Cora up for grabs?

[Sea Dog 23]

Maybe some more house cleaning.  Time will tell.  but I got this from a Mets blogger, that on MLBTR the Sox are looking to cleanse more bad salary.  The list includes Jansen and now the $95 mil on the books for Trevor Story, which admittedly was an awful contract by Bloom, as every GM knew he was damaged goods.  Those couple of contracts total $111 mil which could go toward a trade for a pitcher or pitchers under team control.  A Mets source said they would trade one of their catchers for Jansen.  And of course don't forget the tax line! 

All of this leads to believing that this is a reset year awaiting for the bonus babies, and NOT improving the team for a post-season run this year.

[longgame]

Maybe some more house cleaning.  Time will tell.  but I got this from a Mets blogger, that on MLBTR the Sox are looking to cleanse more bad salary.  The list includes Jansen and now the $95 mil on the books for Trevor Story, which admittedly was an awful contract by Bloom, as every GM knew he was damaged goods.  Those couple of contracts total $111 mil which could go toward a trade for a pitcher or pitchers under team control.  A Mets source said they would trade one of their catchers for Jansen.  And of course don't forget the tax line! 

All of this leads to believing that this is a reset year awaiting for the bonus babies, and NOT improving the team for a post-season run this year.

I'd be happy with them moving Story but hopefully not still paying him too.  The middle infield is dreadful and I've talked before how it hurts the corners with such weakness in the middle.  So move him but there better be some reasonable answers for SS and 2B. 

I've never been a big Jansen fan, but at this point they'd be creating another problem which didn't need fixing.  They have so many holes and are running out of time to fix them.

[MongoLikeSox]

I agree. Plug up one hole by creating another one. It's too soon. Someone is gonna need Jansen if it is not us, and Story's deal will be a a less-worse deal if he regains anything close to his expected production levels.

Starting Pitchers ain't gonna do us any good if we can't field the ball nor close a game out. That's a lot of moves and risk to improve the rotation by 2-4 innings per week.

I can't believe Big Maple hasn't been snatched up by anyone yet.

[longgame]

Grissom was slated to start in the PR Winter League but will instead be attending Trevor Story’s infield camp (who knew?)

[Sea Dog 23]

Why spend more money? John Henry says. 

With six weeks to go until pitchers report, Sox still do not have a top of rotation guy.  A ChicagoSoxer is being looked at again.  This time Dylan Cease.  The Dodgers, Orioles and Cards are also of interest.

Cease would be a massive pickup for the Red Sox. Boston's farm system is strong and the club likely could get a deal done if it wanted. It just depends on whether or not the Red Sox are willing to part with either Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony, or Kyle Teel.

The 28-year-old star is under contract for the next two seasons and immediately would give the Red Sox the top-of-the-rotation ace that they need. Boston clearly has competition for the young hurler, but it sounds like it is showing interest in a move at least.

[elktonnick]

I have learned to distrust any published report that the Red Sox are in any particular player.  Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.

[SeaBeachFred]

Why spend more money? John Henry says. 

With six weeks to go until pitchers report, Sox still do not have a top of rotation guy.  A ChicagoSoxer is being looked at again.  This time Dylan Cease.  The Dodgers, Orioles and Cards are also of interest.

Cease would be a massive pickup for the Red Sox. Boston's farm system is strong and the club likely could get a deal done if it wanted. It just depends on whether or not the Red Sox are willing to part with either Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony, or Kyle Teel.

The 28-year-old star is under contract for the next two seasons and immediately would give the Red Sox the top-of-the-rotation ace that they need. Boston clearly has competition for the young hurler, but it sounds like it is showing interest in a move at least.

