2023 Offseason Moves

chawson

chawson

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Aug 1, 2006
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Not at all to assume we’re done, but if on November 1, if you were told that that this offseason the Sox would:

- Extend Rafael Devers
- Sign Masataka Yoshida
- Sign Justin Turner
- Sign Corey Kluber
- Sign Kenley Jansen
- Sign Chris Martin
- Trade for Wyatt Mills

- Let Bogaerts walk
- Let Eovaldi walk
- Let Hill walk
- Let Wacha walk (presumably)
- Let Pham walk (presumably)
- DFA Hosmer and Downs

…how would you grade the offseason?

I think I’m a B/B- as of now. But I think there will be more moves, now that this enormous one is over the finish line. It should define and clarify the team’s future quite a lot.
 
grimshaw

grimshaw

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I'm not going to attempt to evaluate Yoshida's bat and still believe their biggest addition will come via trade, but I'm a C- on their other moves so far.

Aside from the fact that Steamer is down on all 4 non-Yoshida signings - projecting significant declines (age related or otherwise), I'm disappointed that they locked in a DH who was not a whole lot better than JDM, was at an age where he can lose it at any time.

I'm not bullish on Jansen at his age and diminished stuff facing even tougher lineups than he has in each of his last two seasons. Kluber could be an improvement on Hill, but that's not a lock. I like Martin and am glad they added another back end guy. The defense hasn't been addressed either.

Despite all this, I believe the team will be better primarily because of the guys they already had on the 40 man.
 
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simplicio

simplicio

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Allen's whole career (except for 2 weeks spent huffing MFY pixie dust in 2021 of course) shows him to be a noodle bat and nothing to write home about defensively, but he's never had a negative fWAR in the majors, unlike certain other WooSox outfielders.
 
JM3

JM3

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He seems like a decent defensive CF, but his only real offensive skills appear to be getting hit by pitches & stealing bases. He's a switch hitter, though & I guess you can imagine a decent player in there somewhere? Seems unlikely, though.
 
moondog80

moondog80

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Allen=depth. If it comes down to it, might be better to see him than Duran in CF.
 
DeadlySplitter

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https://fxtwitter.com/ChrisCotillo/status/1613960471647756288?s=20&t=IhD8Yv-GSoCm5h3XNh-wAA
https://fxtwitter.com/ChrisCotillo/status/1613962168466305026?s=20&t=IhD8Yv-GSoCm5h3XNh-wAA
https://fxtwitter.com/ChrisCotillo/status/1613963081461145607?s=20&t=IhD8Yv-GSoCm5h3XNh-wAA
View: https://twitter.com/ChrisCotillo/status/1613968068387930175


Projections vs actual on all arbitration cases this year:

Rob Refsnyder (4.048): $1.6MM, actual $1.2MM -$400k saved
Rafael Devers (5.070): $16.9MM, actual $17.5MM - $600k "lost"
Josh Taylor (3.121): $1.1MM, actual $1.025MM - $75k saved
Ryan Brasier (5.109): $2.3MM, actual $2.0MM - $300k saved
Nick Pivetta (4.166): $5.9MM, actual $5.35MM: - $550k saved
Alex Verdugo (4.078): $6.9MM, actual $6.3MM - $600k saved
Reese McGuire (3.027): $1.3MM, actual $1.225MM - $75k saved
Christian Arroyo (4.036): $2.2MM, actual $2.0MM: $200k saved

No hearings!
 
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Yaz4Ever

Yaz4Ever

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Does this make any of the above more attractive in trade talks? I’d assume having the hearings behind us has to help.
 
B

BigJay

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Jul 22, 2022
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jbupstate said:
What happens once a player is DFA’d? Do the Sox retain any rights? Is there a claiming process? Is Seabold a free agent?
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They have 7 days to trade or place him on waivers. If he clears waivers they can outright him to the minors.
 
Red(s)HawksFan

Red(s)HawksFan

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BigJay said:
They have 7 days to trade or place him on waivers. If he clears waivers they can outright him to the minors.
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Correct. One more detail: they can only outright him to the minors once. If he's DFA again after that occurrence, he can choose free agency over being outrighted. Also, a player with five years of service time has the choice whether he's ever been outrighted before or not.
 
