December 8: Robert Murray of FanSided provides the specific contract breakdown. Martin will make $6MM in 2023 and $7.5MM in 2024, in addition to a $4MM signing bonus.
December 2: The Red Sox and reliever Chris Martin are in agreement on a two-year deal, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN. The deal is pending a physical and will be worth $17.5MM.
Martin, 37 in June, has had one of the more unique baseball trajectories. As detailed in this 2019 piece from Tim Tucker of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Martin had shoulder surgery in 2006 that he thought was the end of his career. Years later, he was working for Lowe’s and UPS and discovered during a game of catch with friends that his shoulder didn’t bother him anymore.
He got back onto the mound and worked his way to the big leagues, pitching a couple of seasons in 2014 and 2015 before heading to Japan for 2016 and 2017. He returned to the majors for 2018 and has spent the past five seasons as an effective middle reliever with perhaps the best control in the league. Martin has walked just 2.8% of batters faced in that time, the best such rate of any pitcher with at least 200 innings pitched.
This year was no exception. He began the year by signing a one-year deal with the Cubs for $2.5MM plus incentives. Through 31 1/3 innings in Chicago, his ERA was an unimpressive 4.31 but with much stronger peripherals. His 30.1% strikeout rate, 3% walk rate and 52.3% ground ball rate were all much better than league average. However, his ERA was being inflated by a .393 batting average on balls in play and by 20.8% of his fly balls allowed leaving the yard.
The Dodgers believed some regression was due and sent Zach McKinstry to the Cubs in order to install Martin in their bullpen down the stretch. The results were utterly dominant, as Martin pitched to a 1.46 ERA, striking out 37% of batters faced while walking just 1.1%. He also added another two innings of postseason work without issuing a walk.
Based on that strong season, MLBTR predicted he could secure a two-year, $14MM deal, but Martin has nudged past that by a few million. The relief market has been quite strong so far this winter, with Martin and Rafael Montero both beating their predictions by healthy margins.
The bullpen was a weak spot for Boston in 2022, as their relievers posted a collective ERA of 4.59, 26th in the majors. They also lost one of their effective members to free agency in Matt Strahm. They’ve since made moves to try and bolster the relief corps by singing Joely Rodriguez and now Martin. Assuming the money is evenly distributed in two instalments of $8.75MM, Roster Resource has their 2023 payroll currently at $142MM with a competitive balance tax calculation of $161MM.
Oh my god a half decent reliever
What wrong with Joely Rodriguez?
he’s only 1/4 decent I guess
Kind of. Joely is fine but we needed another good reliever, not another fine one.
Not really. Other than his K rate his numbers are pretty bad.
Great reliever if father time doesn’t catch up to him.
It amazes me that Bloom doesn’t like to pay offensive players good money once they reach the age of 30 (Xander for example) but he’s willing to give pitchers multi-year deals well past their early 30’s. I like Martin a lot, but $17M for a 37 year old with a long injury history seems like a risky proposition. Hopefully he can stay healthy and Father Time doesn’t catch up to him.
It’s only 2 years. If he has a bad season they’re only on the hook for one more. These hitters you want him to sign, they’re looking for significantly longer and more expensive deals that have the potential to handcuff the team for years
Years. All about the years.
It amazes me you’re comparing a potential 7 year contract worth north of $200m to a two year contract worth $17.5m. Sox fans really are a group of Einsteins.
He’s meh but I do agree.
He wasn’t meh with LA and probably wasn’t a fluke that he improved there. Was strong in Atl as well. Wasn’t even meh in Chi.
Was strong with ATL till G7 against Cody B, that’s when Cody stopped being strong though so who really won that at bat
too soon…still hurts
Me too, I approve.
Pretty impressive deal. This guy has a great backstory. He was drafted almost 20 years ago.
IF this is not the sequel to ROOKIE OF THE YEAR…I don’t know what is. Just make sure CHC’s Pete Crow-Armstrong is in it this time.
