Hugh2

It will be very exciting to see a system that has Groome, Espinoza, and Kopech in it. I understand the Sox have a poor track records with pitchers in recent years but to be fair it's been over a decade since they had a trio that talented.

You don't believe in the Kung Foo panda? I sure as hell don't. I was joking up until now, but in a perfect world Pablo would come back determined, in shape, rebuild his value giving Moncada another 1/2 year in the minors next year. The Sox can then trade Panda and Bring Moncada up next June/July. This.....is wishful thinking, but we do live in a crazy world.

I don't know why everyone is freaking out, we were told this would happen. The kid was told he could go #1 for almost a year leading up until the draft, he had a price tag and the Sox have a budget. He fell far enough that his price tag was impossible to meet, the Sox new that, his agent knows that and everyone said the negotiations would go right up until the deadline. This is not unnatural. I have no ideal what the conversation is but it's probably something like this. Groome and his agent are asking for 4.5 million, the Sox have offered 3.5, they are both posturing and will eventually settle somewhere around 4 million. I was earlier optimistic that the real number could be as low as 3.75-3.8 but admittedly I'm optimistic that number could easily be 4 million to 4.2 million. But both sides likely have the capacity to budge. You don't go to a negotiation table with your best offer. Often guys are drafted with an agreement of what it will take to sign them, when a guy like Groome falls things change because the Sox probably weren't in contact with his agent due to the fact that no one knew he would drop that far. That doesn't mean they didn't have preliminary talks on draft day with ballpark figures and an understanding that they thought a deal could get done. I have a hard to time believing they would draft him if they didn't think they had a good shot at signing him. Relax, to reiterate my points, this is a negotiation and it was said in the very beginning by everyone in the know that it would go right down to the wire. I'm 95% sure he signs by the end of this week.

If the Sox do think Benintendi is MLB ready by July 31st they could bring him up to play LF, trade high on Shaw and have Hill/Holt platoon at 3B. No worries......we will have the Panda back next year!!!!

Jon Heyman @jonheyman sources: red sox, groome talks are intensifying. not done yet.

His demands were no secret and that might be why a lot of teams passed on him among other reasons. If you're asking for 4-5 million it's very realistic with a top 3 pick but once you fall you lose some of your leverage. Any agent knows that, you have to offer a player at least 40% of the slot bonus in the top 10 rounds to receive draft pick compensation if they refuse to sign. There is zero way any team could ever draft a guy like Groome and sign him to that kind of money unless they had top 3 money and no team will, nor have they ever blown up their entire draft for one guy. The exception to the rule would be a team who has a higher bonus pool due to multiple picks in the first round, like San Diego did this year, but they passed on Groome. The kid and his agent have some leverage, but so do the Sox. Odds are they will get a deal done, both sides are posturing which is normal.

3.5 million is well over the Sox slot and about 1/2 their total pool money. If Groome turns that down you can count on one hand how many bonuses larger than that were turned down in the top 10 of the MLB draft. It's not ALL the Sox fault if he refuses to sign. With that said, I'm sure the Sox will budge, If Groome signs they have little leverage elsewhere and that is probably why Dalbec and Shawaryn have not signed either. I'd be willing to bet the Sox know what they are going to sign those guys for but don't want to tip their hand. If they got both those guys for appx slot they can easily give Groome 4-4.2 but have nothing left to sign anyone after the 10th. Odds are they'd really like to sign someone like Nick Quintana as well. I could be completely off base here, and the number could easily be 4-4.1 million but I bet they settle for somewhere between 3.75-3.8 million. Book it!

Well, for all we know very close is 1/2 a year to a year. In prospectidum that's still really close to the majors, regardless close to ready isn't ready and if that's where he's at know people have been calling for his promotion for weeks now.

Ah yes, many suffer from shiny new toy syndrome.

Yes but so what? every single player is different. The average age of a rookie is 24.5 years old, Bogaerts is the exception and not the rule. Benintendi could be ready in 3 months, 1 year. He could struggle for 1-2 years at the MLB level before he gets it or he could hit the ground running but we shouldn't use the exception to the rule as precedent.

Yes, I do. This team will have the best offense in the American league for the next 4 years at least.

