Trade Deadline Approach

[JM3]

Thanks @JM3 - do you follow ERA- as well? I happen to like it because 1) it's on Frangraphs which 2) makes it easier to find and 3) to me at least it's more intuitive because like ERA, FIP, xFIP, etc, etc, the lower the number the better (as opposed to ERA+ which is counter intuitive because of higher being better in regards to pitching).

To the best of my knowledge, the biggest reason I like ERA- is that it shows how much better the pitcher was than the league average as opposed to ERA+ because it tells how much better (or worse) the league was to the pitcher. A nuanced difference, but one that I think makes sense.

I've been hesitant to post that for pitching performance because Fangraphs is the only place I've seen it widely used (or easily found) and ERA+ seems to be cited more on here, so I've been trying to use that even though I personally like ERA- more. However, here is a discussion on ERA- vs ERA+ if anyone is interested (https://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2012/9/14/3332194/era-plus-vs-era-minus)



Brag away on Martin, he's been excellent.

I also agree with your spoiled post about the human element of bullpens and pitchers, and that's why I was such a big fan of the Jansen signing - and really do believe that teams should spend on an actual proven closer. They have their own limitations as well, but I do think there is something to slotting a guy in at the back and allowing managers to mix and match with other pieces while having defined roles. Baseball players are certainly creatures of habit.

But I also do still firmly believe that in what I'll at least sum up as "not the back end" of the bullpen, teams are better served spending nothing on the bulk of the bullpen - at least if they're going to adhere to the Luxury Tax at all - if you're going to spend like the Yankees, go nuts.

Which means either using guys from your own system before they cost basically anything to try and find Papelbon and Bard (or Whitlock if one prefers) or just throwing a bunch of cheap stuff against the wall until you find what sticks. Or, put another way, I'm not the least bit surprised that the team has gotten more from Bernardino, Winckowski, Schrieber, Walter and Sheriff while getting nothing from Bleier (or Matt Barnes), Rodriguez and Brasier.

I'd rather use their money elsewhere.



*As an aside, it's why I really like the Hernandez deal and actually like the acquisition of Llovera. Get as many dirt cheap guys as possible to throw at the bulk of the bullpen and see what sticks. I'd MUCH rather them do this than give up even a top 30 prospect or spend $2m on "Kendall Graveman" or whatever. I think the resources can be better allocated elsewhere.

I've honestly never looked much at ERA- (or ERA+). I feel like I have enough mental grasp on what the league average ERA is that I mostly just look at ERA & xFIP for my own personal purposes is a fine start.

Then from there, if I'm curious, I start to look into how they got there & see if anything stands out, especially compared to previous years. Walk rates, strikeout rates, BABIPs, home run rates, etc.

& then from there I usually end up on the Savant page to see how much of whatever has happened can be attributed to their bars & how their pitches are looking, including compared to previous years. Pitch mix is a fun thing to look at because sometimes you can sort of picture paths to improvement through smarter pitch allocation.

But I'm definitely no expert & just do enough to feel like I have some clue what's going on.

I see you wisely removed Ort from that post while I was responding lol, as of course he is one of the many examples of free pitchers who have sucked. That list also includes Justin Garza, Tayler Scott, Zach Litell & Jake Faria. & Joe Jacques has been not great.

You need a certain # of high leverage arms to have an effective bullpen. How you acquire those guys can certainly vary, & it seems to be a pretty decent focus in the recent drafts, so I don't expect they will have to spend free agent dollars as much in the future, but you can't just throw anyone out there & expect it to work.

Joely has been really good since returning from injury (6 games, 7 scoreless innings, 6 hits, 0 walks, 9 strikeouts) & I expect he will be worth the $2m or whatever this year is going to cost them (& they also have a team option for next year if things went amazingly).

The Barnes contract was exactly what you say you like in terms of paying for a closer. He just became not good enough to be an actual closer (which has been my fear with Kenley). & then they had to get off him so they found a guy who fit all the control peripherals they like. Unfortunately I think they may have learned their lesson on aging control pitchers with Kluber & Bleier who were 1 step away from being cooked.