The problem for the Red Sox is that they are all left handed hitters and you cannot be too lefthanded especially when so many southpaw swingers have trouble with portsiders.  Besides, those three are supposed to be among our best prospects.  Teel and Mayer are musts for us......a catcher and shortstop who project as solid hitters and defensive players.  I don't know much about Anthony save that he has power.  The p roblem is Prune Face does NOT want to spend money; he'd rather trade players and hold onto his own,  the worthless cheap no good @#$%&?:

[Sea Dog 23]

Another lefty bat may be on the trade block.  The first time I've heard the name Yoshida come up.  Breslow apparently has a glut of lefty swingers in the OF with Yoshi, Duran and Abreu added to the mix.  They are looking at picking up Teoscar Hernandez for a power stroke in front of the Monster.  His market price has been driven up by a couple newcomers to the dealing. 

Breslow will probably get something done that will surprise --- Story?  Surely not.  Teoscar looks like a FA signing real soon.  The other rumors are likely smoke to keep the agents busy.  This is not a very enjoyable hot stove.  It is more like a long winters nap.

[longgame]

Just imagine how much the Sox would end up paying to have Yoshida to play somewhere else.  Maybe the Dodgers can get him as part of their exploitation of the Japan market.  They've probably become the entire country's favorite team this year.  Smart move on their part and it's a big enough city and on the Pacific Coast that they are perfectly suited to make it work.

Also, what an admission of "guilt" if you will but also good that they would admit a mistake and move on. But even if they don't move him they need to get a RH bat in the OF (a la Hernandez).

[longgame]

It's been just over two months since the season ended.  "Truck Day" is a month away and pitchers and catchers report in 6 weeks.  It looks like the Red Sox are done with the IF.  Grissom is projected to be the 2B so that gives us Casas, Grissom, Story and Devers.  I'll take it but it doesn't address defense, just warm bodies who can hit too.  OF is a mess, as noted before.  They don't now what to do with their most expensive OF who they signed last year.  They have O'Neill who may be good if he's on the field.  If they sign Hernandez then we'll have lefty and righty power between those two, but give up a lot of strikeouts.  Bottom line is they need a RH slugger in the OF.  Duran and Abreu seem likely to be on the team too, so there's really just that RH power slot to fill there.

Pitching is the same story it's been all season.  They need a top of the rotation starter.  As it is Bello project as a #2 which I hope he can step up to.  Giolito at 3, Pivetta (if he can start games again) and then Houck and Whitlock.  I'm not sure which of those two is more suited but it's the number 5 role (assuming the get the #1 mentioned above) and they've got whoever is the odd man out and Crawford for long relief and starter depth.  So again, clear need in this area and their dithering will cost them, get a top of the rotation guy.

Bullpen is probably okay, I'd always take a live arm but they did pretty well and would do even better if they had better starters.

Finally catcher.  I'm not impressed with the current guys.  There's no need to rush Teel or any catcher, let him learn the art of catching as well as the physical part.  Not sure what the market is but they'd benefit greatly from a veteran catcher for a couple of years.

So the needs are clear and haven't changed.  The two top needs remain the same as they were 2 months ago.  Will they get addressed before 6 weeks?

[MongoLikeSox]

This team is better than people think and is poised for much better in a short amount of time. For 2024.....

Defense should be improved by having Story up the whole season instead of that ridiculous experiment with Kike. His horrid play sent others into a defensive funk. Story is a weapon at SS. The other three IF'ers are not, though Devers will make great play now and then in between his wild throws. Casas was better as the year went on.

I'm not as down on the OF as most. Abreu's good out there. Nice arm, decent enough speed and can get under a fly ball to catch it. I've got him at RF, and he might even be equal or even a defensive upgrade from Verdugo. The rest is somewhat up in the air, but gets going when Rafaela improves at the plate and comes up for good. LF us covered if O'Neil can still play it at a GG caliber left field and is not injured. We're not far from an O'Neil, Rafaela and Abreu OF. That's a good thing. We do have a glut with Duran and Yoshida needing DH and OF reps. One would hope a renewed interest in coaching would help at least one of them play better defense. If we're looking at 2025 for Roman Anthony like we are for Rafaela this year, that replaces O'Neil should he jetison Fenway in favor of free agency.

