ChiSox59

I think the MLB contract bit is why he had to be added to the 40 man. That dude isn't close to MLB ready and Getz more or less said that in one of his pressers shortly after Cousin was added to the 40 man.

They have a surplus of pitchers similar to Christian Mena as it compares to OFs, of which they literally had Robert, Benintendi and Colas, one of which is firmly entrenched in a doghouse that has been welded shut.

Brebbia, Hill, Lambert, Deivi Garcia, Touki, Joe Barlow, Jake Cousins and Drohan is my guess. 40 man spots for Barlow and Cousins would be needed. Due to that, preference may go to to guys like Berroa, Scholtens, Speas and Banks that are already on 40 man. Though Speas and Banks are probably coin flips to survive the winter on the 40 man.

Cease's FIP being nearly a full run better than his ERA has me fairly confident that an improved defense will help him. You could see Cease get notably rattled many times last season as his defense continued to turn routine flies into doubles and double play balls into 1st and 3rds. Nothing is guaranteed for certain, but barring an injury (and Cease has been quite durable), an improvement on 2023 should be close to a given.

Ballsy

Doubt that. Those are at least three legit major leaguers, even if offense ability isn't their calling cards. Probably not even the worst bottom three for the Sox last two seasons - they were routinely sporting 3 of Remillard, Lee, Sosa and Thompson at the bottom of the lineup in August and September last season.

I get it. The defense has just been so bad. Especially SS, RF, C and 3B when burger was there. Sox lost so many runs from TA and RF. As a pitcher, its just so demoralizing when that s%*# happens. But scoring runs is definitely going to be an issue. This is a bottom 3 offense in the league without significant improvements from Eloy, Beni, AV and Yoan.

I read that as he'll be stretched out in Charlotte. I know you're in support of that.

Who from the offensive side that they lost was any good tho? Burger and Andrus (all value on the defense side) were the only positive WAR players they lost. And those guys are far from well rounded players at this point. TA and Yaz were god awful and well below replacement. All the fringy and fill in players were terrible. Even on the pitching side, everyone they lost was either literally awful, or decent but not spectular by any means (Gio, Clev, Reylo). I don't think this team is going to win 80 games or anything, but the defensive improvements will be significant and will help the pitching staff a lot. I expect better seasons from Beni, Yoan and Eloy, with the latter two having by far the most critical season of their career for their future earnings. AV should see some improvement. I am going with 70 wins right now.

That is fantastic news if true. He only needs to spend ~3 weeks in Charlotte and Sox would get a year back.

Yeah, I feel like the Sox could have done better if they moved Santos last July before he was outted as a clubhouse napper, and then the elbow injury. But it is what it is. I am not in love with the deal, but do think the Sox could have similar results with Berroa as they did with Santos. In exchange, they get a major league ready OF that might be a bit fringy and the 69th pick in 6 months. I'd give the deal a C+, but you should always sell high on relievers that came out of no where.

Between him and Salvy, a lot of hand wringing for nothing.

Well then Fletcher can slide to CF in that theoretical scenario and his lack of power is less concerning. We’re dealing with like a quarter deck of cards here as far as 25-26 and beyond are concerned.

Sox also get a lot more homers from their CF than 90% of teams. You can’t just ignore that.

Mena sits like 92 as a 20 year old. I don’t doubt he’ll be a big leaguer, but he had back of the rotation upside with control issues. I get the concerns with Fletchers projectability and limited upside, but he’s ready now and is likely a significant upgrade over anything else the Sox have in RF. Also a nice platoon fit with Pillar.

Very unlikely with no upper minors 1B and Sheets having two options. Is hopefully the end of Sheets on the big league roster for now, tho.

Because his offensive upside is worth far more to the Sox than whatever he’d return via trade. It’s really that simple. AV is the exact type of guy the Sox should be giving plate appearances to in a lost season because if he turns in a .280/.340/.460 type season (which I would imagine he’s capable of), he’s a pretty decent piece for 25-26.

Regarding Deloach, he feels like one of those mediocre LHH that always come to the Cell and get 2-3 bombs in a series. For whatever reason, Sox have really struggled to find LH hitters with pop that actually work out for them. Maybe this guy will actually take advantage of playing half his season in a bandbox that should be a haven for guys with pop from the left side.

Because they’re absolutely loaded with OFs and very few pitching prospects. Fletcher has 2 more options.

Sox don’t have to make any real decisions on Colas for two years. His value is zapped, absolutely zero reason to move on from him now. Park him in AAA and make him change minds.

Probably Fletcher. Doloach sounds like an average defender at best, though probably has more pop. I would guess a Fletcher / Pillar platoon to start.

Sheets does still have two options, fwiw. With these two deals, Sox do need to make a 40 man spot with Berroa, Deloach and Fletcher in and Santos and Mena out.

Exactly what my first impression was. Interesting deal. I think the Sox weren’t too high on Gregory as a teammate.

It all comes down Yoan, Eloy, AV and Beni being what they can be for this to be anything better than a bottom 3 offense in the league. Sound familiar?

Yah. It’s certainly not going to be an exciting brand of baseball.