March 23: The Red Sox have formally announced the signing of Story to a six-year contract.
March 20: The Red Sox are in agreement with Trevor Story on a six year, $140MM contract. After the fourth year, 2025, Story can opt out of the final two years of the deal. However, Boston can negate that opt-out by picking up a seventh year option for $25MM, or pay a $5MM buyout. If they were to exercise that option, it would add $20MM to the deal, effectively making it a seven-year, $160MM arrangement. Story will not have any no-trade protection as part of the contract. Story is a client of Excel Sports Management.
Story will take over at second base with Xander Bogaerts staying on as the team’s shortstop, per Jim Bowden of The Athletic. Red Sox manager Alex Cora has confirmed that plan, per Marly Rivera of ESPN.
It had been a fairly quiet offseason for the Red Sox up to this point, with the club mostly focused on its pitching staff, adding veterans like Rich Hill, Michael Wacha and Jake Diekman. On the position player side of things, they had only really subtracted since the offseason began, sending Hunter Renfroe to the Brewers for Jackie Bradley Jr. and prospects. Story, however, they have certainly add a tremendous impact bat to their lineup.
After the departure of Troy Tulowitzki, Story took over the everyday shortstop job in Colorado and ran with it. Over the past six seasons, he has played in 745 games and hit 158 home runs, hitting an overall .272/.340/.523, for a wRC+ of 112. He also stole 100 bases and provided excellent defense, accruing 21.6 fWAR in that time.
In addition to helping out the Red Sox this year, the addition of Story makes sense from a long-term view. Xander Bogaerts can opt out of the remainder of his contract at the end of this season, when he will have three years and $60MM left on it, something he seems likely to do. If that should come to pass, they could already have his replacement on the roster. As noted above, the plan for this season is to keep Bogaerts at short and have Story play second, moving Enrique Hernandez to regular outfield duty. Story missed some of last year’s season with an injury to his throwing elbow, and some scouts expressed the belief that he would be best utilized at second base due to that injury impacting his throwing arm. Boston will now have at least one year to see if Story’s arm can rebound in any way before deciding how to proceed beyond 2022.
Although the writing has seemed to be on the wall for quite some time now, this officially ends the Trevor Story era in Colorado. Much like with Nolan Arenado before him, there seemed to be a falling out between the club and their marquee player. Last year, as Story was headed into free agency and the club not in contention, he seemed like an obvious candidate to be traded to a contender. However, the deadline came and went without a deal coming to fruition, something that left Story confused. “I don’t have really anything good to say about the situation and how it unfolded,” Story said in the immediate aftermath of the deadline. During the offseason, there didn’t seem to be any belief that a reunion was in the cards. The club apparently offered him more than the $140MM he got from the Red Sox, with Story preferring his chances of competing in Boston, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network. Between Story and Tulowitzki, the shortstop position in Colorado has been spoken for since 2006. For now, it seems like Jose Iglesias will be taking over, as he signed with the club a week ago. Since the club made a qualifying offer that Story rejected, they will receive a compensatory draft pick after the first round. The Red Sox forfeit their second-highest pick and and will have their international signing bonus pool reduced by $500K.
This deal also closes the book on this year’s mega class of free agent shortstops, which featured Story, Carlos Correa, Corey Seager, Javier Baez and Marcus Semien. Going into the offseason, it was expected by many that the Yankees would be prominent players in this market, given their penchant for high payrolls and obvious need at the position that has been apparent since Gleyber Torres was moved to second base last year. But reports emerged in November that they were considering sitting out the shortstop bidding, content to acquire a stopgap solution as they wait for either of Oswald Peraza or Anthony Volpe to graduate from prospects to big leaguers. That now seems to have been the case, as the club acquired glove-first shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa to man the position, while the big five shortstops all landed with surprising suitors. The rebuilding Rangers grabbed both Seager and Semien, while another rebuilding club, the Tigers, nabbed Baez. Correa shockingly lingered on the market before settling on a short-term deal with the Twins, a team not known for reeling in the top fish in free agency. Now Story has come off the board, landing on a team that didn’t have an obvious fit at the position.
Since Chaim Bloom left the small-market Rays and took over as Boston’s Chief Baseball Officer after the 2019 season, the club has been undergoing a sort of semi-rebuild process. It was a few months into his tenure that they traded Mookie Betts and David Price to the Dodgers as part of a process to strip down payroll, despite winning the World Series in 2018. On the heels of that trade, the club went 24-36 in the pandemic-shortened season, slipping beneath the lowly Orioles and into last place in the AL East. After some modest additions to the club, many went into 2021 expecting they would be unable to compete in such a strong division. However, they rallied for a 92-win season, just edging out the Blue Jays for a Wild Card berth, making it as far as the ALCS before falling to the Astros. On the heels of that surprise campaign, it seemed for the past few months that the club might again opt for only modest upgrades. Instead, the Fenway Faithful have the big splash that they were desperately hoping for, easily the biggest since Bloom took over, as the AL East figures to be a four-headed beast yet again.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today first reported that Boston and Story were in agreement, as well as the $140MM guarantee. (Twitter links) Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic was the first to report the six-year term. The fact that there was an unusual opt-out was first relayed by Jon Heyman of MLB Network. The fourth-year opt-out with the seventh-year option structure was first relayed by Joel Sherman of the New York Post. The $5MM buyout and $25MM salary for the final year were first relayed by Heyman. The lack of a no-trade clause was first reported by Sherman.
Best Screenname Ever
Noooo! This is un-Chaim. An .800 OPS in C’oors, not worth a pick, not worth the money.
Samuel
Thought he would go there.
If he doesn’t play SS for them later in 2022, he will in 2023. If Xander stays he moves to 2B.
P.S. Very like Chaim.
Best Screenname Ever
If someone told me Chaim was going to take $140MM, and a draft pick, and push all those chips in on a player, I would have said it’s not Trevor Story. Doesn’t move the needle. And Marcelo. I’m going back to bed.
deweybelongsinthehall
Where’s the money mentioned? He could end up hitting better. Less distance traveling to more away games and going to the best doubles park in the majors.
roiste
This totally moves the needle. Red Sox had one of if not the worst infield defenses in baseball last year. Story majorly upgrades that long-term while adding another impact bat to their already-solid lineup. As for Mayer, he’s still three years out, and by the time he is ready the Sox can move either him or Story to second base
dsett75
Dewey…..6 yrs at $140 with a complicated option. It’s updated now.
Best Screenname Ever
“Impact bat”. Last year Story slashed .203/.292./.426 away from Coors. Will definitely have an ‘impact’ but not sure it’s a good one.
deweybelongsinthehall
Update has it. You need a degree to understand it.
deweybelongsinthehall
Thanks.
deweybelongsinthehall
Unless your a lefty that strictly pulls (and not down the line), mostly everyone hits better in Fenway.
Poster formerly known as . . .
Screenname, he contended with an arm injury and a sour situation with the Rox front office last year. In the previous three years he had a 105 wRC+ on the road. Plus, he has 100 stolen bases. Also, Hernandez was one of the best defensive center fielders by OAA last year. This move makes a lot of sense.
all in the suit that you wear
Yes. He will be blocking Mayer and Yorke unless he moves to the outfield or becomes a very expensive utility guy. He shouldn’t block those two for two to three seasons. So, maybe not that big of a deal.
all in the suit that you wear
Roiste: Moving to 2B would block Nick Yorke.
VegasSDfan
Lol I believe he is on the downhill side of his career for sure
Superstar Prospect Wander Javier
Why are y’all worried about blocking guys who are more than 2 years away from the majors? They may never pan out as expected. Take it from me, a superstar prospect.
Bruin1012
Exactly you don’t worry about guys that are at least two years away. Story was a good signing and should show that Bloom will spend the dough when he needs to. The more I think about this signing I really like it. No one is blocking Mayer if he turns out to be as good as we all hope he will be the shortstop but that’s not happening for at least 2 years probably 3 maybe 4.
all in the suit that you wear
Wander: You’re right. I have high hopes for Yorke and Mayer is all. I think Bloom will figure it out.
Led Hoyer
Exactly! The prospect rankings are so fluid. Unless you are a consensus top 25 guy and on the cusp of the mlb, they don’t matter.
deweybelongsinthehall
Question to writer Darragh McDonald:. why say the asox edged the Jays which sounds like they took the final wild card? They tied with the Yankees and won the tie breaker. Such was important for the WC game.
RickEO
Lol
deweybelongsinthehall
All in the suit, why worry about the future when you don’t know if Bogaerts is here beyond 22? Mayer is years away and Yorke is not expected until next year if then? Nice problem to have. Suppose everyone returns (not realistic), look at the trade chips for a need or the future.
cthunder
Neither MaYer or Yorke will be the starter in the next two years.
Rsox
Yorke could be moved to 3B or Story could DH. Story could also opt-out in 4 years and make this moot anyway
all in the suit that you wear
Yes. I think Bloom will figure it out. I also think his last two first round picks (Mayer and Yorke) are a big part of his future plans and they play SS and 2B now. I doubt they want to move Mayer off SS. Can Yorke really play 3B? Wouldn’t his bat be more valuable at 2B? We will see Bloom’s plan eventually.
Bruin1012
Yorke doesn’t have the arm for third he might end up in left but he is at least over a year away and probably more like two. A lot can happen in that amount of time.
all in the suit that you wear
Bruin: Agreed and with the Red Sox resources, they can eat a lot of Story’s salary to move him, if needed, to clear a logjam toward the end of his contract.
bucketbrew35
Great STP track, very underrated.
jbigz12
Mayer is generously 3 years out. We’re talking about a guy with 100 Abs in rookie ball.
He could be moved off SS by the time he makes it to the big leagues. Who knows what he’s going to be.
But this may mean bogey isn’t going to come back. They may believe he’s going to get too much money next season & this gives them a suitable replacement. But this is the Red Sox and there’s no reason they can’t have both.
Michael Macaulay-Birks
I think it’s more likely than not Devers moves to DH
drasco036
Coors field, since the implementation of the humidor, has graded out mostly neutral in regards to home runs %.
However there are two big concerns with Story leaving Coors, first is his batting average which is expected to drop. Coors is a massive outfield and a lot of outs drop in it’s vastness.
The second big concern, at least for me, is that Story hits sinkers and change ups really well… problem is that balls do no break as significantly at Coors as they will in Boston so is he going to continue that trend of crushing change ups when they start dropping off the table?
The good news for Story is that he going to one of the hitter friendliest leagues, Yankees, Fenway, Toronto and Baltimore are notorious hitter friendly parks. so he should be able to smack the ball all around those stadiums.
Another bit of good news is that Story won’t have to deal with the altitude adjustments anymore. That should provide him with some stability in his home/away splits.
I expect Story to be in the .240-.250 range for his batting average with is on base falling to around .320. His doubles and triples will drop but his home runs should be around 35 per year, with the Red Sox line up, he should see some significant improvement in RBI’s while providing excellent defense at second.
kingbum
Now they can flip Bogey if they are out of it at the deadline for some pitching prospects….
all in the suit that you wear
BucketBrew: Yes. One of many underrated tracks.
all in the suit that you wear
jbigz: Agreed. I could see Mayer possibly moving to 3B some day.
17dizzy
Maybe the Cardinals can sign another MLB Wash out, who’s played in Korea for 2 years and Mozeliak will pass him off as the next Ozzie Smith!!!!
