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Sox got Vasil from Tampa Bay after they released him after picking him in the Rule 5. Boston may have given up 4 future major leaguers in the Crochet trade. How often does that happen ? Actual scouting and player development wins. Doesn't really sound like errand boy stuff to me. Also picked up a MLB All Star starting pitcher and 100 IP quality relief pitcher in the one of most successful Rule 5 drafts in its history. 2 quality MLB pitchers for practically nothing out of thin air .The amount of consternation of low level minor leaguers is odd . They aren't all Fernando Tatis, Jr. If any of them ever has 1 season on par with Smith or Vasil let me know. These are the types of trades you're going to get when your MLB player resources are restricted by finances. Your currency becomes flesh. That's the only process you have to keep in mind like it or not. Of course some of the MLB types you get will flame out long before the prospects do. You know that going in when you're making transactions of little consequence scouring the fringe talents to supplement our usual fringe talent that hardly ever becomes quality talent from the Rule 5 . Building a solid MLB team from picking needles from haystacks is a terribly inefficient way to try to improve yet this is the state of the franchise until new ownership takes over.

https://www.mlb.com/milb/news/mlb-rule-5-draft-candidates-from-each-club-2025?t=mlb-pipeline-coverage Even though I expect the Sox to take a pitcher in tbe Rule 5 there are a few LHH OF available. I like the Guardians unranked 23 yr old who only had 31 games at AA and 2 in the AFL. He was a $10K Intl. signing from Venezuela Wuilfredo Antunez. He's played all 3 OF position He's pretty toolsy and doesnt K too much with decent pop. He might be too inexperienced for MLB which he why he was left unprotected but he hit a bit better in AA than A+ but only had 70 G in A+ and 31 G in AA. Havent done a deeper dive. https://www.milb.com/player/wuilfredo-antunez-686404 Very similar to the amount of time Braden Montgomery spent in A+ & AA last year . BM is an inch taller and heavier and 1 year younger. Antunez had an OPS higher than Montgomery by .060. Hard to say who's the better fielder Antunez probably faster . BM has a great arm. Antunez the only other player in the Guardians organization to have 50+ extra base hits besides Jose Ramirez .

Keep your eyes on Antonacci . Very strong AFL results. Sox enamored with his OBP, bat to ball skills and want more LHH on the infield. He could be a quick mover due to his work ethic.

I'm with you on Baldwin. I just love the underdog everyone keeps wanting to pencil into a superutility role. Screw that, we need more speed , lefties (SH) ,OF's & power. The defense will get better with more reps and coaches in his ears.

I just think its just a way to keep things civil. You're blowing it out of proportion putting words in their mouths. What's someone like Getz or anyone going to say to angry fans ? Getz can't admit the real truth even if many fans already know it but it took them longer enough. "JR no longer has any interest in spending much money on the 26 man roster because he's preparing the team to be sold and rather his sons get more millions. Period end of story. I'm sorry. We're doing what we can right now to improve our player development and we believe we are making significant strides in building a solid foundation with what little we do get. I know this is not ideal waiting for an old man to die so new ownership can spend more on the on-field product. Please dont kill me. Thank you. "

I know but West Eddy mentioned mop up innings in the spring for any pitcher who hadnt bought a ticket to Japan or Korea yet.

Dayan Viciedo too.

Berroa should be pitching in the spring right ? He's been off the longest with his TJ surgery .

(Free) Agent Kay signs with Men In Black 😋

I meant the trade market not being strong thats why I said unless his stuff and numbers are better than expected which we won't know until he pitches in MLB. I also meant surprised the SOX signed any player to a multi year deal because of a possible strike and JR maybe not wanting to pay much for players not to play. But I don't know what the CBA says about payment during a strike .

Surprised a multiyear contract but with any amount of success he'll be gone at the deadline.But as we saw with Fedde, the market isn't strong for these comeback types. He'll have to be outstanding with better than expected stuff to be in demand.

Tanner McDougal may get a shot before any of the TJ starters if he can pitch well in the minors if he starts the year in AAA. He pitched 113 innings last year and could make some Top 100 lists.

4 division titles in 18 years, 3 of which didnt result in advancing to the next round and 1 year in 94 that JR sabotaged his own team's shot at a championship and the white flag trade in 97.

