35thstreetswarm

I would be thrilled and think the Sox would be too. Pretty sure they signed him in the hopes he could get back to 2019 form.

OK, if the point is that the Sox only made the playoffs because of the pandemic-shortened season, and would certainly have missed the playoffs in an alternate-universe season with a different number of games, different personnel, and a different set of rules, that's totally unknowable. If I'm guessing, I'd bet on a team that had a nearly .600 winning percentage in the shortened season with arguably their best player severely compromised by COVID, and rolling without their best young pitcher (who likely would have played in a "normal" season). But there's nothing here to "realize," just infinite room to speculate.

I don't think people do "realize" that, because it's nonsensical. What does that even mean? By the way, at least 50% of the time tomorrow, today we are definitely signing Hendriks (but not usually.)

I honestly didn't realize Eaton just turned 32. I thought he was older. I feel much better now. Carry on.

Hear, hear.

Maybe with TLR, Eaton the FO is laying the groundwork for Bauer by destroying the only argument against him--that he'd ruin a loose and cohesive clubhouse. Too late now! 5D chess

Well, in case he doesn't respond well to TLR, do any of the players have any preteen children with good leadership skills?

The Twins were not better last year. Sure, they "caught" us in the standings in the final week because Ricky was "experimenting" and almost literally throwing games left and right, but you will never convince me the Sox weren't a better team last year -- with no third starter and Nomar Mazara manning RF.

It's very rare that an owner has a chance to make ONE OBVIOUS MOVE that will establish his team as a bona fide WS contender, and to do so without pushing payroll beyond merely middle-of-the-pack. JR has that chance here and now.

Maybe. Dunning as a solid #3 MLB piece for 6 years is a greater value. But we don't know that's what he is based on a handful of starts in a whacked-out season. I think a lot of folks on this board are accounting for risks associated with Lynn while ignoring the considerable risk associated with relying on Dane Dunning as a core part of this rotation in 2021 (which actually isn't even possible given the likely limit on the innings he can provide) and going forward.

It is a move that prioritizes 2021 over long-term depth, for sure, but I don't think it signals a total "win-now" mode just yet. I'm actually really encouraged they didn't go out and start trading the Vaughns and Kopechs of the world, which I was afraid was on the table this offseason. We safeguarded our most valuable young assets. There's still plenty of paths to sustainable winning here.

Wow, tale of two boards—it seems like everyone who slept likes the deal. ? Assuming we use the financial flexibility Lynn’s contract affords in order to fill our other needs this offseason I’m at peace with this. It’s exciting to see a playoff caliber rotation coming together.

The catastrophic downside risk to my mental well-being is so great I can't help but consider it.

If my beloved Sox trade our number 1 prospect--from my alma mater and favorite college program--to my least favorite team (the Cubs), I will be very sad. But it will save me a purchase of the expensive custom Cal baseball jersey I would have gotten for his Sox debut.

He's a newer, shinier, pre-Tommy-Johnnier version of Kopech. Loves me some Crochet, but Kopech is still ahead of him in my book.

Which of former Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel and arguably-best-catcher-in-baseball Yasmani Grandal are "garbage"?

Come on, man!

This list just reminds me what a sick draft we had this year. Pitching is volatile and all that, but kind of amazing we may have ended up with two top-10 type players in one draft.

I'm good. We don't need a potential All-Star at every slot in the lineup. Let's address pitching.

That's a good way to shorten our window dramatically and increase the chance we'll see a "what went wrong" article about the Sox in a couple years.

Yes, agreed--if we must trade prospects for SP at all, which I hope we don't unless it's a bargain deal.

It is everything, really. So is that a list of the pitchers you'd like to see on the team most to least (regardless of expected cost in terms of prospect return), or a list factoring in what is in your head as the likely acquisition cost?

Yep

Just so we’re clear, the season we keep labeling “WC” was just a loss in a play-in game. Doesn’t really count for much. Averaging wins doesn’t really tell the whole story of their contention trajectory, either. They had three years of contention. 2018 they were an afterthought that looked dead the second half and it was no surprise they went out with a whimper in the play-in. By 2019 it was clear it was over. Not saying a WS and two NLCS isn’t impressive. But let’s not pretend the Cubs have been some kind of six-year juggernaut.

Thoughts of the Phillies keep me up at night, because they’re the reminder that none of this is guaranteed to work (a fact the author finds refreshing, but which scares the bejeezus out of me). The answer to “how did it happen” seems to be “dunno, it just kind of did”, which does not bring me much comfort.