Hugh2

I do often say "there's more than one way to skin a cat" teams without the budget of the Dodgers can certainly have good seasons, but there's a correlation between spending and wins.

Who are you willing to trade with Yoshida to get another team to take on his salary?

That's a fair recap, however I'm not sure there's anything to figure out. Unless Brez puts a gun to someone's head and forces them to make an ill decision I think we're stuck with Yoshida, like I said in the absence of paying him to play somewhere else. I'm not there yet, but ask me again next year and see how I feel. At least Yoshida isn't mean, or a bad person, or any type of cancer in the club house. Nor is he a bad player, he's just not a very good one and is overpaid for what he does. I think we are just stuck with him.

10% is everything in baseball. It's the difference between a .300 hitter leading off and a guy who can't stay in the majors.

I know you didn't ask me but he did about as well as I expected, and I don't think playing SS affected his offense at all. He did at the plate what he was advertised to be, and he played some SS in the minors coming up as well. If anything, his best fit on this team might be a super utility player/late inning defensive replacement. And I think he can be a 2 WAR player in that role. extending him so early was very perplexing to me.

As a point of reference, the surplus value that Franklin Arias/Miguel Bleis give you equals out the negative value Yoshida has. EDIT: I'm not saying you have to trade those two guys to move him, only outlining it's going to sting if you move him, unless you're comfortable paying another team 14-18 million a year

Moving Masataka might make less sense than people think. He gets written off as a bad player, but he's not bad at all, he's just not good. If Yoshida was a young cost controlled piece he'd be playing on many teams. He's an MLB quality player, just not at $18 million dollars a year starting in the outfield. No team on earth is going to trade for him unless you're either A.) packaging up a prospect or B.) eating all or most of his money. A team that apparently is on a budget can't really afford to eat all his money, because that's money. I have a hard time seeing John Henry paying Yoshida 18 million to play somewhere else, he could easily end up being a 1-2 War player elsewhere and while that's not exactly a burn, it's not great either. Yoshida might be one of those sunk costs where it's either going to really sting moving him, or you just have to live with him as your 4th/5th outfielder and DH. Which he'd honestly be fine in that role aside from the fact that he's overpaid at $18 million a year and he's a lefty.

Roman AnthonyKristian CampbellMarcelo MayerKyle TeelBraden MontgomeryLuis PeralesFranklin AriasMiguel BleisYoeilin CespedesDavid SandlinJhostynxon GarciaChase MeidrothRichard FittsMikey RomeroPayton TolleElmer Rodriguez-CruzJohanfran GarciaConrad CasonJuan ValeraHunter Dobbins

Good Afternoon, I agree, given this teams recent history a trade for a font line starter is more realistic than going into free agency. Still, they have all the resources in the world to do so, it all comes down to desire. It's a choice, and Henry has made the decision to not be very active at the top tier of the free agency market. I believe this to be a mistake, and I hope one day it changes. Not sure why I started this response with good afternoon, I suppose thats' what happens when I'm supposed to be working

You're adding a guy who is going to be the top pitcher in free agency and one of the top pitchers in baseball, then you're adding the #1 relief pitcher in FA and one of the best in baseball. Obviously the odds of Henry doing that are very unlikley, but something like that.......wouldn't be a sideways move. If the Sox need more than that, then it ain't happening. I'm not sure anyteam has ever had an offseason much bigger than that. Also, we aren't replacing Sale from this year but last. Sox starting pitchers were 7th in all of baseball in ERA. Adding a true ACE makes their rotation set. Adding one of the games top closers, and moving Whitlock to the bullpen is pretty darn good start.

Well, if they did just that, depending on how they did that they might just be fine. If they added three guys, and I get there are varying opinions between what the Sox should do, could do and will do but bare with me. Lets say the three are Corbin Burnes, Tanner Scott, and Danny Jensen. I think that makes next years team tremendously better. I'd still want another arm in that group though.

Techinically if the Sox went over the luxury tax limit this year they would be in the same boat they've been in for over a decade, rather than resetting for one year, it would have been two. Realistically, they're one year removed from the norm. But it's the rhetoric coming out of the front office that is very worrisome. They don't sound sincere, or terribly interested in increasing payroll

But did he? is that actually true? Being frugal, and poor drafts put us on the road to ruin, but it was the front office decision to stay there that led to a 1/2 a decade of mostly suck. Otherwise we may of just had a down season or two. Also, as bad as price was, he was probably better than what our 4th/5th starters gave us in 2021/2022 anyways and we still paid a lot of his salary. THen there's Sale, who Henry probably ordered to be traded because he hates the risk of long term contracts and then was slapped in the face with the reality of what COULD HAPPEN when you stand behind high end talent. After Chris Sale, no one deserves his Cy Young season more than John Henry. Egg on his face.

