SCCWS

Twins probably got better but I think this takes a WC contender in Boston out of the race. Improves our chances.

Hopefully Red Sox don't get much back

I live in New England part of the year and every indicator here does not say he is being traded. Rumors have every option happening. They have a luxury tax issue. They also have a major PR disaster w the sign stealing. They have a rookie GM. It is all good for those of us who are fans of other teams. I would love Betts for the South side. He is an exceptional talent who is loved by their fans and so far has had a solid reputation. Regardless of the return, especially if it mostly financial, it will be another PR disaster. My gut is their ownership is wrestling w the luxury tax problem going away w Price attached to a Betts trade vs their fan base and the media turning on them. Their new GM must be shitting his pants. Well they went w the money and dumped Price . Hopefully the Dodgers did mostly money and not prospects.

I think he resigns with Boston. but that could change if he does not like the new manager.

Holt is also 4 years older and missed time last year w a shoulder and hamstring injury on top of his cornea injury he suffered at home. He plays 6 positions and is average at each which is a plus. He does not play CF. I assumed Yolmer's higher career WAR is because of his plus defense. Holt is considered a very good clubhouse guy. Rumors in New England are Holt to the Pirates but I would love to see Hahn get him.

That may be now. I like Holt but he is really pretty much equal in value to Yolmer who signed a minor league contract.

Home field should be some advantage in of itself. We know the Astros were passing info. So if the raw home/away splits did not reflect more success at home, the Astros did not get the advantage they were trying to get.

Agree. We know they stole signs at home so why did they have slightly better batting stats that year on the road?

I love the extensions as well. I think your analysis is wrong at least for big market teams. There is a new age of fan out there who sees his team continually changing. I think the Ernie Banks, Derek Jeter and Tom Brady types are going fast. We as White Sox fans better hope so. Do you think the Chris Sale fans have left and will not return? I think they already are Eloy or Yoan fans and Sale is in the rear view mirror.

Supposedly they only cheated at home. I think the most pertinent question is how come in 2017 the Astros hit slightly better on the road than they did at home in most offensive categories?

Depends on what you mean by value. He has more trade value now. But management may think keeping him ( especially the year before he hits the market) could mean they can make the playoffs. Also they have to weigh the Cora effect and do they now feel they are better off reloading by trading him. I have yet to see any "rumor"( West coast, warm weather, contender etc) of where Betts may be attracted to if he goes FA. He really can't go home since it is Tennessee. They have a rookie GM so rumors are still limited in New England press.

I see a lot of Holt and i always liked him. But he is not even a 1 War player for his career. Yolmer is a little better than a 1 and is 4 years younger. I think Yolmer's defense is probably the WAR difference.

Not sure that is true. Strongest current rumors are Dodgers and Padres. But Boston wants a bundle back. With Betts, Boston is following the blueprint Arizona used to trade Paul Goldschmidt with one year of control. The Diamondbacks received two major-league ready young players (pitcher Luke Weaver and catcher Carson Kelly), a minor league infielder (Andy Young) and a draft pick. Arizona won 85 games last season, a three-game improvement. The price for Betts, the better player, is higher. https://www.si.com/mlb/2020/01/28/mookie-betts-trade-boston-red-sox

Hopefully, but we will know more by end of ST. Unfortunately, even ST is not as good a gauge as it used to be with so many teams limiting away game travel. Maybe Cactus isn't as bad, but Grapefruit seems to get worse every year.

He may be ready physically but he may need a month in AAA regardless of service time to get back up to game ready form. Spring training may not be good enough.

Agree and I would think Fulmer would become the 5th starter if an injury occurs until Kopech is ready. It would be great if another SP( other than the 5) has a great spring to add insurance to the rotation

I think Grandal will have a greater impact on the White Sox than Donaldson will on the Twins. But not for your reasons. Grandal was a 2.5 War last year and a career 2 War. Donaldson was a 6 War last year and a career 5. Certainly Grandal is younger but as a catcher the difference may be negated by wear and tear. I think Grandal could have a major impact on our young pitchers which won't be reflected in his War but will be in theirs Just a veteran presence as well as a catcher who can keep them steady. The other major factor is he adds a LH bat to a lineup that desperately needed one.

Sorry you lost me. Did you mean a month from tomorrow?

I think AAA talent is another consideration on bench players. Some teams use utility players to fill in during stretches of the season while they give young players a chance to develop their game at AAA. But we know a starter or two will go down for an extended period of time. That is when the AAA roster becomes important. Hopefully you have a young player to bring up and fill in if your utility player is not the answer for long stretches.

It might not be 30+ years old. LaRussa had a role as an assistant to Dombrowski in Boston. Maybe when the Boston investigation is completed, LaRussa may have had some role in it.

How about " Another World Championship"

I do think it can influence an umpire to a degree. But obviously they read about pitch framing and may be more aware of it. I would think late in games a good framer may get a couple of close pitches. FWIW --As others have said, I think the pitching staff is still the key to how successful framing is. Grandal joined Milwakee in 2019 and they saw their walks go up slightly and their SO drop slightly over the previous year. I would bet that had more to do with the staff and the games themselves.

I do think SS play is affected by 3B. A SS playing alongside a 3B w limited range will be forced to shade more to his right than one playing w a 3B who moves well to his left.

No, last year he still had over 400 lead-off ABs. They tried Benintendi at one point but that failed and Betts returned to lead-off.

Red Sox won a World Series w Betts leading off He had 32 HR