oldtimer

Why don't we just plan on him as the 4th outfielder for 2018? If we think he is a defensive liability, we could fill in with one of our faster utility players in critical situations. He might provide pinch hitting and even DH services. Getting the 4th outfielder from our existing roster makes some sense and Castillo would be more expensive to put on the active roster.

The situation continues to evolve. I thought Stanton was a reach and one that we wouldn't succeed, so now we move on anyway.

He was one of my favorite players and a member of my favorite team in 1949. Thats when players often stayed with their teams throughout their careers.

Maybe you mis spoke about keeping Beni in RF and probably meant LF. Keeping the outfield intact with Beni, JBJ and Betts is certainly one option. Like the idea of staying away from the expensive (in either $ or talent) contracts and staying with good servicable players for 3 year contracts max. Santana makes sense to me but I think there are better RP and 2nd base options. We should start to see some movement from the front office. Moustakas could be a good sign for 3 or 4 years max but that involves moving Devers, so both Santana and Moustakas doesn't make a lot of sense as Devers needs to be developed as a long term Red Sox player.

Teixeira signed a long term contract with the Yankees and became a drag toward the end. I am glad we didn't get him. Fair comparison and might be an omen of what we would get with a big time trade or free agent if we go in for a long term deal.

Thanks I thought it would be you with the answers.

The Sox do have some holes to fill and some moves to consider, in addition to the pitching needs. Holes to fill exist at second and first base. In addition there is a need for at least one power bat. Those two might be combined to some degree. Both Pedey and Hanley are question marks. Clearly we could go with the resources we currently have on the 40 man or injured list for 2nd but at risk of less than stellar offense. Ist is more of an open issue, especially if we use Hanley for DH only. The moves to consider have been discussed ad infinitum already. They are: 1. Move Devers to 1st and look for a replacement this year at 3rd. Possible improvement to the IF defense and possible addition of a solid bat. 2. Move JBJ and look for a trade or FA to fill in the OF. Possible strengthening of the offense while taking a hit on defense. 3. Move Bogey for a replacement SS like Cozart. Slightly better fielding and hitting. I'm opposed to that move as I believe Bogey can make a significant improvement on offense. 4. Trade Holt and replace him with another super utility player like Nunez (might solve 2nd base issue) or fill in from our 40 man or ML rosters. Big long term contracts for aging stars should be considered as too risky with great younger players available next year.

Will someone in the know go over the key dates as far as expected actions both in FA and trade markets? From what I understood, teams had 5 days to make qualifying offers to players following the world series, so that must have been completed. Teams have also exercised options for key players as the Sox have for Sale and Kimbrel, but I am not up to speed on the timing to do that. The GM meetings are coming up NOv 13 thru 16 and the Winter meetings are Dec 10 thru 14. With those in mind, when can teams go after and sign FA's and what is the typical range of time when that is done? Also, I presume the trade market becomes open now and the winter meetings might be fertile ground for that. What is the likely range of time for that and do they extend well into the season? Appreciate comments as I have some thoughts but am uncertain of what to look for and when.

Can't believe we would repeat the mistakes of the past and give out high dollar long term contracts to players soon to be on the decline. Got to be a better way of going forward that this.

I was born too long ago to see this kind of contract as realistic. Too long and too much money. The guy is good offensively now but certainly no defensive force. We probably can't get him for 3 or 4 years at most, but if so, we should let someone else take him on.

He was very well thought of and a good kid. Life can be unfair and tragic. I'm sorry for both him and his family. RIP

I like the idea of Santana over Hosmer, based on the likely deal required for each. Don't believe Santana is a long term fix at 1st though so consideration should be given to who we will have down the line in that position. Is it Devers? Devers at 3rd is a concern under your 2018 conditions. Can he improve his defense enough? I would keep Bogey as I believe Cora will be able to get much more out of him offensively and we can live with his defense. He is still young and may have a surprising upside. I am okay letting go off JBJ if we can land a power bat like Stanton or Martinez for the outfield. We lose on defense, but improve immensely on offense. Yes, we need another RP and possibly a starter but the budget may well preclude both and I still am concerned about getting a reasonable fill-in/replacement for Pedey, who is still a question mark for 2018.

I could see us trading one of our younger players but no more than that. To me, JBJ is most likely and Betts not at all a possibility. We need a big bat and one of Stanton or Martinez would fulfill that but at great cost. I would like to see action taken on 1st/3rd base which neither Stanton or Martinez would fulfill. We also need second base help and probably a relief pitcher. Lots of bucks to get all that done.

