I'm kinda wondering if it'd be possible to get Schwarber back at DH for one full season in a trade.... crazy? Would a swap of Yoshida and Hamilton be laughed at?
The closest comparison out there for an arb3 outfielder who hits lefties really well is Lane Thomas. But for an unanticipated hitter acquisition that could become a core member of next year's lineup, my answer is Gleyber Torres.
Soto in years 8-15 will be more likely to give you positive contract value than Bregman today.
What about Jo Adell. Not a good RH batter per se but perhaps a good batter against LHP.
In a vacuum sure, but team WAR is what (supposedly) equals wins. Soto was going to take another OF off the board, but we have good, maybe great, options there. So he definitely represents high value, but Fried + Bregman may raise our ceiling more.
Unfortunately for 2025 Sasaki has to be signed for international bonus pool money and get paid MLB minimum. But they can certainly promise him a Yamamoto like contract for 2026. And they should definitely lean hard in that direction. Couldn't help to trade for some extra international bonus pool money to facilitate that.
Eh, marking a guy down in ink who is returning from elbow surgery and was terrible the previous season seems like a good way to have another 40+ starts from a mix of swingmen and relievers, and/or a good way to talk yourself into signing the next Lucas Giolito instead of a difference maker.
However you view him, I'm pretty sure they plan to have six starters and at least two more contingencies (Whitlock? Fitts? tbd). But when he is ready, which is expected this spring since he had the bracing and not a full tear, he is absolutely going to be in their rotation plans. You might be worried about his 2023 numbers but they signed him anyway, so they aren't.
The Seiya Suzuki idea is also interesting.
Rooker has been excellent but they've been clear about not moving him. Hell, they want to extend him and they've only extended one guy in the last decade.
Agree. I think in a perfect world, they would find a RH bat that could spell the corners to allow Raffy and Casas to get off their feet a couple times a week but keep their bat(s) in the lineup. I just don't know who that is out side of an aging Christian Walker.
The 2023 numbers might be reflective of the growing elbow issue which was, theoretically, addressed with the ulnar brace to offload strain from the ULC. Whatever the over/under is on Giolito being good in 25 I'd bet the over.
Please for the love of god retire the "these guys are friends" "he grew up a Red Sox fan" "these guys are cousins" thing. I'm begging you. It means absolutely nothing, never has, and there are scant to no examples of it making any kind of difference.
Gleyber flat out refused to move to 3B this year when NY traded for Chisholm, maybe it’d be different if he was asked to do that over the winter but I’d consider him solely a 2B.
I have followed Jo Adell since he was in AA in Mobile - he was one of those guys who the ball just sounded better off the bat than everyone else. You could tell he was a real prospect. That said, while he has tremendous bat speed and decent hard hit numbers, he swings through too many pitches and doesn't take walks. Reclamation project, maybe but nothing that I would put a ton of reliance on.
That’s probably Randal Grichuk. Has always crushed Ls and can play all 3 OF spots. Because of age, he might be had on a 1-year deal.
Mid to late 30s DH Soto at 50M per season is more likely to be worth his contract than 2025 Bregman at 25-30M AAV? I could not possibly disagree with this more strongly.
Well, they've already spent some time with Boras this offseason. Maybe it will work out this time.
Thank you. Players want to get paid, and they want to win. That's the extent of their criteria when choosing a free agent destination in the vast majority of cases. Maybe something lifestyle related, like preferring to be on the west coast, etc. also comes into play in some instances. At least as a tie breaker. But friendships, and what posters/trading cards/footie pajamas they had when they were 10 means absolutely nothing.
Except all the smoke is being reported with Bregman as a 2B (including Cora's comments today).
The interesting thing about Beltre is that it took so long for his offense to truly catch up to his defense.
Not that I think Bregman is going to happen either way, but doesn't it make sense to only talk about him (or anyone) in a position that doesn't move Devers, until said player is on your roster. There is zero upside to talking about him taking over a 3b and moving Devers only to have Bregman end up back in Houston or Philly (my bet of where he ends up if not Houston). Cora and Breslow may or may not be many things, but dumb is not one of them. Devers is unequivocally the third baseman and they should not say anything else otherwise unless or until they acquire someone that is a better 3b (in which case it becomes a discussion).
You may be right -- that they are thinking of Bregman at 2nd. Cora's comments can be read in a different way -- for example, to protect Devers, who might be sitting at home saying WTF? I'm the 3rd baseman!! If I were Cora I would be ambiguous about where Bregman might play before I have a serious conversation with Devers. But the bigger question is that of musical chairs -- where do for example, Campbell and Anthony play when they come up? Any signing of Bregman to an already overloaded roster means at least one trade, if not more, and it's so hard to read all this because we have no idea about the possible signings and trades and neither do they (hence Plan A, A-1, A-2 etc). My guess is that Bregman goes back to Houston on a much bigger deal. They love him and he loves Houston.
So I shouldn't call back to those discussions about Giolito and Fried being buddies and try to connect the imaginary dots that feed into the Sean Murphy rumors. Get it done Theo!!!
Go back to the very beginning of that clip. I'm not sure that this whole Bregman to 2B talk was initiated by Cora. While we don't hear it, Cora sounds like he's addressing a question that's been asked about the discussions of Bregman playing 2B.
Amen.
When Cora says something to the effect that he always envisioned Bregman playing in the middle of the diamond when he (Cora) was part of hte Astro organization and that regardless of what some people thought about his ability with the DP that, in his (Cora's) opinion, Bregman could play anywhere, it does open up the possibility that should Bregman come to the Sox he could play at 2nd (which is not to say that Cora was advocating for that -- merely that it could be read that way). That said, I do not think that Cora would put him there and, if the Sox do sign him, they already have other trades lined up. But again -- I am 90% sure he goes back to Houston.
It’s going to be especially sad when Vlad “Yankee Hater” Guerrero Jr signs with them next year. Sigh.
Cohen will probably go after him depending of course on what he does about 1st base this off season.
I don't think they can promise him a big extension. This has been discussed here a few times (though I can't find the exact text) but teams are not allowed to engage in any behavior that can be interpreted to be circumventing the IFA rules. He's going to make $760k in salary next year so he'll play wherever he most wants to play.
I know. I'm not quibbling with that part, but rather with the part I bolded about them promising him huge money from 2026. They can't.