Bleier hasn't allowed a run in 3.2 innings since returning from the IL, but I'm not as optimistic about him as I am about Joely.

& Brasier has obviously turned into a shutdown reliever for the Dodgers smh.

 

[Ale Xander]

The # of sellers is dwindling.

View: https://twitter.com/redsoxstats/status/1684359766653431808

This seems like a negotiating tactic to me, both at the same time with the other teams and their fanbase.

 

[JM3]

This seems like a negotiating tactic to me, both at the same time with the other teams and their fanbase.

They definitely meant it...

View: https://twitter.com/MLBONFOX/status/1684411909699956738?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1684411909699956738%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=


Lol Angels

 

[HangingW/ScottCooper]

Is the expectation that the best arms that will be traded over the next week reside in Chicago? I would think Giolito definitely gets moved (free agent at the end of the year), but would they move Cease?

Edit: seconds before, Giolito was traded to the Angels.

 

[Big Papi's Mango Salsa]

@JM3 Yeah, I always get Ort confused with Josh Taylor (in terms of what was spent), no idea why. Though I agree, free guys suck too. It's why I say just make all those middle relief arms totally expendable and mix and match until you find that works. The vast majority of those type of guys tend to have so much variance from one season to the next (or in between seasons) that it's incredibly difficult to predict who will be good one year to the next or who will be good from one month to the next (Brasier).

But my overall point certainly isn't that you don't have to find them, it's that I don't think you have to spend actual capital (in terms of dollars or prospects) to find a bullpen mix that works. I think Bloom is certainly a smart enough GM to do that the way TB, Cleveland and Seattle seem to do on a consistent basis.

Matt Barnes had been a closer for what, maybe half a season when he was given that deal (I'm not sure if you are a 2020 counts or 2020 doesn't count subscriber but counting it would make it like 3/4 of a season). Kenley Jansen had around 375. Kimbrel had around 200. I don't think those guys are at all similar in terms of established closers on which to pay up for, but if you do, I respect your opinion and we can agree to disagree.


Fair enough on ERA+/ERA-. As mentioned, Fangraphs is the only place I've seen it easily sortable. I like it, but I haven't seen it cited on here a lot, so I tend to try and lean toward ERA+ when posting, but I've come to really like the stat.

@HangingW/ScottCooper Chicago and StLouis. Possibly in Flushing too. SD should sell, and I continue to have no idea what LAA is thinking. But it's been that way for years now.

That said, the trade exemplifies either how much of a) jacked up seller's market this is or b) the Angles are morons (possibly both). While not the be all and end all BTV calls this a major overpay for LAA giving Quero and Bush a combined value of 30.10 while Giolito and Lopez combine for 7.90.

But again, I don't know if the market truly has lost all equilibrium or if the Angels are that dumb. If it's the former, and the Sox cannot reasonably acquire a SP with term and either cannot (or are not) considering rentals, then I'd think they almost need to see what they could get for Paxton. That trade would be pretty similar to the Red Sox getting Vaughn Grissom and AJ Smith Shawver (32.2) for Paxton and Bernardino (7.6). Though, forced to guess, I think it's just that the Angels are not smart while the Braves are (and wouldn't consider that type of deal).

 

[JM3]

I don't have an issue with calling the Barnes contract a mistake. If he actually was a competent closer, it would have worked out fine, though, but his arm was pretty shot & he needed his sticky stuff.

I just think Kenley is getting older & has had a ton of wear & tear on his arm & his stuff is diminishing. Fortunately it hasn't fully caught up with him yet & he has still been effective. Having 400 saves in his career doesn't impact what his current stuff is. Obviously if they could have acquired him before all those saves he would have been a lot more valuable to the team.

