JoeC

Also, still an ex-Royal.

I figure if I throw enough of these asinine and cynical suggestions, I'm bound to get one of them right.

Phase 2: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/07/phillies-release-whit-merrifield.html He can play the outfield just as well as Benintendi, AND he can play 2B.

A downright hot streak.

"A Sox-A's playoff matchup!" "Sure, grandpa. Let's get you back to bed."

I think it's the roughly $8MM Moncada is owed in salary + the $400K or so that Crochet is owed for the rest of the year, divided by 2.

It's the "if they eat Moncada's buyout" part

#soxtalk

....unless they package him with a Crochet / Robert.... ? </sarc>

I hope Sosa continues to get regular ABs at 2B for the week or two that Moncada would be playing, then the Sox can get something (a bag or two of baseballs for Martin Maldonado to sign would be sufficient) in return. That would be the ideal case for me.

“Yeah? Well he ain’t seen MY heat!”

“How to make a promotion to AAA feel like a disappointment for $200, Alex.”

Just listened to his call of Kopech’s immaculate inning. He should call it like that more. I enjoyed that delivery.

Yep. That describes way too many pitchers who haven’t made it as far as he has.

It’s outings like this (well, lesser outings) that give Kopech value. That glimmer of hope that he can be dominant consistently with the right coaching, mentoring, counseling, etc., is basically the extent of his trade value.

We weren’t gonna take that from him.

That is valid, though I'd even argue that the ship has sailed for that already. I'd also argue that in a case like this, it's not unreasonable for the player to advocate for himself, again, to try to build value. To act like your own medical staff is incompetent (and not changing the leadership / strategies in that area) might just be worse, somehow.

Even if it's 0.001%, it's got the same worst-case downside as letting him sit on the IL, as far as the Sox are concerned. If Moncada wants to pump the brakes so he can use the rest of 2024 to be 100% healthy and to build up his value for his upcoming free agency, that's his choice... but from the Sox perspective I see no reason not to try to rush him.

Whatever it is, it's higher than just letting him sit on the IL until after the deadline.

I will say, if this team were in a competitive window, it would be dumb to rush back Moncada, given his history. The goal for this season for guys like Moncada and Eloy is to try to somehow trade them for literally anything. Essentially they bring zero tangible value to the team beyond 2024, so you might as well grab a couple of scratch-off tickets or a George Kostanza bobblehead or something in return if you can.

NOT pushing him and having him come back after the trade deadline is the definition of not achieving anything. If you push him and he comes back successfully, you have SOMETHING you might be able to cash in. Likely case, you pay the most of the rest of his salary for peanuts of a return. Worst case, you're stuck with him for the rest of the year, and you pay a $5M buyout. Best case, you get something for him in a trade... like a lottery ticket prospect. If you don't push him to come back and play before the trade deadline, you're stuck with him for the rest of the year, and you pay a $5M buyout. I really don't see the downside here.

I think we just invented #soxtalkmath, y'all.

We as Sox fans just want something organic, real, and not manufactured. If you don’t understand that, you’re not qualified for the job.

HoF-worthy thread title.

See? They're a model organization. </sarc>