TheFutureIsNear

I still like Allard over Fulmer from a talent and upside view, but Fullmer is by no means a bad pick. He's going to need to simplify his delivery a lot to be a starter at the next level imo, but dominant bull pen arms are by no means something to be viewed lightly. Robertson, Fulmer, and Duke could make games real short in the near future

QUOTE (LDF @ Jun 5, 2015 -> 10:18 AM) allard and his back injury concerns me. I agree that it has to be somewhat of a concern, but it's always harder for fans when we have no idea what the medical staff has to say. Could be a huge deal, or could be a minor issue. All I know is that a 17 year old lefty who can already touch 95 with a good hard breaking ball, and a very smooth delivery is really difficult to pass on. I think we'll know how big of a concern his back is based on where he gets drafted. I don't see how he's not a top 5 prospect in this draft class if fully healthy.

Allard is my #1 guy and Happ would be my #2 fallback option. A lot of these college arms being projected in the 6-10 range are way overrated in my opinion just because they are "safer" options.

I've seen local high school pitchers with better stuff than Danks. He has no business being in a MLB rotation at this point. Cut your losses on a terrible contract and get him out of here.

I'm still sticking with Ian Happ. I think he can hit .300 with 10-15 home runs very soon in the big leagues. Plus he has position flex in the IF and OF with above average speed. And did I mention he's a switch hitter?

Well looks like I might be waiting a bit longer to pay for my mlb.tv subscription...this team clearly wasn't prepared correctly for the start of the season. Not time for gloom and doom yet obviously, but can't give up too many games to start the year.

I'm starting to really like Ian Happ from Cincy....athletic switch hitter with position flex. Can't ask for much more than that in a prospect. If not him than I would probably go with 1 of the SP that falls not named Aiken. Bickford, Kirby, or Matuella.

I think Avi is going to absolutely rake this year. Whether he's going to hit behind, bewteen, or in front of the Abreu/LaRoche duo he's going to get a lot of pitches to hit. My bold prediction.... .290/.330/.480 with 18 HR's 85 RBI's and 10 steals. So what do you guys think? Crazy? Or Agree

Mehh I'd rather not even bring back Beckham honestly, but its not worth complaining about a cheap bench player. I just hope it's been clear that he isn't here to be a starter in any way shape or form.

I think there seems to be a really good chance Dayan ends up being the RH platoon to Laroche at DH and an occasional spot start in LF/RF. Having a guy withhis power on the bench isn't a bad thing, especially if we don't have to see him field much.

IF Micah wins the 2B job I can definitely see us keeping Tank. A bench of... Sanchez-SS, 2B Bonifacio- CF, 3B, 2B Tank- LF, RF, DH Shuck/Campana- OF Brantley/Kottaras- back-up catcher Pretty good and covers pretty much all of our needs in my opinion.

Perfect signing. Backup at CF, 3B, and even 2B. Wonder if this leaves the door open for Dayan to stay with the team though? He could be the LF/RF/DH platoon and backup with Bonifacio, Sanchez(if Micah wins the job), Viciedo, and Shuck/Danks as the bench? I'm sure most would complain if he's still on the team but it wouldn't bother me at all.

This guy would make a lot of sense if our scouts think he can play both 3B and 2B. A RH hitter with some pop who can platoon at both 2b and 3b would be ideal for our team right now. 3/15M is nothing compared to what some of these mediocre MLB vets are getting.

QUOTE (flavum @ Dec 18, 2014 -> 09:56 AM) After the free agent market settles, and Marlon Byrd gets traded, the Sox will find Viciedo a new home. Without a doubt. There's always some team willing to take a chance on power potential. We won't get much, but someone will give us something for him. Hell, how many shots did Willy Mo Pena get?

Tough to say....but I think between 83-88 wins is pretty safe. Can't forget the trade dealine as well...you have to imagine with as much invested in this team already there is going to be an addition if necessary.

If you can't support a team with 3 or 4 former PED users then you should probably pick a different sport to watch all together....and make sure it's not football either.

Name me 2 AL teams that you can say without a doubt are better than the Sox right now....I'll wait.

Wow is all I can say. This team has a real shot at doing something special the next few years.