 

[Big Papi's Mango Salsa]

Fair point - and I'm not saying to go out an extend Jansen, to be clear. Just that I do think having a real presence for the 9th is something good teams should invest in, and I'm thrilled Bloom did it. Not only because some guys simply seem to be unable to handle closing games (for whatever reason) but because it allows the manager to deploy guys differently and I do think that having defined roles is a benefit for the vast majority of players.

Though it makes me really hope that someone in the system becomes the closer of the future because the 2024-25 class doesn't look great. Maybe Hendricks is that year's "version" of Kenley Jansen (hopefully for his sake he's that healthy, obviously). Not much else out there unless Pressly leaves Houston (mutual option). Whitlock is probably the best bet, but I like Guerrero too (I think you have mentioned him as well), though he really needs to get the walks under control before thinking of that seriously.

But whatever the case may be, you can bet I'll be advocating for a real closer for whenever one wants to say the window opens.

(I do think it's fun that in this instance I'm the one really in favor or a "high profile" Bloom move and you seem to question it; I think it's great when people who question him can talk about moves they like and people who really like him can question moves they don't).

 

[HangingW/ScottCooper]

Fair point - and I'm not saying to go out an extend Jansen, to be clear. Just that I do think having a real presence for the 9th is something good teams should invest in, and I'm thrilled Bloom did it. Not only because some guys simply seem to be unable to handle closing games (for whatever reason) but because it allows the manager to deploy guys differently and I do think that having defined roles is a benefit for the vast majority of players.

The Jansen and Martin signings were puzzling to me when they weren't also accompanied by additional pieces. Jansen and Martin would be the types of signings you'd see for a team that was closer to competing. That being said, I'm glad they're both here and think they've added much needed stability. The fact that we're this close to a playoff spot has me hopeful for a more meaningful trade deadline than 2022.

 

[Big Papi's Mango Salsa]

The Jansen and Martin signings were puzzling to me when they weren't also accompanied by additional pieces. Jansen and Martin would be the types of signings you'd see for a team that was closer to competing. That being said, I'm glad they're both here and think they've added much needed stability. The fact that we're this close to a playoff spot has me hopeful for a more meaningful trade deadline than 2022.

Martin was for me too, for similar reasons. Jansen I got. But Martin has been awesome and I'm glad he's here too.

I would have spent on the "stabilizing" rotation spot first, admittedly (I advocated for Senga, Bassit, Wacha, yes Tallion and Eovaldi). However, I too am hopeful that this deadline they go out and acquire that rotation stabilizing piece for this year and the next couple.

In retrospect, Eovaldi would have been perfect for this, but again, that is not meant as a "Bloom is a moron" post because while I wanted the player back (and by most reports, so did Bloom) I would have been hesitant to give him the Texas deal too, but in hindsight, he would have been perfect.


Oh, just as a thought exercise, I checked out a proposed Cease trade on BTV when you were asking on him @HangingW/ScottCooper. I don't think he's "available" in the same way I don't think Yorke or Bleis are "available" but in something that I think BOTH teams should consider for where they are, a move of Yorke, Bleis and Winckowski (52.00) for Cease (51.8) comes out almost exact. If I could "choose any (somewhat) realistic move" for the Sox to make, this would be it.

It works with Drohan instead of Winckowski too (as I think it should because I personally like Drohan a lot more) and while I admit I'd try like heck to keep Drohan out of a deal, this is the kind of move where if Chicago said "make it Drohan and it's done; don't include Drohan and there is no deal" I'd suck it up and move Drohan.

 

[grimshaw]

The Jansen and Martin signings were puzzling to me when they weren't also accompanied by additional pieces. Jansen and Martin would be the types of signings you'd see for a team that was closer to competing. That being said, I'm glad they're both here and think they've added much needed stability. The fact that we're this close to a playoff spot has me hopeful for a more meaningful trade deadline than 2022.

Same, though looking back it's something a big market team with plenty of salary cap space can do for short term guys. If they ate all of Martin's contract he'd be one of the best relief rental (+)s out there. That's not something a tight budgeted team would necessarily do.

