UtahSox

You think Casas is back to start year? You’re as big of a cynic as I am! Makes me laugh.

I disagree I think RS would sell for 7.5-9b new owner wouldn’t be able to make 120m a year in free cash flow pencil, thus would be incentivized to grow the thing via legacy/ wins/ World Series and franchise valuation increases. I’d welcome the unknown in that 7.5 to 9b sphere.

Teams that win ALMOST always have payrolls in top 5. Not a science but a direct correlation or causation.

Criticism is welcome, but you have to put your prediction in there along with it. i’ll start as of 12/15/25 1. R Anthony LF 2. T Story SS 3. G Suarez 3b 4. Abreu RF 5. R Hoskins 1b platoon w/ Casas once healthy 6. R Gonzalez 2b 7. M Mayer 3b 8. C Rafaela CF 9. C Narvaez C 1. Crochet 2. Ragans 3. Gray 4. Bello 5. Oviedo 6. Crawford/ Tolle/ Early/ Dobbins We will set the world record for strike outs w/ RISP, R Anthony will have an OBP% that rivals Bonds of late 90’s, as they will just walk him everytime.

Insane amount of swing and miss in that lineup. Good thing we didn’t strike out a lot last year w RISP. This lineup might set world records.

Let’s be honest this ain’t happening. I have zero faith in Breslow landing this plane that is 2026 offseason. My honest to god prediction: 1- sign Geno Suarez to a 2/40m club&Player option yr 2 he will bat .220 w/ 28HR’s 150+ strikeouts 2- sign Rhys Hoskins 2/20m Club &Player option year 2 he will be about the same as Nathaniel Lowe was last year. 3- we will trade Duran + Harrison for Ragans Breslow will tell us how improved we are “blah blah blah we accomplished everything we needed to in offseason” 1. R Anthony LF 2. T Story SS 3. G Suarez 3b 4. Abreu RF 5. R Hoskins 1b platoon w/ Casas once healthy 6. R Gonzalez 2b 7. M Mayer 3b 8. C Rafaela CF 9. C Narvaez C 1. Crochet 2. Peralta/ Ragans 3. Gray 4. Bello 5. Oviedo 6. Crawford/ Tolle/ Early/ Dobbins If the stars align we win 90 games, some injuries we win 85, anything like last year and we win 78 games.

1- Crochet 2- TBD (Ragans or Peralta) 3- Gray 4- Oviedo 5- Crawford/Dobbins/ Tolle or Early. thins us out for sure….

I freaking love Duran…… but you’re right DH has to produce. Although if it’s not Duran, it’s currently Yoshida/Romy. Which is not great Bob. Along those same lines, after the all star break we got .500 OPS production out of CF that’s a position that must be 700+ regardless of how good they are defensively. is there any chance Duran can play 2b?

I’ll take it, that would create a lot of solid postseason pitching experience…. Assuming we get some bats along with it. Which bats would you trade for? I think we would have to pay Valdez 22-25 aav.

You know the hardest part about getting a Top 50 hitter? ‘there are only 50 of those SOB’s out there

I’d take it…. Although my absolute would be 1- resign AB2 2- trade Mayer/Bello/Harrison for Marte 3- trade Casas/Sandoval for Contreras 4- Early/Tolle + Duran/Abreu for SP2.

Ok I think we are closer to same page. Agree Marte without AB2 or Bichette ( I read somewhere he translated well at 3b as well but no data to back that up) isn’t worth it. But 2026 resign AB2, trade Abreu/ Duran for SP2. “window open” “full throttle” marte for MM all day.

Bring back AB2 and this shouldn’t deal killer.

We are talking about the future, so yes gut feel……… Specifically a top 25 prospects that can’t stay on the field for more than 80 games a year? Vs a guy 1 year removed from a 6.8 WAR. And only 32 years old, on a below market contract. I’ll wager a whole lot of money Marte has a higher WAR in 2026 than Mayers. Hell I’ll wager a lot of money he plays more games.

Specifically to the question do we trade Mayers for Marte ….. I play track record game, odds Marte plummets are much lower than Mayers Skyrocketing. 1- I think everyone agrees, if you have a rising star you don’t trade him. You and I see Mayers as different players and time will tell. We all agree the easiest way to get better, is grab guys like Alonso and Bregman in FA, but alas we have to adhere to this self imposed salary cap. 2- Marte finished 3rd in MVP voting in 2024 6+ WAR and is a great player, consistent, great defensively physically takes really good care of his body. Has 4 straight years with 125+ games. The best part he has the Yankees on his no trade list, along with a bunch of bad teams. “The Diamondbacks star has the Yankees among five teams on his no-trade list, along with the Athletics, Pirates, Giants and Cardinals, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reported on Monday.”- NY Post 3- I just don’t see it with Mayers, I admittedly put way less value on even the 2027 season and on. I know some of you guys talk about a 5 year window, and for me too many variables change. So I put heavier value on 2026 Red Sox, IF they stretch on a guy like Marte and he falls apart. They will be forced to use their resources to fix the problem.