By the way—- John Mozeliak has written a new book!!! “How to sign 4 low hanging fruit players at a total of a combined $30 million yearly salary. To avoid buying one impact pitcher/hitter who can solidify the whole team!”
stymeedone
I can see where XB may stay. The payouts for those others was based on them playing SS in the future. There really won’t be a team where XB would would improve the defense at SS, next year. Assuming his 6 year deal is back loaded, and his next 3 years are around $25MM per, he is likely right at market value for a 2B or 3B already. If he opts out, Bloom won’t be bringing him back. Guess we will get to find out how much he likes playing in Boston
acell10
I don’t think that if Boegarts opts out it’s a forgone conclusion that he’s gone. His bat will still play and with JD coming off the books he could either shift to 3B in the future or DH depending on what happens with Devers etc.
nyy42
Fenway Park = Coors Field
smuzqwpdmx
If so, then there was no need to spend the money. Just sign a mediocre player and watch him hit like a superstar in Fenway.
Samuel
Maybe not mediocre to superstar, but Fenway made a star out of Rico Petrocelli.
dsett75
Guy’s a 30/30 player & Fenway, in the eyes of Sparky Anderson, is a kitty litter box, lol.
SaintChris
Some people said the same thing about Lemahieu, and he hit markedly BETTER after leaving Coors full time.
Jaa1968
He can hit anywhere . Good pickup
.
Angry Disgruntled Sox Fan
Yeah the Coors factor is easily overplayed. I remember the Matt Holliday days. Maybe not as good but still a perennial all star for the Cardinals and people complained then.
dsett75
I agree. Good hitters can hit anywhere.
Fever Pitch Guy
DJ is a lame comparison. His OPS at Coors is only 56 points higher than his overall OPS.
Story’s OPS is 109 points higher at Coors.
Big difference, obviously.
cthunder
What? I love this signing and the Red Sox now have a 1-2 punch at 2b and SS plus have insurance in case Bogaerts opts out.
Fever Pitch Guy
No love for the 3b punch?
Wilderness
You are so sure of everything but your ignorance.
RoastGobot
Giants continue to impress
Kayrall
What does this have to do with the Giants?
cubs2016
His point is because they haven’t done Jack genius
Ya'll a bunch of salty crybabies
She knows what he was saying, she’s just being a tool.
roiste
I liked their Rodon pickup
jekporkins
yeah, they haven’ t done jack… Just bought an entire pitching staff and added a power-hitting LH bat who could play some OF.
Carlos Rodón, LH SP (2 years, $44 million)
Anthony DeSclafani, RH SP (3 years, $36 million)
Alex Cobb, RH SP (2 years, $20 million)
Alex Wood, LH SP/RP (2 years, $25 million)
Jake Junis, RHP SP/RP (1 year, $1.7 million)
Joc Pederson, LH OF/1B (1 year, $6 million)
Bart Harley Jarvis
cub,
You missed the comma between ‘Jack’ and ‘genius’. Proper grammar is essential when dunking on someone. Please tighten it up. You can do this.
Jaa1968
2 out of 6 are worth what they are being paid. Giants like the Padres will be eating Dodger soup for years to come. San Francisco doesn’t excite much.
RoastGobot
Joc pederson lul what a joke. Lost Bryant and the best catcher in the game and replaced them with a guy that can’t hit left handed pitching, or right handed pitching for large stretch of last year. Huge hole in the infield. But luckily they have a bunch of guys who aren’t prone to injury like la Stella longoria flores… oh wait.
Giants continuing to impress
Franklin Souze
I concur- Giants have done sneaky well with appropriate roster additions focused on pitching.
Would like to have seen the addition of an Alpha Dog bat without shattering the budget, regardless, Hopefully Longo can stay in the lineup, Craw will duplicate last season performance, grit & leadership & YAZ will take a “Giant” step with his evolution…..
LOL – NL West is an extremely tough division ; provided these young men can stay reasonably healthy & in the lineup, injuries don’t dominate and one team doesn’t run away, ….I look forward to an entertaining &; fun season to be a real fan of the best game going and not a degenerate gambler / fantasy goober……or something..
I’m going to try to enjoy this season before the the masters begin their stupid ass rules changes.
TonyGwynnSD19
Giants fans here sound like Fools. A bunch of ‘B’ guys and a bunch of old guys and zero impact bats and these Homer fans are gonna scream “ Talent doesn’t matter” or “ We made it work last year “
Lol
What happened to “ just wait until the off-season, we have so much money to spend”
Giants fans don’t get it. Farhan Zaidi is a total CheapAsss . Giants fans thought when they brought him there that he was going to build something like the Los Angeles Dodgers . Haha . There is nothing here that remotely resembles anything the Andrew Friedman has built in LA
However, what it does clearly resemble is exactly what his old boss Billy Beane built in Oakland.
TonyGwynnSD19
@jekporkins LOL Zaidi spent his money on a bunch of at the Dollar Store
A bunch of ‘B’ guys . Third Tier FA’s and Rodon . A max injury prone guy who can’t stay on the field
jbigz12
Did the Giants get better than last season? Arguably, no. Lost Posey & Gausman but they didn’t tie up substantial resources or make any LT deals.
Zaidi is sharp & will add if things are going well. This was the most surprising team in baseball that I’ve seen in a long time last year. The window wasn’t really supposed to be open yet.
dsett75
Gobot…….. I’d take Sal Perez over Posey, but he is/was a great hitting catcher. And there aren’t many!
dsett75
Jbigz, they lost Posey, Gausman and Bryant. Granted, they didn’t have him for all but 2 months, but he did well while there.
JoeBrady
jbigz12
Did the Giants get better than last season? Arguably, no.
================================
This is the new age of GMs. I appreciate that guys like Zaidi & Bloom don’t panic and make rash deals just to get something done. It’s near-impossible to win 107 again, but they should make the playoffs, while continuing to build up the minors.
jbigz12
Bryant was 13% above league average offensively for SF.
That’s good but nothing super special. He was just “Kris Bryant” the name. Jorge Soler actually was much more impactful in ATL.
Posey is a really tough loss though. They won’t get anywhere near that type of production or leadership this year.
fred-3
Farhan came from Billy Beane and the A’s. It’s not surprising he doesn’t like spending money.
JoeBrady
I love the casual fans that think the GMs set the budget.
deweybelongsinthehall
Agreed and pruor to this deal, certain posters were saying worse about Bloom.
tstats
They don’t but there is some I fluency as Beane can go to ownership and just say I need less money than X guy and that influence is known to other owners who hire protégés of Beane
fred-3
@JoeBrady pretty sure the big market Giants have basically have an unlimited budget if Farhan wants to spend. He just, so far, has chosen not to.
JoeBrady
deweybelongsinthehall34 mins ago
Agreed and pruor to this deal, certain posters were saying worse about Bloom.
================================
The Red sox have both the smartest and stupidest fans in baseball. I mean, KD, 30 Parks, and AL34 are hopeless, but even Fever says Henry hired Bloom to to create a cheap payroll. How is it that ANYONE can think that’s true?
vtadave
I’m pretty sure if he had an “unlimited budget”, he’d spend it.
jmi1950
KD & Fever are trolls and should be ignored.
foppert
He said recently he has offered above $100m to both pitchers and positional players this off season. They just chose to go elsewhere. I think it’s cultural more than budgetary. If you want to play for the Giants, then you need to want to play for the Giants. Saying you want to play for the Giants and then insisting on them being the best offer financially isn’t going to get you there. I think they believe in the environment they provide for players and act accordingly.
Fever Pitch Guy
Joe – There’s been plenty of articles explaining Dombrowski was fired and Bloom was hired because Henry was furious about the 2019 team missing the playoffs despite having the highest payroll in MLB.
When Bloom was with Tampa, the budget-conscious Rays had decent success – don’t you agree? So with Henry hellbent on reducing payroll, who better to hire than someone with a proven track record of doing just that, plus the added bonus of taking him away from a division rival.
“How is it that ANYONE can think that’s true?”
Well Joe, why don’t you ask Tim.
jotcast.com/chat/mlb-trade-rumors-live-chat-with-t…
“Chaim Bloom is being very Chaim Bloom-ish. Dude was not hired to sign Carlos Correa and stuff like that.”
Fever Pitch Guy
jml – I won’t speak for KD as he can certainly speak for himself, but just because I’m not a Bloom asskisser doesn’t make me a “troll”. I’ve given him a fair amount of both praise and criticism, too bad you lack the maturity and intelligence to differentiate good decisions from bad ones. You probably don’t even realize it’s not Bloom who sets the budget.
And why are you trying to influence others to ignore me, when not even you yourself have muted me? Well I’ll save you the trouble, you’re muted.
JoeBrady
1-Did Tim say Bloom was here to cut payroll, or did Time say Bloom is not going to get involved with overpriced l/t deals?
2-How does anything he did with TB relevant to what he will do in Boston. I agree that he was successful in TB, and that it hopefully continues to be successful in Boston. But we have the capacity for a $230M+ payroll; TB doesn’t.
3-Again, read what you are writing. “So with Henry hellbent on reducing payroll”. How could you possibly believe that? Just read the news. We’ve already exceeded the CBT and aren’t likely finished yet.
If you are reading this article, and cannot acknowledge that we are over the cap, you cannot be helped. I’m serious. Ask someone (beside KD) if they think the RS are big spenders or not.
Fever Pitch Guy
Joe –
1) I think you’re the only person on the planet who has read that quote from Tim and yet STILL doesn’t think he believes Bloom was brought in to curb spending. Do you also think Dombrowski wasn’t brought in to spend – in money and prospects – his way to a championship?
2) “One of the things we observe, and I think we all observe, is first of all, there are teams that make the postseason with half the payroll the Red Sox have. Look at the success Oakland has had this year and the Milwaukee Brewers. ” – Tom Werner
3) Why do you keep pretending the current payroll is all Bloom’s doing?
FACT: Over $100M of this year’s player payroll is comprised of contracts that Bloom had NOTHING to do with.
Maybe you didn’t read what I wrote the other day. Xander could very well be soon traded. It’s a little too early to make assumptions about what the team payroll will be this season.
deweybelongsinthehall
JoeBrady;. you just half to laugh sometimes. Anyone understanding what it takes to build a team knew Mookie was gone before he removed his Sox uniform. Again though, Bloom’s time here ultimately will be measured by Duck Boat parades.
deweybelongsinthehall
Fever. there’s a difference between managing and cutting payroll. While they may seem like the same in the beginning, ownership knows you have to sometimes spend to get and again, Bloom got the flexibility to successfully move forward by restocking the minors.
JoeBrady
Mayne we should just agree on a couple of things.
1-Has Henry spent to the cap, or above, every year?
2-Are we currently over the cap?
3-This one calls for some speculation, but will this be the highest opening day payroll in the history of the RS?
And, just for fun, I’d make a tag bet that Bogaerts is still with us at, say 6/30. I’m not saying that we couldn’t trade off pieces at the deadline, if we are scuffling. That would simply be smart management
But I’d bet we have no near-term intention of trading Bogaerts.
JoeBrady
deweybelongsinthehall53 mins ago
Fever. there’s a difference between managing and cutting payroll.
==========================================
That’s it in a nutshell. I’ve seen since discussion boards became a real thing. A lot of fans equate spending with big names. If we spent $200M and signed Crawford, we were big spenders. But if we spent $200M, and were adding guys like Millar, Bellhorn, Mueller, etc., we were being cheap.