 

[HangingW/ScottCooper]

In retrospect, Eovaldi would have been perfect for this, but again, that is not meant as a "Bloom is a moron" post because while I wanted the player back (and by most reports, so did Bloom) I would have been hesitant to give him the Texas deal too, but in hindsight, he would have been perfect.

Oh, just as a thought exercise, I checked out a proposed Cease trade on BTV when you were asking on him @HangingW/ScottCooper. I don't think he's "available" in the same way I don't think Yorke or Bleis are "available" but in something that I think BOTH teams should consider for where they are, a move of Yorke, Bleis and Winckowski (52.00) for Cease (51.8) comes out almost exact. If I could "choose any (somewhat) realistic move" for the Sox to make, this would be it.

It works with Drohan instead of Winckowski too (as I think it should because I personally like Drohan a lot more) and while I admit I'd try like heck to keep Drohan out of a deal, this is the kind of move where if Chicago said "make it Drohan and it's done; don't include Drohan and there is no deal" I'd suck it up and move Drohan.

Re: Eovaldi - I think many on here questioned the extension that Dombrowski gave him after 2018 as well. Yes, we were still on a World Series high, but I feel it was definitely questioned at the time. My understanding is that the Sox offered him more than Texas but they pivoted to Jansen when Eovaldi shopped the offer. Then, when he came back asking if it was still on the table they said no.

As for Cease, the White Sox are saying he's unavailable. That being said, I would imagine it would be a step back from the original Sale trade and I don't see Chicago doing it without Boston giving up Yorke and/or Bleis. I don't recall exactly where Moncada and Kopech were from a prospect standpoint at the time of the trade, but my vague recollection was Moncada was top 10 and Kopech top 50.

Same, though looking back it's something a big market team with plenty of salary cap space can do for short term guys. If they ate all of Martin's contract he'd be one of the best relief rental (+)s out there. That's not something a tight budgeted team would necessarily do.

And you may be right about this. Bloom could have been looking at Kluber, Jansen and Martin as pieces to flip at the deadline and build the farm system with an eye towards 2024-2026. If things had turned out differently with Kluber but we were otherwise out of the playoff race we could be looking at a pretty nice return after seeing what Chicago got back for Giolito and Lopez.

 

[Big Papi's Mango Salsa]

That was my general recollection of the events too (though not specifically on contract amounts), but that he was told the offer wasn't there.

Which to my earlier point is why I couldn't stand the deals for guys like Rodriguez (sure, he might still be good), tendering Brasier, etc. Eovaldi is getting $16m. Keep the money from Rodriguez, Brasier and Kluber and you've basically got Eovaldi's money. (In retrospect, and even with how good he's been, I'd also rather have Eovladi than Martin, but it could have been pretty easy to have them both). Or maybe the Red Sox would be upset to have Eovaldi if the plan was only to have Kluber make 10 starts. I disagree that was the plan, but obviously I'm not part of the front office so maybe @EyeBob was right. Of course, then they should have signed Wacha for less money than Kluber, but I digress.

Big Cease fan, but he is / was several steps below Chris Sale v2016, but like you said, neither Bleis nor Yorke is close to Moncada in terms of value in the prospect ranking industry (for whatever that's worth). Per BA, MLB and BP, Moncada was 2, 2 and 5 entering the 2017 season. Kopech was 32, 10, 36. Fangraphs loves Bleis (30) and is higher on Yorke than the others (79) but I have no idea where they Kopech as of the time of the deal; though they did have Moncada #1.

