oldtimer

One of the biggest wild cards that went unmentioned is the addition of Cora and his impact in the mood and enthusiasm in the clubhouse. There will be coaching changes coming with Cora as well. Its a wild card but could be positive or negative. I tend to think positively about the change as the clubhouse seemed a little dour last year under JF.

God love you as you probably top the age bracket of all on this site and that is doing something. I have gotten somewhat shaky over the years and often double strike letters so have to go through and edit and even write things out in Word if they are long and then copy them in. Hope to still be lucid at your age. Your insights are beneficial to the site, so keep on sharing them. I was around in the very early 40's but don't remember Tabor.

I see Goldschmidt's name mentioned as a possible trade for some of our Minor leaguers. Could that even be a possabilit. If so, there is your very solid 1st base candidate.

Devers defense at 3rd was awful. True he is young and probably will improve defensvely, but will it be enough? There is also a liklihood that he will mature into a heavier guy and be somewhat less mobile. I am not assured by you saying he will be fine and think he may well need to be moved to 1st. I am open to either but the coaching staff needs to make the call based on actual performance. Butterfield is reputedly a special infield coach and Cora will know his value. They may move him to 1st base coach though as some of the outs made at home could well have had something to do with his 3rd base coaching. Cora will become active soon. All the theories and discussions taking place now on the site will have little impact on what DD, JH, Cora and the staff decide to do. I'll wait, knowing what the weaknesses and needs are an see what they can come up with. Gradual improvements in a number of areas will keep us in the forefront.

Cora will be trying to assemble his coaching staff in that time frame. I hope he and his coaching staff becomes a part of selecting such FAs as we do sign.

He is young and is a 5 tool guy. Very possible he can develop into a CF type in the future. Maybe I am a little too optimistic that it can occur by Sept., but he is one of the few in our system which has that kind of potential. He is 6' 170# right now but will probably get to 185 with maturity and gain power. Keep an eye on him.

Agreed.

No question in my mind that JBJ is durable and ranks among the top AL defensive CFs with Kevin Pillar and Kevin Kiermaier. Still, he is an irratic hitter and did not show improvement this year, and he is now at prime age. What I am hoping for is incremental improvement on a hollistic basis. Cora is now our manager and he will help select coaches going forward. They no doubt will discuss possible moves to improve the club and JBJ is one of those who may be involved. This Brannen kid is a 5 tool player and may be a CF of the future. The earliest we will see him is probably a sept call up. Please do not trade him away. We may have to wait a year to make more substantial moves until Panda and Hanley's contracts free up another $40 mil, assuming Hanley's contract is not fulfilled for 2019. I know your suggesting Duda as a possible addition. I guess we will have to wait and see what Cora, his coaches and DD come up with. Doing nothing should not be an option.

The way I read it in the Boston media, Cora has already accepted a three year deal and will begin his responsibilities after the World Series. Good to see a capable, young Latino manager in the majors. I look forward to a positive experience with Cora.

I keep a general summary of potential Sox actions and believe DD has a steep hill to climb, given the salary limitations. While he probably can't take drastic actions some of those he could take and that have been discussed appear below. Summary of Sox Improvement Needs The Yankees, Guardians and Astros will all seek to improve in the offseason. Sox have to improve more to be competitive with them. Nunez, Devers and Reed brought in and gave us a lift, without which we wouldn’t have made the playoffs. Impediments include Panda contract, injuries to E-Rod, Pedey, Nunez and Hanley and FA of Nunez, Reed, Moreland Moves in the making include managerial replacement and coaching replacements on which knowledgeable people have argued for and against. Areas to address: 1. Lack of power bats in the lineup Discussion includes possible 1st base addition or moving Devers to first to help with defense while taking on a 3rd base power bat. Also, possibly moving JBJ in favor of a power bat addition to the outfield. 2. Lack of general offensive efficiency Possible improvement in coaching of existing players (Bogey) and plate approach strategy. Trading of erratic hitters for more consistent hitters (JBJ) although weighing it against defensive weakening. Dealing with second base issues. Hanley’s recovery? 3. Infield defense Devers improvement or move. Living with Bogey. Need for 2nd base support or replacement. Playing Hanley at 1st or DH. Addition of 3rd or 1st baseman. 4. Starting pitching underperformance Bad Porcello year. Still has arm and can eat innings. Can he be coached up? Loss of E-rod may require new starter. Will Price make it back as full time starter? 5. Rethinking utility players Saying goodbye to Young, Davis and Holt? Taking utility guys from our existing roster? 6. Depleted minor league franchises Can we get help from Chavis, Travis, Groome, Brannen, Hernandez, Lin, Marrero, others or should we include them in trade packages. Not much left to trade. 7. Continuous ruinous contracts that limit our financial flexibility Panda contract still limits flexibility. Hanley’s if he doesn’t perform, Pedey if he is under the knife and can’t contribute. Porcello and Price if they can’t perform. Leaves us able to add one power bat and possibly help at 2nd and possibly relief help. After salary arbitration how much is left?

We have CF candidates, what we don't have is a middle of the order bat. Ozuna could be that player and maybe at a reasonable cost.

If Cora makes it in he should get the opportunity to pick his coaching staff. Like one of those deals where every coach is free to pursue other opportunities but may not be asked by our new manager to do so. I think we have been weakest in hitting, so it is a place to look.

