5GoldGlovesOF,75

Me, neither. As of now, the potential of young pitching may be the only way the 2026 Red Sox could improve on the squad that opened 2025. Last year's Opening Day #2, 3 and 4 hitters are or may be gone: Devers, Bregman, Casas. Contreras replaces Raffy or Tris (if he's not ready). A full year of Anthony should give Boston a boost, but his '25 production - 8 HR, 32 RBI, .859 OPS - isn't much different than Reysnyder, another Red Sox batter who just left - 9 HR, 30 RBI, .838 OPS. Even if they sign Bregman or Bichette, is the line-up any better? We'll be counting a lot on health and a 21-year-old becoming a superstar. On the mound, Sonny Gray and Oviedo replace Giolito and Buehler. That's a reasonable wash, with a shot at hubcaps sparkling since Oviedo is still under 30. But if one or both of the young arms of Early and Tolle solidify the rotation, the Sox could be true contenders (assuming the bullpen doesn't regress too much). That's who they can't trade for Marte...

Wonder how much Casas and Mayer turned down... or if they're forever after branded as damaged goods and have to live with Jody Reed regrets into old age. If I recall, Reed turned down a big offer from the Dodgers at the advice of his agent, and never sniffed such riches again. Pretty sure Nomar turned down Campbell's $60M, but for 4 years... over two decades ago. And then the Red Sox sent him packing.

The Red Sox gave me an opt out to watch them. When they're good I keep NESN on, but when the defense makes errors and the offense strikes out with runners in scoring in position, I can change the channel. But there's no refunds.

Two of them Henry didn't want to do and dumped them as soon as he could. Eeegads... that only cost us Mookie, and Raffy. Why change now: ink Breggie and use him up while he can still contribute. Then make him a "player" coach to get something out of the back end -- and put it in writing so he knows he'll have some kind of guaranteed longterm future in a Red Sox uni (as Manager Pedroia's batting coach).

Red Sox have good depth, but star power is what separates contenders. Of course, injuries to top players can be a big factor in the races, but Toronto did ok without Bichette for a lot of games. New York endured losing their Cy Young all year to tie the Jays for best AL record. Boston made the playoffs with a depleted second-half Bregman. Can't always look at WAR, either. In bb-ref's WAR, "All-Star Quality" is defined as 5+ WAR. If that's the case, then the AL East only has two true stars: Judge and Gunnar Henderson...

Fantasy? On an anonymous forum full of outsiders speculating info, most of which is typed by old-timers like me who need to keep bloviating to ward off old-timers' disease? Wharf Rattedly, August West (opposite direction of Ebenezer Stooge).

What's different may be that the Sox saw how valuable Bregman was on the field, in the dugout, at the batting cage, in the clubhouse, on the airplanes, at the hotels, and in front of the microphones. All those x-factors may make a longterm contract more feasible, especially if there is an implicit agreement that when Bregman finishes his playing career in Boston that he'll still wear the uniform in a management role that coincides with Alex Cora taking his off.

Dante used to hang his backpack bat bag on the passenger seat. You don't think a couple good kicks could break the zipper on the glove compartment?

That's cuz when the other 14 all-or-nothing goons tried to put rings on, they missed their fingers. But there was once a player that put his team over the top. When the '84 Tigers acquired closer Willie Hernandez, I predicted they'd go all the way. They went wire-to-wire. It was only 4 decades ago.

Bo's mom and dad weren't parking -- they both had more class than that... and more muscles from working out that would trash dashboards, steering wheels and glove compartments.

The someone who said it wasn't the Red Sox exec who signed Kluber.

Bo was literally conceived right behind the Green Monster, where his dad met his mom at a workout club. That's conceive, as in "form an idea... like imagining a new feeling."

I can't even talk about moving the best centerfielder in the league to the infield. It's not like we're desperate to keep his streaky Jackie Bradley bat in the lineup. Ceddanne isn't some reverse Robin Yount Hall of Fame hitter.

Not yet. It's not even as good yet. We basically have the month of January to complete the roster. All the glass is half fool guys will tell you that. The thing is, we know whatever team leaves Florida in March is what you see is what you get. Once the actual season begins, the worst talksox talk is always "it's still early"... in April... and May... and June... and July before the trade deadline... because we all know, nothing really ever changes at the trade deadline. In Boston, Massachusetts, AL East, American League, Major League Baseball.

