The Red Sox have re-signed righty Sterling Sharp to a minor league contract, according to Chris Hilburn-Trenkle of Baseball America. The 27-year-old had spent the tail end of the 2022 campaign in the Boston organization as well.
Sharp, a 22nd-round draftee of the Nationals in 2016, got to the big leagues in 2020 as a Rule 5 pick of the Marlins. He made four appearances out of the Miami bullpen, allowing seven runs through 5 1/3 innings. The Marlins designated him for assignment before season’s end, relinquishing his Rule 5 rights in the process. After clearing waivers, he was returned to the Nationals without occupying a spot on the 40-man roster.
The Michigan native remained in the Washington farm system through the middle of last year. He had a tough go with Triple-A Rochester, pitching to a 6.62 ERA across 66 2/3 innings. The Nats released him in August but he quickly caught on with Boston. The Sox sent him to Double-A Portland, where he closed out the season well. Through seven starts with the Sea Dogs, he pitched to a 3.18 ERA with a decent 22% strikeout percentage and 45.3% grounder rate.
That earned Sharp another look in the Boston organization, as he returns after a brief first trip to minor league free agency. He’ll serve as rotation depth in the upper minors and could get a look with Triple-A Worcester after his solid finish in Double-A. Sharp still has a full slate of option years remaining, meaning the Sox could move him between Boston and the upper minors for the foreseeable future if he earns a spot on the 40-man roster.
YES. HES BACK!!! FAVRE TO SHARPE TD!!!!
This is a bit jumping the gun… collecting wide receivers before even buying the NFL franchise, sheesh. It’s worse than Halloween decorations in August.
MAJKOWSKI TO SHARPE….AND IT”S PICKED OFF!!!!
He found his youth; but lost his ending “e”…
Red Sox gonna have a better receiving corps than the Patriots
Beat me to it sodo
What, wait. Oh, never mind.
If only I could remember the glory years I lived in Wisconsin when Lynn Dickey was the guy.
What about the glory years when Bubba Skinner from “In the Heat of the Night” tv show Alan Autry aka Carlos Brown was the QB?
Dickey to Lofton. What a combo! Just like ? and ? up the middle!
If only Dickey wasn’t a complete statue. Hobble for the first down!!!
The game was different then. Tarkenton, Staubach, etc. were the game changers then with their mobility. Back then the fullback and even the tight end were extra blockers because the QB stayed in the pocket. The Packers were usually lousy then but not because of Dickey.
I hear his brother Shannon is a better player
He won’t be the same without Favre or Majkowski. Really surprised he still has something left in the tank.
Of course.
Must still be looking to plunk Marlon Byrd
Can he play shortstop?
Numbers were not so Sharp last year…….. I’ll see myself out
Go Woo Sox!
He’ll be in AA to start. They have more than a rotation full of pitching slated to start in AAA. AA is kind of thin. It’s for the vacated Thad Ward rotation slot.
Thad Ward had 13 starts with 4 different levels. He got re-injured in AFL. I dont think he had any slot assigned to him.
It’s been a rough offseason for Boston’s minor league pitchers. Boston inexcusably left Thad Ward unprotected and he was the first overall pick of the Rule 5 draft. They also lost AJ Politi to Rule 5, traded Jay Groome for Eric Hosmer (who they DFA’d) and recently DFA’d Connor Seabold as well. All of these pitchers were very close to making their debuts in the majors or being recalled for another shot in the majors.. Now we are trying to replace these guys with Sterling Sharp and other cast aways? I really don’t understand what Boston is trying to do. I thought they were trying to improve their minor league depth but they have taken a big hit in talent over the last 3+ months. Meanwhile, soon to be 31 year old Kaleb Ort remains on the 40 man roster when he was an absolute disaster for Boston last year after being called up and Ryan Brasier remains with the team as well. Very strange moves made this offseason for sure. I was a big fan of Chaim Bloom when they hired him but now I’m not so sure he’s the right man for the job. Thad Ward has the potential to be a solid #3 or at the very least an above average #4 starter and they lost him for nothing. Same with Noah Song…crazy!
not to mention giving up 1st rd pick Jay Groome for a month of Eric Hosmer. Really??
Your takes continually suck.
Ever since Dombrowski revealed how angry he was (still is) over being fired by Boston ownership, some of his actions have become clearer. He has obsessively reacquired some players he had first acquired in Boston (like CJ Chatham,) and he is being an effing jerk by the Rule 5 snatching of Noah Song who is nowhere near being an active player at any level of the game–this was just a thumb in Boston’s eye, even though it cannot work out in any positive way for Philadelphia. I’m hoping he’s willing to die on the sword of Chris Sale and prove to Sox ownership what a great g.d. contract extension that was by trading Mick Abel for him. After all, it’s DD–he trades prospects for high-Priced proven talent.
Taking song and stashing him on the RL was a smart move, not being a jerk. Bloom was the idiot, he could’ve RLd song and made him ineligible for the rule 5, but, didn’t.
Yup agreed this was tactical error it may amount to nothing but Bloom screwed up.
Where are you getting this ‘RL’ Song business? I see no references to it online. Noah Song was Reserve Listed while he was in the military, but thats allowed under MLBPA agreement. But, you cant put players on RL to avoid the Rule V draft.
