Fan_since_Boggs

Gray's xFIP= 4.25. He was even worse last season. I would keep away from Gray. I would rather use Houck in the rotation, definitely E-Rod too. Berrios is a different story. He is worth trading for. As far as Rizzo goes, if the Red Sox wanted him bad enough, they could have easily topped the Yankees offer. With that said, Alacantara isn't a terrible prospect.

Do this: 1. Hosmer & top 5 Padres prospect to the Red Sox as the Red Sox flex their big market muscle by bailing out the Padres. 2. Top 5 Padres prospect and G.Jimenez to the Twins for Berrios (the Twins are a little thin on outfield prospects and will likely lose Buxton after the 2022 season).

With Scherzer going to the Padres, that leaves only one SP upgrade on the market: Berrios. Kyle Gibson would be an upgrade too if you think his numbers are sustainable (debatable point). Jon Gray= not an upgrade but a sideways move IMO.

Keeping Gallo long term makes more sense than keeping Judge long term, since Gallo has that lefty bat. But Judge is so popular with the fan base. Maybe the Yankees will sign both to long term contracts but that will cost a lot of money. Hal will be OK with resigning both players while saddled with the Cole and Stanton contracts?

hEYMAN also tweets that the Red Sox are in the mix for Jose Berrios. I want Berrios more than Scherzer. If the Red Sox get either Berrios or Scherzer, forget about the bullpen (Hoack moves there) and trade for a starting 1b.

I just found out that Gallo's agent is Scott Boras. That's perfect, LOL.

BTW, Gallo's agent is Scott Boras. LOL.

And Gallo wants a fortune in free agency, and this is why the Rangers traded him--they approached him regarding a long term deal but the two sides were far apart. What are the Yankees going to do after 2022? Sanchez will be a free agent. Gallo will be a free agent. Judge will be a free agent. Green will be a free agent. Chapman will be a free agent. Gallo and Judge will both want contracts in the 200-300 million dollar range, no? Stanton isn't going anywhere--the Yankees can't trade him--and Cole isn't going anywhere either.

It is also worth noting that the Rangers only traded away 1.2 seasons of value in Gallo. When we look at the trade from that perspective, the Rangers did pretty well in the return. The Rangers had discussed a long term contract with Gallo but the two sides were far apart. In other words, it sounds like Gallo wants a fortune in free agency and so what are the Yankees going to do about that? Can the Yankees sign both Judge and Gallo to long terms deals in the 200-300 million range? If not, which one leaves after 2022?

Are you sure he doesn't have a third pitch? I'm hearing he throws a 4 seamer, a sinker (2-seamer), and a slider. He also has a splitter but he throws it less than 5% of the time. But I'm not sure if Houck has learned how to harness his stuff in such a way as to be a dependable 6-7 inning starter. Something like that could come with more experience but he probably isn't there now. Let's say the Red Sox don't trade for a SP. With Houck and Sale, the Red Sox may need to go to the bullpen somewhat early (Whitlock's role?). If you use Whitlock exclusively for Houck and Sale's games, there is a need for another reliever who can then replace Whitlock. Kimbrel would be a great fit. Kimbrel replaces Whitlock in the bullpen (essentially) and Whitlock is used exclusively to piggyback games started by Houck and Sale.

Otto is an interesting guy and his numbers this year are quite impressive. His fastball isn't bad and he has a nasty curve (plus pitch) but he is already 24 or 25 and might not have a lot of remaining projection and he doesn't have a plus third pitch. In short, Otto will have a hard time making it as a starter (without a third pitch) but he does profile as a very effective 3 inning reliever type. Those guys are becoming more valuable in today's game in which starters rarely go beyond 6 innings and teams that can get 3 innings out of a single reliever can avoid using up the bullpen.

The Yankees just added more mess to the pile of crap. The Yankees won't have much payroll flexibility at the end of 2021. Kluber is the only significant contract coming off the books (assuming they pick up Britton's option) and are looking at arb raises for the following: Gallo, Judge, Sanchez, Voit, Urshela, Torres, Taillon, Green, German, Loaisiga, Andujar. The Yankees free agents at the end 2022: Chapman, Britton, Judge, Gallo, Sanchez, Taillon, Green. Eric Van's post on Gallo:

This would be my strategy. If Fabian doesn't sign, the harm is minimal since the Red Sox get the pick back next year. Also, I don't understand the position: if the Red Sox don't sign Fabien, they could perhaps sign Green. I don't see or understand where the money would come from for Green. So if the Mets offer Rocker 75% of slot value and he doesn't sign, the Mets get the pick back next year? That's a far cry from signing Rocker for over slot, which was what Rocker was expecting and the Mets were prepared to pay him. If the Mets sign Rocker for 75% of slot, they could use the saved money on other draft picks. On the other hand, perhaps the Mets didn't select any hard-to-sign over slot types later in the draft? Of course, there is a chance Rocker won't sign for 75% of slot or even full slot value, in which case the Mets lose that money. But if the Mets don't have any hard-to-sign draftees, it doesn't really matter and they would get the pick back next year. Back to Fabian, if he is some middle class kid, he would be crazy to pass on 2 million or 2.5 million, that is still life changing money and a lot of money for most people. If he is already wealthy--born into a wealthy family--I can understand taking the risk.

Good summary. Oh, boy. I wonder how this gets resolved. I'm not surprised to hear this, as an elbow issue would explain Rocker's inconsistent velocity. I can't picture this deal totally collapsing. Even if he needs TJ Surgery, he could still develop into a quality starter. Then again, maybe the Mets would rather not sign him and would prefer to gain a pick next year?