Spare me your gibberish. As always you stretch the truth as if it was made of rubber. 5 paragraph personal attack ? I disagree with assessment of the leadership of this franchise during JRs ownership and Getz ' so far, brief time as GM and brief time spend with multiple bosses and no real power in his previous role because of the lack of a foundation that JR , Hahn or Kenny Williams failed to build. It's a baseball argument pure and simple covering many many years that cannot be done in any short way that I am aware. He thinks Getz sucks, I do not and gave sound reasons as to why not and Lip said as much. I hold no animosity towards him . I respect Lip for all he has done as a Sox historian. He poured his heart and soul into covering a team he loved and they let him down and like any fan he has a limited knowledge of the whole truth as do I which is why I find it difficult to scapegoat anyone but the guy at the top. I'm sorry I cant create narratives out of thin air that supports the whole everything Sox related sucks routine like you do. You has quite the knack for fiction.

All money thrown away on his acquisitions While other small market teams fare better ? This is rather hard to prove don't you think ? How much did he get and where did it go especially in 2024 and on who was it spend and please compare to the same for other small market teams. Not only player spending but please also enlighten me on new front office hirees . equipment, computers, data, scouts and anything else all those teams and the Sox did. Was there any way whatsoever it was a signifcant enough amount in 2024 to prevent another 100 loss season and set a new course for the franchise ? Maybe he chose to spend on restructuring the foundation . You speak as if contention was a possibility while they were in tear down mode in the 1st full year of the rebuild under an owner planning nothing except lining his sons pockets after his death. Did you belive Jerry's horseshit claim that he hired Getz to turn things around as quickly ? You were conned.Trusting JR was always a con as far as establishing a winning franchise with a foundation of a good farm system and modern tactics and data management. You and I both know he cared nothing about developing prospects or the DR which provided more talent than any other foreign country to the MLB talent pool. As far as that bad taste in your mouth and representing all those sharing that bad taste, take it up with Jerry. Your " source naming Getz as Brutus stabbing muliple Caesars in the back in the Sox Ides of July was likely one of those who Getz fired. People with axes to grind always seek out a sympathetic voice. JR is the villain here for over 40 years. Spending on player payroll for a few yesrs while ignoring the foundation may have been something he thought was he had to do but it was misguided except for the Miracle of 2005. He built a house of cards that had a quick rise and a quick fall.

And Burke pitched 134 innings with a 4.22 ERA in his rookie season. It's not unheard of for pitchers to improve. 160 innings should be no problem for him if he can have some consistency.

Frankly Id rather give Baldwin a chance to show improvement as an OF and see how many HRs he can hit. Hes got enough speed to be a decent OF . He just needs to learn you can't be casual out there .Needs to think ahead and focus concentration. Baldwin LF Braden Montgomery RF asap.

I dont understand you Lip. That 25 year period from 1981-2006 you say earned JR the benefit of the doubt. Why ? He's a big market owner playing in a division with small market teams. How many years during that time did the Sox win playoffs rounds ? 1 year. Thats it . 2005 won all 3 rounds to win the World Series. Reinsdorf is the carrot dangler by his own admission. Anyone working under him has had their hands tied behind their backs because of his meddling. Your tirade about Getz is especially troubling. Were there politics involved in hiring Getz? Probably but all JR saw was a cheap, inexperience option who would have to work under him while he was in estate planning mode and stripping down the Sox for his eventual successor to help pay off debts so his sons could make as much as possible after he died and the sale to the Ishbia's becomes final. I highly doubt Getz held much sway over JR. Any politicing Getz did JR probably wanted to stay in house , hire cheap and inexperienced all along. Do you honestly think any GM hired by JR could have not sucked ? Seriously under the circumstances with JR, Hahn and Williams in charge do you think Getz had any real decision making power before he became GM ? After he became GM has he got any money to alter the 26 man roster drastically in any way ? Some would say yes he drastically altered in 2024 but the majority of the damage was already done before he was named GM. Many of the changes he's made are mostly new hires for modernizing communication, culture and player development which can be done with funds that previously would be put into player payroll which is why player development has sucked under JR without any organisational philosophy reflected in the people you hire. What Getz has done to modernize may not be felt for years in regards to reestablishing international ties to the DR and Asia. All this is being done for the new owner's benefit and to establish a sound structural base and the future success of the franchise. The Crochet trade so far is working out very well. The Rule 5 draft last year might be the best one in it's history . They're using their new tools and hires to help with mechanics and Colson Montgomery & Crochet were 2 prime examples. If Getz sucks because he was put in a no win situation and he hasnt put the Sox in the playoffs in his 2 full years as GM of a franchise that was in a coma when he was hired then so be it. But now the patient is no longer in a coma and and will have a new "Steward" soon to nurse it back to full health. I've said it before but most podcasters doing Sox content do not continue to have the jaded, jaundiced viewpoint that you and others here on Tox-Talk do towards Getz. He's making an honest effort with pitiful resources to put the franchise in a position to do some good even if he gets fired under new Stewardship. Why aren't you on any of these podcasts ? You're not an unknown. Why aren't these podcasters contributing members on Tox-Talk ? Sox fans belittle the Sox more and better than any Cub fans do. James Fox used to contribute more than he does now because he's usually pretty fair but I think he's found it increasingly difficult to say much of anything positive because of backlash against it here. If I'm wrong maybe he'll say so.

