Just want to see where everybody is it. Factoring in the major league team and the minors, how do you feel about it? Do you think this team has what it takes to be a serious contender next season? Are there too many holes to fill through free agency?

They have to find some way to get starting pitching or they are never going to be serious contenders.

The position players are in really good shape. So is the bullpen. Need to sign a big free agent starter.

1 minute ago, Colome's Hat said:

The position players are in really good shape. So is the bullpen. Need to sign a big free agent starter.

Good luck with that, the largest FA contract they have ever given to a pitcher is $54 million and that was to a reliever. They aren't signing a big time FA starting pitcher.

They are going to have to trade from an area of strength to get what they need, and I think they should trade Miguel Vargas.

15 minutes ago, Colome's Hat said:

The position players are in really good shape. So is the bullpen. Need to sign a big free agent starter.

As long as JR is in charge this isn't happening.

53 minutes ago, ron883 said:

Just want to see where everybody is it. Factoring in the major league team and the minors, how do you feel about it? Do you think this team has what it takes to be a serious contender next season? Are there too many holes to fill through free agency?

They're much farther along on the position player site than I would have dream a year ago. I mean, we've had numerous discussions here about how are all these good position players going to fit into our lineup - especially with Bonemer and Roch waiting in the wings. But the starting pitching just has too many holes to fill. As others have said, getting quality starting pitching through FA isn't going to happen as long as JR is owner unless they happen across a dumpster-diving success.

There's still question marks on the position player side, but at least there are some quality backups in case some of the guys from this year can't repeat their success in 2027. Getz has had some successes, but he's still not a very good GM overall as shown by his deadline trades.

And before anyone chimes in......yes, IF there is a season next year.

Do they have what it takes? What do they truly have in Braden Montgomery, Coleson, and the barely closeted Murakami and Vargas? Kind of pivotal.

Edited Thursday at 10:00 PM2 days by Chick Mercedes

The org is in the best spot they've been in probably in the last 20 years. Obviously we all felt good about where things were at in 2020, but that turned out to be fools gold.

There are real pieces here, both at the ML level and on the farm.

But as others have already mentioned, there is still a lot of work to do and I still have no reason to believe the current owner will make the proper investments to get the team to where we ultimately want it to go. So that makes the job that Getz has even harder, and he's going to have some pivotal decisions coming up that he has to hit on. Hopefully they work out better than his most recent trade deadline acquisitions

We need starting pitching and I’m worried about both Montgomery’s along with Mune, they probably brought up Braden too soon but had to as Hays was injured.

Vargas, Meindroth, Peters, Teel and Ant should only get better and our 2 veterans were damn good at DH.

I’m not sure about the status of the Minor League system as I don’t follow the farm teams all that much. I know we have good prospects at Shortstop and some good arms and Bonemer is damn good.

I also think Venable and his coaches need to be replaced, maybe not the pitching coach, he did a great job with the bullpen and you can’t blame him for Martin and Burke running out of gas though Martin has 2 nice starts in a row and Fedde has been decent.

Now to Getz, what he has done in 2 years is amazing having a team that lost 121 games in 2024 to a contender in 2026, they improved by 20 games last year and will probably improve about 22 games this year, maybe more. The bad news is his acquisitions at this year’s deadline have all been busts.

Edited Thursday at 10:58 PM2 days by The Mighty Mite

They're not going to replace the likely AL MoY barring a total/complete collapse.

Even then the odds of it actually happening are extremely low after leading the Central for months and months.

It's also fair to assert that the Tigers Twins and Guardians all have better overall farm systems as of today.

On the position player side:

Who is the real Teel? And Mune as well. How much better can Braden get? Will Kolson actually finish below .200 with historic K totals, and how does/can he rebound?

Edited Thursday at 10:52 PM2 days by caulfield12

Controversial opinion:

Even if the Sox fall out of the playoffs, it's not the fault of Will Venable. He's managing what is in front of him. I think they kind of outplayed themselves to some extent early (guys way out performing their talents, luck such as 11 walkoffs, and a really awful division) and you are seeing some regression to where they probably should have been all along.

I do worry most about the pitching going forward, as it pretty much all regressed this year, except for a couple of guys. To have Shane Smith, Dutch Schultz, Hagen Smith, and Christian Oppor regress they way they did was a worst case scenario, and I am not sure who you are building towards going forward.

The offense has surprisingly been way ahead of the curve, despite some second half regressions that may well be due to the grind of a first long season ever. Getting starters out of Ant and Chase is huge, and you have some guys like Caleb coming in behind, plus Roch in the wings. Even if you do lose a guy like Colson to regression, we actually have some depth coming behind.

