5GoldGlovesOF,75

The more I read about Bloom's history with Tampa, the more I suspect that his first year running the anti-Rays will be a big adjustment. I hope he gets to recruit some of the prospects with upside that were on his radar down South but not yet acquired. I have to think this was one of Bloom's draws for Boston; he's already coming in with partial plans that were earmarked for a rival, and now the Sox may improve two-fold by grabbing some depth while keeping the same players out of Florida. I can also see him making a few deals that The Nation is unaccustomed to, like trading established big leaguers in or before their primes for even more depth (and salary relief). This is one of Bloom's specialities that may cause him to take some early heat that he is not use to, either. A lot of fans may seem to welcome such radical changes, but think back to the uproar just last Spring on the boards and talk shows when Swihart, the third-string catcher, was shipped off to Arizona. Imagine the overall reactions of the general public if Bloom opts to swap -- say, EdRod and Vazquez -- for less-proven youngsters with only the potential to upgrade (not every fan can appreciate the Archer for Glasnow and Meadows deal like we do here... and very few transactions immediately strike gold, if ever, like that one).

Great line. I think my son has already made enough for Henry to pay Betts, judging by the number of Mookie baseball cards, t-shirts and uniform shirts he owns (he's also a walking billboard, having gone door to door for three straight Halloweens now, disguised as Number 50).

I agree with everything you say -- except I'm the someone who tried to use those "small" guys (all Hall of Famers) to show that Betts will have no problem matching and surpassing their career production. Those comps were to show posters that caution about the longevity risk of ballplayers with similar body types that Betts is already on pace with or better than the best "slight frame" legends in modern history. I sucked at it, but my point was that in this age of testing, we at least know Mookie most likely won't burn out from recreational drugs or do steroids -- as was confirmed/suspected of the two examples you mentioned. Betts comes from good stock, his uncle was a big leaguer and role model who still advises him, his mother is still a prominent influence, and his high school sweetheart and mom of his infant daughter keeps him grounded. One night last fall when other young millionaires were out partying, Mookie was caught feeding the homeless. He was wearing a hoodie, trying not to be noticed. Guys who developed muscle from popular training regimens 15-20 years ago kept breaking down with structural injuries. Nomar, who was skinny in college but suddenly shirtless on the cover of SI, was one of them. Modern big guys are no sure bet to be long-lasting, either. Notice how behemoths like Judge and Stanton are hurt every year? Mookie doesn't have inflated Michelin Man muscles, but he does has Hank Aaron wrists. Those are only some of the reasons that I think Mookie Betts will be one of the few superstars to actually earn his big money contract. For those still stuck on numbers -- and adamantly against 10 for 300 -- I'm also the guy who suggested 6 for 260. That's right, make an offer he can't refuse. And mark this down: Mookie Betts next contract, whether it's with Boston or not, will be the most lucrative in history. Someone will deem his value worthy. And for those posters still stuck on "the tax, the tax, the lost draft picks" that will never equate to another Betts, please remember that this current MLB labor contract runs out after 2121, when everything changes because the players' union will never accept something like that again (and they're already willing to strike about it).

Marisnick is the Astros' best outfielder, so I can see why AC would want him. He's also their worst hitter -- think Bradley, without the power -- and was on deck when the Yanks chose not to pitch around Altuve... and I still can't believe that decision. And neither can Yankee fans. But I'd take him, if it meant keeping some of our other stars around.

There's got to be a better example. Nomar wasn't traded after scoring the walk-off run from first base on a single. Nomar was traded after pouting on the bench, while all his teammates stood on the top step of the dugout to watch Jeter dive face-first into the stands. Plus, OCab and Doug M weren't prospects coming here in '04, but refinements. I can't think of any Red Sox blockbuster trades where the Sox actually swapped a star player and got back a haul of prospects. MLB.com can't either, because in this link, almost all of the deals are when Boston gave up the haul for a star in return (except getting Varitek and Lowe for Slocumb, who wasn't even good at the time). 10 biggest trades in Red Sox history WWW.MLB.COM BOSTON -- Few teams in baseball history have had as many impactful trades as the Red Sox, who helped set up their recent golden era of World Series championships with their wheeling and dealing ways. Pedro Martinez, Curt Schilling, Chris Sale and Josh Beckett are some of the championship aces Does anyone recall a haul?

