Rounding_Third

lol Beyond the stun setting, eh? Me too. There's so much in their rotation depth plans that is completely illogical without another SP (FA or trade). To boldly go this far in their 5 year mission so meticulously & smartly and then possibly allow it to implode over something so easily defended against is very frustrating. I won't go into all the "what ifs", we know them by heart.

I'm leaning towards that thinking as well. I'm holding out hope that its not true. If reports/rumors were true, the Sox did show some interest in SP trades, in FA's Richards & Kluber and offered Wainwright. So it does show they realized they needed another SP. I don't want to believe that the Rodon signing changed that. I keep thinking how could it? However, it seems that it might have. But I'm still clinging to the hope that they're just waiting for ST evaluations and/or FA demands to come down a little to complete another move/signing.

Hoping that the Sox still sign one. With JR's thinking, maybe waiting for lower cost later. Why pay $8m now if you can get same guy for $7.99m in March? Think of the interest he could earn!

The last few Sox moves & words seem to signal that they're pretty much done. With a few decent FA SP's and LH bats still available and money left in the budget, I hoping that they're just waiting to see how ST goes and try to get them cheaper, too. But, for now, their depth plan is like trying to fix all your repairs with duct tape and if it doesn't work, just add more duct tape and hope for the best.

115 + 20 games at 1B, 10 as DH

In July 2019, he was collided at home plate, with concussion & broken nose. Angels released him less than a month later. He's since had very short stints with 3 other teams. Wondering if he has lingering concussion issues.

I don't hold college stats or Schaumburg camp in high regard for many reasons. I voted for minors. That said, I agree that if there's no minor season, Sox are basically forced to play him and hope for the best. They really can't waist another year. He's better off with the Sox, part time with very limited 1B & maybe some DH sharing, than no quality time elsewhere. The risk is that failure can harm both the Sox chances and especially him. He should be treated as a luxury not a dependent but Covid screwed with that. Its so unfortunate its robbing him of his normal progression through the system.

So silly that you use Kluber's career body of work and only Minor's 2020. 2020 is not a benchmark for any player! Never mind that Kluber hasn't thrown substantial innings since breaking his friggin pitching arm where Minor (ex of many quality $8-10m pitchers) has recent proven quality innings. Yeah, just throw more uncertainty into an already uncertain situation with BOR. If Kluber gets to 100 innings without issues, it will be a major achievement; 180 innings (If full season)? Reality check! Sox need reliable innings not another dice roll. C'mon 7...for $11m bet.

Sorry about the rules. Yes McCann would have signed a long term deal last winter for less than he did with the Mets. His 2019 was very good. Grandal had the same kind of slide in the 2nd half as McCann. And they both had very similar 2019's. We didn't need to spend > $18m AAV on a catcher. We already had a very good one, yes, in 2019 who earned a multi year contract. Nice that you cherry picked Minor's 2020 and ignored his 2019 & 2018 and his other solid years. He was the best FA SP under $10m on the market and KC got him. That said, there were a few other pretty good ones, too, that are now gone Whether he (they) would have blocked Cease & Kopech is debatable. More on that later. La Stella would not have blocked Vaughn. Besides, Vaughn should not be rushed up in 2021. He needs to play every day at 1B in competitive games in MiLB, probably starting at A and working up like EVERY OTHER MLB PLAYER since the minor league system was created. Then reassess him next fall. Yes, Ramos or any vet BUC would block Collins. He should be blocked, he sucks! O & D! He needs to return to Charlotte so he can play every day and figure out his issues or they should trade him and give him a chance with a crappy team; not try it in Chicago getting a game or two and a few bad AB's a week on a team vying for a championship. Robert is an outstanding CF! And Bradley is better! There was always some talk about Luis playing right some day, anyway. I said it was controversial. I get it. But an outfield of Engel, Bradley, & Robert when Eloy is DH/off would be sensational! Hard to imagine a ball rolling to the wall. Let me get this straight, Minor blocks Cease & Kopech but Kluber doesn't, got it! Kopech gets shut down anyway, what do you then?

