oldtimer

Don't expect anything at all until January, and it doesn't look good even then.

Pretty tough to play without a catcher. All kidding aside, I expect we will see Casas and possibly Duran in 2023. Mayer and Yorke will probably come in during 2024. Downs and Jiminez may show enough but at this time they are not obvious MLers.

Priorities: 1. Get a starting pitcher of at least #2 starter quality without breaking the bank or accepting high risk in years (not easy to do) 2. Get a right handed quality outfielder to replace Renfroe 3. Get a high quality reliever for late innings 4. Extend Rafie

By your point numbers: 1. Both parties should be able to agree to a Universal DH and it does create openings for older players who still can hit.. 2. Expanded playoffs are something owners want to increase revenues and may offset to some degree what the players want in financial increases. 3. Minimum wage increases for new or marginal players is a cost to the owners. I don't think it has to grow to $750K in 2022 but I also expect an increase. I can also see it increase over the CBA period. Since it is aimed at a large number of players it should help move the vote. 4. Time to get to arbitration shortened by one year is also favored by a large number of players and should help move the acceptance of a CBA. I would expect the owners would want to see that the playoff move would defray the cost associated with this move. I don't think the owners will accept shortening the period to reach FA. It opens the door to further chaos and cost. 5. Some sort of so called Competitive Balance Tax with penalties favors he owners but effectively applying an upper limit on yearly spending. I can see that being raised a percentage yearly, but not what the players would like. Something like 3 % a year over the contract seems reasonable to expect. You didn't mention one which bothers players. That is where the team management holds back prospects ready to play to push back their time to reach arbitration. Rule changes to make it not beneficial to hold a player back should be favored by the prospect most and they aren't yet voters, so may not be a union priority. You also didn't mention computer assisted ball and strike calling and other rules to pick up the pace of play, such as a clock on pitchers to avoid the slowest in that regard. Many of these will be considered but are not the key financial elements so may be left off if controversial to one party or the other.

I do believe Bloom when he said we need to upgrade the outfield and trading Renfroe coming off his top performance made sense, although the return was certainly questionable. I look to Bloom to try to find a longer term solution in the form of a near prime right handed hitter with good defensive qualities, and that makes Suzuki plausible if somewhat risky. There will be a lot of competition for him though. I can't find a lot good to say about Bloom's pitching moves so far. We may have gotten an over the Hill, a Wacha capable of and a Paxton on the IL. More is needed.

Thoughts on the CBA: Being an old curmudgeon, and not yet accused of being a member of the posse, I have some thoughts to share relative to the ongoing discussions leading up to any new Collective Bargaining Agreement. On the owners side we have a bunch of successful business men who have run corporations with the goal of making a profit. In addition, they are sett up as a committee. It's hard to get a committee to agree on anything. Their collective goals include increasing the value of their franchises and getting a solid ROI. Of course some may truly love the game and not want to harm the goose that laid the golden egg. They also can be competitive. Winning can be a bragging point and also can be reflected in the value of the franchise. I read somewhere that a percentage of CEO's are psychopaths (not the evil killer types) so some of their decisions may seem calculated or even irrational. On the players side it is interesting to note that the average salary is $4.17 mil and going down. More interesting is the median salary is $1.1 Mil. The average years in the majors is 5.6 although a player has an 11% chance of losing that status at any time. I couldn't find the median years in the majors but one would assume there is not that much difference from average. I assume that young men who get a big check are likely to reward themselves with cars, housing and high living unless someone clues them in. Players want to get to the majors as soon as their talent allows and also want to get a high starting salary and qualify for arbitration and then free agency as soon as possible. The players form a collective union which believes is should get a substantial share of the total MLBB income. So the median player may expect to make around $6 mil during their time with taxes eating up about 40 % of that. Union voting would be based on the median. Clearly the baseball owners are reluctant to give on any of the players desires as it cuts into their profits. What can they do to make it hard for the players and hence the union. They can continue to bargain until well into the season, knowing they can at least break even if they get a season underway in June. Years 2 through 5 will presumably be full with full profits as well. It's tough for the median players to resist as they go without checks while their expenses still must be paid. The risk owners take is pissing off the fans. Joe Blow who is being asked to fork over $200 to take his son to the park may finally have had enough. My view is there is a very real chance baseball doesn't get going on time and maybe even being delayed into the summer. Hope the owners come around and the players union remains somewhat flexible. Only time will tell. Merry Christmas season.