Please point a direction for this information.
Huntington – You’re using the wrong term. NOT reserve list. RESTRICTED LIST. it’s different.
Since you, like bloom, don’t understand how it works I will sum it up for you.
1) you invoke Rule 2(c)6. By using Major League Rule 2(c)6, a team may petition MLB to place a player on the restricted list if he is unable to render his services to his club through some action outside control – such as the mandatory military service.
Hint : 2(c)6A says a player on restricted list cannot play for ANY mlb team. 2(c)6E says player on the restricted list does not count against the 40-man roster, the reserve list, the active list in any way, at any level of mlb/milb, and, can be kept on restricted list for 2 consecutive seasons at which point the club need not petition MLB to place him restricted and is instead transferred to a general restricted list and left out of baseball operations indefinitely under rule 2(c)6H until reinstated by the minor league club his rights were last held by. Hint: it ALSO says the ONLY team for whom a player transferred to the general mlb restricted list may play was the last team holding the rights.
So, had Song been added to the Restricted list promptly by bloom in 2020, 2021, then he would’ve long since been protected from Rule 5 selection, and, should have actually been on the general mlb restricted list and NOBODY could gain access to his rights except a boston affiliate.
Check and Mate.
One more case of bloom being out of his element
So you put “RL” and freak out because you meant ‘Restricted List’. Try being clearer next time. Both lists exist and neither apply to Rule 5 Draft. Too funny.
Where in your Restricted List Rules does it say anything about the Rule 5 Draft?
Rule 5 Draft Rules:
“Any players that were 18 and under at the time of their original signing and were signed in 2018 or earlier, and any players 19 or older and signed in 2019 or earlier, who are not on a club’s 40-man roster are eligible to be selected in the Rule 5 draft.”
From what the Rule 5 Draft Rules say, he would be eligible. They are really simple and no loopholes exist.
Can you show me ANYTHING in relation to the Rule 5 Draft or Noah Song’s situation in specific regarding the draft, or maybe some instance where it was used in the past? Anything?
I think you just sit around trying to invent new ways to bad mouth Bloom.
Again Huntington, go read Rule 2(c), it is explicit that the player cannot play for ANY other team once on the list. It will answer all your questions.
What list did the Red Sox have Song on when he was taken in the Rule 5 draft? He must have been on some list or roster.
Baahaha. Thats its??? You write 5 paragraphs because I didn’t know which “RL” you meant. Now its “go read Rule 2(c)”. Thats says nothing about the Rule 5 draft.
Has no GM ever used it before? No articles on the internet mention this ‘RL’ list and its relationship to the Rule V draft. No one wrote this about Noah Song and how the Red Sox could have used it, anywhere? >>> Classic GaSoxFan.
As someone once said to me:
“Check and Mate” Baby.
All in the Suit:
As far as I can tell, he was still on the ‘restricted list’. I can find him being placed on it, by the Red Sox, with Google searches, but I cant find him being removed. Once he was drafted by the Phillies, that status vanishes, and the Phillies had to place him on it again.
Yes, you are checkmated Huntington. You’re either being obtuse, or…. You’re just incredibly dense.
Either re-read my ‘lengthy post’ as you consider it, or, read rule 2(c).
Had bloom properly placed song on the RL, then he would not have been eligible for the rule 5 draft. After 2 years on the RL you are automatically placed on the MLB permanent list, considered permanently inactive until going through reinstatement procedures by the team holding your rights, the same as if you retired.
You cannot draft a person who is not actively in baseball through the rule 5, and, is on no roster anywhere.
That’s the part you are choosing to ignore because it makes bloom look like an idiot.
Again: What list or roster did the Red Sox place Song on? I doubt he could be on an active roster. He was not active. He could not be on the IL. He was not injured. Until we answer this question, I am not sure we understand the whole situation. Also, how long does the reinstatement process take?
GASoxFan & HuntingtonGrounds: soxprospects.com says that the Red Sox had Song on the Military List. That seems to be the correct list. Adding a player to the Restricted List requires approval from the Commissioner. Why would the commissioner approve adding a guy in the military to the Restricted List when he created the Military List? I don’t think it would be approved. So, it looks like the only way the Red Sox could have protected Song from the Rule 5 draft was to add him to the 40 man roster which makes no sense at this point. Therefore, it looks like the Red Sox did not make some huge error with Song.
All in the suit – to answer your question first, according to rule 2(c)6(K)(ii):
“A Restricted List player shall be reinstated
immediately upon receipt of application for reinstatement, in writing or by approved electronic means, from the player’s Major League Club.”
Had Song been properly placed on the restricted list under petition by the red sox for two consecutive years without interruption, during blooms tenure, the effects would be different as follows:
under Rule 5(a):
“MajorLeague Clubs may claim the contracts of players who are on Minor League Reserve Lists (filed pursuant to Rule 1) and who are subject to selection as set forth in this Rule 5”
Notice the requirement that the player be present on the reserve list.
Except that under rule 2(c)6(E):
“Players on the Restricted List shall not count against either the Reserve List or Active List limits.”
This means, had bloom had Song properly registered, he wouldn’t be a reserve list player as he doesn’t count on the list, and thus, not subject to the Rule 5 draft.