No. For fun, if I was GM...... (using fangraphs-roster resource as reference & 2021 cap column; not AAV) Don't sign Grandal in 2019; instead extend McCann 4/$34m - 2021 =$7m. I like Yaz but always thought this unnecessary; then and now. Make Lynn-Dunning deal Sign Hendriks Sign Mike Minor (2yr-9m KC), La Stella (3yr 19.5-SF), Ramos (1yr-2m Det), & Bradley Jr (2yr-20m 2021=$9m - or longer) - move Robert to RF - controversial maybe? Sox FO Grandal 18.250 Lynn 9.333 Hendriks 11.333 Eaton 6 Rodon 3 Total $47.9m Me McCann 7 Lynn 9.333 Hendriks 11.333 Minor 9 La Stella 6.5 Ramos 2 Bradley Jr 9 Total $54.1m diff = + $6.2m Current payroll would be at ~$134m. RR has it at $132m but includes $5m over-estimate of 5 pre-arb players. $132m - $5m + $6.2m = ~$134m. Anyway, under the $140 that was expected. Best in baseball, hands down!

Yes sir, sorry about that! Dick Allen also pointed that out. It took me a few rereads to realize it. Funny think is I got a couple of likes out if it. I'm hot & cold on Hamels. He could be outstanding all year or done after a couple of starts. Wish they would go after an innings eater like Leake. They already have so much instability at 4 & 5.

If TA gets hurt for extended time, Sox have problem no matter who subs. When healthy he's a horse, not a lot of subbing anyway. Sox also have Tim Beckham for SS but incredibly brutal defensively.

Brad Miller's only played SS 3 times (only 1 start) since 2018 so I'll take Cabrera who can play all 4 IF pos incl SS 31 times (25 starts) in 2018. Miller plays OF, too, but so what, we don't need depth there.

Cabrera has in the past, 2018 I think. Don't know why he still couldn't from time to time. Mendick too right? That SH is so nice to have. And nice power as LH.

Me too and Astrubal Cabrera as SH DH/utility IF over Miller. Get all 3 for <=$10m

If this is true, it burns my ass that they let Suzuki, Romine, Ramos, and Avila all fly away; all signed for either $1.5m or $2m, 1year deals. I guess they were just too damned expensive.

Gio G. rerun I think.

Was he sober when he said it?

2019; 141.2 innings, 3.81 era

Of all the pitchers mentioned so far, I think my preference is Leake, depending on his $'s. I know his metrics are a little concerning but they have been for a while and he still found a way to be efficiently successful. Also, having last year off should help revitalize his arm.

No, I get it. He still threw a lot of pitches. On average, to pitch 6, he had to throw 102 pitches. He'd be an okay 4th, though.

I do too, sort of. I liked him more until I saw his innings and pitch counts. I realize that in the NL its harder to stay in the game with PH. But in 2019, with Grandal, in 27 starts, he averaged ~17 pitcher per inning. He also only average ~4.8 innings per start which includes some early exits though. For the most part, he still pitched well, just took him a long time to do it. That said, I would still not be all that upset if he were on our staff.

Vaughn and Kopech should be treated as luxuries and not dependents. Rushing & pressuring them has a degree of failure attached to it; not just affecting the season and org but them as well. If they're to be key pieces for this year's success, failure (typical rookie struggling/adjusting) is not an option and its not fair to them. I would really like to see Vaughn get seasoned in the minors for a year and Kopech used as a long reliever/spot starter. His innings and outings can be managed so much easier while still presenting plenty of opportunity for important contributions. He could still get himself enough starts with makeup DH's and the occasional skip by the other SP's. Could plan some 5/4 innings with Cease/Kopech, too. So many ways to creatively & effectively control his pitch counts.

I like Grandal a lot but think his signing was unnecessary and, yes, I thought so then. If they had extended McCann after 2019 at 4yr$32m they would have saved $10m AAV for future spending, er, I mean in the bank. Think of the interest JR could have earned!

agreed agreed agreed - Toronto & Mets coming on, Houston & Oakland still formidable. BoSOx making noise. With one other exception, relying on Zack Collins is an F. Those stats (O & D) the last 2 years for a BUC couldn't be worse for a major league C. He's got the talent, has to figure it out in the minors and get back up ASAP.