Hugh2

Yeah, because he realized that covering for his friend implicating him to doing something really bad that was going to get him in a lot of trouble. If I was going out of my way to help a friend in need, especially someone struggling with an addiction and I found out what I was doing to help him was illegal, I'd back out as well. I think that's what we need to know here. Was Ohtani giving him money before hand to help him with his problem, inadvertently breaking the rules? (I don't think he with intent was gambling with his own money) or did his interpreter legit steal from him? The problem is the story changed, which is suspicious, but I don't think it's malicious. Is there still an investigation going on into this????

I suppose it's all a matter of perspective, I'm not sure helping a friend make someone a bad guy. Especially if he truly didn't know the legality of the matter. In his mind, his friend did something that didn't hurt anyone other than himself financially and he wanted to help him. Morally, that doesn't make him a bad person, in my eyes. Maybe it makes him look bad because he didn't know when he should have? I think it's all trivial.

Bello is also very young, more room for growth than Nick Pivetta.

I'm not sure how the rangers are really a fit. Dunning isn't an ace, he's nice but he's sliding into a rotation that already has 3's and 4's. I'd also love to stay away from DeGrome, Texas would have to pay us for him to come here. I think the stars are aligned to just go out and buy a pitcher again.

It feels like Ohtani initally walked down the path of covering for his friend not realizing it implicated him in something serious and had to retreat. I don't think he did anything sinister, but this is pure conjecture. Of course, his affinity towards caring about the people around him may have led to actions that will only fuel the conspiracy theories.

Or a number 3 if if Houck doesn't and Bello takes a step forward.

And a lot of that goes out the window after this world series. If the Yankees win, we can't say they haven't won crap lately and all we will hear about is 28!!!! when LA wins, that's two from them since we gave them Betts or won one ourselves.

Numbers are less convoluted after the fact but still confusing because there is a difference between cash payroll and luxury tax payroll which calculates AAV. I'm not sure comparing two arbitrary years provides much if one is a season after winning the world series where they had the #1 payroll in the league. Boston has a history of going over and then under the luxury tax, it's variable. It was only two years ago they were over. But if you use the AAV then in 2019 they spent $229 vs. $225. I could say payroll is down $4 million. Which isn't much in a reset year vs. a contending year. Also that year was a high, how much did they spend a few years prior to that? does a 3 year window set the precedent for several decades in Boston? I would say no. All of this is mute, because I think the Sox could spend more, should spend more, and will spend more. Also it's also mute, because even if cash payroll is down, they still spend up to the luxury tax limit every year and they're sitting more than $60 million below it, so clearly they spending their money somewhere this offseason I'm just not sure people are going to like how they spend their money.

Suarez doesn't exactly strike me as a guy who's going to get better, if anything his age 33 season on will be worse. He could be less valuable than Yoshida. There's a very thin market at the position side this winter after Juan Soto

So, you won't to roll the dice on Alex Bregman. I would nominate Bregman for the "most likely to be the next Trevor Story" award. I would be very nervous about paying him. I think Story/Mayer/Campbell alone will make the defense much better. Keeping Rafaela in CF and having continuity at 1B will also go a long way. I suspect the Sox will sign a guy like Jansen and Teel will be ready mid season. Defense isn't going to go from awful to superb in one season, but it could get much better next year.

Saying payroll is down $50 million from it's peak is a little misleading. Sox have have always spent up to or over the luxury cap, even this past year their payroll for luxury tax purposes was only $11 million under the cap. Those "peaks" were years the Sox went over, but even then they always dipped under. The Sox have never paid the 3rd year penalty....never. Minus the absence of deciding to go over the cap the Payroll is right where it's always been, right at the cap.

I'd trade Yoshida in a heartbeat if the right deal was on the table. I'm just VERY pessimistic that the right deal is on the table.

That's also fair. People are entitled to their opinions. I'm entitled to mine, and they're entitled theirs, and I'm entitled to my opinion about their opinions, and they're entit.....I'll stop here.

Well that's my point, if he hurts the team because of the money then how does that help the team by paying him to play somewhere else? That's like saying this pizza is hurting my diet, I can get rid of it by laying on the couch all day doing nothing. I'm still fat at the end of week.

I'd say by judging this board that fans are not optimistic, optimistic people are optimistic and pessimistic people are pessimistic. They both think they're realists.