Further, 2(c)6(E) tells you that:
“A player under a Major League Uniform Player’s Contract or Minor League Uniform Player Contract who has been reserved for two
consecutive years on the Restricted List shall be omitted from further Reserve Lists and shall not be eligible to play until the player is first reinstated in accordance with Rule 2(c)(6)(K)”
So, Song couldn’t have automatically reverted to reserve list status, and thus, Rule 5 eligible, unless the team either failed to keep him on the reserve list 2 consecutive years, or, voluntarily submitted paperwork to reinstate Song and make him available.
Again, Bloom screwed up.
To summarize, bloom only had to do 3 things:
1) add Song to 40 man.
2) place on RL in year 1
3) place on RL in year 2
Now, Song is protected, doesn’t count on your 40 man, is automatically on RL by MLB, isn’t earning service time, can’t be taken in a rule 5, and earns no salary.
Instead DD eats blooms lunch.
GASoxFan: I gave been reading more. I think Song would likely not be eligible for the Restricted List due to Rule 2(c)(D) which says:
“Except with regard to players with outstanding
suspensions that are required to be placed on the Restricted List upon signing with a new Club, Clubs may not report a player for
placement on the Restricted List if at the time the Club signed the player the Club knew or should have known that the player would be unavailable to play for or report to the Club during the initial period of such placement.”
The Red Sox knew or should have known that Song could be unavailable to play and I think there is a good chance this rule precludes him from being added to the Restricted List.
As I said before, I still don’t see why the commissioner would approve adding Song to the Restricted List when he created the Military List for people in the military. It is not Bloom’s decision alone to add Song to the Restricted List. The commissioner needs to approve. I feel confident in my conclusion that the Red Sox adding Song to the Military List was the correct move and only move and why the Military List was created. This seems pretty straightforward to me.
All in the suit…
That yould be true for 2019, his initial reporting season if he was unavailable. Notice the key language:
“during the initial period of such placement”
The word initial means you cannot RL him the first season, 2019, but could in 2020, 2021, 2022.
The military list dates back more to times like WWII, Korea, or Vietnam etc.
A key part of the military list requires active duty orders, which, I’m not sure if song received or not? That’s why I defaulted to restricted list.
He did play in 2019 for Lowell, not sure how his training school counts for active duty. But the 2019 Lowell appearances gets around the fact he wasn’t unavailable immediately after the draft, gets around that piece of restricted list.
But, even the military list has the same provisions as the restricted list, key being players don’t count against active or reserve lists.
So, if he’s added to 40 man, dumped on the list, military or restricted, either way he doesn’t take a roster spot and is protected with no pay and earning no service time, being ineligible to play until reinstatement.
So, bloom still did it wrong.
GASoxFan: You have not addressed the appropriateness of the Military List. If every team could bypass the Military List and put players on the Restricted List, there would be no need for the Military List. However, the commissioner saw a need for the Military List. I doubt the commissioner would approve Song to be on the Restricted List when the Military List exists.
GASoxFan: Where is it written that it matters if a player was on the 40 man roster prior to being added to the Restricted List or the Military List?
GASoxFan: Song certainly had active military orders to report to flight school training. He is in the active military.
As to the military list, again, I don’t know if song at the time – 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 – had received ACTIVE DUTY orders. Those are a prerequisite to the military list, not just tied up for any purpose connected to the military.so that’s my first caveat.
You’ve got two choices: restricted list, or, military list. Song played A-level ball in 2019. He would pass muster for the ‘not being available to report immediately after selection’ issue.
So, IF Song didn’t yet have active duty orders, your restricted list him.
If Song had active duty orders you could then military list him. That’s under 2(c)10(A) requiring active duty orders starting within 15 days.
40-man dictates whether you are eligible for rule 5. Being left off the 40-man is what makes you eligible for selection. By adding Song to a 40man spot and then placing him on either list, it’s like when you shift an injured Chris sale to the IL – he is still a 40 man player, but, doesn’t count for the limit.
Likewise, Song on the 40-man then to the military list, or restricted list, by its terms doesn’t count towards the 40-man limit. That’s 2(c)10(B). In fact, military list doesn’t even require contract tenders until the player is reinstated.
Ultimately we are talking about how at zero cost to the red sox bloom could’ve kept Song in the system, but he screwed up.
Now matter how you slice it, having a potential asset at $0 in cost who takes up 0 roster spots is always good and better than having nothing. Bloom blew it and lost a player that never should’ve been eligible for selection.
‘Military List’. There it is, they have so many lists. Thx AllIn
GASox is determined to be right, even with glaring evidence against him.
No, the conclusions remains valid Huntington- BLOOM SCREWED UP.
We don’t know at which exact times either restricted, or military, became appropriate, and likely was a combination of both, but, by failing to add Song to the 40-man then adding him to the appropriate lists, Bloom let a player go for nothing who:
1) would’ve been protected by 40man
2) drew $0 salary
3) didn’t accumulate service time
4) didnt count against active/reserve roster counts
5) required reinstatement before counting again.