But there are facts, not opinions, that need to be acknowledged. We are currently over the limit, and have always been at or over the limit.
This idea that Henry is cutting payroll is way far afield.
Fever Pitch Guy
dewey – The cutting took place in 2020 and 2021.
In 2019 the Sox not only led MLB in payroll, but also went over the CBT threshold for the third straight year. It cost them over $25M in tax payments. And it cost them a 10-slot drop for their top pick in the 2019 draft.
Henry’s own words: “This year we need to be under the CBT. That is something we’ve known for more than a year now.”
Now answer this question honestly please, who do you think would be better at achieving that goal? Dombrowski or Bloom?
The answer is exactly why Dombrowski was fired and Bloom was hired. Bloom has the history of operating on a smaller budget, Dombrowski has the history of operating on a larger budget.
For the life of me I can’t believe anyone is actually disputing all these facts. It’s almost like Red Sox PR has infiltrated the MLBTR comments section.
Fever Pitch Guy
Joe – It is mindboggling to see you write “We have always been at or over the limit.”
The past two years, as most everybody knows, the Sox were UNDER the limit.
You’re right about this year, but that can quickly change. I still think there’s a decent chance Xander gets traded between now and the trade deadline, ESPECIALLY if the Sox fall out of contention by July. In fact if they fall out of contention, they could have a massive fire sale with so many players on the final year of their contract.
And you know what? As much as I like Xander, if they are out of contention in July I’d rather get a good return for him than let him walk for nothing. Same with JD.
Fever Pitch Guy
Joe – Henry has never had a problem with spending above the cap, as long as it produces a legit contender. The revenue generated by the 2017-2018 teams made the high payroll worth it, which is why Dombrowski got the okay from Henry to spend like crazy in 2019 too.
But I’m telling you, Henry was FURIOUS about 2019. That’s the main reason why he made the change from Dombrowski to Bloom.
Yes we are currently slightly over the cap. Let’s see what happens between now and the trade deadline.
Hard to find the opening day payroll figures for prior years, but I can say with certainty where they are at right now is lower than prior years’ final payroll figures.
Xander’s poor defense at SS and unwillingness to change positions makes him less desirable, so no chance the Sox give him a $180M extension. They are not gonna give him SS money to not play SS, and they’d be crazy to have Xander play SS over Story for more than one year.
The better question, who is worth keeping – Devers or Xander?
Devers is certainly the better hitter and weaker defender, and he’s 4 years younger than Xander.
If it comes down to Xander or Devers, I pick Devers.
JoeBrady
Fever Pitch Guy3 hours ago
Joe – It is mindboggling to see you write “We have always been at or over the limit.”
The past two years, as most everybody knows, the Sox were UNDER the limit.
======================================
One of the ways I know someone is lost is when they depend on being overly literal. When I say “at the cap”, 99% of the people will know that $209M is almost exactly the same level of spending as $211M. That one qualifies as over, and one qualifies as under, makes to different.
We weren’t a small payroll team in 2021. The Yankees weren’t a small spending team in 2021.
And don’t even try to pretend that you don’t know this.
JoeBrady
But I’m telling you, Henry was FURIOUS about 2019.
=========================================
And in what way does that have anything to do with Bloom? And in what way is this different than anyone else on the planet? Just because you didn’t like your breakfast this morning doesn’t mean you are never eating again. Just because the Yankees and Red Sox under the cap this year doesn’t make them small payroll teams.
But don’t take my word for it. Go to a game in KC and explain to them that the Yankees and the RS are low payroll teams. They’ll think you took a line drive off the noggin.
jmi1950
Joe — Fever and KD are trolls. They want you treat their BS as worthy of a response. That’s why I say “Ignore the trolls” is the only response that works.
kingbum
Bloom was brought in to make the team more efficient. That means figuring out where you can trim the budget fat and make room for acquisitions like Story without going drastically over the tax threshold. Ideally, you pay your stars but keep the budget low on everyone else because in theory they are replaceable. That is Bloom’s main job, to improve the minors so that they in the future won’t have to overpay for production if stars ask for too much. Henry wants to lower payroll but not at the cost of wins.
stymeedone
@kingbum
I agree, and while Story does have a significant price tag, Bloom is getting a better fielding SS at a lower price than XB will demand. This is actually a step towards holding down the payroll.
Bud Selig Fan
Farhan Zaidi is the smartest man in the room at the GM meetings with the possible exception of David Stearns. He seems to believe in financial flexibility & organizational development above long-term contracts given out to players in age-related declining performance years.
Samuel
@ Bud Selig Fan;
Welcome back!
Include Neander, Click, Anthopoulos, and Friedman along with Zaidi and Stearns.
It’s impossible to rank them against one another.
cwsOverhaul
No doubt. Yelich has been a rip roaring success since signing the extension.
Mikel Grady
Not even close . Jed Hoyer is the G.O.A.T.
Bud Selig Fan
Thank you Samuel. Just for kicks—
1.) David Stearns (admittedly prejudiced)
2.) Farhan Zaidi (probably number 1 if I wasn’t a Brewers fan)
3.) Beene/Forst (the legend and his pupil)
4.) Bloom (Going to make Boston a monstrous powerhouse)
5.) Neander (unfortunately left a ton)
6.) Antonetti (love his guts to re-tool on the fly and avoid the tank)
7.) Shapiro (two for two)
8.) Hazen (great job until his wife got sick)
9.) Friedman (lost his discipline with the market size largesse)
10.) Click (Luhnow left a ton)
When Stearns goes to the Mets, Neander or Forst to the Yankees, Neander or Forst to the Phillies, the game will become so dominated by the behemoths i’m hoping it finally forces the massive changes this game needs for competitive-balance and the game to survive long-term.
Can’t just keep adding playoff teams with a 162 game season to lessen the dominance.
fred-3
Don’t know how you can rate all those guys above Freidman, who is basically the godfather of the modern MLB GM. Also, where’s Anthopoulos?
Bud Selig Fan
I already gave my reason for Friedman’s ranking. Anthopoulus was left a ton as well, and I can’t get the Smyly contract out of my mind.
Samuel
@Bud Selig Fan;
Interesting…..
Am watching Friedman. LA may have gotten to him. If so, it’s understandable, he’s human (I lived there for 25 years).
Respect Billy Beane, but not a big fan. Believe his teams have won one playoff series in his career.
Chiam I like a lot. He’s migrating the Red Sox to a position they can base from in the future (they will not continue to have a defense like the one they had last year).
Antonetti and Shapiro I’m waiting a bit on. I consider them a half-step down from the elite group. But they may well be up there.
Click has been keeping the ball rolling. I love what he and the owner did holding the line on Correa. Let’s watch.
It’s not just the moves those people make. It’s having an organization that can target players to bring in, then coach them up to play a productive role in being a part of a winning team….all the while staying within the budgets they have and trying for sustainable contention as MLB is a playoff league and teams have to keep knocking at the door until it breaks down.
You left off AA. I’m incredibly impressed at how he remained patient and measured in his moves coming out of the rebuild. The anti-Epstein / White Sox.
Bud Selig Fan
AA learned from his mistakes, and they were many, when he was at Toronto, and I’m sure learned a lot from Friedman/Zaidi when with the Dodgers, but I’m not sold on him yet (eliteness) with Atlanta, having been left as much as any GM I can remember when taking over an organization.
Shapiro/Antonetti get extra points from me for creating the pitching development system they have over the length of time especially.
phnxdark23
This list is terrible. What is your criteria, inability to win a championship? Anyone who think Beane is a legend and Friedman “lost his discipline” when he actually WON A CHAMPIONSHIP and went to 3 WS in a row, clearly does not have any idea how to judge a GM.
Bud Selig Fan
Friedman’s signing of Bauer is an example of his waning discipline. Due-diligence on Bauers past seemed to be skipped. Panic signing.
Embarrassing payroll size. He’s smarter than that. Still in the top third of executives.
802Ghost
Not sure how you can have a top-10 GM list w/ out AA on it. Even w/ the Smyly deal last year, which to be honest, obviously didn’t really hurt Atlanta.
Plus, there really isn’t any bad 1 year deals.
phnxdark23
Friedman is the #1 executive in baseball by virtually any measure, regardless of a signing or two you can cherry pick as being bad.
And AA took a team that had its previous GM kicked out of baseball forever in the middle of a rebuild, and through his savvy turned them into a WS winner in under 5 years without any massive signings. But maybe one day he’ll sell you on his ability to be better! Based on your current list, all he has to do is refuse to sign free agent contacts and never win the big one again. I believe in you, AA!
Bud Selig Fan
I might very well be underrating AA, but there are a lot of excellent head of baseball ops out there that are more impressive to me given their resources.
The only measure Friedman is #1 in is executive pay.
stymeedone
I agree. Al Avila should get an honorable mention for the way he has revamped scouting and development to rebuild the Tigers farm and has been cautious with his long term FA signings. OOOOHHH! you meant the other AA, in Atlanta.
Astros2017&22Champs
Billy beane has never had money to spend. Big difference
Samuel
@ Astros2017Champs;
No worse than Tampa, Cleveland or Milwaukee – but they made to the WS.
Jaa1968
And yet he stays in Oakland , May as well go to Pittsburgh where just like Oakland they exist to trade everyone good. They have no desire to win it all.
Samuel
Pirates are a team I’m excited about. Cherington is doing everything right. I believe they will begin to surface as a power in the next 2-4 years.
Bud Selig Fan
Jeff Luhnow, who I detest as a human, tanked longer than any large, mid-market team ever should have been allowed to lose on purpose. With that said there’s no denying his brilliance and especially his amazing hires.
Just hard for me to get over the damage done to the integrity of the game by that organization and it started with the owner of that team. His non-apology, apology? spoke volumes of his personal integrity as well.
Samuel
@ Bud Selig Fan;
Disagree there as well……
If one looks at it that way, yes, Luhnow “tanked” for years. But what he was doing was not only scouting and drafting. He was building a revolutionary state-of-the-art organizational infrastructure. He brought in department heads and they subsequently brought in employees that learned how to use technology to analyze individual players games, and rework their approaches and mechanics to be productive. That took years to do. Additionally he understood the concept of constantly fueling the farm system to assure there was a pipeline of young cheap productive players coming up that could take slowly take ML roster spots while young veteran players took on more responsibility and the older players demanding excessive salaries could be let go or traded. This is how the Astros run to this day – sustainable contenders that made the WS last year. Yet they have solid young players on their 25-man that are slowly improving, as well as players in the minors being brought along. This is the same thing the Rays had been doing. Click came over and is continuing the practice.
–
Epstein tanked for just as long a time, and people consider him some sort of genius / living legend. Then he did the old Yankees-Red Sox thing of throwing money in the form of long-term contracts to FA’s as well as trading some of his better young prospects for pricy ML veterans on teams that were having financial squeezes and could no longer afford them. It took a while for the Cubs to bottom out and they’ve been in a rebuild of some sort. Epstein never built an infrastructure – he kept firing pitching coaches each year because he didn’t understand how to bring along pitchers so he never oversaw a process and department created to do it.
–
Elias has had 3 years in Baltimore. He’ll need a few more. Stearns learned what he had to do from working in Luhnow’s organization, Luhnow’s legacy and influence is all over MLB.