QUOTE (chitownsportsfan @ Dec 13, 2014 -> 09:56 PM) I've been looking at Ethier -- was he injured last year or something because his batted ball data is a mess. 51% GBs and 5.6% HR per FB on the odd chance he didn't kill a worm? He just screams "old" IMO. Only .7 fWAR last year and his wRC+ sunk to just 98. He's basically a good player that is now old. Will he bounce back into an average player? I have no idea but Melky costs only money. If the Dodgers want to trade him for a bag of balls and include cash then OK, let's deal, but paying anything of actual value (aka any prospect in the top 20) seems a huge overpay. His contract is f***ing awful. Through '17 at an AAV of 17 million with a vesting option for '18 if he hits 550 PA. No, f*** it, god no. Not unless the Dodgers sent over 40 million, and usually the commish doesn't look too kindly on those deals. I think you're over looking what its like for a veteran to go from an every day player to role player....especially a guy coming off of a pretty decent season. A lot of guys struggle when their routine is broken like that. I'm not saying he would be great or anything, but I think he could give us a very productive 500 PA's with most coming against righties. Probably something like .265/.330/.410 with 15 HR's. And no, I don't think it would take any of our top 20 prospects to get him. IF we do trade for him its either going to be Danks for Ethier + a little bit of $ or no body prospects for Ethier + a lot of $.

QUOTE (bear_brian @ Dec 13, 2014 -> 11:17 AM) Boston has to remove either Victorino or Nava or Craig - Holt is too versatile. Ethier wants out of L.A. Dodgers want to move either Ethier or Crawford's contract. Rasmus is supposedly asking for 11M - do not think anyone will come close to offering him that. We need one very good defensive outfielder, who can spell Eaton. We also need someone who can give us more offensive production than Tank. Perhaps the answer is either a) Aoki and Nava: or b) Rasmus and Nava. In either case, I like Nava because of his versatility. I agree with you on Nava. He is a very good fit for us and shouldn't be too hard to get. I honesty wouldn't even hate Nava and Bonifacio as a super sub off of the bench. Getting a versatile option like Bonifacio could also make it more palatable to keep Tank if we can't get anything for him. Having Nava, Tank, and Bonifacio to choose from for LF wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.

QUOTE (SoCalSox @ Dec 13, 2014 -> 12:28 AM) Not ideal but seems more and more likely. I think there are plenty of viable options for the OF still left to say that a Tank/Ichiro platoon is likely. Free Agents- Melky, Rasmus, Aoki Dodgers- Either, Crawford, Van Slyke Phillies- Marlon Byrd Rockies- Blackmon, Cargo Boston- Victorino, Nava, Holt Pirates- Travis Snider And I'm probably missing at least a few

QUOTE (Melissa1334 @ Dec 12, 2014 -> 09:18 PM) With our current bench situation, and with Hahn acquiring a LFer (FA or trade ) , am I crazy for thinking that if no one offers anything that can help this team, for viciedo, that were better off keeping him as a back up OFer/dh? Just tough to do because of how much of liability he is defensively. You really can't even count him as a 4th OF. You would also have to acquire a LF that can play CF well if Eaton misses time. If we literally can't get anything I would keep him rather than DFA him, but I think it's better for both our team and Viciedo to part ways at this point. Hopefully some team gets desperate for a power source and gives a bull pen arm for Viciedo.

QUOTE (Melissa1334 @ Dec 12, 2014 -> 08:54 PM) Victorino and eaton are sure bets to get hurt next year wether it's a 15 day dl stints or day to days etc they just can't play a whole season. Then what happens? Especially if it's at the same time. Some combination of danks,Leaury, campana, viciedo? It's a fair question, can't say I have the answer either. Would probably require us to carry a better 4th OF that isn't currently on our roster. I personally would actually prefer a trade for Daniel Nava. Probably would take only a slightly better package to get him and he's cheaper and under control for 3 years.

QUOTE (GreenSox @ Dec 12, 2014 -> 08:26 PM) Agree - no way Victorino nets a QO Sox should be willing to get/sell him for his contract and a C prospect. And that's all it should take if we aren't asking for any $ back. Give them Mike Recchia and Jason Coats or something like that and I'm sure they would jump at it to rid themselves of the contract. The whole question with Victorino is how his medicals look. 34 year olds with bad backs are scary. But if our doctors feel ok with his back I would have no problem with him in LF for 1 year. Who cares about the $13M? That's JR's problem and it wouldn't affect the team what so ever for the future.

The great thing about the MLB playoffs.....all you have to do is make it. And with our front 3 starters we have as good of shot as anyone in a 7 game series. We for sure need to add minimum 1 more at least above average bat, but I don't think there is any team in the AL that is head and shoulders better than us currently. Not to mention that steamer projections team WAR is a pretty ridiculous measure to use. I get his overall point, but its still a pretty big reach for the basis of an article. Must not have much to write about.