The Red Sox came up short in free agent pursuits of Juan Soto and Max Fried, but they made their first major strike of the offseason when they pried Garrett Crochet from the White Sox in exchange for a package of four prospects headlined by catcher Kyle Teel and outfielder Braden Montgomery — their top picks in each of the past two drafts. Boston now controls Crochet through the 2026 season, making him a multi-year contributor alongside Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford, Brayan Bello and perhaps Lucas Giolito — depending on his 2026 option. The Sox, however, don’t plan to stop there. Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said in an appearance on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM today that he’s still in the market for more rotation help (audio link).
“Teams that win in the postseason, they pitch,” said Breslow. “The ability to build out both quality and depth in our rotation is something that’s going to serve us well over the season. I think we saw what happened last year, when later in the season, our bullpen got tired and we had a couple unfortunate injuries with our rotation. We didn’t quite have the depth built up to step in and replace them. So, that’s a focus of ours. We’ll continue to be aggressive in pursuing starting pitching, but we’ll also start to shift our focus to continuing to address the bullpen.”
Breslow’s comments align with recent reporting on the Sox’ offseason efforts. In the week since landing Crochet, they’ve been connected to trade candidate Luis Castillo and to free agents John Means and Jack Flaherty. They were previously reported to be readying an offer to Corbin Burnes. Means, coming off early June UCL surgery, would be a pure depth addition with an eye toward the late stages of the 2025 season. Burnes, Flaherty or Castillo, clearly, would represent a potential major upgrade to a rotation already including Crochet, Giolito, Houck, Bello and Crawford.
Giolito is recovering from his own UCL procedure and might not be ready for Opening Day. Even if the Sox get a relatively healthy season out of him, there’s reason to think they could use another starter. Injuries on the starting staff are practically inevitable, first and foremost. Beyond that, Giolito’s workload will probably be managed in his first post-surgery season. Crochet’s 2024 season was his first full, healthy season as a starter. Another established arm would allow Boston to ease Giolito into the mix and provide some extra insurance should one of the other starters get hurt.
Addressing the pitching staff has been just one of multiple stated goals throughout the winter. The focus on Soto and the rotation clearly took priority, but Breslow is still mindful of needs within the lineup. “Also, we’ll take a look at trying to balance out the lineup a little bit and potentially do that via the addition of a right-handed bat,” he added during his radio hit.
Certainly, the pursuit of balancing the lineup and upgrading the pitching staff could be intertwined. Boston has explored trade possibilities involving both Triston Casas and Wilyer Abreu this offseason. Moving a left-handed bat could clear a path for the Sox to sign a righty-swinging outfielder like Teoscar Hernandez (if they deal from the outfield) or to move Rafael Devers across the diamond to first base (if they move Casas). That, in turn, could free up the possibility to trade for Nolan Arenado or to sign Alex Bregman in free agency. Boston could take the more direct approach of adding a right-handed bat to play second base while waiting on the development/arrival of top prospect Kristian Campbell (who can play multiple positions anyhow).
There are various avenues for Breslow & Co. to explore, but the second-year baseball operations leader’s comments Tuesday only reinforce that the Crochet acquisition was the first of what should be several notable offseason transactions.
Corbin Burnes?
Trade Casas and Abreu for Valdez or Gilbert! Take Devers to 1B. Bredman 3B and Teoscar LF
Gilbert isn’t going anywhere
The Mariners have zero interest in Casas for any pitcher.
I think the Mariners have interest in trading Castillo because they are cheap and he makes a lot of money.
Actually when the Red Sox offered Casas up for a young pitcher they countered with building a deal around Casas and Castillo and the Red Sox walked away.
Quality mid-tier guys are expensive. The notoriously thrifty Tigers just gave $15M to Alex Cobb, who pitched 22 innings last year. Personally, I don’t think Castillo gets traded as he’s worth more to the M’s than he is to anyone else, but if he does go, it won’t be a Bellinger-esque salary dump.
I believe Castillo is worth more to another team than he is to the Mariners because the Mariners have so many other good starters. Also Castillo doesn’t seem to benefit from pitching in Seattle like some guys do.
M’s are not salary dumping him IMO. I guess we’ll find out soon, but they love Castillo and he’s pretty reliable. M’s have great starting 5 but truly awful depth, unless you think Emerson Hancock is a true #5. M’s offense was awful last year but they still ended up closer to the WC than the Red Sox did, and that’s because of their starters. Breaking up that rotation is a huge risk for them, and if they trade Castillo and suffer a couple injuries, that would be catastrophic.
Trade Castillo and get a lesser starter back in the deal or go buy one with the money saved. They could use a lefty starter so they could take care of that at the same time.
You call it what you want. The Mariners are cheap they want out of that contract.
If the M’s trade Castillo, they’ll get something that helps them in 2024 back, and it won’t be a salary dump.
I wouldn’t say it’s a salary dump but I bet they use Castillos contract and trade as a way to fill their other needs and save money that way.
With the Astros looking like they’re heading towards a kinda-sorta rebuild, the Mariners probably would prefer to hold onto Castillo. If they do trade him it will be for mlb players and not prospects. Not sure if the Red Sox have the right mixture of players, but I’d somehow love for them to bring Castillo to Beantown
CBG – So confused with that …. does John Stanton own a 1982 DeLorean DMC-12 ??
Bit – To most people, what you’ve just described is indeed a salary dump.
he’s worth more to the M’s than he is to anyone else,
========================
Just the opposite imo. The Mariners need his $24M for a hitter.
Yes Joe I already said that
BITA – Maybe Joe has you muted.
He doesnt….
And you were in the room, right?
The Mariners already shot down Casas for any of their young pitchers. It was reported they would do a deal centered on Casas and Castillo but it didn’t go any farther.
Yes because why would the Red Sox trade a young player with a lot of upside for an aging pitchers with bad numbers away from T-Mobile on a massive deal?
Castillo represents an upgrade over many current Sox pitchers, but taking on the massive salary and giving up a young player is too much.
Casas for a younger player makes sense, because you know the values line up.
Casas for Castillo should be more than enough from the Sox, and if anything Seattle would send some money (small, like 3-4MM per year) or a low-mid tier prospect back.
Not really calling out anyone specific, just commenting here.
Makes sense. Contract matters. Castillo is well paid a guy like Bryce Miller is making league minimum. And so is Casas.
Joe – Castillo has three years at $24mm per. With the amount of innings and the number of deep starts you’ll get out of him, that’s not that expensive compared to the market.