All the speculation on potential Sox moves came to naught, with only a few head scratcher moves and none of which appear to make the Sox better. According to Bloom, we pursued a number of FAs and trades but were outbid, which makes me believe we weren't that serious. Maybe the plan was to make a strong bid in 2023 all along. Now we have a lockout, which could last until the Summer. There really will be little to talk about until the lockout ends unless of course we want to argue with each other over trifles. Time to go on vacation.

I don't think Renfroe was in the Sox long term plans and they saw a chance to trade him and pick up a couple of prospects and a good defensive outfielder. I don't think Bradley is in the Sox long term plans either.

Stroman as well.

Why did they non-tender Locastro?

I am against the Sox taking on that kind of risk, as it could easily turn out bad and seriously effect the teams flexibility in future.

A lot of the FA big boys have been scooped up and some in long term risky contracts.(refer to https://www.espn.com/mlb/freeagents) I opined earlier that the Sox management may be treading water this year, while they wait for a few existing contracts to expire or clarify. The presumption is that they plan to wait for 2023 to make a splash. By then the new player/owner agreement will be settled and the Sox can make a major push to get better. So far, by the lack of action by Bloom, it seems to give my opinion some credence.

With the huge FA contracts being handed out it seem as if the Competitive Balance limit will have to be raised. More than $43 mil a year for Mad Max, Seager cashing in and Semien. Wow!

Great reply.

As a depth addition to our starting rotation it probably makes sense. As you say, we need more of a front line starter added to the team as well.

The question remains in my mind. Is Bloom serious about making the Sox much more competitive for 2022 or is he instead trying to tread water until some of our remaining contracts come off the books? Priice, JDM and Eovaldi will free up a lot of money for 2023 although Eovaldi is certainly not overpaid. Will Bloom continue to strengthen thee minors and get a few mid player players on short contracts this year and coast until 2023. As we see more starters go to other teams for multiyear contracts one can certainly question Blooms strategy for 2022.

So who do we trade from our 40 man, assuming we pick up as many as 3 pitchers and an infielder and utility man? Candidates might be Potts, Aruaz, Rosario, Davis and a catcher.

Rule 5 protection will be defined today. We may lose a few, including Cordero.

Co Co Crisp would have to be in the running.

So, we should trade Duran.

I was for Schwaber only if JDM chose to opt out. After this year we can pick up one of the many DH options that might become available. Lets put money into one or two starting pitchers and one or two RP's. The decision on the mix should be based on our plans for Whitlock, Houck and Seabold. I'm guessing Casas can supplement 11st base. We could use Arroyo at 2nd or pick up a strong presence at 2nd and move Arroyo to infield utility. I rather Semien than Biaz. We don't need another strikeout king to go with Renfroe and Dalbec. I'm still interested in an outfield replacement for Renfroe if he is going to be valued at $7.5 mil. Duran would be an adequate utility backup and we could also use Locastro.

It's anyone's guess what the Sox offered. Maybe it was for the same money but less years. At any rate, E-Rod is gone and we will be looking. With thee CBA negotiations not making progress, I doubt if teams will be willing to lay out the bigger contracts and FA will go on hold. It might be a good idea for the Sox to fill at least some of the medium contract pitchers before Dec 1 though..

i really doubt that Bloom is going to trade future cornerstone players for any pitcher. I suggest that Casas, Mayer, Verdugo, and Yorke all belong in the no trade category.

Even though I like Marte, as I think he is a batter fielder and hitter than Renfroe despite being older, I did say he might be too expensive for the Sox. They might find someone else instead. The Sox had two power hitters who definitely had big holes in their swings. Dalbec hardly was used and Renfroe was overmatched. I believe what I see and don't refer to the stats for the last 3 years to override my judgment. Renfroe is at best a fill in player. I'll give Dalbec the benefit of the doubt, as he was showing some better signs of making contact later in the year. Renfroe at $7.5 mil is no bargain and I think Bloom knows it.

I am not a fan of boom and bust cycles which result from overspending on large questionable contracts and trading away most of the good young assets. It may result it a high but also will likely be followed by a cliff. I like what Bloom is saying and hope he smartly approaches team development which includes sustainability as a priority.