Hugh2

Off the top of my head i can't recall another Sox one, although I'm sure I could find one if I look hard enough. It's not so much the Red Sox as that type of trade with ANYONE. But as I said, that's what I didn't like about it, because the Sox normally do get that other prospect coming back in the trade.

I don't think so. His best two positions reportedly were CF/2B both which weren't happening in Boston any time soon. at 3B you had Devers who could be just as good. Moncada has MVP potential but that's what you have to give up + to get a guy like Sale. It makes sense for Both teams. Both Moncada and Kopech have some of the highest ceilings in the game but both have elements of risk. You give something to get something. As long as the other two names aren't Groome/Devers I'll be happy. I bet someone like Basabe, Ockimey, Chavis make up the other two.

BUT... the rotation is stacked. Sale Porcello Price Buchholz...just kidding Pomeranz Rodriguez/Wright

Without Moncada and Shaw, I really hope it's not Devers. I like Swihart too, but if they aren't including Benintendi or JBJ in the deal I bet he's part of it too.

My only problem with this is the state of the system is much different now than it was a year ago. A lot of top talent has either graduated or been traded away. Mauricio Dubon would not be #10. 5 guys that were in front of him were traded last year.

What has Carson Smith ever done wrong? besides having TJ? must pitchers have some kind of injury at some point in his life. I'd be interesting to see what he does this year and next. If he pitches like he did in Seattle we are in for a treat.

I'll take the high on the MLBer than the Milber any day. I think it's more plausible that the established major leaguer repeats his performance. Also, Thornburg pitched a career year at 27 years old. It's not unlikely that pitchers come into their own at that age, much like Andrew Miller or......Rick Porcello. It's kind of Kimbrel-light esq and I'm much happier with the talent they gave up here.

The only thing I don't like is this whole 3 for 1 or 4 for 1 that DD seems to do a lot of. Some times those throw ins really amount to something. E.G. Brock Holt. It would have been nice to of got back a lower level prospect in the trade.

I think we sold high on all three guys, Thornberg gives you insurance if Kimbrel goes down and also if Smith isn't recovered. If neither of those things happen then the bullpen could be really really good with Kimbrel/Smith/Thornberg at the top. Especially if Barnes takes a step forward this year.

https://twitter.com/RochieWBZ/status/805934009767182336/photo/1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw But yeah....comeback player of the year???

Ok so I registered a new account because I can't log into my account from home. Every time I tried to answer the question to reset my password it told me I was wrong. I'm 99.99999999% sure Ted Williams wore #9 for the red sox oh well. Simple name, I don't need to no trickery aliases.

He will be a bit of a question mark in his first season back from injury but Carson Smith has the talent and track record to be really really good out of the bullpen. I also am interested to see what someone like Matt Barnes can do in the bullpen, or what role Joe Kelly will have. Still, it would be nice to see them pick up an arm to replace one of those two.

So in otherwords at some point you're going to have to hope a guy like Owens, Johnson or even Haley win you a game. This is exactly why the small moves matter too. I'd love to see some depth options in the Pawtucket rotation.

This. Progression is not linear, as it is very different for everyone. Benintendi could be a star next year and I'm optimistic that he will be, but it shouldn't be a surprise to anyone if he struggles too. It's also important to remember that if he does struggle it's not a big deal. It's not a big deal in a sense of it being any type of indictment on his potential. He's young, he was a year removed from school before he reached the majors so he can be forgiven for not being the next Mookie Betts next year. From the teams perspective it could be more problematic if he struggles but that's the price you pay and often it pays back dividends e.g. Jackie Bradley, Xander Bogaerts.

I think platooning him may have been a good way to young at bats and ease AB in. He had pretty good splits in the minors.

Of note, the team will start to lose it's young talent in the year 2020 when Bogaerts reaches FA, they will have an additional 20 million per annum to spend between here and there. The only people they will have under contract at that point are Price, and Pedroia (I'm assuming they won't pick up Sandovals option) Although they do stand to incur some hefty arbitration costs. Still, I think they money will be there for some extensions at some point.

I'm hearing they decided against an international draft but for hard bonus caps against all teams. I was really hoping for at least one year for the Sox to go crazy in the international market to try and restock their farm system.

