Nick

Sox is paying $5.8M per fWAR. Cubbies are paying $7.5M per fWAR. I doubt Lester's numbers will improve much over the next two years. But of course we're worried about winning so Lester would have done better for Sox even though it would've cost us little more.

Suppose we offer Betts the best FA offer after the 2020 season. Would he not even consider us if we had traded him after 2019? Forgetting the draft picks, etc, our penalty this year will be about $12M. Next year it will be close to 1 1/2 times more (going from 20% to 30%), $18M, if our payroll is at the same level. Then it will be close to $30M each year thereafter. I would suspect we'd get some relief under the new CBA in 2022. I'm beginning to think if we reset, it should come after the 2019 season. Why not get something for Betts? If we swing and miss on re-signing Betts, we can always go after Trout. If Betts knows that the Sox are retooling, would he carry a grudge against the team for trading him? We can still re-sing Price in 2020 for post 2020 pennant run. When Betts returns, we'll have two years of Price and Eovaldi, along with Sale.

Let's turn around the conversation the other way. For all your negative nannies. If we found out that the team in order to save 10 slots in the draft failed to sign that critical player at midyear or give up someone that could have helped down the line was the cause of the Sox not winning it all, how would we all react? I seriously doubt after each transaction, you can calculate it to the penny how much you are over, no? Is the player benefit component set in stone before end of the season? Also how do you KNOW that Pom was NOT NEEDED back in July? Again, we have bunch of Monday morning quarterbacks and penny pinchers wanting heads on both sides of the coin. I want these guys investing my money because apparently they know exact lows and highs in every stock transaction. GOOD f***ING GRIEF. I'll take every penalty for winning the world series.

We're poised to go for it again in 2019. Why would you trade Porcello or any of the other four? Chances are more likely that one of the starters will be injured at some point than all five being healthy the entire year. I wouldn't take that risk. I really don't think our catching situation will get any worse than 2018. I think there's some upside to that position. Hopefully Vaz will stay healthy the whole year.

If you take emotions out of it, Betts has the most value in a trade. We can probably get two cost controlled players at two positions, one being a starting pitcher. If we win it all in 2019, I can reset and see us rebuild. Won't we get draft compensation for losing Xander, Sale, Porcello and Martinez? Trade away JBJ and Betts. And hope Pedey retires. Hell you might as well trade E Rod who will still have two years left and definitely have some value. Build a team around Devers and Beni. Under this scenario, we have less than $70M tied up. Year later you can re-sign Betts when he becomes a FA. I think fans will understand, as long as we win it all again in 2019.

I actually have Xander signed for $20M. If we pass on him, we'll have $58M left.

You are not getting Sale foe $25M.

Fans want to build a team around Mookie after we do the reset. It maybe another Lester nightmare if we don't offer 'fair' price to Betts. With that in mind, suppose we go for it for 2019 and 2020 and reset in 2021 as advocated by Moon. Price----2019-2020-2021-2022 $31.00M Eovaldi-2019-2020-2021-2022 $17.00M E Rod---2019-2020-2021 $15.00M? (3rd Yr arb) Porcello-2019 Sale---- 2019 Vazquez 2019-2020-2021 $ 4.50M Platoon 2019 Pedroia 2019-2020-2021 $13.75M Xander 2019-2020-2021 $20.00M assume we sign him to long term Devers 2019-2020-2021-2022-2023 $ 7.50M 1st yr arb Beni 2019-2020-2021-2022 $12.50M 2nd yr arb JBJ 2019-2020 Betts 2019-2020 Marinez 2019 We'll have $121M committed to 3 starting pitchers, catcher, 2B. SS. 3B, LF, total of 8 players 2021. Luxury tax limit for 2021 is $210M. Subtract $16M for player benefits. Thus we have $73M to sign Betts and fill out DH, 1B, CF, entire bullpen and starters 4 and 5 on pitching staff and the balance of 40-man roster. If we give Mookie $35M, that leaves us with only $38M. That is just not doable in my mind. And that's with saying bye to Porcello, Sale and Martinez year before. I don't think we reset. We merely stay under the $40M + luxury tax limit forever. Moon, help!!!!