He’ll battle, keep you in games and save the bullpen once a week. I’ll take him
Please Red Sox overpay for Castillo…
Teoscar is not a good fit for them assuming they don’t trade Duran and abreu and Anthony
Hell Hell Hell No for Castillo. $72M plus an option year triggered by his performance for a pitcher that is in decline. youtube.com/watch?v=L6bHJRrt2mY
Fair value for taking on that contract is Zach Penrod – see 6:20 in above video – which I agree with 🙂 Unfortunately he goes on to say Abreu for Castillo and Garver
While I don’t blame you for not wanting Castillo to be fair he doesn’t have negative trade value so it’s not like he’s only getting salary relief and a random washed minor leaguer
Thank you a reasonable middle of the road position.
Castillo is worth roughly what he gets paid. Just imho, if I were going to pay him $24M per, I’d prefer to pay Burnes $28-30M per, depending on duration.
Sox already overpaid for one Castillo.
where is Rusney these days
alan – Mexican League 2023 & 2024, and he absolutely raked this year.
Let – Frankie Castillo was worth every penny, he was a huge part of that memorable 2004 championship team ;O)
Open up the checkbook, John, Burnes is sitting right there to be had…
I think Burnes is going to get a massive overpay and not sure it is worth it. I think I would prefer another trade for a starting pitcher and put money into the bullpen and a right-handed bat. Maybe get one of the pitchers who will not be getting Burnes type money as well to have the depth they lacked last year.
Uncle – What do you consider an overpay? He was projected to get $44M more than Fried, that would put Burnes at $262M.
With the market raised, what would have been an overpay a month ago is no longer one.
I worry that the fact he has not signed yet is an indication the price may be well over the $262 million. Even at that his numbers don’t convince me he will be worth that kind of money for that length of time. If they want to put that kind of money into one pitcher I just hope it turns out to be worth it, because I don’t see Henry continuing to cough up the big bucks if the Sox are carrying high dollar bad contracts. We will see.
Whoever signs Burnes for 200m+ is gonna be really regretting that decision in about 2 years.
That is exactly my fear for the Red Sox, if that is their big spend this offseason.
Uncle – I’ve often said, the only thing to fear is fear itself.
Go by logic rather than emotion.
Logic indicates Burnes is as solid an investment as you can make for a starting pitcher. He’s had excellent results since 2020, and he’s AVERAGED 189 innings since 2021.
Is it possible he sustains a serious injury during his next contract? Of course, it’s possible with any pitcher. But with Burnes you’re mitigating the risk.
No doubt they need someone who can get through as many innings as possible. I remember seeing something in one of the articles that indicated there may be some sign of decline recently in some areas of his game which makes me nervous. I was all in on them getting Burnes until seeing there may be some red flags about committing to him long term. I also am thinking he may approach $300 million which is too much for a pitcher who is already 30. On the other hand we need to get an ace to be able to compete with what the Yankees are doing.
Burnes isn’t worth the kind of money he’s looking for. Last year he won 15 games, that’s 3 more than he’s won before. He’s due for a TJ surgery. Can we say David Price de ja vue.
Uncle – Yes his velocity did decrease last year, but then it rebounded this year.
fangraphs.com/players/corbin-burnes/19361/pitch-ve…
There’s risk with every decision, but personally I prefer risking money on guys with proven results and health instead of risking top prospects on SP’s who don’t have even one season of at least 150 IP.
Between Teel and Monty, the chances are good at least one of them becomes an established MLB player for at least a decade. Lets just hope neither one ends up finding their way to a divisional rival. Especially Teel.
Yaz – I was against the Price signing because mental makeup matters a lot to me when I evaluate players and he was always soft although he did finally come through in the 2018 postseason.
Still if given the choice between Burnes now and Price 9 years ago, I’d choose Burnes.
No reason to fear that it will not happen! I don’t really blame them, he’s not worth it.
Sometimes it’s worth the overpay if that’s what elevates your pitching staff to next level. To say they would pay 700 million to soto and not 230 or 250 to burns doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.
I think it does make sense based on their age. Soto is only 26 and Burnes is 30.
Step one is move Devers across the diamond. My dog plays a better third base than Devers. It’s time.
That move to first really doesn’t make me feel any better. Imagine Raffy needing to flip to a pitcher covering first. It’s the stuff nightmares are made of.
He needs to assume the Papi throne at DH.
Full-time DH is wasteful. I think Devers can learn first base – have to give the move across the diamond a chance.
Devers has the footwork and skills to learn 1st. Is he willing to sacrifice ego? I think he will. Ortiz even had a few good moments at 1st in the World Serries of past.
I think Devers would be a very good first basemen, possibly among the Top 5 defensive 1Bs in baseball. He has a really good glove and decent range, over 65% of his errors were throwing errors, if you remove the need for him to make a throw across the diamond his error numbers will plummet.
Assuming all plans have them moving on from Yoshida and acquiring a 3B. Devers will need to come off 3B at some point but they could be more comfortable with Story at SS in the near term. This offseason could develop into signing someone like Goldschmidt (.839 ops vs LHP in 2024) and platooning him with Yoshida (.832 ops vs RHP, .565 vs LHP).
But full time papi is not a wasteful job…
30 Park – He’s possibly the dumbest baseball mind ever and it translates to defense. They said that about 3B 14 years ago. It’s still a work in progress and the progress has been all but nonexistent!!!
Boxy = Ego is nothing compared to his lack of coordination, balance, baseball smarts and accuracy throwing to 2nd base around a runner.
Kevin 23 – NO. We are talking about Rafael Devers not the Devers that plays in your local little league!!!
Sad – Great point Sad. Papi isn’t a waste and Devers is!!!
HAHAHAHAHAHA nothing farther from the truth.
I have several hundred misplays that suggest neither 3B or 1B is his cup of tea and 1B is far greater an injury risk with his lack of skills proven over the 14 years!!!
I’m sorry guys, but I don’t get how you all say Devers is somehow going to be a serviceable first baseman in the same breath as saying he’s the worst third baseman of all time.
First, his defense is not great, admittedly, but it’s not the final piece to the puzzle that makes the Sox a playoff team. He’s not moving this year.
Second, a real first baseman makes some scoops of Devers throws will cut down on some of the errors.
Third, a defensively adequate SS will save him movement to his left.
Fourth, we have more pressing issues that need to be filled
I really wish they had given him some opportunities in that position just to see what happened. We really don’t know how Devers will adjust until we see him at first. It could work out great or he could get in his head and be thrown off by being on the opposite side of the diamond.
5th Casas will friggin’ rake if they give him a chance.
So Edgar Martinez and Papi where wasteful? I know Papi played first in the playoffs, but he wouldn’t today!
Devers would be learning 1B during the season. That sounds like a bad idea to me.
If they have that in mind they better have a plan B. He may not be able to make the adjustment and that could impact his offense. It is one thing to experiment in spring training but another to make a permanent change that doesn’t work. If Yoshida is traded at least you have DH as an option for him.
That’s what needs to happen. Please please please don’t trade Casas yet. I think DH is Dever’s future.