Ironically enough, Rookie of the Year is on MLB Network tonight lol
Thanks for letting me know Pedro! I was pissed they took it off Amazon Prime on the 1st and now it’s only on Disney+!!
lol
HAHA changed it again?
Sox making moves after barely missing out on Eflin yesterday. The relief market is insane right now
Who is closing for the Halos next year Fletch?
You are my dude
idk maybe Chris Rodriguez if he comes back healthy? Probably closer by committee. No way Arte wants any part of this relief market unless it’s a 1-year deal
Probably a different person at the end of the year than at the beginning.
I think this is the year we finally see some young pitching talent make its way to the MLB level. That bullpen at Rocket City was lights out last year and contained two elite SEC closers.
Jimmy Herget szn!
Except that Eflin is going to start for the Rays.
My first post had two separate thoughts put into one comment that anyone with half a brain would have realized were independent statements. Muted
Not sure why you’re so upset that someone misunderstood a poorly constructed post.
Where it says more to come, there better be otherwise it’s another last place season.
I got this one wrong, I had him going to the Yankees.
I actually had him going to the Yankees too. Bleh, just the first of so many failures for me this offseason.
I think they will get one of the Mother Goose twins: Smiley or Miley.
I think once a top SP signs, NYY goes hard for Eovaldi
I had him back to the Dodgers.
Great now nets gotta pay ottavino 8.5 mill a year wtf
Still less than they are paying KD or Kyrie…
ottavino is going to the Braves
Wow it costs a lot to get any RPs this year. I really hope this works out and he doesn’t turn into Jake Diekman 2.0
his track record is better than Diekman.
I just meant giving an older RP a two year deal, but yeah his track record is definitely. Not to mention a way lower walk rate
Sox got a catcher out of that deal
He’s so good.
Wish the Yankees got him, this guy is legit.
Gwyneth Paltrow wants those alimony payments increased.
That’s “Cold”
Can’t believe the dodgers let him go. Great signing for the Sox. Damn
I wonder if the Dodgers lost out on him like Anderson with only offering 1 year.
Assuming they made him any offer at all. Martin going to Boston came right on the heals of the Dodgers signing Miller as a cheaper option. Too bad. I enjoyed watching Martin work. Unlike so many other pitchers today he throws lots of strikes.
Red Sox are all over the place.. They just throw money around to players they shouldn’t but struggle to resign their own. How do you sign a Trevor Story last season but cant/won’t pay your own guys..
Story was awful signing. Passing on Bogaerts sounds smart. Looking like teams are going to pay him for his inflated Fenway stats.
YourDream – Agreed, Bogaerts metrics are not good at SS, and they will go down as he ages. Fenway has a very small foul territory which help foul pop ups reach the stands adding to batting average, on base percentage, and OPS.
Marlo – Here’s the thing, Devers/Xander/JD/Eovaldi etc are not Bloom’s guys. He had nothing to do with acquiring them. So of he course he wants to bring in his own guys, and make it “his” team. Next year he will finally have his wish.
You always make some ridiculous comments. You think Bloom is signing 200-300m contracts without any other approval? And who cares about JD, he had a couple good months this year. And Eovaldi, who Sox fans like to pretend he could “be an ace” despite his 4+ ERA with them.
Kenny – You’re missing the point, focus.
Marlo wanted to know why Bloom overspent so much on Story, but lowballed Xander and Devers etc.
It’s a very legit question, and I provided a likely answer. It’s very common in ANY profession for new management to bring in their own people. The new management has different views, they place different values on players they didn’t acquire and aren’t as familiar with. Why do you think Dombrowski signed Price to that ridiculous contract.
John Henry approves $200-$300M contracts that Bloom presents to him (hypothetically, as it hasn’t happened yet). But John Henry does NOT tell Bloom to go out and sign a specific free agent. So your comment is pointless.
Same thing with your comment about JD and Nate. I’m not necessarily against letting them walk, so your misguided attempt to prove they shouldn’t be re-signed is also pointless.
