Hugh2

The way I look at it is, if you're going to go over the cap anyways, it's kind of a no-brainer. You just can't plan out next years rotation with him in the top 5. If he's healthy and gives you 100+ innings, that's a bonus.

There's also a difference between bargain bin shopping to find a starting SS/SP vs. pitching depth. when you are hit with a plethora of injuries and those 3rd 4th option guys become your starter you can't really be mad that they're not stars.

Its not just that. I'd be willing to bet if you can bad players who have hurt this team, with a few caveats they're guys who weren't signed to be starting pitchers, closers, set up guys, starting 1B/OF etc etc. How many teams have 3rd options at those positions that aren't "Trash"????

Is that really the problem though? is it Bloom trash leading to the downfall of this team? do you have specific examples of "Bloom Trash"

A grade two lat tear takes 6-12 weeks to recover from. He could have a completely normal offseason and a normal 2023 season, which for him might entail a new injury.

IDK, pitching is tough to come by, and Paxton is well above average when healthy. If he had a setback with his elbow I'd be inclined to agree but he was hitting 95 off the mound and looks fully recovered from Tommy John. The setback seems to just be a lat strain. I'm not going to be surprised to see a club give him a cheap one-year deal. I also wouldn't be surprised if he got reinjured.

Both grade out as a 50 but scouts indicates Bleis has a stronger arm, and more power potential.

If the elbow is fine, all it takes is someone willing to pay 5 million or more for a one-year flyer. There's at least one GM that bites on that, maybe, maybe not. Maybe he wants to stay in Boston and feels he owes us a good season after effectively getting paid to rehab. Probably not, but it wouldn't be the worse thing for Boston if he does.

This is the problem with relievers, they're probably more volatile than any other position. With a few exceptions, a lot of guys look like an 8th 9th inning guy one year, and then they look terrible the next. This is why I think scouting over money pays the biggest dividends in the bullpen.

Oh wait…didn’t get todays news. Well that sucks

True, but I thought I read somewhere that the way his contract was structured it’s no more/less of a hit against the cap next year whether we pick up the option or buy it out. Mine as well spin the wheels.

Depending on what the size of a contract is I don’t think any singular player in baseball is a must sign. But Devers is pretty damn close, and they need to make an honest effort to retain him.

Nope, I think there’s a time and a place for everything. Some times you fold em, and sometimes you double down.

The farm system exists to supplement the big league club. That can be by guys coming up or by trading them. Mayer is years away, and if you're locking up Bogaerts then with a Casas/Story/Bogaerts/Devers infield has no home. They also have a plethora of up the middle talent coming out of this last draft. Yorke is in the same boat, chances are at least 1/2 those guys don't pan out anyway. You're getting back a guy who is very young, going to win the CY Young, and is dirt cheap up through the 2027 season. Do we want to rely on Chris Sale being our ACE??? Or would we like to wait for this system to produce the next Jon Lester?

I wonder how much DD had his hands in international guys, most GM's probably listen to their guys. I'd give a lot of credit to Eddie Romero Jr. who has been pivotal in bringing in a TON of talent to this organization,

Think of it in reverse, lets say we were even 15 games worse at the deadline, sub .400 and just absolutely HORRIBLE. And we trade Bogaerts for a worse SS but get the other teams top prospects in return, it's all about the prospects. Now, that's a little silly because a team ain't paying for that for a rental but Alcantara is signed to a very friendly deal for 5 years starting in 2023 which would command such a high package.

You realize the trade is all about the prospects right? sometimes teams just take an arm in return, which maybe Florida doesn't even want. Mayer is one of the top prospects in baseball along with 2-3 other top prospects.

You're also trading for a guy who is arguably the best pitcher in baseball, of course, the price is going to be high. I'm sure Pivetta doesn't make or break the deal, you can always throw in another MLBer or take another player back to make the money owrk. BTV actually has this as an underpay for us.

No point in trading for garbage, we actually have a decent amount of pitching, we need high-end pitching. If it ain't an ace it's a complete waste of resources

If you want to take a broader view outside of baseball and just look at this from an organizational culture perspective you see companies run into all kinds of headaches like this often. No one wants to work for you when there's a high turnover and there's value in continuity, it's not just about one guy it's about everyone else in the pipeline, and when the top is a revolving door apathy trickles down to the bottom. I've seen great companies fall apart like this. Instead of finding a scapegoat, I'd like to see the circulatory system improved. More assets into scouting both at the MLB/MiLB and amateur level.

^^^ let me dream

Bello might be the best pitching prospect to break Boston's rotation since Clay Buchholz (think healthy Clay). And he's showing glimpses of it at the MLB level. His innings, velocity, and stuff has ticked upwards every single year and he's shown bat-missing ability at the MLB level. Also, as good as Stallings is, he's a defense-first catcher who is a .700 OPS guy career and sub .600 this year. McGuire isn't much of a step-down, quality defense and how much better is Stallings bat? I like having Bello in the rotation next year, and love the potential he and Whitlock bring there, but having two youngsters also brings a level of uncertainty that really makes me want to strengthen the top of the rotation. I'd love to see a trade for a young cost controlled pitcher. Sandy Alcantara from Florida might be a pipe dream, but it's not like they're going to compete in the next couple of years. An elite prospect package might do the trick. I'm thinking Alcantara for Pivetta/Marcelo Mayer/Nick Yorke/Ceddanne Rafaella. BTV has this as a slight underpay for us but I think it's fair. Pivetta gives them a good MLB pitcher to replace Alcanatars innings for the next several years and the 3 prospects give them huge future value. I'd offer at least one of Eovaldi/Wacha a QO (if not both). If he was seriously tradeable, you might have to replace Yorke with Bleis, or just add him in. Alcantara Sale Wacha/Eovaldi Whitlock Bello Paxton There's a lot of potential in that rotation, if Sale gets healthy that's a WS-caliber rotation. That also gives you a core rotation of Alcantara/Bellow/Whitlock that's locked up for years.

For what he was and what they paid for him Perez was fine. I get he’s nothing too special but you can’t use W/L record to evaluate a pitcher.

If they thought Casas could help this team win this year, he should be called up right now. Maybe you don't do it when you've given up.

I'm not entirely 100% convinced Casas gets the call. He should, but I could see them bringing up Wong and some relievers who probably need more of a look than CAsas at this point.