I agree. I would prefer that they not trade Casas. The only way I would agree with it is if it involved a young stud pitcher coming to Boston.
I heard your dog is still a bit ruff lol
Vin – my dog actually loves chasing ground balls (tennis balls) at third base. He runs across to first to try to beat the runner. We’ve been practicing since he was a puppy. I legitimately think he’s better than Devers!
30 = A crippled cat would play 1B better than Devers!!!
To be fair, Rusty moves well and has a cannon for an arm.
Yeah, whatever happened to that offer they were preparing for Burnes?
That was speculated after fried signed but prior to trading for crochet..the need to meet burnes price diminished significantly
Team is really nicely set up. The Crochet acquisition, because it cost so little in dollars, just makes everything so easy. Expect them to bid big and get one of Bregman/Burnes/Flaherty/Santander/Hernandez, and they still have one of the best top 3’s in the farm system of any team. Hate to say it, but unless the O’s get their heads out of their behinds you’re looking at the Sox being the best team in the AL in about a year. Maybe earlier.
I don’t think most Red Sox fans share your same optimism.
I’m with Seam.
Bullpen has improved. I’d say add one more stud SP, find a real 2B and they should be ready.
And keep Story confined to a bubble wrap straight jacket.
How has the bullpen improved?
swan – What is your reasoning behind believing the bullpen has improved?
Yes I feel better having Chapman come out of the pen to face lefties, but the loss of Martin and especially Kenley created two huge voids. Liam’s ability to come back is a complete unknown and everyone else is unproven.
I’d say right now the top priority should be a shutdown closer such as Hoffman or Scott.
Swan: The bullpen has NOT Improved. At all.
You and Seam need some baseball lessons Swan.
The NYY will be #1 into the distant future with BAL afraid to spend enough to keep up, TOR will compete with TB and BOS for the cellar until MONEY is actually spent. Not theoretically spent as if they can get this guy or that guy, but an actual all-star under contract in Boston. JD Martinez was the last perennial all-star to sign in Boston.
We also have to fear Crochet being another Joe Charboneau!! At this point, he’s a one hit wonder. Hardly enough results to know if he can do it twice.
As long as Devers plays 3B there will be no division titles in Boston and if they move him to 1B he’ll get hurt and there still won’t be any division titles. They aren’t in the current zip code of the Yankees. Only BAL is and they are no longer close.
For starters, I’d say adding Hendricks, Chapman and Wilson is an improvement. Whitlock fully realized as a BP piece is an improvement. A full season of Slaton is promising as he could blossom into a stud 7-8th inning guy.
Anyway, I said improved, not done. I get we don’t have an assigned closer, but I like the way its progressing.
And you seem to forget we lost Jansen and Martin. Hendricks missed the entire season, Chapman is whatever, and Wilson stinks. The bullpen is nowhere near improved
Agreed. I feel better about the bullpen.
I tend to be hopeful and confident. Makes baseball more fun.
Well, they signed two 37yo’s so I guess you can say it improved in worldy experience.
sag – How the heck did you pull Joe Charboneau’s name? LOL!!
Better choice would have been Kevin Morton ;O)
Swan: I’m also expecting Guererro to have a good year in the bullpen.
swan – Thank you for the explanation, the way you originally phrased it didn’t indicate you included 2024 Red Sox pitchers whom you expect to return from injury..
With both Hendriks and Whitlock, it will be a challenge for them to not only be healthy but also able to perform as they have in the past.
Wilson hasn’t been healthy and pitched effectively in a full season since 2019.
Slaten was quite good this year, therefore it will be challenging for him to improve much next year.
And technically the team also lost two relievers (Garcia & Sims) who pitched fairly well prior to joining the Sox.
Like you said there’s more to be done this offseason, let’s see what happens. Don’t forget Fitts, Guerrero, Priester and Penrod could also factor in the 2025 bullpen.
Fever Pitch Guy – Morton was a one time wonder but he walked 40 in 86.1 innings. Not a great year.
Charboneau won ROY and sucked the next two years and was gone from baseball. I think Crochet’s one season was more comparable to Charboneau’s. Let’s hope the next two are not!!!
Fever Pitch Guy – You don’t win pennants with guys named Fitts, Guerrero, Priester and Penrod. Also, Hendrik when healthy is a gamer and doesn’t take days off.. He was a stud from 2019 to 2022 before his surgery. With the long off season he’ll be rock solid as the closer and he’s a heck of a lot better than anyone else on the team, even if you Tanner Scott.
To fix the bullpen since we can’t spend over $20Million AAV on anyone the team should build the bullpen with studs that fit the price range. Estevez, Scott and Minter to go with Hendrik and Chapman means the other inexperienced relievers have time to learn and back-up real set-up men and closers. Those five make the bull pen formidable at a relatively low cost with money well below the CAP.
Talking about Fitts and the others reminds me that we’ve been in Bloom/Breslow mode for so long we don’t think like real teams anymore. Go get quality no matter where you are planning to use it. Dumpster diving needs to end.
Sag – But Morton was a pitcher whereas Joe was a position player!
How about Mark The Bird?
Sag – I was just stating the newbies that could be on the roster next year, it wasn’t an endorsement!
From what I saw of Fitts both on and off the field, I do like his mental makeup.
Hendrik would be an awesome story if he can beat the odds again, we are all pulling for him but at this point he can’t be counted on to be his old dominant self.
Saga – The worst case scenario for Crochet (should he not be injured beyond return to the sport) is that you have the best lock down closer in mlb for the next 5 years.
Extend him now with escalators and incentives for $12-15mm per for 5years
sad – Unless he is ineffective and/or injured next year, he’s not gonna accept $12-15M annually for 5 years with him being a free agent just 2 years from now.
I’m fine with waiting a year before attempting to extend him.
Fever Pitch Guy = ROY stands for an extraordinary season that’s why I chose him regardless of position. Crochet’s season was extraordinary too. And then he wasn’t which to me is the Crochet risk. Closer is presumptuous. If he sucks he’ll probably suck at closing too.
Fever Pitch Guy – We disagree on this one. I think Hendrik will be lights out in 2025. His stuff, his personality and his will to overcome suggest it to. You can’t assume he’ll be less, you need to wait and observe.
Sad Sox 3 and Fever Pitch Guy – You are assuming he can repeat as an elite SP and if not he could be a great reliever.
Look at his historical numbers:
1 – 1 year of SP and it was outstanding
2 – The rest of his career in relief and he wasn’t good.
From that data, my fear is that he is a ONE time wonder.
That would not suggest he would be a good reliever because in all his years, that’s NEVER happened.
I hope he isn’t a one time wonder but until he has TWO good seasons, there is a decent chance that last year was his career year and he’ll go back to being a high strike out bad reliever like the old days.