That makes it sound a lot nicer than it is, even in a stacked draft a player as talented as Groome rarely falls. Also, a lot can happen from now until then. They say it is expected to be stacked but that can change in a hurry. We don't really know exactly how next years draft will look. Also, we're hearing about kids who may have signed past round 10 for 150-200K that were told by the Sox to wait. A lot of them have come out and re-affirmed their college commitments because they were tired of waiting on the Sox. The 13th pick is nice consolation prize, but it is 100% optimal that the Sox get Groome signed.

No one person can be "the problem" on a 25 man team in which 1/2 of it contributes to every game every day. But when you pay a guy to be an ace, when you need an ace, and he comes in and pitches on the opposite side of that spectrum (he's been pitching like a BOTRS) he's part of the problem. I never complained about Price though and will continue not to do so because I've noticed he's actually turned it around during the last half of the first half and I've had confidence all along he would do that.

It was poor reporting, there was a lot of mis-information out there regarding the situation. Not saying the sox didn't do wrong they obviously did, I'm not going back there but this is a subject so few know anything about or are used to reporting that it's easy to get their story wrong. The Sox had all the guys taken away they should not have signed last year and are banned from this current signing period from July 2nd 2016 up to July 1st 2017.

I would never dream of giving up Espinoza unless it was part of a larger package to bring in a true TOTRS. I can't remember any point of my lifetime the Sox having a pitching prospect with as good of stuff and as highly regarded as AE. I mean there was Clemens but I was a child and I don't know how he projected when he was a minor leaguer. I'd be very hesitant to give up Kopech!!! but I would. Kopech is someone who could be shooting up the rankings too once he gets more games underneath him. He's got good stuff, a feel for a 3rd pitch and can reach triple digits.

I just double checked it, they are banned from this current signing period. They can jump back in with zero restrictions next year. http://www.baseballamerica.com/international/mlb-takes-away-prospects-red-sox-hammers-boston-international-penalties/#QHbEOsUU0H7WmLpP.97

I'm pretty sure they are baned this year up until July 2nd of 2017. Meaning they can sign guys in the next period.

Then again Ellsbury also had one whole year in the minors than Benintendi did, about 100 more at this point. Jacoby was also a whole year older than Andrew, people forget that Benintendi was a draft eligible sophomore with really just a 1 year track record entering the draft. So it's not going to hurt his development to give him some more time in the minors at this point. No one else from that draft class has reached the majors yet.

While I've generally been on the side of NOT bringing up Benintendi it wouldn't be completely unprecedented to bring him up based on performance and NOT need. Jacoby Ellsbury flew up through the minors and hit his way onto the team in 07 and DD has more of a history than other recent Sox G.M.s of bringing up top prospects to the majors quickly. Yes we probably wouldn't be talking about it much, and yes I think we should be cautious about rushing him but if the need is there and he is just putting up video game numbers in the minors I think you will see it. Now would just be dumb, but by mid August? I don't think it's completely out of question that it happens.

Well we wouldn't of and shouldn't have anyways. We can jump back into the international market again next year and unless MLB comes out with an international draft I suspect the Sox to be very active.

No he's not, I suppose we should include him in there as well.

Yoan Moncada was the futures game MVP yesterday. It's going to be great seeing Moncada/Benintendi/Betts/Bogaerts in the same lineup.

One thing I think I've overlooked is the DD variable. He's been much more inclined than the Sox front offices of the past to rush guys to the majors. Still, you don't see Benintendi is July, he will get at least a few more weeks in AA and if they do plan on bringing him up they should start giving him some reps in LF. Normally you move a guy in AAA but it might make since to do it now because there is a very big wall out in LF in Portland and Benintendi won't get that in Pawtucket.

Well I don't get too caught up in Milb stats with young players. They need to produce eventually but a lot more scouting and projection go into how guys are valued the lower you go. I think Alexander is kind of looked at the same without his value being impacted that much but Alejandro has really increased his value. The Sox prospects were poised to move him up into the 9-11 range assuming Groomed signed which means without Groome he'd be 8-10. So we can deduce that at least one source had the Basabes switch which one was the good one. But perhaps they are just selling high on him too, or he could be emerging.

Earlier in the year it seemed as if BP was more down on Devers and Espinoza than most other scouting organizations. Now it's as if they are more high on them than anyone else. That could have been 5 guys in the top 24, and while I still think the Kimbrel trade was an overpay I think it was worth it (hard to type after the injury but it was) and Benintendi's rise made Margot expendable.