Timmy U

Alexander Alberto and Alexander Albertus?! Are they acquiring players alphabetically.

Roch has to be the favorite but Grady Emerson is also a mega-prospect. Lefty swinging shortstop from the Dallas area who does everything well. One scout said the only downside on his card is that Emerson isn't quite as good at the same age as Bobby Witt Jr. So, good year to be picking #1.

I like the concept but Crawford is an outlier ground ball machine who really doesn’t play a good centerfielder. I don’t want him.

That is one of the worst contracts in mlb. I think $66 mil for a guy who’s considered difficult. I bet they want to trade him.

Why in Zeus’s name would the Sox want another R/R corner bat?! He’s in the Amaya, Capra, Palacios tier that makes this team so hard to watch.

Better to get 7 than 6 because of the dumb rules. If they can’t get Roch, Emerson, or Spangler, I might go pitching. I am kinda out on LeBron and Burress. Undersized Righty hitters with contact issues struggle these days with everyone having two fastballs, three kinds of sliders and a seam effects change. Other than Cholowsky, give me the lefty bats.

They would consider Taylor?! Cardinals would say yes before the Sox got to the N in Grant..

Cardinals did okay considering it is a pure salary dump.

Cardinals for either player, let alone both.

Baseball America is always complaining about that but I am not so sure that those leagues are better for development than backfields are. Another case in point is Oppor who used a year at the complex to perfect his delivery and pitch mix.

I actually like what the Sox have done with the Bridge league. Good instruction in a low stress environment. It certainly didn’t hurt Bonemer. Hopefully, Carlson, Fauske, Hodge, and Boughton find similar success.

I think Pereira is most likely a platoon bat in right. Who knows if he’ll hit even a little? Hill is no Michael A. Taylor. .200 is an impossible dream for him. I hope they get a lefty swinger who can play some outfield, otherwise Braden will be up no later than May 1. Personally, I am tired of them stocking the team in April with waiver wire fodder, going double digits under .500 and then playing out the string for 5 months. I would love it if they thought coming into the year that they would play close to .500 in April. I do not believe that will be a priority.

FYI, BA ranks Fajardo #9 on an admittedly depleted Red Sox Top 10.

Well, defensively Carlson is likely to beat anyone out at ss, including Colson. Let's see if Carlson hits. Bonemer can definitely play ss. He's better over there than at 3b. That said, he probably is not gonna force Colson to move, let alone Carlson. My feeling on Bonemer is that the Sox are gonna find a place for the bat. Is that ss? 2b? 3b? OF? I don't know. Also, the top 3 prospects in the draft are all ss. As for the guys in the system, Bergolla has great hands, but the arm is a little short. I guess he could be an Ozzie type at short, but it's marginal. Plus, there's zero impact. Utility future probably. Mogollon is not a ss. Perez played some 3b because Anonacci. He also played some ss. He's a 2b-only type guy.

Plus, Nishida, Bergolla, Perez, Mogollon, and Lodise.,

Those are two really bad contracts. Mets may now be the only team out there with more 2b than the Sox.

Shomon is gonna freaking love Antonacci and Braden has a little of that dog in him too, albeit with a lot more swing and miss.

I would not complain if they spent money on literally anyone, but a R/R 1b/3b would not be my first priority. Lefty bat or starting pitcher would be my preference.

To sum up the Booser trade: Yhoiks!

Yeah, probably an overstatement. I think last year's team was really more like a 70 win team. They severely underperformed their run differential. I was feeling optimistic that they might be a 75 win team coming into the year, but they reduced their starter depth, their reliever depth, and now they don't have a rightfielder. Not great. They do have five young players that I think will help them this year (B. Montgomery, Antonacci, H. Smith, Schultz, and McDougal). Hopefully, they are clearing out space for them? Cuz I personally can't handle another year of giving 350+ at bats to AAAA players like Josh Rojas, Nicky Lopez, and, gulp, Derek Hill. But you're right. Even if they do that, they should still win more than 62 with the young guys they now have in the lineup.

I have no idea who they plan to add as the offseason progresses, but subtracting Tauchman, Gomez, Wilson, and Booser while taking a flyer on Pereira, Murphy and R/R MiLB utility player Tanner Murray does not feel like a team trying to add wins this season. I think they are significantly worse, which ain't easy.

Why in the name of all that is holy would they tender Derek Hill?

Kind of sad about this. He's not the greatest player who ever lived, but he's a Chicago guy and he played well for the Sox. I hope it means they think Braden will be ready sooner rather than later.

Angels gonna Angel.

Vargas had a fascinating year. He struggled early, against rhp, and at home. It added up to a league average bat. On a contender, he would probably be the short side of a platoon, but there’s enough there to make you want to give him another year of development with Fuller. Also, I like his style of play. Personally, I would keep him, but I could see selling relatively high.