Nick

I agree....even with only 164 days of service time, he looks to be a keeper. It's another position hopefully we won't have to worry about. CC Narvarez 5 yrs of team control 1B Contreras 2 yrs plus option 2B Durbin 6 yrs SS Story 2 yrs plus option 3B Mayer 6 yrs RF Abreu 4 yrs CF Rafaela 6 yrs LF Anthony 8 yrs plus option DH Duran 3 yrs I love it that our lineup is pretty well set. We still have Casas for 3 more years at 1B/DH option if he returns strong. Mayer just needs to step up. Some had him #1 pick when he was drafted #4. We can continue to focus on building a kick ass pitching staff. This trade also cleared out some 40 man roster spots.

Don't forget the salary.....Caleb is dirt cheap for next three years.

It's astonishing to me that we signed INJURED Sadoval for basically $18M for one year and now we don't have a place for him in the rotation? Basically Bres has been saved by the Crochet trade and extension. Am I wrong?

"Days after their 2025 season ended, the Red Sox publicly identified a front-line starter and more pop for their lineup as their primary offseason needs." Oh, I'm a Sox fan for life, but our front office has lost all credibility with me. When they fail, "we couldn't work it out".

So are we going to eat Sandoval's $18.5M contract? Unreal.

Bello's contract really helps the Sox, who signed him to a 6-year, 55M deal with an option for 2030. Sox has taken a hit for $9.67M in 24/25, while the cash outlay has only been $3.5M total, with $49.5M coming due over next 4 years. For our trading partner, especially the ones that can afford it, the annual tax payroll of $9.67M for two years is behind them. A team needing a starter would have 5 years of team control (counting the option year) and the 'fake' money totaling close to $16M has already been charged to that team. The flip side is they will be required to outlay cash the coming due. From financial perspective, it was a shrewd move by the Sox. Whatever return we get will further enhance his trade value to the Sox. Moreover, Mayer was an overall #4 pick who many expert thought he could have easily been #1. It's time to find out what we really have in Mayer.

I did say if I'm the new owner!

Most of us are in agreement about needing two ace types to get to the World Series and win. Starting pitching along with a closer becomes essential in a short series. Crochet and Skubal would start 4 games. I would hate for 2026 to be another 'throw-away' year. But if I have money to buy this team after 2026, I would give a blank check to Boras to sign Skubal. That would be my starting point. I'd roll the dice with Skubal's contract. Our window of opportunity is now 6 years, the length of Crochet's contract.

Moon, at some point, we need to deal with our reality. I heard Bres say one thing all the other playoff teams had in common was power bats and he wanted to acquire power bats for next year. That is what he said in a podcast. You and I know what he'll say if that's not accomplished, we tried, it wasn't a good fit, etc, etc. Toronto has surged ahead of us. Baltimore finally has made a move. Apparently the Yankees are simply waiting on return of Cole. I guess we'll just wait and see what we need for 2027 after the 2026 season.

Very True....what would help is for Anthony, Myer, Casas and Kutter all to get healthy. Get something out of someone like Sandoval and have another youngster emerge. I was sorry to see 'password' get traded. Maybe it's Early as a starter and Tolle as a back end reliever. It appears we have plethora of pitching prospects but we are pretty dried up as far as position players are concerned. Our #2, Franklin Frias, 22 is slated to arrive at majors mid-2027. Perhaps he's the replacement for Story in 2028. Casas will be a FA in 2029 so we still have time. Let's hope he's not the clone of my former favorite now playing in Japan.

This is what I would tell John Henry. We benefitted from Chrochet having a monster year at the monetary cost of $3.8M last year. But that amount moves up to $28.333M for next six years, a delta of $24.533M. Hopefully we'll get the year he had in 2026. Throw in Anthony's extension. It went from $2.65M in 2025 to $16.250M for 2026, a delta of $13.600M. What is true is this. 1. Buehler's $21.050M has been replaced by Gray's $21.000M for 2026. We have also replaced (in theory) Giolito's $19.250M with Oviedo's $1.700M, net gain of $17M. Maybe it's a pipe dream to think Oviedo will give us what Giolito gave in 2025. But we also inherited $10.258M with the addition of Jordan Hicks. That give us total net gain of say $7M. 2.Bregman's $31.677M has been replaced by Contreras' $21.250, net gain of $11M. 3. Devers' AAV of $29M is gone, net gain of $29M. Thus we gained approximately $47M in payroll before the raises to Crochet and Anthony totaling $38M, generating a net gain of $9M. Bottom line? It will cost us to above and beyond last year's CBA payoll to replace the bats of Bregman and Devers. We certainly can't get a comparable bat(s) for $9M. I'm not sure calling Henry cheap is 100% justified.

https://bosoxinjection.com/giants-gm-reminds-red-sox-why-they-never-should-have-traded-rafael-devers/partners/36534?fbclid=IwY2xjawOxVrVleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEepxtZ5pkgVNh2kZvUQNc7uGF_QU2gm0ed0qpmldnFCqxRwETKS1dnAs0Xpi8_aem_P1wpBSDbDlGtYETpQCazTA I'm pretty sure Bres said one thing we needed was more power in our lineup. Who will get the blame this year if we fail to make the playoffs? He won't have Devers and his 36 home runs to kick around. I guess I'm back to pulling for Casas.

