As players begin arriving to spring training, the Red Sox are still looking to add to their roster. Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com reports that the Sox have been in active pursuit of outfield options recently, suggesting a right-handed bat is the preferable addition. (Notably, he adds that Boston was not “meaningfully” involved in Jorge Soler’s market in the late stages of his free agency before he agreed to a three-year deal with the Giants.)
A right-handed outfield bat is a generally sensible addition for the Sox, whose current outfield alignment features three lefty bats (Jarren Duran, Wilyer Abreu, Masataka Yoshida) and one right-handed bat (Tyler O’Neill). Manager Alex Cora said today that Yoshida will see the most time at designated hitter of any of his current outfielders, but he’ll still see some work in the field as well (X link via Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe).
Top prospect Ceddanne Rafaela will get a chance to make the Opening Day roster as well and would add a right-handed bat to the bunch, but it’s also possible he’s ticketed for Triple-A to begin the season. Rafaela made his MLB debut last year but posted a tepid .241/.281/.386 slash with a 31% strikeout rate in 89 plate appearances. He’s still only played 48 games at the Triple-A level, and good as they were (.312/.370/.618 in 219 plate appearances), that’s a relatively small sample. He’ll need to earn a spot with a strong showing in camp. If Rafaela does make the roster, Cora noted that he’ll be the primary center fielder (X link via the Globe’s Alex Speier). “The defensive game is elite,” Cora said of Rafaela. “It’s a game-changer.”
As things stand, the Red Sox have a pair of right-handed outfield options on the bench in Rob Refsnyder and Bobby Dalbec. Refsnyder is a 32-year-old journeyman but does have a solid track record against lefties, including a .308/.428/.400 slash in 145 plate appearances last season. Dalbec, 28, has a minor league option remaining but has long seemed like a change-of-scenery candidate as a former top infield prospect who doesn’t have a clear role with the club. Neither player came up as an outfielder, and neither is considered to be an especially strong defender on the grass.
If the Sox prefer to turn to the free agent market, there are plenty of righty bats still available. Randal Grichuk, Michael A. Taylor, Tommy Pham and Adam Duvall all remain unsigned. Pham (2022) and Duvall (2023) have both played with the Red Sox recently, though they were acquired under now-former chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom’s watch. All four members of that quartet have experience across the outfield, although at this point only Taylor is considered an above-average option in center field (where he rates as one of the game’s premium defenders at the position).
While none of the free agents remaining in this tier of players is a star by any stretch of the word, each is affordable and can fill a clear role on a number of teams. As such, the Sox have competition for signing any of the bunch. The D-backs, for instance, have been tied to Grichuk, Pham and Duvall as they seek a right-handed complement to Joc Pederson at designated hitter. The Twins have been on the lookout for a righty outfield bat for much of the offseason after seeing Taylor become a free agent. Minnesota has reportedly shown interest in Duvall, specifically, but has had interest in Taylor throughout free agency as well. The Phillies could conceivably be in the mix for an outfield bat after an injury to Brandon Marsh. The Padres have considered a reunion with Pham.
Speaking of the Padres, it’s at least worth pointing out that San Diego has reportedly expressed interest in a trade involving Duran, though there’s never been any indication the two parties are close to a deal. But as the Sox look for ways to add to their collection of outfielders, it bears mentioning that the addition of a free agent could at least make the idea of moving Duran a bit more palatable. Boston would presumably prefer MLB-ready pitching in such a swap, however, and that’s an area the Padres themselves are also a bit thin, which complicates the scenario.
The Red Sox currently project for a $177.5MM payroll with about $198MM worth of luxury tax considerations, per Roster Resource. That $177.5MM projection is more than $20MM away from last year’s year-end payroll of about $199MM and miles away from the franchise-record $236MM, set back in 2019. Over the past month, the Red Sox have been specifically connected to Duvall, Pham and first baseman/outfielder Garrett Cooper (who is reportedly nearing a decision in free agency).
“Red Sox Pursuing Outfield Additions”
Um, the only thing the Red Sox are pursuing is last place. Full throttle!
They’re seeking an outfielder who will accept the MLB minimum.
Redsox Nation is BOYCOTTING all things FSG and Redsox Related No games live at Fenway or NESN, or on streaming MLB Ticket, or Spring Training games in Fenway South, NO merchandise or online purchases, no minor league baseball owned by FSG meaning the Salem Redsox (the other affiliates are not FSG Owned.) We will be here saving our spend and checking free box scores and transaction wires for John Henry to get real again with Free Agent Starting Pitchers specifically…we’ll need Montgomery or Snell this year and 2 ACEs next winter when Pivetta and Giolito are both gone assuming Gio does well in 2024. That is all.
@ guru–If you are boycotting all things Red Sox, why bother posting on a Red Sox article?
Booooooom
That’s how you spread the word
Why such a jerk? I’ll be watching unless they start off horribly but I too won’t spend a dime on the club in 24. it’s pathetic they are pinching pennies. If they could arbitrage the roster for a short term gain, Henry would be smiling. It’s a disgrace what he’s done after bringing so much joy to the fanbase (and big bucks to ownership).
Robert – Why make such a lame comment?
This site is about Red Sox Nation not the Red Sox. There is no suggested support of the Red Sox by commenting here. NO financial support is being provided to the Red Sox.
Get a clue and quit harassing people.
@robert. Don’t you know? That’s how you boycott things! By obsessively writing about them on the Internet.
Yeah? I’m going to a game with a buddy in May.
It will be fun.
Do you guys even realize what this is all about? It’s not about getting angry, that’s for sure.
I wish Cubs fans had the balls to do something like this, too. Ricketts and Hoyer need to get serious and try to win more than just a division title (although right now, even that may not happen). PECOTA projects them to be an 80-82 team. Yet only one starter and one bullpen piece and losing Belli and Stroman, so this team is like your team. They need a boycott too!
LOL! This site is about Baseball not just Red S0x Nation. Not harassing anyone. @guru said that he would have nothing to do with the Sox. Commenting is still something and just find it humorous that @guru is till having something to do with the Sox by commenting on them. Not calling @guru names, not threatening in anyway, not using foul language. If @guru can give his opinion then I should be able to give mine as well.
I am a Pirates fan. Anger does not help a team get any better. I follow the MiLB games as much as I do the Bucs. Cherrington has done a great job in building talent from complex leagues up to AAA if not for a few key Tommy John injuries the last 2 years they would have had the pitching and catching to compete and would have been in a better position to compete for better talent in FA and it trades. to fill any spots they need. They got pushed back a year. Have heard Nutting complaints for years now. No matter if he sold the team, there would be nothing different done in the way the team operates here because nothing would change in the available revenue streams. Owners never spend directly out of their own pockets to improve their teams. Teams like the Yanks and Dodgers do what they do because of their massive revenue streams compared to most of the league. People have screamed boycott here in the Burgh for decades. Never really takes hold because there are enough fans of baseball period , like me who still will go out just to see a live game.. If I quit watching or did not attend some games, I would be the one missing out and my lost of a few hundred dollars would not alter anything in the way the front office would work. Looking forward tp Camps opening this week and Summer approaching. Quit being so angry people. Life is too short.