If I owned a backwards organization such as the Reds or Yankees, I’d being Luhnow in as a consultant to do an evaluation of my organization and list what needs to be done. I’d ask him for recommendations on some people to hire to get that in place, and put him on a retainer to be a sounding board for the people brought in. I don’t believe he’ll ever run an MLB organization again, but the man can be of immense value in squaring away a badly run organization in today’s MLB.
Bud Selig Fan
Good points Samuel. I believe Luhnow’s tank was longer than Epstein’s by a couple of years, but still I abhor the long tank, and especially from larger, mid-market clubs like Houston, or large-revenue teams like the Cubbies.
The temporary brain-damage inflicted upon some of these fan bases when FO’s are purposely losing games is unnecessary imo, when the money is there to support well above league average payrolls.
Agree David Stearns likely learned a lot working under Luhnow, but also spent time with Shapiro/Antonetti at Cleveland as well. Stearns could have tanked when he first took over MKE after coming over from Houston, but chose not to.
theo2016
He is part owner now.
jbigz12
3/135 is not a bad price for Correa. That Astros team is infinitely better with him at SS rather than Jeremy Peña. It’s probably a 1 year deal since he has opt outs. Would’ve looked a lot better in Houston. That will prove to be an error by Click
Letting him walk if Correa got the Corey Seager deal would’ve been very smart. Not so much on the one he got. That’s a huge loss.
goob
Offered Bryce Harper $300M.
Joseph Gonzalez
If the Red Sox are going to do this for their sake it better be a short term deal
HBan22
That’s exactly what I said. Not a fan at all of this contract. The Sox have a ton of great young infield prospects who are getting closer to graduating to the majors. They should have spent this money on pitching, plain and simple.
cthunder
And what pitching should they have invested in? Mayer is 3 years away and Yorke is also 3-4 years away. The contract is perfect and is protection in case Bogaerts opts out.
bobtillman
Well, they had to something. It was looking like they’d be closer to the Orioles than the big 3. How does it play out (re: Xander, especially)? TBD.
Best Screenname Ever
If this means X is more likely to leave it’s the worst deal since….
https://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/olympics-fourth-place-medal/-loser-keeps-bieber–billboard-gets-sad-and-hilarious-update-after-team-usa-loss-003904934.html
deweybelongsinthehall
It’s called protecting your team short and long term. I’m assuming opt outs are in this deal too
Kevin 23
Did you ever stop and think and that Bogaerts moves to 3B next year and Devers moves to DH? This deal has NO effect on Bogey’s future in Boston, if he wants to stay they will find a place for him to play!
Bruin1012
I don’t think that Bogey will move to third. He played third when he first came up and it didn’t go well for him he just didn’t look comfortable maybe he can do it but I think 2nd might be a better long term fit.
Stevil
Hernandez in CF, Story at 2B, Arroyo in reserve.
Michael Macaulay-Birks
Hopefully no more than a three-year deal but he can help right now
Sheep8
The story will unfold soon
dsett75
6 with a complicated option. $140. So same as Baez got.
jbigz12
This would’ve been a better deal for the Tigers than what Baez got. Story is locked in for at least 4 years.
That makes more sense given their window. Baez can opt out in 2 years.
scarfish
Gross
downsr30
Yuck. I don’t like the fit here. I don’t see him making that lineup much better. He’s not the same player away from Coors.
roiste
Every single Rockies hitter has home/away splits like Story’s. It doesn’t affect their performance with new teams.
Randomuser4567
Yes it does… Arenado’s wRC+ was down 15 points…
roiste
His wRC+ was 113 compared to a career average of 118 this year. That’s a negligible difference.
brodie-bruce
also Arenado went to a more pitcher friendly park, as a cards fan i expected a bit of a drop off in nolan’s off. numbers but figured his d and just scariness of a hitter would make up for it. as for story i was hoping my birds would of picked him up because the dejong experiment is a fail, story might not be hitting in col anymore but hitting in the ale is just as good, other than maybe tb every park in the ale is a hitters park.
dsett75
Fenway is pretty close to a hitter probably. Or as close as they’ll get. And Story is a 30/30 threat.
garth16iorg
30 errors and 30 days on the DL?
phillip beasley
Has he ever spent 30 days on the DL ?
jeffsueu
Similar to Dodger Move vis a vi Trea T and Seager?
Fire Krall
100%agree..Turner and seager just to different of a player. Trea doesnt have the wow factor. Now LA has a log jam of Muncy Beli Freeman 1B. Yeah there’s s DH now but I don’t see enough ABs.
throw in Taylor, Justin Turner(DH) and Lutz. just feels to cramped. Sure LA is by far the best lineup in baseball. How long till this backfires or drama from not getting enough ABs?
I guess someone will end up on the DL. Injuries happen. With that much depth what else could go wrong??
toptimrubies
Bellinger is an OF and Muncy will play 2B.
sdbaseballguy
Taylor, Pollock will split time in LF, Lux will fill in at 2b, and numerous others will fill in at 3rd when Turner needs rest. No logjam at all.
cthunder
Taylor played 46 games at 2B, Munch 39 games and 122 st 1B. Freeman to 1B, Taylor to 2B and Muncy to DH/utility – except SS.
braves2
acuna
ozuna
rosario
riley
olson
duvall
darnud
swanson
albies
all disagree
You Can Put It In The Books
Acuna is a big assumption
tstats
As is Rosario and dArnud and Duvall…
Jaa1968
Scary lineup but so is Philly. Pitching will win that division as it always does. Atlanta has the depth.
davidk1979
Nightengale is always wrong though
ac106
This guy will be a disaster in Boston.
kenphelpsformvp
this deal comes with considerable risk. not a very good walk year and only 1 year away from 30. now he changes leagues to boot which could easily affect performance.. how soon before he stops running and starts hitting 240-250 as his standard. can’t rule out year 1 of a 6 yr deal
goob
Yeah, and not only is he only 1 year away from 30, he’s only 2 years away from 31!
Can you even imagine how old this guy’s gonna be 3 years from now!? Wait, I got it – he’ll be 8 years younger than 40! 🙂
kenphelpsformvp
let me spell it out for you. most major leagues decline after that age.. and most of the time it’s not pretty.. also, most hitters decline moving away from coors as well. and story already has measurables stating that,
SonnySteele
What do Astros and Yankees fans have to say about this?
❤️ MuteButton
As an Astro fan – good! Competition is a good good thing for fans.
Joseph Gonzalez
It’s gonna feel odd not having Correa face us at the stadium and whatnot
goastros123
As an Astros fan, this isn’t good at all. Is Pena even ready?
Joseph Gonzalez
As a Yankee fan no issue. They are grooming peraza and volpe for shortstop but that’s been obvious for 2 years now
Samuel
Yankee fans complain about every player that doesn’t sign with them. And at the end of the year they complain about the players that did.
Perksy
So does every other team. That’s a part of sports.
Samuel
Yes Perksy, but that’s the only thing the Yankees or their fans can win a championship at.
MarlinsFanBase
@Samuel
What are you talking about? I’m sure the Yankees are happy every single day that think about how Jeter gifted them Stanton.
sfes
@MFB what happened with Jeter? You know if there’s any truth to the rumors that he wanted to sign Castellanos and they fought him on the money?
MarlinsFanBase
@sfes
You know, this is all pretty interesting considering that they now have signed Soler…and may still add more pieces.
To me, considering all of it, this may end up being a stain on Jeter…and be another case of great players make bad executives. Although I do love that we traded Stanton to the Yankees and all the boneheads that wanted to bash the Marlins pushed that whole “Jeter gifted Stanton to the Yankees” narrative.
Perhaps now is a good time to see if we can bring back Conine, Dawson and Perez? That would speak volumes if we did.
cthunder
Hold up, you think Jeter was wrong for wanting to sign a 30 year old Castellanos over a 30 year old Soler? A guy who had had one good season and got hot late in August through the post season who still hit .227. Versus a guy who has been consistent source of power and offense (.280 avg) for 6 straight years. And you can’t see why Meter eould be upset?
sfes
What? Who said that? I asked him if the rumors were accurate.
MarlinsFanBase
@cthunder
Who said that? Neither of us said that.
Jeter stated that the Marlins plans with spending changed on him, and insinuated (in the very least) that the Marlins were not going to spend any more money to improve the team. Fact.
Marlins signed Soler at a decent sized contract. Fact that contradicts Jeter’s statements on the way out the door.
As for the comparison, neither Castellanos or Soler fit our needs after we signed Garcia. We need a CF, not another corner OF. With that being the case, it makes more sense to spend $12 million for three years (with opt-outs every season) for a guy that doesn’t really fill a need than it is to spend $20 million for 5 years guaranteed for a guy that doesn’t really fill a need ($8 million more with no opt-out and 2 more years of commitment). I think that speaks for itself.
Again, still wondering where either of us said what you responded to.
cthunder
“To me, considering all of it, this may end up being a stain on Jeter…and be another case of great players make bad executives”
I was responding to this and while neither maybe and area of need, I would prefer Castellanos over Soler. Also, I thought We Last Cruz was the starting CFer?
MarlinsFanBase
@cthunder
First, de la Cruz can’t be the starting CF now that they have more bodies than they have positions.
As for the issue of Castellanos over Soler: While I can agree that Castellanos is a better overall bat, I wouldn’t put him as being worth $8 million more in AAV (75%) than Soler…and for at least 2 more years, which may be 4 if Soler has a big year that makes it worth opting out. For something that is not a need, why spend 75% ($8 million) more when there are more dire needs that can use that $8 million added to the budget to address?
With Jeter, this thing about Castellanos makes him look bad because he either was just spewing sour grapes or was indicating bad decision-making in his message indicating that the Marlins spending plans changed…with his gripe being he wanted Castellanos, but then we go sign Soler thus showing that there was no stop to spending. And it would look worse if the Marlins do add the more needed bullpen piece (say a trade for Lou Trivino or Kimbrel) along with Soler at a price that is comparable to the price of Castellanos. Which makes more sense?
ac106
They should be happy the Red Sox were so god damn stupid
Darryl Rose
Yankees fan here. At least the sox are rolling the dice. The Yankees are just rolling over.
Yankee Clipper
Darryl, I vehemently disagree with you. Hal is afraid rolling over costs money, so they’re staying very, very, very still.
Rangers29
CREDIT TO ITALK STUDIOS, MAN CALLED THIS TWO DAYS AGO
JeffreyChungus
RedSoxStats called it January 5, 2021
jakec77
I’m guessing similar to Correa in years and opt outs, but significantly less dollars.
jakec77
Well as of now they are reporting 6 years and nothing about opt outs. I was sort of right about the less dollars, but overall I’ll just grade my guess as incorrect.
dsett75
There’s a complicated option. 6/$140 though
Highest IQ
Yankees still better.
roiste
The Yankees have essentially treaded water this offseason. Donaldson is an upgrade over Gio, but they didn’t really do much else, and their offense from the catcher spot is horrifyingly bad
Samuel
The Yankees are waiting out the bad contracts they can’t move and are in rebuild mode.
Wake up.
Joe says...
IKF at SS > Torres as SS. And still have Torres. Rizzo > Voit.
NostraThomas
And Gary Sanchez is in Twinkie Town. Still probably need one more arm, though.
Yankee Clipper
Also, Donaldson > Gio, if we are being honest, in everything except durability that is. But now we have the depth to rest JD.
