UtahSox

I do agree that Breslow is doing a good job with the task he’s been given… to me this fall squarely on JH and the constraints he’s fictitiously put on his baseball capital. I imagine Breslow wishes he could have signed Alonso, Bregman, and Suarez last year. And given the constraints he has Breslow has shown initiative, creativity, and some balls. I just feel like Red Sox ownership is so performative nowadays. Even to the way they choose to stay in the luxury cap by a ridiculously small amount . It feels like it’s a production, to say we’re doing all we can when the reality is I don’t believe there’s a baseball team in America that makes as much net profit as the Boston Red Sox (maybe the Chicago Cubs).

This is the bull crap that JH has got us on…. The Boston Red Sox have more revenue than 26 baseball teams and yeah we’re looking/analyzing stats taking defensive analytics into account to try and justify paying somebody 18 million, versus a guy who posts and hits 40 home runs every year. It was a layup. It was right in front of our faces and we could’ve done it. When we won championships, we went out and got the best player at every position we could, sometimes we missed but we were in the running on every best player. Not anymore. Here’s what last year should’ve look like to me. 1st off you stop worrying about getting value in 2032 and let Young players in pre-arb and Arb n go through the process……. I believe the three of those players Rafaela, Anthony, Campbell would have cost you $5 million last year. AAV on those players was $30 million so it took a $25 million hit to AAV to sign them to deals to hopefully get value in 2032 …..stop doing that…. . End of story. sign Pete Alonso— 5 yr 155 sign Bregman— 5yr 175 (also he seems to be the guy who got the most out of Roman o bible sign Suarez—— 5yr 125 ( the exact amount you would have had if you didn’t do those idiotic extensions) trade Early and Mayer for Ketel Marte. Bregman/ Alonso/ Marte going into October would look a hell of a lot better than what we just rolled out last year.. Fenway hasn’t seen a postseason baseball game since 2021 that will be a six year gap just can’t happen…..

32 teams is happening no if’s and or but’s about it. Manfred has stated he wants 1 team in west, 1 team in East… Portland is making a really strong bid in the last 6 months. I assume Nashville is the #1 place they want to be. But as of now Nashville doesn’t have community support and political backing of SLC and Portland. I selfishly would love for MLB to expand both teams out west. But I don’t see it. I think it will be a dog fight between SLC and Portland for the west coast team. 6 months ago I was 95% sure it would be SLC. Now I’m 65% sure it will be SLC. Adding 2 roster spots + adding 2 new teams by 2032 would create a ton more MLB players. That’s why expansion will be put in right at end as a bargaining chip. If I’m a player I’d attack the # of arbitration years (shortening time to free agency)/ the revenue split, and worry a lot less about salary caps. Say yes to cap but negotiate a dollar amount of dead money a team can carry for a DFA’d player. For example if every team got 15m in dead money, the Red Sox could cut Trevor Story and while Trevor still made his full 25m only 10m of it would go against the cap.

Agree I think you could hide him in LF in Boston for sure

I would and then sign 2 really good pitchers…. Free agent pitchers are out there, no generational bats

Agree on almost all of it……Love the idea of De La Cruz…. On Duran I just believe Duran is done in Boston I think it’s just best for everyone. C: Rutschman 1b: Contreras 2b: Story 3b: Durbin SS: De La Cruz LF: Mead/ Yoshida CF: Rafaela RF: Anthony DH: gasper/ Mead i love the idea of Taylor Ward his OBP% and ability to hit the long ball (2025) or maybe a little more expensive but probably best case scenario would be Trent Grisham/ Steven Kwan.

Generational 24 year old SS, for a never gonna be all star streaky bat… that Plays solid defense. I 1000000% make the trade tomorrow if reds say yes.

My Ideal offseason: Trade 1: Duran, sogard, mead, Primera = Oneill Cruz Trade 2: Arias, Abreu, Godbout= Elly De La Cruz Free Agent: Brandon Lowe 2027 Lineup: C: Rutschman S (Wong/ Gasper) 1B: Contreras R 2B: Lowe L (story) SS: De La Cruz S (story) 3B: Durbin R LF: Anthony L CF: Rafaela R RF: Cruz L DH: platoon Yoshida L & Jones/ Story R AAA/AA bench: C: Jo Garcia, Nido/Baez, Ro Hernandez/D Rodriguez/H White 1B: Gasper, Casas 2B: Seigler, Rodgers, SS: Cheng, McDonough, 3B: Monasterio, Romero, LF: Eaton (no options) Castro, Gutierrez CF: Ward, Bleis, I Jackson RF: Campbell. J Gonzalez DH: Romy, Brannon/Hickey

