Fan_since_Boggs

Assuming Sale stays healthy, I don't see the Red Sox doing much in free agency when it comes to starting pitching. Sale and Eovaldi can lead the rotation, they have the young guys who can be very good (Whitlock and Houck) and Pivetta and Perez round out the rotation. That's already 6 starters. When you look at a list of soon-to-be free agent starting pitchers, the quality is somewhat poor. As far as E-Rod goes, I'm starting to think that C.Seabold at league minimum might be better value than E-Rod making 10-15 million per year. I don't know what E-Rod will be paid, but since the Red Sox have so much pitching depth, and E-Rod isn't exactly Cy Young material, it might not make sense to resign him. If the Red Sox do resign him, it would make sense to trade Perez for a Single A lottery ticket just to get his salary off the books. If JD opts out and the Red Sox extend Kyle S., the Red Sox will need a 1b for one year until Casas is ready. 1b: ??? 2b: combination of Hernandez and Arroyo SS: Bogaerts 3b: Devers C: Vazquez LF: Verdugo CF: Duran RF: Renfroe DH: Kyle S. If JD doesn't opt out: 1b: Kyle S. DH: JD Martinez

If JD can get 3 years, 45 million, Kyle S. will get more than that. Kyle S. is 4-5 years younger. Both players are DH types, Kyle S. isn't a good LF and he will probably suck at 1b too, but he has an exceptional bat and those 4-5 years makes a big difference in the eyes of general managers. JD is reaching an age at which players typically decline, whereas Kyle S. has some prime years left. JD Martinez can't field either, they have that in common. I would be shocked if the Red Sox don't extend Kyle S. I think they traded for him knowing he wouldn't be a two month rental but would be a major offensive contributor over the next several seasons. They will need the money to extend him, but they should have the resources for that. I guess it gets a little trickier if JD doesn't opt out, as that would add 20 million to the payroll next season, and another DH, but I hope they extend Kyle S. no matter what. They need his bat over the next few seasons and Fenway Park might augment his already impressive offensive numbers. True to the overall plan, I think the Kyle S. acquisition was more about the Red Sox future than this season. He isn't a rental.

Kyle S. isn't a two way player and that will work against him. Still, he is going to decline his option, why accept 11 mil for one year when he can get a multi year deal worth more per year? At the minimum, he should be able to get 15 million per year over 4 years, no? But I would expect the bidding to go higher. True, over 100 million seems like too much especially at a time when teams covet two way players. People think that JD can get 3 years at 45 million. Kyle S. will have more suitors, he is a younger player by 4-5 years and that matters.

I think the Red Sox traded for Kyle S. not only to help them win this year but because they have designs on signing him to a long term deal. He is like 4-5 years younger than JD Martinez. In the worst scenario, JD sticks around for one more season. In that scenario, the Red Sox could play Kyle S. at 1b next year and then move him to DH in 2023 when Casas is ready to play 1b and JD is gone. Also, when we look at the free agent market for starting pitchers, it isn't easy finding starters that you would want to invest big money in. The Red Sox are loaded with starting pitching depth for next season without going to free agency. They need to keep the offense strong IMO, and Kyle S. will be one of the better (and younger) bats on the market.

It strikes me as pretty obvious that Kyle S. is going to decline his option. Why play for 11 million when he can get a contract in excess of 100 million on the free agent market?

But they have JD hopefully opting out. Kyle S. could be the Red Sox's DH as early as next season and into future seasons. I think they need his bat going forward.

Why won't he be here? The Red Sox need him. I realize he will decline his option and will be a free agent, but I'm hoping the Red Sox sign him to a long term deal.

I don't see Casas as an option right now--you don't want to rush a player simply because your GM was too dumb to acquire a 1b at the trade deadline.

One trade deadline strategy: roll the dice and hope Kyle S. can play 1b. This strategy involves the additional negative of acquiring a player who is hurt and not ready to contribute. Another trade deadline strategy: acquire an actual 1b, while also acquiring Kyle S., who is eminently useful in other roles (he can play LF as you move Verdugo around to CF and RF. He can also get some limited work in at DH to rest a slumping JD). The Red Sox went with the former strategy when the latter made much more sense.

Interesting. So the Red Sox's pitching staff has a better xFIP than the Yankees.

I was confused as to why the Red Sox didn't pinch hit for Dalbec in the 7th inning last night before Dalbec's embarrassing 3-pitch strikeout against the RHP. Was Cordero hurt? As was said above, you can only rely on Bogaerts, Devers, and the Red Sox's best hitters so much. At some point you need your less skilled hitters to produce as well and when your starting 1b has given you a 75 OPS+ through 4 months, that sort of thing has an impact on your ability to score runs. The Red Sox have other problems but Dalbec is the most obvious one. The fact that he is still playing speaks to Bloom's failures at the trade deadline.

Maybe. But it would have made more sense to acquire a player who has actually played 1b. You can still acquire Kyle S.

YES. The Red Sox lead the league in this. Kyle S. will help but more should have been done to address it at the trade deadline.

He should have been replaced at the trade deadline. It was the simplest most obvious thing to do and yet Bloom couldn't get it figured out. Remarkable. It will be difficult to demote him now, since they have no one to replace him with. I'm not seeing how that works. Who plays 1b? Cordero?

A few days after the trade deadline and Pawecki is the DH and Dalbec is the starting 1b. Something went wrong. A-Rod commented on Dalbec's at bat in the 7th inning last night--Dalbec swung hopelessly at 3 pitches out of the zone with a man on third base and less than 2 outs. I don't remember A-Rod's exact words but he did highlight just how futile Dalbec looked. I have no idea why Cora didn't pinch hit for Dalbec in that spot. The Red Sox have some kind of blind spot for Dalbec, that seems pretty clear. This was Bloom's first season as a general manager of a winning Red Sox team and he failed to deliver at the deadline. Let's hope he learns from this.

