hogan873

Maybe better return than it could have been. Not sure where this guy would slot in the Sox system, but maybe not as high as 18th as he is in the Yankees'.

Absolutely. Combined with having a nice year at the plate and being a great veteran presence, he's a fairly valuable asset.

It's not so much age as it is mobility, injuries, etc. I don't think 34 is old for baseball, even for a corner outfielder. Tauchman has had some injuries this year, and that could be concerning. But he's been healthy for a while (of course, since I typed that he'll blow a hamstring tying his cleats today). I'm in the camp of keeping him for next year as a bridge to Montgomery. However, if a team offers the right return, you don't hesitate to pull the trigger.

I'm slightly warming to the idea of holding on to Robert and picking up the option if they don't get the right return. Robert has been more healthy this year, and his offense has improved quite a bit lately. He's a very good defender and can run the bases well. Because of those things, though, I would be surprised if some team does not step up and offer something the Sox will accept. But I'll honestly not be terribly upset if he sticks around.

Agree. My guess is he'd want 3+ years, especially if he was going to join a team like the Sox that won't be a contender for a couple years. Unless he'd be looking to sign a shorter term deal to showcase and move on with a bigger deal in a year or two. I don't see the Sox offering more than what you suggested.

Naylor would be a nice addition for the Sox next year, at least as a left-handed bat. He'd go from the asshole everyone hates to "he's our asshole, so we love him", like when Pierzynski joined the Sox.

Back to talking about Teel and his homer, the interaction with the fan was pretty cool. I'm assuming based on the Rays hat the kid was wearing that he was a Tampa fan. To stick around to get the ball to Teel was nice. I'm sure he knew he'd get something in return, but he seemed like a genuinely nice kid.

I literally laughed out loud.

Yeah, growing up in the 80s, my sister and I watched pro wrestling religiously. Hulk Hogan WAS pro wrestling. As you said, the character was great.

I don't think he would have been used much with the Brewers out of the bullpen. Probably eating a couple innings when the team was up or down big, not pitching in pressure situations, and not doing what he really wants to do - start. He still might end up with a contender this year, but at a minimum he gets to start and hone his craft.

Meidroth, Vargas, Teel, Montgomery, Quero, Smith, Cannon, Taylor, and Burke I see being part of the future core. As 2Deep said, Teel and Quero will most likely be the face of the future and a killer catching combo. At least one of them will need to learn 1B and/or play a lot of DH. Meidroth will be a steady bat at the top of the lineup. Not much power, but an ability to get on base and set the table. Vargas is still young and has shown flashes of what he could be. I think he'll be a good power bat in the middle of the lineup. Montgomery has shut up a lot of the doubters, myself included, and could very well be another power bat. If he sticks at 3B with Meidroth at SS, the left side of the infield will be set. I think all four pitchers will be part of the core. That's three starters and a potential closer...not a bad start to build a pitching core.

I wouldn't be surprised if the Sox grabbed him. They're going to need innings eaters, and he pitched well with the Sox last year. If Houser (likely) and Civale (not as likely) are traded, a lot more pressure falls to Smith, Burke, Cannon, and possibly Martin. Smith will likely be innings-limited.

Yeah, I see that. And that does make sense, which leads me to believe the Sox won't do it. I hope I'm wrong.

Trading Benintendi for nothing and trading him with cash for next to nothing give the Sox the same result. They're not going to use the money saved by trading him on anything in 2026, so why bother freeing up the salary? Unless they send cash to a team desperate and dumb enough to give up something interesting, Benintendi will be the "veteran presence" guy until his contract is done.

Adolescence is one of the best shows I've watched in a long time. Brutal, terrifying, emotional with outstanding acting. And each episode being a continuous shot is amazing film work.

Imagine if Robert played all season like he has been playing recently. There'd be teams blowing up Getz's phone daily. Regardless, this stretch is likely increasing his value a bit.

Best team in baseball! It's crazy how well they are playing. Maybe coming out of the break against a bad Pirates team was what they needed. I expected them to fall flat in Tampa, but they looked just as good as they did in Pittsburgh. Obviously this level of play won't last, and there will likely be more losses than wins going forward (especially after the trade deadline), but it's nice to see the young guys playing well. It's stretches like this that allow you to squint and almost see a bright future.

Well, that just means the Sox need to strap it down for the playoff push! But, yes, and that's why we shouldn't expect much even if the Sox are busy in the trade market.

I think we often look at things through whatever the opposite of rose-colored glasses is. Take away the jersey, look at the stats, and think about what that player could do for a contender. Tauchman, Slater, Houser, Wilson, and even M. Taylor and Robert could help other teams. I agree that other teams have similar and maybe even better players available, but the demand will most likely exceed the supply. The Sox probably won't get any surprise returns, but to discount their potential trade pieces as fodder is short-sighted.

There's a difference between being active and getting big returns in trades. The Sox will be active because they have guys that can be at least useful to teams in contention, and those guys don't have a future with the Sox. Houser is probably the best trade piece they have, and teams will be wary of giving up too much for a guy with only a short (and out of nowhere) history of success. Robert's return may better than we think but still not much. Other guys may net an interesting player or two. So, I would expect 4-6 players to be traded for modest returns with a couple interesting/promising prospects. Active, yes. Big returns, probably not.

The X posts were hilarious yesterday. There are so many people on there that live constantly looking in the rearview mirror. Vaughn hits a home run, and "Milwaukee fixed him" or "He just didn't want to play for the Sox" or "Sox should have kept him". Chances are, Vaughn will end up hitting like Andrew Vaughn in Milwaukee.

Colson has looked good so far. His offensive stats will come back to earth after having a great series in Colorado. He still doesn't look overwhelmed at the plate, which is good. HIs defense has been better than expected. The diving stop that saved a hit last night was great, and would have been better if Meidroth could have turned the DP. I think the Sox should and probably will stick with him at SS for the rest of the season, see what he's got.

He likely won't be much better than he was with the Sox. You can't blame someone's poor performance only on the fact that he played for a bad team.

Nice to see a late inning rally. Teel is looking better each game. Meidroth is turning out to be a steal considering he was essentially the third piece in the Crochet trade. Vasil locking it down with a 5-out save was awesome. Despite the record, this team is getting to be fun to watch.

Honestly, record-wise the Sox are where most of us thought they'd be - slightly better than last year. There have been a few surprises, a few good, a few bad. Sosa has been steadily improving. Vargas is looking like a cornerstone of this team for the future. Meidroth, Teel, Quero, Smith, and even Burke have looked good in their first year. Tauchman (when healthy) and Slater have been decent veteran pick-ups. And for the less than good - The bullpen has been spotty at best. Robert is lost at the plate. Guys like Noda and Capra have jobs. Perez is hurt after looking like another decent veteran signing. Post trade deadline, the Sox are likely not going to have a higher win percentage, but they should be a more interesting team to monitor (notice I didn't say "watch").