But Fever I see your point where “management wants to bring in their own guys” when it comes to like the GM and dugout manager being on the same page, but if a GM inherits decent playing pieces you would think talent trumps anything else. If he inherited a bunch of albatross, unproductive contracts I could see the desire to cut bait. But a Devers and a Boegarts falling into your lap as you take a job should be reasons to rejoice and make them part of your legacy. Lol I think I got on a tangent here I’ll shut up now.
but if a GM inherits decent playing pieces you would think talent trumps anything else.
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100% true. It’s true that every GM has their own value system, but a GM would have to be an idiot.to get rid of players simply because the former GM acquired them.
Ignorant – I agree, talent should trump anything else.
So then why did Bloom give Story a 6-year $140M guaranteed contract …. and then at almost the exact same time offer Xander nothing more than a conversion of his existing contract to 4 years and $90M.
Nobody on this planet other than JoeBrady would say Story is 56% more talented than Xander.
And quite frankly, if I was Xander and got that insulting offer I would immediately tell Bloom to screw off.
Joe – Just for haha’s, let’s see how many of the pre-Bloom players are signed this offseason.
Xander, JD, Nate, and Devers (extension) … let’s see how many are kept.
Fact is, since Bloom has been here the ONLY regular ML player he inherited that he has extended is Barnes. I’m going by memory, so if I missed anyone please let me know.
I tend to agree with the idea that keeping your homegrown players is worth more to the team they came up with as far as marketing, merchandise, etc. Not knowing how much X-man is asking for or has asked for in the past obviously matters, but I didn’t like the story signing the min I saw it. He’s too injury prone and has declined from his coors peak, that’s not to say the fens can’t help him there. Plus his defense has become an issue at short. maybe it was the arm issue, maybe not. I’d rather have seen that money go to Xander or Devers. JD and Evoldi, who I like, can walk if the price is too high. Bloom is making this his team and they better win next year or he’s on his way out if you ask me…
@Fever Pitch Guy Your statement is ridiculous. Wasn’t Renfroe one of blooms guys? Did he not trade him for JBJ who isn’t one of his guys? With only 30 of these jobs available I would guess bloom would like to win and keep his regardless of who’s players are helping him do it. And ownership is the ultimate boss so if they wanted these guys to stay bloom is irrelevant.
@GM – the trade wasn’t to get JBJ. The trade was to waste millions on a throw in just to buy some prospects that may never pan out.
I know that but he brought him back still. Could have traded any of the previous gms guys listed above but never did. Even went out of his way to say why he didn’t trade Bogaerts.
Renfroe has been traded 4 times in 4 years. There’s more to the story than just his OPS.
mike – Great post! You are in touch with how Red Sox Nation feels.
the sooner the better Bloom is out works for me
Strike throwing machine!!! Get a lefty version of this guy and the pen is set. Maybe move Paxton to the BP, bring him back slow. Need an LHP in the pen.
That’s why they signed Joely… hopefully that isn’t it, but that’s one lefty at least. Whatever it takes not to see Brasier…
elm – Agreed on Brasier.
There’s a reason why he’s called brassiere, because when he’s off he lets the team down.
Brasier should have been DFA’d long ago. I would’ve rather kept Sawamura than Brasier.
Josh Taylor should finally be back, though who knows how much rust he has. Also, I suspect Sale ends up in the BP. Not sure they need another lefty. Question marks in the bullpen is just part of the modern day game.
chaud – They will not be having a $27-$30M reliever, not gonna happen, no way no how.
Agreed
Come on, Blue Jays. You could have offered more than that. Should have done 2 years, $20 million.
I heard he can throw his fastball faster than the Speed of Sound.
Then how’d you hear it?
Later.
Then how’d you hear it?
Technology and moon lizards!
Solid deal for sure. Kenley Jansen made almost this much in one year in 2022 to be average. Other relievers are getting far more. He is 37 but he didn’t pitch for awhile, like it says above.
This makes the Shelby Miller deal look more intelligent financially. RP is such a volatile position to sink a lot of money into, I’d prefer a few reclamation projects than paying a 37 year old 8.5 annually for the next 2 years
This guy has been solid. I love reclamation projects but has Boston been successful in doing that?