Go green. Yellow is for cowards.

Since they're not going to pay any free agents, they should just send the $7 mil to talksox.com, where we can all split it up so we can afford to pay increased ticket prices, and overpriced concessions, souvenirs, parking, and cable bills so we can watch them on TV. At least give everybody one dollar each so we can follow all the action with six-month subscriptions to the Globe...

According to bb-ref, the Red Sox paid Rob Ref a total of $5.25 million for his four years in Boston. HUGE MARKET Seattle just committed $6.25 million to Refsnyder for 2026. How can a teeny college town compete with that?

I'd like the best defense, which is Bregman at third, Mayer at shortstop, and Story at second. Mayer has a better arm than Story, who looked really good at second base his first season in Boston.

Glad Brez read my posts about trading 5 young pitchers for Gray and Contreras from St. Loo. I expected pushback here for losing Yoiker, but getting a legit big league bat for a teenage pitcher is the obligation of any CBO/GM. But don't stop there. Nightengale reports this trade now takes Boston out of the Marte sweepstakes -- why? Contreras isn't a second baseman, and nobody else is a primary 2B on the MLB roster. If I buy a big salty pretzel at a ballgame, does that mean I no longer need a beer to wash it down?

...with an Opt Out if you're good, and a player option if you suck -- just so he has to pay you for another year at this year's market rate, rather than sign a replacement next year at the new always-higher market rate. I hate this post. It's not even a joke.

He has to make trades -- not for the future, but for the now. There's no other way around this if their business plan is to eliminate longterm free agent contracts. This team isn't good enough -- we're still missing an entire infield, except for a shortstop in his 30s who just had his first healthy season (at least 100 games played) in four years in Boston. Breslow has smartly stockpiled young pitching, and it's time to use that trade capital to fill all the other holes around the diamond and in the batting order. It's great to have a couple dozen live arms in the system, but if you're not going to rest half of them for the postseason like only the Dodgers can afford to do, then use those resources accordingly.

... but I just looked at the revised Soxprospects.com list and here's what's to glean: Of Boston's Top 12 rated prospects, NINE ARE PITCHERS. Of the three position players, one is 20 and the other two are teenagers. So... a ways away. Yes, we graduated or traded away several promising position guys in the past year, but only one is a guaranteed regular in the starting line-up -- which needs help asap. Swap some arms that throw for some bigger arms that swing the bat and make consistent contact. Or wait til the year after next year after next season after the next one.

The point is it wasn't always this way in the Henry Century. When the Red Sox were chasing the Yankees in the 00s -- 8 straight second-place finishes -- the winters were full of excitement and suspense because the Sox were truly All In Full Throttle. Any top free agent or small market star was subject to bidding wars between NY and Boston as each tried to keep or gain an edge. That was a refreshing time; after decades of Steinbrenner monopolizing the markets, the Sox finally had an owner and GM determined to give them an equal chance. We won some, we lost some, and you knew the front office cared as much as we did when Epstein trashed a hotel room after just missing out on signing Jose Contreras. Now, there are half a dozen clubs keeping pace with the Yanks. And one pretending to every winter... Sure, the Red Sox still seek to make improvements in the offseasons -- but it's always on their strict terms, which often take months longer than other hungrier contenders. And fans do a lot of waiting around for an anticlimax.

I was thinking the same thing about why multitudes of Sox fans are so bitter every winter. Ownership has made us that way. It's not really a trap to speculate and be enthusiastic, because diehards want to do both, and the media has to because it's their job. Mookie's quotes THIS WEEKEND about never wanting to be traded and wanting to play his entire career in Boston just keep the wounds open. My son read me a few from his phone, but when I saw the headline on NESN.com today, I couldn't even click it.

As long as all preseason ticket sales to Fenway Park come with an opt out. Don't tell me it's time to upgrade and time to add, and then you couldn't make it happen because things just didn't align. (not a plug, but there's align right past Fenway on David Ortiz Drive to Mighty Squirrel Brewing, where I'd rather spend time and money right now...)