It was an offseason of huge roster turnover for the Red Sox, as several familiar faces departed and a batch of new ones were brought in to replace them. But the biggest splash of the winter was signing their star third baseman to a massive extension that will likely keep him in Boston for the rest of his career.
Major League Signings
- OF Masataka Yoshida: five years, $90MM, plus $15.375MM payment to Orix Buffaloes
- RHP Kenley Jansen: two years, $32MM
- IF Justin Turner: two years, $21.7MM, Turner can opt out after 2023
- RHP Chris Martin: two years, $17.5MM
- RHP Corey Kluber: one year, $10MM, includes club option for 2024
- OF Adam Duvall: one year, $7MM
- LHP Joely Rodríguez: one year, $2MM, includes buyout of 2024 club option
- IF Yu Chang: one year, $850K (remains controllable through 2025)
2023 spending: $72.15MM
Total spending: $196.425MM
Option Decisions
- SS Xander Bogaerts opted out of three years and $60MM remaining on contract
- LHP James Paxton exercised $4MM player option after club declined two-year, $26MM club option
- Club declined $12MM mutual option for OF Tommy Pham
Trades And Claims
- Claimed C Caleb Hamilton off waivers from Twins, later outrighted
- Claimed RHP Jake Reed off waivers from Orioles, later lost off waivers to Dodgers
- Traded right-hander Easton McGee to Mariners for cash considerations
- Acquired IF Hoy Park from Pirates for LHP Inmer Lobo, Park later traded to Braves for cash considerations
- Acquired RHP Wyatt Mills from Royals for RHP Jacob Wallace
- Traded LHP Darwinzon Hernández to Orioles for cash considerations
- Traded RHP Connor Seabold to Rockies for PTBNL or cash
- Traded LHP Josh Taylor to Royals for IF Adalberto Mondesí and PTBNL, later named as IF Angel Pierre
- Acquired LHP Richard Bleier from Marlins for RHP Matt Barnes and cash
- Acquired RHP Theo Denlinger from White Sox for RHP Franklin German
Extensions
- 3B Rafael Devers: ten years and $313.5MM in new money
Notable Minor League Signings
- Raimel Tapia (later selected to 40-man roster), Jorge Alfaro, Narciso Crook, Niko Goodrum, Greg Allen, Ryan Sherriff, Jake Faria, Daniel Palka
Notable Losses
- Xander Bogaerts, J.D. Martinez, Nathan Eovaldi, Michael Wacha, Rich Hill, Matt Strahm, Tommy Pham, Eric Hosmer, Franchy Cordero, Abraham Almonte, Eduard Bazardo, Tyler Danish, Jeter Downs, Darwinzon Hernandez, Easton McGee, Connor Seabold, Matt Barnes, Josh Taylor, Franklin German, Thad Ward, Noah Song
This millennium has been a rollercoaster ride for the Red Sox, who’ve won four World Series titles but also finished last in the AL East five times. That’s been true in recent years as well. After that fourth title in 2018, ownership seemed determined to cut payroll, which eventually led to Mookie Betts and David Price getting traded to the Dodgers. That preceded one of those last place finishes in 2020. Though the club surprised with a postseason berth in 2021, they were back down in the basement in 2022.
It seemed possible that an offseason of big changes was in store after that disappointing campaign. A decent chunk of the roster was headed for free agency, with the rotation set to lose Nathan Eovaldi, Michael Wacha and Rich Hill. Slugger J.D. Martinez was also on the verge of departing after five years in Boston. But the most notable potential loss was Xander Bogaerts, who had been the club’s shortstop for the previous decade, helping them win two championships and emerging as one of the better players in the league.
Bogaerts had already agreed to one extension with the Sox, back in April of 2019, a six-year, $120MM deal that ran through 2025. However, it contained an opt-out provision for the shortstop after 2022, at which point he would have three years and $60MM remaining on it. Given his tremendous talent, he would easily be able to top that on the open market, making the decision to opt out an easy one. The club reportedly made a cursory attempt to extend Bogaerts by adding one year and $30MM to his existing deal last spring, but that still didn’t come close to his true worth.
Bogaerts triggered his opt-out, becoming a free agent and part of the “Big Four” shortstops alongside Trea Turner, Carlos Correa and Dansby Swanson. MLBTR predicted Bogaerts could secure $189MM over seven years, more than double the four years and $90MM the Red Sox were effectively offering with that extension. Bogaerts proved to be quite popular, garnering interest from teams like the Cubs, Twins, Blue Jays and others. The Red Sox apparently made an effort to bring him back, but he ultimately signed with the Padres for $280MM over 11 years, blowing past what he left on the table in Boston and most predictions. It was also well beyond the last ditch effort of the Red Sox, which was reportedly in the $160MM range.
This left many of the club’s fans in a worrisome position. They had now watched two superstars depart in a short amount of time, with the Betts trade and now Bogaerts. On top of that, a third domino seemed ready to fall in the not-too-distant future, as Rafael Devers was slated for free agency after 2023. Given the way things played out with the first two players, it would have been fair to dread that the same would play out again with the third baseman. But the Sox didn’t want that to happen, so they made sure to lock Devers up, eventually signing him to a massive extension that runs through 2033. The two sides had already agreed to an arbitration-avoiding contract for 2023, so this technically added ten more years and $313.5MM, one of the largest contracts in MLB history. Devers will turn 37 just as that contract is winding down, so it’s entirely possible that he eventually spends his entire career in Boston.
While those Bogaerts and Devers storylines were playing out, the Sox were very busy elsewhere on the roster. They made another meaningful splash by adding NPB star Masataka Yoshida. The club is evidently quite enamored of the outfielder, as their contract went well beyond most projections and led to criticism after the final numbers were revealed. The $90MM guarantee also results in a $15.375MM posting free to the Orix Buffaloes, bringing Boston’s total commitment to $105.375MM. There’s little doubting that Yoshida can hit, as he produced a .326/.419/.538 batting line during his time in Japan. But there are questions about whether his contact-over-power style will play in North America. His defense is also a weak point, as he only played 39 games in the outfield last year, spending the rest as the designated hitter. Fenway Park is perhaps a good landing spot for him, given the small range in front of the Green Monster in left, but it’s still a gamble.
The Sox clearly felt is was necessary to bolster a lineup that had lost both Bogaerts and Martinez. Yoshida will hopefully help some, but they also brought in Justin Turner. Since Martinez signed with the Dodgers, him and Turner have effectively swapped places. For the Sox, they’re getting a player with a bit more versatility since Martinez has been taking the field less and less, serving as designated hitter only in 2022. Turner will likely be in that role a lot, but he can at least take a corner infield spot on occasion. However, he’s also three years older and is coming off an inconsistent season where he slumped at the beginning but finished on a hot streak.
The rotation also needed addressing, with the aforementioned losses of Eovaldi, Hill and Wacha. The Sox did make one move to cover for those losses, bringing in Corey Kluber on a modest one-year, $10MM deal plus incentives. The two-time Cy Young winner lost most of 2019 and 2020 due to injuries but has been healthier of late. He made 16 starts for the Yankees in 2021 and then 31 for the Rays last year. His 4.34 ERA wasn’t exactly a match for his previous career highs, though he showed he can pitch well enough in the “crafty veteran” phase of his career now that his previous power arsenal is diminished.
That turned out to be the lone move to address the rotation, as it seems the Sox will largely rely on in-house improvements there. A return to form from Chris Sale would be a big one, as he’s hardly pitched over the past three years due to various injuries. It’s a similar situation for James Paxton, who didn’t pitch at all last year and triggered a player option to stick in Boston for 2023. He’s already on the injured list this year due to a hamstring strain but will hopefully be back before too long. It’s also hoped that younger pitchers can take steps forward. Garrett Whitlock and Tanner Houck have each done some starting and some bullpen work but neither has been fully established as a proper big league starter. 2023 figures to be a test case for both, though Whitlock is on the injured list for now while still ramping up from last year’s hip surgery. Brayan Bello was a highly-touted prospect who made his debut last year. His 4.71 ERA wasn’t amazing but he did get grounders at a solid 55.7% rate. Like Whitlock and Houck, this year should afford him the chance to prove himself as a viable starter, though he’s also starting the season on the IL due to some forearm tightness.
The bullpen was seemingly more of a focus than the rotation, which is understandable given the club’s relievers had a 4.59 ERA last year, placing them 26th in the league in that category. The Sox made a pair of sizeable investments to bring in two very good relievers. Kenley Jansen got two years and $32MM while Chris Martin got $17.5MM over the same two-year span. Jansen has been one of the best closers in baseball for over a decade now, while Martin has somewhat quietly been excellent himself in recent years. Southpaw Joely Rodriguez was also brought aboard on a much more modest deal, though he’s currently on the shelf due to an oblique strain.
In addition to those signings, there was much shuffling of chairs. Matt Strahm became a free agent while Matt Barnes, Josh Taylor, Darwinzon Hernandez, Franklin German and Easton McGee were all shipped out in various trades. Richard Bleier came the other way in the Barnes deal while the club also acquired Wyatt Mills. Time will tell whether that game of musical chairs was helpful, but the additions of Jansen and Martin should bolster the group.
Most of these moves happened before the calendar flipped over to 2023 and the roster was starting to come together, but the club got some bad news that led to numerous domino effects. It was reported in January that Trevor Story had an internal brace procedure on his right elbow. That’s a modified version of Tommy John that generally has a lesser recovery time, but only slightly. Story could make a late return but will miss most of 2023. Signed to a six-year deal going into 2022, it seems like the plan all along was to have Story play second base for one year and then move over to shortstop once Bogaerts left. That plan is now on hold and the Sox had to pivot over the last month or so before Spring Training.