❤️ MuteButton
So who is switching positions? Fenway is a good park to hit in, and that should help him but the defensive alignment is puzzling. One of the two is moving to second obviously
dsett75
Story to 2B.
antsmith7
Xander is gone next year then
vtbaseball
Bye-bye Bogaerts…
deweybelongsinthehall
Lol. Xander has said he wants to stay but his deal is undervalued based on the new deals since last year. Such is why the 22 opt out was included. He likely would have required much more yearly AAV without it. I’m expecting Story to also have it but do I expect in 22 JDM, Xander, Eovaldi and Story to all be gone with Devers the year after? Of course not. Players want flexibility but teams need it also.
30 Parks
… from the Seager-to-Turner LA-playbook. I’m not pleased if I’m Bogaerts.
admiral hopppaaa
It’s a little different, Seager was going to be a free agent whereas Bogaerts is signed but has opt outs. X is expected to exercise the opt out so it’s a protection move by the Sox
30 Parks
So, let’s say, “from the Seager-to-Turner LA-playbook.”
deweybelongsinthehall
Why? The contract terms will only help him. I would love to see what computer stats would say about Bogaerts’ defense if he played between a real third baseman and the same second baseman year in and year out. Love Devers except his glove and once Pedie got hurt, the must lead the majors in number of second baseman.
redsox for_life
Yess!! Now trade Duran and Down for Mota!
BrianBrian
trade for who?
BrianBrian
trade for who? Montas?
stymeedone
He meant Monta. He thinks that Boston only needs one of him.
bobtillman
Manny Mota
Gwynning
Baggy o’Mota
Rsox
As long as it’s not Jose
qbass187
Nice
Yanks2
I’m guessing it’s about 4 years for 100m. I watched highlights of Story and concluded he’s a beast. Great player, hits for power, average, and has great speed. Has tons of triples and stolen bases. Wish the Yankees got him. Can’t stand the abysmal Gleyber Torres for another season
JoeBrady
Like I’ve always said, it’s easier to get an honest assessment from a Yankee fan than a RS fan on these matters.
Yankee Clipper
I hope I’m wrong, and that’s my premise:
Cashman has erred in several ways, left a few vulnerabilities & watched as those weaknesses have been exposed to the planned defeat of our club perennially. That was until this year, when he had an opportunity, under the CBT to fill clear needs. He did that, to a degree. He compromised.
Story was available and {may} have put us in a position to have too many good middle infielders in 3 years – oooohhh boy, what a horrible problem.
Anyway, the worst possible outcome of Story’s FA was that he go to Boston (our likeliest competitor for the 3 spot) & kill us in-season & in the postseason. Plus, he’s one of the top defenders in all MLB & provides incredible speed in the base paths too.
Story is always underestimated because of his hitting away from Coors but they always ignore the fact he had *more* HRs away from Coors than at home, therefore, it won’t be a problem. Also, his worst year still puts him at a top-10 SS in MLB, easily!
So, I hope Cashman proves me wrong, Story tanks, & I realize why I never became a GM. But, if Story performs even on par he will be a formidable weapon, and Cashman hurt us twice: by losing an asset at a void; and allowing him to hurt us in the ALE.
Yanks2
Story is going to have a great few seasons with Boston. I still can’t believe the Yankees keep putting these underpeformming hyped prospects that are now in their 3rd or 4th season that still have proven nothing to justify themselves being on the roster despite one monster season. Sanchez, Voit, Severino, Torres, and Hicks are all examples.
Yankees should’ve gotten Correa, and if not, Seager or at least should have signed Story at the bare minimum. The one move Cashman made that was good recently was signing Cole, albeit that was in 2019 but still. They need to spend more and sign players that will put them over the top so they’re not first round exits in the division series year after year.
They should’ve been all in on Scherzer, Stroman, Story, Correa, etc. Hal doesn’t want to spend. He got one great pitcher in Gerrit Cole and the rest of the rotation are question marks. That isn’t building a dynasty to help win a championship
Superstar Prospect Wander Javier
Voit was not and is not a hyped prospect. The Yankees have either the 1st or 2nd highest payroll every year, but they just can’t spend enough to beat the Rays. Maybe throwing money at the problem isn’t the solution.
Yanks2
Yeah true and Hicks came from Minnesota but my point is that either through trades or homegrown talent it’s very rare (except in the case of Judge and more or less Stanton), that Yankee players don’t get injured or have continuously great seasons
Yankee Clipper
Yes, Yanks2, and that’s not to mention Harper, Machado, & several others that would be huge boosts to our club’s defense/offense, especially Harper because he’s a prodigious LH bat, even better than Freeman / Olson. We wouldn’t have needed an$325M RH-DH had we acquired Harper.
And, Realmuto’s contract doesn’t look so bad now. We could’ve been completely set at C with a top-3 catcher as well. It just keep going. If you look at our roster, they spent similar money on DJL as some of these guys, or close thereto anyway, so why not? It’s just a terrible, terrible use of enormous resources to gain minimal ground.
rundmc1981
Xander, ya suspect!
Joseph Gonzalez
So what happens to bogearts? Are the Sox going to let him walk ? Imo they shouldn’t (although I won’t complain if he leaves)
Yanks2
Bogaerts isn’t a free agent until 2026. I don’t see how they can just let him walk
Joseph Gonzalez
Why did I think he had less control left that than that ? Lol
iang2424
Pretty positive this is an opt out in his contract after this year.
Joseph Gonzalez
Maybe that’s what I was thinking of but forgot it was a opt out
soxfan1
He has an opt out after this coming year
dsett75
He’s opting out after the season though
Fire Krall
isn’t there a opt out?
RunDMC
Yes, there’s an opt out after 2022 that he’ll most likely take. He’ll make $20M/season through 2026 (includes a vesting option of 535 PA). He’ll be seeking 30-33M/season, even at age-30. It’ll be interesting how much he’s willing to sacrifice to stick at SS.
tstats
To the rangers to play SS seager to third next year! Genius
goob
He has an option to opt-out and it’s optional – although really it’s up to him.
Fg-3
It’s a good move…I really hope Volpe is the real deal for Yanks.. because we let 4 great ss slip through out stingy hands. This better work or adios Cashman
Yanks2
I’m skeptical as to if Volpe will pan out. See Torres, Sanchez, Severino for examples. All highly touted prospects that were supposed to be the next core four (including Judge) and 3 out of 4 of them have either been injured or below average baseball players. So it’s hard to tell lol
Fg-3
Lots of times we have stuck with these prospects that don’t pan out. Then you are in a situation like we are with Gleyber he’s got no worth.. we need a number 2 starter and we will get robbed in any trade just like Sonny gray for a what if pitcher. Yanks need to start spending again. We at least need a World Series appearance
Samuel
Your prospects are overpublicized. Your coaching staff at the ML level doesn’t bring players along. Your FO and owner are impatient and (like the fans) look to replace a guy as soon as he goes a little bad, unless they’re on a long-term contract where no other team will take it on.
Joseph Gonzalez
Every prospect is different my friend. You gotta play them and see if they succeed or not
Fg-3
I get it.. but this strategy has not worked for the Yanks for 12 years. To not even show up in a World Series since 2009 is not how the Yankee operate. Or actually it is how we are doing things. Under the new regime of ownership. I think we got used to being in the mix every year since 1996. But those days are long gone. I’m hoping Donaldson can light a fire under this team. And get them to be hungry to win not just to collect a paycheck
802Ghost
Hopefully Donaldson is still doing the routine he was doing in Atlanta to keep his calf’s healthy. It was some mix of a diet and stretching each day to help keep the issues away.
Otherwise, I don’t know if he’s going to be around enough to be the spark for the Yankees.
whyhayzee
I have mixed feelings about Volpe. He’s from about a mile or so from my backyard (near where Dr. And Ms. Jeter used to live) so I kind of root for him. A couple of his peers (top NJ HS hitters) were a little leery of his going in the first round, but he has acquitted himself well so far. Too early to tell but he could be legit.
dimelotitony
I said the same thing to family members Cashman is laying all his eggs on Volpe i think he will be a good MLB Player but not the hype that Cashman is trying to put on him to bypass in a year where you literally had your pickings from one of the best Shortstop Free Agent Class in history. The Yankees prospects are really good most of them what sucks is the Yankees front office if they are so good why not bring him up or others the Yankees don’t need to manipulate the system their window is closing and probably closed last year. My issue with Cashman is he stresses the importance of developing the minor leagues yet he freaking won’t give the kids the confidence to showcase their talent at the MLB Level because he wants to continue to bring in veterans after veterans. Under Cashman the young guys have all regressed with the exception of Judge but Cashman messed up Torres, he messed up D.Garcia, Florial and countless others they continue to want to stick analytics so far up the brains of these players that they are malfunctioning. Case in point Gary Sanchez was a good defensive catcher when they had Tony Pena & Joe Girardi then the Genius (Cashman) decided lets fire them and bring in an analytical catching instructor and make him stay low on one knee.
This is not a bad signing for the Red Sox because if Bogey leaves they have his replacement at Shortstop the Correa signing was a slap to the face of Cashman he got too cute in thinking he outsmarted his Twins counterpart and he still has D.Jeter’s ear because of the comments that Correa said about Jeter who is not even with the Yankees so now he put all his eggs on Volpe and he better pray that Volpe doesnt struggle in Double A because if he does and the Yankees dont make the playoffs he is good and thankfully and hopefully a new GM with no ties to the Yankees will go after Correa if he has a good year he will opt out.
stymeedone
punctuate much?
Yanks2
I think it’s more Hal’s fault than Cashman
Samuel
@ dimelotitony;
Baseball is not a one man sport. Volpe could be the next Honus Wagner but that won’t bring the Yankees a championship.
The ML team is old with few players having future upside. The ridiculous long-term contracts they have are unmovable unless they pay a part of the salary and add a decent player in trade. So they’re waiting those out while trying to build up the farm system. Meanwhile, they’re going to make the same mistake by (over)paying Judge whose production has gone steadily down for 3-4 years now.
Hal means well. Cashman is nowhere near not just the upper level of Baseball Ops heads, but even the next tier. The 2 of them are trying to play catch up to those that are talented and have worked hard for years. They’ve both been spoiled by being a part of a system that just threw money at players, and if they had a bad contract….so what….just throw more money at another player. (Which is what their fans are accustomed to doing as well.) That doesn’t work anymore. Opposing FO’s are too smart
Hal needs to step aside, hire a quality baseball person, and give him/her time to rebuild the entire Baseball Ops infrastructure and rethink their baseball philosophy.
Won’t happen.
Yankee Clipper
Not just that but there are those who already think that Volpe will need to move to 2B. How are we a win-now club if we have three critical vacancies?! Even if they’re the real deal, the SS prospects don’t help us win now or next year. That’s simply a stupid assessment.
Show me any team that’s won with a replacement level CF, SS & C starting at the same time for your season?
Mickey777
Wow! Now every team in the AL East (except possibly the Orioles) has made a move(s) to make themselves better except the Yankees.
Joseph Gonzalez
The Yankees Increased their lineup’s overall contact rate, upgraded at third and boosted the teams’s defense. While not sexy moves you can’t say they aren’t better. How much better remains to be seen of course
vivalosdoyers
This aging team is one year older and definitely not better.
