Chisoxfn

I would be a big fan of this. I don't even think anything about Outman but getting Lux for the longer term on a cost-controlled deal is a good move. If Outman hit, even better.

I don't disagree with that - but you still have a massive hole in the outfield. If they actually plan on addressing that - than I'm fine rolling it back with the reset and hoping Moncada and others bounce back.

This is an extremely reasonable signing. Extremely reasonable.

Worse case you send him back. They have pretty crappy relievers on the roster currently. Why not take a guy with a plus arm (you have the 40 man space) and get a free trial. If you like him - you keep him. If you like his upside but don't like the long-term, cut a deal with the other org to keep him but be able to send him down. Or if you don't like him - it is a drop in the bucket and send him back to the org. There is literally no downside - unless the Sox plan on adding a gagillion guys to the 40 man. But right now they have like 5 open spots - so even if that happens - take a shot now. Or if it isn't a reliever, take a guy that you think could be a 4th or 5th outfielder to get depth. Same thing - if you don't end up liking them or something better comes about, you let him back to the other team and pay the very very nominal price. There is literally ZERO downside to this. The Sox just wasted an opportunity to marginally improve the squad. Wasted it. If I were them with the amount of open spots - I would have taken 2 guys - one reliever and one outfielder and worse case I'd let them go back to their orgs, but at least got a free preview with my personal and coaching team to work with them and see what is there.

We didn't like the market or didn't want to do x or y. Its like no - have a strategy, have a plan. You don't just get to say it didn't work out. It is your job to grind, grind, grind grind and when one thing doesn't work out, find another or go a different path and continue evolving and always looking at ways to improve the team - whether marginally or materially.

This makes zero sense. The Sox are a joke. Why not spend a little bit to get at least one power arm in your org (or an outfielder) to give a tryout to. Worse case you send them back. They really are a joke of the org. They don't do anything on the margins, spend on all the relievers / utility guys, don't invest well in the farm, don't spend on big free agents. Don't have a strategy. Just a sad state of affairs.

This just reeks of we have no strategy. There strategy is see what comes there way and react.

For whatever reason I can't read - what is it saying?

The reality was there was no gun to a head in those off-seasons. You could have lost there and made up for it the following year - they just chose not to. I would argue the off-season everything went sideways was one which on paper wasn't awful, when they got Lynn - but at same time they made an awful mgr hire and than everything from there was bad. Last off-season was probably the absolutely worst - where they missed EVERYWHERE.

If you think you can maybe optimize him as a reliever, maybe I can buy it a bit. Still - goes to show you this market. Get ready for Hahn/KW to say how they didn't anticipate it. Which again - that is fine - but than read and react, you don't get to punt multiple off-seasons, multiple deadlines.

I go back to - it is still his mess. Unless he was told one thing and JR acted completely different. The reality is JR gave him guidelines, you need to figure out how to build the best possible club with those guidelines and build a strategy around it and operate to it. It is like blaming the A's front office failures on the GM. The A's will have a hard time having a sustainable club - but they know what they need to do and thus have built a structure that works for them and largley has them contend. Rays - same thing. Cardinals - the same. It is different - if you are Dodgers or Red Sox - that is a whole nother question and you build a strategy accordingly knowing what you are going to spend, your availability, etc. What Hahn did and how he framed / got this team boxed in, is entirely his own doing.

Its back to - sometimes things don't work out - but if you knew the factors they should have done so much better. But even than - sometimes when things don't work out - it means you have to spend a bit more, if you truly intend to contend or you have to get way more creative. Doing nothing...well often times that is the absolute worst strategy (not that we should be surprised cause that largely has been what the club has done.

Sign all the relievers....put all the 1B/DH in corner outfield positions. Oh they can get creative....it just isn't smart creativity haha.

I don't disagree with most of this - it goes back to - if you can clear all that out and get some parts to help, but than you actually also have to sign players in current free agency. Essentially you are just shifting the risks in spots of how you are going to do it and you are accepting that. I don't know what those trades free up in capacity - and I'm not implying you can move Grandal (so I'll seperate him for now - if you could do it). But if you move Giolito, Hendricks, Moncada and Kelly - you are creating 50-60M in capacity. I don't know what in terms of immediate major league talent (vs. whatever types of prospects - which theortically you can use to flip to buy something else - and I won't even get into the debate of what sort of talent they get back). But imagine you are trading those 4 guys and maybe you are filling 1-2 hole on ML roster with what you get back, you have also created a lot of capacity to do things, both via free agency and other means. Do you than say, we are going to go ReyLo at closer (a clear downgrade to Hendricks, but you can do it) - you can than assess what you do with your infield. I don't think you go Burger - but maybe you decide you are going cheap at 3B and upgrading all across the outfield and others, I don't know. To your point - you could also do a mini refresh too. And someone hold me honest cause I didn't look up contracts so I don't know if the above is accurate (maybe it is too high).

Honestly - I love Liam, but just like Gio and moving him if the package was right, I have zero problems with this deal. I go back to - we can all complain about JR and Hahn and all of those complaints are real. But if they are working with 180M or 190 or whatever it is with the holes they have - they are going to have to get more creative because you can't just do RH speak and say well it is what it is so we are rolling the dice. If those are the paremeters you have been given, that is more than enough to win in this league and you got to go do it. No excuses. I kind of go back to - if those are the orders, than you got to create flexibility so you can add the parts that aren't there and probably at certain points maybe package another contract with a marketable guy to create even more of it. For example - if you have a $180M payroll floor, I don't see how you can justify keeping Yoan around, even if it means selling "low" on him - you need the payroll flexibility. If you can package him with a Gio or Hendricks than you might have to assess it and deal with the reality of a slightly different return or different ways. You might need to do the same with a Joe Kelly, unless of course you like the value you have with him as a bounce back (which I can respect). But if you need to - package Kelly with Giolito (especially if you are sending him to a bigger market club).

100 percent for sure.

Honestly - if they roll with Sheets as an everyday outfielder again - I give up.

Trade TA and than go sign Correa. Not saying Sox will do it - but I could support a scenario where that happened.

Yeah - I would prefer a 4 year deal with Rodon. Give him 130M+. Obivously I am still far apart in this deal from his ask. Will be curious where everything ends up.

This is one of those deals that I could see 6 years from now looking fantastic. I could also see plenty of scenarios where it doesn't. The reality is how close does he get to that. The question to me is how much does he continue to put in the work, maintain his body, etc after getting the longer term deal. The stuff will play into his mid 30's (no issue there).

By all means I don't have any issues with Brown - but he is 30. Cost controlled though. But he hasn't hit for average or a massive amount of power. That said - he may benefit from playing at a smaller park. He is a lefty though - so right price and put him in right situations and you get something decent, but I would aim higher.

I pretty much can see a Vaughn+ headliner in a deal for Murphy. Sox do some form of a a committe, plus cheaper 1B approach. Hopefully they still than have a couple more moves in OF. Sign a Brantley and Benintendi (or trade for someone) and than maybe they go with Frazier on a 1yr deal with an option for 2nd year.

Sure would have been nice if the broncos and Rams won.

I like the Seahawks story this year - but come on Rams, pull this off.

So far I have no faith. Williams has been a nobody. Derozan was a good pick up but Vooch and Ball signings not good. Easy for me to say on Ball cause I was his fanboy but his is due to injury. Even Derozan - he has been really good but is a bad fit with the club and you can just see what happens late in 4th quarters. He goes all black hole and the ball never leaves his hands. They should trade Derozan and Vuc. I would trade Lavine too and just get assets.