Now back to 2017. The story line I find the most fascinating is the 2017 rotation, will it be worse or better? There is much to be optimistic about but also much to make one weary. David Price - after a slow start he was still effectively David Price, so was one bad month a fluke? I can easily see him having an overall better season but the questions of post season performance remain. Rick Porcello - gone from horrible BC move to a brilliant find and a CY YOUNG which coincidentally I made the argument back in the BDC thread that often pitchers who become aces often have very lackluster beginnings to their careers. The example I used before was Max Scherzer who really seem to come into his own the same age as Porcello. Did we see the real Rick last year? did he take the leap forward? Will he easily be an ACE again? It's hard to believe there is much room for improvement for a guy who won the CY-Young and it's reasonable to assume he could take a step back in value but I do think to some extent he's taken a step forward in his career. Eduardo Rodriguez - we've seen the potential, but he's yet to put together a solid consistent season. He's still very young, and very talent, and with that in mind there is really little reason for concern but I don't feel comfortable penciling him in as a #3 until he actually does it. He could easily be anything from a good #2 this year to a BOTRS, to injured. Clay Buchholz - I.....I got nothing. Throw a dart at a board. Inured all year, injured half the year and good the other half, injured half the year and sucky the other half. Stephen Wright - didn't seem the same after returning from injury. He looked like an ACE the first half of the year, I don't expect that this season but could he be still be good enough to hold down a rotation spot all year? if he can....that bodes very well for this pitching staff to add some depth to it. Drew Pomeranz - How can I forget this guy? well I almost did. A once highly regarded prospect turned failed starter turned successful reliever turned successful starter turned questionable this seasons end. I'm skeptical on Drew, I know he has talent but we've yet to see him put together a full, healthy successful. season. My hope with Drew, is the first half of the season was the REAL Pomeranz and his later struggles were due to fatigue. Fatigue would be natural for someone who has never pitched a full season as he has. If he can replicate what he did last year, and has more stamina in his sophomore season as a full time starter then he could easily be a #2 here.

I leave the classification of what is or is not a disease to the professionals. What makes things like addiction (food or drugs) a disease is the chemical reaction that happens in your brain. The disease is the predisposition you have to addiction, I think it's confusing to some people because there is a choice involved and yes they DO ultimately make that choice but remember once it's made they have a legitimate disease and if you want to blame them for that just remember that you made the same decision at one point in your life if you ever picked up just one alcoholic beverage. We can sit here all day and argue what type of empathy we should have for people who decide to stick a need in their arm or a donut in their mouth vs. someone who GETS cancer. We can disagree there but I think we should leave the classification of diseases to the professionals.

As of right now, I'm not worried about AB's splits vs LHP/RHP

From what I gather many think Benintendi is more of a low ceiling very high floor type of player.....except his ceiling really isn't that low. He might not be the next Mookie Betts but I think he has a really good chance of being very close to that good. Remember when we just HAD to draft an outfielder in 2013, but 2/3 of our current star studded outfield was already in the system in Benintendi/JBJ/Betts.

This forum needs a like button

Well, that's because of the unexpected, or when a player hits a serious decline. Odds are you can project what Mike Trout will do next year but he could get injured or fall off a cliff. Now that's probably not likely for a player his age but someone like Robinson Cano is much more likely at 33. Projections take into account a ton of information and weigh countless scenarios in reality a lot can go right or wrong. Why many projections are completely off, I'd be willing to bet the sum of all projections is eerily close to actual production. Here's some food for thought, remember the classic pennies in the jar guessing game? research has shown that the sum of all guesses are almost always closer than any one guess. Projections are a nice guideline, but so much can go right or wrong when looking at just one player.

How often are projections right for rookies with very high upside? I doubt they accurately predicted the value Bogaerts would provide in 2015, or the value Betts would in his rookie year. Projections go on track record and unfortunately guys like Benentendi have little. The reality is there could be a lot more volatility in the range of outcomes because there is less certainty. This works both ways, he could easily have a sophomore slump and not adjust to pitchers adjusting to him a la Bogaerts 2014. But he could just as easily become an all star caliber player with a WAR of 4 or more.

I really hope they don't institute a draft until after 2017. With regards to what happen to the Sox this past year with penalties and the depletion of their farm systems to trades I'd love to see them go on a spending spree this year in the international market without restrictions. However, if they do decide to have a draft in 2018, you could see a large bidding war in the international signee market this year.