Instead, bonehead Bloom let him go for nothing and failed to use rule 2(c)
GaSoxFan: I think it makes sense. The only thing is that in order to add Song to the 40 man roster, someone most likely needs to be DFA’d. So, it’s mosy likely not zero cost to protect him. So, if Song is still in the military this year, the Phillies will need to add him to their 40 man roster and then put him on the Restricted or Military List if they want to protect him from the next Rule 5 draft, correct?
All in the suit – all of that was already done, and, he is not rule 5 eligible again until he is passed through waivers off a 40man status or returned to boston before serving 1yr on the active 26man.
By taking the rule 5 pick Song was added to the PHI 40 man as part of that process. Then, right afterwards, DD designated him as Military List because the current status for Song is now active duty.
As a result of the ML move, Song no longer counts against the PHI 40 man roster until reinstated. Once reinstated, the rest of the rule 5 requirements – a season on the 26-man roster – spring back into effect.
See here, Song no longer shows as counting against the active 40 man roster:
mlb.com/phillies/roster/40-man
This is what Bloom should’ve done over the years, but didn’t, wasting a player. Had Song not had active duty orders for any 2 consecutive years after 2019 the restricted list would’ve had the same effect, but, either way it was a player you could hide under rule 2(c).
Unfortunately, bloom screwed up. Again.
Bloom does not want someone who hasn’t pitched in years showing up and being on the 40 man roster.
“Anytime you leave somebody unprotected there’s always a chance they get picked,” Bloom said about Song. “He’s a high-profile guy for a reason, obviously such a unique situation. You never want to lose anybody, but given his situation we felt should he — when he returns from his commitment — being on the 40-man roster is not an ideal situation to have. So that’s a risk we were willing to take.”
theathletic.com/3981538/2022/12/10/red-sox-rule-5-…
Actually, he would most likely need to DFA someone again when Song returned to the 40 man roster from the Military List. So, the cost to protect Song from the Rule 5 draft is potentially two DFAs for a guy who hasn’t pitched in 3 years.
All in the suit – Not necessarily though.
First, the sox had open 40 man spots when free agents were declared after the season. That is when you add Song to the 40-man, then list him. This way you don’t need to DFA anyone to get him snuck onto the list as 40man protected.
Second, look up 2(c)10(C). there’s a clause in the military list that gives you a bit of a freebie. You get 15 day trial for a player before they get counted against your 40man roster again and require a slot.
While those 2 weeks aren’t a lot, you could see just how rusty and out of condition he may be. Anyone in a military situation would be maintaining a certain level of physical fitness so it’s not like you’ve got Pablo Sandoval coming back to you. But, you’ve got that time to decide how you want to handle things anyways.
It may be cynical, but, we know sometimes clubs manipulate IL stints for roster moves. Easy enough to slip something like that through to activate song after his 15 day trial is up and make a DFA of song if you don’t like what you saw, and, not lose anyone else in the process.
Given the talent the scouts saw, and how electric his stuff played over those 7 a level starts, it’s certainly worth the effort to protect him.
So, is two DFAs to get Song on the 40 man roster two different times worth it for the Red Sox to protect him from the Rule 5 draft? That is the question I think. Bloom thought no. I am undecided at the moment.
But my reply above here laid it out… no DFAs needed.
You use a free agent 40-man opening to add Song, then military list him and you get that slot back since he’s no longer counted.
Then, upon return, you get 15 days trial to see what you see. Teams shuffle players all the time on the IL to manipulate pen arms. This could be no different. You either dfa him, or, you decide to carry him and cut your weakest link out of the 40 man if what song showed was better than what you have.
Either way it’s an upgrade, and, spare player at no cost with lots of upside. Bloom makes worse rehab and lottery ticket signings every year. I honestly think he didn’t know how to protect song and screwed up, then that was his after the fact attempt at damage control
OK, so it could cost just one DFA to protect Song from the Rule 5 draft.
One, or none.
Option a: you didn’t want to keep song based on his 15 day trial.
you don’t dfa anyone. You IL someone to open a 40 man slot, and promote song to the 40man using that opening. Then you DFA song (rules say the player must be activated before being designated.)
Option b: Song is better than someone else on your 40 man.
You dfa (or trade) that 40-man person to keep the superior player, song.
So, worst case you dfa nobody and release song in the future after paying zero salary to him every year.
Best case is you kept Song in your system, and, the choice to dfa someone means he was a superior asset than what you got rid of.
Also, you could trade a 40man prospect, maybe worst maybe someone in the middle of the pack to get a non 40man prospect in a different area of need, and, dfa nobody while keeping song.
This comes back to the gut feeling and common complaint that bloom keeps playing it as he goes and isn’t playing chess, thinking several moves ahead.
I don’t think 15 days is enough to evaluate a player, so someone leaving the 40 man roster needs to be considered. The quote from The Athletic indicates Bloom did think ahead. I think we explored all angles of this and people can decide for themselves as usual. Have a good night, what’s left of it.
Imagine thinking you know anything more than an exec like Bloom.
Well, if actions speak louder than words bloom apparently doesn’t know much. I’d wager 80% of non-duplicative non-troll accounts on this site know more than ‘an exec like bloom’…
Huntington – Every male in my family knows more than Bloom!!!!