Andrew Miller (2012)
Rich Hill (2015)
Drew Pomeranz (2018)
Joe Kelly (2017)
To name a few.
@whyhayzee so nothing in the past 5 years. Good move spending money.
It’s 2022… both his Kelly and Pomeranz examples are from the past 5 years.
The real question when evaluating the ‘reclamation projects’ is who the coaching staff was at the time of the so called ‘reclamation’and if that same staff is still in place.
If not, prior organizational history loses some relevance. A better question may be how many guys either went elsewhere to see a resurgence, or, signed in Boston and failed to turn things around, under the current staff.
If the same staff hasn’t improved anyone in 5 years that’s a problem.
No one besides Pivetta, Wacha, and Schreiber. and Perez.
2022 season is over and 4 years is just as obsolete history as 5.
Rays get the credit for Wacha. I know that off the top of my head. Since you were wrong on that one I am not going to bother with checking the rest.
I don’t think Boston gets credit for Perez, I give that one to his next coaches in TEX.
2019 – 5.12 era MIN
2020 – 4.50 era BOS
2021 – 4.74 era BOS
2022 – 2.89 era TEX
Had Perez turned it around in BOS under blooms guys they wouldn’t have let him walk to TEX on that cheap deal. Then again see the prior years.
Yes, era is an imperfect stat for many reasons. Still, I point to the fact bloom let him walk for pennies, and, it wasn’t don’t to go to a contender as TEX was NOT that.
Was Pivetta fixed, or, was it change of scenery?
2018 – 4.77 era PHI
2019 – 5.38 era PHI
*2020 only 3 games PHI and 2 BOS
2021 – 4.53 era BOS
2022 – 4.56 era BOS
Again, not really a drastic improvement here. ‘Fixing’ a pitcher usually involves more than just a slight change. I can’t credit the Boston trainers with turning Pivetta around either.
Schreiber I’m on the fence about. He only pitched 28 MLB innings over 2 seasons getting his feet wet before coming to Boston. However, he played basically nothing MLB his first year in boston. he saw regular time last season, and, did show a big improvement over his prior ‘getting his feet wet’ 28 IP. Half were his first call-up in 2019 at the end of the year for about a dozen innings. I don’t think you necessarily count that. The 2020 aberration was off fornso many guys, I also don’t like counting those dozen or so innings as indicative. I think the BIG difference is, in his first full season worth of MLB experience and first full spring training, in 2022, he produced EXACTLY in line with his entire body of work in the minors going back 6 years.
Based on that, I cannot credit blooms team with fixing anything for him either.
Based on that, MLBs tinkering with baseballs and pitching rules in the last couple seasons and minor and major levels, etc, I admit as a Boston fan the ball club didn’t ‘fix’ a single one of the guys Joe Brady cites to, or, at least results don’t support such a conclusion
Rays get the credit for Wacha.
==================================
Wacha had a 5.05 with TB.
Wacha had a 3.32 with the RS.
That’s not even remotely close.
GASoxFan16 hours ago
I don’t think Boston gets credit for Perez, I give that one to his next coaches in TEX.
===========================
I’m more than willing to give Texas credit. But he improved immensely with the RS.
2018 6.22
2019 5.12
2020 4.50
Perez was much better with the RS than in his two previous years.
Was Pivetta fixed, or, was it change of scenery?
2018 – 4.77 era PHI
2019 – 5.38 era PHI
*2020 only 3 games PHI and 2 BOS
2021 – 4.53 era BOS
2022 – 4.56 era BOS
================================
You can it anything you want. but Pivetta was better with Boston than with Philly. The point that pitchers don’t improve in Boston is readily false.
reclamation projects don’t work when you’re in need of serious relief pitching. The Dodgers can manage one or two projects on their staff because they’re so loaded.
The Red Sox took the reclamation project route last season. How’d that work out for them?
How’d that work out for them?
==========================
Wacha, Hill, Strahm & Diekman. So I’d say pretty well.