Again, I’m not hoping for it, just showing the numbers suggest it could happen if last year was a one time success. He’s been pitching at a high level since 2018 so there is a lot of bad history there but clearly he can strike guys out BUT his overall performances were not good. It may just be he’s a showcase guy that looks good but can’t deliver like EROD.
Losing Teel, Montgomery and Meidroth is a very, very expensive price to pay. He needs to repeat his 2024 numbers several times for Boston to break even.
Fever Pitch Guy = I’m not against extending a quality pitcher, he just has to prove he’s a quality pitcher more than one season.
You can’t build a trend with a single point. That’s all. Add the second point which represents an outstanding future and I’m all in.
He wasn’t a bad reliever prior to 2024 he was simply hurt. If he’s healthy he’s going to be a stud you can bet on that. The question mark is health not performance. And if he gets a serious injury the Red Sox can walk away from him after 2025 instead of paying him.
BITA – Let me just confirm what you just wrote:
2018 – NCAA freshman – 5.51 ERA 1.476 WHIP 6 starts 17 games and he was hurt? That’s why the numbers aren’t good?
2019 – NCAA sophomore – 4.02 ERA 1.369 WHIP 6 starts 18 games and he was hurt? That’s why the numbers aren’t good?
2020 – COVID – 1 start 3 innings pitched – HURT? Nope all games shut down in College so no injury because the CWS choose to promote him directly to the MLB. He pitches in 5 games for 6 innings and ERA of 0.00 and WHIP of 0.500 – HURT? No. He was fine going into 2021.
2021 – 54 games 54.1 innings ERA 2.82 WHIP 1.270 – HURT so badly he doesn’t return until 2023 where he throws 6 games for 6 innings at AA gives up 6 hits 4 ER and 4 walks THEN gets promoted to AAA for 6 games 6.1 innings 4 hits and 2 walks all in relief. Great Ks = 24 in 12 innings.so once again CWS brings him to the MLB. 12.2 innings 13 walks 12 hits nearly a 2.00 WHIP. HURT? I don’t think so, he simply stunk.
Since this is his relief work for CWS I think it’s fair to say he stunk as a reliever. 2.0 WHIP. Who cares if you K a bunch of guys if you can’t throw strikes? At this point in time, Crochet has next to no value.
2024 – CONVERTED TO STARTER – The previous data was pretty much as a reliever. The rush to the majors created an injury risk that cost him over a full season. That’s on Chicago.
Was he a stud as a reliever? NO. The 54 appearances in his first full year damaged his arm When he came back in 2023 he wasn’t the same pitcher. He could still accumulate lots of Ks but his control was gone.
2024 – Crochet is not recognizable as a stud starter since that is NOWHERE in his history!!!
As a Starter 146 innings 123 hits 33 walks 209 strike outs
3.58 ERA and 1.07 WHIP with a 6 and 12 record
So he played 2 years of College before COVID ended 2020 college season and his numbers were 4.64 ERA and 1.40 WHIP with a record of 10 wins 9 losses for Tennessee. 12 starts in the two years prior to COVID with 35 games pitched so mostly a reliever.
12.1 innings in the minors to develop as a reliever hardly seems like enough to lengthen his arm to be ready for much higher innings pitched.. So no real development for the guy because CWS doesn’t have a great development program.
Drafted in 2020 and ended up in the MLB in 2020 as a reliever, goes 54 innings in relief in 2021 and gets hurt and misses 2022 and half of 2023. Comes back after 12 games of rehab as a reliever and throws 13 more games for CWS in 2023 as a reliever for a total of 12 innings. So his rehab in 2023 two years after getting hurt was 24 innings.
Naturally, the CWS switch him to Starting in 2024 and they stretch his arm out to 146 innings. Remember what happened when they stretched him to 54 innings in 2021? Does going for 54 to 146 seem like a safe approach to a guy with arm issues?
He’s a strike out phenom so he shows off his strong arm with 209 Ks in 146 innings which just happens to be 2 more innings than he has pitched since 2018 when he got to college. So coming off an injury he threw more than he had in the previous SIX seasons.
No red flags going up? Could the CWS have shot themselves in the foot if they kept him into 2025 and he wasn’t the same guy as 2024? Value drops and they don’t get way too much from Breslow? YEP That could have happened so to reduce risk, THEY SOLD HIGH.
I hope his arm is ok. I hope he can pitch as a 26 years old with 12.9 Ks per inning. I hope the team will give him more run support too. Nothing but the best for Crochet, especially since it cost Boston three excellent young stars to get him.
So his college years in relief with bad numbers probably were not from the injuries you were suggesting. It must have been taking a college player in 2020 and dropping him into the majors without any preparation in the minors that led to his injuries. That’s on the CWS not Crochet.
In the end, we still ONLY have one season and it was better than any previous season so the word fluke is relevant. That could be the case without more data.
Your theory that if he gets hurt badly with Boston (after all he is playing for CORA) that it’s a simple solution, you just walk away after 2025 still owing whatever ridiculous money Breslow will offer him this year. The other HUGE cost is that you don’t have Teel, Montgomery or Meidroth to fill 3 critical starting positions for the Red Sox in 2026 and beyond.
If he is as injury prone as people think, $75mm guaranteed might be pretty enticing for someone who could never pitch again every time he goes to the mound
Sad – I think because there is so little history with him, both parties would like to see a good 180+ IP year before making any decisions.
From a Sox perspective they don’t want to immediately risk $75M by rushing into a decision like they did with Sale, and from Crochet’s perspective a solid 2025 would translate into at least $150M.
Plus how do we know Boston is a good environment for him? That was a big reason why the Yanks traded for Soto, the Orioles traded for Burnes, etc ….. to ensure they are a good fit and can be successful.
All fair points. I’m being optimistic.
I never mind giving up the prospects, but i dont want to get into a protracted battle to resign him either, because i dont trust ownership
Sad – I think because the Red Sox gave up so much for Crochet, they will be pressured into paying him what he wants for an extension. He will have the leverage … and I think the Sox will give him a massive extension.
He may have the leverage, but its only 60-40 in his favor. Dangling money, by buying out the next two years is still a huge incentive.
Im optimistic…they can score with anyone they proved that last year..just add some pitching and they will challenge for the division
Pool – Casas returned August 16th, from that day to the end of the regular season the Red Sox had the 9th-worst offense in MLB.
I hope Anthony and Campbell will be raking at some point next season, but expecting guys like Ref, Wong and Rafaela to hit well is a bit of a stretch.
The offense was carried by Duran and Devers until one tired out and the other’s injury became too severe. They will need production from more than just those two guys if they want to contend.