Seriously, what a wild assumption that Bloom was qualified for the job!! He’s just as qualified as a bench jockey who never managed at the MLB level before being hired to manage a top flight organization like Boston. It’s a travesty. Bloom and Cora have proven they weren’t ready for their jobs and failed miserably. The HR department should be fired!!! Where is the vetting that’s supposed to happen?
They could send them simply questionnaires like these!!
Manager – Question 1 would you bat a 10 year experienced .241 hitter first your daily line-up? If the answer yes. Move to the next candidate!!! Tell the responder to not let the door hit him as he leaves..
GM – Question 1 would you trade the player with the highest value to cost ratio on the team and a guy considered second best in baseball? If they answer yes, send them packing and talk to the next candidate!!!.
Simple HR questionnaires could have saved Boston so much grief!!!
My dog growls when he sees Cora on the TV. That makes him smarter than Bloom too!!!
Since1994 – Imagine believing everyone in a management position is perfect and knows everything and never makes bad decisions.
That’s some major Jim Jones, David Koresh, sheep mentality right there.
I hope you’re wearing your mask while sitting in front of your computer alone in the room. LOL!
GASox – Doesn’t the sheep mentality of the Bloom suckups seem creepy as hell. It’s like watching the Stepford Wives movie. LOL!
Horace – DD taking advantage of Bloom’s lack of expertise is nothing different than Friedman fleecing him on the Mookie deal. Bloom proves over and over that he’s not qualified for the job.
Maybe he could have a literary career as a writer of manuals for farm systems!! hahaha Has everyone gotten one of his manuals in the mail? Nobody in the farm system has gotten one so I assume that had to go somewhere!!
Horace – If you were a GM who built a team that beat the Yankees and won the division 3 out of 4 years then got fired because your manager screwed up the start of the season and you had lots or injuries and your star player called the owners racist, can you understand why he is unhappy about what transpired? DD has every right to be mad but he’s not petty. He’s just doing his job and you don’t recognize it because nobody’s done that in Boston since he was fired!!
I don’t always agree with what you say, Dorothy Mantooth but this could not have been said better. I too am holding out on Bloom but he’s making it look pretty bad right now
You have a better chance holding onto “deez nutz” then you do Bloom. Why would you want to “hold on” to another grown man? Disturbing to say the least. #dinosaursdontexsist.
Maybe some of these prospects had big market syndrome – they’re fine, but not great, and similarly talented pitchers in smaller markets are completely unknown.
Boston has a LOT of AAA/MLB pitching on its 40-man. You can’t keep all of them. Every single front office is putting an interesting arm on the waiver wire during any given winter. A lot of these prospects had less market value than what big market media was attributing to them.
Dorothy: Groome and Seabold were both injured and their stuff did not return. Politi’s fastball is straight with no movement. Song is still stuck in the Navy. Ward can’t stay healthy. He could still be returned to the Red Sox. You might want to see if they actually amount to anything before you decide if they were good moves or not.
Yet we still have Ryan meltdown Brasier.
pwndroia:
so Ryan Brasier was going to save 3 jobs, if we released him? They are all fringe players, you’re making a big deal out of the 40th spot on the roster.
Also, Ryan Brasier is ONE person, so pick ONE person he wouldve saved. Ive heard Brasier tied to about 6 players at this point, so if anyone of those 6 players overachieves, “They kept Brasier, but the let xxxxx go”. I can hear it now. Its a game of craps, and Bloom chose Brasier over the other guys, sounds like whatever ball wins, you want to move all your chips to that number.
You’re right. I’m making a big deal our of it. I’ll stop that and move on because it is minor.
Brasier can’t replace everyone but he should’ve been replaced long ago.
I guess my main concern isn’t so much losing Seabold but rather not knowing Bloom’s intentions or where this team is headed. I do think we have a chance at competing next year, I just don’t know what Bloom expects, especially for the future.
Posted the same thing elsewhere. Okay, I’m being overdramatic. He can’t save three jobs but I would’ve been happier if we dropped Seabold for someone more capable if Brasier was gone. Brasier should’ve been long gone and I’m not the only one saying this.
The bigger problem isn’t Seabold; it’s Bloom’s decisions. Where are we headed?Why did he make the decisions he made?
I haven’t been against Bloom, I’m just someone who likes logical answers and Bloom doesn’t give those.
@Mantooth I always enjoy your insight, man
Here is the AAA rotation.
AAA Rotation
RH Kutter Crawford
RH Josh Winckowski
RH Bryan Mata
LH Brandon Walter
LH Chris Murphy
RH Victor Santos
Groome never was any good after all his injuries. He passed by all of the above. The same can be said for Seabold. His velocity was diminished and his change was not working after multiple injuries in the last two years. Hosmer is not as good as Casas, and Hosmer is not a fit as he is redundant. Song will NEVER pitch in the MLB! Darwinzon could NEVER consistently find home plate.
The roster is 40-man not a 50-man, and there are still 23 pitchers on it. The Red Sox will need two position players (to fill 2 of SS, 2B, or CF), so there is ample opportunity to DFA Ort or/and Brasier.
Sharp will be in (and most likely same in) AA.
