Timmy U

Ray Schalk?

Sox roster now at 39, no one has to be on the way out. They won't have to add any of the NRI's, including Colas, until after ST. This is essentially a free look.

I think the Yankees are all-in on their young infielders, especially Volpe.

Leury can play shortstop.

I look at teams like the Astros and Cleveland who hit their catchers 9th, prioritize defense, and spend their money elsewhere as pretty good models. Personally, if I was looking at the number one issue facing the Sox in 2023-2024, it’s starting pitching depth. They have like one guy behind their top 5, and then 3 of those guys are FA at the end of ‘23. Any asset we can use to get a cromulent catcher would probably be better spent on potential starters.

To be fair, McGuire directly credited Boston's better coaching for his improvement in the second half. Apparently, the Red Sox use analytics, which have been banned south of Madison by city ordinance.

Wow. Explains why Grandal looked as bad as he did. Shouldn't this get its own thread?

I think Haseley opted for FA as well. Their AAA outfield is Cespedes, Payton, and ???. Maybe they resign Neslony?

They need a back up outfielder, but Colas does not need to be platooned. Check out his splits, he destroys lefties.

Franconia was done with Bauer when he chucked the ball into centerfield. If I had to guess one organization that weighs talent waaaay higher than off field behavior, I’d say Tampa or maybe Tampa diaspora like Boston. But even then Byrnes is from Tampa. So maybe no one takes a flyer.

I was Conforto or Benintendi. I have seen Colas play enough in person and on tape to be confident in him. He ain’t gonna be a 5 WAR guy, but neither is Conforto. You RH hitting back up us probably Romy. They need to develop younger position guys cuz next year they are going to have to spend a lot on pitching.

I would be shocked. Basically, you’d be looking at a DP combo of Sosa and Romy while hoping either Popeye or Montgomery is ready mid season. That is not a contender move. I mean I guess you could grab someone like Andrus off the scrap pile, but TA is waaaay better than that, which is why you’d be getting a haul.

I’d say Cubs are in the new market. 7 @ 25 mil per is a pretty hefty deal. If he’s last year’s model for the next 3-4 years, it’s probably worth it. Funny thing is, Swanson may not be better than Hoerner defensively. With this outlay, they must be buying into their second half pitching performance. It will be interesting to see what effect the balanced schedule has on that. They had a lot of games against the Reds and Pirates last year.

If you trade Seby for a starting pitcher with options, you’d win Exec of the Century.

Just don't ask about his fantasy team.

Rodriguez? You got Popeye making the team ahead of Sosa? Bold.

Keep mind, balanced schedule next year. You can’t win the Central by beating up the Central.

We must get all of the Royals!

My issue with Busch is, now that they have banned the shift, no way is he a second baseman. We do not need another first baseman playing out of position.

I get why people are upset that the Sox didn't go for upside, but I like the move. I said at the outset they needed to sign 1 of Conforto, Bellinger, Gallo, and Benintendi. Of those 4, I probably like Benintendi the best because the Sox have enough guys coming of disastrous seasons/injuries without adding one more. They desperately needed to add talent rather than make a trade because their overall talent pool is so thin. $15 mil is not a ton in a world where top players are getting $40. Is this the huge splash that makes them a WS favorite? No. But it's better than having Eloy out there and Sheets at DH or counting on Mark Payton.

Colas does not need a platoon partner. His reverse platoon splits are insane.

I think this for sure means they are going with Colas in right. They may sign a back up ala Engel, but they're not going to spend any more on OF, imho.

Striker's tweet quote is:

I would go 1. Anderson 2. Benintendi 3. Robert 4. Eloy 5. Moncada 6. Vaughn 7. Colas 8. Grandal/Seby 9. Sosa/Romy/Leury or if all else fails, eventually Popeye. Bench is Seby, Leury, Romy, Sheets? Romy/Leury can both be back up OF. Or trade Sheets and have a real back up CF.

OF defensive metrics are often team dependent. It's possible he has gotten better in the last 2 years. It's also possible defensive metrics can't account for years of playing next to JBJ in a great defensive outfield. With Betts in right, Boston could shade to left. Therefore Benintendi did not catch a bunch of balls that he could have gotten, but JBJ got them instead. He may have the same problem with Robert, but that doesn't mean he's a bad outfielder.