Pool – They lost their second best hitter in O’Neill and he was only part time!! Who did they add? Devers making 50 misplays at 3B, Story an uncertain, Mayer a pipe dream if he stays healthy, the best SS is Campbell but he won’t get to play there so he doesn’t displace the over rated Mayer, Grissom is now qualified as a pre-arb 2!!! With pre-arb 2 skills. Casas your third best hitter is going to get pushed out of his position because Devers is a bum and with a massive ego, the guy with the YIPS is back in right field, Duran you best hitter is back, and who knows what they’ll do with Rafaela. Cora would bat him 10th to 12th if the line-up stretched that far. This team is not a great hitting team. League average seems likely without an all-star addition to replace O’Neill 120 game power.
The glass is half full to you and I respect that. I say, just enjoy the ride whether it’s 75 wins or 85 wins.
Fever Pitch Guy – I know you don’t like him but out of the 9th hole, Rafaela carried this team with Duran and Devers. The RUNS and RBIs typically account for wins and Ks are just a way of making an out. Hard to go big with Runs and RBIs if you strike out as much as him BUT HE DID so give him his dues. Just think if he actually had runners on base when he came up like the over rated Abreu!!!! WOW. Might have had a completely different year.
Don’t worry. No delusions. Cora hates him and he’ll be the first to sit and the team will be .500.
Hey SagaCity or Fever…I’m trying to figure how O’Neil hit 31 bombs last year but only drove in 61 RBIs?? I don’t think I’ve seen such a low amount of RBIs paired with that many homeruns before. You would think he should have had runners on base ahead of him when he hit those given Boston being decent at the dish. I guess he wasn’t very clutch?? Maybe anti’-clutch?? Thrives when the pressure is the lowest??
Sag – I like every Red Sox player! Rafaela is a good guy, great athlete, fun and exciting to watch at times.
What I don’t like is him constantly chasing every pitch, constantly swinging from his heels, and constantly making poor decisions especially on the basepaths.
I’ve said many times that he’s been fairly clutch and made some great plays.
So here is some interesting information, take it for what it’s worth ….
As you probably know, I’ve been involved in the team’s winter fan events for many many years ….. at first when it was just a Town Hall event, then when it became a Winter Weekend, and now that it’s devolved into just an 8-hour “Fenway Fest” in which they charge $85 for admission and force free regular season tickets on each $85 payer to inflate attendance (more on that later).
Prior to each year’s event I have looked at the current players scheduled to attend, and quite often there are players who are conspicuously not on the list and they end up being off the team within a short amount of time. Last year for instance it was Chris Sale.
Well this year as of right now, you’ve got Yoshida coming all the way from Japan to attend the event …. but Duran and Rafaela are not expected to be there.
Maybe they have valid reasons for being no-shows, but based on past history it’s worth taking note of.
Ignorant – I’ve written about that exact subject multiple times the past few months!
Not only did Tyler often waddle to the plate with OBP machine Duran on the bases, nearly ALL of O’Neill’s PA’s came from either the 3-4-5 spot in the lineup.
So yes he was very unclutch. With RISP he batted only .231 and with 2 outs and RISP he batted only .195
Fever Pitch Guy – Based on what I’ve seen since Breslow showed up and the bias by Cora with Dominicans, I would not be surprised if either was traded for something not worth it. That’s the trend.
Crochet’s deal was a joke and set things back quite a bit dumping 3 excellent farm hands for a one time wonder. I could see something just as ludicrous happening to Duran, the best player on the team. It happened to Mookie. After that it happened to Bogey. Then JD all of who are far better players than Devers. Nothing surprises me anymore.
I’ll keep an eye on what you are saying as February approaches because I’m guessing dumping Duran won’t happen before then. I guess if the DR needs the best player on the team to be Devers Boston will have to continue to eliminate everyone who passes him. How screwed up is that logic? It’s true so far, but who thinks like that except a Cora and his gambling based backers who have kept him in a job.
So if you like Rafaela, why do you keep promoting the fact that he swung at a lot of pitches outside the strike zone when you know he is ONLY 23, he was forced to bat 9th where nobody gets on base ahead of him and the pitcher can pitch around him in every at bat? Why not support him by pointing out he was the third most productive hitter on the team behind Duran and Devers? I take offense because everything I read into your comments is saying you hate the guy because guys you like you speak positively about. If you did the political thing at the start of your response, then let me know what public office you are running for because what you say and what you do aren’t matching up with respect to Rafaela and I simply don’t get why anyone cheap shots a young player in his first year who got crapped on by Cora. It makes no sense to me.
Sag – I mention the strikeouts only to explain one reason why I’m not high on Rafaela right now, I’m not promoting anything. LOL!!
He is actually 24 not 23, but besides that what was especially concerning is he regressed this year with a lower OBP and much lower BB%. Guess when was the last time he walked, he’s on pace for a MLB record consecutive walkless PA’s!!!
You’ve got it backwards on pitcher approach, pitchers challenged him a lot more because they didn’t want him on base with Duran usually batting behind him!! But then it got to the point where, why bother throwing him strikes if he will always swing at pitches a foot out of the strike zone? He needs to stop acting like O’Neill (thankfully he’s gone) and start acting like Duran …. make contact and use his speed to reach base!
I support every Sox player! If you’re implying he reads these comments, it is highly unlikely he does. Very few active players do. But here’s the thing, Cora and Fatso have made it clear Rafaela can do whatever he wants INCLUDING always having the green light on the basepaths ….. that is NOT the proper way to manage young players! Somebody needs to say what Rafalea is doing wrong, if it’s not gonna be Cora or Fatso then it needs to be us!!!
Not please don’t start getting personal again. Everyone knows I speak my mind, if I actually “hated” any player I’d say so …. I’m not shy. Hahaha!
I think you need to accept the fact that not every fan has the same opinion on every player, and each fan is entitled to express their displeasure about the performance of certain players.
Remember when I used to post my frustration about Wasdin whenever he blew games in 1998? Well my comments actually helped, as he DID improve in 1999.
Anyway as you know I stay away from discussing with you players that you actually do hate (Abreu, Devers, Yoshida, etc) and I have always respected your opinion of them even though I obviously disagree with said opinions. Hopefully you can someday come to a point where you can respect the opinions of others, especially during this beautiful holiday season :O)
I think what folks might be missing is that Rafaela is JBJ w a slightly better offensive game. Rafaela has an aggressive approach, but he didn’t go into those 6-8 weeks slumps that JBJ used to have.
I think he needs to be in the line-up based off his defensive ability. Just slot him in the 9 hole and let him cover OF or SS as needed.
swanhenge – I think your desire to pigeon hole a 23 year old player and saddle him with a bad set of skills like JBJs is very short sighted.
1 – Check JBJ in the minors and Rafaela (Rafaela much better offensive player) Never had such a huge chase issue when batting in the middle of the order producing the most runs on his minor league teams.
