HOFHurt35

Pillar is the new Markakis for Sox fans

First tweet I've ever hit "like" for Bruce.

4 WAR for Moncada is pretty conservative. I think he's about to move into the elite of elites territory.

FYI, the Sox will need a #2 catcher in 2021.

Exactly where he belongs. There truly was no value to him being up here as a 3rd catcher and PT DH.

Doesn't Leury have great RH splits?

And let's get to the part of "being good" first before demanding every hole gets filled in one off-season. I get the sense Sox fans are a little too demanding in trying to build a WS contender in one off-season. That's almost impossible to get done coming from where we are in the rebuild. And it still involves a lot of luck, than just player additions. Patience. Let's get to good first and then see where we stand.

The argument I'm making is that Mazara has no place on this time if you bring in Castellanos. I'm 100 fine with this, it's another no-brainer. But then the Sox have pie in their face on why they made this trade in the first place if BOTH Castellanos and Encarnacion were still considered legitimate targets.

I think the "all time high" phase for Collins is long gone.

But on most nights, he will need to be counted as OF replacement for one of the corners or they will need to get a 2nd defensive OF to go with Engel. This is the downside of having too many Softball players for the corner OF spots.

The Sox will have to carry two defensive OF replacements on the bench most season. So I'd assume those would be Leury and Engel. No way they carry a 3rd bench OF, regardless of the 26th man.

If I'm reading this correctly, the Sox truly want Castellanos with the assumption the price is coming down. But Encarnacion is a more realistic plan B and they are ready to make that move.

Mazara is not going to bench. If he doesn't start in a platoon option, he just gets released (which then leaves you scratching your head on why they made the trade to begin with). The Sox are not going to carry a bad defensive OF on the bench.

Looks like he's just thinking out loud, in Bruce fashion. Nothing new.

And truly you'd want Collins to get full time ABs down at Charlotte and catch as much as possible. You have to assume if not traded, he's the backup catcher in 2020 at the very least if not traded..

Let's all remember the last time we had this silly debate about not wanting a full time DH and when we decided to go with the rotating nonsense instead of getting a legit option like Thome. This would be that again. If Encarnacion can be had for cheap on a one years deal, then it's a no-brainer.

He just made his debut late this past season. I think a bit of patience should be allowed for him.

Astros and Sox are on completely opposite ends of their rebuilds. Let's get there first before applying this approach on ignoring prospects.

I'm not saying any of those guys are sure bet. Just saying that rather than handcuffing yourself to a bad defensive corner OF contract for 4 years, keep your options open for down the line. Take it one year at a time and do an Encarnacion type signing if you feel you need another bat. It buys you another year in development to see if any of those 4 guys mentioned finally blows up in the minors to something you can work with here in the big league level. I think we, Sox fans, need to take a step back here and look at the big picture and understand that to build long term success we have to continue drafting/and developing along with all the good that's happening right now at the big league level and free agency. Hopefully we get a breakout down in the farm from one of those guys mentioned.

Indeed. And it keeps you from blocking the pipeline in guys like Adolfo, Basabe, Rutherford, and Gonzalez.

With the added 26th man, no reason why you couldn't carry Engel as your late inning D replacement and PR off the bench. You will be having to pull Eloy and/or Mazara for Defense most nights.

Seriously. We need to get passed this.

I was just about to say this...

Phil Rogers still has a press credential and covers baseball. Amazes me.

Maybe staying in Chicago helps his decision.