We should be better behind the plate by virtue of Wong having a year under his belt. Not great, but better. What would be nice is if he could make some more contact. 36% K-Rate is pretty awful.

Giolito, Bello, Pivetta, Houck and Crawford as it stands now. Bello got 15 Quality Starts (QS's) in his first full season. Giolito still got 15 Quality Starts last year despite his woes. Going through his game log the last couple of seasons, it looked like Pivetta's consistency. Ace one day, awful the next. Pivetta's an inning eater who got 12 QS's in 2022. Possible improvement if he's anything like how he ended 2023. Houck and Crawford got a total of 9 QS's. That alone should bump them from 24th to 15th or so. The real potential for improvement is with Crawford and Houck. Seems to me they were screwed with more then they were supported in their quest to pitch 6 or more inning starts. I can see one of the two getting a real boost this coming year. Maybe both.

Bullpen is looking OK if we don't screw it up. Whitlock is a 7th inning relief pitcher in my mind. He's not handled the rigors of starting. His best season was his coddled Rookie year. Maybe the new pitching brain trust can fix? Hopefully Jansen, Martin, Wincowski and Bernardino come back close to last year's form. A few new arms in the mix, too. Potential for seeing Mata out of ST, but who knows in what capacity? He'll either make the team, get injured or released as he's out of options, IIRC.

All this adds up to the need for patience. Sign another SP to help keep up relevant. I'd be fine with Paxton if Montgomery doesn't sign. Not sure where a few of the pieces fit in 2025, but I'd rather have the choices and the MLB ready talent after this coming season. For example, if Yorke becomes ready AND if Grissom has a decent year, we could get much more for either of them than we could now, and we'll give ourselves the option of best-in-breed. Same could be said for CF and even SS(if we trade Story). We're close.

Oh, and signing a 180-200 K-victom guy to play league average RF for the sake of 30 dingers gets us nowhere. Post season pitching tears these guys up. See Yankees, Blue Jays, Mariners and 2017-2019 Cubs. It doesn't work, and we already have that guy playing SS. We'll be looking to spit that contract out next Winter.

[Sea Dog 23]

Mongo, I think the Sox pass on Montgomery (over the budget) and on Paxton (some feedback that he is overpriced). I'm guessing they sign Imanoga and trade for Marlins Lazardo, offering maybe Yorke and Wickleman Gonzales, along with an A baller. It will send the fans into the pitchfork pile.

[SeaBeachFred]

This team is better than people think and is poised for much better in a short amount of time. For 2024.....

Defense should be improved by having Story up the whole season instead of that ridiculous experiment with Kike. His horrid play sent others into a defensive funk. Story is a weapon at SS. The other three IF'ers are not, though Devers will make great play now and then in between his wild throws. Casas was better as the year went on.

I'm not as down on the OF as most. Abreu's good out there. Nice arm, decent enough speed and can get under a fly ball to catch it. I've got him at RF, and he might even be equal or even a defensive upgrade from Verdugo. The rest is somewhat up in the air, but gets going when Rafaela improves at the plate and comes up for good. LF us covered if O'Neil can still play it at a GG caliber left field and is not injured. We're not far from an O'Neil, Rafaela and Abreu OF. That's a good thing. We do have a glut with Duran and Yoshida needing DH and OF reps. One would hope a renewed interest in coaching would help at least one of them play better defense. If we're looking at 2025 for Roman Anthony like we are for Rafaela this year, that replaces O'Neil should he jetison Fenway in favor of free agency.

We should be better behind the plate by virtue of Wong having a year under his belt. Not great, but better. What would be nice is if he could make some more contact. 36% K-Rate is pretty awful.