AA Rotation
LH Shane Drohan
RH Brian Van Belle
RH Yusniel Padron-Artiles
RH Chih-Jung Liu
RH Sterling Sharp
Dorothy – For all of us who recognized Bloom was not the right man for the job and shouted it from the rooftops, we are thankful the remaining diehard fans are finally coming around. We should have been together on his mishaps throughout his tenure but we are glad to see those loyal fans of Bloom finally calling a spade a spade and acknowledging the many, many mistakes of his tenure.
Sincerely, Thank You. I know that can’t be easy.
I thought bloom literally pleading for fans to stick with the team after yet another brutal offseason in his press conference was priceless.
Do you think ticket pre-sales and season plgs lagging behind are weighing on him and make him question his job security yet?
GaSoxFan – ONE CAN ONLY HOPE!!! (Big Smile)
GASox – The Red Sox are the Tesla of MLB.
Once great brand.
Lots of success in the past.
Absentee owner more focused on other holdings.
Slashing prices to boost crashing sales.
Red Sox finally put their ST tix on sale a couple days ago, and still haven’t put any single game tickets on sale. This is the latest I can remember for each, not counting the Covid and lockout offseasons.
Gone are the days when they would automatically raise ticket prices without thinking twice.
Fenway will sound like a road game when teams like the Mets, Yanks, Dodgers etc come to town. These are dark, dark days.
Fever – I’ve been getting emails from the red sox since November trying to get me to but “holiday pax” and “sox pax” and “double pax” bundles and also to buy “red sox dollars” on gift cars good for buying tickets and such and offering to throw in free vests plus 25% bonus dollars if I’ll spend $50 or more.
It reeks of desperation. So, maybe they haven’t hit ‘all tickets on sale’ but I can go into a month old email, click on the buy tickets link, and, they’ve still got tickets available to the games.
Fans aren’t shelling out the early .k ey like usual.
GASox – Yes they are still pushing season tickets, partial season tickets, group tickets, and bundled game tickets which is one of the reasons why they haven’t put single game tickets on sale yet.
In the past, season tickets, partial season tickets, group tickets and bundled game tickets always sold quickly – that’s why they would put single game tickets on sale at their annual “Christmas at Fenway” event in early December.
Want more proof? Their annual “Winter Weekend” used to always sell out within hours. But for this month’s event, they went on sale November 14th and STILL haven’t sold out. They are even selling individual day tickets for the event, something they haven’t done in the past.
Interest in the team is at an all-time low right now, the evidence is everywhere. Real Red Sox fans made their feelings known when they booed the crap out of John Henry in Fenway on New Year’s Day.
If they booed Henry, don’t you wish bloom had walked down the aisle?
GASox – That wouldn’t be possible … the aisles at Fenway are very narrow, Bloom’s chin would be banging into the sides of seats.
Dotty – Just like Cora overmanages, so does Bloom. He is consistently at or near the top of MLB when it comes to transactions. Just another example of him operating more like a small market team than small market teams.
He will be a star.
Bloom, a word of advice, you get what you pay for. You need top pitchers. Rodon is gone, so is deGrom. All you seem to pick up is dumpster projects hoping if you throw it against the wall it will stick. This is not Tampa Bay where you barely draw fans. You have turned this franchise into the Boston Paupers. Last year when you released Kevin Plawecki three weeks before the end of the season then traded Christian Vazquez to the Houston Astros a team we were playing that night was classless. Plawicki was very respected by the team too.
I just hope that this is your last year with this club and we can get a real GM who knows what he is doing.
They are not paupers. The Red Sox player payroll is a hair under $205M now and more players will be signed. The have $150M on the books for next year.
He picks up question marks. Our payroll is high because of Sale, Paxton big question marks. Also Jansen and Martin. We have a few players who are soaking up a lot of the payroll
AL34 – We have won in the past with pillars that held up the team. In 2018 those pillars were the expensive players on the roster for the most part – Sale, Price, Eovaldi, Betts, JD and Bogaerts. Sale only cost $6.5MM in 2018 but started the all-star game because he was an elite player. The team needs elite players to win. We just dumped Bogey, JD and Eovaldi so we have 3 less all-star quality players for 2023. We added Yoshida who is not a likely candidate for the all-star team We added Jansen who many considered at his drop off point. Wrong direction to win? YEP.
The payroll is filled with lots and lots of mediocrity that costs money. That’s why there is no money for star players. A lifetime .241 hitter is making $10MM a year instead of $1MM to be a utility player. Matt Barnes is making $9.375MM. Take Barnes money and Kike’s money and you could have an all-star quality player rather than two duds. Paxton and Sale are very different situations. Paxton was contracted while injured and cost lots in 2022 to not play. 2023 he costs $4MM. so his handful of starts aren’t a huge over pay like Kike and Yoshida. Sale became damaged goods thanks to Cora so suggesting that contract was bad is unfair. No GM could have predicted Cora would do what he did to Sale!!
Devers big bucks start in 2024 so he’s only making $17.5MM in 2023. Sale’s a DD guy and Bloom wants no part of any player from the Dombrowski era as he just proved this off season. Devers is the exception and I believe ownership forced his hand because they have pushed hard for a Dominican Republic presence in the Red Sox dugout. They want Devers to be the next Papi and declared that when he was 16. If Sale gets traded Bloom will replace his $25.6MM with multiple cheap players that are below league average and call it depth He’s done it for 3 years and I see nothing to suggest he’s going to change his approach to destroying Dombrowski’s team and rebuilding a completely new team of league average players like in Tampa. That’s all he knows due to his lack of experience.