That's the nightmare scenario: JD Martinez has a lousy second half, doesn't opt out, and the Red Sox are stuck with him for one more year at 20 m. Will that impact the Red Sox's ability to resign Kyle S.? I hope not. As far as Dalbec goes, I hope he is off the 40 man too, but the Red Sox front office seems to have some kind of blind spot for him and so he might stick around. It would make sense to dump Dalbec, find a real major league first baseman, and use Kyle S. as the primary DH. No Dalbec, no Martinez. Alternatively, if JD doesn't opt out, he continues as the DH and the Red Sox resign Kyle S. for 1b in 2022. In 2023, JD is gone, Kyle S. moves to DH, and Casas is the starting 1b.

I WAS watching parts of this series. The Marlins can't hit at all. A high school pitcher could probably throw a shutout against them, LOL.

The Red Sox always seem to be facing a lefty.... I would get Duran in there over Verdugo. Verdugo sucks against lefties and he did nothing yesterday. I can understand trying to protect the rookie, but it's not like you are violating the laws of the universe by giving Duran a start against a lefty. Moreover, as I already stated, Verdugo sucks against lefties anyway.

What 40 man roster crunch? C: Vazquez Plawecki C.Wong R.Hernandez INF: Dalbec Bogaerts Devers J.Arauz C.Arroyo K.Hernandez OF: Duran Verdugo Renfroe BULLPEN: Barnes Braiser J.Taylor D.Hernandez P.Valdez E.Bazardo Sawamura A.Davis STARTERS: Sale Eovaldi Houck Whitlock Pivetta Perez C.Seabold B.Mata J.Groome Added to the 40 man: J.Downs G.Jimenez B.Bello J.Winckowski D.Feltman K.Crawford V.Santos ----That’s 37 players, leaving 3 spots open (did I overlook someone?) NOTE: I’m assuming JD opts out. Also: I'm not sure about Feltman making the 40 man roster, he might be kept off. I'm guessing Santos makes it, since Bloom traded for him--- As far as the open spots go, I would think the Red Sox go all out to resign K.Schwarber. They should look to add a really good bullpen arm in free agency. I’m not sure about E-Rod, he might want too much money and might not be brought back. In addition, the Red Sox have a lot of starting pitching depth and I'm not sure if E-Rod is really worth a sizeable contract. I only have 3 outfielders on the 40 man (minus G.Jimenez) and so the Red Sox will need to get something figured out there. As far as Rosario goes, he isn’t hitting this year, but maybe the Red Sox keep him around for his speed and defense. Free Agents: JD Martinez E-Rod K.Schwarber Andriese Ottavino G.Richards M.Gonzalez D.Santana H.Robles Deactivated/Released/Traded Cordero Rosario Potts Y.Rios

Good to hear--I think the Red Sox should load up with prep pitchers in the next draft. The Red Sox have a big wave of infield prospects coming: Casas, Mayer, Yorke, and Jordan. The Red Sox have a wave of pitching prospects coming soon: Bello, Mata, Groome. I guess the OF prospects are a little thin, but Duran will be with the Red Sox for a long time and an organization can always find outfielders. The Red Sox do need to build another layer of pitching prospects behind the next wave and the 2022 draft could be used to build that layer.

Spotrac is just an internet site, can't be counted on. I didn't hear his post-trade deadline press conference, but I did hear that Bloom indicated that the Red Sox are NOT over the limit this season. Yeah, and that probably had something to do with the Red Sox not making more moves. Staying under was likely a priority.

The Red Sox have to hope that Chris Sale is a big SP upgrade and that a stretched out Houck will upgrade the rotation as well. We shall see..... But if Sale and Houck pitch as well as they are capable, the Red Sox have a championship caliber starting rotation. Of course, Eovaldi is a big piece of that too. Then again, there are many things that could go wrong with this plan and the rotation is a major area of concern at this point. But some of the scrubs like Perez and Richards aren't going to see the light of day in the postseason. edit: just talking about 2021 here.

Interesting, the Mets could offer Rocker ZERO and they would still recover the pick (according to this source): It sounds like the Mets saw something in his medicals and decided they would rather have next year's 11th than sign Rocker. They are probably on to something. Boras claims there is nothing wrong with Rocker but Boras is usually full of s***. No one knows Rocker's plans for the future. The article above could only speculate:

Here's a good article on the players that have not yet signed: Rocker is the most interesting. I'm wondering if the Mets didn't like the medicals and decided to lower their offer, hoping Rocker goes back to college, allowing the Mets to get next year's 11th pick. As far as Fabian goes, I think it is a settled matter--he is going back to college and the Red Sox will get next year's 41st pick. That could be a good thing and will give the Red Sox more spending flexibility. For example, let's say the Red Sox go big in the first round next year and decide to take a hard-to-sign high school prospect in the late first. They could pull extra resources from the 41st pick if necessary. Alternatively, the Red Sox could go slot with the first round pick and take a hard-to-sign high school prospect with the 41st pick, pulling resources from subsequent picks.

Eric Van speculated that G.Richards could be deactivated when Sale is ready to go. Sale would take his 40 man roster spot. Kind of interesting. I guess the idea is no one will claim Richards, too much money, and the Red Sox could send him to AAA where he can work on things. I don't know, I suspect the Red Sox keep Richards, why not take a look at Richards in the bullpen? Maybe as a one inning reliever? I might put Richards on the phantom IL, and then rehab him at AAA as a reliever and take it from there.