Fan_since_Boggs

Nunez has a negative WAR of -1.2 and an OPS+ of 74. If the Red Sox can't acquire Wheeler AND Cabrera, I would hope they acquire Cabrera. Moreover, Cabrera should cost less in terms of prospects due to Wheeler's extra year of control.

Just about everyone denies it at first. They deny it until they can't deny it any longer. Some, of course, take their denial to the extreme including roid head Roger Clemons. Interestingly, as far as I know, no one has ever volunteered the info prior to getting caught. A-Rod and Pettitte, for example, only admitted to taking PEDs after getting caught. A-Rod admitted to using steroids a second time (through the Miami clinic) when he testified under oath and prosecutors gave him immunity. Actually, maybe Jose Canseco is an exception. He may have admitted to using steroids prior to getting caught.

With E-Rod's injury, I see the Mets as an ideal trading partner. Beeks and Dalbec to the Mets for Wheeler and Cabrera. What do the Red Sox have to add to make that deal work? How about we expand the trade to include Swihart. Beeks, Dalbec, and Swihart to the Mets for Wheeler, Cabrera, and Mesoraco. In Beeks, the Mets get a cost controlled starter who is ready for the big leagues now. Dalbec is a possible future starter at 3b (the Mets aren't loaded at the 3b position in the minors). The Mets can take a look at Swihart for the rest of the season to determine if he is their catcher of the future. What are the Mets losing? Mesoraco and Cabrera are free agents after the season. Wheeler has one more season of control beyond 2018.

Watching Porcello tonight makes you want the Red Sox to find an extra starter at the trade deadline.

Believing in your offense is no excuse for keeping Porcello in for that long. All it takes is one Blue Jay reliever to have a really good game and then the Blue Jays win due to Cora's extreme patience with Porcello. True, the Blue Jays pen sucks, but it only takes one Jays reliever to have his best stuff for the Red Sox to lose.

Cora let Porcello give up 8 earned runs in 2 innings, including 4 walks and 2 HRs. Is Cora smoking dope today?

If the Red Sox lose this game, this is on Cora. The inning started with a HR and walk -- he has to be taken out at that time.

It amazes me that he is still in. When he gave up the HR, you get the bullpen up. When the next guy walked, he should be out.

I'm starting to think the Mets wait to the offseason to make a decision on Degrom. A new GM will be hired in the offseason and he will be responsible for deciding if the Mets rebuild or continue to try to compete. If the latter, the Mets have a very competitive rotation next year: Degrom Syndergaard Matz Wheeler You can win a World Series with that rotation. The Mets would need to make changes to their position players and upgrade the bullpen. I think the Yankees end up with Eovaldi. That sounds like Cashman's speed, a rotation upgrade who would allow the Yankees to hold on to their best young talent. I wonder who the Yankees would have to give up for Eovaldi? C.Adams and something else (but not Florial, Sheffield, or any young talent on the current roster)?

Cabrera makes a lot of sense for the Red Sox. Who loses their roster position if the Red Sox acquire Cabrera? Nunez or do you keep Nunez around as a bench guy? When everyone is healthy, including Vazquez, your bench is (with Cabrera as the starter at 2b): Pearce Swihart Holt Nunez Vazquez The Red Sox will not go into October with a five man bench. Of course, this problem will likely sort itself out, i.e., someone else will get hurt. If everyone is healthy, Nunez or Swihart lose their roster spot. Not only does Cabrera make sense this year, the Red Sox might want to resign him in the offseason.

Does this open the door for B.Phillips, with the Holt/Nunez platoon moving to 3b?

It is hard to know what the Red Sox should pursue in the trade market without more info on Pedroia's knee. I'm starting to like the idea of acquiring a SP. True, the Red Sox don't need one, but it would give them the flexibility to move Price to the bullpen in October. And Pomeranz should be moved to the bullpen now. I would rather acquire a SP and move Pomeranz to the pen now and Price later than acquire a relief pitcher. A package of Dalbec and Beeks would bring back an excellent starting pitcher.

What a crappy offer. Once again, Cashman can't make a trade without squeezing the other team to death. It is kind of interesting that Frazier shows up in every Yankees offer (according to rumors, the Yankees offered Frazier and Adams for Cole; the Pirates turned them down). Let's see if the Orioles are gullible enough to do it. On the topic of Frazier, are there issues with his LF defense? I saw both games of the double hitter the other day and he played an awful LF, terrible jumps, instincts, and angles. I'm not sure if the two games were an anomaly or if he truly profiles as a below average LF. According to this report, the Orioles want Sheffield, the Yankees are pushing Frazier: https://www.nj.com/yankees/index.ssf/2018/07/mlb_trade_rumors_orioles_machado_yankees_sheffield.html

That's true. Theo signed C.Crawford & J.Heyward. The Dice-K thing (100 million) didn't work out either. Overall, though, Theo has a much better & stronger reputation in baseball circles than Cherrington. Thus, Theo could overcome the mistakes. In contrast, I doubt Cherrington is ever offered a GM position again. Moreover, winning a championship with the Cubs helped solidify Theo's reputation and legacy. Cherrington has the 2013 championship, but that achievement isn't as great as Theo's three championships. The timing matters too. Theo won two championships with an organization that had not won one in 86 years. With the Cubs, the wait was over 100 years. Cherrington's championship came after the 2004 & 2007 championships. The suspicion is that Theo helped create the blueprint for the 2013 championship and that Cherrington rode Theo's coattails that year.

