SoxBlanco

Great point, and I’ve been excited about this as well. Hitting is contagious, both positively and negatively (like Birmingham’s first couple of months last year).

I don’t think this is a guarantee like it used to be. Last year, RR didn’t have many options for the 3 spot. Eloy was struggling early, and we didn’t have Grandal or EE. I would guess that Abreu starts at 3, but I don’t think RR will refuse to change things up. This is the first team he has ever coached that isn’t in a rebuilding year.

No worries. I edited my last post, and I see why it was confusing.

Yeah, but that has nothing to do with his point. His point is that the three positions where the Twins might have an edge are not weaknesses for us. EDIT: I see the confusion now, and I see it’s been cleared up.

If RR wants to let Robert lead off right from the start, I think he goes with something like this: Robert Moncada Abreu Grandal Eloy Encarnacion Anderson Mazara Madrigal If not, I think he just switches Robert and Anderson.

Huh? What does that have to do with the point he was making?

You’re right. Duh. Not sure how I missed that.

Do you think Stone knows of a specific signing/trade that is close to happening? Or do you think he just knows we’ve been looking into bullpen help and expects something to happen soon?

Yeah, I’m picturing a possible scenario where everything goes right, and Kopech and Rodon come to be lockdown relievers for us in a playoff run. Obviously pretty far fetched, but fun to dream.

Is there a scenario where all five starters are pitching well enough to stay in the rotation come the end of May, and Kopech gets called up to pitch out of pen? I know he’ll be a starter long term, but is there any way he pitches out of the pen this year?

You think we’ll still make a serious offer to Springer after landing Betts? Can’t say I agree with going after both.

This has to get announced by the end of the day tomorrow, right?

If we add EE, we are basically replacing Engel, Cordell, Yolmer, Alonso, and McCann with Robert, Mazara, Madrigal, Encarnacion, and Grandal. I’m not a WAR expert, but my calculations say that improves our team by about 217 wins (give or take a couple).

I’d go with this: Robert CF Moncada 3B Eloy LF Grandal C Encarnacion DH Abreu 1B Anderson SS Mazara RF Madrigal 2B

I have to imagine this is only a matter of time, and probably would have happened already if his father hadn’t just passed.

Castellanos also put up a 2.0 fWAR in only 51 games once he left Comerica. I understand that’s a small sample size and he’s unlikely to keep that pace...he got really hot with the Cubs. But he’s also only 27 years old and has been improving his power the past few years. I could definitely see him as a 4 or 5 win player in RF for the Sox next year. I’d be happy with him or EE, to be honest, but I’ve been pushing for Castellanos all offseason.

You should tweet Cole with that exact question. That’s pretty funny, and you make a good point.

I wouldn’t mind that, as long as Collins would get enough at bats. He would obviously catch when Grandal needs a break, but he could also DH whenever Abreu or EE rest. I just don’t want him sitting on the bench as a backup catcher all year.

When you guys say McCann would be the odd man out, do you mean off the roster? Or just barely getting playing time?

I think it’s more likely Collins goes to AAA than gets traded for a reliever. I don’t think you should ever give up prospects for a reliever unless it’s the final push for a World Series.

Well said. Cheers!

Bumping this thread because this seems like a possibility for our next move (along with a bullpen arm). Although, I still wonder what happens with Collins if we sign EE. Does he just stay in AAA this year?

The picture was already clear that we have preferred to avoid Boras clients in the past, so we’re on the same page there. I even agreed with you on that front in an earlier post But I didn’t believe that meant we were too petty to do business with him this offseason. I truly believed we would sign a Boras client, which is why I felt that discussing the past was pointless.

You were saying? I wish I could have bet you. It’s actually pretty well known that you were wrong...but perhaps you haven’t seen the news yet. You’re probably still exhausted from how “tiring” it was when people kept posting unreliable sources/rumors that Keuchel had agreed with the Sox.

What if the plan is to fill as many holes as possible this offseason to get this team back to competing for the playoffs, and then once you are competitive again, you make the huge signing (Betts) to push you over the top? You’ll probably just say there’s no way they sign Betts (and you might be right), but either way, I think this was a necessary first step to move from 72 wins to a playoff contender.