hogan873

There should be more of a market for Eloy than Moncada. Eloy is "only" owed $14M + a $3M buyout for 2025, compared to $25M and a $5M buyout for Moncada. Some team may want to take a chance on Eloy staying relatively healthy and playing DH.

Yeah, I guess his ability to play the OF adds to his "value". That and he used to be a Royal.

I know this is, at least partly, in jest, but does the acquisition of Naperville Nicky reduce the chances of Merrifield being signed?

I think every year we talk about how Eloy could hit 35+ home runs if he could stay healthy. And every year he finds a way to hurt himself. If his injury history concerns us Soxtalk posters, it certainly concerns other teams' front offices. Maybe he gets traded, stays healthy, and has a huge offensive season. Maybe he doesn't get traded, stays healthy, and has a great season. Regardless, I don't think we could expect a big return for him if he's traded.

I remember right at the deadline there was a rumor of the Sox and Dodgers deep into talks with Lux being the centerpiece. If I'm not mistaken, many of us didn't care for that. Maybe that was because we were hoping for some of the rumored packages from Baltimore. How much concern is there regarding coming back from a significant injury?

Agree 100%. The Bummer trade shows Getz is not Hahn. Shaping up to be an interesting off season.

Does this trade, and the acquisition of two middle infielders, mean Cease to the Reds for India+ is unlikely?

As of mid-November (if the Sox take a chance with Quantrill and Cease is traded). Never fear, though. There’s plenty of time to add a few more dumpster dive arms!

In related news, Jason Benetti is distraught that he won’t be able to talk about Naperville Nicky on a daily basis.

I haven't been to SoxFest, but if there is a "Winter Fest" or whatever on a smaller scale with lower prices and, as you said, alcohol and food, I'd check it out. I will give the Sox credit if they have a fest. It would be really easy for them to "wait one more year" or just stop doing it altogether. They may hear it from the fans...check that, they WILL hear it from the fans, and they need to hear it.

This is my thought, too. Considering the Sox would be highly unlikely to be able to extend Cease, trade him now. The starting pitching FA market is not great, so there will be teams looking to acquire some pitchers via trade. Despite a relatively rough 2023, Cease is a really nice option for teams looking to bolster their rotation.

Our family and some friends usually go to one game and sit in the club level. It's pricy, but it's only one game. We'll probably go to one game again this season, but I really don't see going to more, even if it's just my wife and me or my son and me. My son and I went to a Brewers game last year, and it was a blast. We're thinking of maybe hitting a Cardinals game this year. I'd rather spend the money going to other ballparks for the experience than going to see the Sox, especially if they're going to have a subpar product on the field.

I liked what I heard from Mike Monaco the few times he sat in for Benetti. I think he'll pair well with Steve Stone. I see him, however, like Benetti where he will likely start doing national games and eventually move on.

I didn't expect Benetti to be with the Sox for much longer. However, I thought he'd end up on ESPN or some other national job. Leaving to go to Detroit shows us what we already knew about the Sox organization. I like Benetti a lot, and he was a big improvement over the last few years of Hawk. But I watch baseball to watch baseball, not necessarily listen to the commentators. As long as they put someone in there who is a decent play-by-play guy and who can get along with Stone, it'll be fine. I like the idea of Mike Monaco.

Definitely a breath of fresh air compared to Hahn's ramblings. I liked his comments about Moncada, essentially calling him Leury. He may be moved before the season starts, but he's owed so much money I expect him to be here for 24. Now, let's see if Getz can back up his words with actions. The next couple months could be pretty interesting...maybe not fulfilling, but at least interesting.

I don't see the Sox paying Stroman what he's going to want.

I feel a bit better about the team. I like the bold move to decline TA's option. Whether or not he comes back on a lesser deal, this will hopefully be a wake up call for him. He was a shell of himself last season, and his personal problems definitely bled into his professional life. I'm fine with Clevinger being gone. Declining Hendriks' option was the right thing to do, even though Liam is such a great guy. The next two months will really tell us the direction this team is taking. Moving on from Moncada might be the next big move. Signings and trades at and around the winter meetings could be quite interesting.

Jason can then mention every day that Nicky is from Naperville.

Josh Hader and Adam Frazier

It would be interesting to know if the Sox are even interested in bringing Ng back. I don't see her wanting to take a job as an advisor or something that doesn't give her some decision authority. So, it would have to be as president of baseball operations or something like that. Honestly, the only person who would probably be upset is Getz if they hired her. I don't think there's anyone, aside from JR, who thinks promoting Getz as the sole decision maker was a good idea. Which, if he did hire Ng as Getz's boss, would be ironic.

She'll get hired on as a GM somewhere. I saw the Red Sox mentioned. Too bad JR already said that Getz would be the sole decision maker. She'd be a good option for director of baseball operations. I don't see her coming back to the Sox to take a backseat role.

The Sox have an opportunity to put together an interesting team for 2024. They won't compete for a playoff spot, but we could see a team that is fun to watch and has some potential future cornerstones. Whether or not they make the right moves remains to be seen. There were some good hires as assistants to Getz that could possibly pull his puppet strings. But let's remember JR is the master puppet string puller here.

Why would three more accomplished executives take jobs that were back seats to Getz?

The only way this would be an even remotely okay move is if a lot of money came with him. But then the Sox would have to include better prospects. So, maybe there really is no way this is a good move.

Good managers/leaders know they are not the smartest person in the room. Getz seems to be surrounding himself with smarter people who know a lot about baseball. It's a nice first step. I'm particularly optimistic about getting someone in the organization that can (hopefully) improve the pitching on this team.