Interesting: there is a rumor saying the Padres want to move Hosmer and his contract and will include a top 5 prospect for any team willing to take on the money. Should the Red Sox do this? This would be another example of the Red Sox flexing their big market muscles. Hosmer has a 100+ OPS this year and so is a league average offensive player, but of course would be a huge upgrade over Doofy Dalbec. Maybe, just maybe, Hosmer would be a good fit for Fenway Park? It should also be noted that Hosmer's contract cost goes down significantly after the 2022 season according to Spotrac: https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/san-diego-padres/eric-hosmer-8531/ To add intrigue: there is a rumor that the Yankees are interested in Hosmer and might be the big market team willing to bail out the Padres. Cashman is so obsessed with prospects--he hates trading them and in this case he would acquire a prospect while also adding a LH bat to the lineup.

Missing out on Fabian might end up being a positive development. Who knows....

Let's say the Red Sox trade for C.Santana (Dalbec is either demoted or traded), I'm thinking the bench might look like this: Kevin Plawecki C.Arroyo F.Cordero The benefit of keeping Cordero is that it would give the Red Sox an extra LH bat, and he would be used to give rest to C.Santana, JD Martinez, and Renfroe (esp. when the Red Sox face a tough righty). When the playoffs begin, the Red Sox will probably go to a 4 man bench? It just seems that they won't need all that pitching in the postseason and an extra bench guy would make more sense. I don't know where Santana and Gonzalez fit into all of this, and I'm not sure when they are expected to return. I just think that Cordero could be a useful bench piece. -------------------- Should the Red Sox flex their big market muscles? Admittedly, I was against the idea of trading for Max Scherzer but I'm now having second thoughts. Maybe the Red Sox should flex their big market muscles, go over the luxury tax, and strike while they can. By acquiring Scherzer, the Red Sox would greatly increase their chances of winning a championship. To waive his no trade, the Red Sox would need to extend Scherzer and so it will be a costly acquisition in terms of money and prospects, but maybe the Red Sox should go for it. The Red Sox flexed their big market muscles 15-20 years ago when they traded for and extended C.Schilling, and that worked out pretty well for the Red Sox. If the Red Sox don't do it, does Scherzer go to the Dodgers? That could be a problem if the Red Sox face the Dodgers in the World Series.

Nice! I don't know what the plan is with Blaze but he has such a high ceiling and it is nice to see him start hitting. He could be a top prospect in a couple of years. Yorke, Blaze, and Mayer -- an awesome group of young infielders.

Is this really concerning? It just seems we can manage migraines nowadays. I would be concerned if he left the game the other day with a shoulder injury. A migraine seems kind of minor to me, but I'm far from an expert on this matter.

Trading for Jon Gray doesn't make sense IMO--it is a sideways move. Your top 3 starters matter most in the postseason (will pitch twice in a 7 game series) and the Red Sox have Eovaldi and Sale as 1-2. That leaves E-Rod, Pivetta, and Houck under consideration for the third rotation spot. But is Jon Gray clearly better than E-Rod, Pivetta, and Houck? If not, it doesn't make sense to trade for him. Kyle Gibson is having a better season than Gray. If you believe that Kyle Gibson is for real, it would make sense to trade for him as he would represent an upgrade over E-Rod, Houck, and Pivetta. I just don't know if Kyle Gibson is for real. Gray has always been a bit of an enigma. He has one above average pitch (his slider) but he has never been able to complement his slider with his 4-seamer and that has kept him from blossoming into a top guy. His velocity has declined (slightly) over the last couple of seasons. Maybe if the Rockies were better at developing pitchers, Gray could have been a top starter. I suppose there could be some untapped potential there, but his 4-seamer has always been a problem for him and his changeup is nothing great and he doesn't throw it that often. Jon Gray is capable of having a really good postseason start, but E-Rod, Houck, and Pivetta are capable of that as well. While Gray would likely be a sideways move, acquiring a starting 1b would be an immediate upgrade, since the Red Sox have the worst or nearly the worst OPS out of the 1b position. In addition, I read this morning that the Red Sox's top relievers are on track to pitch more innings than they ever pitched before. Assuming that is true, there is a real concern about their continued effectiveness. Moreover, while acquiring an upgrade to the starting rotation is almost impossible to do, there are a plethora of relievers on the trade market that would be an upgrade over the Rios-Workman group.

Jeter Downs, D.Feltman, and A.Scherff to the Marlins (Jeter will want Downs and the Marlins are somewhat thin in middle infield talent) for J.Aguilar and A.Bender. The Red Sox lineup after the trade: Hernandez 2b Martinez DH Devers 3b Bogaerts SS Aguilar 1b Verdugo LF Renfroe RF Vazquez C Duran CF

Someone said he sucks? I think Cora is even better than Francona. For me, Cora is the greatest Red Sox manager in my lifetime and has a chance to be a HOF manager many years down the road.

I thought JD had been slumping and that was one of the reasons he was moved to 5th, but maybe I'm wrong about JD. I'll need to check the numbers. Verdugo was definitely slumping and they wanted him out of the second spot.

At one point in this game, the Yankees had a 97% chance of winning....

I just can't let it go, dude. On the day Cora gives his HOF speech as the greatest manager of his generation, I'll be in the crowd yelling at him, "why did you play Cordero in RF at Fenway Park, don't you know he has no range?"