I'd prefer trading JBJ and whatever for Ozuna. Age, cost, position, power, average are all there plus he is a CF. Would the Marlins let him go? Stanton has more power but Ozuna might be a better match for the Sox. I also want to keep our young core but think JBJ would be expendable if we could get Ozuna. Maybe I'm dreaming that Jeter would consider such a trade.

Honestly, I think Devers at 1B next year makes the most sense for our chances in 2018 and 2019. It might not be whats best for him or the Sox long term goals, but for the immediate future, I'm not sure we can withstand his "learning curve" on defense. That might mean signing Moustakas, instead of JD- who may want to play our west anyways or command too much salary and years for a player his age and with his lack of seasons without injuries. Sign Moustakas, move Devers to 1B, HRam to DH and then maybe try trading JBJ and prospects for Stanton. Again, this plan would, by itself, put us over the second level or very close, so there'd be no room for a SP'er and back-up 2Bman That makes some sense to me. Devers might be our 1st baseman of the future. Hanley could be DH unless he can't manage that many games. If need be we can use a utility hitter if his shoulders prove to be cranky. Put the money in at third for a good fielding/ good hitting Moustakas. I like it. Trade JBJ plus prospects and get an outfielder like Ozuna or Stanton. That leaves the potential mess at 2nd and the need for 1 SP. Possibly Chavis is ready to play 2nd? Cheap solution. Trouble is no money for a SP. Could Otani be that SP? Dig into our reserves for utility players. Travis, Brannen, Lin, Hernandez, Swihart and Marrero. We need a couple of low cost solutions.

Hope he has a list of new coaches in mind.

First point about Hanley is that he had one shoulder operated on. I had heard that both shoulders were giving him trouble. His recovery and ability to play first and hit at a decent level could change our priorities. Some significant ifs there. If Hanley can play first, then we can look for a designated hitter, although I would prefer to pick up a field player who can also be a designated hitter. Maybe we get a 1st baseman who can swap off duties with Hanley. I am still waiting for the other shoe to drop on Pedey. If he undergoes knee surgery it could be a season ending move. He is aware of the possible consequences and has yet to make a decision. We may well need to find a replacement as a high priority. Some have suggested Betts but to take a GG outfielder and move him to 2nd is a questionable thing to do. We have the possibility of Nunez if he is sound, or Chavis out of the minors. With Hanley playing first, we have To ask ourselves if Devers defense no only will improve, but also improve enough so he isn't a defensive liability. I would keep Bogey at short and trust that a new hitting coach can get him to make the changes that can make him a more consistent hitter. I do expect JBJ to be moved so that we can pick up a power bat for the outfield. Would Betts go into CF? Would Beni go to RF? Lots of big bats to think about for our outfield. As far as looking for one or two starting pitchers, what team isn't? Competition will be fierce. Hope we can get one and live with that.

Two of the three Yankee starters this playoff season aren't hard throwers but they are effective pitchers. Tanaka keeps the ball down and has a lot of movement with sliders, splitters and some curves.Sabbathia is on the corners and seems to have hitters baffled. Neither is required to go deep since the BP is so solid and deep. Shutting down the Guardians and now the Astros says something about their pitching. Fireballers are nice to have but not necessarily essential. When pitchers get the ball up and over the plate they get susceptable.

Interesting talk todaqy about potential trade targets on the Marlins. There we three suggested anyone of which might come to pass. 1 Giancarlo Stanton for Bogey, Travis and Groome 2. Marcell Ozuna for E-Rod, JBJ and Travis 3. Christian Yelich for JBJ, Schefff and Brannen Certainly food for thought and getting Ozuna might be the best of the suggested three. Would change our outfield and give us a better hitter with more pop. E-Rod might be medically unable to play next year which could queer that deal. Stanton is someone who is sought after but might be the wrong move with some big names coming available in the following year. I hate to see Bogey go without one more year to correct his offense and Groome looks like an excellent SP prospect. I don't like that suggested trade. In the case of a trade for Yelich, he wouldn't add power but might we be a more consistent hitter. I don't like giving Brannen away in any trade as the kid is likely a 5 tool player of the future destined to do well in the Red Sox outfield. I can't see us trading for more than one starting outfielder this off season.

He is short for a 1st baseman. I think 5'10" and that is probably in shoes.

Probably the best explanation. Just as Pedey and Nunez may require surgery but whose talking about that now, especially when looking for players who may need to fill positions.

Michael Chavis is more suited to second base than third based on his physique and his arm. He is hitting well in the minors and is our 3rd ranked minor league player. I would think he is a candidate to come in and fill out the second base position. Then leave Bogey at short and get a third baseman. Believe Devers is out 1st baseman of the future. We will see how our new manager feels.

The definition of debridement is to get rid of the obvious issues and after that settles down, look again for structural issues. More may come of this.

Note, nothing so far on Pedey and nothing on Nunez. Both probably will be slated for surgery. Hanley, by my reading, may require additional surgery now the first phase has allowed the good doctor to see the shoulder condition.

These are very reaql c oncerns about both Pedey and Nunez.Then, thew Sox medical staff has not been very good at assessing injuriies either. Pedey is owed $14 mil next year and into the future. They will try to use him unless surgery eliminates him in 2018. Nunez was the best hitter on the Sox in 2017 for the time he was here until his knee injury. If he can do a fill in job plus backing up other positions we are in better shape. If he can't do it, we need to find a player like Cozart who can.

Some of our guys were having a difficult time with pitch recognition. When they would get down in the strike count, they were often fooled by sliders down and away. Thinking of Betts and Bogey in that case. Being down on the count just increased that tendency.