Icon: just curious what’s your deal? I always see you comment on other’s posts. There is never really an argument for or against on your posts. I post some crap that I don’t like how things are going with Sox . You don’t necessarily defend the Sox or talk ill about them. So what’s your deal? Are the one just happy to be at the game singing along to sweet Caroline, and every thing is great at Fenway ?
Boycott means abstaining from financial support, or, consumption. It doesn’t mean not protesting.
Posting in these threads against the direction of the team is a form of protest, and, supports a boycott as much as people on a picket line.
He’s a pink hat that hits the bars before going into Fenway in the third inning, spends half the game either in beer lines or the men’s room, and pays twice as much for beer as he does for his ticket. And don’t ask him what happened on the field, he wasn’t paying attention.
Just like Kid Rock started that boycott against Bud Light. And it worked.
Robert – He means all things that make money for the Red Sox, that’s why he’s saying boycott their home games only.
Because it’s a web site for people to talk and debate that’s y .. so stop with the snarky comments … That’s what the Internet is for too bring fans together so they can talk about how they feel .. and they are right too feel the way they do .. it’s fans like u as u ownership thinks 3/4 last place finishes is ok .. Fans like U r the reason redsox and redsox nation is the laughing stock of MLB .. highest ticket prices in MLB , oldest stadium in MLB so the money isn’t going there .. no superstars.. we get a star and we trade them for three packs of bubble gum and throw 2 of them in the garbage.. or we let them walk for nothing .. I can go on and on . So yeah a boycott needs to happen like people did too the Boston bruins .. u hurt them in their pockets and it teaches them a lesson …..
So far 5 have joined him. Take that, Red Sox!
Stymeedone. Make that six. As close as I am getting to the Fenway experience is if the game is on the radio. I ll stop by my local Cumberland Farms and get a lousy hot dog and pretzel. Maybe I’ll even see Reese Macquire there doing a little full throttle in his car.
Hell yes we are
The suspense of who the Sox will sign next is killing me. They have been ‘in the mix’ on every big FA signing for the last few years but never seem to be able to make those signings happen.
My analysis is that when a players agent is asking for a 10 year $350 million commitment, that an offer of $10 million for 10 years is not ‘being in the mix’.
Holy heck! Breslow plays the outfield!
Good God man, do something about the f****ng rotation!
Just watched Cora’s interview he seems alarmingly optimistic about Houck, Whitlock, Wink, and Crawford filling out the rotation.
What do you expect him to say? He wants his guys to believe. But that doesn’t mean he really thinks that. Come on, you Sox fans hate on Cora so much, but he is a smart man and he probably talks differently behind closed doors.
Pretty sure Breslow is going for the bargain bin for starters. Probably someone like Noah Syndergaard is a realistic target. They’re not getting Snell or Montgomery, they’re clearly trying to be as frugal as possible this offseason…
It sucks because Monty is a perfect addition to this team. No comp pick attached, lefty that we lack, can temporarily fill that “Ace” slot until we upgrade, can avoid luxury tax with signing. Like what’s stopping them? His wife works in Boston, it’s definitely a great spot for him too if the $ is right. We add Monty and Duvall and I feel 100x better about this team.
Sox are willing to get in the bidding if the ask drops below 6 years & 26$m per…
Monty makes a ton of sense for the Red Sox, just that they’re being extremely cheap this offseason. Worst part is he wouldn’t even get them to pass the first Luxury Tax threshold, I believe they’re not even close to that first tier. Good luck Red Sox fans!
NewYorkSoxFan52 mins ago
It sucks because Monty is a perfect addition to this team.
======================
I’m hoping that this is just posturing on the part of the RS. I’ve seldom seen better fits. In 5 years, he could still be our #1.
“Like what’s stopping them?”
===========================
Probably a crazy asking price by Boras. No other team likes the asking price either.
I’m guessing the dollars aren’t right.
I think Clevinger would be a great addition if we can sign him for cheap
One can only guess that breslow means to reduce the FA options so teams have more need to trade for one of Bostons OFers…
Most thats a joke, but, it is perplexing as the team doesn’t need another OF bat when dalbec is still the only truly experienced backup corner infielder on the 40-man.
The lineup doesn’t really HAVE a L/R lineup problem either, unless Cora specifically creates one by playing a ton of lefty backup players all on the same day.
Of the starters:
RH bat: Wong, Grissom, Story, oneill
LH bat: Casas, Devers, abreu, Duran
Then your DH, nominally Yoshida is a 5th lefty, but could be a 5th righty with the regular work dalbec would need if he’s to be your backup.
Backup options: Ref, Ceddane, Reyes are RH, Mcguire and their choice of hamilton/valdez are LH.
So, once again this is a pursuit without offering a clear upgrade, that bloats payroll needed elsewhere, and a solution in search of a problem.
Unless a trade is imminent as soon as someone is signed. I know we can’t assume there is a trade, but we also can’t assume they sign another FA. Both have been heavily rumored but have not happened.
Of the two, trading first is more advisable.
If you sign yet another FA, the other team can pull back and offer less, as you’re now more crowded and somewhat more o er a barrel.
If you trade first, worst case the FA asks for a little more money, except, BOS has the depth to say forget it and still roll with young deep OF depth.
Given the purpose of the trade isn’t salary clearing, but, maximizing some return, likely SP, it’s most important not to mess up that portion of the equation.
They’ll sign the LAST guy available that nobody wants. What has happened here?
Not a fun time to be a Sox fan.
We sure did good at upgrading the GM position.
The legend of future HOFer Rob Refsnyder continues!
“Lefty Killer”
If only D O’B saw how bad the splits got last year…..
I hear he was getting rave reviews for his work in the outfield on the back fields
I guess that’s something. It just got incredibly annoying to hear how he’s this lefty killer when he couldn’t touch a beach ball with a tennis racket over the last few months.
Slater makes a lot of sense for them as a solid platoon bat now that the Giants have a bit of an outfield logjam.
Blobby Dalbec better not be on the roster come opening day!
“Blobby Dalbec better not be”
..Bobby Dalbec seems pretty large, so perhaps he has a future as a night club bouncer, because that kid should never be on any high level pro baseball team. I can’t believe this guy(scrub) took as many Major League ABs for the RSox as he did.
You weren’t saying that two years ago I’m sure. Guy should have been traded long ago
Bobby Dalbec = Cobbled Baby
He wouldn’t bother me as the backup 1B/3B/DH. At least while we develop better options in the minors.
The rudderless, below .500ish Red Sox have been lifeless and listless the last few years. It makes one wonder exactly why they ran their last championship GM, Dave Dombrowski, out of town so quickly. It’s not like the continuous succession of first-time GMs hired after him has done any better(or as well) and the “Dom” seems to have done quite well for the Philadelphia Phillies, guiding them to their first World Series appearance in well over a decade.
Probably because Dave’s rush to offer Chris Sale the extension he gave him and the very little the Sox got from that expense was a large part of the recent lean years in terms of winning.
