5GoldGlovesOF,75

No one wants to lose Betts for nothing, which is basically what we'd get if he walks after 2020. He always praises the team, city and region, but has never said he wants to stay in Boston or even that he'd like to stay. This could be Mookie's strategy to prevent any notions of a home-town discount. Or, it could be a message to other suitors that they'd better pony up because the Sox are still in play (even if they're not). I think management already has a plan A, B and C ready for JD, JBJ and Betts, no matter who they label "GM". The new guy's responsibility will be to follow those plans and use his/her connections around baseball to maximize the returns of any deal, with pitching a priority. Any Betts swap needs to be a haul, with MLB-ready prospects coming back, or it will still look and feel like nothing more than the compensatory draft pick Boston would get if he signs elsewhere. Otherwise, the Sox would be better off keeping their superstar for another entire season. I just don't have any confidence at all that if they trade him that he would be willing to immediately re-sign. No player sent packing by a club ever comes back in his prime. The only example I can think of is Chapman (and now Yankee fans will always have that image of him smiling after he lost the pennant).

This makes sense to most -- rational or diehard (can we be both?) -- fans, but perhaps not so much to younger fans that idolize Mookie or even casual fans who can only identify the nickname and not name many other players. A lot of them comprise families who can only afford to attend one or two games a year at Fenway or may or may not tune in to NESN or WEEI. This part of fandom -- in a pastime of waning interest -- can't be dismissed, as it represents a potential fanbase of generations to come in a region of five states and beyond.

Agreed. The Red Sox product would take a serious hit, especially after a disappointing season followed by increased ticket prices. The only remote way a Betts trade will work -- in the offseason or at the trade deadline -- is if the PR machine can go public with a gigantic offer refused by Mookie, and somehow get him on record saying he just wants to play somewhere else. And then the Sox will also have to find a trade partner willing to overpay with major league ready prospects. Anything less will be unacceptable by fandom. The Nation will not accept a rebuild at the cost of its superstar player in his prime.

While not a fan of either team, I don't classify as an impartial observer, as I was a Red Sox fan naturally rooting for the Astros. The Yankee bats went cold, true, but Houston's were worse: Astros' failure with RISP bordering on 'historic' WWW.MLB.COM The Astros had the best offense in the Majors this year, leading in batting average (.274), on-base percentage (.352), slugging percentage (.495), lowest strikeout rate (18.2%), highest walk rate (10.1%), Weighted On-Base Average (.355) and wRC+ (125), and that's actually underselling it a bit. They weren't just the best offense Two walkoff HRs were just clutch enough to take the pennant, but the offensive difference for the winners may have just come down to fortune or timing -- having more men on base for more of their dingers. The Astros really beat NY on D and on the bases, with moments like Correa throwing out DJ, and several key plays in the finale. Judge played great in right, Didi was good, but otherwise... And the Yanks may have to admit winning a ring is unlikely with Sanchez behind the dish. At least against Boston, NY always seems better with Romine catching (this is coming from a fan who also thinks Vazquez is overrated defensively).

The Twins always lose to NY, but this year I think were exposed as one of the most suspect 100-win teams in history; either that, or they won one of the worst divisions of all-time. Minny: 52-18 .743 vs. Chi/KC/Det and the other two last place teams, Baltimore and Seattle...and then 49-46 .516 vs. the rest of their schedule. I still can't believe they started Dobnak in Gm 2 in freaking Yankee Stadium. Odorizzi had a career year, was their ace and made the All-Star team... and they were afraid to pitch him in the Bronx in a must-win game? After the two blowouts, if the Twins somehow won two games at home, they'd have to go back to NY for the finale and start... Dobnak?

I almost said I wish we had a number one pick to use on a pitcher like Strasburg or Cole, but don't think we'd enjoy the season that would get us there. The Sox highest-picked pitcher was a bust at No. 7, but it should be noted that Houston's path to power wasn't flawless, either. They had three straight Number Ones and whiffed on two of them -- hurlers who never made the majors; Correa was the other. The Stros were also bad enough to get a No. 2: Bregman (who the Sox drafted way lower a few years before), No. 5: Tucker, and No. 11: Springer.

Jose awful, man. How about: remember Luke Voit? (I know he had a hernia, but it sure didn't look like he had a postseason spot in the NY lineup, with DJ at first and the big money guys at DH...)

I'm not sure about first for JD. I'd say it's a more important position than left field, in that in involves many more chances, with almost all geared towards securing potential outs, many of which should be automatic outs that a team can't afford to risk. A good first baseman needs soft hands and nimble feet, and has to make quality relays or feeds to other bases. Infielders or catchers seem to be the best at transitioning over to first. They could try him out over there in ST -- he is a professional athlete, after all. But no team at any level from T-ball on up can keep a liability at first base.

Ha, great line, made me laugh. A month before Devers' call-up I went to watch him play a double A game in Hartford. He hit a rising line drive out of the park that probably didn't stop until it landed on a barge in the Connecticut River (small city) and wound up in some southern port. I've seen high fly homers there from future big leaguers like Vlad Jr and Biggio, but nothing scorched like Devers'. He was the one guy I didn't want to see DD deal.