We don’t have a top heavy payroll like you suggest. It’s just the opposite. We have an over abundance of bad players making medium pay and providing less value than their cost. That’s the Bloom way and it doesn’t work. 5th place is inevitable thanks to Bloom.
FYI…. If there is a 40 man roster and 26 get to be at the major league level at any time the $230MM payroll allows for 40 players to make an average of $5.75MM per player. As of today, only 5 players make more than $10MM in 2023. Sale at $25.6MM, Story $23.3MM, Yoshida $18MM, Devers $17.5MM, Jansen $16MM that totals $100.4MM of the $230MM available. Since Cot’s suggests there is still $29.5MM left to spend that means Bloom spent $100MM on players costing $10.85MM (Turner) or less. Normally, there are nearly 20 of the 40 players on the roster that earn $1MM or less leaving 20 spots to split the remaining $210MM. That suggests each player could have an average salary of $10.5MM as starters on the 26 man roster. We have just 5 of 26 making more than that because Bloom carries fewer $1MM players than Dombrowski did and those more expensive back-ups provide comparable value to the $1MM players on the DD roster. It’s simple math. DD’s roster reflected a capitalistic society where the rich are rich and the poor are poor (in this case because they are controlled players) and Bloom believes in spreading the payroll to under talented journeymen that provide interchangeable skills albeit limited skills. He calls it depth, I call it a huge waste of money as reflected in the 5th place finish and the 40% winning percentage in 2020. His approach is theoretical and in real life it doesn’t work. (He’s a metrics guy so his results are consistent with many of the modern metrics that don’t work)
The team is saturated with below league average players being paid more than their value. The odds of more mediocre players being added to the 40 man roster before the season begins is quite high. That’s why the owners need to push the restart button and fire Bloom and hire an experienced and successful big market GM. Otherwise, the mess will simply be perpetuated until Bloom is fired.
Al – Sale is the only player who has a bigger Lux Tax Salary this year than Story.
Nothing shows incompetence more than Trevor Story having the 2nd-highest salary on your team, behind only a pitcher who is still on the team just because he couldn’t be traded due to injuries.
Drop Seabold who succeeded in AAA and replace him with a pitcher who has an FIP just south of 8.00. Lots of logic there.
In three months, Bloom will DFA him and bring in someone else to share in the revolving door.
Waiting for Fever to jump in on this opportunity and tell me that I’m being unreasonable to Bloom. Remind you, I didn’t call him arrogant.
I still cannot believe he gave up Broome for a one month rental of Eric Hosmer, who missed clumps of games until he returned from the DL at the second to last game of the season. What was the purpose of that trade? Seabold was either a bust or damaged goods. Baltimore actually looks better than the Red Sox this year.
Al – It’s just another example of how clueless Bloom is, and the lack of a plan he has. He acquired Hosmer and Pham to somehow convince the fanbase he was focused on making the playoffs last year.
Truth is, if he really intended to contend last year – despite Henry calling it a “building year” – he would have addressed the 1B and BP debacles early in the season. But he didn’t, he did nothing.
I’ll say it again, actions speak louder than words. It’s one of my favorite quotes.
If actions speak louder than words, you grab the tar, I’ll bring some feathers. I’m sure we can improvise the rest using the mbta and a few friends.
Pedey: Did Seabold actually impress you when he pitched for Boston? I actually felt bad for him. He looked like he had no chance whatsoever.
No, but I haven’t seen enough of Seabold to officially say he’s a bust, whereas I’ve seen enough of Brasier to know he’s not going to effectively contribute.
It wasn’t that Seabold was bad (era in 3’s in AAA), it’s just that he wasn’t given a fair chance.
I know this guy isn’t really replacing Seabold. I just wanted to put into context that we dropped a potential starter (who looks better than Winckowski) instead of Ryan Braiser, who had several meltdowns last year and cost us numerous games.
Let me repeat….these guys were ahead of Seabold both in terms of talent and/or health when you are considering the starting rotation (not my words, but that of the scouting reports I have read).
AAA Rotation
RH Kutter Crawford
RH Josh Winckowski
RH Bryan Mata
LH Brandon Walter
LH Chris Murphy
RH Victor Santos
Seabold was expendable.
It seems the problem is not that Seabold and Darwinzon got a DFA, it was that Brasier did not, for many of the commenters.
Yes, mine is mostly that Brasier wasn’t DFA’d over those 2.
But signing a guy with an 8.00 FIP doesn’t make sense when you let others walk who are arguably more talented. Why is this news and why did we sign him? Were we not able to assign Seabold to AAA?
Seabold was on the 40-man roster!
Sharp IS NOT. That is the difference!
If Seabold does not get claimed, he could have filled a spot in AAA… He will get claimed!
pedey – He was given 6 starts in the majors, and he put up a 10.55 ERA and 2.25 WHIP.
He had a fair chance, and failed miserably.
