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Unfortunately LHH who can play D in RF and hit are in very short supply. Even Naquin, Peralta and Benintendi (Naquin being the only RF) went off the board quickly just because they are LH OF . Happ is a LF too.

It's the most obvious need but Happ is going to cost a lot having that extra year which is why I said forget him and see if Colas is ready in Sept.If someone wants Vaughn or Eloy then maybe the Sox cant get someone they need but no one really wants to trade Eloy or Vaughn . If some of those pitchers the Sox are rumored in on are actually serious considerations then Happ should also be a serious consideration. SHould be interesting to see what happens but I'd be shocked if they get anyone of consequence. And if they do, wooo, it'll be a madhouse around here.

How much is standing pat going to help , this year or in future years ? Unless you think the Sox are going to fire TLR, Hahn and the whole coaching staff and all the strength and conditioning coaches for the 2nd year in a row you're still stuck with hoping the same guys make better moves in the off season.

Moncada has to be in there every day until it's crystal clear that his bat is no help. In the meantime grab Joey Wendle .

Peralta strictly LF and if the Sox are going to play Pollock , Eloy or Vaughn it should be in LF, Naquin is a not a good defender. Better than Sheets in RF and better offensively and on the bases. K's more than SHeets , walks less. He wouldve been OK but marginally.

Santander isnt bad. HR power, SH ,strong arm in RF but see no reason for Orioles to give him up and he'd cost more than Happ who they also can't afford with our minors.

That's why I said they might not get a SP particular anyone with multiple years because they won't manage to do that without giving up Montgomery Colas or both of them. Q is the only starter who may not cost those guys. Syndergaard might need innings management too so maybe him. Martin Perez loves Tx and Tx would be fools not to move him since he can return to them next year if he really likes it there, but they want an impact player too, because he's been spectacular, almost as good as Cease.

Depends on the Starting pitcher acquired but as I said I don't think they acquire one. We are hearing rumors on Q. With Lynn and Gio not pitching particularly well lately and the Kopech situation you really never know, especially if the Sox make the playoffs. His velocity has been down and it's still iffy how long he could last despite Katz assuring us that his innings won't have to being managed all that much. It's only a slightly better situation than managing Rodon's innings last year and they didn't do so hot keeping his innings down. Q could be a guy to pair with Kopech with Kopech going 4 or 5 innings and Q pitching after him or vice versa. Also insurance in case Gio, Lynn or any other starter gets injured.

Yep the Sox need 1 starting pitcher, 1 relief pitcher and at least 1 LH bat. Anyone who isn't a rental is pretty much off the table if you want to be able to acquire the other 2. Realistically even Quitana is probably off the table. Too much competition for starting pitching. So knowing the Sox they end up with 2 rental relievers who cost the least. Hard to see them addressing the LH hitting need at all unless they can get Joey Wendle who has a mutual option for 2023.The only other serious option is hoping Colas can continue to hit in AA ,get a fast promotion to AAA , hits there and becomes an option for a Sept. call up.

Abreu is still the best hitter in the lineup and on the field every day. Need more guys like him but younger. The core are the ones who suck and that can't be pinned on Abreu. This year its all about bad production and injuries from Eloy, Moncada and Grandal that have killed the lineup. Menechino and TLR must go along with the coaching staff. These guys need more Latin leaders as coaches. Eloy and Moncada did better under Renteria.

This is basically all true. Wendle and Nat Moore are realistic LH platoon bat and LHRP pitcher options. You go much deeper than that for rentals you're looking at Quintana, Gallo Martin Perez. Teams always grab LH hitters and with Happ having the extra year he'll be too expensive. Martin Perez is likely to be expensive also but at least he's a rental> He also doesn't have a track record of success. Really good article from fangraphs about his career and why the difference for this year. Basically a lot of data and technology went a long way to unlocking him. https://blogs.fangraphs.com/a-second-act-in-texas-has-made-martin-perez-a-first-time-all-star/ He wants to stay in Tx. and the Rangers want to keep him and won't move him unless it's for a difference maker. He likes it in Tx and has also mentored the young pitching staff. I don't know who the Rangers would consider a difference maker or at what level they prefer the difference maker to be at but Vera, Lenyn Sosa, Cespedes or Popeye Rodriquez may not qualify.

