Hugh2

I wonder if DD would have stayed here if Henry just gave him a different Mandate, perhaps Dave in his older age and experience commands the ability to be in a position to work for organizations that are only in win now mode and wouldn't have interest in it. Maybe, when approached with such a mandate Dave said no, and that's why he was fired. Of course, with this F.O. reputation, I would have figured that some dirt would have leaked about Dave if that was the case, or perhaps Henry is smart enough to know that that s*** wouldn't fly with someone has highly regarded as him.

People also forget, there was a time young in his career where DD help build up some really good farm systems. He did that in Montreal, and the system he built in Florida went on to be a core of players that helped win the world series in 2003. Dave did the job he was hired to do.

It could take as little as ONE year if you hire the right people, it just might take several years to see the results at the MLB level.

Freeing up payroll makes sense if they don't believe in going over the luxury tax in a season in which they do not think they have a legit shot at competing. Honestly, I don't disagree with that, in the long term scope of things and franchise building I want them to have better drafts, and whats the point of losing money to spend in the draft trying to compete for 82 wins? What doesn't make sense to me, is there aren't any free agents out there that would have put them in danger of going over the threshold if they actually wanted to sign them. That story did seem a little eronious to me, as disgusted as I am with the front office, I do think they would spend if the moment was right for them. With that, it seems the thing to do amongst some is to think they just need to spend and sign every free agent to get out of this hole, where's I'm accepting of the fact that they have dug this hole and wouldn't want to frantically make decisions to hurt the franchise long term. - They need to draft and develop pitching. - They need to become a competitive team again. - They need to do a better job at locking up their own young talent long term. - They need to become willing to trade top prospects for the right players. - They need to be willing to take a gamble on some big name free agents I don't think anyone disagrees with that list, where I think I and others butt heads with others posters is the fact that I believe the first three points should preceed the last two. Otherwise you're just robbing peter to pay paul. I would rather look like LAD than the NYM.

Cuba*

Think it’s worth noting that the top 3 in that list were from Cubs and their bonuses were not subjected to their IFA bonus pool.

In hindsight, the Charrington drafts were pretty awful. That really started to sting around 2019.

Unfortunately neither of us work in the front office. I’ll be patient with Breslow, because that’s the hand we are dealt and he’s obviously not being given the green light to sign pitchers. He does have a track record of improving pitching staffs and we haven’t even given him one draft yet.

Sox payroll has us closer to 200. They’ve been pretty spot on in recent years. Still had the money for a big game pitcher if they wanted to pull the trigger this offseason.

Or we could become better at drafting and developing pitchers. Kind of like the Dodgers, they spend the money, but they develop guys too.

Their best pitchers in the 2019/20 class got 35,000 (Monegro) and $75,000 (perales) 2018-19 it was Wikelman ($250,000K) Bello got $28,000 I'd actually prefer they go QTY in IFA. THere's 11.5 months left to sign and draft pitchers.

Value trends can go either way, but Bleis would be a lot more valuable if he was in the upper minors. Teams have been looking for close to MLB talent in high end trades in recent years. A guy like Anthony would be much more valuable than a guy like Bleis, who could reach that teir of value if he has a good year this year.

Boras rarely screws up free agency, so in the unlikely event the price tags for these guys come down I'd be very happy with SNell or Montgomery. I just think it would be a very bad bet to spend $200/$150 million on them. SNell reportedly wants $230 million, just turned down $150 million from the Yankees. Boras obviously knows his market a lot better than I do, but it seems like a lot of their suitors have been signing and trading for other guys.

Yeah, I wouldn't sign him to that deal, I was being sarcastic. Unless that deal is an AAV that he almost certainly will not accept E.G. 20 million.

the last comment didn't include italics.

Ok, but if you go 7 you might get his next Cy young. 2024 - average pitcher 2025 - CY YOUNG 2026 - average pitcher 2027 - average pitcher 2028 - average pitcher 2029 - average pitcher 2030 - CY YOUNG

It certainly is possible guys on that list take off and break into the majors and are productive this year. So it's probably more of a 1.5-2 year plan. Still, if you liked a pitcher in this years class, go out and get them a year early. Maybe they didn't.

If I was a CBO I would be dreaming about a lineup with Teel Casas Grissom Mayer Devers Anthony in it and then using the my top prospects of that point in time to trade for a #1 pitcher. I know, I know, no one wants to hear about a 3 year plan. Certainly after the last guys plan failed.

blies? b lies, B lies, BOSTON LIES! SAM KENNEDY IS A LIAR!!!

True, but at 16 years old it so much more of a crap shoot. They did sign a total of 34 pitchers that year. Sox have a decent history of finding guys for less than 1 Million. Bello $28,000 Monegro $35,000 Wikelman Gonzalez $250,000 Luis Perales $75,000 I would have liked to see them take some larger swings though. to be fair, theres' still 50 weeks left this period. I wonder if this means they won't make a run at Sasaki, or they figure he won't be posted this year? He wants to be posted now, but will make hundreds of millions more if he waits a year.

A lot of the guys I wanted didn't really seem to heading anywhere else other than where they signed. Nola Yamamoto Depeding on the price, I still woudn't hate Montgomery/Snell.

I wasn't going to say it, but I was thinking it. To be fair, they went heavier last year on pitching in the IFA than they have recently, so maybe the rosters are still filled out with some guys they believe in. That narrative would fit better if they draft more pitching state side this year.

Gray maybe, but didn't Nola sign an extension with Philly almost immediately into FA? Did he even talk with any other teams?

There's no such thing as a blocked prospect, truly. If a team believes in a guy they will find a home for him if he's blocked at his position E.G. Mookie Betts moving to OF because Dustin Pedroia was the 2B. Also, said player can always be traded.

2014 IFA period has begun, one of the few bright spots of Sox player development in recent years. Of course, these guys won't make an impact for 4-6 years so I know most of you won't care all that much but some of us love this stuff. Badler lists Carrasquel as one of the potential breaksouts for under 1 million. https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/mlb-international-signings-analysis-potential-breakout-prospects-for-under-1-million/ Carlos Carrasquel, 3B, Venezuela (Red Sox) "Carrasquel has a promising offensive foundation of size, hitting ability and power. He’s 6-foot-4, generates easy power from the right side of the plate and doesn’t have to sell out with an all-or-nothing swing to produce that power, with the strength projection for bigger exit velocity numbers in the future. A shortstop earlier in the scouting process, Carrasquel has gotten faster and improved defensively, but his size and range fit better at third base, with the arm strength to stay on the left side of the infield."