2 – He can field ground balls like Story when he was young but he’s fast and has the best outfield glove too. In a normal organization he’d be quite valuable but this is Cora the moron.
3 – This guy has a great arm from SS or the outfield. He did a lot to help keep this team together when they needed a SS on a moment’s notice. That deserves respect he never got as a multi-talented 23 year old in his first MLB season.
Your comments sound like something Cora would say so that pegs your baseball acumen.
I think they are well set up assuming they spend some money. It seems like they have a hard time convincing guys to play in Boston. If they had money for Pivetta and a Soto pursuit then theoretically they still can spend a lot more.
Bit – You’re absolutely right, they need to overpay quite a bit if they want to lure free agents that are in demand. And they have a ton of payroll space, let’s see how much of it they choose to use.
If they are willing to move Devers you go after Bergman for both his bat and defense. Would love to get Hernandez as well. Burnes is likely to get too much money and years to be worth it. Would love to see them find a way to trade for another young stud pitcher.
Signing players is not going to happen John Henry does not do that cause a .500 team is always better then a playoff team.
Thats the opposite of what john henry said
I don’t care what John Henry said, it’s EXACTLY what John Henry does! The fact that the team that generates the 3rd most revenue in all of MLB only spends in the middle of the pack is criminal to the fans.
I just finished Jose cansecos book he released 20 years ago and even he mentioned the cheap owners problem all those years ago
Why can’t baseball change we need more young owners not these old guys that are focused on their soccer teams and t mobile jobs
Why can’t baseball change we need more young owners
===========================
It won’t make one bit of difference. Pick any year in this century at random, and I predict at least 6 teams will finish in last place or tied for last place.
Pool – When did John Henry make a public statement recently? They don’t let him talk much after the things he said in the past.
Fpg ..for some reason i still cant reply to you but hopfully you will read this…i just quote john henry makes a public comment every time sam kennedy speaks these days lol
Pool – Very true about Sam! Werner isn’t allowed to talk either.
Someone else said the same thing about replies. I’m seeing them right below mine, how are you replying then? Whatever you’re doing is working!
Sin – he’s gotta resign Mo Salah at Liverpool first and then he’ll get a second baseman, left fielder and SP.
Yeah that sounds about right for John Henry
Sad Sack – The Red Sox have Kristen Campbell (Minor League Player of the Year and top 25 prospect in all of baseball), Grissom, and Hamilton for 2B, so they will use the $ for their rotation and right handed power.
Wouldn’t really make much sense to trade Casas unless they feel like signing Walker. Everyone seems to think flipping 3rd basemen into 1st basemen is an overnight process. Alonso isn’t realistic. Where would Teo even play if Anthony is ready in 2025? Rafaela Duran and Anthony deserve playing time. Yoshida pretty much has to go. Who cares how much we pay of his remaining contract. And Abreu would have to go.
So assuming Casas isn’t included, does Mayer, Abreu, Yoshida (with most of his contract paid by Boston), and another prospect, return a top SP from Seattle (not named Castillo)?
Gilbert is a stud no question about it, but a package including a top 10 MLB SS prospect, a reigning Gold Glove rookie OF, and a veteran hitter with his salary being paid by another team, is pretty solid return. Especially for a team desperate for offense.
The Red Sox have the money to extend Crochet and sign Burnes. I don’t see the, getting a really good young pitcher or an upper tier pitcher for Casas. It is going to also cost Paxton, Bello or Houck as well. Young and top pitching is a premium.
I’m tired of hearing what they’re planning to do as they keep coming up short. They’ve yet to actually spend any money this off-season despite promises to do so, as Crochet costs them nothing in terms of dollars. Anybody they sign will be an overpay because that’s the nature of free agency. But the teams that spend, win. That’s how baseball works. Sox had $500 million in revenue last year and currently have a payroll of about $150 million. So there’s no excuse not to spend big. They wanted Snell, Dodgers got him. They wanted Fried, Yankees got him. They wanted Soto, Mets got him. At some point they need to start playing with the big boys if they wanna get serious about competing again. Stop nickel and diming this franchise. You have a Ferrari, act like it. Stop shopping at Goodwill.
Snell wanted to be in LA from the moment free agency stated and made sure it happened. Soto is massively overpaid for what he brings to the table and the Mets will soon be regretting paying a 2-tool player like he’s the best overall player in the game. Fried was the only one they kind of missed out on, and with him being a ground ball pitcher and having a suspect IF defense he was never the fit many fans thought he was in Boston. Just because the team has money to spend doesn’t mean they should piss it away unwisely. Doing things like that is how they’ve found themselves stuck with a DH who is largely not worth his contract.
And why do you think he wanted to be in LA so badly? Because they spend and they win. And while I agree that Soto isn’t worth that kind of money, the Sox are already a year late to the party to start spending money (assuming they do), as they should’ve gone all out for Ohtani last year. They passed on him because they claimed they were focused on starting pitching, forgetting the fact that he is a pitcher. Then they promptly passed on Yamamoto, Snell, Montgomery, and traded Sale for a AAA 2B.
They passed on Ohtani because he wasn’t going to be able to start at all last year and after his second TJ surgery in 5 years is a severe question mark going forward. There’s a reason LA is continuing to stockpile starters even with Ohtani supposedly returning to the rotation. Ans the Sox didn’t “pass” on Yamamoto. Again, if a player is set on signing with another team there isn’t a hell of a lot the team can do to change his mind. Snell and Montgomery sat in the shelf last winter because they were both looking for more than the market valued them at. It wasn’t just Boston unwilling to meet their asking price, so stop acting like it was.
Agreed that you get into trouble by spending unwisely. I don’t think Fried is worth the largest contract ever given to a LHP. I also doubt Burnes is worth what Boras is asking for him now. Hopefully Burnes’ price comes down.
All in – totally agree. Henry will not spend huge money on a starting pitcher over 30 years old. He was burned on the Chris Sale re-sign (3 injured years totaling around $81 million wasted), and David Price (his last 3 years Henry paid $48 million of his salary to play for the Dodgers). I frankly agree with not paying crazy money for someone in their 30’s to a long term contract.
As a Sox fan I’m beginning to lose hope in breslow and co. We’ve been hearing this all winter again. All we’ve done is acquire crochet who I like however he really only has one year as a proven starter. While he’s cheap contractually at 2.9 million that would give indication that we’ve got a ton more to spend yet Breslow and Company are over here saying everyday we’re working on it. Watching more guys go off the board each day. Offering Soto 700 million and not getting him and losing out on Fried over a couple million to your rival is unacceptable. There is no sense of urgency by this management group. Sox will end up with a couple more guys they find at a flea market that no one has ever heard of.
Totally agree. Ownership has completely cut off the ability to take on any payroll.