It would eventually come to be realized that the post-Story plan is to have Enrique Hernández come in from center field to take over at short. He played in 100 games at shortstop coming into 2023 but they were scattered over many seasons in his role as a utility player as he’d never had a full-time gig there. To cover the vacated center field position, they signed Adam Duvall and Raimel Tapia, each of whom had just 75 games played at that position coming into the season. Christian Arroyo will be taking over at second. That’s his primary position but he’s primarily been a bench player in the majors, never topping 87 games played in a season. His defense at the keystone is graded well but he hasn’t really shown the ability to be much more than a league average hitter in his career.
The fallout from Story’s injury leaves the club with fairly unproven options at three up-the-middle positions. That’s true behind the plate as well, where they will be without Christian Vázquez for the first time in years. He was traded to the Astros at last year’s deadline and then signed with the Twins in free agency. The club opened this year with just a pair of backstops on their roster in Reese McGuire and Connor Wong. The latter opened the season with 33 games of major league experience. McGuire has 230 career games but mostly in a backup role, as last year’s 89 games are a career high. Jorge Alfaro was brought aboard via a minor league deal but has yet to crack the roster.
There’s also going to be an unproven option at first base, though one with much more reason for excitement. Triston Casas debuted late in 2022 and hit five home runs in 27 games while walking in 20% of his trips to the plate. Casas is one of the top prospects in the league, and the Sox were confident enough in letting him take over the position that they released Eric Hosmer. Hosmer had been acquired from the Padres at last year’s deadline, with the Friars eating all his salary and sending a couple prospects to Boston. It cost the the Red Sox nothing to let him go, though it still acted as a vote of confidence in Casas.
All in all, there’s plenty of talent on the roster but also plenty of uncertainty. The four up-the-middle positions are all being covered by guys with question marks around their viability, which left field and first base manned by rookies. There are reasons to doubt Alex Verdugo in right field as well as his performance has tailed off in each of the past two seasons. Then there’s the rotation, which is counting on a lot of bounce-backs and step-forwards.
The silver lining of all this roster turnover is that the Sox will get a parting gift from Bogaerts and Eovaldi, as both players turned down qualifying offers before signing elsewhere. However, even in that case, the silver isn’t quite as shiny as it could have been. The Sox did some selling at the deadline last year, including the aforementioned Vázquez trade, but ultimately stopped short of a true selloff. Partially as a result of that, they ended up about $4.5MM over the luxury tax line. That only led to about $900K in taxes but it diminishes what they will receive for the departure of Bogaerts and Eovaldi. Their return would have been one extra draft pick per player just before the third round of the upcoming draft, but those will now be moved to after the fourth round, a drop of over 60 spots. The club seems to be in good position to reset their luxury tax status this year, as their CBT number is currently at $221MM, per Roster Resource. That’s well shy of this year’s lowest threshold of $233MM.
How would you grade the Red Sox’ offseason? (Link to poll)
In conjunction with the Red Sox offseason review, we hosted a Red Sox-focused chat on April 3. You can click here to read the transcript.
redsox for_life
Will be last in 2023! Bloom and Cora fired by the allstar game
Dumpster Divin Theo
Nope
Fever Pitch Guy
Just $4.5M over the threshold last year … it’s still absolutely mindboggling the front office could lose track of the payroll like that. They paid a big price for doing so.
GASoxFan
Its also absolutely mind-boggling that the club has spend the amount of money it has over the past 4 seasons with the results its gotten to show for it, or, that any gm keeps their job after such a showing…. but here we are.
all in the suit that you wear
Fever: I don’t think the draft picks dropping is that big of a deal. The players the Red Sox drafted the last two years at 40 and 41 are very much lottery tickets. I think players drafted at the end of the first round are often lottery tickets. Michael Chavis comes to mind.
User 781115931
It’s not the biggest deal but it’s certainly a misstep. They gambled by adding Pham and not trading JD and it didn’t pay off. The two 2nd round comp picks and extra $1 M in bonus pool could have been very valuable with how deep this year’s draft class is. They could still add a solid prospect with one of the 4th-round picks, possibly a decent college player who falls to day 2, but it’s still worse than the former scenario.
The lottery ticket description is more fitting of a 17 year old international free agent or a late round relief pick. 40-45 FV types are certainly a tier or two above the typical lottery ticket and make great trade capital at the very least. Just because they aren’t a blue chip, slam-dunk big leaguer doesn’t mean they are a lottery ticket.
all in the suit that you wear
Fletcher: I agree with all you say. Yes, it was a misstep, but not the end of the world. I’ve seen so many prospects drafted after the 1st round fail, they are lottery tickets to me. Calling them lottery tickets is a way to remind myself a 1st round pick could be a bust and a 5th round pick could be a Mookie Betts.
JoeBrady
Its also absolutely mind-boggling that the club has spend the amount of money it has over the past 4 seasons with the results its gotten to show for it,
============================
Stop blaming DD. He did win a WS.
Fever Pitch Guy
suit – You could be right, but what about the $1M in international bonus money lost?
And they couldn’t sign a free agent who rejected a QO because if they did sign them, they’d lose their 2nd and 5th picks in the draft.
all in the suit that you wear
Fever: I agree it hurts a bit. The only recent free agent I wish they signed is Kyle Schwarber. He do be the DH this year.
all in the suit that you wear
could be the DH this year
SweetBabyRayKingsThickThighs
Solid 68 win team
Dumpster Divin Theo
Given the state, 69 might be more apropos
YourDreamGM
C I guess. Good move not paying Bogaerts. Didn’t like Devers extension. They filled out the team. Nice upside with guys who could have a nice year.
GASoxFan
Eh… I suppose they have got upside compared to cadavers, but, you’d expect some similarities given the playing careers of a majority of the new faces have one foot in the grave.
Dumpster Divin Theo
For a second there I misread your faces comment and transposed an “e” for the “a”
AverageCommenter
I can’t wait to see all of the Red Sox “Fans” in the comments thinking this team is the worst thing they’ve ever seen
GASoxFan
After such an inspiring opening day performance by guys like kluber, Ort, and brasier?
Mi Casas es tu Casas
On the bright side bogey is 4 for 7 uh nevermind
Fever Pitch Guy
Remove – Xander is now 5-for-10, and hit his first homerun yesterday.
I’m so happy for the guy, he is finally in a place where he’s appreciated by ownership and management.
GASoxFan
Anyone else like how the staff here tried to minimize the downgrade of the pick due to blooms ineptitude by using a moving bench post?
“Their return would have been one extra draft pick per player just before the third round of the upcoming draft, but those will now be moved to after the fourth round”
It’s like the psychology behind people more willing to pay 29.99 for an item than 30.00.
Either you say one pick per before the third round, but will now be before the fifth round; or, you say one more pick following the second round, but will now be after the fourth round.
In the average persons mind, you see the use of consecutive numbers, and the difference seems a lot smaller.
Or, in other words, how big of a difference do you perceive between these ranges;
paying $400,001 vs $299,999
or,
paying $399,999 vs $300,001
The difference in the ranges between those examples? $4. Seems like more though doesn’t it?
But it’s the same manipulation being made here. And when I see that clear bias coming through, it needs to be called out.
YourDreamGM
Too complicated for me. What do I carry to get the $4?
YourDreamGM
Yes! It seems like a lot more!
bronxmac77
How about a pi (π) to the face, professor?
JoeBrady
How about a pi (π) to the face
============================
for bein’ a sleepy bull toad?
all in the suit that you wear
GASoxFan: “And when I see that clear bias coming through, it needs to be called out.”
Start by calling out your own bias.
GASoxFan
Oh? Care to show me somewhere I deliberately manipulated data to create a false impression suit?
YourDreamGM
@all in the suit that you wear Yeah. Show us an example.
all in the suit that you wear
GASoxFan: You openly say you hate Bloom and the front office. I don’t think you can be objective when you hate.
GASoxFan
I see. So no evidence whatsoever Suit. That’s what I thought.
all in the suit that you wear
GASoxFan: I’m pointing out your professed hate so people can consider that when they read your posts.
all in the suit that you wear
GASoxFan: It should also be pointed out that I never mentioned data manipulation. You attempted to change the subject and create a gotcha.
GASoxFan
Suit, there’s nothing to create. I said a certain thing needed to be called out. You said I needed to be called out for it. Then, when you had no proof I ever did it, you tried to shift the conversation. End of story.
GASoxFan
Suit – you confuse causation and correlation.
I don’t post what I do against this front and PBO because I hate them.
I hate this PBO because of his job performance and the moves he makes, his poor judgment, and lack of advanced planning and the execution of plans.
When the latter is the case. As it is with me, you can be objective and still hate a guy for what he has done to a franchise, and, how he treated the talent on the team.
There is a difference, so, don’t conflate the two
all in the suit that you wear
GAsoxFan: It is very clear above. I quoted you calling out someone for bias. That is all I did because it is absurd for someone as biased as you to call out someone for bias. You must know the difference between bias and data manipulation. I never mentioned data manipulation which you wanted proof of. Very obvious.
Hate (noun) – intense hostility and aversion usually deriving from fear, anger, or sense of injury
No, I don’t believe you can hate and also be objective. You can’t even be objective in this conversation where I called you biased from the beginning and said nothing about data manipulation.
