Jack Parkman

I don't want to trade Kopech either, but the reality is that he's not going to help much in 2021 after missing 2 years. You can keep him, but if you do realize you're potentially punting a year of the window if you don't land Bauer.

One, Bauer. All the other guys have major question marks. Tanaka and Paxton have injury issues and the other pitchers are back end guys at best. You could say the same about Springer/RF. Only platoon options after that. If you're being real the potential trade acquisitions have issues as well, with control, injury or acquisition cost.

I think you're talking about the inverted L not the upright L. I'm talking about this position: I think you're talking about this one: When I talk about late loading I'm talking about what Dunning is doing in this pic: Look at how Dunning's arm is parallel to the ground and Nolan Ryan's is upright at foot plant. That's what I'm talking about.

Madrigal isn't an untouchable for me and neither is Cease. Cease has wicked stuff but has no idea where any of it is going. Looking at his delivery, it's hard to see how he can gain enough control and command, because you can't pinpoint a delivery issue with him like you could with Giolito. I think Giolito would have been good a lot earlier in his career if the Nationals would have just let him be and not changed his delivery after dominating AA. Madrigal is an interesting case. He wasn't as good of a defender and baserunner as advertised during his first stint in the Bigs, but as a hitter he was as advertised. I guess, with all of the position players that the Sox have, I'd be most willing to move him.

@ptatc I'm wondering your opinion on the "late load" theory that being off time is what injures pitchers. Some people think that the increase in velocity that we're seeing is because they've found that pitchers throw harder when they load the elbow/shoulder late, and that is also why pitchers get injured more often. Some people also think that early loading has a similar effect. So how much of pitcher health is about syncing the delivery properly and how much of velocity is about early/late loading? The way I understand it is that when a pitcher's front foot hits the ground you want the elbow to be bent like an L and even with the pitcher's head, and that is considered on time.

Colome has thrown a cutter since his days in Tampa. It's always been his out pitch. He used to mix in a changeup as well but he has scrapped that and he's solely fastball-cutter now.

Colome used to throw 98 and now he barely gets to 95-96. He was sitting around 93 most of the year. His cutter is still really good, but even that has taken a step back in velocity. Colome, like Keuchel, has turned into a ground ball machine.

It would be nice if the Sox could dip into Japan, but those guys usually either go to the West Coast teams or NYC. (used to be only the Yankees, but with the Mets ownership change that is probably no longer the case)

Better secondaries? Apparently there's a question about whether Sugano will even be posted this year.

I was wondering about his fastball, as it's always a question with the Japanese pitchers. Also saw that he's 31 already. Based on what I've seen, both Arihara and Sugano sound like Tanaka clones, with Arihara the younger player.

Colome has had some clear stuff deterioration over the years. He scares me. EDIT: I thought Sugano was Arihara. I'd be ok with Arihara. Can't find a scouting report on Sugano. Hendriks and Treinen still have their best stuff.

I think Keuchel is going to be like a modern Buehrle going forward. 180 IP, 3.3-3.8 ERA, low ks, 2.5-3.0 fWAR or there abouts I mean, I'd like a proven TOR type guy, but it depends on what you consider that to be. As good as Lynn has been, I don't expect him to be that good ever again. He's a #3/4 type guy to me. Darvish is the best bet for acquiring a #2 type, but.....he's 34, expensive and has injury issues. I also consider Bauer a #2 type, as #2 types in my book are guys that can have ace like stretches or seasons, but have those two or 3 clunkers that ruin their stats, and occasionally put up #3 numbers over a full season. As of right now, Giolito falls into this category. If you have two #2s that's ok. The true #1s are few and far between, guys like DeGrom, prime Scherzer/Verlander/Strasburg that put up great numbers every year.

Depending on the cost, sure. If the Sox are going to sign a reliever I'd like it to be Hendriks or Treinen. Also, I'd really like to acquire Darvish as well and have Dunning and Kopech duke it out for the 5th spot. I'm assuming Cease is gone in the Darvish deal. Lynn can stay as a pure rental and then break in Crochet as a SP in 2022. IMO the Sox don't necessarily need a TOR starter, as they should be able to get another one in either Kopech or Crochet(or both hopefully) What they do need is a reliable #3 to take the load off of the kids that they're breaking in. I'm not expecting Keuchel to be that good again, but I'm expecting him to be better than he was in 2019.

Someone else said '23, so I wasn't sure. I'd be fine going cheaper with SP and letting the kids sort themselves out if they could get a stud LHB like Conforto or Nimmo in RF. Even Gallo wouldn't be awful...

a trade for a cost controlled SP. With as many options that the Sox have with mid to TOR stuff, I wonder if the more prudent thing is to sign guys like Quintana, Richards and others in that ilk to ease the load of the Sox breaking in Kopech/Cease/Dunning/Crochet. Not to mention they would have every reason to start the year with Cease and Dunning in the rotation, and break Kopech in after the draft.

I mean, if Gallo was cheap to acquire and extend an extra year....sure. The problem isn't Gallo himself, as he'd be a huge upgrade over what the Sox had in RF. The problem is the acquisition cost. Does Gallo have two or 3 years left of control? If he has 3, I could see acquiring him for a reasonable price. Also, it is possible that he might do prime Dunn stuff in this lineup, where he's only expected to be the 7th best hitter if that. Agree about Darvish. Call me crazy, but I'd rather trade Cease than Dunning because Dunning's stuff was a tick down from his minor league reports. I wonder if with a full ST and more time from TJS, if it will come back. If so, You have a guy with #3 upside. I don't trust Cease's control/command as much. I'd throw in Lopez to any deal if they're interested in him as a reclamation project. The Sox can't fuck around with too many projects at once. It's fine to break in guys at the 4/5 spot, but they need to have a reliable #2/3 and they don't right now.

You think the Cubs would want Cease back? I could get behind Gallo but I'm pretty sure people would cringe if he was doing 2012 and later Adam Dunn things instead of prime Adam Dunn things. Most of Gallo's career is similar to Dunn's 2012-2014 seasons.

I don't even think he'd cost that much......I could see Dunning/Cease+Thompson/Dalquist+Rutherford/Adolfo

Just curious...what to you think the price on Darvish would be? If we're talking about acquiring a 34 year old pitcher I like him. Shouldn't he be pretty cheap because he's 34 and has a bunch of money left?

Lynn and Gallo are only 1 year stopgaps and for as much power and OBP as Gallo has, if he's not doing prime Dunn stuff, he's still not that good. I don't see Jerry taking 3 years of Andrus to rent Gallo and Lynn for a year.

That would involve free agents only. Jerry would never do that. I'm expecting a modest offseason, with the pickups to be Quintana, Richards and Pederson....if they want to buy an extra year with Vaughn maybe they sign Brantley to DH. Nothing super expensive though.

See above post

Yep, and you play him at 2B and use Madrigal for bait.

In the modern MLB Mike Cameron for Paul Konerko would never happen.

I learned at SoxTalk that JR thinks championships are too expensive, and that he's just not as dumb as Bill Wirtz to say it out loud.