Hugh2

Lin is not your answer in the infield. I see him more of an up/down guy riding the shuttle from Pawtucket to Boston......and that's the best projection he's had since he was signed.

I think it's a great sign, he should add some stability to the back of the rotation. If Erod can come back healthy, and/or Price can do what he did last year and have a very strong season after his first month then the pitching should be fine.

I was a little concerned with Chavis numbers the last month in Salem. His K rate was up and everything else down (except a few homers) Still, it's a relatively small sample size and perhaps he was just pressing because he was a bit bored down there.

Then again it's not like Fister has been washed up and so bad he's not a MLB pitcher. He pitched last year! He just wasn't as good as he's been in the past but even if he pitches no better than he did the last two years he will still be a viable option at the back of this rotation.

Every once in a while a team catches lightning in a bottle with a guy like Fister. Maybe we can be that team!!!!!

Who knows, he's so young and advanced for his age it might not set him back as much as people think. No matter where he was he was going to need a few years to build up his innings. It will interesting to see how he progresses from this point forward.

If your 2nd best pitcher is a guy who gives up more hits than innings pitched and can't get out of the 6th then you are not a world series caliber team and you're a deeply flawed team.

At least Peavy had a much larger track record of success where is a lot of people were skeptical that Pomeranz was a starter long term (still are). Also, I'd argue that Espinoza has a much larger ceiling that Iglesias did.

Interesting enough the Sox best prospect is a 3B in Rafael Devers. He's also a blue chipper that regarded about as high as guys like Betts/Bogaerts/Moncada in recent years. Sox don't look to rush him and screw up his development, so the question becomes do you want to waste what little assets you have left to trade for a rental when you have Devers coming up right behind? Not sure I have the silver bullet to that problem. It looks like we have the solution long term but no solution immediately, and DD has given this team a 3 year window so we need a quicker solution.

Notable Sox International signings over the years. Hanley Ramirez (Josh Beckett/Mike Lowell) Anibal Sanchez (Josh Beckett/Mike Lowell) Felix Doubront Jesus Delgado (Josh Beckett/ Mike Lowell) Dice -K Hideki Okajima Stolmy Pimental (Brock Holt) Junichiwa Tazawa Xander Bogaerts Jose Iglesias (Jake Peavy) Frank Montas (Jake Peavy) Manuel Margot (Craig Kimbrel) Luis Alexander Basabe (Chris Sale) Javier Guerra (Craig Kimbrel) Yoan Moncada (#1 prospect in baseball, Chris Sale) Rafael Devers Anderson Espinoza (Drew Pomeranz) This list is incomplete and leaves off dozens of guys who were considered prospects and some of those guys were traded for guys who aren't on the team any more and never worked out e.g. Eric Gagne. Theres also a ton of guys not on that list who may not be stars, but they have big league experience and in some shape or form added value to big league teams at some point.

I'd be insanely surprised if we didn't land him. I believe we have signed 100% of our top 10 picks under the new system the past 6 years.

I believe he was also battling with an injury. I wouldn't be surprised if he ends the year in Greenville.

He's subjected to July 2nd rules so his cost will be absolutely nowhere near guys like Moncada or Castillo. One of those guys brought you Chris Sale. Sox have had more success in the international market than most teams and when you look up/down the roster it's hard to find a guy on this team that either isn't an international signee, or was traded for using one. We could use a few hits in this market to replenish the farm system.

Sox have an extra $283,355 to play with before any penalties. With their 8-10 picks, they save 405,900 they can allocate elsewhere. If all else signed for cap that gives them an extra $689,255 to play with assuming everyone else signs for cap (they won't). I suspect at least 1/2 of that will go towards Scherff. If thompson and Brennan get a lot above cap that won't give them much to play with in the latter rounds. But we shall see, it's still very early and I'm in no position to make predictions but it would be nice to be able to sign a few guys like Hanna, Perry, Diaz, Anu, or Dearden. If history is any lesson the Sox probably only get to sign one of those guys if that.

I support jbj

Let's just say hypothetically Castillo was a better option at 3rd than Pablo. If they put Pablo on waivers they could send him down to Pawtucket once he clears and take him off the 40. I'm s little rusty on the rules because I've been working 12 hour days and haven't brushed up on the rules lately but I believe if that happens Sandovals $$$ comes off the books and Castillo goes on if they add him. All hypothetically of course, but if this was plausible you'd think they'd switch Castillos position and give him some time there.