Giolito, Bello, Pivetta, Houck and Crawford as it stands now. Bello got 15 Quality Starts (QS's) in his first full season. Giolito still got 15 Quality Starts last year despite his woes. Going through his game log the last couple of seasons, it looked like Pivetta's consistency. Ace one day, awful the next. Pivetta's an inning eater who got 12 QS's in 2022. Possible improvement if he's anything like how he ended 2023. Houck and Crawford got a total of 9 QS's. That alone should bump them from 24th to 15th or so. The real potential for improvement is with Crawford and Houck. Seems to me they were screwed with more then they were supported in their quest to pitch 6 or more inning starts. I can see one of the two getting a real boost this coming year. Maybe both.

Bullpen is looking OK if we don't screw it up. Whitlock is a 7th inning relief pitcher in my mind. He's not handled the rigors of starting. His best season was his coddled Rookie year. Maybe the new pitching brain trust can fix? Hopefully Jansen, Martin, Wincowski and Bernardino come back close to last year's form. A few new arms in the mix, too. Potential for seeing Mata out of ST, but who knows in what capacity? He'll either make the team, get injured or released as he's out of options, IIRC.

All this adds up to the need for patience. Sign another SP to help keep up relevant. I'd be fine with Paxton if Montgomery doesn't sign. Not sure where a few of the pieces fit in 2025, but I'd rather have the choices and the MLB ready talent after this coming season. For example, if Yorke becomes ready AND if Grissom has a decent year, we could get much more for either of them than we could now, and we'll give ourselves the option of best-in-breed. Same could be said for CF and even SS(if we trade Story). We're close.

Oh, and signing a 180-200 K-victom guy to play league average RF for the sake of 30 dingers gets us nowhere. Post season pitching tears these guys up. See Yankees, Blue Jays, Mariners and 2017-2019 Cubs. It doesn't work, and we already have that guy playing SS. We'll be looking to spit that contract out next Winter.

Mongo, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry reading your lengthymissive today.  I like your positive attitude but it should be used for some other team in our division or the other league.  We have a brutal rotation without a lefthanded starter in the rotation.  Our infield defense is still poor and our outfield is loaded with questionamrks and once again it looks like from your post that the team is ready to cast Duran to the wolves.  That would be a total disaster since the  young man can steal 50-60 bases, has enough power to earn respect from the opposition, if not from the bungling Cora who specializes in playing his favorites much of the time.  We don't know about O'Niel or Abreu and their health and ability to hit big league pitching, their toughness and their ability to over come small injuries which our team has become a poster boy for hangnail-type injuries that keep them out of the lineup for weeks instead of days.

I wish you are right but this team is a fifth place club right now and your belief in them will draw praises from Henry who would love nothing better than to go with this sad bunch to open the season.  To me this is a fifth place team and one headed for their seventh last place finishes in 13 years.  But I will hope you're right good friend and I be the one to eat my words.

[longgame]

The owners seem to have made it their purpose to expose John Henry since 2019. 

I thought he’d be a good fit, but won’t lose any sleep over this but just another symptom of a team that can’t close a deal.

[MongoLikeSox]

To be clear, I'm not suggesting this year as being the year we climb into contention for a WS title. A couple of top starters might have pushed us over the top and into a 500+ team, but not a WS team. Not yet.

I'm simply saying I want it all. I want that great core of homegrown talent in place. We can see the tip of that iceberg starting to happen. This might just be the next great core that we'll be talking about and comparing to the mid-70's and late 2015's cores that we're still mad at Sullivan and Henry for letting go. We are close to this. We've endured a 78 win season. We do it again in 2024, we do it with a bright light at the end of the tunnel. We make this 2024 edition a winning team only at the expense of 2025 and beyond at this point.

A member of the White Sox press are scoffing at the notion of a trade scenario that a member of the Red Sox press suggested. Anthony, Yorke, Wikelman and Dalbec for Cease. Me? I say "screw that!!!" Not until a pitcher like Cease is the difference maker to a WS team.