I don't think there will be any multi year deals signed this year with the Sox. It would surprise me if there was one.

Way too late for that. That was just JR stating the rules of supply/demand. He never said he was ever going to pay top market value for top players.

Youre easily one of my favorite posters. Your opinions are always spot on and you probably hold your tongue on a lot of the BS you read here. I'm too much of a Sox supporter to see Sox fans constantly trashing the team like this was a Cubs forum. While I don 't buy into the Sox /Cubs fans fighting I do acknowledge the animosity is there. I understand there's a lot to be critical of but the amount of butt hurt has far surpassed anything I thought grown men could cry about over a baseball team . It's like a custody battle , just irrational biases against something you once professed love for but will coming crawling back to eventually. Sox podcasters and national media are more fair. I just saw a Baseball America Podcast with JJ Cooper & Geoff Pontes pontificating over the state of the Sox rebuild. And while they arent sure who will be part of the core they they were as fair as possible on seeing the youngsters flaws and what could derail or propel them forward. Funny thing was I dont think they mentioned the Ishbia's coming ownership which is perhaps the biggest reason to think the Sox finally could have an owner willing to play with the big boys. Jj Cooper thought Getz was really trying to modernize. If Getz can just keep the team developing prospects and pushing the win numbers forward for the next few years the Sox just might be in a position for Ishbia to come in with a flourish of spending to push the Sox from a near or slightly over . .500 team to a team that can win the division consistently. The fans from 20-50 years old may get to see a new stadium and a pretty good modern team that supports the farm and 26 man roster with equal gusto .

I was responding to a Caulfield post which I quoted so you should know what Im talking about. Maybe try reading what he said to elicit my response. These are handshake agreements. There is no money exchanged officially and anything else is a direct violation of MLB rules until there is a signature on a contract at the age they can sign which I believe is 16.

I was talking about the naysayers in general here more than I was Caulfield. Soxtalk in general does not chant "Development is not linear " over and over as a calming mantra. Future Sox was the one place in Soxtalk where more patient minds assembled until the rot invaded there too. One person got pissed when it was me not a moderator who reminded them of that but mods overlook people who are constantly kissing their ass and on the same wavelength as they are. Caulfield is so polite that I cant really be too hard on his wild theories like speculating Getz will give prospects he's acquired more chances than other prospects when theres been no indications so far of that. You'd think as an educator he'd be more CNN than TMZ. If you hire a bunch of coaches and implement data as a major tool for development and strive to make decision making more collaborative as a collective hive then his ego shouldnt be a factor. I dont think its Utopia but its not a KW or Hahn "multiple championships" ego as far as I can tell atm. I think higher draft picks will get more leeway than lower ones like resigning rather than non tendering Vaughn. That's fairly typical when you suck to give high draft picks a lot of rope.

Do you actually worry that far ahead about the position players and their abilities ? You're not leaving room for surprises . It's boring in your crystal ball. I know the Sox reality with JR makes for a boring off season but player development in season are always very controversial topics when it pits the hopeless against the hopeful. There's always enough for everybody to be right on at least 1 player per year since most prospects fail. So there will always be more hopeless people saying how they wish they were wrong but just playing the odds that failures far outnumber successes so being a pessimist ensures being right more often and therefore a smarter fan. Being an Eeyore is good for ones ego I guess.

Soxtalk needs to talk about something other than just nicknames for bad players. It may take till the ownership change to actually see supplementing our prospects with impact talent through free agency. JR isnt going to pay for that now. The Sox are a lame duck team waiting for the impact of new structural changes to start paying dividends maybe a year or 2 before the Ishbia's take over. It's a boring waiting game now every off season. Prospect and young players watch has to wait til the season starts.