Punting is for football.

I think chemistry is underrated when considering whether a team can repeat with back-to-back World Series titles, pennant flags (or in the Yankees' case), division crowns. All those benchwarmers comprised an unexpected force to achieve a unified purpose. Suddenly, come playoff time, that winning combo was broken up a bit by returning regulars, who understandably wanted to participate... and it had to be an awkward situation for the guys that got them there. Uneasy Yankee fans knew -- how many really wanted to see Stanton replace Tauchman on the roster? Ford, Voit, Maybin, thanks for coming. The 2020 Yanks may well win the AL East again, but it's unlikely that so many different players will ever contribute as much in one year again.

I'm fairly certain the Sox -- and any team -- will look better going into 2020 with Mookie Betts than without. Talent wins out, not promise, and as a longtime fan I would much rather watch a competitive team now than worry about a future that can only be uncertain... There's not even a guarantee any one of us will even have a future to keep watching.

Betts tosses 16-pound bowling balls around for fun every offseason. He stays in shape.

If your boss is paying you 23 million dollars to play a damn kid's game, you'd better be flexible. I looked up Martinez' entire professional career on baseball-ref; in his first year in the minors, at age 21, JD actually played four games at first base. He made 2 errors and never played there again. There's gotta be something holding JD back, besides personal preference, from even trying on a first baseman's mitt. It could be his back. Or his front. Or management has seen him in practice and determined he's just not an option.

It would seem that way -- just stand there and catch the ball -- but there is also a lot of nimble footwork required, holding runners on, a step and a dive on liners, moving to make good feeds in traffic to start DPs, taking and relaying cutoff throws from right and center. A really good first sacker can be a weapon, like Keith Hernandez pouncing on bunts. The Yankees seemingly wasted their best defensive player at first in the playoffs, but that was partly so they could keep Torres' bat in the lineup at second base. Torres is not a bad defender, but it was DJ was who nominated for a Gold Glove at second, and now they're letting Gregorious go so Torres can move to short and DJ back to second permanently. Voit had a hernia, but fans worried all summer about whether they could trust him at first in a championship drive in October. We rarely see contenders with bad first basemen. Dick Stuart's nickname was Dr. Strangeglove, but he could hit dingers, and Boston needed the draw. His '63/64 Sox finished 7th and 8th, 28 and 27 games behind. He made 53 errors. At first base!

I know, a lot of fans and clubs don't want to be stuck with the years -- especially since at least the last 40% of most contracts are dead weight. One recent trend seems to be offering a higher AAV at less years -- that's why I suggested 6 at 260; Mookie would be the highest paid player in history at $43.33 mil per, and then be a free agent again at 33... Then if he's still producing -- and betting on himself like he always has -- he should have no problem getting another contract from someone else at, say, 4 for 140 -- which is another $35 mil per (which may be normal pay for a good player by 2027). When you add up both contracts, that's a cool 10 for 400...

"No baseball player is worth X amount of dollars" (fill in the blank) Baseball fans have been using that phrase forever, but have been hearing it and reading it more and more since free agency. No ballplayer was worth $100 grand, then no player was worth $1 million, then $100 million?... and now, half a freakin billion? Dollars? Numbers don't really matter when they're all relative to the current market. So... try to forget the numbers and just ask and answer yourself: is Mookie Betts worth a salary at the top of his market? If your answer is yes -- and many fans, media and probably front offices agree -- then ante up, because no taxes saved or draft picks gained in this pseudo-salary cap that the union stupidly agreed to will ever land you another Mookie. If your answer is no -- and there are plenty of folks of this opinion -- then take what you can get, knowing that it will never be anything close to the value of the best all-around Red Sox player since Yaz. If Mookie is gone before 2020, I'm glad to have watched him spark the Sox into contention the past six years. But I'd much rather enjoy watching a batting champ/Gold Glove/MVP for one more season of possible glory... instead of replacement prospects.