So Yorke and Bleis are several steps below Moncada for sure, and a good bit below Kopech. From the BA thread, it looks like Yorke is now somewhere in the 90-100 range and Bleis is in the 80-90 range. (Ps 5 and 6 are the updated rankings posted https://sonsofsamhorn.net/index.php?threads/baseball-america-top-100-23-5-red-sox.38567/page-6)

The closer comp I could come up with was in 2021 when Toronto moved Austin Martin and Simeon Woods Richardson for Berrios. However, Martin was 19, 22 and 22 before the season; SWR was 69 on BA, 87 on MLB and unranked on BP. Though I believe Berrios had 1.5 years left whereas Cease has 2.5 left for term. If we roughly equate SWR and Bleis (just using the 3 major prospect sites), Yorke is still way behind Martin. Obviously I'm certain that MLB front offices look at MANY more things than prospect ranking sites, which they probably don't use at all unless it's to laugh at, but it's what we have, so I use it.

Which to the point makes me think that Yorke and Bleis probably aren't nearly enough to get Cease so it's probably not worth discussing, but it's more fun to discuss the potential of adding Dylan Cease than the likelihood of more versions of Llovera and Robertson (which, by the way, I like both moves).

 

[bosox1534]

View: https://twitter.com/ander_beisbol/status/1684636882380935169?s=46&t=_NspJPTa_Z0bzVq7nnSw0g


A pretty good player who wouldn’t cost anything. Major improvement from Kike.

 

[Yaz4Ever]

View: https://twitter.com/ander_beisbol/status/1684636882380935169?s=46&t=_NspJPTa_Z0bzVq7nnSw0g


A pretty good player who wouldn’t cost anything. Major improvement from Kike.

and keep Story at 2B?

I can think of other players on the Cardinals we'd target, not necessarily DeJong

 

[bosox1534]

and keep Story at 2B?

I can think of other players on the Cardinals we'd target, not necessarily DeJong

No DeJong would most likely move to second unless Story’s arm causes issues. Hopefully would be a package deal with Montgomery.

 

[bosockboy]

and keep Story at 2B?

I can think of other players on the Cardinals we'd target, not necessarily DeJong

Think he becomes the 2B.

 

[Yaz4Ever]

No DeJong would most likely move to second unless Story’s arm causes issues. Hopefully would be a package deal with Montgomery.

If he's handcuffed to Montgomery, I'm all ears.

 

[KillerBs]

The reported involvement of the Marlins in these discussions is of interest. I wonder if DeJong goes to Miami, Wendle might be available to move to Boston.

 

[JM3]

View: https://twitter.com/JeffFletcherOCR/status/1684676783474405376


That is a lot of pitches. Of course it's all moot now that Angels are buyers.

View: https://twitter.com/JeffFletcherOCR/status/1684596645822943234

 

[TFisNEXT]

The reported involvement of the Marlins in these discussions is of interest. I wonder if DeJong goes to Miami, Wendle might be available to move to Boston.

Wendle would be an interesting flier for MI depth. He’s left-handed batting (Chaim was looking for this) and a really good defender at 2B and can play competent SS too. His offense has been kind of bleh the last two seasons but it’s not a ton of PAs each year and there’s been some nagging injuries. But he was mostly average to above average with the bat previously. Maybe a change of scenery would be good for him.

But he’s the type of guy you don’t spend much trade capital on.

 

[simplicio]

I was pining for DeJong when Chang went down, but there's a lot of overlap in their skill sets, and DeJong's been sliding after a hot offensive start. His peripherals are atrocious.

 

[DeadlySplitter]

Padres might be listening on Soto. I'd say it's time to cash in some chips, but I think the Yoshida overlap with Soto is too large at this point. Still, I'm intrigued....

 

[chrisfont9]

Padres might be listening on Soto. I'd say it's time to cash in some chips, but I think the Yoshida overlap with Soto is too large at this point. Still, I'm intrigued....

Hmmm.... Verdugo probably goes out in any Soto deal, so does that help? Or maybe it's a three-team deal? This seems a little too big for a deadline deal, but if the Sox don't call over there this winter, they are negligent. To have a young core of Devers, Casas, Soto, Bello, Duran and the other obvious names who haven't arrived yet... that's a nice setup. That's how you build a team, not like the Mets.