Lucky for Martin, the Dodgers did not last long enough for him to give up a bunch of big runs in the postseason.
The Cubs signed him off the scrap heap last year for $2.5M and he get $8M a year..whoa
It seems wild yeah, but If top starters are getting $40m and top closers $20m… I guess $8m for an above average reliever makes sense.
Happens every year and for much greater money.
He can’t be any worse than legendary Sox acquisitions Andrew Bailey, Tyler Thornburg, Carson Smith or Bobby Jenks…….can he?
Those guys all had extreme injury issues, including theplayerstribune.com/articles/bobby-jenks-basebal… which details a horrifyingly botched surgery.
Peart – Might as well add Hanrahan and Gagne to the list.
But don’t forget as we discuss botched RP trades, there were bright spots such as a throw-in Brock Holt.
GA- Absolutely!
At least Bloom is addressing the bullpen early this offseason
Rsox – Yes I agree, after last season Bloom realized he didn’t want to get burned again by a patchwork bullpen.
Hors D’oeuvre are fine. But I’m hungry. When is the main course?
“They’ve since made moves to try and bolster the relief corps by singing Joely Rodriguez and now Martin.”
I hope it has a good melody, maybe use Volare? Jo-ely Rodriguez.
Yes, kind of snappy.
Another orthopedic miracle…..Bloom must have a list of doctors….
Don’t panic. Everything’s not lost. At least he’s not wearing yellow. Shiver me timbers. His fastball didn’t hit very high speeds. Almost like it has parachutes tied to it. Could spell trouble.
So slow it maybe puts off sparks not flames.
Always been a fan of Bogey….. but he is not worth what some team is going to pay him and a for 6 to 8 years…. especially as a SS. Red Sox are smart not to overpay for him…. especially with Marcelo Mayer coming soon. They need to pay up for Devers now..
Mayer is only 19.
Doug – Mayer will be 20 in just 9 days, and is projected to make the majors in 2024.
BTW – It’s not uncommon for players to make the majors before they turn 22.
Both Xander and Devers were just 20 when they made their ML debut.
Cooper – You do realize Xander could have been extended last year for a lot less than what he’s going to get now on the open market.
Also, Xander hasn’t been a fan of the bloom way of doing things either. He loves Boston, but, wants to be respected and to compete. Trading Vazquez didn’t help things either
That’s a lot of cash for Martin. At 6’8 dude is imposing on the mound and had some decent success but faltered a few times the past 2 seasons.
Sign Deavers! Sure thing
*Devers
I can’t believe that the Boston Red Sox are not a big market team anymore. They have the fans. They have the tv network deal. They have the most expensive seats in MLB. They have the MONEY! Hey Bloom, show you have balls, get aggressive and sign elite talent. You’re making Boston ownership look bad. If you are going to rebuild that’s fine. Commit to the rebuild and trade your elite talent for prospects. Boston fans want a clear direction. At least this Boston fan does.
Just playing devils advocate here but maybe ownership has been more involved as far as spending, or lack thereof, is concerned.
Hey Dirty Mike, thanks for the comment. Devils advocate is certainly the role you play. This ownership group has NEVER been shy spending and going over the threshold. When Bloom was hired he was given the title of president of baseball operations and given complete autonomy. I’m cool with the decision making ability of John Henry and company and the faith they have in Bloom. I just feel like Bloom hasn’t taken advantage of their situation to maximize return value.
There’s been plenty of spending, it’s just poorly allocated across a wide range of bargain bin has been and never was candidates instead of properly thought out impact players
They were over the luxury tax last season. So they are still spending. They are also saddled with past decisions like Price, Sale etc. Spending on Xander is silly when he is a below average SS and coming off of one of his worst hitting years. The only person the Sox should extend is Devers. Let’s see what the rest of the off-season bri gs before condemning Bloom.
ellis – That’s one of the worst takes I’ve ever seen, and I read Joe’s comments. LOL!
Below average SS? Dude, he just finished runner-up for GG.
And he won SS while finishing 9th in MVP voting.