I’ll believe it when I see it. Talk is cheap.
The Red Sox should sign Clayton Kershaw for $10 million and let him start every other week while Lucas Giolito starts every other opposite week. They could get 10 wins each because each would get 9 days rest between starts. Potentially 20 wins for a combined 5th starter would be great. Thoughts?
1999 – Nice out of the box thinking? Fits the austerity program too!!
The Red Sox should STAY AWAY from Castillo (make that ANY of Seattle’s pitchers) because T-Mobile Park is notoriously pitcher friendly. He’d have a 5.00+ ERA in Fenway Park!
I disagree, he pitched in Cincinnati and that’s a bandbox.
Castillo can pitch not just throw. He went late in games because the Seattle offense was bad and he didn’t get any run support and gave up runs late in games
You typically need to be a strike out pitcher or a ground-ball pitcher to be successful at Fenway Park. Just look at the 2024 trades:
– Lucas Sims 3.57 ERA with CIN & 6.43 ERA with BOS
– Luis García 3.71 ERA with LAA & 8.22 ERA with BOS
– Brad Keller 4.86 ERA with CWS & 5.84 with BOS
The numbers don’t lie!
1999 – Which one of those three are as talented as Luis Castillo, even in this phase of his career???
Abreu, Casas, & Rafaela for Hunter Greene. Who says no?
1999 – All of Cincinnati.
Blah blah blahhhhh blah blah oh blahhhhhhhhh raaaalllllllphhh!
Yoshida, giolito, blais = Castillo + haniger from mariners? Ms give Hancock a few starts before gio ready they get a bat and a really good prospect and get outta the back end of a big contract while saving 20 mil this year.
Never any urgency with Sox. Yankees making deals while Ivy League boys are processing everything.
fba – It’s too bad Netflix has stopped filming, because it’s totally a dysfunctional front office right now.
You’ve got Breslow who SHOULD be making the decisions based on his title, but his hands are tied by Henry and Cora.
You’ve got Cora who THINKS he is already a top Red Sox front office executive by trying to force his will on Breslow and others.
And you’ve got over 300 number crunchers providing ten times more data than what’s needed, most of which is misleading or irrelevant.
Without question, agents and teams preferred dealing with Larry & Dave back in the day. Now, agents and teams avoid the Red Sox like the plague … unless of course they are looking for another Red Sox overpay.
FPG: You should be a fiction writer. You are very good at making things up.
All – Which part was made up?
Breslow’s hand’s tied = CHECK
Cora and Henry being behind the problem – CHECK
Cora’s ego glowing so bring Rudolph is jealous – CHECK
The Metric World providing useless data – CHECK
Red Sox organization considered a hot mess – CHECK
Breslow the latest to over pay for mid level talent – CHECK
Sorry All – Fever Pitch’s Christmas List is spot on.
If you can’t acquire all-star talent, you can’t win.
If you can’t move Devers to DH, you can’t win
If you can’t fire Cora, you can’t win.
Vegas has Boston wins at 81, so what’s new?
Simple, we gave away three of our best prospects to get a pitcher with a ONE YEAR track record and expect it to be repeated or improved without a spec of history to support it.
Sure wish Breslow could distinguish pretenders from legitimate star prospects. Wasting quality prospects while saving the pretenders in hopes of them becoming something is mismanagement in the worst way. Chicago should be sporting Mayer at SS until he gets hurt in 2025 not Teel, or Montgomery or even Meidroth.
Maybe we could contract Dombrowski to give Breslow a seminar on how to be a GM so the better farm hands stay, the best players win fielding positions where they are the best player and the batting order reflects the contributions of the individuals not whose close to Cora. Wouldn’t that be nice!!! See I’m positive like you!!
There is no proof that any of what FPG is saying there is true. You would need to be in the Red Sox front office to know any of that is true. I was not commenting on his Christmas list.
No interest in any Mariners deal that doesn’t include Woo and/or Miller. They said they’re untouchable so that ends it for me. Castillo is too expensive for talent we can get elsewhere for cheaper.
I agree. Why go for Castillo, which has a real prospect cost on top of 3 years of basically $24MM a year, when you can sign Flaherty or Buehler for the same amount of money and not lose anyone in trade?
That’s what Mariner fans don’t get. Castillo is not the last pitcher in the league. He’s certainly bad, but I’d bet Burnes and Flaherty will have a higher WAR/$$$ than Castillo.
Red Sox sign Walker Buhler, either Santander or Teoscar and sign Taner Scott Hoffman and another high leverage reliever. This is not rocket science and you would still be under the cap
Thec’s – Buehler the only one in their price range. Minter would be a nice, cheap lefty reliever to add..
In the outfield? I don’t see the need. Duran is rock solid hitting and defense, probably an all-star again. Abreu is loved by Cora so like Devers he won’t be replaced no matter how mediocre he is. Left Field should be designated for Anthony who should be good enough to break camp on the MLB team.
Maybe left handed reliever Tanner Scott and right handed reliever Estevez both potential closers too who are going to be $10Million or less. With Hendrik, Chapman, Tanner Scott, Estevez and Minter the team wouldn’t have to count on inexperieced relievers and have about the value of one quality SP invested in five relievers. It makes the bullpen more resilient to injuries.
Biggest problem now is no quality catcher in the future. Got to hope Wong is not a one time wonder. Plus Devers butchering 50 balls a year will hurt the chances of winning unless you put Story at 3B and Campbell at SS and Devers at DH. Then you might have a 90 win or more team. And the $20Million AAV cap would only be violated by Devers and Story.
Don’t forget about Vaughn Grissom. He’s our right handed second baseman
All this move devers to first stuff is BS. There is no bloody garuntee he can play first to save his %^^^…. It would take more time then spring training he would have to have been working on it all off season so stop it ain’t happening….
ibuititnoonecame – 100% right. Why increase his risk, prove he can’t play ANY position when it will cost you more wins than at 3B just to keep a selfish player happy? Makes no sense.
Perspective – Devers started fixing his bad defense at 3B when he was 14 which is 14 years ago. It didn’t get better. Do we want to wait until he’s 42 to figure out he can’t play 1B? Let me save you some time!!!!
HE CAN’T!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He plays a ok 3rd base…. I remember a certain HOF er who was horrid at 3rd and got a bit better every year “Boggs” it would make no sense to place him at first without telling him and giving him the entire winter to work at it…. Stop being so negative about the one and only stuff player we freaking have
Burnes and Teoscar and put a bow on the offseason
Would you be happy with Santander instead of Teoscar?
At this point? Sure
All – You must think $20Million AAV or less. Do either fit? NOPE.
