Winter Meetings 2018: Rumors and Speculation

Cesar Crespo

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Our first round pick last year has thrown 22 innings. Our 2nd rounder has 9 at bats. Our 3rd round pick is already in Greenville at age 21. Our 5th round pick hasn't thrown an inning yet.

How can you possibly reach that conclusion yet?

Read what you just wrote.

edit: Nevermind, 2017 is far too early but 2016 is definitely disappointing to date.
 

Tyrone Biggums

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Our first round pick last year has thrown 22 innings. Our 2nd rounder has 9 at bats. Our 3rd round pick is already in Greenville at age 21. Our 5th round pick hasn't thrown an inning yet.

How can you possibly reach that conclusion yet?
16 was bad so far. 17 we’ll start to know this year but you just said it yourself. The first round pick, Groome was ineffective and injured and the 2nd rounder got a late start. So far the return has been questionable at best.
 

Tyrone Biggums

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Bradley, Groome, and Some 17 year old nobody has heard of for Stanton seems like it would have been a possibility then. Damn. That seems like a huge missed opportunity.
I’m talking about Ozuna. That was a player that the Sox at one point had the assets to acquire and honestly is a more attractive long term option over JD Martinez. Replenish the farm to develop then keep or trade. Theo did a pretty good job of sustaining that for a while.
 

ehaz

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If the Orioles are looking for pitching as reported, the Sox could offer them E-Rod and still fill out a rotation. What else would need to go to Baltimore to make it happen? Groome? Keep X at short, Manny to third and Devers to 1B/DH.
 

sodenj5

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If the Orioles are looking for pitching as reported, the Sox could offer them E-Rod and still fill out a rotation. What else would need to go to Baltimore to make it happen? Groome? Keep X at short, Manny to third and Devers to 1B/DH.
Pretty sure any trade starts with Devers.
 

chawson

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Angels get Kinsler in exchange for their #20 and #24 prospects. That’s our direct competition for the Wild Card.

Anyone seen Dave?
 

Van Everyman

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Angels get Kinsler in exchange for their #20 and #24 prospects. That’s our direct competition for the Wild Card.

Anyone seen Dave?
Can we please dispense with the “competition for the Wild Card”? Regardless of what the Yankees add, this team is going to be in the running for the division.
 

NJ_Sox_Fan

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If Machado is really a possibility, they should be offering the Os their choice of Erod or Porcello. Heck, trade for him and sign JDM. The team needs power, badly.
 

Hank Scorpio

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Angels get Kinsler in exchange for their #20 and #24 prospects. That’s our direct competition for the Wild Card.

Anyone seen Dave?
Dave? Dave's not here.

Based on his track record, I do expect something big to happen this week, and it may be something sudden and unexpected. It feels like he's waiting on JDM, however. As time passes, suitors may continue to fall off the board. The Cardinals may be out on JDM, since they've acquired Ozuna.
 

chawson

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Based on his track record, I do expect something big to happen this week, and it may be something sudden and unexpected. It feels like he's waiting on JDM, however. As time passes, suitors may continue to fall off the board. The Cardinals may be out on JDM, since they've acquired Ozuna.
Maybe? Or as time passes, the more JDM is waiting for the D-Backs to foist Greinke onto the Phillies or Yankees (both reported interested) to clear money for him.

The Sox are JDM’s wealthiest and most obvious suitor. If there were a fit, you’d think it’d be done by now.
 

soxhop411

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If Machado is really a possibility, they should be offering the Os their choice of Erod or Porcello. Heck, trade for him and sign JDM. The team needs power, badly.
I highly doubt machado would even want to come here. And if the O’s forced him to come here that could bring another host of issues


In other news
 

Tyrone Biggums

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Can we please dispense with the “competition for the Wild Card”? Regardless of what the Yankees add, this team is going to be in the running for the division.
Strongly disagree. Right now if the season started today then sure. But if they get Machado then absolutely not. Yankees will win the division by 5 games at least with Manny. The Kinsler give away was awful. Sox could have used him. That was one guy who the team definitely could have gotten on the cheap.
 

jasail

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Machado to the Yankees would be quite a kick to the balls. And since Jeter took pennies on the dollar for Stanton, it seems possible.
We'll, I'd get that jock strap ready. There is a very real chance that the Yanks will acquire Stanton and Machado with out giving up either Sheffield or Torres. That would leave them with plenty left in the tank to go out and acquire a guy like Garrit Cole.