M

mjs

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Mar 30, 2020
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Nice summary of the 40-man roster machinations in the Athletic this morning (Chad Jennings), with a rehash of the gamble made in not protecting Thad Ward, and the recent Seabold DFA.
https://theathletic.com/4086085/2023/01/14/red-sox-40-man-crunch/
Corey Kluber signed as a free agent, so all he cost was money. The Red Soxgave him a $10-million contract and didn’t have to give up a prospect to get him.
At least, not until Thursday, when the team officially put Kluber on its roster and designated Connor Seabold for assignment to open a spot.
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As far back as August, the Red Sox have been preparing for this winter’s 40-man crunch, but even so, since December 1 they have designated for assignment or passed through waivers catcher Ronaldo Hernández, shortstop Jeter Downs, first baseman Eric Hosmer, left-handed reliever Darwinzon Hernandez, and now Seabold. All have been notable players to some extent, but the Red Sox felt they no longer had room for them. And those cuts were after the Red Sox cleared six other depth players and seven major leaguers from their roster in November.
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The organization likes hard-throwing relievers Ryan Brasier and Kaleb Ort, and they have yet to trade or give up on corner infielder Bobby Dalbec, but those three and a few others without obvious roles to play this season have so far survived the offseason turnover. That said, the Red Sox plan to make more additions, so someone else will have to go at some point. The Red Sox have tried to clear the deck with preemptive trades but have not found any offers they felt worthwhile, even for players like Seabold and Downs who seemed to have at least some trade value.
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All of this was a key reason the Red Sox left Thaddeus Ward exposed to the Rule 5 draft in November. The team knew he might be taken (indeed, he went first overall), but they figured it was better to risk losing him in the Rule 5 (in which a team would have to keep Ward on its active roster all season) than to risk eventually putting him on waivers (which allows a team claim him and stash him in the minors). Ward and Seabold could be lumped relatively closely together in terms of prospect status — on the day Ward was selected in the Rule 5, Seabold was the No. 22 prospect in the Red Sox system, Ward was No. 23, and Downs was No. 24 according to SoxProspects.com — and if the Red Sox had Ward on their 40-man right now, Seabold presumably would have been DFA even earlier in the offseason and someone else would have been taken off the roster Thursday. Maybe Ward himself.
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geoflin

geoflin

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Alfaro led the league in passed balls the last 2 years and 3 of the last 5. This somewhat mitigates whatever he might bring in preventing stolen bases.
 
nvalvo

nvalvo

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We’ve reportedly picked up a glove-first veteran infielder on a minor league deal: Edwin Diaz (not the pitcher). Depth.
 
JM3

JM3

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nvalvo said:
We’ve reportedly picked up a glove-first veteran infielder on a minor league deal: Edwin Diaz (not the pitcher). Depth.
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Deep depth...27, sub .200 hitter in AA & AAA last year.
 
JM3

JM3

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Dec 14, 2019
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Dermody is 32 & has pitched 27.1 innings in MLB in his career. Badly.

But he was decent in AAA last year & the Cubs stretched him out some, & this is absolutely the kind of depth they need to acquire if they plan on running a bullpen shuttle (he has 2 option years left).
 
JM3

JM3

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A move so exciting it happened 5 days ago & no one posted about it...

But welcome to Portland LHP Skylar Árias.

View: https://twitter.com/brendan_camp/status/1618688344745185281?cxt=HHwWgsDQ6aWe3vYsAAAA


Among the 238 pitchers who accrued at least 20 innings in the South Atlantic League last year, Arias ranked 11th in strikeouts per nine innings (14.48), 20th in strikeout rate (35.6 percent), and 18th in batting average against (.171), per FanGraphs. He also walked more than 16 percent of the batters he faced.
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https://bloggingtheredsox.com/2023/01/26/red-sox-sign-left-hander-skylar-arias-to-minor-league-deal/

He turns 26 in June, but his slider is apparently excellent & if he ever get his control...under control? But yeah, probably a nothing thing, but like Dermody & Sherriff, he's also a lefty. Unlike them, though, probably no Spring Training invite.

Árias provides significant amounts of hair:

Picture1.jpg
 
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Sad Sam Jones

Sad Sam Jones

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It's probably not a good sign for him that I follow Akron beyond just the prospects and go to 5-10 games there each season and I have no idea who this is.
 
JM3

JM3

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Dec 14, 2019
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Sad Sam Jones said:
It's probably not a good sign for him that I follow Akron beyond just the prospects and go to 5-10 games there each season and I have no idea who this is.
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He pitched 36 games, 40.1 innings, for them in '21 with a 6.92 ERA. In those 40.1 innings, he allowed 35 hits & 35 walks, & also hit 12 people...53 strikeouts, though?
 
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