Hugh2

If that truly is the case, then we should have traded Bogaerts, and should trade Devers this offseason.

What the Sox need to contend is more depth in the bullpen and good relievers who can pitch frequently which is why I think Whitlock has to go to the rotation. They also need a CFer, really really need a good centerfielder. Duran is not the guy, the Red Sox effectively have three left fielders starting in the outfield right now and that's not good. Now they really need a catcher as well, actually, they're going to need two. I think Wong/McGuire can be an upgrade for the #2 catching slot over plawecki but they need to replace CV, either by resigning Christian Vasquez or by signing Wilson Contreras. Anything short of those two guys is not good. What they need next year is effectively this. CF RF DH 1B C RP SP2 I think you can fit 1 or 2 of those holes internally, Hosmer should be fine until Casas is ready and he may be good to go to start the year. I wouldn't mind seeing the Sox make a run at Judge, resign Bogaerts, sign one of Contreras or Vasquez and trade for some pitching. There are some intriguing options on the market for starting pitchers, some ACE caliber guys who might come a little cheaper due to injury and age, if you want to take a chance at these guys bouncing back you could make a run at Kershaw/DeGrom, I also like Nola as well buy he will likely cost more. I'm not opposed to trading for a pitcher, but if you're expecting an ACE caliber guy to come back be prepared to give up 2 of our top 5 prospects +++ Teams are going to want Mayer plus. Now if you go after a guy who has one year left on his contract the cost should be less. Think of the Mookie Betts trade. The argument in defense of the Sox the last couple years have been being up against the Luxury tax and having a depleted farm system, both those factors are gone this offseason.....so it's going to be interesting to see what they do.

I think I wouldn't mind Nate taking it, Sox need to bolster their rotation and they can't afford another hole in it. JDM, I'm not so certain, but on the other hand the Sox don't need another hole in their lineup either.

I get the philosophy of buying and selling, what I don't get is not getting any bullpen help. If you're only getting marginally better while everyone else is getting much better you're effectively getting worse. I would have sat all expiring contract guys down, told them this team isn't going to make it and we're selling you to a contender, we love you and we value you and we are going to make a serious run at bringing you back next year (really just X and CV), and if you don't come back Ces't la vie Boston will always have a love for you blah blah blah. Tank for that #1 pick, which we don't have to be the worse team in the league to get anymore with the new lottery system next year. They also could have reset the luxury tax limit, and with a ton of cash to spend next year and a farm system that has been built back up again the Sox have all the ammunition to fill in the holes and build a legit contending team next year.

New Soxprospects rankings out. While ranked #5 in the system, Miguel Bleis has been ranked with the highest ceiling in the Sox system. This guy might be the next great international signing. Wish he was three years older, could use a good CFer right about now.

Their their their their GRRRRRRR

It could be slightly better and still below what you would expect of a playoff caliber team. If JBJ is off this team (which is more than fine) who is your centerfielder? Sox don't have a centerfielder in there system, and anyone who may be that guy one year isn't anywhere near MLB ready. One way or another, it seems to make sense that the Sox add a premium player in the outfield this offseason.

I think the Sox need to make a serious run at an outfielder this offseason. I think Verdugo is going to bounce back fine next year. The rest of the group I have very little to no confidence in. I'd be fine running JBJ out for his superior defense batting 9th if you could add a Judge to the line up.

Not the slightest bit. My hope is Sale and Wacha come back healthy, and some arms can go to the bullpen and shine. Hill? Bello? Crawford? I feel like Bello could dominate in short stints. Not as good of a plan as going out and getting a proven closer/set up guy......but it's all we got right now.

That outfield has the potential.....to be awful.

The problem with rankings (well one of many) is that they're static. When Mookie Betts was one of the top prospects in the game he wasn't on anyone's top 100 until they came out with updated lists. WHich is typically once a year and then mid-season. A lot of these prospects we pulled in had some helium.....would of been nice to flip something for a reliever.