Traffickers
Removing Sanchez from the field is worth 5 wins
Joseph Gonzalez
THIS !
dimelotitony
The Yankees replaced already a known defender at third base who is younger and salary wise cheaper for a veteran that although is a better hitter has a history of leg issues and therefore the trade makes no sense whatsoever, they got Rizzo that pushes them well above the second penalty so in reality with the addition by subtraction that you are stating they let go of Gary because they really don’t have a catching instructor that can teach to the strengths of the player and now they have to monitor the NYC mandate with Rizzo, Judge and others not being able to play in NY HOmes games. Volpe is a good player but not someone that holds you back from getting any of the shortstops that were available at the time again Yankees are banking on this kid but where in Cashman’s history have you seen the Yankees give a shot to their kids without shuffling them back and forth between majors and minors? What will happen if Volpe struggles mightily in double AA then what move him back down?
Joseph Gonzalez
Urshelas defense took a big drop last season
Led Hoyer
You are not going to know if Volpe is anything until the end of this year. Every year tcan’t miss 19-20 year olds miss. He’s probably 1.5 years away if he continues on his same trajectory. He struggles at higher levels probably 3.
Mickey777
@Joseph. Agree with everything you said above, except your conclusion. I don’t think they are better at this point.
They have improved in the areas you mentioned, but the offense is worse and unless Severino comes back the starting pitching is worse. They lost starters Kluber and Heaney. Heaney was admitted poor in his short time on the Yanks, but he ate up some innings and still could have developed into a helpful yet unspectacular starter. Dodgers couldn’t wait to sign him. Kluber also ate up innings and he and Heaney would have provided some badly needed experienced depth. Hope I’m wrong and you are right!!!
luckyh
Donaldson is an upgrade for sure.
whyhayzee
Nice story, happy ending.
RickEO
WOW. Phenomenal signing
Moneyballer
You may be the only one here who thinks so.
dombrowski
Does this indicate X to 3rd at some point?
Inside Out
Nope story to second and bogey leaves after this year because he is a bad shortstop.
JoeBrady
Pure guess is yes, but in 2023 after JD moves. We don’t really have any strong prospects at 3rd, and once/if Bogaerts gets re-signed, I don’t think he’ll be concerned about moving.
jmi1950
Dalbec to 3b — Casas to 1b — Devers to DH in 2023
One Bite Hotdog
WOAH WOAH WOAH.
PARK THE CAR. PUT IT IN REVERSE….
Macho King OG
Meh, Yankees are probably announcing a long term deal with Judge before the season starts and can hopefully sign another pitcher.
Randomuser4567
I think you have the wrong article
bhambrave
For some Yankees fans, every article is about the Yankees, either directly or indirectly.
Yankee Clipper
Well, baseball only exists because of the Yankees so…….
goob
Yeah, but it’s only because of existence, that the Yankees exist so….. 🙂
dsett75
There’s no pitching left……basically….except by trade.
JRiggs8
I don’t think this is how Story envisioned his off-season going and it will be interesting to see the terms. Obviously, Boston is a better team then the Rockies, but there are a lot of questions on this deal for both Boston and Story IMO. At least for Story he is outta CO. it was a lot of fun watching him play everyday… guess I will be a red Sox fan now?
bravesnation nc
Excel sports management strikes again.
Joseph Gonzalez
Oh wow it’s a 6 year 140 mill deal. Way more than I expected. If this is a opt out year I wonder if the Sox expect bogearts to use it. Did the Sox try to extend Xander before doing this as well ?
Zonedeads
Why would story switch to 2nd base when he’s better at ss than X
fivepoundbass
He has been a great SS, but he had throwing issues due to an injury last year. We’ll have to see what the arm looks like.
yewed
Besides Story’s arm issues Bogaerts basically said he’s a SS and will continue to play SS. So, that’s the end of Story….. at least right now.
JoeBrady
That’s the correct move. I’d like to have signed Suzuki, but this is about as good.
1-Need a #4 RH OF.
2-Maybe, just maybe, need a closer.
Dorothy_Mantooth
Kiki becomes their RH hitting OFer now. I’m still puzzled over the JBJ deal, unless they somehow saw a big decline coming from Renfroe. The prospects they got back in the deal aren’t enough to offset the difference in salaries and performance.
jmi1950
I think the plan was to sign Suzuki for RF and have Arroyo platoon with JBJ — Kike rotating 2b/CF. Now the platoon still works with JD in the OF vs LHP’s and Arroyo at DH or giving a regular IFer a day at DH.
JoeBrady
I think the thinking was that JBJ’s 2021 was an outlier. I’d bet (smallish) that JBJ has a higher WAR/$$$ than Starling Marte. Not a lot of true CFs out there.
Bruin1012
Joe I think JBJ plays right field this year with Kike in center. Right field is the tougher field to play in Fenway and besides Kike was elite defensively in center last year.
jmi1950
If JBJ plays RF and is platooned, he wins a gold glove. and his WAR /per PA will be off the charts.
Horace Fury
I read that Bloom likely figured that Renfroe had just had his career season at the plate in 2021, and with the defense being as weird as it was, Renfroe was at peak value for a move. I have no idea what they were really expecting from JBJ, but I think you are underestimating Binelas and Hamilton. This is not a repeat of bringing in Rosario and Potts. Binelas had killer power and was derailed from his expected first round selection in the draft by surgery to remove the hamate bone, which led to the usual unsteady recovery, but he slammed back last year in high A in his first pro season, which was only less than half a season, so he is just getting started.. Hamilton has ridiculous speed and enough natural ability to progress in the other tools.
acell10
I suspect that they view Renfroe’s year last year as an outlier.
yewed
Their OF defense got much better. Renfroe was great at throwing guys out but also lead the league in OF errors. Even with Renfroe’s year he was only had an OPS+ of 112. Sell high.
Bottom line is if they keep JBJ or release him they’re on the hook for about 18 million. Renfroe will approximately make the same and maybe even more.
Boston is will paying the same amount of money but now they have 2 prospects that may or may not pan out. This season may suffer a bit but it’s Bloom looking at the future of the organization.
Dustyslambchops23
Dang, did not expect Story to get that much.
Barkerboy
6 years and $140! Wow. Not Boras money for sure. Good player but pretty average outside of Colorado.
thatsright
Every Coors player does worse away from Coors. Playing in Coors makes it harder to play at sea level. Leaving Coors will fix that. Full time beast now.
budman3 2
Outside of Colorado doesn’t include the Green Monster.. As he increased his pull numbers last season it should be interesting to see how he approaches the wall.
Yankee Clipper
His expected HR stat is {38} @ Fenway… That’s not too shabby. Not quite as good as other ballparks, but certainly not bad by any stretch. This stat is based solely on BP dimensions, so takes wall distances and wall heights into accounts with the player’s HRs from ‘21 in this particular case.
Ezpkns34
Career OPS is over 200 points lower away from Coors. I wouldn’t have the highest hopes on this one
phantomofdb
That is a bizarre opt out clause
jakec77
Boy, how bad does that Lindor deal look now for the Mets? I thought it was a mistake when they signed him at the time, but I didn’t think it would end up this epically bad.
mlbnyyfan
Hopefully if the Yankees finish in 4th place it’s the wake up call they need. Right now either the Yankees don’t care about or the Yankees only care about making a profit. To all Yankees fans stop going to the games show your anger and frustration. Hurt the Yankees in the pockets and maybe Steinbrener will get angry as well and finally make changes.
Al Bundy 21
I get it that Yankee fans are upset after not signing any of the SS but if they believe Volpe is the real deal, they have to give him a chance. They can’t have everyone at every position have a $100 million contract. They don’t really need more offense. What they do need to do is get one of the A’s pitchers because that’s their biggest need. Torres at 2b is better than Torres at SS. If Hicks gives then ANYTHING is good. Not sure why where Story fit with the Yankees.
Mystery Team
He doesn’t fit in New York and was never an option there the Sox can have him and his below average numbers away from Coors. As a Yankee fan I’m not upset in any way that they didn’t get an over priced SS. I’d rather take my chances that one of the many SS prospects they have will pan out. Volpe, Peraza, Sweeney, and now Arias. One of them might just be good. I agree they need to get one of the A’s arms though preferably Montas.
Finlander
Problem is Montas will cost NY one of their SS prospects.
Story will hit just fine in AL East and he is a defensive upgrade, with last year being a bit of an outlier. It’ll be interesting to see if/how infield chemistry develops, with X knowing his probable replacement is across the bag from him.
Yankee Clipper
They paid Josh Donaldson Story money…who do you think would impact our club better?
And, I agree, IF we were to acquire pitching it would change the overall conversation, but it looks like $16M is all they’re spending in FA after getting under the CBT. If they finish 3 or 4 this year, they have to be the worst run club in MLB; why? Because they have the payroll to fill all positions with good players, they don’t/didn’t. They have too many of one type of player; too many of one position of player; none of another position(s) of player(s); & we seriously need to consider how good the Rays & Blue Jays will be.
Dorothy_Mantooth
Here’s what to expect from Trevor Story in 2022: .280, 40 doubles, 20 HRs, 20 Steals, 85 RBI and plus defense at the keystone. I think this deal ends up working out well for Boston, especially if Story opts out after year 4. The Sox have a ton of money coming off the books at the end of this season. Even by adding Story, they will have less than $100M committed to players in 2023, so Chaim has positioned the Sox well for next season to make wholesale changes where needed. I’m guessing that Xander will walk next season while Boston extends Devers, brings Kiki back and also reshapes their starting pitching. I’d much rather be in this position than where they Yankees are today with a bunch of long term deals on the books for players on the wrong side of 30. The future is bright in Boston.
While Story costs them their second highest draft pick, Boston won’t lose their replacement pick for Jud Fabian not signing last season so they’ll still have a Top 5 second rounder because of this. They will lose their standard second round pick which should be somewhere in the 65-75 range.
Bruin1012
They also gain one from the Tigers signing Eddie so they had it to play with they will still have two picks in the second round I believe.
yewed
I agree other than what Story’s numbers will look like this year. i don’t expect those numbers in his first season. Hopefully I’m wrong.
Boston is in a position they don’t find themselves in very often. Bloom basically has a blank canvas to paint this team going forward. Sale could be considered the only “bad contract” and even that isn’t cemented as of yet.
They do need to make sure they keep Devers to make this work.
Pedro Cerrano's Voodoo
I think the BA will be a bit lower than .280 but should be more like 30 HR.
bhambrave
I’m guessing the opt-out/RS option deal is that if X doesn’t opt-out, Story can. If he does, then RS have the option of keeping him at a higher rate.
Edit: Nevermind. Just saw the added details.
ac106
Red Sox will be looking to move this deal by the All
Star break in year 2
WrongM
“After four years, Story can opt out of the deal, but then Boston is allowed to negate the opt-out by picking up a seventh-year option and making it a seven-year, $160MM deal, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post.”
If there isn’t something more that hasn’t been reported yet, those are weird terms. The AAV of the main deal is $23.3M. So if Story wanted to bet on himself based on his performance in the first four years and go back on the free-agent market, the Red Sox could lock him back into the contract by giving him only 1 more year at a lower rate?
Tacoshells
Giants lose out again !!!
ovdpr009
This means that Xander is going next year, I don’t see RedSox retaining him next year.
stymeedone
Its not the Red Sox” option. Its Boegarts. The RS want him to stay at the contract signed. The RS no longer have incentive to pay overpay him, as his value diminishes at any other postition, and he should no longer be playing SS. They are honoring his past time by letting him stay at SS this year, to try to up his price in FA.. If he declines to Opt out, he will be at 2B or 3B in 2023.
luckyh
Here’s the Story…
Gwynning
Of an unretired Brady…
AL34
I stand corrected on Chaim Bloom. Maybe he is doing this so they have some type of semi leverage with Boggaerts. The only thing that scares me with Story is that he hits in Coors Field with the thin air.