It's rather disappointing that the Yankees window opened way earlier than expected while ours has had a bit of an issue with jamming.
 

sean1562

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Can we please dispense with the “competition for the Wild Card”? Regardless of what the Yankees add, this team is going to be in the running for the division.
I dont think it is unreasonable to look at the Yankees team, right now, and say they are def better than this Red Sox team. I expect Judge to be at least a 5 WAR player next year, and Stanton is def an improvement for them. Any improvement we get from Price is improvement they can expect from Tanaka as well. While some of their players may regress, they have a lot of talent that could break out as well.

I dont think it is ridiculous to think that the best chance we have to make the playoffs next year is as a WC team. That Yankees team is scary
 

MikeM

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Anyone seen Dave?
Maybe DD is simply adjusting to a new non-EZ mode reality here, with a complete lack of trade bait prospects in the cupboard and Henry's possible reluctance to hand over any blank checks with payroll already sitting a record $200m+.
 

Wingack

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Machado to the Yankees would be quite a kick to the balls. And since Jeter took pennies on the dollar for Stanton, it seems possible.
The Yankees can definitely offer the best package of those teams listed. O's just have to get over their AL East complex and agree to it. The right thing for them to do is to pick the best package of players.
 

SydneySox

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That's not true, Wingack. There are many legitimate reasons teams don't trade in their division or to rivals.

Trading Machado is a hard thing to do from a public standpoint but generally people get it, especially if they spend the weeks after they trade him leaking stories about how he was a jerk and everyone hated him and he was an alcoholic etc; trading him to the Yankees makes it very difficult to justify, unless they get MLB ready prospects, because in four years, when someone makes an All-Star team no one really bothers to mention he was the payoff for the trade, not if they watched the face of their franchise hitting bombs against them for the last few seasons.
 

Wingack

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That's not true, Wingack. There are many legitimate reasons teams don't trade in their division or to rivals.

Trading Machado is a hard thing to do from a public standpoint but generally people get it, especially if they spend the weeks after they trade him leaking stories about how he was a jerk and everyone hated him and he was an alcoholic etc; trading him to the Yankees makes it very difficult to justify, unless they get MLB ready prospects, because in four years, when someone makes an All-Star team no one really bothers to mention he was the payoff for the trade, not if they watched the face of their franchise hitting bombs against them for the last few seasons.
I get that they risk a major PR hit, I have lots of friends here living 25 mins south of Baltimore that would be absolutely livid if Machado was traded to the Yankees. However, this all should be about winning, and they should take the best package that gives them the best chance to win regardless of whether the team is in their division or not. If Boston steps up with a package headlined by Devers (for example) and it winds up being the best deal offered to them, they should put Machado on an Amtrak to Boston today. They need to tear it all down, and that hurts, but they MUST get the best players they can.
 

jon abbey

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Maybe I'm being naive, but I'd rather trade a guy in the last year of his contract within the division if possible. The perfect example is BOS moving Andrew Miller to BAL, they got E-Rod for six years and Miller was gone from the Orioles a few months later. You can hurt your division rival by taking their young talent directly, and once a guy is a FA, he can go wherever he wants anyway.
 

Murderer's Crow

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Man, I'm surprised not to see the Angels in on Machado also. I'm not too familiar with their farm but it seems like they would match up well and build a potential monster lineup.
 

jon abbey

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Man, I'm surprised not to see the Angels in on Machado also. I'm not too familiar with their farm but it seems like they would match up well and build a potential monster lineup.
Pretty sure they have the worst system in baseball not counting Ohtani.
 