GASoxFan
Suit – you’re making a judgment call as to objectivity without any proof there either. So let’s engage on that point.
Show me proof where objectivity was compromised by some bias? You’re saying you’ve got some belief bias must exist, but, where is your proof?
Again, causation vs correlation. I hate the guy based on empirical evidence of his body of work. That’s not bias.
all in the suit that you wear
GASoxFan: I believe you are biased/not objective based on reading many of your posts. It looks like you look to frame things as negatively as possible. That is my assessment/judgement after reading you for a long time. I think it is likely impossible to prove like many things in life, but we still need to make assessments and move forward.
bronxmac77
Excellent discourse.
Kind of like a truckload of fertilizer (horseshit) to help a potted plant.
Buzz Killington
Bloom is Doomed
bronxmac77
Everybody is tied for first!
Well, almost.
bronxmac77
What’s with all the Bloom Doom and Gloom?
RSmith
Boston has a handful of vocal ‘fans’, who love to hate everything. Its led by sports talk radio, the scourge of media. They’ve even begun hating on Bill Belichick. 6 SBs isn’t good enough for these fans, they need to be better.
The sad part is players take notice, and say ‘wtf’ and want out of town fast as seen recently by Jalen Brown of the Celtics:
nypost.com/2023/03/18/jaylen-brown-on-celtics-extr…
And in their mind they think they’re criticism helps build a better team, Lol.
Mi Casas es tu Casas
If fans are content with a last place team then what kind of team you think ownership will provide genius
RSmith
“Genius” — Thank you!
I dont think Im that smart, but appreciate the compliment!
KD17
Bronxmac77 = Take a look at the tale of the tape
Bloom has downgraded every position except Devers
C – Vazquez to Moe and Curly
1B – Moreland to DD’s Casas OR senior citizen Justin Turner
2B – Pedroia to Arroyo
SS – Bogarts to Cora’s best friends son who is O for the year and .239 in Boston
3B – Devers at $1MM to Devers at $31MM
LF – Benny to Yoshida
CF – JBJ to Duvall (closest comparison, may not be a down grade. We’ll see)
RF – Mookie to Verdugo
DH – JD to JT
Doom and Gloom is not people hating on Bloom it’s people hating on what Bloom has done since he arrived in Boston. He transformed a championship team to a AAA team. Perfect justification for Doom and Gloom.
RSmith
You gave DD credit for Casas, who has yet to do anything at all. Lol. That left Bloom to fill 25 other positions of the team. 1 player on the roster from 4 years of drafting and Int. signings. Thats pathetic. And if he traded away some players, please point out where they are in the league prospering.
DD gutted the system (traded 31 prospects) and left the team over the cap for 2 years consecutive. That leaves the next GM with a huge hole, when the only prospect worth anything is hopefully Casas. Never seen a GM leave such a blight of young talent.
Tigers3232
That is what DD does. He comes in and leverages an organizations assets to go all in at the present. He then moves on leaving the carcass behind.
RSmith
Spoken like a true Marlins/Tigers/Red Sox fan and Phillies fan 4 years from now.
Its great DD won a WS for Boston. But, you cant blame the next guy for at least 5 years.
Tigers3232
Yes at this point you can. Once maybe twice is an anomaly, there is clearly a pattern this point with DD ran teams.
RSmith
You could see he tried to buck the image with Phillies, when he first got there. But, now he’s going in that direction. Over the Threshold, 26th ranked farm system. Phillies will be in the same boat as his other former teams, in a couple of years.
prospects1500.com/milb/2023-mlb-farm-system-rankin…
RSmith
“Vazquez to Moe and Curly”
Is that what you consider an “educate”d comment? Sorry to inform you, this is a public forum, when you say things like that, expect a clap back.
JoeBrady
The best defense against having other posters pointing out one’s errors is to not make them to begin with. Otherwise, all comments are fair game. And that is how it should be.
Tigers3232
@KD, if you don’t care to have discourse on baseball maybe u should avoid commenting on a baseball website….
@bogie2X
C – Vazquez > McGuire, Wong
1B – Moreland = Casas
2B – Nunez, Chavis Kike
LF – Benny = Yoshida
RF – Betts > Verdugo
CF – JBJ < Duvall
DH – JD < JT
RSmith
Why are you comparing a championship team to 2023’s?
Let me give it a try
Ruth > Betts
Gehrig >j Moreland
Lazzeri > Nunez
Koenig = Bogaerts
Combs > Benny
Meusel > JBJ
Devers > Dugans
Youre right that was fun. Which team do we do next?
@bogie2X
rsmith
I answered KD17, he compared the level of talent that was in 2019 and level of talent that we have in 2023 and I didn’t agree with some positions :
C – Vazquez better than McGuire, Wong.
1B – Moreland = Casas (I think although, that potential of Casas higher what at Moreland ).
2B – Nunez,Chavis Kike.
3B – Devers 11.2 / 17.5.
LF – Benny = Yoshida.
RF – Betts > Verdugo.
CF – JBJ < Duvall.
DH – JD < JT ( Turner better now what Martinez, he can play the first base, third base, in spite of 38 age, JD limited to the appointed beatings and he lost by leader exchanges for the last 3 seasons in a difference from Justin).
I consider that in this season Red Sox will very surprise from the positive side of many ill-wishers and on attacking and to pitcher potential this command better what last year.
Angry Disgruntled Sox Fan
Clearly a C. No major improvements aside from the bullpen but filled on some gaps. Still think we could do really well
KD17
Let’s list all the changes not just the positives
OFFENSE – Major downgrade. Could score half as many runs in 2023
DEFENSE – Hard to believe such a bad defense could get worse but it did.
STARTING PITCHERS – If Sale is healthy and pitches well that’s a big upgrade but the loss of Eovaldi and Wacha should be very painful after watching Kluber on opening day.
RELIEF PITCHING – Two big adds in Jansen and Martin
Overall – BIG DOWN GRADE. Will need last year’s offense or maybe the 2018 offense to win enough games to make the playoffs. That’s just not going to happen.
RSmith
Offense “Major downgrade” — How? Im not saying its better, its about the same but “major” downgrade, lol. (Age matters to me, Verdugo at age 26 should be better than Verdugo at age 25)
2023/2022
Very Close Players:
Kiki > Kiki
Devers = Devers
Yoshida < Bogaerts
Turner Verdugo
McGuire > Dalbec
Duvall >> Bradley
*We know no minor leaguers came up and made a big contribution last year, I would doubt that happens again. (Alfaro, Dalbec, Fitzgerald, Hamilton, Valdez, Abreu, Duran) Somebody will surprise.
Red Sox finished 9th in runs produced in 2022, I expect them to be about the same, this year.
RSmith
The “greater than” and “less than” marks messed up. It deleted several players. Even when I re-edited, it didnt reflect changes.
2023/2022
Kiki ‘better’ Kiki
Devers ‘equal’ Devers
Yoshida ‘less’ Bogaerts
Turner ‘less’ Martinez
Verdugo ‘better’ Verdugo
McGuire ‘less’ Vazquez
Duvall ‘much better’ Bradley
Casas ‘much better’ Dalbec
Arroyo ‘much worse’ Story
*We know no minor leaguers came up and made a big contribution last year, I would doubt that happens again. (Alfaro, Dalbec, Fitzgerald, Hamilton, Valdez, Abreu, Duran, Raphaela) Somebody will surprise. Add to that payroll flexibility: They can add a player with 15M available.
Red Sox finished 9th in runs produced in 2022, I expect them to be about the same, this year.
Angry Disgruntled Sox Fan
Agreed, I think offense will be similar to last year.
Trollfree
RSmith –
It’s now Sept 20th and Boston is 75-78 as I predicted (below .500) and they are 9.5 games out of the wildcard.
Kiki WAS NOT better than Kiki
Devers WAS NOT equal to Devers
Yoshida WAS ACCEPTABLE but DID NOT replace Bogey’s 2022 numbers
Turner DID WELL
Verdugo is still league average
Duvall was hot got hurt and missed most of the season
Casas started badly but was better than Dalbec
Story hardly played
You were wrong once again about the minor league contributions. The DD guys looked awesome and nobody acquired by the late Bloom provide any positive stats for the MLB team.
Interesting you pointed out they were 9th in Runs Scored in 2022 when they finished last in the division.
Here are the numbers from 2015-2022 – NOTE the huge impact of DD
Cherington
2015 – 748 runs 4.62 per game 4th best in baseball
DD
2016 – 878 runs 5.42 per game Best in baseball
Papi Retires
2017 – 785 runs 4.85 per game 10th best
Add JD
2018 – 876 runs, 5.41 per game Best in baseball
The only year DD didn’t win the division
2019 – 901 runs,, 5.56 per game 4th best (Cora killed the pitching staff)
This is the productivity of the team Bloom inherited. Bad 2019 due to Cora’s screw-up in Spring Training impacting the pitching but the hitting was still elite.
Enter butthead Bloom
2020 – 292 runsl, 4.87 per game 11th best (worst rank in a decade)
2021 – 829 runs, 5.12 per game 5th best (Only wildcard by Bloom)
2022 – 735 runs, 4.54 per game 9th best (last place in division)
2023 – 744 runs, 4.89 per game 8th best (with 9 games left last again)
Back in April you made these comments in response to these comments by me.
Let’s list all the changes not just the positives
OFFENSE – Major downgrade. Could score half as many runs in 2023
DEFENSE – Hard to believe such a bad defense could get worse but it did.
STARTING PITCHERS – If Sale is healthy and pitches well that’s a big upgrade but the loss of Eovaldi and Wacha should be very painful after watching Kluber on opening day.