Corner outfielders see sporadic action -- though a misplay can mean extra bases. But a first baseman gets chances in virtually every inning, and is entrusted to secure automatic outs. A skilled first baseman has good hands and reflexes to make scoops and stretches that save errors and subsequent pitches for the guy on the mound. Napoli started in the big leagues as a catcher. Ernie Banks was an MVP shortstop before moving to first. A lot of third basemen transition easily over to first: Youk, Tony Perez... cough, Bagwell. A bad defensive ballplayer doesn't play first.

Boston's 2018 postseason went right in spite of Kimbrel, not because we had him. The Sox defense saved him as much as the winds of fate: Nunez-Pearce on Torres' roller, Betts' perfect throw to nail Kemp, Beni's dive... and fly balls that barely stayed in the park by Sanchez, Bregman and McCann. This past year was a miracle for the Yankees, when everybody went right. Does any fan, even Yankee fans, think they would've done better with a defense of Stanton instead of Tauchman, Andujar instead of Urshela, and Sanchez instead of Romine? I don't think the average fan appreciates how special New York's 2019 was, when their replacement players won 103 games. It's a stretch to expect the exact same mix to repeat such success (see Boston, 2018-19), but it's also unlikely an entirely different crew will win as many the very next year. They may upgrade on the mound and some positions and win it all, but 103 in the regular season is hard for any powerhouse to duplicate. The Yankees have never won 103 two years in a row.

Here's what Bloom is up against: such a deal may be "fair" as in equitable, if you're a new MLB GM... but to Sox fans, that type of return may only be "fair" in the context of collectibles -- like the comic book grading system, where "fair" is at best "unattractive" (and behind more preferred grades like mint, near mint, very fine, fine, very good and good). We're all speculating about Betts' fate -- and maybe Bloom is already fielding offers -- but it's just as likely he is working harder on trades for JBJ, and either Chavis or Dalbec (in order to move Price). Such a plan may have already been outlined before his hire, like when Kennedy suggested, "There is a way to keep both JD and Mookie, but it won't be easy." Maybe Bloom was hired, in part, as the man to accomplish that specific task. We hope.

Let Atlanta keep Enderman and give us the two elite OF prospects, plus the pitching prospects -- that's the only kind of haul that would maybe make it worth happening... to me, a Red Sox fan. Anyone remember the Von Hayes trade? Back in the early-80s, the Phillies bit on a 5-for-1, sending four prospects (plus veteran Manny Trillo, on the downside of his career) to Cleveland for Hayes, a young outfielder coming off a decent rookie year. None of the players Philly gave up amounted to much -- except Julio Franco, who played until he was 48 and won five Silver Slugger Awards, a batting title, and earned 43.5 bWAR -- but for eight different clubs. Hayes had a few good seasons in a 12-year career in which he contributed 29.1 WAR. He was never a superstar... or even Julio Franco. The deal was a stunner at the time, but maybe an example of a trade that was ultimately mediocre, that no one really won. Each team involved eventually lost more games than it won through the end of that decade. Obviously, nothing is a sure thing. These cliches of generalities are coming to you live from another poster who's on board with paying Betts 30-plus million a year for the next decade... a contract that likely breaks down in actual value to about 43.3 mil per for the next six, and only 10 mil per for the last four. And I think he will earn it.

