5GoldGlovesOF,75

I'm the opposite; I'd rather spend the money on pitching and not trade prospects who may be a year or two away. This isn't 2013, with a core of veteran champions already in place. There may be too many potential holes to fill, and to hope all new additions can make contributions to another worst-to-first. Buy some starters and relievers, add a bat, and a glove if X leaves. Begin the true rebuild by accumulating reliable pitching, and let the core regulars develop.

The Save is just a label, though some officials and agents (and even advertisers) cling to it to make it sound important. To me, it's almost as useless as using ERA to compare relievers. Pitching a 1-2-3 9th certainly helps win games, but how about the reliever who enters a game with two runners aboard, gives up a couple hits that knock them both home, then strands his own runners? His ERA is 0.00 -- what a relief ace! Preventing -- or allowing -- inherited baserunners to score is more relevant for guys coming out of the bullpen. Just ask Brayan Bello... is there a stat somewhere for earned runs he gave up when he was actually on the diamond? If so, please point me to the team stats that show how inept Boston's calvary has been in this category, and how "shutdown" true contenders' relief crews have been.

I'm sure Bloom's department employees are on it, but maybe looking for less-celebrated -- and thus less-expensive -- arms with potential. This would be where having the best developmental people would then be key; maybe that's why some of the offseason shopping should be spent on coaches in organizations like Tampa, Houston, Atlanta and LA...

Theo did acknowledge lately that he and his ilk were partly to blame for the majors' major issues. I'm still glad he has a say in how to fix things now.

In the decade of the 1960s, Killebrew's .267 batting average was in the AL TOP TEN. Ok, Harm was 10th in BA, but look at some other categories... From 1960 to 1969: Killebrew was 1st in home runs, RBIs, runs scored, bases on balls, slugging and total bases. He was 2nd in OBP and OPS to Mickey Mantle. Killebrew's most expensive rookie card maxed out at around $1,700 on eBay this month. That's at least $12 1/2 million dollars less than Mantle's. Maybe Harm is underrated.

...mora? Or lessa?

A real first baseman.

Jeisson Rosario with a game-winning homer -- oops, he now bats clean-up for the Yankees' AA team that is 32 games over .500. On a more relevant note (from an eye-witness): NY's AA closer, Carson Coleman, threw in the high-90s and was absolutely lights out. Does New York have any other Ottavino contracts Bloom can take back, if they throw in Coleman?

Bloom says he's excited about assembling the next core of sustained attenders.

Looking ahead to actually compete again in the AL East, would it be too lofty a goal this offseason to prepare an entire roster of big leaguers to travel to Toronto in 2023?

The Red Sox starting outfield this year has 18 HRs... total.

Conforto has more to prove, but you're right; he may have to accept less to do it -- which may make him more attractive to the Boston spenders this winter.

A professional hitter once coveted by Boston, still getting it done... it would be worth it, not to have to watch him crush Red Sox pitchers any more.

One ex-player turned media member (cough, Merloni) says the Sox should target these guys: Cron or Abreu for RH DH/1B, Conforto and/or Nimmo (depending whether Pham returns), Rodon for top of the rotation, get a closer, and keep X and Raffy, of course. If you're already over the tax limit, might as well be good.

... or Hamilton or Binelas? When can a trade be definitively evaluated as bad or good? When all the players exchanged have retired, so we can compare their final stats? The discussion was about how brutal the Renfroe trade was this year, and I added that we've had twice as long to reflect on the players exchanged in the Benintendi trade (and we're talking actual bodies, not how the savings on his albatross $3M was subsequently reinvested, whether it was on office supplies or grooming for Wally). A lot of fans view the Mookie trade less favorably after watching Jeter Downs completely flail in his big league debut this summer. But did you see the assist Connor Wong had the other night to cut down a runner at the plate on a wild pitch? It was an amazing 50-foot back-hand line drive toss to Strahm covering. Wong could very well split catching duties for the '23 Sox, then we'd have two regulars in the line-up from the same trade.

If you're going to argue that, then Binelas and Hamilton have 12 years left combined, right?