“Dave’s rush to offer”…The owners almost ALWAYS make the final call on expenditures and the GMs carry it out. When “Dom” signed Sale, ownership was on board with it. You cannot seriously be still blaming “Dom” for your current mess?…Although I did recently hear Angels fans still blaming Jerry Dipoto for their mess, even though he’s been gone almost a decade.
Ownership signs off but it was Dave’s job to make the decision from a baseball perspective. He was being paid to take into consideration Sale’s general frame and the chance he would wind up injured. That’s not on ownership, that’s on Dave. That was his job and he did a pisspoor one in this instance.
“That’s on Dave”…Some true points, but no GM is 100% right and there is a reason the “Dom” is headed to the HOF while the asleep-at-the-wheel, absentee Red Sox owners are running an “on the job” training program for first time, beginner GMs. If you want real answers, try looking at the people who actually own the team, not the ones they hire to do their bidding.
Nope. Sorry. Dave doesn’t get a pass on this. It was a poor decision on his part that hampered the Sox to a major degree the past 4 years. Just about everyone across the industry thought that was a chancy move to give Sale that extension and it turned out to be about as bad or worse than people feared it would.
“Dave doesn’t get a pasd”..You may remember that Sale was one of the most electric arms in MLB when he signed that deal. And for well run teams one bad move or decision don’t wreck you, only MANY bad decisions over time is what wrecks you. And is Craig Breslow or Chaim Bloom going to the Hall of Fame? Only RS fans could blame a guy who’s taken what, 4 or 5 different teams(including yours)to the World Series.
I agree fully. Sale was not good & barely available in the last third of the WS-winning 2018. That final K of the WS of Dodger Machado was a BS photo op. And after Sale’s flimsy finish to 2018, DD extended him early in 2019 without Sale having thrown one pitch yet in the year. I was furious at that move. DD deserved canning for that–yes, ownership signed off on it, but they had a WS-winning PoBO to deal with. It wasn’t until later in the year that clarity came as to how much at loggerheads they were over how the team would be run and ultimately by whom.
Dombrowski extended Sale after the 2018 season where he missed time due to shoulder inflammation. There was no reason to do this as Sale was not going to be a free agent until after the 2019 season. In 2019 Sale pitched to a 6-11 record and 4.40 ERA and was shut down for the season in August with elbow inflammation. If Dombrowski would have waited, he could have avoided the huge mistake of extending Sale. Dombrowski is a great baseball mind who made a lot of good moves for the Red Sox, but the Sale extension was a mistake.
All – Actually that was a BS excuse created by Cora to rest Sale because he’s a genius and thought he could keep Sale from having his annual tired arm by sitting him right after he started the all-star game.
There was plenty of reasons to sign Sale who was under a team friendly contract from the CWS. He didn’t want negotiations to go into the season prior to free agency. A lot of good GMs think ahead and do this.
Lets fix some more of your BS. In 2019, the moron named Cora told the pitchers to show up two weeks late to Spring Training so they would have enough rest between seasons. He’s an idiot for thinking that almost four months would not be long enough. This caused all the pitchers to struggle through the spring leading Eovaldi to an injury, leading Sale and Price into starting horribly and then forcing injuries when Cora decided to change Sale’s mechanics in May. Only a know nothing twit like Cora would make a mistake a good Little League manager wouldn’t make. The time it takes to perfect a new set of mechanics would have forced the Red Sox to bench Sale for at least 2 months. Instead, he pitched and strained his elbow and needed TJ surgery by August.
If DD wouldn’t have waited using hindsight then he would have seen the damage Cora had done and not signed a top 5 pitcher in a proper time frame. Yes, hindsight is 20/20 but there was no reason DD would have guessed that Cora could possibly f up the entire 2019 season by himself so he did what any good GM would do, he signed the most talented guy on the team to an extension.
Next time get your facts straight. This kind of BS really pisses me off. You are so clueless some times when you make rants about things you know nothing about.
KD: You are blaming Cora for Chris Sale’s problems as a defense for Dombrowski. That’s hilarious! Dombrowski hired Cora and managers and POBOs work closely together. So, Dombrowski shares the blame for Cora’s actions if we follow your theory.
WS appearance isn’t a World Series win and already the Phillie’s farm system has become middle of the pack while ours is at least in the upper thirds.
All these teams are “pursuing” or “looking into” or “checking in on” someone. Just sign someone and get on with the season. It ‘s the middle of February gift crying out loud.
Just an FYI, I am both “interested” and “checking in” with Tom Brady’s ex, Gisele Bundcheon.
They are going be in last this year, again. So don’t spend too much.
Yup 74-88 and that’s if everyone stays healthy
Even if they only sign a SP like Odorizzi or Clevinger (I know the AL East is a tough division) but the BOS should score alot of runs.
I like Grissoms skills/ potential etc. O’Neill, Story should be better
YaGotta – WOW what an unrealistic opinion of the future.
1 – Talent wins baseball games and that is why they won 108 in 2018 when they had talent and 78 the last two years.
2 – Right now, they are weaker than the last two years thanks to Breslow so 78 is too much as suggested by BabeRuthPlano. He’s right. Based on talent they will be lucky to win 70 games.
They are weak at 3B, C, SS, 2B, 1B, LF, RF and CF with an adequate DH in Yoshida. That’s NOT a great hitting team and it’s a horrible fielding team.
Their pitching is rock solid if Bello, Houck and Crawford are SP3 to SP5 but they aren’t. The match-ups will make this team a disaster. Giolito will be matching up with SP1, Bello with SP2 and Crawford with SP3. Those will all be very one-sided match-ups. Houck can hold his own at SP4 and Whitlock can hold his own at SP5 so the wins will come from the bottom of the pitching staff.
Casas, Grissom, Duran, Rafaela and Abreu are all nice young players that need time to move to the next level of performance. While they are doing that they are facing all-stars from the other teams at those positions. The hitting will be the worst in a decade or more. The pitching will be the worst in a decade or more and the most incredible part about all of this is Bloom is GONE and Breslow has been given the keys to the beat up jalopy left by Bloom who started with a Rolls Royce and Breslow isn’t even trying to upgrade the old jalopy. He’s putting on custom extras like O’Neill and Giolito and replaced the old classic engine called Sale and is paying ATL to use that engine while BOS pays for most of it.
It’s ugly and will be reflected in the results this year. 70 is an aggressive guess. It’s that bad right now.
“So don’t spend too much”…The Redsox have allowed themselves to fall so far, they’re not really one or two players away. Until the Sox draft, trade & develop better, buying expensive free agents will only lock them into their present course and limit their future payroll flexibility. The more consistent and relevant teams in MLB “Win” the draft, not the press conference or the off-season.
mlb fan – Great speech but completely inaccurate. You act like Bloom didn’t tear down the Red Sox. They didn’t make mistakes. Bloom removed every all-star from the 2018 team except Devers and the least talented guy got the monster deal thus hanging an anvil around the neck of the payroll for a decade.
There is nothing WRONG WITH THE SYSTEM. It was properly destroyed by trading away or giving away all the talent and that’s on the ownership for allowing it to happen.