If there is any chance at all to up the chance of Betts signing in Boston, then it will be if he's kept in a Red Sox uniform until he's a free agent. Say he has another great year and leads the Sox to another great year... it's not hard imagine a crescendo of reporters in articles and talk-shows extolling his virtues and how imperative it will be to back up the Brink's truck -- with a six-state Nation in hysterics, imploring their beloved Mookie to change his mind and stay, stay, stay in a six-month campaign of star-struck pleading... showering him with love... posters, placards, poems, petitions... standing O's, standing offers, sit-ins, hunger strikes. Ah, maybe not.

Thanks for the menu... assuming impending payroll cuts free up some funds, I chose four guys at 6 mil apiece: Hill, Hudson, Kendrick and Calhoun. Just to make sure I'd be getting what I paid for, I looked up their individual WAR from last season: 1.4 + 2 + 2.6 + 2.3 = 8.3 cumulative WAR (I know, pitching WAR slightly differs in value, but these are ballpark numbers, since WAR is all about approximations). Then I thought about Mookie and what he's liable to accomplish on his own in his salary-drive walk year... He's averaged 7 WAR for six seasons and already has two years at around 10 WAR. Would it surprise anyone if -- at the prime age of 27 -- he earns another 8.3 in 2020? Unless Bloom can find some team that will overpay with multiple MLB-ready prospects for Betts for one year (like I suggested when I first began posting), then I'd just as soon keep Mookie in Boston. Ride his multi-talented contributions to contention and give him all the love, attention and respect he craves and deserves in one final all-out effort to re-sign him. I know not getting below the magic reset number will cost taxes and draft picks, but those penalties shouldn't be part of the Mookie Betts situation. No amount of money and draft picks combined can guarantee the Red Sox of ever finding another generational talent as good as the one they already have right now.

I like Calhoun, but only at half JBJ's salary and to play RF, with Mookie moving to CF.

This may make sense to us fans -- and a lot of posters here and elsewhere agree -- but I think there are other factors to consider. Trading a valued member of an organization is literally uprooting and relocating the employee for six months or a year, with risks beyond just inconvenience... like bruised egos and the chance of him liking his change of scenery even better. There is also some speculation that team, player and agent have an agreement in place beforehand, ala Chapman and NY. But it's also hard to see a player agreeing to such a deal in the best interests of the club; "Hey, Mook, do us a solid and move 3,000 miles away in exchange for a prospect that we can use to replace your minor league roommate and buddy, then come back to work for us next year." Unless, of course, it's only about the money.

I think this is a bigger factor in what happens than most posters and lurkers realize. The Red Sox are in the entertainment business -- and yes, winning sells -- but "fan identification" drives sports marketing. If Betts is indeed traded I will never believe it was because the Boston Red Sox were unable or unwilling to outbid the competition for his services. This is a club that signed David Freakin Price and Chris Sale -- starting pitchers who play once every five days when healthy -- to long contracts worth $30+ million a year. Fans can try to put numbers on Mookie's value, but does anyone honestly believe that the Sox aren't prepared to invest in their best homegrown regular in decades, the Face of the Franchise and future Hall of Famer who plays every game? If Betts is traded, it will be because he no longer wanted to work in New England.

I hope JD learns to spit on the two-strike slider in the dirt, has a great year, and leads Boston back to the postseason. If that's the cause, expect the effects a year from now to be he either opts out then (when his salary dips 4.4 mil) or the Sox renegotiate JD's contract to keep him as a line-up linchpin. Put it this way: if a year from now JD Martinez doesn't opt out, then 2020 will have been a bummer of a summer.

Someone on MLB.com handicapping the odds of who'll sign Strasburg listed Boston as third most likely, behind Washington and the Yankees. What, did Bloom do some spelunking inside the Green Monster and uncover the purse of the Bambino?

Odor and Mazara are both all-or-nothing type batters (Odor just led the AL in Ks) and negative dWAR fielders. At least age is on their side, at 25 and 24, respectively. Maybe Bloom could flip one or both in a three-way for an A-ball arm from someone looking for some proven pop... seriously, that's the kind of return we should expect and be happy with in order to reset.