SoxPhan

So how much more money than Baltimore gave him would you have gone to convince him to do the thing he said publicly he did not want to do? He is already earning over 30M per. You want to pay him more to be a DH? And Schwarber was staying in Philly. That was pretty clear. Either way. The Red Sox operate under a budget. As do most teams. You can always just just cheer for the Dodgers if that is not your thing.

Lopez would be similar to Mead, in that we would be hoping this breakout season is not an outlier. But if you think you can expect similar production(maybe even more slug at Fenway) as this season, than it kinda makes sense. I think we would all be happy if Arias turned into what Lopez is this season.

Not a ufa til 2030. Arb eligible.

Plays a very good D too. That is a tough call. Tempting.

That too.☝️

I am not even arguing that. My position is that Bres still had a very solid offseason, despite not overpaying for a guy barely over .800 OPS, which would likely have meant no Suarez and/or Contreras. And also would probably cost us another 10 mill or so to get someone to take Yoshida. And to say that is the difference between us being a division leader vs merely a serious playoff contender, AND that Bres should be fired over it is insane work.

Pete Alonso is not that amazing man. He is looking overpaid already and it is only year 1.. Sure, if we could leave everything the same and swap out Masa for Pete, I would do it ofc. But that is not how things work. In the real world, we do not get Suarez if we sign Alonso. And most likely Contreras is not here either. We have not wasted a year. We started slow and are now on fire and currently in the playoffs. WITHOUT numerous important players for most of the year. A couple decent moves at the deadline and/or a little luck for once with injuries, and we can easily compete in the playoffs. Breslow wins or ties like 5 or 6 trades this offseason, signs an All-Star starter, and you want him fired for not giving Pete Alonso crazy money, and instead trading for someone who is vastly outperforming him, while costing us way less?

Meant to quote this to Freds why not both comment..

Because of the reality of budgets and a payroll that is not endless. And sorry to burst your bubble, but Alonso and his .812 OPS is not the difference between us leading the division and where we are. Plus we would have had to eat most of the remaining money of Yoshida to dump him, which would essentially have put Alonso at like 40 mill per.

Ok, that is nice, but in reality. if we signed Alonso, we are not signing Saurez. I suppose we could still have traded for Conman to DH, but realistically we would not have. And Schwarber was never leaving Philly unless they gave him an insulting offer, just to be clear. He was never a real option. So best case we would have had Alonso and Contreras instead of Alonso and Saurez. You think that makes up the difference between us being in a WC spot instead of leading the division? It is also funny to claim that we should have dropped a guy who has been reasonably productive because the track record at the time said so. Things can change fast in baseball.

We are in a playoff position(*second WC spot by 1.5) despite missing our Cy Young calibre ace, our projected best hitter(or one of) coming into the season, and our starting SS and 2B for most of the year. Not sure what bat you think we should have signed that would have made so huge of a difference. Breslow's offseason was just fine. Do you think we'd be in any better position rn with Bregman/alonso over Con/Durbin, minus Suarez?

If so, we need to jump on that immediately. I really am not sure what he would cost at this point, which is why I asked. Couple weeks ago we could have gotten him for a song, but I fear the price is rising by the day.

I hear ya. On paper they might be more obvious needs. But I think the goal should just be adding the biggest impact RH bat we can to replace Mead, for the lowest cost in prospects. If the cost of Springer is still relatively low, that looks like the best potential value out there to me right now, I don't like the C market much, or messing with what our duo has done with the pitching staff unless it's a no brainer upgrade. Maybe Liam Hicks if the price isn't too much. But we've been winning with the platoons we have. If we can add Springer for a mid prospect or two, I'm all over that. We know what he can do in the clutch. He looks healthy and his bat speed is back up to last years level, after being down to start the year. Plus we can still trade for one of those positions if the right deal is out there. Luis Robert Jr. would be my Springer plan B.

What do you guys think it would take to land Springer to DH? He's starting to look like himself the last few weeks.

FFS

I'd second that demotion..

Abrams for Arias, Witherspoon, Valera, Monasterio Bieber for Mayer Weaver for Duran, Delzine Something like this would be ideal to me. C seems like it's going to get pricey with NYY, Dodgers, Rays and maybe more all in the market, and not much after Jeffers. Would rather go bigger for someone who's better and isn't a rental. Plus I don't mind Narvaez/Wong. They've handled the staff great, and Narvy is still capable of getting rolling. Offense is a luxury at C. CJ is a young All-Star SS with speed, power and a few yrs control, so I'd give up Arias, plus multiple top 10 prospects not named Eyanson. Would throw in a bit more if necessary, but wouldn't go too crazy. Bieber has looked good his last few starts. If we get a serviceable veteran starter out of him to help down the stretch with the youngins, great, It's also not out of the question he finds some of his past form and really helps us big.. I still like Bello and think he can give us something down the stretch, too. I wouldn't rule out some quality starts from him. Last one is pretty simple. Not sure if that gets it done for Weaver? If not, the best RP we can get for Duran+ a decent(but not top6) prospect. If Story comes back he's plays 2nd, Mead full-time DH/super-sub, Jones/Yoshida platoon left and hope and pray Roman comes back healthy at some point. If the price is much higher on CJ, I'm out and I'm not too keen on selling the farm for Neto or Pena, either. I'd rather target a cheaper bat like Springer or Robert Jr, who have the potential to mash.

Hey gang, first post, but been lurking around for a bit. I was slightly underwhelmed at first with this move, as I thought Early could be a chip for a bigger bat. But it makes sense the more I learn about Mead. Similar to the Contreras/Durbin deals who were both projected to be good Fenway hitters. I'm happy with both those deals at this point, so willing to let Bres cook on this. If he can maintain this yrs production it should be a good move. To me he's either 2b or DH that can spell 3 infield positions, maybe even LF. Either way, he should help. I also like the flexibility we have for another move. Like someone outlined earlier, we can pretty much target any position for another bat, and adjust the lineup accordingly. That said, here's how I see(hope) the deadline turns out... Find the best all-round hitter we can at the best value possible. I'm open to a strong offer of Eyanson+ multiple top prospects for a controlled slugger like Goodman or Abrams. With Early gone, Bennett and Tolle are untouchable. If no big names make sense at cost, I look for a someone we can get for a few top 20 prospects not named Eyanson or Arias. Guys like Jeffers, Bleday, France, Robert Jr, Springer... lots of decent bats with pop out there. Then look to get a starter and bullpen arm with some chips like Mayer, Duran, plus mid-level prospects. Duran+ for E. Rodriguez maybe? Or Mayer for Bieber? Something like that and I'm good. If we get anything out of Crochet, Roman or Story down the stretch, BONUS.