RELIEF PITCHING – Two big adds in Jansen and Martin
Overall – BIG DOWN GRADE. Will need last year’s offense or maybe the 2018 offense to win enough games to make the playoffs. That’s just not going to happen.
With hindsight lets evaluate the comments:
Offense stayed about the same in the rankings
Defense got worse as I suggested it would
Pitching – Loss of Eovaldi and Wacha was devastating and the addition of Kluber was a huge misteke. Sale and Paxton together made for one SP good season not two.
The offense wasn’t enough to off set the bad defense and bad pitching.
The predictions you so heavily criticized turned out to be spot on.
If you go through all the comments this season you will find just how many times we disagreed and how you were wrong 99% of the time.
Facts are always better than opinions.
Angry Disgruntled Sox Fan
You came here just to post someone was wrong? Geez
RSmith
Are you off your meds? What are you talking about?
Angry Disgruntled Sox Fan
Did I not say we still have gaps? My response was clearly not one sided. Ironic enough, you claim that and post all negatives.
DBH1969
Honestly, I voted ‘D’ because I look at what led up to the off season.
Long before the salaries exploded, the FO could have signed Xander for the 25-27 mils range. Fans would have been happy. Xander would have been happy. The dude just wanted some respect and that crappy offer was just insulting. You don’t treat your home grown stars that way.
Trade deadline. Terrible. Not trading JD, Elovaldi, etc. Going over the threshold by only 4.5 mils (I blame taking on the JBJ contract), etc. The F.O. so poorly managed the trade deadline that they started the off season with an F.
Losing Ward to rule 5 really soured my milk. He’s not going to be elected to the HoF next tuesdsay, but the dude has a bright future. Letting him walk for players that we held on to only to DFA was idiotic. Brasier? Really? Watched the opener, and heard the new spin on that one. We kept him because he throws strikes. Really? Since when?
Argh. Sorry, getting off on a tangent.
The off season signings, I will go with a C.. Not great, But there was a lot of silly contracts that I am happy that we didn’t complete with.
All in all, we have a team that will spend most of the time on the IL. There will be a revolving door in the E.R. at Boston General Hospital. Typical Bloom signings. Dumpster diving like there dumpsters are going extinct.
And lets be honest. Baltimore looks like the better team. They will finish ahead of us.
The one bright spot is that we will get to some of our younger players come into their won. Other than that… Meh.
Anyways, just my opinions. Hope you all have a good day!
RSmith
“FO could have signed Xander for the 25-27 mils range”
When was that 2019 or 20? Gimme a break.
“Trade deadline. Terrible. Not trading JD, Elovaldi”
Eovaldi was injured and JD signed for 5mil. Red Sox wouldve gotten very little back for 2 months of these question marks.
“Letting Ward walk for players that we held on to only to DFA was idiotic.”
Clearly you dont understand the rules. As of right now, Ward still has a chance to return to Boston, every player DFA is gone for good. If your options are claimed by Rule V or DFA, a GM would always chose Rule V.
“And lets be honest. Baltimore looks like the better team”
Base on what 1 game? No one can predict that, those two teams are very close.
Fever Pitch Guy
DBH – it’s a fact Xander would have signed a $160M extension one year ago.
That’s only $20M more than what they gave Story.
I think most would agree Xander is worth AT LEAST $20M more than Story.
DBH1969
At least that, Fever. At least that!
FenwayFanatic
I’m just tired of the Red Sox sucking while losing all their best players except Devers
SGva
I’m now beginning to think that keeping Brasier and putting Ort on the opening day roster merely qualified them as expendable place holders.. As soon as Joely Rodriguez and Whitlock are ready to be activated, Brasier will be released (assuming no options left) and Ort will be sent down to Worcester. When Bello is ready, someone else goes. I had thought that putting Sherriff on the team made way more sense than either Brasier or Ort but that would have required dropping someone from the 40 man roster in order to add him. Of course, that someone should have been Brasier so still puzzled by his spot on the roster.
all in the suit that you wear
SG: Makes sense. Sherriff may eventually join the team. He is at AAA now.
Fever Pitch Guy
suit – No chance Brasier gets released before June, not with that $2M contract.
Remember they held onto Robles until July last year, even though he was God-awful.
all in the suit that you wear
Fever: Maybe, but I don’t see how they could keep Brasier and Ort if they continue to struggle.
Mi Casas es tu Casas
Cora and bloom don’t make changes first 2 months when millions are involved
Fever Pitch Guy
suit – They will do what they usually do, keep Brasier only for low-leverage situations or find a phantom injury.
Who knows, maybe they will find another team willing to take on the contract … Mets?
all in the suit that you wear
Fever: Yeah. Brasier probably gets a little more time to right the ship and then he should be gone. If they got someone to take Diekman, maybe someone will take Brasier. Although Diekman is a LHP.
Fever Pitch Guy
suit – There’s always teams who think they can acquire and “fix” pitchers. Especially pitchers who have been successful in the past, which he has (albeit not since 2018).
GaryWarriorsRedSox
In regards to the deadline moves, if I remember correctly I think there was a conversation with the players and they wanted to give it a legitimate shot with the team they had and make a run for the playoffs.
The players thought they were that close and didn’t want Bloom to sell at the deadline. So Bloom went with the players, made a couple tweaks, and sold off a couple guys but not everyone. If I remember correctly that’s how it went.
Can’t fault him for that. Maybe like a player’s coach, he’s a player’s President of Ops? Even if it cost a 60 spot drop in the draft order compensation for lost free agents?
all in the suit that you wear
Good point Gary. I also think no team was willing to take on the significant remaining salaries of Eovaldi and JD Martinez at the trade deadline.
Fever Pitch Guy
suit – Not sure if you remember, it was confirmed the Mets were ready to take on JDM but Bloom was asking for too much talent in return.
all in the suit that you wear
Fever: I guess the Mets did not want to give up a lot of talent if they were taking on JD’s remaining salary. So, I think Bloom gets bashed either way. If he dumps salary for a weak return, he get bashed for the return. He doesn’t make the deal, he gets bashed, for not dumping the salary.
JoeBrady
Given the fact that the Mets made virtually no trades last year, I’m guessing that they weren’t interested in giving up any talent.
Fever Pitch Guy
suit – I dunno, JD wasn’t having his usual great season and there were injury concerns. I think a weak return would have been acceptable to RSN, for the full salary dump.
Fever Pitch Guy
Joe – Considering the Mets were 65-37 at the trade deadline and were a lock for the postseason, there was no need to trade talent for a rental. That doesn’t excuse Bloom for not accepting a lesser player or two when dumping JD’s salary was so important at the time.
JoeBrady
Considering the Mets were 65-37 at the trade deadline and were a lock for the postseason, there was no need to trade talent for a rental.
================================
Exactly my point,
Fever Pitch Guy
Joe – Glad we agree yet again on that, but I don’t believe you stated whether Bloom should have taken weak talent to dump the salary.
I say he should have, that was MY point.
JoeBrady
I gave him a “C”. Of course, that’s based on me wanting Verlander or DeGrom, so I’m not sure about that one.
KD17
To grade the off season one must go back to the objectives of a GM.
1 – Build a strong starting defense and offense
2 – Build depth to reduce the fall off when injuries happen.
3 – Build a starting staff that minimizes base runners
4 – Build a versatile relief staff that can put out early fires and stop late inning fires
1 – Grade F – Bloom failed to build a strong defense and offense. He released multiple all-stars and replaced them with league average players (at best). He replaced the few good defenders he had with bad defenders This objective was not met and in fact the team stepped backward in achieving this objective.
2 – Grade C – Bloom is focused on building cheap depth. Cheap does not equate to solid or even good depth, it’s just more average to below average players at low prices. The team didn’t regress in this area so I gave him a C.
3 – Grade D – Last year Bloom surprised folks with the acquisition of Wacha who performed much better than expected. But like Renefroe and Schwarber in the past, the success story is released at years end and a lesser player is brought in for more money. It’s a perfect example of why Bloom is failing. Paying more for less talent. Wacha vs Kluber? Wacha’s 2022 should have tipped the scale to Wacha. Paxton was simply a huge mistake and if he doesn’t pitch this year, I wouldn’t be shocked. Bloom had many young pitchers baptized under fire last year and that was a risky move. Will Winch, Bello, Crawford and Whitlock bounce back from their 2022 experience? Let’s hope so. The pitching is the current strength of the Red Sox and it’s future.
4 Grade A – The bullpen additions of Jansen and Martin were outstanding. If Bloom could have matched his fulfillment of need the same way at hitting that he did at relief pitching this team might not be destined for a 65-75 win season.
My final grade for Bloom is D. It would have been an F had Jansen and Martin not been added. The impact of two relievers after giving up so much hitting will be minimized but to be fair to Bloom, whether the two excellent pick-ups make a difference or not, they are still excellent pick-ups that add to his overall grade.
With so little money left under the newly expanded CAP, you have to ask why the bang for the buck is so low under Bloom. Yes, he took the money paid to all-stars and paid it to multiple average to below league average players creating a sub standard large volume depth but does that win games versus talent? I say no and that’s why I believe a new GM is the most critical add Boston can make at this point.
all in the suit that you wear
KD: You did not mention that part of a GM’s job is to plan for the future. Resigning older players like Xander, Eovaldi and JD Martinez would leave the team older and uncompetitive in the near future in my opinion. Resigning a younger player like Devers was a better move.