DD gets a pass by reason of the constraints he faced during last season. He will have more freedom for the 2018 season but it is still somewhat limited by the large contracts overhanging for another year. As far as LaRussa is concerned, I think the move made was a good one. Adding a very experienced and capable former anager in an advisory role makes sense to me.

I feel the same way. Cora is saying a lot of things that I have believed for a while now. His approach with the offense may well help some of our younger players to up their performance. Looking forward to seeing his approach put into operation.

We have seen a tendency for confrontation and negativism on this site which to me reflects the new norms of social media. Easy to take strong positions and use crude language while remaining semi-anonymous. Today's terrible events in Moon's home state of Texas should remind us to stay civil and keep our arguments about different players and positions factual and constructive. We share a common interest and love for the Sox and all of us want them to succeed. Yes, we have different ideas of how to achieve that success, but lets all not get involved in name calling and nastiness. I am not aiming this at either Moon or Kimmi, who I think have kept their inputs on a high plane. Just think before you write a post!

Devers is too young to give up on his defense. It will improve, the question is "How much"? Anyway, I would expect 1st base might be a landing place for him while we will need to move someone else to dh.

Hidden meaning? The Yankees probably want some of them!

Our needs are what should drive our foray into the FA market. One RP Help at 2nd base Will Rameriz recover or is he on a downhill slide/ Do we need to get a DH to replace him? Power bat who could play 1st base, or if Devers moves to 1st a 3rd baseman Possible outfield replacement for JBJ Utility player overhaul Quite likely we can get 2 FA field players and a RP. Some choice from the list below might do it. I don't see how we can get Stanton but stranger things have happened. I like the idea of Moustakas for 3rd with Devers moving to 1st, providing contract terms are sensible. Someone like Brandon Kintzler as a RP might be suitable Nunez if recovered from the knee injury has shown he can fill in at 2nd and other infield spots Alternative to Nunez might be Cozart but that would mean moving players JD Martinez is a power bat, but without a real home defensively, unless he could play outfield (a real ?). Replacing JBJs 20 HR with 38 and with a higher OPS sounds good for the offense. Believe we can fill utility roles from our current 40 man roster people. I would go hard for Otani although it is a crap shoot, but I believe he can play outfield and pitch. Might be a generational talent.

I am expecting a storm of negativism regarding the Sox hiring of the new hitting coach Tom Hyers and his assistant Andy Barkett. This site seldom has a positive take on changes.

This site has its share of negative nellies who express their concerns crudely. We should be willing to give the moves a fair chance before filling the site with negative vibrations. LaRussa is a hall of fame baseball man abd ay well be a help in selecting coaches and players.

LaRussa is one of the top baseball men in the business. He is a great advisory pickup for the team in my view. This site is so negative about people like DD and LaRussa. Can't understand other than some like to say shocking things to rile things up.

Springer's defense didn't look that impressive but he did hit for power and was the WS MVP. Nothing to sneeze at. Bradley's hitting has been erratic and more often than not a slump waqiting to happen. Unless a new hitting coach can turn him around (I don't expect that), we are likely to see more of the same in 2018.

Any takeaways from the Astro's world series win and how they accomplished it? The Astros were in a position to draft very well over the last few years and got Bregman, Correa, Springer and Gurriel The Astros have an MVP caliber 2nd baseman in Altuve The Astros have an experienced and capable DH in Beltran The Astros spent the money and got the best SP (Verlander) available at the last minute The Astros got McCann who helped them a lot Interesting for those who claim lineup posiitioning doesn't matter. The Astros stacked their lineup with the first 5 doing the bulk of the damage. Also note they have a low strikeout rate. So, the Sox draft position will not allow them to build up the way the Astros have. We got Castillo and they got Gurriel. We on paper had better relief pitching and possibly better starting pitching top to bottom but they are the best hitting team and can make up for the pitching deficit. So we get Cora and hope that some of the hitting success of the Astros can be transferred to our young guys. Lets not get too wound up about power hitters with long uppercut swings. The Dodgers had those and they were striking out at a high rate against good pitching. Lets get contact hitters with some power, like Nunez.

This board is tough on any move or change made. LaRussa is a proven baseball man and having him to advise and support on acquisitions, both of coaches and players, can be seen as a plus. Perhaps he will have additional roles as well. Glad to see him join the team.