SD practically paid us to take Hosmer, no way Hosmer is getting another payday. He's a below-average offense firstbaseman. But who cares? his salary is paid for and we have Casas on the verge of a MLB career.

I think we'd be better off letting the cost controlled Casas take over 1B next year at some point, and spending our money on C/OF maybe Vazquez or Contreras behind the plate and make a run at Judge in the OF. Use this army of milb depth Bloom has been saving up to get some pitching. Might be an unpopular opinion but Mayer might be more on the trading block than Casas, maybe not, but certainly if you resign Bogaerts. Think of the package it took to land Sale. Blooms strategy makes little sense if we don't go for it at some point, next year should be that year.

Blooms deadline moves would have looked a lot better if the bullpen was fortified/.

Dalbec is at 3B right now, but where does he play when Devers comes back? As bad as Dalbec is against RHP Franchy is worse, so Franchy might be the odd man out when that time comes.

How good is the offense at 1B here now? hows the defense now?

You gain about .300 OPS against LHP with Hosmer at 1B. There's the lost offense and then some from losing Vasquez with the improved defense behind the plate and at 1B.

Maybe we can pick up Bobby Bonillas contact too.

Now they're reporting SD is eating about 1/2 the salary maybe more, so it's probably not going to be a very good prospect. I'd rather take a DSL lottery ticket than another toolsy 24 year old milber at this point.

I'm hoping we got a nice prospect in return with him too. Now the Sox have an upgrade until Casas is ready and more of that bloom loving prospect depth.

SD has been trying to trade him for years. Seems obvious to me the Sox are going to get a prospect back as well to take on some salary. Will see soon.

Hosmer to Boston

FWIW, I've compartmentalized my traumas so much in childhood and early adulthood that a lot of the jokes in here don't really bother me, I actually find some of them really funny. What is life if we can't make fun of things, people and even ourselves? If he's a good guy, who has turned his life around, and he helps this team....I hope people give him a chance.

Plawecki is also a fa too after this year I believe. He might be his replacement for next year with the hopes of either resigning Vazquez or signing Contreras.

This is actually a very touchy subject for me, and it might come as a shock to some I'm a little nervous to write this but I can relate here a lot. To put it as P.G. as I possibly can I was hugged too much as a child and it completely f***ed me up in life. My parents had no ideal what was going on but a teacher I had in elementary school did things to me that should never happen to any 7-year-old boy. I've been addicted to everything in my life from alcohol, to methadone, to crack, to gambling, to overeating, to sex (every person I ever met with a sexual addiction was also sexually molested as a young child). I've gone to AA, OA, NA, and SA, and to this day I am 10.5 years sober from everything. One thing I have learned through my experiences in AA, OA, NA, and SA is that all forms of addiction are just symptoms of the same disease.....people are covering up trauma. I'm willing to bet that McGuire has had some serious childhood trauma that he's dealing with that led him to do the things he did. I had actually met a guy who was traumatized when he was 6 years old by a group of younger boys in town who used to think it was funny to take him in the woods and Master**** on top of him. They told him it was a game, he grew up to do the same things McGuire did. No one ever deserves to be the victim of someone else B.S. If your parents beat you as a kid and you grew up to be an alcoholic I feel sorry for you and hope you get all the help you need in the world, you have my sympathy....but at the same time, it's no excuse for getting behind the wheel and killing someone. I would like to know the extent to what McGuire actually did, did he actually assault someone? or did he just play with his wanky thinking his windows were tinted and someone caught him? People also have the capacity to change too, and I've seen people with all types of addictions change themselves. Ten years ago I was pushing 290 Lbs' eating, sniffing, smoking, gambling, and f***ing myself to an early grave. Destroyed my marriage and my life and have spent the past ten years rebuilding it. I walk around at 180 now, in the BSOML and am clean from every vice that every vice and drug that ever afflicted me. So....I don't want to hear people in here say that people can't change because that's absolute ******** and I can attest to that personally.