Fever Pitch Guy
suit – You know Xander is just 45 days older than Story, right? LOL!
all in the suit that you wear
Fever: I didn’t like the Story signing as I’ve said before. Luckily he is signed for 5 less years than Xander.
Fever Pitch Guy
Suit – I know you’ve said that, I’m just surprised you included him in your list of “older” players that you’re glad weren’t re-signed.
Signing Xander instead of Story was easily the right thing to do prior to the 2022 season. The craziness of Xander’s new contract never would have happened if he hadn’t entered free agency.
all in the suit that you wear
Fever: I conceded to KD that Bogaerts won’t be older for probably 4 years, but I could be wrong. It would be great if they could have signed Bogaerts to a 6 year deal similar to Story’s deal. However, I think Bogaerts really wanted to test free agency and see if someone would give him a deal that included some years past his prime and I think that’s what he got. I’m pretty confident Boras would push him that way. This was Bogaerts best chance for a lucrative, long-term contract and I think he would have been crazy to sign a second team friendly deal with the Red Sox.
Fever Pitch Guy
suit – I can only go by the reports from people who were close to him. $160M would have been market value for his age, and $70M more than what they actually offered him. Keep in mind prior to last season Xander was rated a below average defensive SS, he really boosted his value last year with the improved glove.
If you consider $160M 14 months ago as “team friendly”, what do you call the $90M he was offered? LOL
all in the suit that you wear
Fever: It looks like the Red Sox initially did not want to sign him unless he would accept the low $90M offer. Then they eventually offered him $160M I believe right before he signed with SD. So, did the Red Sox change their mind and want to sign him or was it all for show? I admit I am a bit lost about what the Red Sox were thinking. I can’t see why Bogaerts wouldn’t want to test free agency when he could always choose to design with Boston. So, I’m not sure what to believe. Time will tell if it was a good move to let Bogaerts go. I want to go with Mayer at SS.
all in the suit that you wear
resign not design
Fever Pitch Guy
suit – There are mixed reports on Bloom’s $160M free agent offer to Xander.
Some people say it was just a “well we tried to keep him” publicity stunt, while others say Bloom switched gears after his failed attempts to sign other players and he was genuinely stunned when he found out how much the Padres offered Xander. Either way, the $160M was waaaay too late.
BTW – Xander hit ANOTHER homer today. Granted it’s against the Rox, but still he is off to quite a start.
all in the suit that you wear
Fever: I doubt I will ever be unhappy if the Red Sox miss out on a long-term deal to a player 30 years old or older unless he is probably the final piece to a championship team. I am not crazy about the Devers contract. Hopefully he holds up.
Fever Pitch Guy
suit – Fair enough, I do remember you posting that Bloom should avoid all longterm contracts. It’s gonna be hard to acquire or retain top players that way though. Manny, Pedro, etc …. they never would have become Red Sox legends if not for the longterm contracts they received.
all in the suit that you wear
Fever: Yes, that’s true. I’m sure they will sign some players to long contracts. Hopefully, they won’t be paying them longer than age 37 or 38. When the contract goes to age 40 or 41, that seems like a bad idea.
KD17
AITSTYW – You are right I did address only the present because we were talking about what Bloom did in the off season but you are correct planning for the future is a critical aspect of the GM job.
I disagree with you about “older” guys. Bogaerts isn’t an older guy unless you are comparing him to someone younger. He’s in his prime.
It’s a bad philosophy for a GM to live in the future not the present. The priority should be win now and set yourself up to win in the future. Bloom is totally focused on the distant future and DD focused on the present but he built a plan unlike Bloom for the years 2016 to 2022. He built his contracts around that plan and had he not been fired i believe Boston would have more Division Championships today in 2023.
As far as signings go, a wise GM doesn’t get rid of Mookie, Bogey, Benny, Schwarber, Renfroe and Eovaldi to keep a one dimensional self-centered player like Devers at an above market cost. Devers is an excellent hitter but will always be the Butcher of Boston with his defense. He’s an immature base runner who often makes mistakes and he’s not terribly fast so SBs are not a key part of his offensive skills. As a DH, he isn’t worth more than $25MM based on today’s market for DH’s. To pay him more than $5MM over market with his body type is asking for a disaster down the road. Bogaerts will stay in shape longer than Devers. Heck so will Mookie. Yet people justify letting them go because they have big downturns in the future. Devers has the highest likelihood of a big downturn based on his body type. Add to that he’s a defensive liability and Bloom picked the wrong farm system guy to invest in. His age is younger but his future good years are shorter.
Thanks for pointing out the missing piece of the pie. The future is important and I wish Bloom would make an effort to lay out the future of the club like DD did.
We have no long term Catcher, 3B since Devers can’t field, LF unless Yoshida is able to hit MLB pitching, CF and RF on offense. That’s very poor planning on his part. Yoshida is being paid all-star money for a league average player. Mayer and Yorke are the future middle infield but they aren’t a lock since their success levels in the minors so far are less than most average all-star quality players.
You are right the future is key and we went from a guy with a plan to a guy who has been winging it for 3 years. I prefer the plan.
all in the suit that you wear
KD: Maybe Bogaerts has 4 more good years before we call him older, I’ll agree on that. However, I think he will be “older” for the majority of the 11 year contract he signed. I am happy to avoid that kind of contract and I like the approach of going with younger players.
KD17
AITSSTYW – You may be right. I think Bogaerts like Mookie will age well. I base my guess on their body type and conditioning. Devers, on the other hand, has a very bad body type for longevity. Miggy started playing about the age Devers did and really only lasted as an effective hitter to age 33 in 2016. To me it’s the age you start at that dictates the falloff. Trout started at 19 and appears to be fading at 31. Devers started at 20 but came to the states at 17 and played in the minors whereas Trout started at 17 in the minors after the draft in 2009. I liken Devers chances to both Trout’s and Miggy’s even though he’s not the complete player either was.
When guys like Tom Brady who are a lot more similar in focus on health, working out and taking care of his body with Bogey and Mookie than Devers I think it’s fair that the end date will be much later on Bogey and especially Mookie who to me is the closest thing to Brady from a conditioning and eating healthy standpoint. I see Mookie playing at 40 and Bogey at 38 and Devers at 34. Those are their likely endpoints for effective play to me.
Bogey’s contract was a AAV stretch to lower payroll. I believe the team admitted his career probably wouldn’t last past 38 but needed the lower numbers to have room to sign others. Mookie will outlast his current contract. The Dodgers will probably sign him as a DH at age 40!!.
all in the suit that you wear
KD: I am also not crazy about the Devers contract. Hopefully, he does play well to age 34 as you say.
KD17
AITSTYW – If fans can recognize the huge profits being made by the Red Sox they might comprehend what Dombrowski brought to the table. His spending up to the CAP philosophy maximized potential to win without impacting profits. Today the Red Sox line-up should be:
C – Vazquez – better than average performer at a reasonable price
1B – Casas – low cost for the next 3 years then an extension 3 yrs before FA
2B – Short term temp until Yorke or another farm player wins the job
SS – Bogey until Mayer is ready
3B – A young 3B who can field and hit
LF – Benny
CF – Short term temp until a farm player wins the job
RF – Mookie
DH – Devers
The team above would compete for a division title and possibly a ring. It would come in under the CAP and would be sustainable for years.
What I documented above is nothing more than the next logical extension of what DD was trying to do during his time in Boston. For the past three years the ownership would have still made close to $300MM per year and the team would have been more than 4 games over .500 during that time period.
If you insert the current team in the above form you’ll see that the talent is extremely limited and the future still has many of the same players on the horizon. Bloom has performed with training wheels on as he learned what it means to be a big market GM and the fan base has paid for his education. My issue is that 3 years later, he doesn’t seem to have learned anything so what will the next 3 years be like? More of the same? Yipes.
GaryWarriorsRedSox
The job of the GM is to create a winner over time.
KD17
Gary – A bit of word smithing…… create a sustained winner not a winner in the future (ie over time). We need a winner now as much as in the future.
Fever Pitch Guy
KD – Excellent post as always!
Bloom has now had 4 full offseasons. No matter how much the Bloom suckups cry to give him another 3-4 years, John Henry won’t if revenue continues to nosedive.
jdgoat
It’s going to be a long season in Boston, they need to hope their guys on short term deals have good seasons and can be decent trade chips at the deadline.
GaryWarriorsRedSox
You could be right. I think really that all the Red Sox are lacking at this point are Mashers in the Outfield and quality starting pitching.
If you look at first base, second, short, and third and out a couple years those are covered with Rafael Devers, Meyers, Yorke and Casas. Sure that’s assuming these guys pan out but hopefully they will, they’re high draft picks right? And Tristan looks good so far?
So Mashers in the Outfield and starting pitchers and the Red Sox future looks bright. Get some good starters and all these Fringe guys the Red Sox have starting right now can we move to the bullpen. Those moves would make them pretty strong too.
So yes this year might be rough but the Right Moves and in 2 years the Sox are rolling.
KD17
Gary – The idea of the infield you mentioned is not necessarily Bloom’s plan. Bloom has yet to keep a DD guy so Casas may or may not be around. Devers was forced on him so he will be around. Mayer and Yorke are his guys and have done less than superstar jobs while in the minors. Maybe they will end up playing like 1st round picks but their past performances haven’t been at that level.
Mashers in the outfield would be great. Know of any we can get? Yoshida is a slap hitting bad defending foreign player who hasn’t proven he can hit MLB pitching like Japanese pitching. Duvall is a journeyman outfield who has occassional hot streaks and massive cold streaks. Verdugo is an over-hyped Friedman guy who is actually a league average player running out of team control and may want much more than he is worth.
