Hugh2

He plays LF and Kike spends a lot more time at 2nd. I don’t hate it, but I don’t like it if there’s not another move coming.

He has great stuff, but he’s all fast all slider, he starts to slip when hitters get a second look at him.

2nd time through the order, this is where Houck starts to struggle. Let’s hope not tonight.

Supposedly Greens price tag is high, really high, like 1st round money high. If Fabian doesn't sign you lose his slot and Hickey is going above slot. The most you could offer Green is if both Hickey and Fabian don't sign and that number is about 800K which is probably 1/2 of what it will take. Supposedly Hickey is also asking for 1 million. What I find strange is Hickey and Fabian are team mates.

Teams behind us went way under slot, Baltimore and KC would have had plenty of money to sign him.

I believe they have to offer him at least 75% of slot. problem is, what do they do with the rest of that money? This is why you draft a guy like Green every year you can't sign.......because if we were the Mets we'd be signing him right now.

The Sox currently have $3,100,680 left in bonus pool money with two guys left to sign. The Sox are probably sitting somewhere around $2.3-$2.5 with Judd who will have to come down from 3 million. Maybe they meet in the middle at 2.65 million. This would leave $450K for Hickey who wants more than slot (which is 410K). This may work, but it might push Kavadas out of the window. If the Sox bump up Fabian to where Hickey won't sign they lose his pool money so the max money they can realistically offer Fabian is 2.67 million. Until they know what Hickey will sign for, they CAN'T offer him more than that. Maybe Hickey ends up going a little under and they can bump that up to 2.7 but this feels like it comes down to the wire. The worst-case scenario is Fabian not signing. The consolation price there is you know Hickey will sign, Kavadas, and maybe you grab 1-2 of the other guys unsigned not named Green. And of course, you pick up the 41st pick in next year's draft. I think the chance of Fabian not signing is real here, but I think it's also very likely someone or somebodies are just posturing and negotiating. We won't know for about 4 days.

So then you think Bloom has shown strength at building the farm. Ok, I was wrong, my bad.

"I thought Bloom's strength was building the farm." That was your statement. One would infer that you're suggesting the gaffe of not signing a guy would imply that's not his strength. Or, perhaps you still do believe that and were just making a joke. I'm not really sure what spin I put on anything other than the facts of the situation.

So you don't think Blooms strength is bringing young talent into the organization?

We lose the slot value + 5% overage which equates to 1,949,535 dollars. Which means we have about 1.15 million left to spend. Hickey is reportedly looking for above slot and knows he can get it if Fabian isn’t signing which means that money probably goes to him and Kavadas.

I interpreted your post to imply Bloom took a blow to his "building the farm" persona by suggesting they will not sign Fabian. If I read it wrong please clarify this for me. I'm merely suggesting we wait until after the signing deadline. This is coming from Fabians camp and can easily be tactic to try and up Bostons offer. If the Sox are sitting at 2.3 million and won't budge I will blame them, but if they up the offer to 2.67 max and he blinks then I blame Fabian. If he's turning down anything at 2.5 million or more then that means the Sox opting to sign Hickey/Kavadas and take their chances with the 41st pick in next year's draft. If Fabian comes back as a senior and even only marginally improves his numbers he's going to make a lot less money. The kid is taking a huge risk turning down the money and the Sox are opting to spread the money to other players and walk away with 41 next year. I don't think it's more probable than not he signs but I don't think it's 100% done deal he doesn't sign yet. Not until August 1st.

You do realize the deadline has not passed yet, or rather, are you suggesting the validity of PGammo Tweets are highly accurate and have absolutely zero grammatical errors ever?

I wonder when they're going to get Groome back out on the Mound? I know he's had a very good reason for missing a few starts but I hope to see him continue his great season.

This is exactly why I want to see them use Houk in the pen more and give him some shots at high leverage situations. I think he can really excel there.

I’ll be upset after the deadline passes

I get what you're saying. But if your example is one of the best offensive players in all of the baseball then let's realize that's the exception and not the norm. There is a much larger list of guys who smashed the baseball in Low A and didn't fly up to the majors in two years. Even with that timeline, I think you see Downs next year. Maybe he doesn't become good enough to be an everyday staple in the Sox lineup but I think you see him in Boston in some capactiy. Even if it's just as a depth option.

Not likley but he will be on the 40 man next year, so if they need a guy for a day or two who can man a position he's likely to get a call. They won't be calling him up to stay with the team but will he get a call up for depth? absolutely. You also have to consider that's highly plausible he's hitting much better next year. Yorke might end up having a better career than Downs, but I think Downs sniffs the majors first in some capacity.

I don't think guys should be pushed, that's not very nice and violence is never the answer. Ok,but, I think it's more of a function of guys showing you they're ready. The Sox never pushed Mookie, he just started mashing and they really had no choice but to push him. Guys will tell you when they're ready and it's not all stats, there's other things they're looking at too but if a guy is putting up video game stats for a long duration it's hard to imagine what else they could ever learn at a level. I don't think Yorke gets to the majors before Downs. He's in low, not high A. He still has to get to Greenville, Portland, and Worcester before reaching Boston while Downs just has to get up to the next level. Even if Downs is a bust I could still see him getting the majors sooner if a guy gets injured or they need the depth option on a bench role. Downs will likely be added to the 40 man by year's end so, you probably see him in some capacity next season. York, if he mashes, I don't think you see him in 2022. The earliest we see Yorke is mid-2023 I think. But I could be wrong.

Yorke gets to Greenville, I think. Does he get meaningful playing time soon or more of a last week promotion? I have no clue.

Insanely ridiculous way too early hot take on Durans .646 OPS in 13 at bats. If Duran struggles, at what point do the "call em up crowd" start calling him a bust (or to be sent down) and the "lets be patient, he's coming" crowd starts defending him and saying we need more time? Of course, if he starts mashing this will never happen but I say.....about 4-5 days.

He only throws two pitches. If he starts, he’s going 3-4 innings.

If they sign Green I still think they're signing 17-18 guys. I think Green is insurance if Fabian doesn't sign. If they can't reach a deal with Fabian they will get the 41st pick next year (and hopefully the 32 too) and maybe they can convince Green to sign with 1.2-1.5 million.

100%

Houck can turn a lineup around a second time, you can remove him from that list. But I think you're 100% spot on with the spirit of this comment. The Sox pitching has been great but it's been great because the bottom of our rotation is good. It's almost like we've been pitching with 5 #3 starters all year, with some guys pitching a little better than that at times. It feels like every more we could make on the trade market would just be a sideways move. It makes no sense to trade for a starter. I think they get a 1Bman, and maybe a bullpen arm, but they might like what they have coming up in the bullpen and what starters can solidify the pen when Sale is back.