I saw a trade on BTV that has really sat with me for last day: Big pieces: Arias and Abreu for Elly De La Cruz. You could then sign a Taylor Ward to play left and move Roman back to right. Or Arias and Anthony for Elly De La Cruz. Ward in LF

C: Rutschman- I think he has a better 2027 and regains some form and sneakily becomes the WC40 of 2027. 1B: Contreras- I think who we got the 2nd half of season is more indicative of what 2027 looks like. Age catches all of us and I see WC40 still playing well but not all star caliber. 2B: Mead- wildcard no idea what to expect. If he slumps or sucks Sogard will steady position play. So better than 2026 SS: Story/ Arias- I think eventually Story loses place in lineup and gets DFA’d Arias will be acclimating. Similar production to 2026 3B: Durbin- I think he will have a solid year and step forward again not a ton but slightly. LF: Anthony- NO F***ING idea. I was one of very few vocally against signing him to extension. Even if he wins MVP I’ll still say it was unnecessary optics game by ownership. I think we will get more production out of LF in 2027 but not insane increase. It will be our least valuable OF position, I think Roman plays less than 110 games again. CF: Rafaela- I don’t think he is better in 2027 than 2026. I think he is unbelievable defensively and streaky/ solid at plate #6 bat in lineup. Maybe #7 or 8 on a World Series caliber roster. RF: Abreu- I don’t think he is better in 2027 than 2026. Good to great defensively and streaky/ solid at plate #5 bat in lineup. maybe a 6 or 7 on a World Series caliber roster. IMO we should look to trade him for someone closer to free agency Big name trade. DH: Gasper or Yoshida/ Jones or Gonzalez- The guy that could help this roster would be Casas but I don’t think you can trust him. possible FA that could help: Ryan Jeffers: C/ DH could give Rut time at DH occasionally and split the duties. Fit 7/10 Ty France: 1B push WC40 to DH Fit 6/10 Jazz Chisholm: 2B/3B push Mead to DH. Fit 6/10 Brandon Lowe: 2B/DH left handed bat power#’s fit 9/10 Bo Bichette: (doubt he opts out) 2B/3B push Mead to DH fit 9/10 Taylor Ward: LF/ DH professional AB’s great OBP% takes Jones Off team fit 7/10 Randy Arozerena: 32 wants a big contract I don’t see RS signing him LF fit 8/10

I was new here a year ago but Moon definitely wanted Alonso… but was definitely more nervous than some other people about years 3-5. I think his biggest thing was the Red Sox weren’t going to spend beyond where they did/ nor get a guy aging in his 30’s. (Moon was right) Myself and a few others had convinced ourselves that Red Sox were gonna full send back into top 4 in spending based on Breslow comments late October 2025. That we were gonna get Alonso, resign Bregman, and get a Suarez type guy (But via trade). I wanted Alcantara.

think Nashville has pretty much settled on the Nashville Stars if they land an MLB expansion team. As for Utah, I think there are some really interesting options, especially if we dig into the state’s minor league baseball history. Salt Lake Gulls: The Gulls were around for a long time, dating back to the 1960s. The name pays homage to Utah’s state bird and the famous story of seagulls saving the early settlers’ crops from crickets during a crucial period in Utah’s history. Personally, I don’t love the actual mascot, but I think the uniforms and logos could be fantastic. There are some great color combinations to work with. Teal, Orange, White. Salt Lake Trappers: The Trappers played in the 1980s and were famously part-owned by Bill Murray. The name pays homage to Utah’s frontier and territorial history. It’s a pretty safe choice, although I don’t love the traditional colors. MLB already has way too many red-and-navy teams. Salt Lake Buzz: This was the name of our Triple-A team in the 1990s and the first team I really remember growing up. I loved the uniforms and branding. David Ortiz was probably the most famous player to spend significant time here during his rise through the Minnesota Twins organization. If I remember correctly, the team eventually had to change its name because of a trademark dispute with Georgia Tech over the similar mascot and branding. Salt Lake Bees: Obviously, this is the current Triple-A identity, and I think they’ve done a fantastic job with it. The merchandise is awesome, and the branding has been really well received by fans and players. I’d love to see an MLB version using cream, black, yellow, gray, and a little red as an accent. That’s a unique color combination that would stand out in Major League Baseball. Use of Abejas with Teal and pinks is pretty solid. Some new possibilities: Utah Outlaws: I actually think this could be a really cool name. It pays homage to Utah’s Wild West history, with figures like Butch Cassidy and Porter Rockwell. There would be a ton of opportunities for great logos, uniforms, and merchandise. Black and copper colors ( worlds biggest open pit copper mine is here) Something dinosaur-related: Utah has an incredibly rich dinosaur and fossil history, and I think that’s an angle worth exploring.