3 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

Controversial opinion:

Even if the Sox fall out of the playoffs, it's not the fault of Will Venable. He's managing what is in front of him. I think they kind of outplayed themselves to some extent early (guys way out performing their talents, luck such as 11 walkoffs, and a really awful division) and you are seeing some regression to where they probably should have been all along.

I do worry most about the pitching going forward, as it pretty much all regressed this year, except for a couple of guys. To have Shane Smith, Dutch Schultz, Hagen Smith, and Christian Oppor regress they way they did was a worst case scenario, and I am not sure who you are building towards going forward.

The offense has surprisingly been way ahead of the curve, despite some second half regressions that may well be due to the grind of a first long season ever. Getting starters out of Ant and Chase is huge, and you have some guys like Caleb coming in behind, plus Roch in the wings. Even if you do lose a guy like Colson to regression, we actually have some depth coming behind.

Can add McDougal and Sandlin to that long question marks list...Thorpe, too.

And hope to God they can figure something out with Luis Castillo for next season...this one feels irrevocably lost/irreversible already.

5 minutes ago, caulfield12 said:

They're not going to replace the likely AL MoY barring a total/complete collapse.

Even then the odds of it actually happening are extremely low after leading the Central for months and months.

(Although tbh 2012 was peak Ventura as a manager and all that came afterward diminished him and the franchise...ofc, he had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the job.)

It's also fair to say that the Tigers Twins and Guardians all have better overall farm systems as of today.

15 minutes ago, caulfield12 said:

They're not going to replace the likely AL MoY barring a total/complete collapse.

Even then the odds of it actually happening are extremely low after leading the Central for months and months.

It's also fair to assert that the Tigers Twins and Guardians all have better overall farm systems as of today.

On the position player side:

Who is the real Teel? And Mune as well. How much better can Braden get? Will Kolson actually finish below .200 with historic K totals, and how does/can he rebound?

When I’m not watching the Sox I’m tuned into the Rays games and IMHO Kevin Cash should be manager of the year. The team the Rays put on the field day after day and except for Caminero, Diaz and Aranda are not that good, the pitching has been very good and Cash does a great job of handling the staff and gets the best out his players, he sort of reminds me of the great Al Lopez in that respect. That being said Veneble will probably win it because he was the manager of a team that lost 101 games last year and are in first place right now.

Edited Thursday at 11:31 PM2 days by The Mighty Mite

26 minutes ago, The Mighty Mite said:

When I’m not watching the Sox I’m tuned into the Rays games and IMHO Kevin Cash should be manager of the year. The team the Rays put on the field day after day and except for Caminero, Diaz and Aranda are not that good, the pitching has been very good and Cash does a great job of handling the staff and gets the best out his players, he sort of reminds me of the great Al Lopez in that respect. That being said Veneble will probably win it because he was the manager of a team that lost 101 games last year and are in first place right now.

121 losses to where they are right now is just historically unprecedented.

Certainly for a team with a bottom five payroll.

The Rays are the quintessential victims of their own success now, much like the Brewers.

Just now, caulfield12 said:

121 losses to where they are right now is just historically unprecedented.

Certainly for a team with a bottom five payroll.

The Rays are the quintessential victims of their own success now, much like the Brewers.

The Rays also got burned by investing in Wander Franco. Who knows where they are if that guy wasn’t a POS

48 minutes ago, Kyyle23 said:

The Rays also got burned by investing in Wander Franco. Who knows where they are if that guy wasn’t a POS

Things always seem to work out for the Rays...somehow.

Getting Grady Emerson at 1-2 was a nice consolation prize.

Thank our lucky stars for Miedroth being the entire return for Crochet. Feeling great.

Edited yesterday at 01:30 AM1 day by Chick Mercedes

As far as the rebuild they still have a very long way to go especially in the most important position...pitching.

I am hoping this season wasn't a bunch of smoke and mirrors, personally.

Vast improvement from where we were the last couple of years. Stay the course.

11 hours ago, Chick Mercedes said:

Thank our lucky stars for Miedroth being the entire return for Crochet. Feeling great.

The hell? Teel and Braden are already busts?

9 hours ago, Paulie4Pres said:

I am hoping this season wasn't a bunch of smoke and mirrors, personally.

There are definitely more than a few guys we have to head into the off-season with some major questions about, including pretty much all pitching.

feeling great

19 minutes ago, nrockway said:

feeling great

With all the currently circulation clouds over Mune, Kolson and Vargas' extension interest/signability...?

1 hour ago, nrockway said:

feeling great