Murderer's Crow

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Maybe I'm being naive, but I'd rather trade a guy in the last year of his contract within the division if possible. The perfect example is BOS moving Andrew Miller to BAL, they got E-Rod for six years and Miller was gone from the Orioles a few months later. You can hurt your division rival by taking their young talent directly, and once a guy is a FA, he can go wherever he wants anyway.
There's a difference between sending big money rentals to Baltimore and NYY or Boston though.
 
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SydneySox

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Indeed. And no casuals knew who EdRo was anyway. And that's what we are talking about.

Devers also doesn't fit what I outlined. In fact he's specifically the outlier; people in Baltimore saw him and he's on the national stage. He's MLB ready and would step right in, theoretically.

If Boston traded what little they had left, or NYY, and those players were a couple years away, it's not 'winning' the trade. You also have to consider the GM's POV. Is Duquette still going to be the GM in 3 years when Baltimore's big haul puts it all together? Note, this is also known as the Amaro Paradox.
 

Sampo Gida

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Manny and Chris Davis for E-Rod, Brian Johnson, Henry Owens , jason Groome and Hanley Ramirez. Orioles kick in 20-30 million for Davis.

Move Manny to SS and trade XB or move him to 2B, and Pedey can DH to save his knees.

Manny may hate us but he loves Fenway and gets to face Orioles pitching 19 times a year in preparation for Free Agency

Edit added Groome
 
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DisgruntledSoxFan77

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Manny and Chris Davis for E-Rod, Brian Johnson, Henry Owens , jason Groome and Hanley Ramirez. Orioles kick in 20-30 million for Davis.

Move Manny to SS and trade XB or move him to 2B, and Pedey can DH to save his knees.

Manny may hate us but he loves Fenway and gets to face Orioles pitching 19 times a year in preparation for Free Agency

Edit added Groome
Oh sweet Jesus where does one even begin...
 

Pozo the Clown

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Manny and Chris Davis for E-Rod, Brian Johnson, Henry Owens , jason Groome and Hanley Ramirez. Orioles kick in 20-30 million for Davis.

Move Manny to SS and trade XB or move him to 2B, and Pedey can DH to save his knees.

Manny may hate us but he loves Fenway and gets to face Orioles pitching 19 times a year in preparation for Free Agency

Edit added Groome
Just when I thought it couldn't get more outlandish, I read the following on MLBTradeRumors,com: "It seems the Yankees would want to include Jacoby Ellsbury in a a Machado deal to help them stay under the competitive-balance tax threshold, but Sherman doubts he’d waive his no-trade clause to go to Baltimore"

Like the Orioles would be interested in Ellsbury in a deal for Machado!
 

E5 Yaz

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Manny and Chris Davis for E-Rod, Brian Johnson, Henry Owens , jason Groome and Hanley Ramirez. Orioles kick in 20-30 million for Davis.

Move Manny to SS and trade XB or move him to 2B, and Pedey can DH to save his knees.

Manny may hate us but he loves Fenway and gets to face Orioles pitching 19 times a year in preparation for Free Agency

Edit added Groome
Henry Owens now belongs to the Diamondbacks.

Do us all a favor ... we beg of you ... and stop coming up with these wild-ass ideas -- particularly when you don't appear to follow the Red Sox closely enough to know who's no longer on the team
 

edoug

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Just when I thought it couldn't get more outlandish, I read the following on MLBTradeRumors,com: "It seems the Yankees would want to include Jacoby Ellsbury in a a Machado deal to help them stay under the competitive-balance tax threshold, but Sherman doubts he’d waive his no-trade clause to go to Baltimore"

Like the Orioles would be interested in Ellsbury in a deal for Machado!
You'd think so but Cashman has some mystical power that makes other GM's do stupid things.
 

beautokyo

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Cashman's having a field day. Dumping and getting.......if he can MM and get them to take Ells along the way......then that will be the biggest steal in baseball history.
 