Please pick up a good starting pitcher.
Samuel
LOL
Of course he’s using the leverage.
You think for one minute that Bogarts and Boras wouldn’t demand another $10m a year for him to stay in 2023?
acell10
I respect the fact that you are willing to admit when you’ve been wrong.
emax
Bahahahahaha 140/6
Soxs fans better hope there’s lots of club options in this deal
MafiaBass
I do not like this signing at all. I’m hoping to get proved wrong.
luckyh
I hated it, but hate it less once reading the terms. If he plays second base until X opts out, it’s fine. I hope Xander stays, but good insurance, and not horrible terms.
spitball
X ain’t goin anywhere. If this signing doesn’t work out well for the Sox, Story and his deal are very tradeable. 2 years from now X will be playing 2 nd, and Marcelo Mayer will be playing short. Unfortunately this takes at bats away from Christian Arroyo, but maybe he can learn to play the outfield? Fingers crossed!
ARC 2
If Story doesn’t work out he is not easily tradeable. If redsox don’t want his huge contract why would any other team want it? Redsox better hope he comes back into all star stats or they will regret spending all that money.
Samuel
@ spitball;
2 yrs is a long time to project players and prospects. But my guess is that Boras will find a desperate owner/FO that will overpay X, and while Bloom will not like losing his O and leadership, X’s defense combined with a yet even larger long-term contact would offset the leadership and D. That money can be put to better use.
Finlander
Boras will have Cashman on speed dial, unless Cash is faster with the phone call.
Samuel
Yes……
And then they can throw that $30m-plus multi-year contact on the pile with Stanton’s and the others.
LOL
Bobby boy
Or X could be traded .
phillyballers
Well he would be the 6th or 7th best 2B in the league stat wise, versus 4th or 5th at SS. Its 23M per year so idk why you guys are going all woe is me in Sox land acting like hes 35 yrs old.
spitball
It could also be that Arroyo becomes part of the trade for an Oakland pitcher, and we hear about that this afternoon.
mlbnyyfan
I didn’t want Story. I’m upset Yankees keeping and having Stanton and Judge is restricting them from getting a different maker either Scherzer, Freeman, etc.
vivalosdoyers
How about Cole? That contract won’t age well.
stymeedone
Oakland doesnt want anyone with less than 5 years of control coming back. Arroyo is not going anywhere.. Not even in a rumor.
Yankee Clipper
“ Arroyo is not going anywhere.. Not even in a rumor.”
I don’t know if you intended for this to read as funny as it did, but it cracked me up, man…lol. He’s not even going anywhere in a rumor!
Poster formerly known as . . .
Wow. You Sox fans need to step back from the ledge. This is a great signing for Boston.
Bogaerts is a fine player, but primarily as a hitter. Statcast Outs Above Average makes him the third-worst defensive shortstop since 2019 with -22 OAA, even worse — much worse — than Gleyber Torres. Like Torres, Xander will benefit from a move to second base, and so will the infield defense as a whole. Torres even hit better when he was relieved of the stress of playing a position he couldn’t handle.
Forget about the Coors splits. That narrative is so old and simplistic. Go look at Story’s spray chart: he’s going to love the Monstah.
For the second season in a row, Bloom outmanaged Cashman. Do you know who’s taxed with -7 OAA at short since 2019? Isiah Kiner-Falefa, whom Cashman is going to play out of position at short — just like he did Gleyber. Genius.
Poster formerly known as . . .
P.S.
I can’t believe Bloom is dumb enough to put Story at second and keep Bogaerts at short. I’ll believe that when I see it.
BTW, if it needs mentioning, Story is credited with +12 OAA at short since 2019.
Bruin1012
Bloom doesn’t put players at any positions that is Cora’s job.
Story is the better defensive shortstop I’m pretty sure we can all agree on that but Bogey is the incumbent but if Bogey wants to stay long term he is going to have to be fine with being a 2nd baseman after this year. I’m not sure if he is willing to do that but my guess if he gets his long term money it won’t matter. I’m hopeful that Bogey wants to stay but the reality is Bogey’s defense isn’t going to get better his range isn’t going to go up as he ages and if he wants to be paid like an elite offensive and defensive shortstop he’s gone.
Poster formerly known as . . .
Bloom doesn’t make acquisitions without considering where the player is going to play.
I agree with the rest of your post.
Bobby boy
X man would mope and be upset if he lost out @SS. Remember when they re-signsd Stephen Drew? X threw a fit.
dsett75
Story is at 2B because he had an arm injury that hurt his throws. Bogy is staying at SS.
Poster formerly known as . . .
Expect that to change then, when Story’s arm is 100%.
Finlander
Correct, now you’re on the same page.
acell10
someone want to do a wellness check on KD 17 and Fever Pitch Guy after this signing…
StPeteStingRays
They’re not allowed to be on their cellphones at Boston Market…
acell10
ah touche!
Bruin1012
Trevor Story is an excellent player he is a very strong defender and he has pop in that bat. This is a good signing by Bloom. This signing also indicates that Boston is not going to become Tampa North. I was beginning to worry that might be the case but this signing will put Boston right up to the Lux Tax line and as long as Boston keeps doing that everything will be fine. I think this will turn out to be a solid signing.
This Red Sox team looks pretty solid as well the outfield might be a little thin since JBJ is going to be a everyday player in right but at least the outfield defense is going to be excellent.
I don’t think this precludes the Red Sox from signing Bogey and I agree that if Bogey doesn’t opt out and signs a long term extension he won’t mind playing 2nd his range is better suited for 2nd anyway. No question that this signing strengthened the Red Sox team this year. Good signing Bloom!
yewed
I agree it was a good signing. Story should do well in Boston. HRs may go down but he’ll be able to take advantage of the wall. OF defense will more than solid and hopefully JBJ can hit at least league average.
Last week X said he’s the SS and that’s it. Story said he wouldn’t mind playing a different position for a year but he’s a SS. I agree Bogaerts is better suited for 2B but I don’t think he agrees right now. That’s the only issue I see with an extension.
From what I’ve seen Boston is still under the line by about 10 million. They still have some room to take on payroll if they choose.
jmi1950
2023 when JD leaves: Dalbec to 3b – Casas 1b, Devers DH,
2022 — Arroyo platoons with JBJ — JDM to OF vs LHP’s.
Bruin1012
Arroyo is going to be the super utility guy he can fill in at many positions. That alone makes this team stronger instead of counting on him as the everyday 2nd baseman.
JoeBrady
Bruin10128 mins ago
This signing also indicates that Boston is not going to become Tampa North.
===================================
That was never going to happen. That’s just something the haters came up with. Henry has spent up to, or beyond, 18 years in a row.
jvent
Good pickup for Boston, but that rotation is bad, with Rich Hill and Michael Wacha as the 3rd & 4th starters yuk
dsett75
Hill is good when healthy.
Bruin1012
I don’t think the rotation is really that bad. Sale, Eovaldi, Pivetta, Houck, Wacha, Whitlock, Hill and later in the year the Big Maple joins the mix. I wouldn’t call it the most durable rotation but it has the chance to be pretty solid. Wacha was really quite good in the last dozen games or so after changing his pitch mix. This rotation is relying quite heavily on Sale fronting it and if Sale and Evo go down well then it’s going to be a long year but you can say that about most teams if they lose there top 2.
brodie-bruce
the problem your going to have with wacha is his health, i loved him as a cardinal he had great stuff and gave you innings, but after the as game the wheels would fall off. if wacha figured out his stress fracture issues then he is a solid pick up for the rs.
Poundsy24
Bruin, I completely agree. There’s a lot of depth there to keep the rotation competitive every game of the year, plus a couple prospects that might be ready for a cameo if worse-case scenario hits with injuries. The upside is rather limited, but that’s okay with the lineup they have. Depth is super underrated and the Red Sox have it.
jmi1950
The key to the pitching is all of the bad innings pitched by Perez, Richards, Andriese, etc. Even E Rod –who could be great at times — had a 4.74 ERA being removed.
fred-3
Seems like the Red Sox bid against themselves
JoeBrady
Fred2 hours ago
Seems like the Red Sox bid against themselves
=====================================
I seriously doubt it. Houston was likely in all the way, and still have cash. I assumed that we’d lose out to them if they offered Story the same deal as they offered Correa.
stan lee the manly
Ooof that’s a lot of money for a guy with serious question marks with both health and ability outside of coors. Guess we will see how it plays out
uvmfiji
Why not just trade Boegarts
stymeedone
Not much value when he can opt out at seasons end, and he is not an upgrade defensively at SS for most teams. If you are looking for lottery tickets, sure.
yewed
He has a no trade clause so they would need his approval.
bcjd
Because he’s a tremendous hitter and a serviceable fielder at a team friendly price. They dont have a more cost effective solution to replace his production.
tedtheodorelogan
Nice job Farhan. I’m sure the shareholders appreciate your approach.
goastros123
Sad face.
rhswanzey
I’m stoked. 5+ win player baseline – includes 2020 if prorated to a third season. Well above 3 in a year playing through injury. Story’s gonna summon Larry Walker, and keep hitting away from Coors.
LordD99
Fenway is basically the Coors of the AL, so his offensive profile shouldn’t take much of a hit. Should be a solid signing if he maintains his plus glove transitioning to 2B and puts up a 110-115 OPS+.
Bobby boy
Boegaert’s days @SS are numbered. Perhaps he’s moved before the regular season.
notnamed
opt outs should be banned
Sky14
Teams could just not offer them. Should Team options be banned as well?
YankeesBleacherCreature
Great Job, Red Sox. At worst, this is $23M per for 7 years or a 4-year deal while Story is still in his prime-ish years. I think the fans will still be pretty happy if he opts-out after four. Cashman fail.
goastros123
Waiting for Ducky and Clipper. I’m sure they’re as disappointed as I am.
YankeesBleacherCreature
Hah… they’re going to have a field day. I simply don’t get going all-in on Volpe. If he develops into who they think he is, he can be traded for a top-line, young pitcher.
billysbballz
If Volpe develops why would you want them to trade Volpe?
There are chances teams take and it has worked out in the past when Gene Stick Michael held onto Jeter and Mariano. Obviously that was before your time and you appear to be an impatient uninformed fan of who knows what team but you seem to be in need of instant gratification and you also do not really understand that always signing top free agents doesn’t always make the most sense. I’m happy with the restructured lineup which I felt was Cashman downfall putting a top heavy power with strikeout outcome throughout the lineup never works especially in the playoffs. I’m also happy with the bullpen. I think what is missing is a real cfer who can play better defense than Hicks, put the ball in play, and run. We are also in need of one more mid rotation arm that can eat up innings but they are out there and the Yanks do not have to get fleeced by Oakland to trade for a Manea. Lastly if Higgy struggles we will need another catcher who can provide average offense and above average defense. Than you adjust during the season based on injuries and such.
YankeesBleacherCreature
My point is to have a good SS now like Story. If he ends up blocking Volpe, that wouldn’t be a bad thing and he becomes a blue chip for a trade in other areas in need. I grew up during the Mattingly era so I’m well aware of The Stick. (I’ve actually played poker with him a few times as he was a regular after his retirement in an Atlantic City casino game.) Mo was never a highly-regarded prospect. He was a failed starter who found his magical cutter by chance.