Assuming the same SLC or Portland and Nashville. here is how I would do it AL East: Yankees, Red Sox, Bluejays, Orioles, Guardians, Tigers, White Sox, Twins AL West: Royals, Rockies, Astros, Rangers, Mariners, A’s, Angels, SLC/Portland. NL East: Mets, Phillies, Nationals, Braves, Pirates, Reds, Marlins, Rays NL West: Brewers, Cubs, Cardinals, Nashville, Padres, Giants, Dodgers, DBacks

I like that much better than 154 my AI recommended ….. that’s clean way to get it done

AI suggests it will be much easier to divide out 32 teams at 154 games vs 162…… 42 division games 40 interleague 72 league games

Not contracting of league……. just not happening. SLC and Nashville are my guesses. 80 extra roster spots… Vegas will do well in the sense that a lot of visiting fans will travel. Nashville I suspect will do well organically + add in visiting team destination, should do well. SLC I think will surprise you. People here love to attend sporting events. Great corporate support. Will do well probably top 15-22 in attendance my guess. agree with 28 active roster… I think the pre-arb/ arb years definitely need to be quickened. main thing. iMO floor w/ draft pick penalty for being under, and soft cap w/ escalating penalties for being over. these are my best guesses. 120 floor 300 ceiling

Last nights game reminded me of one thing…… according to Fangraphs the Red Sox Roster was paid 199m this year……..12th most in MLB, The Yankees and Steinbrenners roster was paid 310m or 155% of what the Red Sox roster got paid. it was brutally obvious all these years of playing bullsh** mental games has landed us in a spot where Fenway hasn’t seen a single October baseball game since 2021. The mental games of this bum owner has led us to where we eventually trade Devers, not resign Bregman, not resign Kyle Schwarbers, extend minor leaguers waaaay too early like Kristian Campbell and Roman Anthony. It is time for ownership to look themselves in the mirror, and realize the revenue of this baseball organization comes from passionate people spending their hard earned dollars and they deserve sooooo much more than a payroll to players 12th highest in MLB. Rank Team 2026 Payroll vs. Boston 1 Dodgers (LAD) $410M +$211M 2 Mets (NYM) $358M +$159M 3 Yankees (NYY) $310M +$111M 4 Phillies (PHI) $290M +$91M 5 Blue Jays (TOR) $284M +$85M 6 Braves (ATL) $258M +$59M 7 Cubs (CHC) $250M +$51M 8 Astros (HOU) $240M +$41M 9 Padres (SDP) $217M +$18M 10 Tigers (DET) $205M +$6M 11 Diamondbacks (ARI) $202M +$3M

Mead without prep…… Can’t be worse than Mona the last month.

I think he would benefit from a smaller market, where he wouldn’t be under microscope. Like the KC Royals, AZ DBacks, Pirates or Reds.

Sogard is our 2b in postseason….. Monasterio on the other hand. What incriminating photos does he have on Tracy??

Monasterio…… HOW is he still playing vs Romy Gonzalez?

what are your thoughts on lineup vs NYY? game 1: vs Schlittler Starter: Tolle RH Reliever available: Bello, Weissert, Olds, Whitlock LH Reliever available: Bennett, Miller, Crochet, Chapman 1. Anthony LF 2. Gasper DH 3. Contreras 1b 4. Abreu RF 5. Rutschman C 6. Durbin 3b 7. Rafaela CF 8. Sogard 2b 9. Story SS game 2: vs Fried Starter: Gray RH Reliever available: Bello, Weissert, Olds, Whitlock LH Reliever available: Bennett, Miller, Crochet, Chapman 1. Anthony LF 2. Jones DH 3. Contreras 1b 4. Abreu RF 5. Rafaela CF 6. Rutschman C 7. Durbin 3b 8. Sogard 2b 9. Story SS Game 3: vs Cole/Rodon Starter: Suarez RH Reliever available: Bello, Weissert, Olds, Whitlock LH Reliever available: Bennett, Miller, Crochet, Chapman (high leverage situation), Tolle (Closer) 1. Anthony LF 2. Gasper DH 3. Contreras 1b 4. Abreu RF 5. Rutschman C 6. Durbin 3b 7. Rafaela CF 8. Sogard 2b 9. Story SS

Easy to add quality starter at trade deadline if pitching is limping along in June/ July. I agree with Breslow moves to get hitting with control.. I have a feeling Early might have similar trajectory to Harrison not to say they won’t be solid/ good. I just don’t think they have TOTR stuff.

Mead?