 

[SouthernBoSox]

View: https://twitter.com/redsoxstats/status/1684740211970875392?s=46


I find this deadline so fascinating. They have depth, they have needs, they are competing this year, they are building for next.

I’m very glad I get to watch instead of calling the shots.

 

[DeadlySplitter]

Hmmm.... Verdugo probably goes out in any Soto deal, so does that help? Or maybe it's a three-team deal? This seems a little too big for a deadline deal, but if the Sox don't call over there this winter, they are negligent. To have a young core of Devers, Casas, Soto, Bello, Duran and the other obvious names who haven't arrived yet... that's a nice setup. That's how you build a team, not like the Mets.

That's the main problem - Verdugo and/or Turner go and the roster is a mess defensively. I think it would have to be a three-teamer.

This is mostly a thought exercise because they're going to ask for Mayer and not budge, but I couldn't help but give it some thoughts.

 

[Petagine in a Bottle]

Why would the Padres want Verdugo, only signed through next year, but not Soto, signed through next year? Would think that Duran would be of more interest to them, among Sox OF.

 

[E5 Yaz]

Why would the Padres want Verdugo, only signed through next year, but not Soto, signed through next year? Would think that Duran would be of more interest to them, among Sox OF.

It's Trade Deadline Week. Common sense goes out the window

 

[chrisfont9]

It's Trade Deadline Week. Common sense goes out the window

I never said it was a straight up trade. Obviously he would be just one piece in a package. I'm not that foolish. What the Padres would actually want I don't know, though probably pitching above all else.

 

[grimshaw]

Soto isn't someone I'd reach for in a trade. Way too much risk to move all that prospect capital for less than 1.5 seasons. His impact over Verdugo isn't high enough this season (a bit more than 1fWAR upgrade by ZIPS rest of season projections) to increase their odds enough to justify it.

 

[Sandy Leon Trotsky]

Soto reminds me too much of Stanton to want on the Sox long term….

 

[BaseballJones]

The Padres have a lot of very interesting players that could be had. Soto, Hader, Snell, maybe even Wacha. Hader and Snell are pure rentals, while Soto has one more year of control. Wacha is under contract for a while still.

 

[BigSoxFan]

Soto reminds me too much of Stanton to want on the Sox long term….

What do you mean by this? They are nothing alike as hitters unless you mean paying a bunch of money for an all offense / limited defense guy. Soto has a 1.005 OPS away from Petco this year. He would mash in Fenway given his ability to use all fields.

I don’t think it’s worth gutting the system for him when you can just offer cash in the fall of 2024 but the guy is a great hitter and I’d love to have him long-term. A core of Soto, Devers, Yoshida, Casas would be really good albeit very left-handed.

 

[Merkle's Boner]

Yeah I’m not sure people realize what a unicorn Soto has been. The track record of guys doing what he has done at his young age is extremely strong. Most go on to HOF careers.

 

[CarolinaBeerGuy]

Soto reminds me too much of Stanton to want on the Sox long term….

Not to pile on, but I don’t see any similarities between them as hitters.

 

[Fishy1]

Just for edifying purposes, here's Juan Soto's:

and here's Giancarlo:


Both of them high BB% guys, but Soto is of the coveted more BB's than K's class, and a walk % over 20% is just nuts. For reference, we think of Casas as having a crazy high BB%, and his is only 14.5%... So 20% is a huge difference.

The Yankees have obviously gotten pretty screwed by Stanton's injuries. I think some of his issues as a hitter though have just been bad luck, tbqh. His exit velocities are down but his hard hit % is still over 50%, which is crazy.

 

[Petagine in a Bottle]

Stanton was an elite player putting up historic numbers at a young age, and I think most thought the sky was the limit as far his potential. But his 30’s haven’t been great. Maybe that’s the fear with Soto? Not sure it’s based on anything factual, though.

 

[Big Papi's Mango Salsa]

That is a lot of pitches. Of course it's all moot now that Angels are buyers.