This year was his 2nd best season, behind 2019. And if you’re a stats freak, his WAR this year was also 2nd best in his career.
Just to let you know, the Red Sox have one of the highest payrolls in all of baseball.
How is it that even non-baseball fans know this, and Red Sox fans aren’t aware of it?
Joe – It’s been pointed out to you numerous times, more than half of this year’s payroll was contracts Bloom INHERITED. He is not the one who spent the money.
But keep on trollin’ ….
You act as if Dombrowski spent the money on Panda and Ramirez…. $41m/year in fact. News flash – he inherited that dead money.
Every baseball ops guy inherits bad deals they wish weren’t on the books as a percentage Tage of payroll.
more than half of this year’s payroll was contracts Bloom INHERITED.
====================================
The fact that DD spent the money, instead of Bloom, mean that “the Red Sox have one of the highest payrolls in all of baseball.” is incorrect?
A simple yes or no will do. Are the RS over or under the payroll cap?
Joe – You using the ENTIRE 2022 payroll to “disprove” the Red Sox haven’t been spending like they use to is extremely disingenuous.
The Red Sox have been cheap since 2019, including inherited contracts is not gonna help you dispute that FACT..
The Red Sox have been cheap since 2019
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We are at the cap, or over the cap, every year since Henry took over.
Henry never stops spending.
Agree or disagree?
But if you disagree, please list the years that we haven’t been at the cap. I remember your alar-ego KD writing about 50 comments about how Robles put us over the cap in 2021 (even though he was obviously wrong). If you remember that, then all you have to do is to look up the payroll from 2021.
Oh wait, here it is. It was $207,640,471 per COTs. Wow, that was difficult to copy & paste.
You’re confusing cheap, as in (aside from a panic induced poorly thought out story contrat which is a different class screw up) spending money on low-dollar low-quality pickups, with miserly, as in refusing to part with money.
A cheap person can spend tons of money spread over a thousand purchases, doesn’t make them miserly.
Likewise, some of the people with the least wealth and fewest dollars spent can own some of the nicest, most expensive things if they make few purchases and save their money.
The complaint about the red sox post-DD being cheap isn’t implying they’ve become the new Pirates.
But, when you add up blooms roster churning deals and prospect buying, it adds up to buying cheap goods en masse and coming away with far less than a fewer number of quality purchases would’ve. Far too much went to the trash heap.
Then, once the CBT was busted, THEN the frugality set in which is pretty stupid as well. CBTs increasing yearly penalties didn’t discriminate whether you paid 1st tier or 3rd tier tax 2 or 3 years running…. just if you breached the tax at all. If you’re going to blow your wad make it count and go big.
Aka – if you’re going to QO the likes of bogey/eovaldi, you don’t go over about $4m, pick up some of the lame guys bloom did, and trade away the likes of Vaz claiming you’re still pushing for a WC.
It’s more of his whole tenure, which, reads as refusing to commit to a course his entire tenure aside from screwing over the roster and fans.
You want to go after prospects only as the highest goal? OK, trade JDM. Trade Devers. Trade Bogey. But don’t waste the asset of controllable prime years while not going after a World Series. Most moves made are to bring in prospects, or, try to get guys you think you can flip later that season for prospects. It’s the only thing he’s actually tried to do for going on 4 offseasons.
You’re confusing cheap, as in (aside from a panic induced poorly thought out story contrat which is a different class screw up) spending money on low-dollar low-quality pickups, with miserly, as in refusing to part with money.
=========================================
What you’re referring to is a quality v quantity. That’s a high level analysis which I try not to pretend I have the expertise for. I know of no studies that suggest 10 players at $20M each + 16 players at $2M each, is a better construct than 26 players at $9M each.
What I complain about is when posters complain that we “are not a big market team anymore”. Though some think we have a low payroll, that is obviously false.
Complaining about the construct of the team is fair game. Complaining that we don’t spend enough is pretty far afield.
Commit to spending money for elite talent or commit to a rebuild!
One Run ERA higher away from Dodger stadium.
