oldtimer

Willy Mays was 5'10" and 170 pounds. He lasted 22 years. Betts might well be of a similar ilk.

Some major trades coming down with Cano and Diaz to mets and now Segura to Phillies. Who is next? Machado? Harper? When will we jump in and get the guys we need?

What do you suppose the luxury tax ceiling will be in 11 years? Will there even continue to be a competitive balance tax?

Kind of sounds like Kimbrel

I think a 7 year deal would be reasonable for Mookie.

I have said before and continue to believe we should adhere to a policy where the length of contract is based on the age of the player and also the position he plays. Seven years maximum fpr a guy of 27 or below. Five years for a guy turning 30 and 3 years for a guy of 32. Beyond that age 1 or two years maximum. In the case of pitchers, the risk seems higher, therefore the contract length should reflect that. I didn't like Price's contract, not because of who he was, but the general idea of giving a really long term contract to a guy approaching 30 at the time. The general manager still has to fill the roster and one would hope do so with competitive players. I think most of us believe that if you take risks,some will pay off and some will be busts. We had the Thornburn and Smith experiences on the downside. The other consideration is you have to be competitive to fill the roster with good players. Being smart about it is helpful is well. In the case of Eovaldi, he has shown a lot of value, albeit for a short period. We will at least have to compete with Houston to sign him. Going beyond 3 years to 4 for contract length might be necessary to land him and it looks like he could be a good fit for us. I would go the 4 years but definitely not beyond that. Kimbrel wants 6 years as an arguing position and is probably willing to accept 5. Big bucks for a closer who may be past his prime with a 5 year term is tough to swallow. I would definitely look elsewhere for a closer if Kimbrel sits tight on those contract terms.

What article have you read?

The Thornburg signing tells me the coaches think there is hope for him going forward. We do have some minor league potential so maybe only one reliever would be adequate if we can get a starter like Eovaldi.

Is Buckner still alive?

You probably are! Sentimentality doesn't make for a good team.

The TV pundits are saying Kelly is almost certainly gone, although they offer no details. They also indicate there is a lot of interest in Eovaldi with the phillies possible and also the Yankees. At least some believe the Red Sox still have a good chance.

Totally agree. I think there is a difference in what is appropriate in length for young players, players just at their prime and players well past their prime. Clearly a longer term contract for Betts makes more sense then for Pedroia as a for instance.

Cano is 36 now and served a suspension for failing a drug policy test. Why in the world would the Sox want him?

It should be about value to the club versus risk. Clearly he still has value but is it worth the risk of a 5 year contract at around $70 million? Most of the fans here would not advocate that we be players at that level. I don't blame Kimbrel for wanting to cash in but I would blame management for being silly enough to go big for a pitcher who may well decline over the next few years.

Kimbrel will no doubt get a multi year (4 or 5) contract paying an AAV of $18 mil as you say. Competing at that level would indeed cripple any flexibility the Sox have. The decision on Kimbrel will have an impact on who we can keep and whether we can compete in the Eovaldi marketplace. I trust DD to weigh the alternatives and make the best choice go going forward.

With pitchers, I would want to wait and see how healthy they remain before committing a lot of money and/or any contract length. Porcello has been very durable but questions remain about Sale.

I would look closely at Robertson as he would add quality as at least a setup man role.

Pedroia will be 36 in August and had an 11 at bat season last year. While he says he is feeling ready, it has to be seen in the context of an older player with a year away from ball and coming off a knee surgery that hasn't had a lot of examples of success. He is our guy and it will be a wait and see situation.

Sentimentality is laudible but it works against fielding our best team. If you had that $13 mil you could have signed a Merrifield and mpy taken a risk with Pedey. I doubt Pedey can come back to the 25 man roster and give us even 100 games this year. Hope for his sake and ours I am wrong and he will come back as at least an average value 2nd baseman.

We have been a top team now for 3 years running and our draft picks have reflected that. Baseballs attempts to create parity penalize the better teams. We have a good core of players and we can outspend some teams to keep it going for a while, but eventually it does catch up. We hope that the FO does not sign more silly contracts like Panda and possibly Pedroia that further limit us. One hope is that our front office is smarter than some and can obtain improvement in trades by being smart. Even that is in question as the marketplace for players is pretty big and we certainly don't rule there.

I agree with you. Feltman is making faster progress through the system and appears to be our best hope to make the team during the season. It may even occur before Sept.

Esteban Quiroz is a 19 year old 5' 7' second baseman. Who knows how me might develop? I think the risk of trading him was minimal.

Yes, they will trade Estafan Quiroz a 19 year old 2nd baseman. Funny they would trade a 2nd base prospect when Pedroia is a little iffy. At any rate, I don't think either player is a major part of 2019.

I am reading Skip Lockwood's book "Insight Pitch". He was a highly touted rookie who couldn't hit the curve ball and switched to pitching. He came in before FA so dealt with the Standard Baseball Contract. How things have changed. He did become a closer and a pretty good one. One takeaway from the book is how his state of mind impacted his play. On this site we talk about stats, but the pressure on players and how they adapt to it have a major impact on performance. Chages in performance can come suddenly as they did for him.

Marco is coming off an injury with a full year away from live baseball. He never was a first string player although he showed a glimmer of ability. I would think his ship may have sailed and that we should look elsewhere for 2nd base backup. Tough on the kid, but realistically we have a better solution in the organization in Lin.