With a win today the Sox can finish July 15-11 . Need to do better in August. Much better. Let's see if we are getting any help . My priorities 2 LH bats . Sox could've won a lot more games with a few more runs and HR's. However, never can have enough pitching. Going all Jay Cuda on you here. In games where the Sox and their opponent scores 5 or less runs, ( What I call Hockey score games) the Sox are 30-17 . There obviously can't be any 5-5 ties so all scores are of the 5-4, 4-3 ,3-1, 4-0 ( you get the picture) nature. Home Record in these games is 14-10, Road Record 16-7 , so even with the crap defense and crap hitting the Sox are at their best winning low scoring games. That means the pitching is carrying them to wins despite what we are seeing from Lucas, Lynn, the departed Keuchel and the up and down BP In any game where the Sox or the opponent score 6+ runs the Sox are 20-33 . This is where the Sox lose a lot of run differential and games. So the hitting and pitching is good enough to win low scoring games but when the pitching is bad the Sox don't have nearly enough offense to make up for it. Higher scoring games the Sox lose often. Basically means the Sox need more offense and more pitching but we all feel better scoring more runs keeping games close, balancing the line up and hitting more bombs. If Gavin Sheets and Jake Burger are you leading HR's hitters at home you are in big trouble. You have offensive problems at home and also means Sheets and Burger have hit no home runs on the road yet our home record sucks and our road record is OK. Losing at home is basically all on the cores inability to hit at home especially HR's. Before I did all this I have been insisting the Sox get 2 more LH bats, 1 starter and 1 more reliever and the core has to do better. Tall order for a team that probably doesn't have enough pieces to get 4 decent players and you would think if getting 4 pieces was going to happen they would have got at least 1 of them by now. If they want to improve this year they have to play the rental market. They can't afford anyone with an extra year. Maybe you can do without an Ian Happ but only if the Sox can get Joey Wendle , Martin Perez and a good LH BP piece like Matt Moore and better hitting from the core. Then just hang in there long enough to see if Colas can give the Sox better defense and more LH pop especially at home if he can continue to produce in the minors and come up Sept. 12. Happ and Perez would cost the most. Eliminate Happ. If the Sox are going to make a trade for starting pitching Castillo is gone and Perez is the best available SP the Sox can realistically afford. It won't be Rodon, Montas, Mahle or Syndergaard because they don't have the pieces to get them and Perez has been better than all those guys along with pitching great against the Astros, Rays and Mariners. No starts against the Yankees. It would also prevent Minnesota from possibly trading for him. Perez also instantly becomes your #2 starter behind Cease. Despite what anyone thinks of his career before this year he's been almost as good as Cease has been this year, 2.52 ERA and 3.07 FIP. Snagging him as a rental could hurt. With the upcoming 3 game suspension Wendle can fill in at SS .Otherwise he would be the strong side of a platoon with Harrison . This also take away AB's from Leury.

No the problem came from the failure of the front office to get a real LH power hitter for the OF.

True and once the Sox couldnt get a guy to play RF I was all for Gavin getting AB's and seeing if he could deliver but he hasn't. I will say ,however, that when Gavin Sheets and Jake Burger lead the team in home HR's that signifies problems way beyond Sheets. It also underscores the failure of the front office to find LH OF power and defense .

Wild pitch offense !!

There are tons of guys with short powerful swings like Trout who never wrap the bat around their shoulder.

Because of the swing happy approach they don't get fastballs when ahead in the count. Yoyo was looking fastball and his bat slowed down once it was a slow change or w/e it was. Nothing wrong with guessing on the right count but you better look for a pitch in a zone too not just any old fastball.

Don't know the exact stats but he has driven in runs in late innings situation maybe 8 or 9 times that either tie the game or give the Sox the lead.

360 ft to LCF won't get it done. 360 down the line does.

We get Grandal again in a DP situation.

Yep 95 and 96 he couldnt touch.

Cueto with another quality start to lead the team.

LOL so everyone knows that pitch is going to be a sliider low and away. Stoney even called it yet Tim doesn't know it. Baseball dumb.

I agree with that. I'm more old school about catchers especially older injured ones should be batting 9th. Especially since it seems to be where Sox hitters do best.

They play Grandal up the middle and even more so in a DP situation. He had a pitch to drive in the air but I guess even high sinkers right down the middle sink. Lotta meatballs that inning and singles weak GO and a DP.