Pitching still is the key in the playoffs. On the offensive side, it's better to have strength throughout the lineup as opposed to simply having two or three studs. You need good supporting cast is a short series. Great example was relative lack of production out of our two best offensive players in the world series. Despite Betts and DJ having pedestrian numbers, other bats came alive to carry our offense. Timely hits came from elsewhere. We do have to make choices. Is it better to spend say $25M on a dependable starter such as Porcello or do you spend extra money, $33M for a Ferrari, Sale? Porcello maybe more dependable over a 162 game season but there's no doubt it's nice to have Sale starting two games in a world series. But the $8M difference can buy us another bat. Tough choices.

If I remember correctly at the time of trade, we did not really know much about Devers. But there were noises that said DD really liked Devers over Moncada. Also, Pedey was healthy around that time with several years still remaining on his contract. Thus Moncada was blocked at 2B and playing 3B in Sox system. Maybe you're the one that correctly predicated that it was Kopech that was the real loss for the Red Sox. As Kimmi stated, World Series Banner will always remind us that it was a good trade for us and probably for the White Sox too.

Your IQ is higher than most.

I've never seen Kimmi and Cora together.....

Right after Kimmi.

Nope. We have the rarest opportunity to repeat. Also I would contend that Sox will feel more obligated to keep Xander, Betts and JBJ over others. They are homegrown Sox. My order of letting it go 1) Porcello, but only IF Sox sign/extend Sale. 2) Sale, only obstacle is the size of his contract. Can Sox afford to have 3, count them, 3 $30M players in Price, Sale and Betts? 3) JD Martinez, he just adds so much to our offense and I still doubt anyone will give him much over $25M AAV. 4) Xander 5) JBJ, I like it that we value his defense 6) Betts, only way we don't sign is someone offers him >$350M, 10 year deal 7) E Rod, stuff is too good, long term contract guy after Price, Sale and Porcello leave 7) Beni, cost controlled 8) Devers, need cost controlled guys among millionaires 9) Chavis and Dalbec....see how they develop 10) all the young guns in the pen......keep'm all.

I love that idea. Especially against a Yankee. Didn't he bitch against Nunez last year?

Sale (1), Price (4), Eovaldi (4), Porcello (1), E Rod (3) > Severino (5), Paxton (3), Happ (3?), Tanaka (2), CC (1)?

If Beni leads off, do we move off JBJ from 9th?

Yep, no brainer. Looks like we're have another year to stock up and improve our farm system. It would be nice to have Moncada back in light of uncertainty at 2B. But then, no Sale.

Trading JBJ would be a big news to Cora. He thinks JBJ will have a break out year. (my interpretation of Cora's comments about JBJ)

Apparently they will take the best deal if one is offered.

I don't believe Sox are as fickle as everyone thinks. Year after signing Vaz to a long term extension, it is hard for me to believe they've already given up on him.

Per DD (we should always pay attention to what he says) "That changes, because some of our conversations with our own internal players change, too. But we're cognizant of a couple of really important guys that we want to keep for the long-term that are going to be free agents within the next year or two. That is in the back of our mind." Betts is one. Who is the other guy? Is it Sale or is it JD Martinez?

Marlins definitely had no intention of hanging on to Stanton. His contract was favorable to cash rich team such as the Yankees to acquire him.

Well, you're not a typical Yankee fan. I think you are astute, level headed baseball fan. I think everyone here wished all Yankee fans had your disposition.

There's a reason why it's called the Competitive Balance Tax. It's not good for any team to win say 5 straight world series. Major league baseball wants all 30 teams to have some success. It goes without saying that as teams succeed, their players will demand better contract, better pay. This is why almost every SUCCESSFUL team will ultimately face the 'cliff'. Yankee fans can be smug right now but their 'cliff' will come also. To think it won't happen to them because they are SO MUCH SMARTER than rest of the league is so typical of Yankee fans.