We don’t have mashers today and there are none on the horizon after 3 years with Bloom. In fact, the fall off isn’t great at any position than outfield since Bloom arrived. Mookie, Benny and JBJ to Yoshida, Duvall and Verdugo. That’s like falling off a cliff!!
The only way things turn around in 2 years is if Bloom is gone and a real big market GM is brought in to spend big bucks on all-star quality players and we remove all the below league average cheap guys.
RSmith
“Bloom has yet to keep a DD guy”
You forgot Chris Sale is still in a Red Sox uniform.
Educate us, who are the DD guys Bloom has gotten rid of that are productive in the league? Eovoldi, who else? Chavez?
The list is ridiculously small.
RSmith
“Mookie, Benny and JBJ to Yoshida, Duvall and Verdugo. That’s like falling off a cliff!!”
Not one of those OFers were brought in by DD. Mookie, Benny and JBJ were inherited from previous GMs. DD took over with an awesome OF on the cheap, and the payroll under the cap.
What did DD leave behind for Bloom? Why didnt DD lock up Betts when there was cap space instead of Sale?
acell10
you’re forgetting Houck who is also still on the roster. The majority of those players mentioned pre dated DD.
acell10
another point too is that DD took Mookie to arbitration. That was a huge misstep. Theo Epstein was right to have a policy of not going to arbitration with players.
KD17
rsmith – Sale’s contract isn’t up. When it is he will be gone just like everyone else other than Devers.
DD guys Bloom departed with could be an all-star team:
RF – Mookie Betts (perennial all-star and MVP)
CF – JBJ (weakest guy because Duran was targeted to be his replacement)
LF – Benny (all-star)
3B – NOT DEVERS
SS – Bogey (all-star)
2B = Pedroia (Machado ended his career)
1B – Moreland
C – Vazquez (far better than any catcher on the roster or in the minors)
SP – Price (Cy Young winner)
SP – Eovaldi (#2 SP in Texas who was to be the #3 in Boston before injuries)
SP – Porcello (Cy Young winner)
RP – Kimbrel (all-star closer)
That’s the 2018 World Championship team he has disposed of.
Why in the world do I need to point this out? It’s obvious to most Red Sox fans.
This is why I am asking you a second time to stop responding to my comments. You are simply trying to be antagonistic not someone trying to have a discussion.
KD17
rsmith – I never said they were brought in by DD. Unlike Bloom he was smart enough to recognize their huge value and he kept them rather than sending them elsewhere like Bloom.
The annual payroll for active players was exceeded by Cherington when he contracted Panda, Crawford, Hanley and others. Those contracts lasted beyond Cherington’s time and ownership OWNED them not DD. DD paid less than the cap for the World Series team. Those are the facts.
DD inherited a strong core and recognized it. Betts, Benny and JBJ with Moreland, Peddy, Bogey and a bad Sandoval at 3B. He inherited Wade Miley, Rick Porcello, Joe Kelly, E-Rod and Buckholz as his starting 5 pitchers. That was a terrible staff he inherited.
By opening Day 2016 he upgraded Swihart to Vazquez and Leon, he used Hanley at 1B, had Peddy, Bogey and Shaw filling out the infield and Holt, JBJ and Mookie in the outfield. He added Price to go with Porcello, Buckholz, E-Rod and Steven Wright. He also traded for Pomerantz giving up top rated Anderson Espinoza who STILL hasn’t done anything 7 years later!!
Papi announced in 2016 that it was to be his last year. By year end Benny had taken over LF despite barely being out of college where he won player of the year. The team went 93-69 after being 78-84 in 2015 just like 2022. He created a 15 game turn around in his first year and won the division.
The next year he acquired Sale and realized Papi’s loss was huge so for 2018 he added JD Martinez to fill in for Papi and it worked. They won a RING. That’s a massive success story and you keep slandering the guy with inaccurate statements. You need to look up facts like I have just detailed.
DD wanted to lock up Betts for a fair market price but ownership fought him on it and eventually fired him because Betts had a meeting with ownership where he pointed out their racist actions against specific black players on the team. That prompted ownership to fire DD and give Mookie away rather than fixing their problem That single decision has created the mess that exists today.
DD had a great plan. The first 3 years were executed well and the team won 3 Division titles and a ring and the fourth year was impacted by early key injuries and Mookie’s meeting with ownership. Since then, it’s all been downhill and the bottom of the hill still isn’t in sight.
DD’s track record stands by itself as one of the greatest GM performances in the history of the Red Sox. Bloom’s is just the opposite.
RSmith
Help me understand the rules you are going by KD17. Earlier you said and I quote “DD’s Casas”. I take that as you saying Tristan Casas is a DD guy not a Bloom guy.
To follow the same rules why isnt the 2018 roster consisting of mainly NOT DD guys???
Mookie Betts = Not a DD guy
Jackie Bradley = Not a DD guy
Xander Bogaerts = Not a DD guy
Dustin Pedoria = Not a DD guy
Christian Vazquez = Not a DD guy
Andrew Benintendi = Not a DD guy
Eduardo Rodriguez = Not a DD guy
I just want the rules to stay consistent.
RSmith
Im not reading all that. More words doesnt make you point better, it just makes it more confusing.
When DD took over the team (2016), they were under the cap — Fact. When he left (2019), they were heading to 3 yrs over the cap — Fact.
Running a team with all those great players for cheap money would be very east. Taking over the same players 4 years later at max arbitration levels and walking into free agents WHILE trying to reset the cap is impossible.
I cant teach you how the Salary Threshold works, youll just have to look it up.
Any players you fault for Bloom not signing long-term (especially Betts) wouldve been far easier during DD’s years.
acell10
it takes very little skill to trade all your top prospects for veterans and simply outspend everyone. It’s what DD does.
acell10
can you at least be real about the fact that the only reason Bennintendi made an all star team is because he was on the royals and MLB requires a representative from each team to be in the all star game.
Fever Pitch Guy
Joe – Exactly, my man Houck is pitching a gem today and I fully expect a huge season from him if he stays healthy and is kept in the rotation.
Fever Pitch Guy
Joe – The year before Mookie won his arbitration hearing, he and the Red Sox couldn’t come to terms on a contract for 2017. So the Sox unilaterally renewed Betts with a $950,000 contract — the second-highest one-year deal ever for a non-arbitration-eligible player with two-plus years of big league service.
I’m not defending Dombrowski on the arbitration, but every year Mookie was certainly determined to get every dollar he could.
Fever Pitch Guy
Joe – I can give you plenty of examples where you are totally wrong on the prospects.
For example, the ChiSox wanted Benny AND Devers for Sale. Dombrowski managed to keep them both, trading Kopech and Moncada instead. Obviously he made the right decision on that one.
If you look back at his trade history with the Sox, the players he traded pretty much never panned out. And today the Sox still have Houck, Casas, Ceddanne, Duran, Bello etc ….
JoeBrady
Fever Pitch Guy2 hours ago
Joe – I can give you plenty of examples where you are totally wrong on the prospects. For example, the ChiSox wanted Benny AND Devers for Sale. Dombrowski managed to keep them both, trading Kopech and Moncada instead.
===========================
I never said anything like that. You need to slow down a little.
RSmith
Have you seen how Moncada’s been hitting? The further into the future we get, the worse and worse that trade looks.
DD is a big fan of the Talking Heads, Burning Down The House.
KD17
rsmith – The discussion has been about what Bloom started with and prior to Bloom it was DD. It has nothing to do with MLB players and their origins many many years ago. It’s what Bloom inherited from DD. Nothing suggests that DD originally acquired any of them because that’s not relevant.
DD happened to select Casas in the draft but he also left him for Bloom to inherit. That’s why Casas is a DD guy not a guy acquired by Bloom.
Nobody ever discussed the origin of the players. It’s not relevant to the point of what Bloom inherited versus what he acquired.
RSmith
“Nobody ever discussed the origin of the players”
You did when you claimed “Casas is a DD guy” not a Bloom guy. You give DD credit when Bloom inherits a guy, then you call Betts, Bogaerts, Devers, etc. “DD guys”, even though he inherited them. I dont see how you dont see your hypocrisy.
The two GMs walked into 2 different situations. Cap wise, talent wise, and cost of players wise. To try to compare the two situations makes no sense.
KD17
rsmith – Please stop responding to my comments. You don’t read them thoroughly and clearly you don’t comprehend them. Your whole thing on who signed players versus the actual point of whether they were on the roster when Bloom arrived or not is sufficient evidence you aren’t comprehending what is being written.
I sure wish the world was a simple as you try to make it.
Cherington over spent and created lame duck contracts called RETAINED PAYROLL. It is payroll that needs to be paid into the future without the player being on the team. Those MISTAKES are bookkeeping entries that are caused by bad decisions by Cherington and Ownership. They had nothing to do with DD. Those are the facts.
As an experienced GM I’m sure DD told ownership that if they wanted him to build a winning team he would need to use the money under the cap to do so. He did EXACTLY that. The RETAINED PAYROLL was against the previous GM. So when Boston went over the CAP it was on CHERINGTON and OWNERSHIP not DD. It’s just that simple. It’s called accounting!!!!
DD doesn’t control the purse strings so he can’t be held accountable for previous debt incurred by Cherington.
You clearly DON’T understand anything about the many different levels of the threshold. Let me suggest you read the CBA, either the current one or the previous one so you can wrap your mind around how it works.
