Black_Jack29

Yes, and we're letting those kids develop now, when nobody expects the Sox to win 90+ games. The expectations are going to be much higher two years from now. Maybe the rest of the lineup will be strong enough by then that having a rookie 1B develop during a pennant push isn't a big deal. And maybe it won't. If Jose is willing to stick around via one- or two-year deals, he's a heck of an insurance policy.

My bad, I forgot about the roster change. In that case, maybe it'll work.

Vaughn hasn't shown that he can hit at the ML level yet and the Sox are projected to be competitive in 2021. I'd rather have Jose in my lineup (especially if he's DHing half of the time) while I'm trying to knock off the Twins than a rookie. If the Sox can ink Jose through 2022, with the understanding that he's going to be a half-time DH at that point, I don't see that as a negative at all.

I don't see how this move has anything to do with Abreu. I doubt that the FO would have Abreu sign a qualifying offer with a gentleman's agreement that they'd work out a two- or three-year deal over the winter. I think that they want Abreu around for at least a couple more years and Abreu obviously wants to stay here.

Most managers won't do this because if your catcher gets hurt and you replace him with your backup catcher who is currently playing DH, you lose the DH. I suppose that the Sox could carry three catchers on their 25-man roster and rotate them at DH, but that seems unlikely, especially with Jose needing a day off of 1B once a week or so. I think it's more likely that Collins gets dealt. I'm pretty stoked about his move, even though the Sox didn't really need a catcher. They got a nice bat at a nice price. I'll be even more excited when they sign a #1 or #2 SP.

I'm guessing that Collins has at least a couple of options left. If that's the case, he can spend a good chunk of 2020 in Charlotte next season. McCann is a FA in 2021 and I don't see the Sox re-signing him.

Lopez is dirt-cheap and is under team control for the next three or so years. He's inconsistent as hell, but he's also young and has shown flashes of dominance. That's exactly the type of pitcher the Sox need to anchor the back of the rotation while they spend on a couple of established veterans to fill out the rotation. I don't know what to expect out of Collins going forward, but I doubt that McCann is going to put up a .789 OPS next season.

They certainly don’t hire the right scouting and player development personnel to compete with those constraints.

I think that the Sox are going to have a tough time competing in this division with the Twins and Indians, even with the changes that I outlined. That said. I agree that they’ll be interesting and fun to watch in 2020.

They are?

Sorry, "traded for." I'd love to believe that JR was actually willing to sign a 10-year, $250M commitment to a player. But nothing about his way of doing business suggests that he'd do such a thing.

You know what else doesn't make any sense? Reinsdorf and Einhorn switching the Sox to pay TV while their in-town competitor broadcasted their games on a nationally aired cable TV station. Or JR leading a hard-line contingent of owners and triggering a strike while the Sox were in first place. Or trading away some of your best players in late July when you're 3 1/2 games out of first place. The Sox have a long history of making moves that seem incredibly dumb in hindsight.

You can make all the disparaging comments you want, but it doesn't strengthen your argument.

I never claimed that it was an intelligent strategy and, yes, it clearly backfired. (The silly signing of Alonso and Jay was a big part of it backfiring.) But I honestly believe that the Sox never intended to pay Machado $250M.

Does it make sense that a notoriously cheap owner would want to be on the hook for $250M at age 83, when he's probably close to selling the team?