Because Mayer is on the way. If Boegarts walks, maybe Downs shows this year if he's ready to play SS in 2023/24. Maybe they sign a stopgap defensive SS for 2023/24. Maybe they extend Xander.
They still need a RHH who can play RF. Love Story, but is he going to learn to play 2B in three weeks? And signing Story would obviously be a precursor to Xander opting out and leaving next winter. That might be uncomfortable, to say the least.
I don't disagree that this may be Bloom's rationale, but Marcelo Mayer just turned 19 this offseason and his professional resume consists of 26 games in the FCL. I get his pedigree as a prospect, but I still think it's a little premature to placing arrival dates on him, especially if we're talking about him being good enough to force their hand with a guy like Correa or Bogaerts. Even if that does come to pass, and Mayer's ready for the full time job in 2024, he's met the most optimistic of projections, and I think you put that in the "good problem to have" bucket.
+1 In Chaim we trust. I love the farm system upgrades. The JBJ trade was not JBJ for Hunter Renfroe. It was two valued (in Chaim's eyes) prospects for Hunter Renfroe and a cooked JBJ stapled onto the trade to get better prospects. I'm sure Chaim believes there is some chance JBJ returns to a serviceable MLB hitter with above average fielding. But I doubt he's counting on it; it was always about the two prospects. I really liked Suzuki until his price went stratospheric. Maybe you Eeyores can take an approach of "I really wish Chaim has signed X or traded Y" rather than "Chaim has Tampa Bayitis!!". We really do need to wait until Spring Training moves are complete before judging Chiam's offseason work, in my opinion.
I can be both disappointed in their offseason and still think their teams are going to be competitive.
I'll concede that Mayer in 2024 would be the pinkest of roses, with 2025 more likely - balanced by a chance of underperformance and non arrival. But I don't think Bloom will be entirely ignoring his presence when considering long term SS deals. (And, FWIW, I'm not a prosepect-fetishist.)
I don’t see this happening and he has a no trade clause. Theoretically, San Diego maybe after the Tatis thing. I suppose the Phillies and Cardinals could use short-term shortstop upgrades while their prospects (Stott; Sosa/Winn) develop.
The Phillies know that you only get one DH, right? I know this is new to them.
Yes, the draft pick compensation for QOs is tied to the international draft. If the draft is implemented, the compensation picks go away.
I suspect JBJ is a little more of a wild-card than people credit him as. He had an abysmal year in MIL, but he's going to be 32, and he still had positive defensive value last year. If he can even partially rediscover his swing, or change his approach, he might end up being a plesant surprise.
Who is this account and why should we believe them (about the Sox interest, other reporters have the Phillies)?
Dunno, just an account I follow, you shouldn’t believe anyone including known names until signings are final.
One thing that hasn’t come up in the trade Bogie discussion: his relationship with Devers. IIRC, Devers is reported to look to Bogie as a mentor and role model. If you’ve got an unhappy Bogie with a foot out the door what does that do to the Devers negotiations? Do we wind up with Devers going the Mookie route, going to FA status and offering himself to the open market in a year were there aren’t that many attractive alternatives?
I'm totally fine with the long game and the refusal to sign guys whose contracts will be bad in a few years. Maybe StuckonYouk is right about Soto being the long game prize. It would stand to reason that you don't want to clog the roster with free agents who want big bucks through their age-37 season, unless it's for a guy like Soto, who you get starting in his age-27 season. I don't really like any of the big FA deals that have happened this past week and I wouldn't want them to commit to Correa or Story either -- forcing Bogaerts out the door and/or blocking two of our top prospects long term. Suzuki would have fit -- we think -- and I'm sure the Sox tried until the money for a guy who's 27 and hasn't ever hit a single baseball in the US got too crazy. Bloom's mantra is flexibility, and they have preserved all of that, while mostly keeping an ALCS team intact.
Supposedly the Orioles have offered Correa 10/300. He's 27 but only twice has he exceeded 140 games. Bogaerts is his equal as a hitter and plays almost every game, so how much is that defensive improvement worth? IMO not as much as the market for Correa will require. Extend Bogaerts or let him play it out and see where things are next winter. Maybe by then we will have some idea about Mayer's trajectory too.
Agreed. Just trying to determine veracity of the rumor. Who is reporting it does make a difference as to whether it's worth paying any attention at all.
Case in point. If Heyman has it, and only Heyman has it, I can discount it.
Pham is only 34 years old, so he should be due to reach his potential any moment now.
More 3 than 2, but yeah, probably mostly one or the other.
The Dodgers’ end-of-year payroll since Friedman took over:
I think another part of this is once the Sox, Yanks, Dodgers etc... have expressed interest in a player, agents want this know. So sure, every player the Sox inquire about they are 'in on". It's good for negotiations to have big market teams known to be "in on" your guy. It also makes for good click bait.
Not to call you out, your posts are great but I feel like I am seeing a lot of posts on this board lately where people accidentally type the opposite of what they mean, and it's confusing.
Short term could also mean open to a pillow deal. Which is what I suspect Bloom wants. 1/25 to play 2B for a year.
Unless Corroborated by someone else, Heyman has to be sore from carrying water 24/7/365...That being said if Story is ok with playing 2B, what kind of 1B/OF/SP combos are out there for trade?
His tweet is ambiguous whether the positional change alone would be short-term or the whole contract. Either sounds great to me but I’d be happy going up to six years for Story.
That's the tell.
I agree. If we grab a LF/1B/DH guy out of the bargain bin and otherwise roll with the roster we’ve got, JBJ would be functionally backing up 5 positions, as Hernandez would presumably move to the infield in case of an injury at 2B or SS. If JBJ is healthy and plays anything like his pre-2021 self, he’ll get 350+ PAs. There’s less opportunity for him if we sign Trevor Story, but I don’t think that’s going to happen.
I'm gonna keep arguing for something more nuanced: That maybe Bloom is deserving of mixed reviews. Do we have to divide ourselves into the Pollyannas and the Eeyores? Might all this - like everything - exist on a continuum? I like Bloom's rebuilding of the farm. I like his ability to sign some undervalued guys like Kiké. He seems like a good and intelligent person. I also sense he's afraid to spend - prospects or money - is somewhat risk adverse. Maybe my feeble pessimistic mind can't comprehend his 3-D chess grand plan. Or maybe I'm onto something.
OK, a lot to chew on in your good post. I guess I just disagree--or at least I need more evidence before I can agree with your premise.
Where are you getting your information that we were all-in on trying to sign these players? I know Heyman was tweeting a lot about supposed Sox interest, but I've seen nothing to indicate that Bloom was truly in on any of them, or that he offered as much as the teams that ended up signing them. To be clear: I'm sure he was interested in some of them, but that's far from saying that he was going all-out for them. For us to conclude that players simply don't want to sign here, we'd have to accept that the Sox offered the same amount or more as what they eventually got, right? I mean, who has reported any of that? I'm actually quite dubious that it's true. And I think we're losing our heads a little bit if we're suggesting that star players just don't want to play for the Red Sox anymore.
There's still plenty of time in the off-season. Bloom has indicated that the Sox are going to begin work on extensions, and I'm imagine that Devers would be one of the candidates. And why can't we keep getting in on salary dumps? The off-season isn't over. Once the season start, it seems to me, these kinds of questions will be more appropriate. I don't understand why we're demanding answers to them now.