It is. He then used 20 pitches combined to breeze through the 4th and 5th innings and finished with a line of 5ip, 5h, 2er, 2bb, 4k, continuing his excellent July with 3 stats, 17ip, a 2.08ERA and a 1.039WHIP. But it is also moot because as you mentioned the Angels are (foolishly) buying.

Though since it's probably all just dreaming at this point, dreaming on Cease is much more fun.



Oh, how dare you not call the minor league thread for the pitcher "Analysis: Perales'es?" by the way?

 

[bosockboy]

Soto would only be a 1.5 season rental; can’t imagine the Sox would give him the 400+ million Boras will get him.

 

[JM3]

Feel free to start next Thursday's thread.

 

[bosockboy]

Feel free to start next Thursday's thread.

Tuesday!

 

[JM3]

Tuesday!

Most of the pitchers from AA down are on a once a week schedule. I suppose they could bump him up due to only going 2 innings, but I think it's pretty unlikely.

 

[Max Power]

The best comp I could find for Soto was Frank Robinson. More walks than strikeouts, very good power, and a batting average that dropped into the .260s on occasion. Maybe the Red Sox can trade for him and make him player manager eventually.

 

[bosockboy]

Most of the pitchers from AA down are on a once a week schedule. I suppose they could bump him up due to only going 2 innings, but I think it's pretty unlikely.

Thought you meant deadline day thread.

 

[JM3]

Thought you meant deadline day thread.

Lol gotcha. Mango was saying I misnamed yesterday's daily MiLB thread.

 

[chrisfont9]

Stanton was an elite player putting up historic numbers at a young age, and I think most thought the sky was the limit as far his potential. But his 30’s haven’t been great. Maybe that’s the fear with Soto? Not sure it’s based on anything factual, though.

Right, and I don't think there's much of a connection there. Stanton is 6'6", 250, Soto is 6'2", 220, very different body types. And Stanton's body constantly breaking down, or more recently the really diminished athleticism, is the reason his career seems disappointing. Soto isn't that guy, I don't think. Maybe there are other reasons he won't age well, but he's still 24 and has put up historic numbers for his age. His next contract will be buying at least 5-6 true prime years.

Those OB% numbers are unbelievable. Even on the stat sheet they're very different.

 

[Big Papi's Mango Salsa]

@JM3 - I hope it was clearly seen as a joke, it was intended that way.

Soto would only be a 1.5 season rental; can’t imagine the Sox would give him the 400+ million Boras will get him.

Yup. This is why, as great as the player is and as much as I'd love to have him on the Red Sox, making a move for him just doesn't make sense. His prospect cost would be astronomical (as it should be) and if the Sox did anything less than win a World Series with him, it'd likely come back to look VERY bad.

 

[JM3]

@JM3 - I hope it was clearly seen as a joke, it was intended that way.

I'm just looking for excuses to offload the work.

 

[chrisfont9]

@JM3 - I hope it was clearly seen as a joke, it was intended that way.



Yup. This is why, as great as the player is and as much as I'd love to have him on the Red Sox, making a move for him just doesn't make sense. His prospect cost would be astronomical (as it should be) and if the Sox did anything less than win a World Series with him, it'd likely come back to look VERY bad.

They *could* give him the bag. Whether he'd choose them, tough call, although he'd have a year to think about it. I could see them doing this.

 

[Big Papi's Mango Salsa]

Hahaha. Well played.

Which, also just to the Angels now being "buyers" and guys without a job now, I'd really be interested to see what they'd want for the guy that Giolito will ostensibly move from the rotation in Chase Silseth. He has been excellent while pitching on the moon (the PCL) and if the change in his slider he exhibited against the Yankees is sustainable...

They're the Angels, so what they could be looking for / do have a high probability of defying all reason, so I'm not even going to guess at what they'd want, but I think he would be a very interesting piece to acquire.

 

[Al Zarilla]

Buy buy buy ? Did somebody let Jim Cramer in here?