SCCWS

As this roster takes shape, I think Grandal's starts usuage becomes more important. He normally catches 130ish and usually has a post all-star drop-off. Hopefully the Sox manage his catching starts while giving him DH ones in place. The Sox may very well be in contention down the stretch and we will need his bat in September.

I am not sure they are lowered to a .500 team. There are way to many variables. I think w the assumed improvement of Eloy and Moncada and a very solid year again from Anderson this could be a .500 team. The addition of Grandal, Robert and Madrigal as well as a RF and the quality of the Central Division should mean .500 is very realistic. Then the pitching staff determines how much better than .500 we will be. Will Gio be as good as his 2019 , will Cease jump to a #2 type or drop to a #5 and how big of an impact will Kopech have. Finally, who will the 2nd SP be. Yes it could be a .500ish team but in this division it could also challenge for a playoff spot. Way too early before the roster is even finalized to fold the tents yet.

makes sense. This year's FA market has been very active early on. But Boras held out till the end last year and he may try and extend this until a team caves in.

I would assume the preference would be to add a LH since we need at least one especially w the uncertainty of Rodon. So another plus w Keuchel or Ryu or even Price.

He got hurt in July and played but ended up on IL in August. I doubt they will want Madrigal or Vaughn looking at their top prospects. Rumors of the Dodger trade says they will most likely want an OF and SP in return. My guess is they will want Cease and Hahn says no. Not sure if Lopez is an option.

Boston's top MLB prospect is Chavis who is a 2nd baseman who has a pretty good rookie year. Boston needs a RH-SP if Price goes. I would love Benintendi in RF especially w him also being a LH bat. My gut is they won't trade him though.

It probably is mentioned somewhere in a postingon this site. But I have seen several articles on a Robbie Ray trade. Maybe he is an alternative to Price at a cheaper" price ".

Boston has to find a RH starter to replace Porcello. I would assume they will try and get one dealing Price or Bradley. Doesn't seem to be any other rumors floating although new GM seems to be playing things close to the vest which is to be expected.

Kluber to Rangers. https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/28304613/sources-rangers-agree-trade-indians-ace-corey-kluber

I don't think they will trade Evoldi. With Porcell leaving, he is their only RH starter. Price makes more sense but obviously his deal will require a lot of work to balance off. I also think Bradley will be moved.

I followed you up to Pomeranz. I assume you meant him as a bullpen piece since his starter days since 2017 have been pretty bad.

I think you and I didn't realize rosters were frozen as of yesterday.

This FO has a poor track record in recent years for spending. But too many posters are giving up in the first few weeks of December. So far the Sox have not given up any quality assets and have added Grandal. There are weeks for Hahn to bolster our pitching staff and find a quality RF. Too many posters are acting like Spring Training opens this weekend. Hahn has 2 more months to re-do the roster before we see the final product. Then we can praise or trash him.

Porcello to Mets so Rodrigues will not be included.

Cinci and St Louis media say they are in but time will tell. I think St Louis is the team to watch out for.

I think Bradley and his $10mil will also go.

Another wildcard is the Cole signing. Yankees will go into ST as the prohibitive favorite. It will be interesting to see what Boston will now do from a payroll standpoint.

Two thoughts: There are 5 teams interested but we don't know how interested. If 3 or 4 are truly interested, Bloom has some leverage. Price appears to be liked by his teammates but is not very popular w fans and he has a lot of media issues. He is regularly trashed on Boston sports shows.

As I posted earlier, every media type has another take from their "source" Feinsand notes that the Red Sox have no desire to attach a desirable young player such as Andrew Benintendi to Price in order to simply shed the remainder of his contract. The Athletic’s Chad Jennings offers a similar sentiment (subscription required). “I don’t think we’d ever want to rule anything out,” chief baseball office Chaim Bloom of parting with prospects to help facilitate a Price trade (quote via Jennings). “But so much of what we’re always going to be trying to accomplish, but certainly now, is to make sure we have as strong a farm system as possible.” https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2019/12/david-price-trade-rumors-red-sox-padres-wil-myerss.html

" Boston might have to get creative to offload the 34-year-old, potentially attaching an enticing young pitcher or paying down some of Price’s salary to facilitate a trade." Another take with a pitching prospect attached. Hahn needs to wait for the rumor that Sale is attached to the Price trade and then jump on it. That rumor should be around by the weekend.................. https://www.masslive.com/redsox/2019/12/david-price-trade-rumors-cardinals-white-sox-among-5-teams-in-on-boston-red-sox-starter-report.html

https://www.masslive.com/redsox/2019/12/david-price-trade-rumors-cardinals-white-sox-among-5-teams-in-on-boston-red-sox-starter-report.html

That makes no sense unless other teams are involved. Boston brought up a young 2nd baseman last year who played well and they still have Pedroia coming off surgery under contract. Their top 2 positional prospects are a AAA and A 1B. They are going to want MLB ready pitching especially if Price goes and Porcell signs elsewhere. If we are involved and no 3rd party, I got to think Cease is one of their targets.

FWIW-- On local sports report last night in Boston, they said St Louis seemed to be the best possibility for a Price trade. No mention of anyone else involved. Because Boston has a new GM, it seems there are less rumors which would make sense since local media doesn't have as many "connections" yet.

A different take on pitching as it relates to Porcello and other fly-ball pitchers. He is only 31 but had a bad 2019. This offseason is weird in terms of trying to project performance because we are missing an extremely basic piece of information about the coming season: What’s the baseball going to be like. It’s a stain on the league that this is even a question — do whatever you want with the ball, but be open about it — but this is where we are. Last year, as we know, MLB had bouncy balls that resulted in absurd offensive numbers around the league. Pitchers like Porcello, who were prone to home runs as it was, seemed to suffer the most. Everyone gave up more homers, but for pitchers like Porcello they jumped from an acceptable rate to a nearly untenable one that resulted in too many short outings. If the 2019 baseball is back for the 2020 season, Porcello is a lot less valuable than he would be if they went back to a more stable ball. That this is even part of the equation makes things much more complicated, and thus is in and of itself an argument against Porcello. https://www.overthemonster.com/2019/12/9/21002518/boston-red-sox-offseason-rumors-rick-porcello-free-agent

FWIW--Media people love to create rumors so they get attention. Boston Globe indicates Jackie Bradley is the OF the Red Sox are trying to unload since he comes w a high price tag. Benintendi does not.