Big Maple and now Big Staple
Probably the best reliever signing the sox have made since we signed Koji Uehara way back prior to the 2013 season.
Another high strikeout pitcher (at least in the last year) brought in by Bloom. Bloom lobes his strikeout guys.
pedey – Did you notice upthread I said I approve.
I just don’t want you to miss when I give Bloom credit. LOL
I missed it but I actually kind of figured you would for this one. I know you mentioned we needed bullpen help.
But like you, I can’t believe that this team will be goof if Bloom just patches it. We still need bigger deals than this
I see it. You approve but much less words of approval than when you disapprove. I guess the end result matters though and not quality.
pedey – I feel like nothing I do will ever make you happy. LOL!
What do you want me to say? Good acquisition at a reasonable price? Isn’t that already implied by my approval?
Nah, it’s fine. Just be you. I just don’t know what you want me to feel. Do you want to disapprove of Bloom? Or be in the middle? I can live with either, it’s just when I say you call him out, you always acknowledge there’s a good side. I guess I truly don’t know your position on him. Approve or disapprove? You don’t make it clear all the time where you stand on him. You look at the decisions well, but him? I don’t know how you truly feel about him as an executive.
Looking forward to those Coldplay concerts at Fenway.
I hear Je-ru-sa-lem bells a ringing Roman ca-val-ry choirs are singin
Okay there are definite signs of brain damage now coming from the Red Sox front office. I have to look away before I witness the inevitable dumpster fire car crash. Oof. That’s a Lotta dough for a resurrected retread.
Yankees will wait on judge and sit and sit. March will come around and they can scoop up cheap. 3rd place maybe in the east.
Thought he’d go to a smaller market team like Minnesota.
Is it me or does it feel like Bloom isn’t seeking out a “Benny the Jet Rodriguez” type player (Sandlot reference for those too young to know) but instead keeps trying to find new players who might need to borrow a hat and glove from Benny because they are inexpensive but could get better?
The team needs six Benny caliber players like they had when Bloom arrived. As of today, they have 1 year left with Devers, a couple years of Sale, no Bogey, no JD, no Eovaldi, no Betts, no Benny and no division titles or rings. Story could be a Benny if he plays to his potential but that is a big question mark. So how can they compete in the AL East with no star players?
Texas is building a winner like Dombrowski did. They got the two key hitters a year ago, the best pitcher in baseball this year and they have enough money to bid on Judge. Because they aren’t a big city team they are ignored by the media. I thought they were going after Judge to complete the hitting but instead did a very smart thing and set their rotation for five years with the best pitcher in baseball.
If they really want to make a splash, they should call Bloom and offer K-MART players for Sale. 4 prospects and $31MM in financial relief probably would look good to Bloom. Houston better hope that doesn’t happen. Injuries heal and a healthy deGrom and Sale would be scary good along with Semien and Seager and the rest of their roster..
Pulled – Great post!
And you know what? I’m glad Baltimore is shifting into win-now mode. With them being good, maybe it will motivate Bloom to acquire enough talent to stay out of the basement.
Because as of right now, on this very date, the Red Sox are the worst team in the division. Hopefully that will change between now and ST.
Fever – Agreed. What makes it worse is that they were more talented than the Yankees, Toronto, TB and Baltimore in 2019 when Bloom arrived. Yes, they had a bad set of injuries in 2019 but that happens. Yes, Cora made some huge mistakes during spring training that cost them dearly and yes the schedule with Japan and the West Coast was a real challenge that they failed to overcome but the talent was still in Boston at that point. Not anymore.
Dombrowski’s upgrade of the Philly’s roster was similar to that of the Red Sox roster. They were game changing upgrades. Story isn’t a comparable game changing upgrade. All the game changing events since Bloom arrived have gone the other way. Losing Mookie, losing Benny and now losing JD, Bogaerts and Eovaldi all are steps in the wrong direction.
But to be fair, Bloom has been consistently bad. He shocked us with the Mookie deal and the slide downhill has accelerated as the 2022 season comes to a close.