Did they draft better than most? Yes they did and those players are on the cusp of becoming highly competitive MLB players drafted by DD prior to 2020. Since 2020, no they did not draft well and that is reflected in the poor performances by Bloom’s much higher level picks. So is the farm system broken? No it’s never been broken. Are people idiots who discuss things like stocking the farm system? Yes because the primary stocking mechanism is the draft which happens every year and gives every team a chance to improve. DD did it well and Bloom not so much despite his claims of fixing the farm system that wasn’t broken.
FYI…. go look up the great Friedman’s drafts. He hit on Ferris Buehler and everything else has been worse than DD’s. LA simply spends a ton of money more than BOS and they do it foolishly just like the Yankees. If you want to see who wins drafts then look at who wins rings and that’s not LAD or NYY it’s the Astros, Red Sox , Giants and Cardinals.
So great speech but it completely missed the mark.
They should check in with the Giants.
LET’S GO O’S!!!!
Soler was hanging around a while. Timing counts.
Just be honest with the f ans and say we are going to rebuild for another 5 years. And don’t trade any of our kids for washed-up trash.
It seems like there are loads of players that had one or two really good years early in their careers followed up by consistent mediocrity and yet teams continue to employ and overpay them. These players reside all over the major leagues and aren’t necessarily prevalent on any particular team. Given that, I can understand why the Red Sox haven’t been in a hurry to sign these types of players when thay may already have plenty of them.
Using DJLM as an example, the guy has had 8 out of 12 seaons that are below average OPS (discounting his first year of few AB’s), and he’s making $15M a year. His lifetime OPS+ is 102, barely above average. Yes, he’s got a 31.5 career WAR, but that’s been increased by the really good performance years. And you can quibble over the stat measures and miss my point if you want, but the fact remains that he is typical of lots of major leaguers who make big money for mediocre performance. And yes, injuries, blah, blah, blah, whatever.
By the way, the Yankees roster is FULL of these guys and they’re good every year. So you can build a successful team that never wins anything beyond the regular season but you’re basically paying a massive payroll for the chance to watch the World Series from the comfort of your very own mansion.
Whyhayzee – Great posts. There is a huge problem with GMs identifying who will be perennial all-stars and who are inconsistent performers who will be grossly over paid.
Think of the core of the Red Sox and guys like Varitek, Papi, Pedroia, Betts, Bogaerts and even Benny. Most of these guys with the exception of Benny were consistent players and the foundation of what was the Red Sox. More recently it was JD, Mookie, Benny, Bogaerts and Devers. That’s five potential all-stars each year. You pay those players the big bucks to be the consistent foundation to your roster. But you don’t over pay them like we did with Devers.
Now we have no foundation and there are very few foundational players available in free agency. We need a 3B. Chapman is an inconsistent hitter BUT he’s only behind Arenado from a defensive perspective. Give him a reasonable contract and you have another foundation player. We have Casas, Duran, Rafaela, Abreu, Grissom, Teel and Anthony all on the verge of breaking out at a very low cost and being this generation of stars like Mookie and Bogey so go find the guys we need to fill the spots where we are weak.
Frankly, on the hitting side I say let the kids play in 2024 to see if they can be the future stars in Boston. Get a 3B who is all-star quality and your offense is set except for unloading Yoshida who is redundant to Devers.
The pitching in Boston has been about establishing 5 quality starters that will have injuries but there is depth to back-fill and still be highly competitive. With the departure of Sale, there are no all-star talented starting pitchers on the roster but there are some available by trade or free agency. We need 2 so stop grabbing guys like Giolito who is high risk and get rock solid blue chip pitchers that cost a pretty penny. They are worth it.
Giolito and O’Neill are perfect examples for your comments. They struggle to put back to back seasons together that are good. $20MM for an inconsistent guy like E-Rod or Giolito is dumb. Go get a top of the line guy like BAL did with Burnes. That should win them the division. Boston could have had him but didn’t try. Instead, we have Giolito who could have a monster 2024 but then in 2025 you have to wonder if he’ll regress, get hurt or repeat his unprecedented success. Most would guess failure after a good 2024. That’s why $20MM was wasted on the inconsistent.
Think about Mookie. He was to make $27MM in 2020 and wanted $36MM beginning in 2021. A $9MM raise!!! In 2020 he put up a 147 OPS+ compared to the 134 OPS+ he had in Boston. Then in 2021 to 2023 he was an all-star 3 times, a silver slugger twice, a gold glove winner and finished 2nd and 5th in the MVP voting. Is he worth $36MM a year? Yep and he is exactly the type of player you build your successful organization on. Boston could have done that and not been in the current situation but was too stupid to see the greatness right in front of them.
With one over paid all-star and an aging RP all-star Boston is at the bottom of the AL East barrel by a long distance. Two all-star pitchers and an all-star 3B would go a long ways to fixing the situation as the young guys start developing into all-star level players. Based on last year Casas and Duran both have a chance to take another stop forward toward being all-stars. Given the proper amount of play I believe both Rafaela and Anthony will do the same. Grissom and Abreu could easily be above league average players as well along with Teel. Now that’s a good team that can play defense if we can get Devers off the field and Yoshida traded for prospects or a lefty late inning guy or two.
If Soler got 3 years, I hope Duvall at least gets 2 or 1 with a player option. Hopefully his price went up as soon as the contract was signed.
But why Run? Are you his agent? Otherwise I don’t see why you’d care…
Sure wish they would sign Bellinger. He could hit 50 in that park.
Right Field at Fenway is huge. We need a right hander with pop we have enough lefties.
The Guardians offer you one slightly used Myles Straw for future considerations.
Straw only has his defense going for him, his bat is…putrid. Although your Guardians seem to grow pitchers in a lab so you at least have that going for you!
As a Ceddanne Rafaela fan, I did laugh out loud at his 219 PA’s in AAA being called “a relatively small sample”. But his MLB 89 plate appearances seemed to get judged pretty harshly.
Love Raffy, so watch them trade him
Redsox Nation is BOYCOTTING all things FSG and Redsox Related No games live at Fenway or NESN, or on streaming MLB Ticket, or Spring Training games in Fenway South, NO merchandise or online purchases, no minor league baseball owned by FSG meaning the Salem Redsox (the other affiliates are not FSG Owned.) We will be here saving our spend and checking free box scores and transaction wires for John Henry to get real again with Free Agent Starting Pitchers specifically…we’ll need Montgomery or Snell this year and 2 ACEs next winter when Pivetta and Giolito are both gone assuming Gio does well in 2024. That is all.
Like others have stated, the Red Sox are cutting payroll. Given that reality, Breslow is probably thinking he can get a comparable improvement in the standings for less by balancing out the lineup and shoring up the RF defense, rather than signing another SP.
Let’s see if it works…
I don’t think they are cutting payroll too much, maybe trying to spend better.
The Red Sox CBT payroll per Roster Resource:
2021: $211.6M
2022: $235.8M
2023: $223.8M
2024: $198.2M so far
I think they will probably end up in the range where they have been.
All – Why so focused on the money? I keep telling you money doesn’t matter.
