Chisoxfn

That was big.

Trade down - unless the offer is weak. It needs to be relatively substantial - multiple FRP (at least 2 FRP - including one that is still pretty high) plus multiple other picks.

What if the market for 9-11 year deals is done and all that is left is a 5 year deal. The beauty of having this many free agent shortstops out there is at some point the # of teams that are willing to do this might be reduced.

It would be nice to get the haul and than turn around and sign Swanson. Upgrade the D, maintain the offense, get more assets. Win WIN WIN. Even though I am a huge TA fan.

Looking back at Gallos stats - hell to the No. I remember again why I never wanted him from Texas and that was when people thought he was good. No - unless the shift is going to magically add 75 points to his average and somehow get him to double his contact rate. I can see if now they will spend the same as Benitendi or others and it will be on Gallo and Frazier when they could have just gotten the same production as Gallo / Frazier from in house guys and actually had a Benitendi on the roster (you know a legitimately above average player).

What do Padres need cause I would take Cronenworth. Massive upgrade at 2B and left handed bat.

Could you imagine Sox winning the power all (or just being a real franchise) and they swing Hendricks and Timmy for major assets (Lux, a good young pitcher and something else or whatever) and than turned around and signed Swanson or Correa and say Benitendi. Boom - back on track!

The thought crossed my mind.

I don’t know what to think of this and it probably makes no sense. I know he had baggage but could Sox go after him.

Wow - what happens with Tatis Jr.

One difference is Gallo can play defense. I mean - I don't hate it - on its own it isn't good. But its better than just rolling Sheets out there. I can't accept another season with 1B playing the corner outfield spots with a team built around pitching. Recipe for DISASTER. And if nothing else - maybe the removal of the shift will be good for him. I mean - it isn't like he had some injury derail him - he just got to NY and got into a funk. Its kind of weird for guys to fall off a cliff like that at 27/28 (and he's only 29 now). But yeah - low standards at this point.

I would be a big fan of this. I don't even think anything about Outman but getting Lux for the longer term on a cost-controlled deal is a good move. If Outman hit, even better.

I don't disagree with that - but you still have a massive hole in the outfield. If they actually plan on addressing that - than I'm fine rolling it back with the reset and hoping Moncada and others bounce back.

This is an extremely reasonable signing. Extremely reasonable.

Worse case you send him back. They have pretty crappy relievers on the roster currently. Why not take a guy with a plus arm (you have the 40 man space) and get a free trial. If you like him - you keep him. If you like his upside but don't like the long-term, cut a deal with the other org to keep him but be able to send him down. Or if you don't like him - it is a drop in the bucket and send him back to the org. There is literally no downside - unless the Sox plan on adding a gagillion guys to the 40 man. But right now they have like 5 open spots - so even if that happens - take a shot now. Or if it isn't a reliever, take a guy that you think could be a 4th or 5th outfielder to get depth. Same thing - if you don't end up liking them or something better comes about, you let him back to the other team and pay the very very nominal price. There is literally ZERO downside to this. The Sox just wasted an opportunity to marginally improve the squad. Wasted it. If I were them with the amount of open spots - I would have taken 2 guys - one reliever and one outfielder and worse case I'd let them go back to their orgs, but at least got a free preview with my personal and coaching team to work with them and see what is there.

We didn't like the market or didn't want to do x or y. Its like no - have a strategy, have a plan. You don't just get to say it didn't work out. It is your job to grind, grind, grind grind and when one thing doesn't work out, find another or go a different path and continue evolving and always looking at ways to improve the team - whether marginally or materially.

This makes zero sense. The Sox are a joke. Why not spend a little bit to get at least one power arm in your org (or an outfielder) to give a tryout to. Worse case you send them back. They really are a joke of the org. They don't do anything on the margins, spend on all the relievers / utility guys, don't invest well in the farm, don't spend on big free agents. Don't have a strategy. Just a sad state of affairs.

This just reeks of we have no strategy. There strategy is see what comes there way and react.

For whatever reason I can't read - what is it saying?

The reality was there was no gun to a head in those off-seasons. You could have lost there and made up for it the following year - they just chose not to. I would argue the off-season everything went sideways was one which on paper wasn't awful, when they got Lynn - but at same time they made an awful mgr hire and than everything from there was bad. Last off-season was probably the absolutely worst - where they missed EVERYWHERE.

If you think you can maybe optimize him as a reliever, maybe I can buy it a bit. Still - goes to show you this market. Get ready for Hahn/KW to say how they didn't anticipate it. Which again - that is fine - but than read and react, you don't get to punt multiple off-seasons, multiple deadlines.

I go back to - it is still his mess. Unless he was told one thing and JR acted completely different. The reality is JR gave him guidelines, you need to figure out how to build the best possible club with those guidelines and build a strategy around it and operate to it. It is like blaming the A's front office failures on the GM. The A's will have a hard time having a sustainable club - but they know what they need to do and thus have built a structure that works for them and largley has them contend. Rays - same thing. Cardinals - the same. It is different - if you are Dodgers or Red Sox - that is a whole nother question and you build a strategy accordingly knowing what you are going to spend, your availability, etc. What Hahn did and how he framed / got this team boxed in, is entirely his own doing.

Its back to - sometimes things don't work out - but if you knew the factors they should have done so much better. But even than - sometimes when things don't work out - it means you have to spend a bit more, if you truly intend to contend or you have to get way more creative. Doing nothing...well often times that is the absolute worst strategy (not that we should be surprised cause that largely has been what the club has done.

Sign all the relievers....put all the 1B/DH in corner outfield positions. Oh they can get creative....it just isn't smart creativity haha.

I don't disagree with most of this - it goes back to - if you can clear all that out and get some parts to help, but than you actually also have to sign players in current free agency. Essentially you are just shifting the risks in spots of how you are going to do it and you are accepting that. I don't know what those trades free up in capacity - and I'm not implying you can move Grandal (so I'll seperate him for now - if you could do it). But if you move Giolito, Hendricks, Moncada and Kelly - you are creating 50-60M in capacity. I don't know what in terms of immediate major league talent (vs. whatever types of prospects - which theortically you can use to flip to buy something else - and I won't even get into the debate of what sort of talent they get back). But imagine you are trading those 4 guys and maybe you are filling 1-2 hole on ML roster with what you get back, you have also created a lot of capacity to do things, both via free agency and other means. Do you than say, we are going to go ReyLo at closer (a clear downgrade to Hendricks, but you can do it) - you can than assess what you do with your infield. I don't think you go Burger - but maybe you decide you are going cheap at 3B and upgrading all across the outfield and others, I don't know. To your point - you could also do a mini refresh too. And someone hold me honest cause I didn't look up contracts so I don't know if the above is accurate (maybe it is too high).