dynomite said:
1) Well, as others have said, given the logjams in the back of the rotation, the OF, and 3B, they're probably going to deal some of these guys no matter what.
2). Honest question: How many holes are there on the Sox roster outside of the top of the rotation?
They need to add pieces to the bullpen and ideally a RH power bat. But looking around the diamond, I'm not seeing a lot of empty positions, especially if you think the 2015 3B is already on the roster.
To understand the "holes," it's important to understand what we're expecting from the spots that
aren't deemed to be holes:
-- Another healthy, elite season from David Ortiz, who will be 39 next season.
-- Another strong season from Napoli, who will be 33 next season, and whose 119 GP this season was the 3rd highest total of his career.
-- Health and continued league-average production at a premium defensive position from Pedroia.
-- Substantial improvement from X, who posted a 659 OPS in his first full major league season.
I think all four of those things are worth betting on, but the smart money says at least one of them, and quite possibly two, won't come to pass.
The other known quantity is CV -- I'm all in favor of handing him the catching job, but I expect nothing from the bat.
I'm in favor of giving two of the starting OF jobs to Castillo and Betts, but they're both unknown quantities. It's likely that one will fail to meet expectations.
In a different context, I'd be happy to grab a stopgap option at 3B and roll the dice on a bounceback season from Cespedes, but I think something more robust is needed to address the downside risk and known holes elsewhere in the offense. And with the underwhelming FA options, that's going to require trading prospects.