prime years 28-32 agree, but GREAT players generally tend to play good longer… I’d definitely put Pete Alonso Marte even Bregman in that category all of them on 5 year deals are not the end of the world. And would have given/ still could give us a shot at WS 2026-2028. Our 4 championship years MVP’s + key players over 30 ( I know there are more on each team but guys that played key parts in our WS wins) 2004- MVP Manny Ramirez (32) +Varitek (32), Damon (31), Mueller(34), Millar(33), Pokey(31), Pedro(33), Lowe(31) Schilling(37) Wakefield(37) 2007- MVP Mike Lowell (33)+ Varitek(35),Manny (35), Wakefield (41), Schilling (41), Tavarez (35), JD Drew (30), Timlin (41) Ortiz (32) 2013- MVP David Ortiz (38)+Ellsbury (30), Pedroia (30), Napoli (32), Lackey (35), Victorino (33), Drew (30) Gomes(33) 2018- MVP Steve Pearce (35)+ Price (33), JD Martinez (31), Hanley (35) 2025- Arguably our MVP Aroldis Chapman (37), Bregman (31), Story (33), Giolito (31) Buehler (31)

I think JH & Co are very disingenuous on saying his age didn’t fit. They were being cheap. That’s the end of it.

Crochet, Bello, story, Duran. Prime is always defined in retrospect so we will see who is where.

What is Red Sox payroll as it currently is constituted? Before signing Bregman or King where do we sit?

Old dudes definitely won the Dodgers World Series this year.. that’s not even debatable, but all of these teams go into the analytics, and write off the decline of these players in their mid 30s. With modern medicine, our knowledge of travel rest, soft tissue. Guys are playing longer. Yet a lot these teams (RS) walk away from deals for age and let the dodgers have them. Good discussion

To be determined on the call of “one of the greatest off-season in baseball” …. I think Okamoto stats are a little bit of a TBD, and although Japanese players have had a great track record of translating into MLB, Yoshida is fresh on the minds of most of us Red Sox fans. Even though he was probably our best hitter September 20th on…. Who knows maybe he builds on that and has a great year in 2026? But I think that’s why we are hesitant about Okamoto. So far 2026 watching the Orioles and Blue Jays spend doesn’t help. If we get Greene that deal will be awesome, but if the Reds are even remotely smart it will hurt, like really bad. So yes, you will get opinions. but I’d take that move in a heart beat, and apologize for thinking linearly (Alonso) when Breslow said he needs a big thumper bat in middle of line up.

Now do FG if we had Alonso and Bregman. Or Marte AND Bregman.

Ha ha

Interesting: According to Forbes, the Red Sox generated roughly $574 million in revenue in 2024 but only spent about $237 million on player expenses (payroll taxes are not included) but it looks like it’s factored somehow into the net profit #’s Forbes produced. Based on looking at their net profit #’s for other teams as well. In other words, Boston the most profitable franchise in MLB. One of my college roommates (1st hand account) manages a professional sports owners investment portfolio. Based on my conversations with him, I learned there’s an IRS code that allows you to put an intangible asset valuation on players and rosters they are amortized over 15 years. For a franchise like the Red Sox, taking wild ass guess at the starting tax basis, I think that still creates roughly $25–30M per year in tax shields — enough to materially offset most income taxes. But crucially, that shield is already locked in. Additional payroll spending no longer improves tax efficiency.

The same Ed Hand from X? Great Red Sox follow… Either way welcome good to have you on here. I don’t believe Henry would sell under any condition, especially with a new CBA and a likely post-lockout valuation bump coming. But it’s fair to question whether the Red Sox are now being managed less as a singular competitive priority and more as a portfolio asset—the cash cow within a global sports empire. When decisions around Yawkey Way feel constrained by broader fiduciary pressures tied to soccer, hockey, and capital allocation elsewhere, the on-field results inevitably reflect that. I’ll always be grateful to John Henry for ending the curse and modernizing the franchise when the club needed it. At that time, ownership incentives and competitive ambition were aligned, and the results followed. Today, while top-tier revenue continues to be extracted from one of the most iconic brands in sports, competitive reinvestment has clearly tapered. That shift signals a breakdown in alignment—not entitlement from fans, but a rational response to a fundamentally different operating philosophy. Long way of saying….. I F***ing agree RSN deserves better.