5GoldGlovesOF,75

We all know the real reason the Red Sox don't want Yoshida to play any more left field: The owners are so cheap that they're afraid they'll have to keep replacing light bulbs on the Green Monster from wall balls that Masa misses.

It's ok -- we have new coaches!

You mean like promote Top 10 prospects like other teams do? I dunno - we only have THREE... But you may be right -- imagine the PR if one of them came up and actually helped improve our record, like Top 10 prospects do for other teams.

If so, then better prepare for the Sox to "contend" with the same roster of position players -- minus their home run leader... and hope that Carlos Narvaez is at least a better catcher than McGuire and Jansen. It's been over half a decade of expecting Bloom/Breslow to follow through on their public intentions of acquiring a first baseman, or second baseman, or impact bat that's a keeper (and not a Renfroe-Duvall-TO clone), and authentic MLB rotation help for Chaim or bullpen primetimers for Brez. Nope and nope and nope and nope. Start praying for healthy comebacks from Casas and Story. Does anyone recall Boston opened '24 by winning 7 of 10 on the road...? If the Red Sox just broke even over the final 152, it would've been a winning season -- but they couldn't even do that. From April 9 through the end of September, the Red Sox had a losing record. That's almost six straight months of losing more games than they won. So who will be the difference in the batting order to help us win five more games in '25 and reach the playoffs -- like the 86-win Tigers and Royals did last year? It must be Yoshida and Rafaela -- two guys due for vast improvements!

Right -- one way to avoid them is to trade them, another is to platoon. This weekend Cora said he wanted to try Abreu -- his Gold Glove rightfielder -- at 1B, and Hamilton in the OF... to make them more versatile. Maybe that will also make them more attractive as trade bait. With pitchers and catchers set to report to ST in about a month, here's one assessment of the Red Sox roster: 1. The starting rotation looks better... 2., 3., and 4. the defense hasn't changed, and the bullpen and batting line-up look worse. But if all the rehabbing guys make comebacks, don't get re-injured and play like they once did when they were younger and healthier...

One of Breslow's stated offseason priorities was to balance the batting line-up with some right-handed hitters. So far, the Red Sox have lost one -- their team home run champ, O'Neill. The plan can't just be to play Refsnyder more and get full, healthy seasons out of Story and Grissom -- who have never hit in Boston yet. If not signing someone actually good (no one's counting on that anymore), or trading for someone mediocre, then Kristian Campbell has to be a key in the heart of the order this year...

Yamamoto is a good comp, with same age, Cy hopes, and limited big league experience. Japanese leagues may be more similar in competition to high minors or D1, but will Yo Yama earn his contract -- even if he exceeds perhaps his best countryman in the majors in Yu Darvish (career 33.1 WAR at age 38)? Would the Red Sox be happy paying Crochet if he tops out at a similar WAR? After all, Josh Beckett had a career of 35.1 WAR over 14 years, while Derek Lowe was 34.4 WAR in 17 seasons. Btw: Dice K only earned 9.4 WAR in the bigs... On the other hand, Tanaka in New York was a solid starter for six years in his ages 25-30 seasons -- during which he totaled 16.8 WAR.

Casas' core injury could have long-lasting effects on his career, and may be why a club might want to trade him before he loses all value. But his potential is also a reason why other teams would be interested -- and why a mid-market team like Boston would want to keep him while he's cheap. Here's Casas' BA and OPS for the second-half of his rookie year, 2023 at age 23: .317, 1.034. Compare to Vlad in that same half, same season, when he was 24: .251, .790.

Vlad would be an upgrade over anyone with the bat, but could be a disaster in Boston. He's a dog on defense, with attitude issues, and the fans could turn on him in a hurry... If Henry somehow miraculously changes the spending patterns established the past half decade -- and gives Vlad -- of all players -- what he wants, the Red Sox could get stuck with the worst contract in team history. Plus, think of all the young core players the Sox could extend instead, for the same amount of one risky free agent.

All kinds of talk this weekend by Cora and the front office about plans to increase the versatility of many young players: Campbell at SS, Mayer at 2B/3B, Abreu at 1B, Hamilton to the outfield... Could be excuses to go with the youth and not spend on a Bregman, but one thing that shouldn't be overlooked is the impact a veteran winner can have on an unproven, up-and-coming core. Maybe Buehler can be that leader for the pitching staff, because none of the new White Sox guys -- Crochet, Giolito, Hendriks -- have ever won. For the bullpen we have Chapman, for what that's worth. But as for regulars, the vets are Raffy -- who doesn't yet want the role -- and Story, who doesn't have the cred...

