It may feel too soon to start this thread. Heck, the duck boats haven't even started rolling yet (the team is still in LA for crying out loud!). But there's been enough chatter in other threads already about next season - who stays, who goes, etc. - that I thought this thread should at least get started, even if we don't start really diving into it for several days. Though, knowing this group, there's a not unreasonable chance that we dive in right away.
I start this thread respectfully, because I'm really just completely entranced by the 2018 Red Sox - best Sox team ever. But it's hard to talk about guys like Eovaldi without thinking, hmmmm, is he even going to be back next year, because I want him to be!!!
So with that, just looking at the roster by position group:
Catchers
- Leon: Arb eligible, FA in 2020
- Vazquez: $2.85m in 2019, FA in 2022
- Swihart: Arb eligible through at least 2022
Infielders
- Moreland: $6.5m in 2019, FA in 2020
- Pearce: FA in 2019
- Pedroia: $15m in 2019, FA in 2022
- Holt: Arb eligible in 2019, FA in 2020
- Kinsler: FA in 2019
- Devers: Pre-arb in 2019, arb eligible through at least 2022
- Nunez: $5m team option for 2019, FA in 2020
- Bogaerts: Arb eligible in 2019, FA in 2020
Outfielders
- Benintendi: Pre-arb in 2019, arb eligible through at least 2022
- Bradley: Arb eligible through 2020, FA in 2021
- Betts: Arb eligible through 2020, FA in 2021
- Martinez: $23.4m in 2019, signed through 2022
Starting Pitchers
- Sale: $15m team option in 2019, FA in 2020
- Price: $31m in 2019, FA in 2023
- Porcello: $21.1m in 2019, FA in 2020
- Rodriguez: Arb eligible through 2021, FA in 2022
- Wright: Arb eligible through 2020, FA in 2021
- Pomeranz: FA in 2019
- Velazquez: Pre-arb in 2019, arb eligible through 2022
- Eovaldi: FA in 2019
Relief Pitchers
- Kimbrel: FA in 2019
- Kelly: FA in 2019
- Barnes: Arb eligible through 2021, FA in 2022
- Brasier: Minimum, arb eligible through 2022
- Thornburg: Arb eligible in 2019, FA in 2020
- Smith: Arb eligible through 2020, FA in 2021
- Johnson: Pre-arb in 2019, Arb eligible through 2022
- Hembree: Arb eligible through 2021, FA in 2022
So looking at this, there are guys who you don't need to do anything with (e.g., JD, Barnes, Price, etc.), guys you want to look to extend (e.g., Betts, Sale maybe), guys who are FA that you don't mind moving on (e.g., Pomeranz, Kinsler), and guys who are FA that you would like to consider keeping (e.g., Eovaldi, Pearce, Kelly, Kimbrel maybe).
So I'll leave it at that for the moment. Maybe this thread gets some legs after the rolling rally.
I start this thread respectfully, because I'm really just completely entranced by the 2018 Red Sox - best Sox team ever. But it's hard to talk about guys like Eovaldi without thinking, hmmmm, is he even going to be back next year, because I want him to be!!!
So with that, just looking at the roster by position group:
Catchers
- Leon: Arb eligible, FA in 2020
- Vazquez: $2.85m in 2019, FA in 2022
- Swihart: Arb eligible through at least 2022
Infielders
- Moreland: $6.5m in 2019, FA in 2020
- Pearce: FA in 2019
- Pedroia: $15m in 2019, FA in 2022
- Holt: Arb eligible in 2019, FA in 2020
- Kinsler: FA in 2019
- Devers: Pre-arb in 2019, arb eligible through at least 2022
- Nunez: $5m team option for 2019, FA in 2020
- Bogaerts: Arb eligible in 2019, FA in 2020
Outfielders
- Benintendi: Pre-arb in 2019, arb eligible through at least 2022
- Bradley: Arb eligible through 2020, FA in 2021
- Betts: Arb eligible through 2020, FA in 2021
- Martinez: $23.4m in 2019, signed through 2022
Starting Pitchers
- Sale: $15m team option in 2019, FA in 2020
- Price: $31m in 2019, FA in 2023
- Porcello: $21.1m in 2019, FA in 2020
- Rodriguez: Arb eligible through 2021, FA in 2022
- Wright: Arb eligible through 2020, FA in 2021
- Pomeranz: FA in 2019
- Velazquez: Pre-arb in 2019, arb eligible through 2022
- Eovaldi: FA in 2019
Relief Pitchers
- Kimbrel: FA in 2019
- Kelly: FA in 2019
- Barnes: Arb eligible through 2021, FA in 2022
- Brasier: Minimum, arb eligible through 2022
- Thornburg: Arb eligible in 2019, FA in 2020
- Smith: Arb eligible through 2020, FA in 2021
- Johnson: Pre-arb in 2019, Arb eligible through 2022
- Hembree: Arb eligible through 2021, FA in 2022
So looking at this, there are guys who you don't need to do anything with (e.g., JD, Barnes, Price, etc.), guys you want to look to extend (e.g., Betts, Sale maybe), guys who are FA that you don't mind moving on (e.g., Pomeranz, Kinsler), and guys who are FA that you would like to consider keeping (e.g., Eovaldi, Pearce, Kelly, Kimbrel maybe).
So I'll leave it at that for the moment. Maybe this thread gets some legs after the rolling rally.