5GoldGlovesOF,75

Let's just hope Brez doesn't do something Raffy and trade Duran right after some home run blasts and a six-game winning streak.

I was horrified when an org constantly in need of developing pitching traded their #1 mound prospect. And what the hell did i know... Espinoza is now pitching in Japan -- and if he never makes it back to the majors will finish with a career WAR of 0. I am going to assume that ties him with almost all of the posters on this forum.

I like your Boggs' comparison... but as for Romy -- he may feel like he actually has reverted to his true self (after being cut by a team so pitiful that they're literally nicknamed after a racist brothel).

Agreed. Teams willing to trade bonafide big league pitching always want minor league arms in return. This is where Breslow and Bailey's Flying Circus needs to identify building blocks from expendables. It should help that they're ex-pitchers... .... just don't trade Anderson Espinoza for Drew Pomeranz!!!!

Breslow's three biggest expenses last winter are the three Red Sox to make this summer's All-Star team.

Romy Gonzalez is the greatest player in the history of baseball ever cut by the worst team in baseball history. The preceding is irrefutable -- even if Romy never has another good MLB season again in his life...

And Duran -- if neither is traded, Cora can mix and match according to metrics and match-ups. It will be an analytical department's dream (not like they don't already have too much control)... think of the bench options when needed late in the game: speed on the bases, pull power, big arm on D, contact to move a ghost (if Masa's on the pine), energy!

Santana may be washed, but he's an old pro who won a Gold Glove at first base just last year, and will cost nothing. A veteran voice that commands respect. We've got to change our evil ways.

Eugenio Suarez is the rare batter to lead both the American League and the National League in the same offensive category in different seasons: STRIKEOUTS. Suarez has actually won K Krowns three times in his career -- and in all three seasons had more whiffs than any Red Sox batter in the history of baseball. The last thing THIS Boston batting order needs is another all-or-nothingnothingnothingnothingnothingnothing swinger.

I like your attitude, and so do the ghosts of Christy Mathewson and Joe McGinnity -- who threw all but one inning of the '05 Series for the champion Giants... and their staff ERA of 0.00. That was 1905.

Any of them... Soxloafer (bake loaves, not WAR).

If Duran, Chapman and Bregman can carry a team to the World Series, then why not us? Painter is still just a prospect, like Kyle Harrison, recently a top-rated lefty pitching prospect. Their minor league ERAs this year are nearly identical: Painter at 4.79, Harrison at 4.85. If Breslow is just going to add prospect depth, then he can deal from his own prospect depth -- like middle infielders. He can acquire a platoon bat, and a few arms for marginal talent, just like the Sox do every summer. Boston isn't likely to get any pitchers better than Houck or Harrison for the stretch run. Might as well give them a shot and see if they can catch Tampa for 3rd place... by the end of this month, the Rays play almost two-thirds of their remaining games on the road.

Not much of a statistical difference yet in the post-Raffy offense, as the Sox are still #2 in team Ks and #4 in BBs. But Devers was among the league leaders in both, so season percentages like OPS are hard to gauge. Less Devers homers, but more contributions from Story and Ceddanne. And Bregman is coming back. First in team hits and doubles could actually last, and #4 in team stolen bases trends to manufacturing runs -- or at least a balance beyond all-or-nothing. Raffy and Campbell had a lot of swing and miss in their ABs, and they're gone, but now Anthony and Mayer are full-timers and adjusting through growing pains. The return of Yoshida, a professional contact hitter, should help. The O certainly feels like it has more energy lately, but let's not deceive ourselves into thinking everyone is suddenly good vs. pitching staffs from Washington and Colorado. But: if Boston is still .500 or better at the Break, Breslow owes it to the batting order and Sox Nation living rooms to add a Schwarber-type deadline deal.

