Hugh2

With the exception of a bad inning tonight all of Blooms deadline acquisitions have been great. He also acquired these players for peanuts compared to what the opposition paid. Chalk it up for another loss to the armchair instant gratification G.M.

I'm not sure what's wrong with operating close to and at times above the luxury tax limit. Teams that consistently operate way under do so because they just don't have the same financial might to do so. This is why we have 4 championships in the the 21st century, lets be thankful we are not the Marlins.......yeah that's right, Florida had two teams in case ya'll forgot. lol.

half those guys will never play for the Sox, and that rotation is missing an ace.

No one is claiming Jimenez, if he was a pitcher a team might take him and stash him in the back of the bullpen but a hitter is a different animal I think. I think they leave him unprotected, he's just too far away to be a legit risk of losing.

Jimenez is ranked 7th by Soxprospects. 10th by MLB.com, 8th by prospectslive, and 10th by BA. That's high, but that's not super hyping a guy up either. That's a range you're in if you have talent but aren't a blue-chip prospect either. I think he's appropriately ranked and has the potential to take off if the power comes. Here is what SP has to say about him. " High ceiling, low floor. Wide range of outcomes due to how raw he is and how much development he has left. Can dream on him becoming an everyday center fielder who adds value at the plate and in the field. One of the highest-ceiling players in the system and could establish himself nationally with a strong full-season debut. Will flash four average-to-better tools at least, but is raw at present. One of, if not the most athletic player in the system. Improved physicality and changes at the plate give him a much better chance to hit and to hit for some power as well. Needs work to refine his defensive game, but has the athletic ability and arm strength you look for in a centerfielder. Possesses great work ethic." That's the type of guy who is usually the 2nd or 3rd piece of a bigger trade.

There seems to be a lot of talk about Whitlock in the bullpen next year, but everything seems to indicate that the Sox plan on converting him BACK to starting next year. He never failed as a starter, he just got hurt and turned up in the bullpen as a rule 5 guy who needed to stay on the roster. His usage is indicative of his performance and the Sox needs, I don't think it changes how they view him in 2022. If anything Houck is the guy who ends up in the bullpen but given his performance through 5 innings almost every start you have to think you let a guy like that fail first before you make the move. Not sure you can have two question marks in your rotation like that in 2022 so it will be interesting to see how that shakes out.

So Bella pitch in Hartford the other night. Easy velocity, holds it well deep, he was still hitting 100 mph in the 5th. He also fielded his position very well, which I love. The downside was his maturity, he became visibly frustrated in the first when he struggled with his command, the defense couldn’t make a play and an infield hit loaded the bases. To his credit, he worked out of it, but he held true to the scouting as a guy who has good stuff but some command issues. If he can improve his control he could be a starter in 2023 on this team.

Ok I read that wrong, I thought you were saying that's what the rankings would or could look like at the end of the year.

If Mayer passed Casas, then Yorke passed both of them. Casas is a beast, very age advanced, and has been hot lately, yes he's a 1B profile but to me being much closer to the majors bridges and exceeds that gap in prospect value right now. I could see Mayer becoming the #1 prospect in baseball, I think his ceiling is that exciting, but I suspect Casas will have graduated by then. Maybe.

I don't think Mayer passes Casas. He's still #1 in my mind and knowing how the soxprospects guys rank players I'd guess they will keep him there too.

The SS free-agent class is huge this year. You replace Bogey now, let him play 2b/3b in 2022 and if he works out an extension with the Sox to stay there long term...awesome.

Exactly, which is why I like the idea of signing a replacement for Bogey this year in a class that is going to be much deeper at shortstop than the following year. Move Bogey to 2B for the year, it might actually help his market if he can flash plus there if teams think his defense is going to decline at SS.

I think he gets about that, not sure about the 4th year though. I just don't think he's going to get that in Boston.

I don’t think Scherzer is realistic. This will be his last contract and he wants to go on the west coast. I think they still plan on moving Whitlock to the rotation next year. I don’t think both of JDM not opting out and Schwarber extended happen. I think only one does.

Go down with the ship? You people do realize this team would have been worse with AB in lf this year?

For me, a better way of looking at things is "everyone has a price". I would trade anyone at any time contingent upon return. Which often doesn't make sense, like....how often do you see Ace for Ace trades?

Seager is probably get paid much more than $20 million per, and he probably won’t be worth it, he has declining defense at SS just like Bogaerts. Id sign Correa this off-season and move Bogaerts to 2nd. If you want a good hitting shortstop who is going to continue playing short stop my money is on him.

You don’t think a team will give Bogaerts a raise over 4/80?

I’d take Carlos Correa over Bryant. He can slide over to SS in a year or two. Bogey to 2B/3B. Devers to 1B/DH

Maybe, but I don’t think Duran was a consensus can’t miss prospect. Even those who inflated him bought into his power. While he may have received too much helium in my opinion the book is far from closing for him.

I was really surprised to see Duran as a top 25 prospect. Unfortunately that makes the expectations for a kid almost impossible to attain. He’s maybe an average starter at best, a good 4th outfielder if not.

My money is on him starting in Greenville but being on the first bus to Portland. He will not spend more than 2 months in Greenville In 2022 if that.

EROD is getting a QO.

BTV has to be taken with a huge grain of salt. Any given team could be placing a much higher or lower value than they do on a guy. Plus depth and needs need to be taken into account too. Also how competitive a team currently is will change their value system as well. For example. You could blow away the LA Dodgers in a trade for Walker Buehler but guess what the dodgers aren't trading him. You'd literally have to offer them something stupid like Pivetta/Casas/Yorke/Bello/W. Gonzelez.

If Dalbec is getting you a young pitcher with serious ACE potential it's because he's part of a package that headlines other prospects such as Casas, Mayer, or Yorke +