With no all-stars you can spend $400MM a year and not win.
Until we start acquiring all-star quality talent this team is going nowhere.
I don’t think it is completely clear they are reducing payroll. That is my only point.
Suit – For me, notice the qualifier, the only payroll figure that matters is money spent on talent actually on the 26 man roster.
Years ago Rusney’s big salary didn’t matter. Panda or Hanley’s money, didn’t matter. Pedey’s money, didn’t matter. These days, Sale’s money, doesn’t matter.
Why? Because it’s not being spent on the on-field pursuit of winning at the highest level of the ball club.
All of that ‘doesn’t matter’ money does take tacit ownership approval. You don’t trade Sale now and eat nearly 20m without their advance knowledge, same with Hanley and panda, some of their bigger such moves since Ramirez, and ownership had to ok keeping Rusney down too. It’s all net spending on the club.
All of those numbers, bloom years and before, technically need revision downwards, again, for me. Retained payroll/bad contracts are a cost of doing business for big club much the way massive analytics and coaching/off field staffs are for small market teams.
dankyank – Do you even follow the Red Sox? Shoring up RF? Get a clue. RF is perfectly fine. LF is the problem and 3B if Yoshida and Devers are allowed to play.
Breslow is an idiot and he’s not trying to fix the team he’s doing whatever he pleases just like Bloom. There are no indications he’s trying to improve the team. He simply has gotten a few of his friends coaching jobs.
Do you follow your own team? Cora has just said Yoshida is primarily a DH. That means Duran starts in LF and RF is where they look to upgrade.
If they keep Yoshida in LF at the expense of starting Rafaela in CF, they are only hurting their defense.
RF in fenway needs CF caliber defense. That is a MUST. This article is focusing on some nebulous need for a RH bat, not improving OF defense.
It’s a bang for your buck problem, and, a front line starter needs the $$$ more than the marginal difference you would see in RF.
Also note two things – 1) Cora is an idiot with how he moves guys around, and if you don’t believe that, look at 2023 SS. 2) even Cora said Yoshida would see time in the field. Yoshi had a very noticable split between his .ba/ops as a LF and as a DH. Not every player hits well cold off the bench, and, not every great PH hits as well when playing the field every day.
In short, the red sox may face a choice between hiding Yoshi in LF to get his bat to play, with sub-par defense, or, having a relatively ineffective 18m bench piece that is a momentum/rally killer in dh. Bigger sample size will tell, but small sample wasn’t encouraging.
There is absolutely no universe where putting the 70 grade CF Rafael the “gold glove waiting to happen” makes sense. Center right, dead center and left center, which are the three deepest parts of Fenway’s outfield, are by definition the CF’s territory. Fenway is 302ft down the right field line.
If you aren’t focusing on handedness, that still leaves Abreu and his above average arm and range as an option. Duran lacks the arm strength required for an RF.
*putting the 70 grade CF Rafaela in a corner
dankyank – RF in Fenway is even more challenging that CF that’s why he should play RF. Best athlete of the group with the best arm.
Rumored to be trading Jansen, yet another sign that the Sox have no expectation of competing this year. Rumored to be trading Duran, an experienced outfielder, in order to make room for prospects to audition. They might like a right-handed hitting veteran outfielder as a backup, but I have no expectation that they will sign any kind of difference maker, spend significant money, or commit to more than one year. If they sign anyone, it will be someone they hope to flip at the trade deadline. Painful to watch another year of self-inflicted rebuilding by a wealthy, once-proud franchise. I miss Mookie!
If trading Jansen frees payroll to sign a guy like Monty or Snell I’ll feel good about that. Martin can replace him and Jansen cannot hold runners on first to save his life – not good for a closer. Now if we trade Duran for a good young arm I’m also all for it. Duran’s stock is high right now and teams might overlook the fact his defense is not adequate for CF. We also have Anthony and Rafaela coming up. This team needs impact arms, both Jansen and Duran are replaceable.
NYSoxFan, I applaud your optimism. I see no evidence that the Sox are serious about signing Monty, though I too wish they would. Arguably, they could have used Giolito’s money on him instead. If Duran could bring a major-league ready, quality starter, I’d be all for it. Not convinced that any team would offer that. I do not see anyone on the current Sox roster who is irreplaceable. If this team wins half of their games, I will be pleasantly surprised. If half of the touted prospects (Rafaela, Anthony, Mayer, Yorke, Teel) become solid regulars within two years, perhaps ownership will decide to spend on pitchers to support them.
AardsmatoZupcic55 mins ago
Rumored to be trading Jansen, yet another sign that the Sox have no expectation of competing this year.
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I don’t think so. Just imho, but I would expect either Houck or Whitlock to do about as well as Jansen.
Joe – Rumors are just rumors. Nothing valid has been written on the site for weeks. They aren’t trying to deal Jansen, Duran or anyone else it’s just the writers MSU. (my new catch phrase for Making S… Up)
You can make an argument that any pitcher on the Red Sox could replace Kenley Jansen and be about as good. It’s not true but hey when has that ever mattered.
A HOF closer vs a young kid who has never really closed. Sure they probably will perform comparably after all experience means nothing!! WOW.
Frankly, who cares which pitcher closes? The team has no defense, not enough quality starters and very little hitting unless the youngster take another big step forward. The relief is insignificant.
The Red Sox have some excellent young arms that are starting pitchers who got their feet wet in 2023 or earlier in the case of Houck. They performed better than expected yet nobody sees them as fitting into the logical progression of improvement. We want to convert them to relievers who are a dime a dozen rather than a 175 inning starter.
I think you have developed Bloom thinking or maybe you’ve always had it. Doing the illogical doesn’t make you an out of the box thinking, it makes you unsuccessful as Bloom proved.
Leave Whitlock and Houck as starters as they should be or re-use Whitlock as the stress inning guy and leave the HOF closer at closer. Bloom over paid for him but he only has one year left. The idea should be to find another closer for the future that has experience, has been successful and is not expensive.
Liam Hendricks comes to mind. He would be a strategic move for 2025 and beyond and his price is low, his risk is high due to his cancer but his story is a good one and he’s a quality add to a clubhouse led by Cora.
Need new owners and most of all a new ballpark.. The Fenway ballpark is trash. Been to 16 other ballparks and Fenway comes in last…..
This owner team is cashing out…..
They should spin off the RS into its own seperate entity. Ownerships’ attention has been diverted into FSG and expanding their empire.
Ya just what boston needs. Tear down a beautiful historic park to put up another cookie cutter stadium like the other new ones.
Their current projected OF WAR, based on Fangraphs depth charts is 6.3 WAR. Even the top OFer in Cody Bellinger would only net about 2.6 WAR. So, if you remove your lowest OF option in Wilyer Abreu and move him to the bench, the NET increase would be 1.2 WAR or a total OF WAR of 7.5. Maybe the FA route isn’t worth it right now, given that they’re not in WIN NOW mode.
Old York – WOW…. your head is so far up the Statcast portal you have no idea how to evaluate players.