Cora sucks at uniforms. One night he orders his players to wear home whites, then the next night he has them in ugly yellow jerseys. As if those weren't bad enough, this year he makes them wear green -- GREEN, these aren't the Celtics and this isn't basketball! Cora won't even let them wear blue unis anymore -- which goes to show you he doesn't care about winning, because the last time the Sox won it all, they were in blue shirts!!

excuse me! forgot to write IN THIS DECADE, since this is where we're living. I did hear the Red Sox once had a great left-handed pitching prospect who was so good there was a candy bar named after the daughter of President Grover Cleveland, whose city had a pro team called the Spiders that was so bad they weren't celebrated until Ziggy Stardust, whose creator finally made the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but didn't accept the award because he wasn't a first-ballot inductee and actually on tour at the time.

As much as I covet Joe Ryan, I wouldn't trade Tolle for him straight up. Ryan is at the top of his game, and actually has a higher WAR than Crochet or Fried. He's having a better year than most of the starters selected to the AL All-Star pitching staff. But Tolle is a monster in an organization that never has a pitching prospect with monster potential. He'll be in the majors soon and should make an immediate impact.

Raffy was a salary dump masked as a malcontent. Priester was a desperation move by Milwaukee that brought back minor league depth. But Chapman should be the most sought-after deadline asset in baseball. He'll have a bigger impact down the stretch and certainly the postseason than Duran. If a Chapman trade doesn't bring back legitimate big league talent, the return better include MLB-ready prospects. No one in Boston's front office can wait until 2027 or 2028... Henry must have noticed Washington cleaning house after just getting swept by the Blah Sox; imagine fandom's reaction if the Rox pull the same trick at Fenway this week... Think that can't happen with Winsome/Loathsome mediocrities?

2025 Chapman is the Red Sox' best trade chip at the deadline in their frozen assets era. He's better right now than when the Rangers gave up Cole Ragans or the Cubs gave up Gleybar Torres for him. If Breslow is dealing Chappy, he absolutely cannot afford to miss a big time return -- another Harrison or Hicks as throw-ins won't do it. Plus, as others have mentioned, a Chapman swap should signal that a Boston firesale is open for business...

I can't trade The Password. Right-handed home run power is a rare commodity in Boston lately. HRs may be too much of baseball's all-or-nothing offense, but the promise and threat of instant runs is part of a balanced attack -- and one we all know will be missed again the next time Boston faces a tough pitching staff (especially after dealing you know who). Plus, look carefully at the video in the article of Garcia. The locks bouncing off his broad shoulders in his home run trot... the side-view replay of the swing extension at 0:32 -- there's no doubt who that looks like...

We should just be relieved their last names don't start with L's.

Chapman is not only arguably the Red Sox best player this year at his position, but in the entire major leagues. The only closer with a higher WAR than Chappy's 1.9 is Josh Hader at 2.0 -- and anyone who has read the guidelines on bb-ref or fangraphs knows that WAR is an estimate, and players should never be compared to the decimal point. The Sox shouldn't be shopping him, even if they're not going to the playoffs, but looking to extend him. But of course Boston should be listening to any serious overpay offers. If someone wants Chapman badly enough to part with young stars or Top 10 prospects, it's worth considering... He has that much value right now, which will only increase in the next few weeks...

What you're saying is we already have Kyle Harrison.

One of the many reasons it was not is that Breslow made sure he got pitching back in return. Bloom really got hosed by the Dodgers, who always have a wealth of good pitching prospects stockpiled. The Price he paid made the Mookie trade even worse.

"the bias is strong enough" by the poster to keep posting the same opinion every week. Have you been able to convince anyone else on the internet that Alex Cora favors Mayer from California over Campbell from Tennessee? Or that Mayer "struggled terribly" at shortstop in the minors? "Campbell a natural SS since he was young should be given the first shot at SS but won't get that because of Cora" .... "If they refuse to let him win the SS position" -- in one sentence you blame Cora, but then correctly use the plural "they" because not using Campbell at SS is a system-wide organizational decision. And despite whatever any of us think, the main reason no rookie is being given a shot at shortstop is because Trevor Story from Texas is under contract for big money for two more years after this one.

There's no stat that shows he dropped several throws from catchers on stolen bases this spring. The ump wasn't calling the baserunner out, so no errors were charged. But it was alarming, considering good hand-eye coordination is must for big league infielders.