Your comment about signing players for big bucks would have been easier under DD is an over simplification once again. You could sign any player to big bucks from the day you draft him but you don’t because you don’t know what they will do in the distant future.
The Red Sox organization favored Swihart over Mookie because they were completely inept under Cherington. By the time DD got Mookie he had already had one year where he finished 19th in the MVP vote and his first year with DD he finished 2nd to Trout. The cat was out of the bag by then.
To win a championship, DD needed to spend and get key pitching (you saw the old staff he started with) and a replacement for Papi. Those were more critical to the success of the team than locking down Mookie at the time. DD had things under control until Mookie confronted management about racism. That blew things up and created the end of the Red Sox as we knew them.
Your hindsight logic is great. Too bad long term contracts to controllable players wasn’t a thing when DD acquired his last critical piece (JD) in 2018. Remember, DD built a plan based on 2022 so his goal would have been to extend Mookie through 2022 and beyond once he proved his value, which he did when he won the MVP. DD intensionally set up the end of 2022 as his evaluation point for all players he used during the 2016 to 2022 run. There is no way to know now whether he would have been successful in extending Bogey, Mookie and the others. I believe he would have been successful since he’s been successful his entire career.
You have one really big issue when it comes to your perspective on all this financial information. The goal of a GM is not to cheat guys out of what they deserve by wheeling and dealing young contracts that are to the advantage of the ownership. The GMs job is to build a sustained winning environment by treating the players with respect and paying them a fair market value. Ownership has always wanted home town discounts but that wasn’t DD’s style. He treated his players with respect and paid them well for performing well. Your belief that Mookie, Bogie and others weren’t owed the contracts they got is biased. The players fought for the right to receive fair compensation and that’s exactly what LAD gave Mookie. Bogey got a bit more than expected due to industry issues but I doubt he would have asked for the money he got had Boston offered the all-star shortstop all-star money that he deserved. I suggested 3 years $100MM with 3 more years at $25MM and a mutual opt out after 3 years. If Bogey proved he hasn’t lost a step then $25MM might have been too low. If he had fallen off dramatically or Mayer was ready Boston could have stepped away after three years. Bloom doesn’t think out of the box like that so instead there is no Bogey at all and a team with no shortstop until Story heals or Mayer makes it to the majors. That’s why Bloom needs to find a different job. He needs to go back to making booklets on how to build a farm system like he did in TB.
KD17
FPG – I mute Joe so I have no idea what you responded to but it was very well said and most importantly COMPLETELY ACCURATE!! Nice job.
KD17
rsmith – Moncada was nearly released for poor performance in 2022. Sale brought Boston a ring. If Sale never pitched again for Boston they still win the deal going away.
I figured it out. You are related to Bloom that’s why when eveyrone says DD was light years better than Bloom it angers you so much that you are forced into making things up in an attempt to lessen the humiliation. Now all your inaccurate comments about DD makes sense.
Mi Casas es tu Casas
Who the hell is Pedoria? Is that the little guy who played all of 3 games in 2018?
acell10
I think he might be responding to me? maybe? It still doesn’t make much sense in the context of what said but that’s my best guess. That’s why I I didn’t respond to what he said and figured it was actually directed at you. He might be trying to push the narrative that we are the same person like KD and pulled clearly are…
RSmith
Stop responding to me my comments. Hypocrisy again, you respond to my comment, but want me to not respond to yours.
“The RETAINED PAYROLL was against the previous GM”
Do you mean like Chris Sale and David Price???
The hypocrisy in your comments is constant.
At least to offset the contracts of Ramirez and Panda, Red Sox had young talent to offset it
2016:
Mookie Betts 566k
Xander Bogaerts 560K
Jackie Bradley 540K
Eduardo Rodrigquez 521K
Christian Vazquez 513K
Just to name a few. How in the world do you not see that those plus several more didnt offset a few bad salaries.
Now compare that to 2019 and dead contracts to Chris Sale and David Price. All those same players listed were making much more money, and nearing Free Agency. And there was ZERO young talent coming up.
You are absolutely blind to the obvious.
Now please stop responding to my comments.
RSmith
“making things up”
What have I made up. Yet youve been lying in almost every post.
JoeBrady
acell109 mins ago
I think he might be responding to me? maybe? It still doesn’t make much sense in the context of what said but that’s my best guess.
==============================
He’s losing his grip on reality. He might be the only one on the entire planet that thinks it makes sense to reply to one comment, but use someone else’s name on the comment.
Fever Pitch Guy
Joe – It was your alt I was responding to.
Overall I find myself agreeing with you more often, it’s refreshing. LOL
Fever Pitch Guy
KD – Thanks! You follow college hoops? I’m a huge UConn fan, looking forward to tomorrow night!
acell10
It’s pretty obvious we aren’t the same person but even if you were responding to me and not Joe what you said still didn’t make any sense.
acell10
Moncada was still guaranteed 17 million this season plus two options. He really wasn’t in any danger of being released this past offseason. This upcoming offseason if he doesn’t perform is another story.
RSmith
Yeah, I dont know where that one came from. KD is all over the place.
JoeBrady
You, GA, and KD all post similarly. Think of how crazy it would sound if everyone started responding to you guys using random names.
Fever Pitch Guy
Joe – Which post doesn’t make sense? I’ll happily explain if you want.
Fever Pitch Guy
Joe – How do you know I’m not just calling everyone an “Average Joe”?
Regarding GA, KD, and I …. we all have different posting styles, KD often writes much longer posts than I, and the three of us don’t always agree with each other. Those are the differences. But you know what? Both of them are respectful, even in disagreements. Which makes it fun for me. That’s the main reason I’m here, to have fun talkin’ baseball with fellow fans.
JoeBrady
Fever Pitch Guy
Joe – Which post doesn’t make sense?
============================
That’s easy. Any post by you that starts with “Joe………..”, but references something I did not write, makes no sense. And is more than a little insane.
How would you like it if I wrote :Fever, I agree when you said “Who the hell is Pedoria? “. Your reaction is going to be “I never said that”. You’re starting to remind me of the trans people who refer to themselves as “they”. It becomes impossible to hold a conversation.
JoeBrady
I write nothing like Acell10. Completely different styles. There are 2-3 others that I am much more similar to.
RSmith
I agree, the way you can tell 2nd accounts is they dont post long threads, they usually say things like. “Good point! That makes a lot of sense”, then add a sentence that only slightly varies from the initial point.
To have a second account and go on long winded statements counteracts the first account. — What do you expect, its FPG.
acell10
rsminth: In fairness I don’t think that FPG and KD are the same person although the blatant sucking up you mentioned is pretty funny. It’s pretty obvious that KD and pulled abloom are the same person even if he tried to pass it off as being his son which certainly is a new one…
Fever Pitch Guy
Joe – This is what I was asking about, when you wrote “It still doesn’t make much sense in the context of what said”.
What context?
I muted Pwndroia, so it wouldn’t matter to me.
I gave you a thumbs up for the trans joke, it made me chuckle. LOL
Fever Pitch Guy
Joe – I’m fine with it, really. I like your main one the best, same stuff but not as confrontational as the alt. I can’t think of 2-3 others that you’re similar to, you have your own style. I know you like to get a rise out of Sox fans, but for the most part you’re polite which I appreciate.
Fever Pitch Guy
Joe – I don’t see KD sucking up to Dombrowski or anybody, he just understandably doesn’t like Cora or Bloom. But at least he supports his opinions, I give credit to ANYBODY who puts in the time and effort to support their viewpoint.
acell10
AL34: it’s weird that you still insist that Joe and are the same person especially when you admit we have different writing styles. It’ also hypocritical when you call people confrontational when you are one of the most confrontational people on the message boards and at times should be more polite yourself.
Be better about chastising people about behaviors that you display that your critical of in others.
KD17
Remove…. — Pedroia is the former all-star 2B whose career was ended by one bad boy Manny Machado on a controversial take out at 2B before the new rule was implemented. Great player who had his career shortened by injury. I think you would have liked him!!
KD17
FPG – Congrats on the win!!! Wild year from a bracket standpoint. UCONN was the only real contender left standing when the final 4 was decided.
Nice win.
KD17
FPG – I can’t see and have no interest in reading JBs comments but I do give you credit for trying. Some folks simply don’t comprehend the whole discussion concept. It’s not twitter.
For the record since JB reads my comments. There would be no reason to suck up to DD because I am retired and not looking for a job. My time in baseball is over and I hope to someday have a chance to watch grand children play the game.
My comments relate to performance.
DD performed extremely well in Boston and it translated into 104 games over .500 in less than 4 full seasons. Bloom, on the other hand, was not qualified for the job just like Cora, and has performed incredibly poorly just like Cora. Devers can’t field and the fact that score keepers have to fudge numbers for him to keep the embarrassment level down is a sad commentary on the game. Devers has become a good hitter but his excessive mishandling of balls hit to him severely lessens his value to the team.. I don’t hate Devers I simply evaluate Devers just like every other player, manager, GM and owner in baseball. I look for facts to form my opinions and I don’t care who agrees with them.
I enjoy exchanging comments with FPG not because I control both ids like some have suggested but because FPG presents baseball logic and stats that make sense to me. When we don’t agree there is usually a flurry of data exchanged trying to sway the others opinion. Sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn’t but in the end it’s fun to have the intellectual baseball debate rather than reading unfounded statements which constitute opinions by writers looking to stir the pot or are simply uneducated in the game of baseball.