Bellinger had one year. NOTHING suggests he’s better than Rafaela or Abreu. He needs to actually perform well more than once to gain back all the respect lost by his crap years. Nobody should be using the crap estimates from FanGraphs. If you own stock in them, you can be excused. If you are a baseball fan believing in their fautly estimates, you are a fool.
This isn’t a simulation game. Both Rafaela and Abreu need to play to develop. The last GM got rid of all the talent and now a whole new group is working to be the replacements at a low cost and you are over reacting because some idiot site is putting out bad estimates. THEY ARE ESTIMATES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Let the young guys play to prove their worth. As long as Cora is manager and Devers is playing 3B, nothing else matters because they can’t win so let the young kids develop like other teams do. Duran made a nice jump as did Casas. Give Rafaela and Abreu the same opportunity along with Grissom. This team could get better from within so the money that isn’t being spent on all-stars is not hurting the team it’s simply making the owners richer.
@Trollfree
I don’t profess to be the ultimate guru of baseball knowledge, which is why I reference places like Fangraphs, Baseball Reference & Baseball Savant for evaluations. So, when I say Fangraphs is projecting Cody Bellinger about a 2.6 WAR, that’s what their data an analysis is suggesting now. Could it change and he puts up an 8 WAR season? Sure, but nothing at the moment suggests that to be the case.
Now, I don’t know why I shouldn’t be using their estimates. What websites do you look at if you think they’re terrible? Or is this one of those situations where you want to have your cake and eat it?
Of course, Rafaela & Abreu need to play in order to gain experience. That wasn’t my point. My point was, based on the data being presented, if we removed the lowest WAR player and replaced him with Bellinger, it’s not a significant change in win totals. My point was exactly that. No value in signing an OF if the win value isn’t there. We might as well go with what the Sox have.
You seem to have overreacted to my post, very much like most people nowadays who use the internet. More outraged about semantics than they are about understanding the argument being made. That probably comes down to a low attention span.
When you’re ready to talk, come talk to me, not just rant about something you didn’t understand. I’ll tell you an important lesson. If you don’t fully understand the argument, the best first move is to ask for clarification not rage about something you don’t understand.
Old York – Baseball Reference gives you facts. There is no built-in estimators that are undefined in their numbers like FanGraphs and StatCast..
Modern metrics are an attempt to play a comparison game and the folks who build their formulas try to approach it from other statistical formulas outside of baseball which leads to lots of faulty thinking that doesn’t work for baseball..
Let me give you one example. Range is calculated as an independent number that impacts the overall evaluation of a players defense. The STAT named error reflects a binary decision by a score keeper suggesting whether the ball should have been caught and thrown accurately to get the out or wasn’t.
The Range estimation varies from a stat like error because it’s a derived value based on faulty assumptions. It tries to capture a players ability to move from a starting position to a location where they get the ball and throw it. Unfortunately, baseball doesn’t fit the model because where the player is positioned prior to the pitch is usually decided by someone on the coaching staff or the analytics group. If the player is positioned well, then his distance to the ball is less than if he’s positioned poorly. So, if two identical players had good and bad advisors for their positioning their range would vary in favor of the poorly positioned player who has to go farther. If they both don’t make errors the poorly positioned player is rated higher than the well positioned player. Does that suggest the well positioned player is a lesser fielder? To Fangraphs and Stat Graphs it does. To me, they are comparable because they had the same number of chances and made the same number of errors.
To assume distance is a comparable factor in fielding is crazy. No two plays are identical, no two field conditions are comparable, no two pre-pitch positioning is identical across players. Ryne Sandberg was an incredible defender. He set records for games without an error yet under the modern metrics he would be less effective because he had a sixth sense for positioning and his range factor therefore under modern metrics would decrease his true value. Should his uncanny ability to shorten his distance lower his skill level because he didn’t have to use the range he had? NO. But modern metrics would have down graded his skills.
My reaction to your comment comes from the fact that you speak of WAR as if it’s a stat not a gross estimate. It’s not like batting average or on base percentage. It’s a contrived formula that inaccurately estimates comparisons between a player and standard whether that comparison is valid or not.
I was not disagreeing with what you said and believe me your simple argument could have been followed by a 10 year old so the condescending attitude at the end wasn’t necessary.
Your whole premise was based on a bad estimator. An estimator that is meaningless when discussing the past, present or future because the assumptions built into it are standardized average of averages and don’t apply to any individual let alone Bellinger and the current Red Sox players.
Do we need Bellinger? NO. Should we want Bellinger? NO. I think we agree on that point.
What we don’t agree on is your method for evaluating the scenario.
WAR is a projection, an evaluation of the past AND an evaluation of the present. None of which are accurate since there is no panacea stat that can span all time periods.
My two points were:
1 – You are using an inaccurate estimate in your argument
2 – You are treating ESTIMATES as facts and they are not.
Your underlying argument was fine. We don’t need Bellinger because we are deepest in young talent in the outfield and why pay big money for inconsistent players when you can pay small money to players that are home grown. They need their chance to develop into MLB all-stars.
If you choose to use FanGraphs or StatCast at least be aware of the huge inaccuracies of the data. Optics should tell you that when a FanGraphs estimate shows Duran is a worse fielder than Devers despite Devers making 19 more errors on 69 more chances you should recognize the problem with the number and question if any of them are correct.
The same argument can be made for WAR. If a guy like Kiki Hernandez can be GIVEN a WAR of 5.0 in 2021 when he hit .250 and had a modest 108 OPS+ you have to question the data. If the data on Kiki is wrong then how many others are incorrect and how do you tell which ones are more accurate versus less accurate like Kiki.
I’m happy to discuss baseball with anyone on the site. I simply don’t like having to explain over and over how incredibly bad the estimates are that so many of the people on this site take for gospel.
Stats like batting average and fielding percentage are often insulted by the ignorant fans that believe in the modern metrics and try to suggest they are superior. I always ask them to give me the detail of the calculation of any metric so I can see if it’s accurate but they can’t because it resides in a database that is not available to the public so the numbers can’t be challenged. How screwed up is that?
@Trollfree
I’ll blow your argument out of the water with the fact that Baseball Reference does offer projections for the next season, so clearly, it’s not just about facts.
Guess what… Juan Soto is projected to have:
620 PA
497 AB
92 R
138 H
26 2B
2 3B
28 HR
84 ‘RBI
10 SB
4 CS
119 BB
102 SO
0.279 BA
0.418 OBP
0.507 SLG
0.925 OPS
252 TB
15 GDP
3 HBP
1 SH
3 SF
10 IBB
And the cherry on the top? 87% reliability vs. 13% regression to the means. Where do they get these so-called projections and the formula if it’s all just about FACTS?
It doesn’t seem you know what you’re talking about when it comes to FACTS and projections. For my son’s baseball team, I used already known formulas for developing WAR for the kids based on the league information. It’s not something secretive but each site has their variation of it. Ultimately, you’re getting upset about projections. It’s the same as when ESPN, Fox and The Athletic bring out their own projections and predictions for the year. Do you get upset about those as well?
I guarantee one wasn’t what ever the hell they call where the white Sox play …
Bloom was tasked with rebuilding the farm and there isn’t even a single pitcher worth a damn. Shane Drohan got taken in the Rule 5 Draft.