Should all of our minor leaguers go ahead and get Tommy John and get that out of the way?

Bennett is BIGGER. We seem to value SIZE with our potential starters. We also value RELEASE POINT, CLOSER TO THE PLATE THE BETTER. He's also LEFT HANDED. AND LET'S NOT FORGET THAT MOST IMPORTANTLY HE WAS OUT ALL YEAR IN 2024 WITH TOMMY JOHN. THAT'S PROBABLY THE #1 REASON.

I am going to quit wishing for something that may never come. We'll need to continue to develop young talent and sign them early to an extension. That seems to be our modus operandi. I guess I should be more concerned with plethora of injuries.

Devers' Payroll savings myth, short term. No doubt we escaped from the long term deal. A ten year $313.5M deal is good to get out from. But in a near terms, specifically for 2026 and 2027, we inherited Jordan Hicks annual AAV of $10M, thus reducing Dever's salary savings to $19M. We did not shed $29M per annum for next two years. We're still saddled with Yoshida's $18M for next two years along with $23M for Trevor Story.

Winter Meetings a reminder that Red Sox don’t prioritize championships anymore

Henry does indeed needs to sell the team. Apparently he thinks his legacy is sealed with 4 World Series wins. That's NOT what we'll remember him for.......I'll always remember him as a cheap ass as things are going.

Are we better today than say beginning of September 2025? 1) Sonny Gray (32 GS/180 IP) > Giolito (26 GS/145 IP)? 3.6 WAR vs 2.0WAR 2)Crochet, can he repeat his 5.8 WAR? 3)Bello, can he improve on his 1.9 WAR (28GS, 166 IP)? 4)Devers, his 2.0 WAR at DH is gone 5)How to replace Bregman's 3.5 WAR (114 Games)? 6)Anthony surely will improve on his 2.7 WAR in 71 games. 7)Abreu had 2.4 WAR in 115 games, is he still a platoon guy? 8)Rafela had a 3.8 WAR pretty much on his defense alone. Will he be more productive offensively? 9) Can we replace approximately 50 games from starting pitchers no longer (or injured) with the team? IF including Anthony was a part of Skubal deal and guarantees 2 back to back world series rings, would you do it?

Exactly....Quit making gradiose promises. They are unnecessary and makes one look like a con man. Shouldn't an Ivy Leaguer do better? I can do it because I'm just an IU grad.

Sean McAdam: “If the Red Sox were looking for someone to slot in between ace Garrett Crochet and Gray, Oviedo isn’t it, though it’s conceivable he could soon grow into that sort of role. As I have said often, Mr. Breslow, QUIT LYING ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO DO. You promised #2 starter. QUIT LYING. ARE YOU DUMB TO THINK THE TWO STARTING ACQUISITIONS ARE #2 TYPE TODAY? PERHAPS OVIEDO WILL GROW INTO ONE, BUT HE IS NOT A #2 TODAY. DO YOU THINK THE SOX FANS ARE STUPID. YEAR AFTER YEAR, YOU AND YOUR CRONIES LIE TO US. HOW TO FIX IT? JUST SHUT UP. DON'T SAY THINGS YOU DON'T HAVE TO SAY. DON'T OVER PROMISE US. I THINK YOU ARE AN HONORABLE PERSON BUT YOU SURE SCREW UP EVERY CHANCE WITH 1 WE'LL GET THE BEST PLAYERS 2 IT JUST DIDN'T WORK OUT. THAT'S BECOME YOUR TWO STEP. JUST SHUT UP WITH #2 CRAP.

I don't believe you're correct. Options not exercised will be added to current year, thus it will be $41M less $20M = $21M in 2026 and not $10.5M for two years (2026/2027).

Our infield still looks thin to me. I would think we can always find a decent backup catcher. Not at the top of my list.

$20M in return makes me feel better. If he can continue to throw strikes, I'm good with it. We've had too many acquisitions where the control left them. I love it that this happened early. I hate the waiting game. Go get Schwarber, and we'll be 60% done for the winter.

As an Indiana graduate, I'd love to have Schwarber. I'm little peeved that we haven't heard much about Sandoval.