And yet, the Benintendi trade is overlooked by some as what it is: an abject failure (remember, this discussion is about the players exchanged in trades). if you look at the return for Beni -- so far, because there are minor leaguers who haven't made it yet, just like in the JBJ deal... ... the two guys who have made the majors, Cordero and Winckowski, are both negative WAR players -- or by definition, below the value of replacement players. There's Franchy, -0.7 in '21 and -0.3 in '22 for the Sox, and Josh, -0.3 in '22. Posters can argue that Beni was worthless in his last 14-game summer in Boston... but not worth less, since he was only -0.1 in 2020. Since then, Beni has made an All-Star team, won a Gold Glove and posted 3.0 POSITIVE WAR. It doesn't matter if you liked Andrew or not, that trade was also a flop.

You're right; no one should make the majors if he can't play major league defense. But I'm beginning to think that most posters who were willing to give Duran a chance were old guys like me, who grew up assuming every kid dreamed of being a big leaguer, and at least played every day, all summer... and got kazillion reps on basic fundamentals -- like judging a ball in the air. But we know that's not true anymore, not this century, or even in the 90s and 80s. Question is: do all modern organizations struggle promoting not-ready-for-D-time minor leaguers like Franchy or Duran? Not-an-Answer: at least Cordero sacrificed himself running into a wall, instead of Duran staring at the wall -- which he will never live down in Boston... and probably needs to be traded for his own sake.

He was voted top defensive first baseman in the IL this year.

These guys should be first on Bloom's list of offseason acquisitions. Didn't he have a three-year waiting period for recruiting other Rays' employees when Tampa agreed to let the Sox hire him? Time's up, get the people in place first for the rebuild... And Henry should be able to buy them all, since no exec salaries factor into the tax threshold!

I'd keep Casas and Rafaela. Defense is the first way back to respectability, and both are highly-regarded defenders who could be regulars in Boston a year from now. Reynolds can rake, but is also a below-average centerfielder; we've seen enough of that -- but he'd have to move to left in Fenway. Here's an alternative (also accepted) for Reynolds: Crawford, Duran, Houck and Yorke. That's a pretty good prospect haul for the Pirates for one decent bat.

Wacha will get multi-year offers because he's not an ace; he'll be an attractive alternative to teams that don't want to spend $20+ million AAV on a starter. But for a guy over 30 with recent injury history, taking a QO of $18M for one year instead of say, accepting double that for three, defies logic. Wacha may never again have the earning power he has this winter, which will set up him and his family for life. Turn down $35 to $40 million dollars when another nagging injury could appear at any time? This is not some postadolescent stud like Soto or Tatis... Eovaldi is in a similar situation, but with a worse injury history. Someone is bound to still offer him a two-year deal. If Bloom is only offering QOs, it may affect the number of suitors because of clubs averse to losing a draft pick, but they're both good enough to sign multi-years somewhere... ... which leaves Boston in need of three new starting pitchers for next year, as stated in today's Boston Globe (or in a previous post here last week: in search of #1, #2, #3, to go with Bello and Pivetta).

I keep thinking back on your Rule 5 eligibles, guys that won't be added to the 40.... move them or you lose them.

Regarding Wacha -- the past three years he took one-year contracts for three different teams, and this season finally set himself up for longterm stability somewhere. 1) Why would he'd accept a QO, when a big league club somewhere will undoubtedly offer him a multi-year? 2) The only reason the Sox would offer him a QO is to get a draft pick when he signs elsewhere, unless they really only want him for one more year... but 3). Isn't Wacha the type of established starter Bloom would covet for rotation stability to help right the ship, say for the next three seasons: 30 years old with a market value less than top-of-the-rotation-starters?

Are fans not standing for it what makes them crybabies in others' eyes? Fans will still go to games, but if the product on the field sucks, we have every right to boo, leave early, and certainly call talkshows to whine, and type complaints to online reports, articles and on forums. Writers, columnists and talking heads, in turn, echo the general feelings of the fanbase, and generate their own gripes if the team they're covering blows. Posters here realize that we're not average fans. The average Sox fan doesn't dissect the Mookie trade every month for the past three years, but still views it as a crime against Red Sox Nation. The average fan just sees that he's still great, LA's in first again, and Boston is dead last again. The average fan may still take the family to an annual game at Fenway, but nobody except a diehard watches NESN when the Red Sox are in the cellar in September. Even some of us tune out -- or just go to sleep -- half-way through bad games.