I understand. A blockbuster trade would certainly make this team much better in 2025, but I think it also shortens their window. In another couple years players like Casas/Duran/Houck will be in their expensive arby years. And then in one more your only two starters are Crawford and Bello. If you buy, and don't blow up that farm, I believe that window of competition is much longer. I don't want to blow my load for a couple years. If they go out and trade all their chips for a Crochet, then they have to go out and probably buy a few position players and you lose Crochet in only a few years and have to pay him anyways. Now is the time to buy, I think Sox fans should demand it from the FO

But you don't need to deal big time prospects. I said exactly what you said, the Padres went out and got proven MLB talent and I think the Sox should do the same thing. Buy Fried and Scott and you're set for next year with all your young cost controlled talent still on the roster. You buy those guys and you're still sitting 30 million under the tax, which is still in this teams budget.

I'm tired of hearing that excuse (not from you but from the FO) big market successful teams take big swings. Sox could trade Casas/Campbell for a stud starting pitcher and move Devers over to 1B. But then what do you do? go out and pay Bregman a massive contract that is probably just as risky at 3B and roll the dice with Story being healthy at SS and Grissom at 2nd? The point is, the Sox have the capacity to make those big swings and even miss a little if they don't have to pay big money at 2B/1B/CF/LF/RF because they have young cost controlled talent. Trading young talent is just robbing peter to pay paul. I say just pay paul goddamnit.

A lot of that were guys already on their roster coming into their own, getting healthy and having better seasons. They did however make some key moves as you elude to. I just said in another post, that I think the Sox have some good talent that should produce better results than last year that if you ADD a few high end pitchers that they could really transform the roster. Adrian Morejon, who had a career ERA of 5.28 this year had a career year, has been on the Padres since 2019 Robert Suarez, who has been on the Padres since 2022 had a much stronger 24 campaign than his 23 season. Yu Darvish played less this year, but he came back strong at the end of the season and in the playoffs when it counted and his stats look better than 23. And others. But they added Michael King, Dylan Cease, and then Tanner Scott at the deadline. So yes, I'd call that amazing. I think the Sox could be in a similiar situation if they get a strong showing from their pitching staff from the likes of guys like Giolito, Fulmer, Hendriks, Whitlock, Bello, Slaten and Guerrero. I'm not saying they all come back strong or improve their performance, but if a few of them do AND the Sox went out and signed a guy like Tanner Scott and Corbin Burnes. They could have similar magic in 2025.

By zero means do I believe this team shouldn't make moves. As a matter of fact I'm a firm believer that the Sox need to make serious additions to this roster, high end stars not dumpster dives etc. But do people out there think that this team as is won't get any better. Do they think roster development is 100% contingent on adding free agents, or making trades? Tristan Casas, entering his age 25 season right at his prime, shouldn't he get better? A healthy Trevor Story massively improves the team up the middle, I'd expect about the same from the Raphael Devers, Tanner Houck, Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu, Brayan Bello, Cutter Crawford group collectively. Kristian Campbell, and Anthony Roman have good shots at starting next year and budding into super stars, with Kyle Teel and Marcelo Mayer right behind them. Sure, one or two of them may falter, but when is the last time we had 4 top 25 prospects all ready or close to MLB ready at the same time? Seriously, I can't think of a single time ever. I'm not sure if all of Hendriks, Fulmer, Whitlock, and Giolito come back healthy and strong next year but I think 1-2 of them probably will. Now, I know what the nay-sayers are thinking of saying to this. I can already feel there fingers slamming down on the keyboard in protest accusing me of being a bastard son to Chaim Bloom. But I'm not anointing them a world series contender. I just think they have a young, talented roster, that is heading in the right direction. I can easily see them falling into the 85-90 win range as is. The point I'm working up to. That group costs you nothing, it sets you 80 million below the luxury tax limit and still far below what the Sox typically spend even in their "budget conscious" era. If they take their team as is, and add a couple high end arms, maybe even one high end starter and one high end relief pitcher, they can easily afford it because they won't have to pay any position players in FA for a few years (although I can see a back up catcher being signed this offseason). Give me one of Corbin Burnes/ Max Fried and then buy me Tanner Scott. That type of high end talent could push this team into being a world series contender. Which is where they belong.

Be prepared to either trade player/prospect package or eat all his salary. Depending on how that looks, I'm not against it at all.

agree, no way Boston should make that trade.

Not that I have any interest, but he ain’t sniffing close to what Story and Yoshida got. He probably gets a 1 year deal somewhwrw

Ok, but what if you were trading him for 4 years of control of another young star player.......who pitches?

I do too, perhaps I should change the name in the poll. Left it open for a while for this reason.

Cash Payroll last few years vs. Luxury tax payroll Cash 187/218/203/213 LT: 207/236/225/226

And GIF's apparently.