Hugh2

The last thing this team should be doing is spending money on a DH. This is not the year or the team to be allocating resources in that direction.

I think the Sox have no problem going over the luxury tax line, they don't want to stay above it. With that in mind, they make deals with the future in mind. Who is coming off the books in 2023/24/25 etc etc etc. If they want to resign both Bogaerts and extend Devers, they actually don't have THAT much to spend going forward when you consider how many holes they have to fill. Whether we like it or not, our success over the next couple of years is going to largely be tied to health.

They kind of did the same thing in 2021, Sale was coming back after the deadline. They were also getting Story back, and Kike back as well. They went on a run in 2021....it worked. It didn't this time.

But they lose revenue sharing for staying above the tax line for extended periods of time, that's hundreds of millions a year. They're not hurting for cash, because they don't do that. If any of us were on the other side, our mentality would change too.

Yes, but the people who pay the bills are in it to turn a profit.

One problem I see with this argument is the Sox didn't trade Vaz for McGuire. Yes, I get it, they replaced one with the other but for what the paid for Reese he's been a steal. He's also younger, has more team control, and given the history of catchers blooming late he very well could be better going forward or about just as good for much less. Regardless, I'll take good D at the catching position. An upgrade would be nice, but I'd be happy with the Wong/McGuire tangent if they spend the money and upgrade elsewhere.

I'm not knocking DD at all, he was a great GM. I'm just not crediting him with building up the system. He built up the big league club and went for it and ultimately got a ring out of it so I'd be a fool to complain. In hindsight, he traded the right guys, but I think that's a lot of luck too. Nobody can predict with 100% accuracy a human being's future. For example, when the traded Moncada, I seriously doubt they thought he would bust but rather knew they had to part with a premium talent to get a guy like Chris Sale. DD went for the present and did very little to build for the future and I give him very little credit for the system. That's not a knock on him as a GM, he came in and did what he was tasked to do, and to be fair if you go back to his earlier days he has a history of building up a system. It's within him to do and he's a smart guy....he just didn't do that here.

Houck yes, he’s a good pick but not excellent. Bello and Mata id bet my life would be in the system no matter who the GM/President is. Those guys don’t have their hands on those type of plays, with the exception being a first round pick and even then I’d be willing to bet they often defer to their scouting department unless it’s a high pick. First pick is GM, after that I doubt they know much about any of these guys until they’re signed and in the system. Mata and Rafeala I give the credit where the credit is due. Eddie Romero.

Other than Casas, I’m not really sure who I could credit DD with.

At the time of the signing Storys stats were comparable to Bogaerts with better defense. They also needed a bat and an infielder. It was an excellent move, and it still could be, he still had one of the highest WARS on the team despite battling injury all year and with the new shift changes his defense will be more valuable at 2nd.

This is pure conjecture, but I feel the Sox are going to prioritize resigning one of Bogaerts and Devers and possibly let one walk. If it’s Bogaerts, they probably view him as a 3B in two years and you hope Mayer is ready to take the position over by then. If that’s the case they still short either an infielder next year. SS/3B which is making me think the big move is a SS this off-season. If it’s not Bogaerts, it’s going to be one of the big names. I think it’s possible they retain both Bogey and Devers but unlikely.

I feel it’s worth mentioning that seemingly the majority of last years free agency frenzy happened within one week. There will be a lot of hurry up and wait, could be a boring winter until a domino falls

This is such a great point, it makes for interesting conversations as well when you consider extending a guy like Bogaerts. He could age well and be worth more than whatever contract he gets, whether it be 150 million or 225 million. He could also his a wall and be nearly worthless from here on out. The same could be said for anyone we pay to replace him.

I agree with this, he’s boot a ball or make a bad throw and accumulate a few more errors than Jeter, but he had much better range and more than up for it by making plays that most other shortstops would just never make. His defense dropped because he hit a wall, it happens, and it happens quicker when a guy gets injured. When Nomar was healthy he was an asset on both sides of the ball

I think it's worth saying over and over again as long as this thread is active. In his prime, Nomar was hands down the best SS to wear a Sox uniform. Heck, if injury didn't derail his career he would have been a first-ballot HOFer.