Nothing. So what? irrelevant. What does a guy not on this roster have to do with players on it growing and improving? The following players on the 2015 Red Sox came back in 2016 and improved their war by Mookie Betts +2.6 David Ortiz +1.7 Rick Porcello +4 Dustin Pedroia +1.6 Hanley Ramirez +4 Stephen Wright +3 Sandy Leon +2.6 None of that was free agency or offseason moves. My statement was 100% about this team having the talent on it to grow and bounce back better than 81 wins. And let me reiterate, just so there's no confusion. I don't think they can compete for a world series WITHOUT making significant upgrades to the roster.

I think the team should be better next year with the core they have and have coming up. I think the team could be MUCH better if they add quality pitching via free agency and trade. I'm optimistic on the first statement, and pessimistic on the second.

I think signing a front line starter and a closer gets this team better, not subtracting from the bottom of the roster. At the end of the day, if Masa is ever healthy and can play a full season he be a 1 WAR guy who can hit off the bench and play LF when needed (which hopefully isn't often). He's not hurting the team Of course one has to wonder if he gets hurt and can only start 100 games or so, in which case there will be another roster spot open up anyways Perhaps there's a bench bat out there that will take the Sox from 81 wins to 90 wins. If there's a 9 WAR bench player.......I'd sure like to meet him.

All I know is if the Red Sox trade Masa they will win 100 games.

That's an extremely pessimistic view. So you guys must think very little of all the young talent on the team. Casas/Bello/Crawford/Duran/Hamilton/Abreu. Sure maybe Duran had a career year but you must think very little of all the talent on this team to think the aggregate doesn't have the capacity to grow. If you truly believe that then you must think that this team is years away from contention because baseball is a team sport. Do we also think very little of the crop coming up in Teel/Anthony/Mayer/Campbell. The big 4? when is the last time the Sox had 4 guys top 25 all on the cusp of the major leagues. Even if 3 of those guys busted and one became a star that improves the team by more than ONE game. Here's some food for thought. The 2016 Boston Red Sox who went from last place to first place was almost EXACTLY the same team. They had a young core that got better and other players who had a bounce back year. This 2025 could be that team, and if they go out and sign a starter and closer, guys like Burnes and Scott they could be world series contenders.

Yes

I get the point you're trying to make, but typically you make a move to get better. You're not getting better by trading Yoshida, and he doesn't exactly hurt you as your 4th 5th outfielder/ part time DH bench bat. If we trade Yoshida we will have to do one of the following. A.) Give up a very valuable piece to get a team to eat his salary B.) Eat all or most of his salary to get back something of value. With A, you're not really doing much to make the team better only shedding salary and he's not taking up a starting position. I get you could have roster flexibility without him, but the team has on it's roster and guys on their way up that can start and provide positional flexibility. Also, Yoshida can hit, he doesn't have negative value. I think the most important thing to consider about scenario A. Is, even if you wanted to trade a high value prospect to shed his salary, you still need to find a team that 1.) wants Yoshida on their roster and B.) and can take on the payroll. Also, how many teams are in that scenario and also willing to open up two spots on their 40 man. This is all very unlikely. with B. You're paying him to play elsewhere, and I don't think you're going to get back anything of significant value even if you eat all his salary. I think you can get a good prospect, but I don't know if you could get a top 10 guy, maybe someone who would be in the 10-20 range. It all seems just so unrealistic compared to trading for an ACE in terms of constructing a winner out of this roster.

Peoples obsession with getting Yoshida off this roster is starting to make me really want Yoshida to stay. Which of course, is almost a guarantee to happen so I'll be rooting hard for him next year, may he be a great bench bat.

It's going to be awfully hard to argue otherwise if they don't spend this offseason.

The fact that Dave Dombrowski was fired was very telling. Not always, but typically when you are very high up the corporate ladder you're fired behind closed doors and offered the chance to retire/step down/move on etc etc. To me this suggests, he had strong feelings towards John Henry's demands for budgetary restriction. Oh to be a fly on some walls back in 2019. Some of the conversations that may have transpired that will never come to light would be truly interesting to hear. I'd like to imagine this one happened. "Dave, he won't sign a team friendly deal, and it's going to put us under budget, you need to find the best deal for Mookie Betts you can" "John, you're crazy, no one in their right mind would try to trade Mookie Betts without honestly trying to reach an agreement first. I'm not going to trade you, you're going to have to fire me"