The loyal fan, who thinks loyalty is being positive in the midst of chaos is often one of the most vocal respondents to my calling it like I see it statements that backed with extensive documentation. I get that those folks are trying to make things better by being positive all the time but in all my years I have found that change doesn’t happen without some level of prodding from those being impacted. Thus, I voice my issues as well as my compliments for a job well done so those that are successful can feel a sense of acknowledged support from the fan base and those who are under performing can feel the dissatisfaction from the fan base.
I’m pretty sure being a fan includes both recognizing the good and the bad performances of the team you are following. If a fan doesn’t want to acknowledge the problems with the team, that’s ok but to insult people who do point them out is not loyalty it’s ignorance. Everyone has a right to their opinion and should not be bullied on a website like this because they don’t take an upbeat perspective on their team.
Remember, honest feedback is the best kind because it allows the recipient to understand others perception of their performance. “Yes men” are often sought out by people in authority which is why there is such a large number of paid influencers hired to troll those fans making negative comments about the team.
Like I said at the beginning of this, I admire your patience with people who clearly don’t understand the simple concept of how a baseball discussion website should function. There are no set number of characters to limit discussions. Insulting others and not addressing the actual topic is unacceptable behavior. And bullying or mass attacks on individuals should never happen. And a statement detailing behavior parameters should NEVER be needed.
Fever Pitch Guy
KD – Thanks! They won every game by double digits, average margin of victory was 20 points … 2nd best in history!
2004 was such a great year … UConn Men’s Basketball, UConn Women’s Basketball, New England Patriots and the Red Sox all won championships.
olmtiant
Grade B….why????cause I’m Mr Brightside!!!.. one game… let’s watch a little more before we throw in towel ( abide some good things happened Thursday I just can’t come up with any at moment) let’s see where we are after say 20 games before we start with the women and children first call..
leftykoufax
D
AL34
Pickup of Cory Kluber (5 earned runs after 3 innings) and he cannot get his fastball above 88MPH at 11 million dollars. Sale has not pitched consistently since the beginning of 2018. He has given up 7 earned runs today, 2 homeruns in the first inning. Paxton has not pitched in almost two years. Bloom had to be an idiot thinking that the pitching staff was set with these guys in the top three positions. This is going to be a long year with this team. No way the media and the fans are going to be okay the whole season when this team is floundering. They will force a Henry’s hand in this to fire Bloom for this fiasco
jmi1950
This happens every year when P’s can’t make the transition from Fla to the cold. They can’t get a grip on the ball and control it. IF both Sale and Kluber are bad all year it will be a big mess, but I am willing to give them a chance. The O’s P’s weren’t very good either.
Salvi
Why will Chris Sale “not pitching consistently” “force Henry’s hand in this to fire Bloom for this fiasco”
I cant wrap my head around that one. Didnt that contract help get DD fired? How many GMs can get fired from one bad contract?
Mi Casas es tu Casas
Nobody is blaming Bloom for sale its paxton kluber etc they are not happy with
DBH1969
Nice win. Duvall looks like the real deal
jmi1950
Reminds me of the “67 Sox.
JoeBrady
I think guys like Duvall & Turner were born to play at Fenway. Finally (I know, second game) got the BP production we expected. I need to see Winckowski against a few more lefties to see how his stuff translates, but he looks pretty good against righties so far. Still real early.
Bruin1012
Joe I have been saying since spring training began Winckowski worked this offseason. He is tunneling his pitches much better he has been mid 90’s on that sinker since the beginning of spring training. He was the unsung hero of this game he came in and stopped the runaway freight train.
JoeBrady
Iwatched him several times in ST. He looks very tough on righties. It feels a little like Houck. Tough on righties, but the same pitches might not work against lefties.
olmtiant
Great quote from ‘ Barfly’mickey rourke 80”s movie…. “ nothing but dumb luck!!!! Yeah but that counts too!!!!!
Fever Pitch Guy
DBH – I agree, I like the way the Sox came back in both games but I am also mindful of the Baltimore pitching staff which is very below average at best.
Also not sure if you were watching the game yesterday, the ball was really carrying with the wind. It helped both teams score many runs.
KD17
FPG = Duvall can be all kinds of great and a week later be all kinds of bad. Lets hope the great part continues as long as possible because he’ll make Dalbec’s bad stretches look good when he goes into one of his famous prolonged slumps.
Fever Pitch Guy
KD – Duvall is made for Fenway, remember he had a 3-homer game at Fenway in 2020. So I’m curious as to how he will hit on the road, and also against better pitching (ie: Tampa).
KD17
It’s two games into the season and our top 2 pitchers haven’t looked good. Devers is still making errors that aren’t counting as errors so people can claim he’s playing great defense.
This is the EASY part of the month of April. Boston has BAL who they should beat 1 or 2 games out of 3 when they are at home, then they have DET and PIT. The schedule gave Boston a chance to go 7-3 in their first 10 games before things get a bit more challenging. With the fortunate results yesterday they are still on tract to go 7-3.
That’s the good news. The bad news is the pitching which is their biggest strength has been bad at the starter level. Fortunately, many teams are experiencing the same problem.
RSmith
Now its 3 games into the season, the Red Sox just took 2 out 3 from a team they were suppose be way behind. Red Sox have the 4th best record in all of baseball. The offense is averaging 9 runs a game and just broke a team record. Hows your ‘this lineup is WAY worse than last year’ holding up?
How wrong can one man be?
JoeBrady
Way too early. But today’s game is a better model. When you get behind 8-2 and 7-1, it is impossible to maximize your BP. You don’t want to use anyone good, but you don’t want to forfeit. With the 3-0 lead, even if he gave it back, at least you can see who you want to use in the 6-7-8-9.
RSmith
Yeah, he ranted about the pitching in 2 games. I had to come back with the hitting, and how good it looks in all 3 games.
I like how “EASY” it should be to beat Baltimore, yet in so many post I read that theres no chance Red Sox dont finish in last. Makes no sense, especially considering Vegas has the Red Sox with better odds to win division than Orioles.
Mi Casas es tu Casas
2-1 and you’re bragging about 4th best record there’s just no words for that
DBH1969
I have never really put too much thought into starting pitching for the first 2 or 3 weeks. batters are just way ahead of pitchers at the beginning of the season i think
DBH1969
plus, it is cold lol
MafiaBass
I gave them a B- for their moves. If I recall correctly, Story’s situation isn’t their fault. The offense didn’t need to be markedly improved. The bullpen needed lots of help, and I think it got that, though I still don’t really trust the Orts and Brasiers out there. I would have liked to see either Wacha or Eovaldi resigned.
All the pieces exist for the Sox to make the playoffs. Nobody on offense has to play out of their minds for the season, just up to their own ability. Bello, Houck, and Whitlock are going to show they belong in MLB as starters. I will say this: starters have to go 5 innings, or the bullpen is going to fall apart. That means they have to throw strikes. Quit walking so many people, and they’re going to win a lot of games.
Salvi
The 2023 Red Sox are, in many, ways a stop gap for much better teams in the future. Adding one big addition each year spreads out the dead weight of player contracts, as they get older. So, Story (’22), Yoshida (’23), hopefully a big Starting Pitcher next year. I see a powerhouse in a couple of years, assuming a few things break their way.
JoeBrady
I agree. The addition of guys like Turner and Duvall is similar to what DD did last year in Philly with signing Schwarber & Castellanos.
troy
Except Turner and Duvall are much cheaper and on shorter contracts, while Castellanos is already an albatross and Schwarber is a TTO guy (which means he can fall off a cliff any moment now that he’s over 30)
KD17
MafiaBass – If I list the starting 9 hitters can you tell me why you think the offense didn’t need to be markedly improved? My listing should show a markedly worse group of hitters and that’s really my main concern about 2023. The hitting has taken a big step backward:
C – Vazquez to McGuire = step backwards
1B – Casas to Casas – chance of improvement in 2023
2B – Arroyo to Arroyo – more below league average play
SS – Betts to Kiki – massive step backwards
3B = Devers to Devers – no impact
LF – Verdugo to Yoshida – less defense maybe more offense – no impact
CF – Kiki to Duvall – two below league average players – no impact
RF – Refsnyder to Verdugo – I like Ref but to be fair – no impact
DH – JD to JT – No impact
So the 2023 vs 2022 offense saw minimal change at 1B, 3B, 2B, LF, CF, RF and DH.
There was a massive drop off at SS and a significant one at Catcher.
The 2022 offense had an OPS+ of 102 and the team lost 3 of it’s top 4 contributors and replace one with JT but the jury is out on Yoshida. .
So from my perspective, the offense is significantly weaker due to lost talent. The pitching lost Eovaldi and Wacha, two of their best SPs but they got back Sale. If Sale is like what he was before his TJ surgery that could off set losing Wacha and Eovaldi but if he’s not then Kluber will need to jump up to his Cy Young level in hopes of not seeing a drop off in pitching.
Combine the pitching and hitting and the 78 win season of a year ago seems like a very high estimate for 2023. So I take issue with the B-. I could accept C- or D because the offense is clearly worse and the pitching may be worse despite getting it’s #1 starter back. But that’s just me. B= seems to indicate success to me and that’s far from the truth. C= is under performing so that could be Bloom’s high water mark for the off season but D seems much more accurate considering the offense is down and the pitching has to use the word hope too often when discussing it’s potential season.
troy
B, maybe B- to be specific
The lineup isn’t great but the stopgaps are good stopgaps, the starting depth is about where it should be, and the bullpen should be much better.
Another transition year, but the next championship core is becoming clearer and clearer