Does anyone else finds it concerning that all of Bogaert's positive defensive value came in the shift? Take the shift away and he had negative DRS. He's passable, but a move to 3B is enevitable.

Ok, but if you want to use the Rocky movie as an example a better visualization is Rocky smoking, drinking, fat and out of shape. Maybe hit the treadmill up for a few months and take a fight. Sox are close, but you don't get from A to Z by skipping the rest of the alphabet

From my recollection, Beni was also a guy who popped on the radar last minute. A lot of teams reportedly didn't start scouting him until late because he was a draft-eligible sophomore and I guess people were slow to pick up on that.

There was some talk of Lawlar going ahead of Mayer, but it was mostly in the context of someone taking a deal. Mayer was the consensus #1 talent

I mean in hindsight, the hype around Groome fell quickly after he was drafted because he never really performed, he battled so many injuries too. Mayer, to date, has looked great.

https://www.si.com/mlb/2016/04/28/mlb-draft-top-prospects-order-jason-groome https://www.minorleagueball.com/2016/9/5/12800880/2016-mlb-draft-review-boston-red-sox I'm just going to stop there because it's all the same. You can go back and see for yourself, but PG, BA, MLB, Keith Law, and others all had Groome either #1 or top 3 and #1 at some point leading up to the draft. He fell apparently to signability/makeup issues. Not trying to stain the Mayer pick, because "hey if Groome failed can Mayer fail" the answer is YES, but Mayer is off to a much better start than J-Groome ever got off to and appears to have no "makeup" issues. Maybe there's a little hindsight in the judgment here and add seven years into the equation then it gets easy to forget how highly Groome was regarded. It's ok, I can barely remember what I had for dinner last night.

Pre-Draft Mayer was ranked by MLB, Baseball American and Perfect Game 1, 2, and 1 respectively. Groome was ranked 1, 3, and 1. That's pretty damn close, effectively the same hype.

I know people love to say you draft BPA, which is generally true, but at the same time not at all. Teams love to cut deals and spread their money around, especially when they have a large pool at the top of the draft. Teams also put a lot of work and effort into guys who they think will be there and when someone is on the board you didn't expect to be there sometimes you keep the deal you had. Pittsburgh took Davis first because they were able to cut a deal with him and saved 1.9 million dollars. The Rangers went slightly over for Jack Leiter, so who knows if they really thought he was better than Mayer, it might have been that they favored pitching (which they often do). Detroit took Jobe, who absolutely nobody had as a top 3 guy, the Tigers did go under slot with him not much but it had been reported that they were working out a deal with him before the draft. I don't want to depict Hollywood and a different sport as an accurate picture of what happens in real life but I almost kind of think it's like the situation in the movie draft day when the Browns shocked everyone by not picking Bo Callahan overall. Then everyone went with the picks they had thinking he wouldn't be there instead of freaking out. I wonder if this is why Groome fell to us in 2016. Mayer was widely regarded as the top prospect in the draft, and we were very lucky to have picked him AND got him to sign for slot. But, lets remember, Groome was also the best player in 2016 and we all saw how that worked out. Still, in one year Mayer has showed more promise than J-Groome ever did. I think this kid is going to be special.

Pablo Lopez is going to cost a lot more than Rafaella plus a bunch of middling prospects. Young cost-controlled pitching usually starts with a couple of top prospects, TOP prospects. Teams are going to want one of Casas/Mayer/Bello just to come to the table for a guy.

My biggest concern with Pablo Lopez is he seems to eat up crappy teams and pad his stats. I think he may end up only being more of a #3 guy in the AL east. I'm not sure I'd want to give up a guy like Mayer for him, which would probably be the cost. The guy I'd go after is Cabrera, who is younger, has much better stuff, and might actually be cheaper.