steveno89

Hahn alluded that Brantley wanted to go play for an immediate contender, exactly. We do not need to totally blow our wad this offseason and should tactically make sure we have 20-30 million to play with next offseason at least.

The fake insiders keep coming out earlier and earlier ACH offseason it seems. Last year was especially brutal with the Harper and Machado rumor mill. Ever since Katy Perry’s bottle hole and wetbutt were actually right it has seemed to give credibility to any keyboard warrior. Unless it comes from a Passan, Morosi, Rosenthal, etc. it’s 99.99% BS.

Porcello is not getting $30 million coming off a rough season. He’s getting a one year prove it deal and hopes to hit the market again next year.

Truth haha!

Seems like all the speculation is related to the leak of the Palka and Yolmer moves. No sources have come forward regarding what might be next beyond pure speculation.

This is a business at the end of the day, do not forget that. I’m not pissed about the Abreu deal, but it’s hard to argue that 3/50 is not an overpayment in terms of dollars and years. No other club would have offered him that deal.

My issue with the Abreu deal is that the Sox did not receive any discount for going multi year with him. It’s all risk for the club if he declines, because we pretty easily could have retained Abreu next offseason for 2/32 if he did well in 2020.

Madrigal will not be up on opening day, for pretty clear service time reasons. Same goes for Robert.

$120 million is a reasonable estimate of where the Sox might be comfortable in 2020 payroll. I could see them topping out around $140 million while looking to contend, maybe $150 million if they really felt they were in it.

Phillies are discussing a long term extension with Realmuto, there is a chance he never makes it to free agency. The other 2021 FA catching options are not great. Vlad Jr.'s hit tool is far beyond Collins', it is totally reasonable to ask if he can hit well enough to be worth a 25 man roster spot.

Just once I think. Sox should be in the mix, but I think Wheeler will have the strongest market of almost any free agent. Sox not being an instant contender might hurt unless they pay up big time.

I get what you mean, and sticking with Collins would be ideal as long as he produces. My issue is that I feel like McCann's 2019 was a fluke and his second half numbers reflect that. Collins might improve at the plate, but we know he will never even be an average defensive catcher. McCann's first half was a mirage that is not going to be repeated. We need to be proactive and stabilize that position this offseason in Grandal. Grandal is available right now and would solidify the catching position with a plus player for the next few seasons. McCann could be the backup in 2020, or traded if the Sox want Collins as the backup. I want to avoid the nightmare scenario of both McCann and Collins having crappy 2019's leaving catcher as a huge void going into 2021.

You are suggesting that we rely on McCann/Collins in 2020 and onward right? No Grandal pursuit?

Gallo has enormous power, which helps offset the swing and miss. I do not hate Collins, I just struggle to understand how any fan could reasonable pencil him in to regular at bats in 2020? He cannot be our main option at DH, because if he flops we would be screwed, with no viable in house alternatives.

Cease was solid down the stretch in September, posting a 3.00 ERA in 21 innings with solid peripherals. The stuff is there, he just needed to adjust to the majors. I'm fine with penciling him in as our 5th starter in 2020, and hopefully he proves to be rotation worthy onward. Collins simply plays well below average defense, and a wRC+ of 77 across 27 games does not inspire much confidence yet. I am not writing him off, but Cease has earned a lenthy look in 2020, Collins has not. Where do pro-Collins fans want him to play in 2020? Backup catcher? Generally you want that to be a glove first player in case your starter gets injured. 1B/DH would be enormous pressure on his bat, which has not been there. I would park Collins in AAA for the time being.

Collins could figure the hitting out, but I do not think he will or should get long of a leash at the MLB level. A 38 K% even in 27 games is alarming.

1) Collins is a below average defensive catcher, no way to argue otherwise right now. 2) Collins, albeit in a limited sample size, has not hit well at the MLB level at all. No way we can rely on him to be anything beyond a backup catcher in 2020.

Not giving up on Collins, but as we shift towards trying to contend I am not sure we can afford to roll the dice on giving him MLB at bats. We need a legitimate DH and starting catcher, and I think Collins is best suited for AAA regular at bats

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2019/11/phillies-discussing-extension-with-j-t-realmuto.html For anyone saying "just sign Realmuto next offseason" I think Wheeler and Grandal should be top priorities for the Sox to ink. You never know which players will reach free agency down the line, and Grandal has no compensation attached. McCann is not the long term starting answer, best to correct that now with a high quality veteran.

Betts to the Sox is not going to happen agreed, at least not until next offseason potentially. We are far from being one player away from contention.

That is exactly the issue with Peralta, we cannot be sure about him staying healthy.

Why not just sign Edwin Encarnacion for just money to DH?

I felt this information was out right afetr the trade. Hahn asked for Moncada, Kopech and Devers initially, Boston balked at that price obviously and settled on Moncada/Kopech/Basabe/Diaz.

Betts is awesome, but I'm not sure I can see teams parting with significant assets for one season of control at $28 million.

Pomeranz is likely to get paid a lucrative multi year deal because of his dominant stint with the Brewers. Expect him to have a ton of suitors as well for a 2+ year deal.