GreenSox

I figured that Perez has a chance to make the team if Grandal can't catch. Will he be in Spring Training?

I read that he became good friends with Eric Hosmer while on the Padres...

JR spends enough money to put the Sox in a position to make the playoffs and, if things go right, make the WS each year. Money isn't how he's shortchanging the org. and its fans.

Sure there is - he's blocking young players. What's the upside? He's never played an inning of 2B in 14 major league seasons. His peak OPS since 2016 is .707. What does "good in the clubhouse" even mean? That he isn't a jerk? Okay, that's good.

Unnecessary and could clog up the minors.

Last season, the Sox had 3 non-hyped long-term minor leaguers, a couple of whom were teetering on "org" status, pitch very well in the in the pen: Davis Martin, Jimmy Lambert, and Tanner Banks. I would think that Banks might be in the running for starter #5.

That's okay, Rick. You'll improve that due diligence thing next time. Yes you will. Yes you will.

The Sox should be competitive this year. If they're not, it's likely that it's because players like TA aren't having good years, so the return would be minimal anyway. Next year is iffy, as they lose 2 starting pitchers; but I'm assuming they'll try to replace them and won't throw in the towel (could easily re-up Lynn, if appropriate). And he'll likely be valuable to the Sox 2024 anyway: Montgomery could play alongside him for a year; or he could play OF for a year. Can always use a good, athletic player. And looking at Hahn's history with selling, if the player has high value via production and years of control, he worked to move them for real return. If not, it was largely salary dumping, or giveaways for AAAA players. TA on a 1 year rent likely doesn't provide a haul. So I'd say they won't move him; or at least I hope they don't.

There were several of similar value to choose from, including, dare I suggest, some veterans. And Bilous had been mostly a starter.

Nothing wrong with that if you use them correctly. If they can hit, they can become athletic outfielders if needed; and should have premium trade value.

Where is your story posted? Right after the World Series, they let John Rooney, one of the best radio pbp guys in the business, go without a peep. So it would surprise me if they do the same with JB.

83.5 is about right. I'll take the over though. Don't know why - probably just wishing.

Nice! "Ramos is also a solid average defender at third base who can also play a decent second base." Just in case the need arises...

The GM's first signee as a GM earns a -1.7 fWar in year 1 (of 3), and has to be released in year 2 before playing an inning. With a month of trading for a player deemed a "premier starter", the GM has to explain that he believes that the issues are "fixable" and not an "unprecedented evaporation of talent."

There are a lot of unknowns, obviously. The Sox' chance, such as it is, resides with Cease, Giolito, Lynn and Kopech. Those 3 could comprise a front-line, that is one of the top 2 or 3 in MLB. Then perhaps add Tanner Banks for #5: he provides some product differentiation and the Sox have a couple of lefties in the pen already. Position wise, just roll with what they have. If one of the young guys can play solid D at 2nd, we'll be fine there. Hope that Moncada, Anderson, Robert and Eloy provide real production.

Because Lopez can't hit and will just clog things up. We already have a veteran infielder who can't hit: Leury Garcia Trade him for a position where we don't have immediate minor league depth: 4th OF or 5th starter

I think he cleared waivers. But he would have been an interesting guy to pick up;

He would never trade Montgomery or Colas or even Ramos; those guys are on top 100 lists or in the "just missed" range. Hahn knows they are good because there is affirmation that they are good. I'm not sure that Hahn is thinking this far ahead, but Montgomery and Ramos are potential "window extenders" who could also free up a lot of salary to bring in that "premium talent." It's the next tier that is the concern; ones that have a skillset with a nice ceiling if properly developed, that the other teams know better than Hahn. To trade those guys for a low ceiling player is just daft.

And Hahn's FO has signed assorted crackpots over the years, who revealed their absurdities very quickly once they joined the team. It's hard to believe that they received full background checks. LaRoche, Lawrie, Keppinger, e.g.

If there was a record that could have been found by a background check, then it's reasonable to conclude that the Sox absolutely did not do a sufficient background check (or one at all). And given that there was an open investigation, it's likely that there was a record that could have been found. Time to bump up the old thread, if it hasn't been bumped.

The most important thing, of course, is taking the time to get him completely healthy. I agree and hope they try to develop him as a starter. And I certainly hope that depressing Lopez' market value (or reducing it in any way) isn't a factor in how Lopez and/or Crochet is used. That would be inane.

Did today's signees sop up the "plenty of money" referenced atop the thread?; or are they the original signees and there is plenty of money after they signed.

If this happens, I guess it means that Grandal is an absolute no-go, at least at catcher.

The Sox' long game, such as it is, has produced the core of every playoff team the Sox have had in the modern era including, hopefully, this one in 2023. The short game, which they absolutely have pursued (usually through inane trades) has produced zilch (other than a few individual players), and has ruined cores that were in the process of being built. Right now, as long as one of these young guys can handle 2B defensively, we're fine. Again, I didn't see the Astros freaking out about having to play Jeremy Pena (who was not a blue-chip prospect). Heck, they had 2 "holes" on their team. We've got some good pitching prospects coming up, drafted a slew of college pitching last year...we also have several MI prospects. Sounds like a budding core to me. Heck we may be like the Stros in a couple of years (and that's how they won it - pitching). The Sox amateur scouting and development over the years is worthy of critique; but it has been far more successful than the pro scouting and FO tradesmanship, which has largely been an abomination.

The only hole I see is at 4th outfielder (I think it's really important to give Robert and Beni some rest, have a good bench bat, and also some Colas backup). Now they may not be good enough at other positions to win the division, but that's nothing they can fix at this point. I have no problem with the 2 players they signed; makes a lot more sense than what they did last year (which, of course, may have been TLR influenced). I never said that I wanted to rebuild. I don't want to rebuild. I also don't believe in windows and I don't see the team falling off the cliff after this year. Ideal long-game/short game is keeping the team good today, while making moves for the future. Long game: if the team is out of it in July, move some 1/2 year players they are going to lose anyway; if the reports that they were shopping Hendriks were true, that was also good long game/short game. Yes, to me, this FO long-game moves have been largely good, and its short game moves have been largely bad. Its best moves have been moves that helped both long and short (Quentin, Eaton). I'm sorry, but that's the way I see it. I also think ripping out the farm system just to get someone else's young 2B or, even worse, some average veteran, for a 1 or 2 win upgrade is really bad short-game.