That’s your problem you don’t watch enough you are a casual fan
Yes, I don’t have an issue we dropped him but I think dropping a rookie over Brasier isn’t smart. 6 starts don’t tell you the whole story. Dropping him was okay but he has a potential career ahead of him, Brasier doesn’t. The DFA could have been a little more logical.
It’s not going to kill us though
And about 1.3m cheaper, not that bloom would put the money to productive use
Pwndroia…. I almost hate you for this. You’re making me defend 1/2 of blooms move here and it’s gutwrenching.
This kid is not on the 40 man. Seabold was. So while I agree wholeheartedly that this was another case of wasted assets, where a couple of these young arms that walked for nothing could’ve been bundled up for one somewhat further developed or higher ceiling prospect in return… no, I can’t criticize for adding this kid back after a dfa of seabold.
Now I need a drink.
LOL
On a lighter note expendables 3 just came on, and, you’ve got to wonder, was it REALLY Statham on screen, or, was it Pedroia?
pwndroia – I agree with you on Seabold.
Lets recap his history because it exposes many Red Sox internal issues. First, the deal was declared a huge success when a rookie GM in 2020 dealt two slug relievers (Hembree and Workman) to Philly for this huge upside SP. When I declared him a bit more mediocre than pronounced by Red Sox marketing group I got huge push back from many on this site.
If he’s so great why is he gone? Lack of performance? Not really. He failed like so many that were promoted prematurely. He didn’t belong in the majors and his outings proved it. But we could say that about many “future stars” declared during Bloom minor league acquisitions.
His performance didn’t get him DFA’d politics did. I constantly preach about the significance of who you know versus performance related to the Bloom administration. Well, Seabold got on the wrong side of a guy who supports those that do what he says even if it doesn’t make sense. Cora, the know nothing manager who thinks he’s a pitching coach told Seabold to change the frequency of pitches he was throwing and Seabold didn’t obey his orders. (check articles dated 9/27/2022.
That was the fatal mistake Seabold made. He defied following orders from Cora. My guess is he knew his stuff much better than Cora and thought to himself “why is this putz trying to change what has worked my entire career?” In fact, I bet most pitchers in Boston ask themselves that same question on a regular basis. I know Sale did and probably will in 2023. Cora, like Bloom, is not qualified for his job. He was a bad utility infielder and has no experience pitching yet he’s constantly putting in his 2 cents on how MLB pitchers should approach pitching. Whether it’s pitch selection, location or mechanics he’s not qualified to give advice yet he does.
Seabold is gone because he disobeyed Cora. It’s that simple. It’s not a good reason but it’s typical of the poor choices being made throughout the organization. I wish Seabold well because he is going to a better place, even if it’s Pittsburgh. Ask Chavis!!
His FIP isn’t really “sharp” one bit
Sharp moves…
Red Sox don’t have a shortstop and Reese McGuire as starting catcher isn’t very good either. Lost Bogaerts, Lost Story to injury. So much money thrown away or being wasted. Just a terrible front office,
McGuire is not a starting caliber catcher and Connor Wong is a backup at best. The roster Bloom put together and has confidence in is pathetic. This team is going to be so bad this year.
Cora is Brasier’s biggest fan, he will go to the mat for him. I like Brasier–the last year he seems to be the one called on in the 6th or later when the game is settled in favor of the opponent. He’s an inning-saver for the team.
I don’t know if it was DD or Bloom that gets credit for the Rule 5 pick-up of Whitlock and if Cashman gets crucified every time Whit saves a game against that Bronx team. NOBODY’S PERFECT.
Seabold is a AAAA like many of the people in every org. I hope he makes it with some team; he needs a ML Mgr. to look at his stuff and believe in him.
It’s time to look at the Talented players that survive the minors and Live the Dream.
Mata and Ceddanne are the guys that I hope come out of ST and become members of the ML Roster.
Who came back in the Vazquez trade? a 2 B and member of the Sox current 40–Enmanuel Valdez, a 2B with a little pop played for the WoooooSox.
Every GM wants to uncover that diamond in the rough.
Queue up the Duck Boats, Chaim has finally come through!
I didn’t even see daylight, he paid this one through petty cash.
Bloom will wait until one of the remaining shortstops Iglesias or Andrus is signed then he will run to the leftover table and sign whoever is left. He cannot help himself doing stuff on the cheap saving a million or two here and there Instead of spending money on a good player he picks up in his terms, high upside guys. This was a really bad offseason when a lot of the baseball writers and fans were expecting the Red Sox to spend money on quality players. After a predictable last place finish in the division, I cannot see any alternative but to fire Bloom and get a solid Baseball Operations person in. I cannot even fathom that the other GMs in the league have any respect for Chaim Bloom let alone the players.
Exactly what the Sox needed. A solid Wide Receiver.
This is going to be such another disappointing year.
I don’t think Bloom will sign anyone or trade for anyone! He never walks his talk! It’s all B.S. He doesn’t know how to make trades or at least trades that work in the team’s favor. His free agent history is nothing special. He just plain sucks at the job period. It’s going to be a long summer in Boston. All I can hope for is Bloom is fired and start over.
I’d like to come out and play once in awhile….
I’d bet all the bank cards inside you are expired from disuse anyways
I don’t even know what a scanner looks like anymore.
#DustBunnies