AlNipper49

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Manny and Chris Davis for E-Rod, Brian Johnson, Henry Owens , jason Groome and Hanley Ramirez. Orioles kick in 20-30 million for Davis.

Move Manny to SS and trade XB or move him to 2B, and Pedey can DH to save his knees.

Manny may hate us but he loves Fenway and gets to face Orioles pitching 19 times a year in preparation for Free Agency

Edit added Groome
We should definitely include Ryan Mallet in this trade of the negotiations get tough
 

bosockboy

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Letting all these strong RH relievers just fall off the board is a bit unnerving. Joe Smith in particular, who has held Sanchez/Judge/Stanton to 0-13.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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Letting all these strong RH relievers just fall off the board is a bit unnerving. Joe Smith in particular, who has held Sanchez/Judge/Stanton to 0-13.
Are the Sox hurting for RH relievers? Kimbrel, Smith, Kelly, Barnes, Thornburg, Hembree, Workman, Maddox...that's a long and solid list.

Where the Sox should be shopping for relievers is in the lefty aisle. After Scott and Jerez, their lefty relief depth relies on converting starters like Johnson, Elias, and Beeks.
 

Snodgrass'Muff

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Pretty sure they have the worst system in baseball not counting Ohtani.
Not even close (even if we ignore Ohtani). Off the top of my head I'd say the Marlins are easily worse. Red Sox probably are too. They'll probably end up in the 20-25 range somewhere, actually. Jahmai Jones, Joe Adell, Kevin Maitan and Livan Soto (the last two were added after the Braves lost them) will keep them away from the bottom of the rankings.

Edit: And with a quick glance, the Cubs also don't appear to have any prospects in MLB's top 100 right now. And while that hasn't been updated for the winter yet, that doesn't bode well for them.
 
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sean1562

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0 for 13 does not feel like a meaningful sample size. I doubt Ellsbury agrees to go anywhere, that is why he got the ntc in the first place.
 

Snodgrass'Muff

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0 for 13 does not feel like a meaningful sample size. I doubt Ellsbury agrees to go anywhere, that is why he got the ntc in the first place.
Ellsbury has a $21M club option in 2021. If he agrees to waive the NTC, it'll be because the acquiring team agreed to pick it up. I'm not sure that that makes it any more likely he'll be moving, though.
 

Bob Montgomerys Helmet Hat

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Ellsbury has a $21M club option in 2021. If he agrees to waive the NTC, it'll be because the acquiring team agreed to pick it up. I'm not sure that that makes it any more likely he'll be moving, though.
If the MFYs decided to just eat the money and cut Ellsbury, does that club option automatically kick in?
 

billy ashley

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Padres are rumored to be the front runner for Eric Hosmer.


Count me among those who think Hosmer is a landmine this off-season. He's not a bad hitter, and there are reasons to be optimistic about him (exit velocity) but the ground ball rates and historical performance make him seem a lot more like a complementary piece on a good team rather than someone you'd want to sink a bunch of money into.

If the Pads do land him, I wonder what that means for Wil Myers who others have speculated about, here.

Myers has been around forever and apart from 16 hasn't ever cashed in on all of the potential that made him a top 5 prospect back in the day, but he only just turned 27 and his ability to play the OF and first base would be nice in terms of flexibility.
 

Yaz4Ever

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As I've mentioned previously, I know Wil Myers ... he's a huge Sox fan and would've loved to be drafted by them. Not that that has anything to do with his being traded here, but he'd be VERY receptive to it, as would many of us.
 

billy ashley

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FWIW, Streamer has Myers down for a 113 wRC+ next season. That would have made him one around Mookie Betts in 2017.

Given his age, that's probably a good projection, and there's probably still a small chance he breaks out. Guy looked like a star coming up but injuries early on seemed to have derailed that.

Also Big New: Felix Doubront is off the table. Going to Korea. Sorry guys.