Great trade with the Dodgers, but then Ben C. turned around and signed Hanley, Sandoval, and Castillo--3 brutal contracts that will haunt Cherrington forever and will likely undermine his chances of becoming a GM again.

I would think that Bobby Dalbec is now a legit trade chip perhaps even coveted by teams that want power. A package of Dalbec and Beeks should get the Red Sox an excellent major league player.

Good chance that no one wants Chavis either, or, won't give up significant value for him. Who wants a PED culture in their locker room or minor league system? With that said, the Brew crew would probably trade R.Braun for Chavis.

I'm inclined to think it is psychological. The guy needs to settle in, get over the nervousness, repeat his delivery, and do the things that got him to the majors.

As far as Beeks goes, it amazing how awful he has performed. His K rate in AAA is awesome and yet everything he throws (in the major leagues) is flat. His curve ball is flat; fastball lacks velocity and movement. I wonder if it is more psychological than anything else. The throw he made to Bogaerts, for example, suggests he isn't comfortable or performing to the best of his ability.

Some of the posts are tongue-in-cheek.

I don't buy the argument that the Yankees intend to trade for Machado and then send Andujar down. If they are motivated to acquire Machado, I'm guessing they are considering moving Andujar in a trade for a starting pitcher. They would then resign Machado in the offseason. It's not a bad idea. Championships are more important than prospects.

Unless Cashman is thinking big. Trade Andujar & Sheffield to the Mets for Degrom. Acquire Machado to replace Andujar. I'm not sure what it would take, probably Florial. The Yankees resign Machado (for 3b) after the season. That would add two elite pieces to the Yankees and they would then be the best team in baseball, not only this year but over the next few seasons.

The Red Sox don't need a rotation upgrade, not with Wright coming back and it sounds like B.Johnson will miss only one start. My guess is that the Red Sox are sniffing around Eovaldi to drive up the price for the Yankees, who are more desperate for a rotation upgrade.

I think the Red Sox system is going to blossom next year big time. Groome will return. A couple of the pitching prospects will blossom (candidates: Houck, Mata, Scherff) and they already have a couple of guys who look like big league starters, albeit middle of the rotation types, Beeks and Shawaryn. A couple of position players could blossom too, especially Casas and Chatham. I don't hold out much hope for Chavis. Why does soxprospects.com rank him #1? I guess they never got the memo that PEDs are known to enhance performance and statistics, turning a 35 year old Barry Bonds into Babe Ruth. I'm drifting from the main topic, but Soxprospects has really gone downhill. The founder of the site, Mike Andrews, rarely posts on the site unless he is asking members to help pay for his vacations. It amazes me that people actually donate money to the site. I'm pretty sure Andrews lies about the amount coming in, though.

There is a comparison to be made between the Sale trade (Moncada, Kopech) and one of your proposals for Degrom (Florial, Sheffield). One of the differences, though, is that Moncada already had success at Double A (a .900 OPS) before moving on to the White Sox. The jump from Single A to Double A is huge, some say it is a harder jump than Triple A to the Major Leagues. It is hard to place a ton of value on a raw prospect like Florial when he already has contact issues and he has never played an inning in Double A. I realize that Florial is an excellent prospect, but there is so much risk associated with him as well. With that said, Kopech didn't have Double A experience when the White Sox acquired him, and thus took on tremendous risk with a raw prospect. If I'm the Mets, and I'm trading Degrom, I'm looking for two top prospects who have had success at Double A or above. The Yankees aren't going to be the only team interested in Degrom. Interestingly, if the Mets use the Sale trade as a model, that might be a disincentive to trade Degrom for Florial and Sheffield. That is, the Sale trade doesn't look all that great for the White Sox right now. Moncada is having problems at the major league level and the rawness of Kopech is catching up to him. Sure, he has a great fastball but he is walking too many batters. Again, the White Sox took on a big risk when they traded for Kopech, who didn't have any Double A experience. Thus, if the Mets use the Sale trade as a model, they will likely conclude that the White Sox didn't get enough for Sale, or didn't get enough proven talent in return for Sale, which is why the Mets should demand Andujar or no trade at all. C.Frazier has experience at the upper levels, but again there is no room for Frazier on the Mets. Frazier would be blocked on the Mets more than he is blocked on the Yankees. The Mets are stuck with Cespedes and Bruce, and have young guys like Conforto, Nimmo, and maybe D.Smith if they move him off 1b.