two months of last season, and he didn't look much like himself in the postseason. Shoulder issues are always worrisome, but the Red Sox know Sale and his medicals better than anyone, and they would not commit nine figures to a pitcher if they were worried about his health. They're confident the shoulder is a non-issue." Here's one article from CBC MLB Mike Axis Sox fan base is much smarter than the management, medical staff, and writers. Thanks again for setting me straight.

I will go with the group think.....Red Sox signed injured Chris Sale to $145M contract. Period. Okay, you all convinced me. Thanks for setting the record straight.

I don't care what Sale thought....... I'm concerned that your claim that he was injured prior to 3/29/19 and despite that and the physicals which more than likely were given than not, Sox signed him to a $245M contract. It doesn't seem good business practice.

Come on Moon....I'm being sarcastic Original Poster said WE GAVE A $245M CONTRACT TO INJURED PLAYER. I'm asking for a proof. I don't like posters making a claim that I don't think is true. He pitched in 4 spring training games prior to his signing on 3/29/19. Do you have evidence that he was a injured player on 3/29/19? If you don't, we shouldn't speculate. I'm trying to refute the claim. It seems implausible that he didn't have a physical. So did we miss it? Or more likely he hurt himself later. In which case to say that we gave $245M to injured player is false.

Let me get this straight. Chris Sale started 4 spring training games and pitched total of 14 innings, striking out 19 right before he signed his extension. So, Sox management had injured pitcher pitch 4 meaningless spring training games? On top of that, they figured he was just fine and gave him $245M for five years? Come on, be precise. OP stated that he was 'hurt' when we extended him. You stand by that, Doctor? Or did he get hurt after he signed? Or maybe it's an ailment that is difficult to diagnose? That I would understand.

Sale signed his extension on 3/29/2019. For 2019, he was still under the contract signed with the White Sox. His new five year deal was to start in 2020. So we gave $145M to a player who was injured? No physicals? Wow, I'd freaking fire the entire medical staff.

What the hell are you guys talking about? Sale was HEALTHY when he signed his extension. Maybe he gave the Sox a hometown discount. He loved it that he could be at HOME with his family during spring training. Quit rewriting history. At the time of signing he was healthy.

There's been times I wished for a K instead of a groundball with less than two outs. You know what I'm talking about. Hitting into double play is absolute momentum killer. That included Pedey last couple of years when he was playing. Jason Varitek was another example.

I don't get the inflexibility of having 14 pitchers on opening day. Why? Why not ride the hot bat of Chavis to start the season? Why in the hell do we need 14 pitchers in first ten games? We have two off days before our 8th game is played. Can't you simply send down Chavis and bring up a pitcher? More than likely one of position player will get hurt and the whole thing becomes moot. Am I stupid? I want to hear from pitching experts.

Jimenez gained muscle during the COVID-19 pandemic. He was listed at 5-foot-11, 160 pounds in the 2020 Red Sox media guide He’s listed at 5-11, 221 pounds in the 2021 media guide. “A lot of workouts on the beach. Strengthening and running on the beach,” Red Sox assistant GM Eddie Romero said in December. “He’s just a natural athlete with a lot of just freak strength.” Sounds like a good prospect, but can an elite athlete really gain 61 pounds in a year?

Buiding a playoffs sustaining ball club Part II by Bloom Position players assuming club option excercised C Vaz $ 4.52M-$7.00M 1B Dalbec $ 0.80M-$0.80M-$0.80M-Arb1-Arb2-Arb3 (not sure if qualified for 4 arb years, Arb 1 in 2023?) 2B E Hern $ 6.00M-$8.00M 3B Devers $ 4.58M-Arb2-Arb3 SS Xander $20.00M-$20.0M-$20.00M-$20.00M-$20.00M-$20.00M LF Cordero $0.80M-Arb2-Arb3 CF Renfro $3.10M-Arb2-Arb3 RF Verdugo $0.80M-Arb1-Arb2-Arb3 DH JD $22.00M-$22.00M Unless Vaz has a complete meltdown, his option will be picked up. He came into the season best shape of his life. It wasn't as though he was out of shape previously. If he's willing to sign a team friendly extension, I can see Sox doing it to give younger guys time to develop. If Dalbec can make enough contact, then he's a keeper. Very good 4th round draft pick. Hernandez is a placeholder for Jeter Downs. He can then become a valuable utility player at the right price. I just don't see Xander getting more money after he ages two more years and opt out. He stays. Sox will do everything to keep Devers. Position may change but his bat will be valued. Based on what Bloom has said, CF will belong to Duran in near future. Hopefully JD will revert back to pre-2020 days but his price is too high once his contract runs out in 2022. Keep an eye on Casas. He will eventually inserted into the lineup no later than 2023 if not sooner. At that point, Dalbec, Devers and Casas can rotate the 3B, 1B and DH? Left field can be platooned until something better shows up. Cordero and Renfro can supplement outfield spots. We still have Chavis as a depth piece for now. I'm hoping we select a college starting pitcher with the #4 pick this year. This team looks much better than last year's squad.