He has to go, first order of business... Sonny (John Henry): "Price sold out Eck, that stronz. I don't want to see him no more. I want you to make that first thing on your list, understand?" Clemenza (new GM): "Understood."

It's almost seems lately as if someone upstairs is preventing Cashman from committing the big bucks to marquee free agents. I thought for sure the Yanks would've signed Machado or Harper, though the former would've made more sense in that they could've dealt Andujar for pitching depth. Do you think George would've opened the purse for either? Or at least make both Cole and Strasburg offers they can't refuse? I'm pretty convinced DD wasn't allowed to make any deals at the last deadline (esp. after Henry's quote, "We're not looking to add payroll"). Standing pat just isn't in DD's nature, and a surplus third base prospect like Dalbec surely could've netted someone like Hudson, the new closer for the NL champs.

Great question, and I can only surmise the answer is the usual for non-contenders in the stretch run to hunting and fishing season (or golf or sitting on the couch): to prevent the free-agent clock from ticking a year early on prospects. When Owings suddenly appeared and Cora instantly batted him leadoff, it looked like he was playing him to spite DD, like, "Really, this is what you're giving me? Then this is what you've got."

Both might be decent late-inning defensive replacements for a roster that can carry them, but neither is a starter for contenders. Bradley's better all-around comp is Pillar, who makes about half as much -- both averaged just under 3 WAR the past five years -- and his peak in on-field value and contractual value may be Kiermaier, who averaged around 4 WAR the past six years and can make up to 13 mil by 2023... all are around 30 years old but have trended down to about 2 WAR the past couple years (JBJ has a slightly higher OPS). Finding a cheaper replacement with approximate value won't be easy, unless a non-bridge team is confident they have a youngster with break-out potential ready-for-primetime...

JBJ may be the Red Sox best defensive centerfielder ever or at least in a hundred years. Before Bradley, Fred Lynn was the best I ever saw. Both were more spectacular and could throw much better than Ellsbury, Crisp, Damon, etc. I never saw Jimmy Piersall play, but HOFer Tris Speaker averaged 15 errors per in his Boston seasons. Maybe if the MLB continues to use the dejuiced ball from this postseason, then more batters will lower their launch angles, and guys like Bradley can improve their all-around game by spraying line drives all over the field. JBJ is always better when he goes oppo... (such an approach usually ignites his hot streaks, according to Remy and Eck).

Two reasons not to trade Benny: 1. he's still a few years away from free agency so the exact kind of cost-efficient player needed on a club trying to lower payroll; and 2. he's still young enough with enough tools to rebound and develop into an impact player. Remember, he only played two years in college and basically one total season in the minors before being tabbed the number one prospect in baseball by both Baseball American and MLB.com.

Boston pitchers led the league in bases on balls issued. That's how bad the Red Sox were this season, and why their games took forever to watch.

Thanks, it wasn't so much a trade proposal as an example of the kind of package the Sox should ask for for someone entering his prime on a Hall of Fame trajectory. In other words, don't settle for Fred Lynn for the twilight of Joe Rudi and Frank Tanana right after he blew out his arm. Player value considerations include actual WAR and salary estimates (ie. the cost of Betts, the savings on pre-arb guys), but projected WAR for prospects is more dubious. And only the teams know how much they value a player's marketability... my 8-year-old owns six different Mookie shirts. In that regard, Price is definitely a negative; it doesn't matter if he has friends in the workplace if he devalues the company product in a waning industry via media spats, getting shelled by the Yankees and taking five minutes to throw every pitch.

Tony C in 67... I'm not sticking up for the Yankees, but the year they just had with the bench warmers coming in first was a rare feat. NY could sign Rendon and Cole and trade for Lindor and still not win 103 next year. Change comes fast: Boston led the league in runs scored and ops in '18, and then batters walked in '19...

Any Betts trade would have to bring back major league ready prospects. For example, to LA for Lux, Verdugo and May -- young players that could slot right into the lineup and rotation. Of course, the Dodgers would have to take Price, too (subsidized by Boston). This would be the quickest way to help lower payroll, change the culture a bit and stay competitive. The Sox can't afford to just take back 19 and 20-year olds that are a few years away from the bigs. We already have those guys.

I just don't see any club giving up multiple valuable prospects for one year of Betts... especially not a package that would equal the value of Mookie Betts in his prime in a salary drive season. His 2020 campaign just might put a team on top, and I'm hoping that team is the Red Sox. The first thing I'd do is find a way to dump Price -- eating half his contract and adding a minor leaguer with promise to sweeten the deal; his act has to be a downer for public relations and I almost think his actions (like calling a presser to dis Eck) are a deliberate way to force their hand.

Hi: new poster, old Sox fan here. Been reading this site all year, living/dying for Boston half a century. With the Yanks eliminated, it's a relief. Now most of us can relax and enjoy a World Series without the stress of rooting for or against personal heroes and demons. NY had a great, basically miraculous season overcoming all those injuries; it's too bad the majority of their fans view every year that they don't win the final game as a failure (young New England sports fans are probably growing up the same way, which is unfathomable to old timers). I'm not gloating about the 2018 ALCS -- the Sox beat Cole and Verlander, but let's not forget that Altuve and Correa were both hobbled and neither could hit with power...