steveno89

My worry is the Twins nab Donaldson, putting them at a pretty big advantage over the Sox in 2020. You are totally right that the Twins get the absolute most out of players. Their bullpen is also several steps ahead of ours.

Hill had surgery on his elbow and won't be able to pitch until June or July...and also is 39 years old Homer Bailey had one solid season in 2019, unlikely to repeat that, yikes

https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/yoan-moncada-660162?stats=career-r-hitting-mlb Take a look at this. Moncada is elite across the board offensively. His xwOBA of .362 is not far from his actual .367 OBP. His exit velocity was in the top 3% of the mlb, when he hits the ball he crushes it. Is he due for a bit of regression? Perhaps, but the underlying analytics back up what he has done. Plus, I expect Moncada to improve as he heads into his prime years.

Great year guys, looking forward to 2020 even more!

This is essentially beat case scenario across the board, especially offensively. If the team is that strong I think they would be big time buyers at the deadline to push for the playoffs.

Loving the optimism I'm seeing Realistically we are about a .500 team as currently constructed, albeit with upside if things click. Talk of upper 80's or 90+ wins seems like a stretch. Pretty hard to argue that the offense should be solid, especially with the additions of Grandal, Encarnacion, Mazara, Robert, Madrigal. Young players are likely to struggle as the adjust to the majors. The pitching staff should be improved with Keuchel and Gonzalez, but uncertain if Giolito will build off his breakout 2019, can Lopez and Cease take necessary steps forward? The bullpen is more of a question mark than any real contender would like. Bummer is a solid piece, but beyond that there are doubts. Need more strikeout stuff in our bullpen for sure.

No way I pay Will Harris 2/$20 million

Agreed^ If it's a club option it is a substantially better deal for the Sox. Keeping it to three years essentially is great.

Puig was actually really solid from May onward in 2019, the issue is well documented as a bad clubhouse fit and teammate Bullpen is more of a question mark than fans have made it seem, agreed.

Expect one MLB contract for a reliever on a one year deal, and several minor league contracts handed out to relievers

Encarnacion greatly strengthens our lineup for 2020 and is a legitimate middle of the order hitter. Every player will benefit by having a respected veteran in the lineup who can still hit the long ball. Much improved lineup protection.

Puig is not coming to the Sox. I'd rather roll the dice on Mazara and add an inexpensive option like Maybin who can play CF.

100% the Sox will get Kopech's lost season of control back and keep him down in the minors. He needs a month or two in AAA to get used to facing hitters again after such a long time off.

The Rockies are not dealing Arenado without getting a few legitimate pieces back in return. Also the Rockies would likely have to toss in $20 million or so to help balance out a deal. Tough to see him getting moved, I think Bryant is more likely.

His splits are not ideal for our need, but what about Cameron Maybin? He can play any outfield position, and actually put together a really solid season in 2019. In the event one of our outfielders got injured we would be far from screwed with him in the mix.

Doubtful the Sox trade for Joc after trading for Mazara

It’s absolutely possible that the Sox have leaked the Puig interest to the media as a diversion. Remains to be seen how this plays out.

Agreed. All the smoke lately seems to indicate the Sox never really planned on Mazara being our sole option in RF. Concerned about Puig's fit though.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2597460-is-there-anybody-left-in-los-angeles-whom-yasiel-puig-hasnt-alienated "He is the worst person I've ever seen in this game," one ex-Dodger who believes Puig is beyond redemption said flatly. "Ever." I'm not sure Puig is the sort of guy we should be adding to our locker room

You know pretty much what you are getting with a player like Puig. Talent, headcase, I really do not think he will get much better than what he has shown the past few years. He's fun to watch, and a one year deal would not be all that risky. Mazara has not proven to be a reliable full time starter so far in his career.

This^ This offseason the Sox have improved the short and medium term outlook of the club, while still importantly preserving flexibility for next offseason. The Sox really do not want to add too many multi year deals locking them into players that might not make sense. We can cut bait with Gonzalez/Encarnacion/Herrera/McCann/Colome/Mazara and free up quite a bit of payroll space for 2021. It's too soon for us to consider making a major trade that ships out some of our young assets. The roster is better, but we still do not know if we are genuine contenders yet.

Sox are looking much improved and should be an 80-85 win team as currently constructed, albeit with upside. Just purging the lineup of sub-replacement level players will make this club that much better.

Puig is likely facing a pretty limited market. His best chance of regular at bats would be to join a rebuilding club on a cheap one year deal and try to hit the market again next offseason? If Puig is willing to come on a cheap one year deal? Sure, but there's not a clear path to playing time.

Medeiros is a guy I can see us letting go pretty easily. Way too many walks in 2019, no clear future role on the team. Matt Foster could be on the chopping block as well.

I would not be concerned about extending Madrigal. Let him play April in AAA, and then call him up late April/early May. Robert they should try to extend this offseason, although unknown how likely that will be. I hope it gets done.