Hugh2

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.

Lets also not pretend that Price has been worth much the past three years. Since he's been traded away he's averaged 36 innings a season.

What makes you think they could have got more? Not just with Betts but any situation like this that arises I find the argument silly saying "oh they could have got more". Like a G.M. picks up a phone and makes an offer and Bloom thinks "well gee golly gosh Philly was offering more but you say nice things to me DEAL" do you have any proof they were offered more? regardless of whether or not you liked or agreed with the Betts trade, I think any reasonable baseball fan can acknowledge that a businessman is always going to take the best offer. If I put something out to bid on Ebay I'm not selling it to the 2nd or 3rd highest bidder, it's going to the highest bidder. If there is real evidence of a deal on the table that was much better that someone could present this argument would hole weight. To my knowledge, it does not.

Yes David Price would have helped this team with his 35 innings this year.

What direction was he going in last year?

Hater is not the same as hate. It’s a slang word that probably equates more to a basher, which is many are. And that’s fine, like you say all are entitled to their opinion. Embrace it

The Bloom haters effectively want the 2019 Red Sox. Shouldn't have traded Benintendi, Betts. That team was stacked, Bogaerts, Betts, Devers, Vaz, Benintendi, and had two cy young winners plus Chris Sale. They still finished 3rd with only 84 wins. Won the world series the year before. Similar to this team....sometimes it just ain't your year.

If you don't completely hate Bloom and want him fired it doesn't mean you support every move and think he's an amazing GM either. Only Sith deals in absolutes.

I can't argue against failing to resign stars, but you can't fault someone for a "low ball" offer. If Pedroia never resigned with the Sox it would have been a low ball offer, if Bogaerts never took his first extension it would have been a low ball offer, Whitlock might have been lowballed in hindsight if he develops the way we hope. No one starts off a negotiation by putting their best deal on the table. I don't know much about running a baseball team and signing players, but I am a president of a company and I get involved in negotiating all the time. You offer ABC, they offer XYZ and you work towards finding something in the middle. I don't buy the whole "oh this offer was insulting" no....that's not how it works. The proper protocol is to counter with an offer. That's how negotiations work. Now, this is just conjecture, but I'd be willing to bet we didn't hear about Boras and company coming back and asking for 320/10 for Bogaerts. If that was the case the Sox did the right thing by saying "lets talk later" when he gets nowhere close to that the Sox could come back in and start negotiating something more reasonable. Maybe that's not how it always works out, maybe he signs somewhere else, but that's how negotiating works. If we did that with Mookie and Bogaerts by now we'd still have Mookie on this team but probably no Kike, no story, no Eovaldi, no Pham, and no Renfroe, because the Sox aren't going to have a 290 million dollar payroll and that would be before locking Devers up. So think of all the holes on this team coming up over the next couple years getting filled by who? Seabold and Wong? See, that's the thing you guys never think of. You can't have the same team as is and just add in the players you want to keep without stepping back and saying hmmmmm the Sox probably aren't going to have a 290-300 million dollar payroll. Yeah, we want stars but do you want Josh Winckoski in your rotation, Juran Duran, and Franchy Cordero in your outfield? If Story isn't signed and Arroyo played full time and got hurt Jeter Downs is your 2nd baseman. You have to build a 25 man roster. One guy, no matter how good is never going to bring you a world series. Yes, it's frustrating to sign your stars and it would be a disaster to let all of Betts, Bogaerts, and Devers walk but a Good G.M. (whether or not Bloom is one is irrelevant to the point) looks at the big picture. The Angels have had the two best players in baseball and how has that worked out for them?