raBBit

Totally forgot on Beckham good call there. I do not find Mendick to be a lock in any way. I don't think Lopez will start the year in the rotation but will probably make starts due to injuries, DH, extra rest, etc. Sox had him penciled in the pen at the start of the offseason.

Renteria absolutely burned Cordero. Cordero is a good teammate and team guy. I think his roster spot is interesting given he's out of options. I would send Kopech down and start with Cordero but that's just me.

Also re: Crochet and the Fry injury, surprised Hunter Schryver didn't get an NRI. Sox seem to like him. Supposedly Sox were in on former Royal Tim Collins this offseason. He sat out 2020. There is a Getz connection there. Since I've heard that, Fry got hurt and there's been no addition to LHP. I don think it's a big issue depth wise given they Sox may have the two most dynamic LH relief options in the AL but cant ever have too much pitching. Especially when free.

While it's such a small concern, I wonder if the Sox use the fact that Jimmy Cordero is out of options to their advantage Catchers (2): Grandal, Lucroy Infield (5): Abreu, Madrigal, Moncada, TA, Garcia Outfield (4): Eloy, Robert, Eaton, Engel Starters (5): Gio, Keuchel, Lynn, Cease, Rodon Relievers (6) : Hendriks, Bummer, Marshall, Heuer, Foster, Lopez That's 22 "locks" On the bat side, you need a DH and a bench player. Vaughn the favorite. Collins has a good shot. Mendick, Mercedes, Tim Beckham and Sheets all outside shots. On the arms side, you have Fry on the DL to start the year. Then Crochet, Kopech, Cordero for two spots. So seems like Crochet is kind of a lock with the Fry injury. They could theoretically hold down Kopech and go with Cordero or they'd lose him.

I am not sure but La Russa has made comments he wants Crochet in the pen.

I dont know. 1B Vaughn, 3B Moncada, SS Anderson, LF Eloy & CF Robert all have the potential to be top players at their positions and 2/3/4 hitters on playoff teams. All of these guys are under contract for a long time. Robert's defense and position really insulate the risk. If Moncada doesn't return to 2019 form, Anderson regresses and Robert never puts it all together at the plate then you have something to worry about.

Anderson doesn't work in PR he plays baseball and plays it damn well. He's always got a chip on is shoulder for whatever reason and there was some serious disconnect between Ownership-Hahn-Players about the manager process leading to TA's initial comments about TLR. At the end of the day though, Timmy plays baseball and he wants to win. The Sox team is awesome. Obsessing over TLR is already tired. TA wants to win and be the best that he can. TLR doesn't change that. Great username.

Personally I would start with Kopech in the minors but I am not going to be upset about having his arm in the pen. Our bullpen should be of the very best in the league.

Mahtook is a high character guy. Was a leader on some great LSU teams.

Abreu is (or has been?) asymptomatic. The beat says he just wants to be with the team.

Robert got snubbed. TA will be at the back of the SS list. Giolito is probably unlikely. Moncada is not making it.

That's right. I always get confused on BBRef's free agency year.

A pipe dream is if you acquire a guy like this under his value. If you pay his value you get a great arm but its really going to hurt. I didn't say way more control. There is nothing to get upset about. Where his track record or name value supports it, Corbin Burnes is valued very highly across the league. If he stays healthy, he'll show you very soon. The Sox pursued Burnes in the summer I know that.

Flash is not crazy. Burnes has tip, top potential for a starter. In a 100 simulations, there are a few where he has a Max Scherzer like career-arc. That said, Burnes has not accomplished anything to be valued equally to Giolito but Burnes is cheaper and has more control so he they may actually be on the same level with value. Burnes' upside is tremendous.

She represents Puig too. Pretty sure she is yet to get a contract for her players because Puig’s contract with ATL got nixed when he tested positive for COVID.

He has a 500k buyout for 2022. Total commitment would be this years salary plus 500k.

If the convert on Hendriks, there is a lot of talk they are about tapped financially but also not done with the offseason. Maybe they ultimately go cheaper on the SP on the FA front, but definitely trade rumors swirling.

Anyone saying Warp Speed was a disaster has so much bias they can't see two feet in front of their face. All year people said it was crazy to think we would have a vaccine in 2021 let alone multiple in 2020 as soon as the media declared Biden the winner.

Agree completely

To me it's really straight forward how to handle both of these guys. Health permitting, this is what I would do. Kopech - Hasn't pitched (outside of Spring Training) in 2.5 years when the season starts. If the season starts on time, start him in the minors, make him prove he can throw strikes. You likely gain a service year by doing what makes sense given his injury, development and the current roster construction (Sox will add another starter). Crochet - Sox seem set on him making him a starter. Start him in Winston Salem as a starter. Let him pitch to around 100 innings as a starter in the minors. Call him up for the stretch run to be a bullpen stud. This way, you allow a guy who has never built up a significant starter workload to get a sniff of the routine. You max his service time. You get high leverage use out of him. You protect his arm putting him on a nice development path. The Sale path for Crochet may make sense but...Sale is an exception to the rule. Not the rule. Sale is a freak. Sale averaged almost 100 innings his last two years at FGCU as their Friday starter. Crochet has 12 starts in his collegiate career. He has thrown less than 140 innings in NCAA/pro ball. Also, just want to get ahead of this. Yes, I mentioned service time. Yes, I want to win. No, I don't get anything out of Reinsdorf saving money. This is a business. The decision makers operate within the constraints and rules of the CBA so my thinking will encompass these rules.

Sox offered Cease an extension before he pitched in the MLB. Well the Sox extended both Eloy and Robert when they had a potential for 7 years of control already.

Teams that have cost controlled, above league average players under control at C, 1B (x2), 2B, SS, 3B, LF & CF should have the capacity to have luxuries most teams wouldn't. That situation makes it so setting the market on the top reliever and acquiring a quality back up should not be outside of the realm of the possibility. To be clear, I am not saying the Sox should bring another starter to back up Grandal. I am saying they should have someone better than Collins/Zavala/Mercedes. There is a lot of room between the two.

Maybe so, but the Sox GM basically said it wasn’t a need. If Grandal went down for some reason the catching situation would go from one of the best in baseball to the worst.

Hahn made some strange comments either in the end of year presser or when La Russa was announced. Basically saying they were content with Collins/Zavala/Mercedes. It was a strong presser and that was the one thing I couldn’t make sense of. That said, I do think the Sox are more likely to get a veteran backstop than he implied that day.

What a terrible comparison. They are players who wore the same uniform as closers 15-20 years apart I guess.