Red Sox get GM’s from the trash bin like they get players. Sox and Pats are not worth spending money on anymore
FWIW, I hate the Pats. But life would be better if people like you just stopped rooting for them.
16 to 20 – I’m a bit confused by your comment.
I believe Bello, Houck, Crawford, Whitlock and Pivetta are all good young pitchers. Three of the five were home grown.
What do you expect? Guys better than the ones named above. Tell me what team has more quality young pitchers. Maybe two or three across all of the MLB? There is nothing wrong with the pitching. It’s simply early in the development cycle. That’s why great GMs fill the holes with all-star starters so the SP3 to SP5 starters have time to develop into SP1s and SP2s. Do you really not understand the pitching development process?
Great point. I still would add a Clevinger/Lorenzan to the back end and transition Winckowski slowly at AAA.
Trollfree…you know baseball, I respect your intellect, why not eliminate the ” Do you really not understand the pitching development process?” type comments, be less dooshy, because your takes can stand on their own and are thoughtful and make me think. Have a good day!
Michael A Taylor can go get em in either CF or RF so I’m fine w that acquisition if it comes to be. His offense is adequate enough.
Need one more SP to lighten up the workload of the bushel full of swingmen they have slated to compete for the rotation. Would love to see Crawford step up, but don’t feel confident yet.
Just sign Duvall and get it over with
Breslow is probably haggling his price tag, that’s why it’s taken so long.
Duvall’s arm is perfect for RF.
darkyank – Yeah, you can never have enough .220 hitters!!!
Rafaela and Abreu are better than Duvall. Duvall is Dalbec in 10 years. Is that really what we need since we are so incredibly short on top end pitching and defense? With Devers at 3B, it doesn’t matter what other defenders we have, the team will rank near last and the pitchers will pay for it.
How bout Mookie Betts..?No.. okay Cody B??? Not happening… well Duvall started hot for us.. no dice… how bout Jim Ed/ Freddy and Dewey??? Never heard of them??? Well hears to rooting for Isaiah Campbell this year GO SOX!!!
Why get an outfielder when starting pitching is clearly the weakness. I have zero faith in the FO at this point why not try and unload Devers Martin and Jansen for several top draft picks. Stock the farm cause they damn sure aren’t stocking the ML team
Not sure how much they would get for an expensive DH and two aging relievers (perhaps from desperate buyers at the deadline?), but “full tank” seems more honest than “full throttle.”
” ‘Full bottle’ of milk for you crying babies ungrateful for 2018!”
Babe – Conceptually I agree. If you refuse to get all-stars for the MLB roster then at least add potential all-stars to the farm system.
Bloom did a great job of tanking. He dumped all the all-stars from the 2018 team except Devers and with him he hung a decade long noose around the neck of the payroll.
Breslow COULD try to take the current roster and let the young players develop and surround them with all-stars in hopes of bringing the team out of the cellar but instead he’s futzing with project players who MIGHT once again be good but he’s doing it at positions where we already have depth which makes absolutely no sense. We need a 3B. We need a SP1 and SP2. I guess Giolito if a miracle happens could become a SP2 for $20MM a year but O’Neill is simply going to displace a young inexpensive controlled guy who could become an all-star quality player. If O’Neill has a great year then goes back to his career pattern of not playing and we stunted the growth of home grown outfielders, was it worth it to get O’Neill?
Things are such a mess but I like your idea to stock the farm if you refuse to stock the MLB roster.
They need a RH bat behind Devers who doesn’t hurt them defensively. I would sign Duval, have him play RF….keep Rafaela in AAA until mid-June, and let him learn to hit. Trade Duvall at the deadline, along with the rest of the expiring contracts, and keep building. I’m curious to understand O’Neil’s defensive range if he has slimmed down and gained flexibility.
Prophet – ONE big problem with your suggestion. Rafaela is better than Duvall as of today so why make him wait and spend money on a player not needed?
Why suggest things that don’t matter? 3B is a huge problem. Why not fix it? The manager is a huge problem. Why not fix it? Yoshida and Devers on the same roster is a big problem. Why not fix it.
Instead, you want a .220 hitter who is either cold or hot but nothing in between because he happened to be more hot in Boston than cold so you think he will repeat that performance. He sucks. He’s a career .232 hitter!!!
Why set your sights so low, especially since he costs more than Rafaela and Abreu?
Also, why worry about the RANGE on a guy like O’Neill when we have Devers at 3B? ONE is a nightmare and the other is either a league average fielder or slightly above league average with very little impact to our overall defense? Focus on the HUGE problems. Worrying about insignificant impact stuff seems like a complete waste of time. Suggest fixing the real problems to make the team better.
Why focus on the trivial? Next time you should get into the color of his shoes because that like Duvall’s ability to play RF when he can’t hit or O’Neill’s range when he hasn’t played well in 3 years is just as relevant.
Tollfree…are you ok? They need a RH stick behind Devers…everything you write has some merit…but without an ounce of realism. The Sox still need to teach Rafaela to hit…shorten his stroke, and get more contact; that needs to happen in AAA. Correct? Take a happy pill, and enjoy baseball.
Everyone the Red Sox “pursue” ends up signing elsewhere, so I doubt they’ll do anything except dumpster dive for quad-A types.
I would wonder if the team — company —- has a bad reputation?
Treating their employees like trash etc. Last year Turner said he liked it
In Boston but maybe only the city not the team. It just seems like players
Quietly bad mouth the team…..
Sorry but this is MSU. Making S… UP.
Slow story day so lets just MSU.
Lets get people up at arms so they write stuff on our site so we MSU.
MSU…. it’s turning into the new policy of the writers on this website.
We have 3 right-handed batting options in the outfield as it stands in Ref, Raf, and O’Neill. If you are not bringing in a player that is a much better player than those 3 then there is no point.
Save the money and effort. There isn’t a single player available anymore that will take us from 5th place to the promise land (4th place).
To summarize. We knew we needed 1 right-handed power bat for the outfield. We got zero.
We needed 3 starting pitchers, 2 of them quality to fill the rotation out for a shot at contention and not poach from a mediocre bullpen. We got 1 starter, traded an ace when he was healthy, and then brought in ZERO quality starters. We are exactly where we were, but we are minus Sale.
We needed 1 quality lefty reliever. We did not even make an offer.
We did nothing to address the most obvious glaring issues with the team. Cora is optimistic? He is an absolute idiot or a liar.
William – I would argue no OF help is needed until both Rafaela and Abreu prove they are not MLB level players. By that time Anthony will need a tryout as well.
The Red Sox need a power hitting right handed 3B NOT OF. They need to trade Yoshida so there are no redundancies costing $18MM per year. The two all-star level SPs will cost money but are needed because with all the young players and Giolito to develop from SP3 to something closer to an all-star level starter. The bull pen needs a lefty or a make over. At the end of 2024 the team will lose it’s 2 best relievers and has not planned for the future. I say sign Hendriks to several years at a low rate and hope the cancer does not come back. That way, as 2024 finishes the team has a closer for 2025 and will still need lefty relievers. By that time, Winckowski should be ready as a set-up man replacing Martin. The plan for the future needs to include transitions as current contracts roll off.