Vlad is a terrible first baseman, he led the majors in errors and would actually downgrade the position in Boston. A few more home runs is not the smart move in any way to improve the club's biggest weakness -- defense. Tris Casas' career is just beginning. He is articulate and introspective -- which intimidates some people for some reason -- but those traits may also promise dedication to improvement. Casas has something to prove, even if it's making swing adjustments to preserve his core and use the Green Monster more, which we've already seen he can do. First base is far from the biggest issue on Boston, and the Sox have a young player who is not yet a star or filthy rich like Vlad already is. If fans think Devers isn't worth what he costs, imagine having another one -- only without the cheerful personality...

Devers' age 23 season was Covid year, but in his age 22 season he had 90 extra base hits. The curse for Raffy is spewed by Cole whenever he faces him.

On their "rule-of-thumb" chart for WAR numbers, a "Solid Starter" is between 2 and 3 WAR. The Sox are projected to have three solid starters: Devers, Duran, Casas. A "scrub" is between 0 and 1 WAR. The Sox are projected to have 11 scrubs: Story, Anthony, Ref, Gris, Hammy, three catchers, Romy, Mayer and Sogard. But we'll be a playoff team contending to go deep in the postseason...

They rate Sox hitters middle of the pack in the AL, and I'm assuming it's all about star power. New York, Texas, Baltimore, Houston, Minnesota, Seattle and KC -- most have studs... though the Twins' Correa and M's JRod weren't much better than Devers' damaged goods season.

Posters on this forum and others were moaning about extending Bello and Rafaela last year because they weren't instant superstars. Some even wanted one or the other demoted for more practice against minor leaguers. Rebuilding a sports team isn't like rebuilding a house, because the latter already has a foundation. Stop worrying about retaining that extra year of control. Do you know how many Boston players in 2024 were Red Sox for five full years? One: Raffy Devers. (Houck and Pivetta joined at the end of 2020, and Dalbec was up and down... can't think of any other).

Like most Sox fans, what I'm really looking forward to this season is seeing the new guys, and how they help the club. That includes pitchers Crochet and Buehler (the other free agent arms they signed, not so much), and especially the debuts and contributions of rookies that Boston and the industry has been hyping: Anthony, Campbell and Mayer. If the Red Sox don't promote at least one or two of these guys from Spring Training on -- and let them become big leaguers -- it won't be as fun. I have less interest in seeing the same regulars return from a .500 team -- minus last year's home run leader -- and hope they all can recover from injuries and stay healthy. It's time for new blood. If they're not going to pay for authentic free agent talent, then bring it up; they're ready and we're ready.

Need more Dempster diving...

Counting on anybody to be as good as new with post-surgery repairs, especially with an artificial body part (like a mesh patch, plastic knee or internal elbow brace) is risky. A guy who was good at something when he was young and supple is not guaranteed to regain that status when he's older and more brittle. It took one of the best pitchers of this generation -- Chris Sale -- half a decade to finally regain past glory, and everybody was surprised he lasted a full season.... but was anyone surprised he broke down before the postseason?

Regarding the mismatched SOX: I'm either optimistic about Mayer because the Red kept him over Teel, or pessimistic because the White took Teel instead... (when they already had a top catching prospect).

Sox should give Crochet a guarantee to pay him $38 million for two years, with an opt out after one year -- which he'll only take if he's good (or even pitching). Hey, it worked for Giolito, the last staff ace we got from Chicago. Bet you didn't know the Red Sox have a club option to keep Gio for only $14 mil for 2026 if he throws less than 140 innings this season... that should go over well with Lucas if Cora and Bailey conspire to use the 6-man rotation all summer "to protect his arm."

Cartaya to Twins for a minor league arm. "He’s received high marks for his defense, including a plus arm according to MLB Pipeline, and improving receiving skills." My prediction is that the Red Sox already made their trade for their second catcher this year.

Or in Boston, since that sums up the average lefty-swinging big leaguer, too.

Mayer's late-season injury makes fans forget that he was the Sox prospect leading the Eastern League in batting average before promotion to AAA. I'm not saying that makes him better than Anthony or Campbell -- only that Marcelo can hang with both as a hitter. Maybe he stays healthy and winds up the surprise breakout big leaguer.

But also inflamous for inflammatory acne

There's no hatred... except maybe for a rich org that we all suspect will definitely keep a guy like Ref around, just for the fact his contract is such a bargain for an established big leaguer.