SCCWS

I think another negative is Boras likes to hold his FA till very late in the off- season. JDM signed w Boston very late in 2018. Boston held out and eventually got him but I am not sure Hahn has the flexiibilty to hold out and then try and find an option if they lose him. Same w Stras. Hahn may have to blow them off w deals early in the process.

He is a starter for the Cubs. What starter of ours are you giving up in exchange for him so he can DH?

No thanks. He is a left-handed older version of Eloy. Both will hit 35 homers knock in 80+ runs and are below average LF.

I think any of that 4 could be a 2. But as we saw w Gio, they also could be an ace as well. Both Keuchel and Bumgarner have some really good years on their resume although is was 3-4 years ago.

The Sox really don't have an established #1 starter yet. Certainly Gio was this year but he needs to duplicate it again. Kopech may turn out to be but it might take a few years. It would be great to get a # 1 or 2 starter even if we pass on Cole. Then add a 4 or 5 with the other add. So I also hope for one of the 2-7 and then a second arm.

In the Boston media, I don't think there is a clear reason why Betts wants to be a free agent. He seems very animated in games and seems to be very much a part of the team. He is from Tennessee so no mention of a West Coast desire. Obviously in Boston he gets a ton of media attention and plays before big crowd. Never see anything negative about him in the press. Maybe there was some issue w Dombrowski but time will tell. So I assume he just wants the attention of being "the free agent" and getting a big day day. So I am not sure getting him as a rental gives a team the inside track as it appears he has that in Boston and has turned down supposed big bucks several times.

Agree as does MLB Trade Rumors. They project Betts to make $28Mil in arbitration so he will cost a lot both ways. Teams also aren’t going to clear out their farm systems for just one year of Betts, though Boston can reasonably assume to top what the Diamondbacks received from the Cardinals for Goldschmidt last December. Betts is over five years younger than Goldschmidt and a more valuable defensive player, so the Red Sox will definitely aim for more than the already-impressive package the D’Backs received — a controllable young starter (Luke Weaver), a controllable young everyday catcher (Carson Kelly), a Competitive Balance Round B pick in the 2019 draft, and another prospect in infielder Andy Young, currently ranked by MLB.com as the 23rd-best Diamondbacks minor leaguer.

I am not sure we as fans can really tell how good a manager is. It seems many organizations do not give the manager control over his assistants. Many FO also use the analytics to dictate player usage and in-game defenses. 20 years ago managers actually managed the team and the games . Now many are following the decisions made by the FO nerds and their main job is to keep the players content.

Why would Boston trade a top 5 player in the game for what you perceive as a bat-only player and some prospects. They will keep Betts and make a run at another title with the hope hr resigns. If they are convinced he won't resign they will want MLB talent for him. My guess, if they trade him, it will be for another MLB ready player who has a contract a team wants to unload or one they can't resign.

I think Gardner is a good choice and would come cheap but I think he will stay in NY to finish his career.

Agree. Tampa is huge into shifting which actually started w Maddon although front office driven.

Rick, you are such a potty pooper.

Unfortunately, Tampa's success w using analytics to offset spending on star players will certainly interest FO pencil-pushers. Both are really nerdy types.

I think most of us posters feel RR will not be the leader when we are ready to go after a playoff spot. I would rather see us go the route of Minny and Boston and get a younger coach. Maybe Vizquel is already warming up in the bullpen. I threw out Joey Cora as another possibliity. I would like to see somebody w some expereince ( not a Ross type) but Boone is doing pretty good albeit he has a lot of talent to work with .

A competent right fielder and DH will not get to 90 wins. Now add 2 quality SP to them and that might.

Girardi is in the mix. Ross has no managing experience but his DWTS time certainly gives him a "leg up" on the competition.

Defensive stats are always a little questionable but most of his dropped this year. He allowed 73 SB so teams ran on him and his caught stealing % was 26. His Dwar dropped from .6 to -.4

Some thoughts. Grandal was not much better at .229/388/398 in 2nd half. McCann was a 3.8 War to Grandal 2.5 ( mainly based on Grandal's poor defense). Also McCann cost $2.5 Mil and Grandal $16Mil. I think McCann is more likely what we saw 2nd half and Grandal pretty regularly has a poor 2nd half. Now your idea to only catch Grandal 50% may improve his poor 2nd halves. But I wonder if he will rejct only being a PT catcher. I would spend more money or use resources in RF than pay Grandal at least 4X what McCann gets. Now if Grandal agrees to catch 50% and Sox think that solves his 2nd half swoons and also solves DH problem then maybe he is worth the money.

That is not the word in the Boston media. The thinking is they want to drop about $20 MIL which they will get w Porcello. The question is do they keep Betts and make another run at the playoffs and take their chances he resigns. Or trade him and get a good return. Obviously JDM plays into that as well since it would be harder to make the playoffs if he leaves. Their new GM has his work cut out for him.

Chavis hit 18 HR in 350 AB replacing Pedroia. He also plays 3B and IB. They will not want Madrigal. Vaughn would be a better idea.

I assume Holt( he makes $3.75) will take a home town discount to stay in Boston so we would have to pay a premium. But Yolmer gets $4.625 already so that could be doable

Probably wasn't an Oakland fan alive either.

Don't think you have to go that high. Mookie gets $20Mil now. If Trout(37)-Machado(32) and Harper (27) are the competition, I would think Mookie could be had for 10/$350. Maybe he wants #1 so worse case 10/$380. The White Sox could certainly pay that since they don't have any huge contracts on the books for 22. But I would assume the Red Sox will not trade Betts until just before ST if at all. I don't think Hahn can wait that long unless he wants him only for a rental. I don't see him spending big bucks in FA and then going after Mookie ( unless his budget is $175+ for 22.)

Cooper is 63. He is probably waiting until 66 for his SS....................................

To his credit, Anderson made changes. “It was taking his experiences, bottling them up and dealing what was good and what was bad and what needed to be adjusted and fixed,” Steverson said. “I put the work in and it’s showing,” Anderson said. Anderson is standing taller in his stance, is chasing fewer bad pitches, and is hitting curveballs at a .311 clip. As Steverson puts it, the barrel action is creating more accuracy. Timing is everything, and “better timing has allowed him to make better decisions.” https://chicago.suntimes.com/white-sox/2019/9/25/20884709/white-sox-tim-anderson-batting-title-indians