If we trade him and cover part of the contract does that go against our luxury tax limit? I know the luxury tax has big implications for keeping him in Pawtucket but I'm not sure how the works if he's traded to another team and they call him up the big leagues. If you can hit .306/.342/.498 and a team wants nothing to do with you because of your contract I doubt they'd want to pay you to play elsewhere. They'd be better off keeping him in Pawtucket in the off chance Benitendi/Betts and JBJ all get into a car accident. There is ONE thing I find intriguing about Castillo and it is his power is up this year. When the Sox were looking at Castillo the scouting on him was he had all the tools but power but scouts thought with his body type, added strength, and adjustments he had made that he would develop power. If that power is real he might actually be able to contribute at the big league level. Problem is, we don't need him at ALL. This may be a bad ideal, and honestly I' am no one...I know nothing....but why not throw him an infielders glove and teach him some 3B? Even if he's marginally better than Sandoval after a month or two there you can DFA Sandoval and stash his contract in Pawtucket and have lost nothing by calling up Castillo.

Thoughts: Writing Moncada off for 1 bad month as a 22 year isn't right. Although my sarcasm alarm is going off. Still it is fair to point out he's still a prospect and SALE is proving he was worth that trade. Michael Chavis has impressed. If you write off last seasons struggles due to battling injury then you're left with a guy who struggled his first full year of pro ball but showed power. But now he's putting power together with approach, and he's doing it at a higher level. It could just be the 1st round pick shine but I think if he can perform at AA he's a guy again. Might even earn his way into top 100. No way he moves off 3rd for Devers whose defense is reportedly excellent. I ponder if he could transition into 2nd base. The system is weak, I'm not fooled by some good performances but there's talent there. With Chavis re-emerging, a few hits in the draft and a good international signing period we could put a decent dent in the drop off of talent we saw. It helps when guys become good prospects out of nowhere.....I'm looking at you Brian Mata.

Sox had a good draft. They didn't have the slot to pick a premire talent like Andrew Benintendi nor did they have a guy like Groome fall to them but I believe they picked more top 100 guys than just about anyone. It did seem like they took more talent to go over slot in the top ten than the past ten years but they should sign them all. The Sox have only failed to sign 3 top ten guys in the last 10 drafts and all three were 2011 or prior under the older rules. Virtually every team signs there top 10 picks nowadays. I think a better way to look at this is that the Sox have had contact with many of there guys, their agents and they have a really good ideal what everyones numbers are. Signing the top ten shouldn't be a probem. I'm actually not super impressed with the 1st pick. He seems like the kind of guy DD falls in love with him and I see him turning more into a Matt Barnes type. Perhaps he can become an elite closer but It looks like he has a lot to work on to become a starter. But I suppose the floor is really high with that fastball and if he develops two other pitches he could easily be a work horse middle of the rotation guy. It's actually the later picks I love more. Cole Brennen might have been one of the best athletes in the entire draft and has legit 30 SB potential. He's got toosl though. A good arm, quick feet, quick wrists. He's the type of guy who could be a Shane Victorino type if it all comes together. I like Scherff a lot. He's on the older side for a highschooler but he just looks like he could pitch 200 IP right now. I actually think his ceiling could possibly be higher than Houcks but being younger and further away there are more ways for him to not get there. Definitely some intriguing guys in the rounds after the top 10 as well, some of which wont' sign. I find Anu an intriguing guy who may not of had a lot of exposure being homeschooled but performed well for scouts and might have the best RAW power in the entire Sox draft.

I've been hoping Pom would prove me wrong in that he was one of the worse trades we made in recent years. I see nothing to deter that opinion, but I was hoping he could at least be a serviceable BOTRS. If he can't stay in a rotation....he's not even that.

You could also argue DD bought no where near the top. I mean, just a 1.5 years later the Yankees practically rebuilt their farm system by trading two relievers. Kimberl does not look like an overpay in hindsight.

Absolutely. Salaries, revenues, and ticket sales do not seem to be in line with an increase in viewership and overall growth in the u.s and world markets. I was contemplating that very thought years ago when the team adopted a philosophy that they would not offer any players long term deals. At the time I thought they might have been hedging against player inflation continuing to increase at its current pace. Now that may not have been their reasoning at all, but I do agree with the logic. One day soon we could see a decrease, or at least a pause in player salaries.

I believe that markets ultimately reflect the true value of an asset, however I also believe that markets can be irrationally exuberant. If you don't agree with that statement I have some tulip bulbs to sell you. I believe we learned that the market for relievers was undervalued not long ago but I believe we've seen the pendulum swing too far in both directions. Relievers are highly overrated right now. That doesn't mean they're not very important, and that doesn't mean bullpens haven't been paramount to some World Series wins. It means just what I said, that they're over valued right now.

Pathetic

This team doesn't have enough LOBers...they need more LOBers