hogan873

Five players for a guy who most of us would have been happy to get one flyer and a subscription to Neflix for. Granted, there's bounce backs and/or improvements desired for the guys received, but multiple holes were filled...and Bummer is gone.

Provided Bummer could throw the ball over the plate.

Lots of walking and reading for sure. I read books on Kindle and listen to audiobooks. I walk every morning before work, and that gives me about 45 minutes of quite time with an audiobook. Having just turned 50 this year, I'll be adding some additional exercise over the winter. That will allow me to continue my conquering of as many local craft beers as I can. I've started haunting bottle shops, picking up random and off the wall beers to try. Sounds like a perfect winter hobby. Spending as much time with family as I can. All three kids are grown, and even though two still live at home (the other is in school at WIU), we don't see each other much due to their busy schedules. Weekends when we can all be together are precious moments. And photography. I bought a decent camera a couple years ago, and when my wife and I are on our walks, I like to capture wildlife pics. Probably head over to Rock Run Rookery in Joliet to see the bald eagles.

Ah. Makes sense. Thanks.

Could be. Definitely clearing space for something, whether it's readying for the winter meetings or something is currently cooking.

They need pitching...and infield...and outfield. Getting back a couple position players who will be on the MLB roster in 2024 in addition to some pitching is better than a handful of pitchers, most of which won't be MLB ready for a couple years. Hey, if Getz can strip the Braves of their top 4 or 5 guys (who are all pitchers), great. But that's unlikely. Acquiring two or three of Baltimore's top 10 prospects plus another guy or two helps the Sox now and in the future. The Braves have the 24th best farm system. Baltimore's farm system is #1. The Sox could get a haul from Baltimore, and their system would still be pretty good. They could get a lesser package from Atlanta, and their system would be at or near the bottom.

Definitely more smoke over the last day. Of course, that could all be generated by the one tweet saying talks have "heated up", whether or not the tweet was to get teams to increase their offers. Based on everything I've seen/read, the O's seem to be the best match. A trade with them gets the Sox possibly two MLB ready players that fill immediate needs Hopefully, if a deal gets done, Baltimore will part with the guys the Sox want and the Sox don't give in and take a lesser package. A deal with the Dodgers is intriguing, too. Again, some immediate needs could be filled with a trade. I think a trade with Atlanta is the least intriguing of the teams rumored to be involved. Their top prospect list is sparse and almost all pitching. The Sox need position players in return for sure. Unless the Braves deal from the MLB roster, I don't see it happening.

Since all is quiet on the hot stove, I figured I'd talk about some TV shows. Monarch: Legacy of Monsters on Apple+ is a lot of fun. More character-driven than the movies, but each episode has a monster or two showing up. And the production is superb; much more like a big budget movie than a show. A Murder At The End of The World on Hulu is a very good mystery. The pace is relatively slow, but the building of the mystery and character development are great. The new season of Fargo on FX is good so far. The reviews and write-ups on it say it's a return to form, and I'd agree it's more like the movie and first season. Good story-telling with quirky characters. The Fall of The House of Usher on Netflix was another winner form Mike Flanagan. More a drama with a bit of supernatural than his other shows, it was filled with outstanding performances (especially from Bruce Greenwood). Think Succession with a ghost or two.

The Braves top prospect list is very pitcher heavy. I wonder what sort of packages they could offer, especially if the Sox are looking for a position player or two to be included.

Like the beginning of the first episode of Family Guy when it returned from being cancelled and Peter named off about 30 Fox shows that had started and been cancelled, saying that if all those shows got cancelled, Family Guy might make it.

Maybe, just maybe...The Sox are confident in acquiring a top 2B prospect in a Cease trade, and the Lopez acquisition and DeJong signing are stop gaps for said 2B prospect and Montgomery.

Well, the defense up the middle got a lot better. That's something, right? Right?

Admin - Feel free to delete or merge. Also, I meant to add a question mark in the title.

Heyman is saying the deal is close.

There's a $3M buyout in 2025 and a $3M buyout in 2026. He gets $13.8M in 2024. So the commitment for a team trading for him is a minimum of $16.8M.

There should be more of a market for Eloy than Moncada. Eloy is "only" owed $14M + a $3M buyout for 2025, compared to $25M and a $5M buyout for Moncada. Some team may want to take a chance on Eloy staying relatively healthy and playing DH.

Yeah, I guess his ability to play the OF adds to his "value". That and he used to be a Royal.

I know this is, at least partly, in jest, but does the acquisition of Naperville Nicky reduce the chances of Merrifield being signed?

I think every year we talk about how Eloy could hit 35+ home runs if he could stay healthy. And every year he finds a way to hurt himself. If his injury history concerns us Soxtalk posters, it certainly concerns other teams' front offices. Maybe he gets traded, stays healthy, and has a huge offensive season. Maybe he doesn't get traded, stays healthy, and has a great season. Regardless, I don't think we could expect a big return for him if he's traded.

I remember right at the deadline there was a rumor of the Sox and Dodgers deep into talks with Lux being the centerpiece. If I'm not mistaken, many of us didn't care for that. Maybe that was because we were hoping for some of the rumored packages from Baltimore. How much concern is there regarding coming back from a significant injury?

Agree 100%. The Bummer trade shows Getz is not Hahn. Shaping up to be an interesting off season.

Does this trade, and the acquisition of two middle infielders, mean Cease to the Reds for India+ is unlikely?

As of mid-November (if the Sox take a chance with Quantrill and Cease is traded). Never fear, though. There’s plenty of time to add a few more dumpster dive arms!

In related news, Jason Benetti is distraught that he won’t be able to talk about Naperville Nicky on a daily basis.

I haven't been to SoxFest, but if there is a "Winter Fest" or whatever on a smaller scale with lower prices and, as you said, alcohol and food, I'd check it out. I will give the Sox credit if they have a fest. It would be really easy for them to "wait one more year" or just stop doing it altogether. They may hear it from the fans...check that, they WILL hear it from the fans, and they need to hear it.