With $99Million available I still say – If you aren’t going to help the team with an addition then at least help the team by redoing Devers contract and bring a huge bonus into 2025 and lower his AAV so there is a chance of trading him before he hits 32 and falls off the cliff hitting. Do something with that money to help the team in the future if you won’t do it now!!!
That’s an interesting idea for Devers.
I get that ownership is afraid of paying a guy like Burnes to pitch into his late 30’s and most likely the last 3 years of that contract will probably not be great. The thing is the that is exactly what ownership should do by signing Burnes and let’s say Scott and another bullpen arm the window opens wide for this team.
I get that Henry thinks he was burned in the past by those big free agent pitcher contracts but it’s different this time. The pitching infrastructure is wholly different now. There were a lot of pitchers that took big leaps forward. Just look at who will be starting in AAA Worcester if Burnes was signed. It would be Fitts, Priester, Dobbins, Criswell, Penrod. AA will be even more loaded with Sandlin, Early, Mullins, Monegro, Paez, Wehunt. The point is there are pitchers coming I can’t wait to see how these guys look after a full off season with Willard and the boys.
The point is by the time that Burnes is declining the Red Sox are going to have cheap cost controlled pitching. They will be able to easily make up for the declining phase of Burnes. While those guys are going to be beneficial in the future they need more in the present and a rotation of Burnes, Crochet, Houck, Bello, and Crawford is really good. Throw in a guy like Tanner Scott to the bullpen mix with Hendricks, Whitlock, Chapman, Slaten, plus whomever looks the best out of Wink, Guerrero, Wilson, and half a dozen other guys the bullpen looks good as well.
Burnes makes all the difference in the world to this team. With him and Scott this team is a 90+ win team and a real threat with a loaded team in Worcester if any injuries pop up. They really need Burnes though. Without him I think they improve but probably an 85-87 win team with health. Cmon ownership sign Burnes.
Bruin – I totally agree, if they add Burnes and Scott then not even Cora can prevent them from making the postseason.
I think the Henry hating longterm pitcher contracts is a front office excuse. Dice & Price plus the Sale extension were obviously massive failures, but there was no excuse for not signing guys like Shota, Lugo, Snell etc. They simply didn’t give a damn about winning.
Fever Pitch Guy = Why test FATE by suggesting Cora is incapable of destroying something.
Adding both players still leaves big issues:
1 – Devers on Defense making 50 misplays a season
2 – Cora making line-ups and in game decisions
3 – Counting on a catcher whose had ONE good year
4 – Cora has yet to be successful with an elite pitcher
5 – Cora will still choose when to use the improved bullpen
6 – The Dominican influence by Cora will prevent the best team from starting and it will give the bench guys more playing time than they deserve.
Devers and Cora. Two words that throw fear in the hearts of all good Red Sox fans who realize the damage that can be done even if the roster improves.
FYI… No signs in the ownership group that the $20Million AAV cap will be exceeded so Burnes seems highly unlikely as much as we need him.
Saga – i’ve been reading your reference to Cora and the Dominican influence. If it mattered at all, and it doesnt, Cora is Puerto Rican. And, not only that, but Puerto Ricans and Dominicans are historical rivals in all things, including baseball. Moreover, the Sox have only two Dominicans of note on their team, Devers and Bello. Name the manager in mlb that wouldnt play those two guys? So, its time to move beyond that.
Second, as i’ve mentioned a million times here, Devers defense isnt stellar by any means, but the organization has done him no favors in trying to support and improve that. Numbers can be made to make any case, I can find metrics that say Devers wasn’t the worst player at the position last year (although still in the bottom third).
Lets all focus on how this team can improve its lineup, and pitching staff, before we offend our best player by making him move against his will.
There are plenty of examples of really good teams carrying a defensive liability everyday in the field. Surely having a plus defender at SS or 2B and an adequate 1B isnt too much to ask, is it?
Sag – Because they managed to win in 2018 despite him ;O)
Still 33 top free agents available, I’m hoping for a Christmas Miracle!!!
SPEND THE MONEY IN FREE AGENCY! BURNS, SCOTT, BREGMAN. NO TRADES DRAWING FROM THE BIG 3 OR THE MLB CLUB. TRADE YOSHIDA, GONZALES, HAMILTON OR REFSNYDER. SPEND THE MONEY BOSTON WE FANS HAVE WAITED 6 LONG YEARS FOR YOU TO GET REAL!
The solution is out there…
This would not only fulfill my Christmas list
Sign Burnes & then Flaherty (or trade for Castillo)…imagine our rotation!?!
Sign Scott for the pen.
Sign Teoscar Hernandez if we end up trading Abreu.
Sign multi-position player (2b, SS, OF if needed) Amed Rosario.
Then last I knew Elias Diaz was still available as well to back up Wong. ♂️
All problems solved on paper & on field if all goes well plus we would still be under the threshold, have a great pitching staff & RH bats…we call that “full throttle” & “raising the ceiling” or aka being very competitive!!!
FO get off your thumbs & get things done…it’s been way to long!
The Red Sox should stop focusing on big $$ players because they would cut into their 50% profit margin! I recommend they go all in and sign the 1987 crew:
– Paul Goldschmidt for 15 million. He’s a 7 time AS and he hit 35 HR / 115 RBIs in 2022
– J.D. Martinez for 4 million. He’s a 6 time AS and he hit 33 HR / 103 RBIs in 2023
– José Abreu for 1 million. He’s a 3 time AS and he hit 30 HR / 117 RBIs in 2021
They can rotate between DH & 1B and hit 8th & 9th in the lineup.
Send Casas back to AAA until he figures out how to stay healthy for a full season. Lol. That would be fun to watch! You think?
We are NOT moving Raffy to 1b ever! Never! DH maybe that’s it, but not while Yoshida is on the team. Spend money of free agents Burns, Scott, Bregman and head to spring training already
baseballguru – So did I understand you correctly. You don’t want to reduce official errors by a dozen or two and total mishaps at 3B by close to 40 because you want Yoshida to be the DH? What do you suppose the differential would be in errors if Yoshida played LF and Devers DH’d?
3B gets far more Total Chances so the damage by bad defense by Yoshida would be a rounding error compared to the damage by Devers. Couldn’t we just play Yoshida in the OF and play Campbell or Rafaela at 3B and save a couple of dozen errors? Would that be an adequate solution?
I want Boston to win and they can’t if Devers is allowed a fielding glove. Statistically the worst 3B in the history of the Red Sox and the worst 3B in the MLB since the dead ball era. That has to make you think maybe keeping Devers at 3B is an incredibly bad move.
“Burnes, Flaherty or Castillo, clearly, would represent a potential major upgrade to a rotation already including Crochet, Giolito, Houck, Bello and Crawford.” What a mouthful. Why is “clearly” after all that when it reads much better as “would clearly?” Stop obfuscating the point.
There also shouldn’t be commas around “in turn.”