The money is there but the smarts are not. How long is the shelf life on promises? Bloom has promised a lot and delivered on nothing. Even the farm system has fallen off. Sure the rankings thanks to Mayer have improved but the actual results of the farm system isn’t seeing Bloom acquired stars rising to the MLB ranks. Casas, Houck, Duran and Dalbec were all in the minors when Bloom arrived. Whitlock looks good but needs to stay healthy and the team needs a key personnel guy who knows Devers is a DH, can define a spot for Whitlock and Houck, can define a plan at each position and work towards it over the next several years. As of today, who is the future catcher? Who is the future 3B? Can a team win a division with a .935 fielding percentage at 3B? Who is the LF, CF and RF of the future? Who is the future closer? These are just a few of the questions that Bloom should be answering for the fans and media so they can gain a sense of confidence in him having a plan.
Holding your cards close to your chest is great for poker but not so great for baseball administrators who have taken their team from first to last in the division.in three short seasons.
Pulled – Another great post, I totally agree.
Speaking of Betts, Benny, Xander, JD and Nate … what have we gotten in return for them?
So far the Betts and Benny trades are looking quite bad.
We shall see what happens with Nate, JD and Xander.
Either way, Bloom totally botched the Xander situation. Either he ends up paying way more than what he could have signed Xander for two years ago, or Xander walks and the Sox get nothing in return except a draft pick.
Fever – If you were a temp hire who got rid of a future HOF player for next to nothing, failed to acquire any real talent for three straight years would you spend big bucks on Bogaerts? No way. He won’t pay big for him.
As soon as Trea Turner signs LA/PHI, Judge signs in SF the Padres will fill their hole at SS (Tatis in CF now) with Bogaerts to keep up with the competition. Bloom will have lost yet another future HOFer. He might set a record for the most lost future HOFers in baseball history by a single GM!!
Devers could add to that list in 2023!
What Bloom fails to understand is the true fan experience. Fans want to have optimism created by good moves by the GM. For three years Red Sox fans have had to fabricate the optimism through his long series of mistakes. Philly fans see a bright future, Red Sox fans pretend to see or HOPE for a bright future because they are loyal. That bright future can’t happen with Bloom as the GM and it’s taken most fans 3 years to confirm the mistake made by ownership.
2023 is already a disaster because the GM is a lame duck GM. Sure he may make a few desperate attempts to salvage his reputation because he has over $150MM to spend but he’s not astute enough to invest in the players the Red Sox need to win. Lets hope for all short-term contracts so the roster can be quickly fixed once he’s gone. 2023 is already a throw away year like 2020 and 2022. If not for the incredible stats by the players in 2021, all four of his years would have been a disaster.
The good news is everything can be fixed once he’s gone by hiring a knowledgeable GM who thinks like a big market GM and uses the funds available wisely. Wise investments don’t need to be cheap investments. Mookie is paying off for LAD. deGrom will pay off for Texas. Scherzer has made multiple teams better at a high price just like Verlander. Quality players for high prices is not a mistake. League average players at league average prices doesn’t win championships. Kike Hernandez doesn’t force championships but Mookie, Bogaerts, Devers, JD, Eovaldi and even Sale do.
There are not many top 25 players that are free agents right now so signing some of them with the huge available payroll should make sense to Bloom but I doubt he’ll be that smart. He likes buying practical used cars not high performance driving machines.
My wish for Christmas is a pink slip for Bloom.
After reading about Martin I went into the yard to see if my shoulder still hurts. Now my entire body hurts and I think I may have re-torn my rotator cuff? My dog had fun though and my wife is making fun of me so there’s that.
Did you ever work for FedEx?
My shoulder doesn’t hurt either…..
Makes a minor league contract look frigin’ awesome!
I will try….to fix you! – chris martin
This move = World Series baby! Judge contract has been weighed on the scales and found wanting. Yanks 360M man will soil his pinstripes against Martin. Red Sox push Yanks to WC loser status and then win it all! Go Sox!
Red Sox trying to work out a trade with the Cubs to get Wick.
Very interesting.