Breslow seems to be doing day to day changes that are insignificant and I keep waiting for his actions to be more strategic.
You and I agree on the major stuff (the obvious problems and identifiable fixes), but I think we both know that reality scuttles the obvious fixes. They aren’t moving Devers to DH at that salary, Yoshida has a nearly untradable contract, unless they eat enough money, and what would be the point to any of it for a last place team. We haven’t had a quality dominate lefty in the pen since 2013.
I think this conveyer belt of journeyman on short term contracts and ignoring the obvious problems is simply them coming to a final diagnosis. They stink, there is a lot to fix, and that costs lots of money, or losing prospects. Since neither is palatable to them you are watching them operate like a team that is willing to take another 2 or more years to hope that some inner solutions present themselves and narrow the problems down to a few that warrant spending like a team trying to compete for a playoff spot. What we all know is that this was avoidable, but it wasn’t, and this is the result.
Snooze, you lose, Chaim Breslow
It is safe to say they will go dumpster diving for a couple of minimum wage veterans.
We’re not going to be contending for the next 2-3 years anyway, so does it really matter who we sign or don’t sign? Breslow etc. is here to make sure we stay competitive and win at least 70-75 games in the interim. With the current roster we should be able to do that. The big question is what happens after 2-3 years, especially if the prospects we’re counting on fall by the wayside?
JDK 4 – Great point. I think about the same thing all the time.
We had sustained greatness from 2016 to 2019 when DD was fired and then we hired a guy to bring us sustained greatness because apparently the owners did see the obvious sustained greatness we had.
Now we have nothing because Bloom made Sherman’s march to the sea seem like a walk in the park and it only took ownership 4 years to realize he wasn’t able to create what we already had.
Now Breslow is here doing nothing. Status quo for an organization burnt to the ground seems like an unusual approach to the future but when you think about 1919 to 2004 was it all that different? Boston often did enough to finish second to the money bag Yankees but they never really had a sustained effort to be good until around 2000. By 2004, we turned the corner and while they didn’t win every year like the Patriots they stayed competitive and after bringing in a miserable GM like Cherington who finished last 3 of 4 years they finally woke up and hired the best. An immediate turnaround followed by a ring after three unprecedented Division Titles. The Red Sox were on top of the world in 2018.
Now they are at the bottom of the world thanks to ownership and a really, really bad GM. There are no signs of revival with Breslow so should we just strap in for another 86 year drought? It sure seems like it.
The owners seem clueless. The hiring practices are abysmal. The players that are good are the remains from the DD era and we have a bunch of other farm guys who aren’t performing well who were added by Bloom..
In 2025 when what seem obvious to me is true that Mayer is a bust and all the other Bloom picks where as well, what do we do? Can Breslow draft well? He’s proven already that he can’t acquire well or trade well so maybe he’ll surprise us by drafting well so in many years the team might have better players. The future is so bleak right now because Bloom truly destroyed the franchise and there is NOBODY here to save it. That’s on ownership.
The pitching infrastructure that Breslow has put in place with Bailey, Willard and Boddy should show he’s serious about addressing pitching now and in the future. This is going to be looked back on as huge additions in the future.
Bruin1012 – Kinda like Bloom was going to rebuild the farm system? hahaha
If Breslow lasts through 2024 that will be a miracle considering how little progress he has made. Those coaches will be tossed when he’s tossed. You said we would look back at Bloom and be impressed. You were dead wrong about Bloom so it’s really hard to trust your judgement with all the inaccurate certainties that you have proclaimed over the years.
They may be great pitching coaches but they still work for Cora.so how effective they will be is a complete unknown.
I do not think they will fire Breslow in the next 4 years. They have made it clear in recent weeks his hands are completely tied in terms of bringing in major talent to fill those obvious holes. There is a lot of room in the cap, and 2 major additions were possible if they were willing to spend without reaching the cap. They had room for 1 major addition and possibly 3 more upgrades. Neither was done. We found out that the offers for even 2nd tier players were well below market.
At where payroll is you can be sure if Breslow told management they were a few million short for a player and they wanted that player, he would have gotten the green light to increase the bid. They did not, and they failed to even offer official formal bids for any of the top tier players. I am not letting Breslow off the hook based on the moves he made or is floating, but it is fairly obvious that Breslow was not allowed to sign any top talent to contracts with length (what it takes to sign top talent).
The farm system is in pretty good shape it’s just positional player heavy and that’s ok if your willing to trade from positional player redundancy or ownership is willing to pony up the money for free agent pitchers. Bloom, it seemed, was loathe to trade any of his drafted players Im sure this is a lesson he learned and will do better with the Cardinals in the future.
The Red Sox do have arms in the system that I believe have a lot of upside and with the guidance of Willard and Boddy I think some of these will start to unlock their potential under this high end very respected pitching minds. My guess in retrospect we will see Bloom did a pretty job with the farm.
It’s just really hard to build your farm system and continue to compete if you don’t have the financial resources and while ownership still had a high payroll most of that payroll was left over from previous regimes. Bloom never really had cart Blanche to go out and spend and maybe that is the vision he sold to ownership we just don’t know. Perhaps he was behind the systematic dismantling of the 2018 Red Sox championship core sadly we will never really know the truth.
The real issue with Bloom happened in 2022. I believe that’s when he lost the confidence in ownership. He certainly lost my confidence when he just looked lost and tried to straddle the line on buying and selling at the deadline and barely went over the lux tax. To go over by that small amount was grounds for immediate dismissal imo but they waited until 2023 to do that.
We now have a new regime and he’s only been there for a short amount of time and he’s already identified a problem (pitching development) and he’s done something about it. In my book this is smart thinking. My guess Breslow will start to make some trades to bring in more pitching. I think he wants to balance out the farm system and he think he does that via trades and future drafts and international signings.
FSG just seems to have bigger fish to fry than the Red Sox at this time. They are spending a tremendous amounts of money building around Fenway Park. They just spent a ton of money on Professional Golf the purse strings are tight right now. Hopefully ownership will spend on free agents when the next wave of prospects start to arrive and they need to supplement via free agency to build the next great Red Sox team. I think ownership will but based on what I have seen since 2019 it’s not a given only time will tell.
Breslow has only had the job for 4 months and he’s already added infrastructure and strengthened the pitching depth in AAA. He seems to understand you need quality pitching depth that come up and pitch when asked to. You need to be 8 or 9 deep in your starting pitching depth to address the inevitable injuries. He’s creating depth at Worcester. It’s obvious he doesn’t have the financial backing to go out and sign both Monty and Snell so he’s subtly increasing pitching depth. There is recent article in the Athletic were Breslow makes a comment that seems to take a shot at ownership. The way I read his comment was something ti the tune I expected ti be able go full throttle and build a winner but that just didn’t materialize. I think he thought he had more financial backing than he got. He just pivoted to what he can control under tight financial constraint.
There should be no comma before “specifically.”