What I’m getting at is this is the New York fooking Yankees – the most valuable franchise in all of sports. Cowboys fans may disagree. What is the point of resetting their CBT. It’s almost misleading at this point taking a conservative budget approach and asking fans to stay patient when other teams in lesser markets are blowing past it? When Cashman stated SS is his top priority, nobody had IKF in mind as the answer. The Yankees should be a dominant team. Both Blue Jays and Red Sox have gotten better. The Rays are the Rays. This isn’t a knee-jerk reaction from me.
JoeBrady
billysbballz46 mins ago
If Volpe develops why would you want them to trade Volpe?
=================================
If I were the NYY, I’d be trying to develop Volpe. He looks like the real deal. But in retrospect, the Correa deal would’ve fit like a glove. And they could’ve could’ve offered Story something similar to the RS deal. 3 years + a 3-year option, heavily front-loaded.
YankeesBleacherCreature
@JoeBrady Exactly. I wouldn’t be so irked if Story wasn’t signed away by a division rival.
Bruin1012
Yankee Bleacher Volpe had an outstanding 2021 breakout season I liken much like Yorke’s breakout. They both were excellent in A ball and were promoted to high A and did real well there as well.
I don’t think that Volpe is the reason that the Yankees didn’t sign one of the other shortstops. He is only in high A so he is like Yorke more then a year away from the big leagues. Like Yorke his K rate also increased quite a bit on his promotion to high A. This was all in a year that pitching in the lower levels of the minors was behind the hitting. I’m short a guy in high A is not a reason to not sign a shortstop that is at least a year away and potentially 2 or 3. A lot can change.
I think the Yankees think that Peraza is going to be ready no later then middle of this year and that is why they didn’t go get one of the big available shortstops. They me be right Peraza would build the gap to Volpe if he continues develop. The jump to AA can be a big jump and the pitching that Volpe and Yorke will face will be a lot tougher there is also an argument that can be made that high A pitching will be better this year so let’s see how these guys adjust. Since Peraza has already well in AA and got his taste of AAA he is very close he is only 21 so I think he will be the near term shortstop especially if Chapman gets injured and Kiner has to play third.
YankeesBleacherCreature
@Bruin1012 You don’t have to sell me on Volpe. I didn’t want to trade him for Olson nor Chapman. I know his value.
My main gripe is the Yankees are smack in the middle of a win-now window. Gerritt Cole isn’t getting any younger and gaining mileage. Aaron Judge and Aroldis Chapman are in their walk years. I’ve been a supporter of Brian Cashman for a long time and rarely have anything negative to say about him. Cashman has always been pretty transparent with his public statements. However, it’s BS saying he will address SS as a top priority and then bring in IKF. I’m not assigning all the blame on him. This is partially ownerships’ doing or their lackthereof.
Bruin1012
The point I was trying to make you don’t worry about guys in High A. You don’t worry about blocking those guys if they are truly great they will force there way in somehow but you don’t not sign someone because you have a guy in the lower minors who might be great. The Red Sox have Mayer and Yorke a shortstop and a second baseman that are very promising like Volpe but in the lower minors. The difference is the Yankees have Peraza who is in AAA and is very close he is the reason imo that Cash didn’t get any of the big shortstops available. Unlike the Yankees the Red Sox don’t have a Peraza to help right away making the addition of Story an easier decision.
Yankee Clipper
Yes, this is *the* ultimate failure of the new NYY. It epitomizes their shortcomings. Not only did they:
1) Fail to fill 3 critical positions of need (CF, SS, C)
2) Lose out on a relatively market-friendly deal for a top-tier SS in said position
3) Lose out to said top player at said decent price at said key position so a division rival in direct competition for the same division place (WC ?) can use him against us for four years
4) Use the excuse we want to develop someone that, even if he (they ?) pan out will not help our club at all for at least two-to-three seasons when we are trying to win now (allegedly).
5) They paid the same AAV as Story is getting, for half the years of Story, to a 36-year-old player at a position we already had filled so we could get a guy half as good as Story in Story’s position
6) Completely blanked on two clear upgrades at 1B, to compensate for the lacking offense at the positions of need, to sign the cheapest LH option not named Voit
7) Never bothered filling catcher because: who needs those?
But they also were surpassed by the Miami Marlins in FA spending …… Yes, Hal has reached the pinnacle of success in his own mind. He spent less than almost every single MLB team in FA & it was still too much. This isn’t to even address we received an injured catcher & German is out until at least June with no plan on acquiring pitching.
If Story stays decent & Volpe/Peraza aren’t who the Yankees purport them to be, this is a catastrophic failure and they’ve blown their entire window of contention from 2017, when they were one win away.
goastros123
Looking at the playoffs contenders, the Astros and Yankees clearly had the worst off-season of the bunch. Neither team got significantly better. Mariners got Jesse Winker, Blue Jays got Matt Chapman, Red Sox got Story, Twins outsmarted Cashman, Braves upgraded got a younger talented first basemen, Dodgers signed Freeman, etc.
YankeesBleacherCreature
With rose-colored glasses on, JD adds 4.0 and IKF adds 2.5 WAR. That’s 6.5 wins.
Gio Urshela is worth 2.5 and Gary Sanchez is 2.0 WAR. That’s 4.5 wins.
So the Yankees added 2 wins with the trade. Story is arguably worth 3.5 – 5 WAR.
With Story on the Yankees, that difference is 1.5 – 3 wins added. Those wins matter greatly when it can determine the length of games played in a playoffs series along with homefield advantage. I can’t see a single reason why the Yankees didn’t ugrade SS when they have the resources to do so.
JoeBrady
I was thinking that maybe it was bad timing that they traded for IKF before Correa signed his 3-year deal. But in retrospect, they still should’ve signed Correa, even after IKF.
He’d need Hal’s permission, but if they added Correa for $105M/3+, then there infield is Rizzo/Torres/Correa/Donaldson, with DJ as the backup 1B/3B, and IKF as the backup 2B/3B and insurance against Torres crapping out and maybe #3 catcher.
If you had an infield like that, the idea of Gallo/Hicks taking turns in CF isn’t that bad.
goob
“tomorrow…tommorow…can’t wait for tomorrow…it’s only five years away…”
YankeesBleacherCreature
@JoeBrady Hell… I would’ve packaged IKF to Oakland for one of their pitchers and taken Elvis Andrus off their hands for lottery tickets.
RobM
@Clipper, #3 is key for me. Not only did they let a good player go at a reasonable price, they let him go to a division rival.
Rsox
Bad decision making has plagued the Yankees for a long time. It was just easier to cover up because George would just out spend everyone no matter what.
all in the suit that you wear
I think you nailed it, Clipper.
dasit
good summary. bloom has the red sox set up for years while the yankees’ window is slamming shut. i’ve been a cashman supporter but it’s time for a change
Yankee Clipper
Dasit: Over the years, I was a very big Cashman supporter. I was of the opinion he was one of the top GMs in the game, without question. The past few years I’ve decided differently. Mainly because the limits placed on his expenditures exposed weaknesses (big ones) in his roster construction. He’s decent & still is effective in certain areas.
But Hal has crippled the Yankees chances. For nearly the same amount, and not much more than he’s paying now, we could’ve had Bryce Harper, JT Realmuto, Trevor Story, Manny & Matt Olson instead of Stanton, Donaldson, IKF, Rizzo & DJL. Heck, even Rizzo would be fine in place of Olson if we already had Harper’s bat in the lineup.
But JTR @ C was a huge gaffe because he didn’t want to “overpay.” But instead completely sacrificed the C position on defense, and provided only modest returns (inconsistently) on offense. This also adversely affected pitching staffs too, and who knows the level of negative value it had in the playoffs?
Now, for additional money that we could put together from our “wasted” resource pile, we could’ve also had Machado at 3B. So, when people say we just want the top FA, why not? The Yankees are paying it anyway, just for people half as good.
Think: Harper, Story, Machado, & Realmuto? Wow, talk about a different team…..
Dr2022
Yes because they’re so phobic of long-term contracts , Which is their own fault because they offered them to players that never should have gotten them to begin with,they’d rather sign inferior players now to higher paying but shorter contracts, Because those are the only players that will take them after all.
Dr2022
Just yes.
kenphelpsformvp
the only thing critical that the nyy need is top tier starting pitching
beyou02215
Raise your hand if you predicted that Story’s contract would be bigger than Correa’s contract.
Otherwise, this is a fascinating signing. It will either go very well (at least early on) or be a gigantic misstep. It all depends on how Story’s game translates away from Coors to Fenway.
Bruin1012
On an annual basis it is not a bigger impact on the lux tax his impact is 35.1 million while Story’s is 23 million that’s a pretty big difference and let’s face it that’s all the big market clubs care about.
Bright Side
I’d rather have Story than Felaffa.
goob
I’d rather have a cheeseburger than a Felaffa.
Yankee Clipper
I have to agree with you both on this one
Bright Side
Rather have Story than Donaldson.
cndb41a
Remember Hanley Ramirez signing and playing out of position. Ugh
YankeesBleacherCreature
Hanley was never a good fielder. Story is.
Sox & Rizzo
Story is a way better athlete.
Rsox
By the time Hanley came back to Boston his best days were clearly behind him as the injuries piled up for him in Miami/LA. Also, the Sox didn’t know what to do with Hanley when they signed him, hence Farrell playing him in LF his first year, 1B his second year, and DH when Ortiz retired
Amanda
my favorite part is him saying ‘ i wanna leave the Rockies who are a horrendous, bad organization and go a team thats actually run right’ lol, smart move, thank god i dont live in Denver. Welcome to boston! you’ll have fun being on a team that actually cares. They remind me of the detriot lions, a complete disregard towards fans and never trying to improve and every season being ok being terrible hoping fans will be bored enough to still wanna go to games. I dont get Colorado’s games, i live on the east coast, do people even go?
goob
I might be mistaken but I think their average attendance is actually pretty decent.
Even when they suck, they win at home a lot – for, you know, reasons.
downeysoft42
No no your right. Look it up. They were SOMEHOW I think 6 or 7 in attendance last year. Not much going on in Denver in the summer I guess.
Led Hoyer
That ballpark and surrounding area is fantastic. It’s a pretty easy in out as well. I can see why they have a high attendance.
Angry Disgruntled Sox Fan
I was told in the past that a lot of Coors Field includes other fans in the division as well and not just Rockies.
Amanda
he ALSO chose here and not Houston, who actually needs a shortstop, makes ya think.
Stone Cold Steve Austin
He didn’t go to Houston because click has made it very clear he won’t offer contacts longer than 5 years. Don’t worry the astros will still beat the Red Sox in the playoffs just like last year
Jesus2
Ranked 31 defense.. 2nd dubious chaim move.. bogarts is ranked 37th, so where is the benefit ? ESSENCE of costly mediocrity! = 4th place! Maybe Cora magic can redeem the bonehead contract ?
Better with rookies …
Poster formerly known as . . .
He was injured last year. Over the previous four years he’s credited with 20 Outs Above Average.
Billy Rohr
Excellent deal. Go Red Sox!!
Viveleempireevil
They’re going with the Kid. Fair play to them. Worked with DJ. Who knows???
Chisox378
Isnt Conforto left?
Bruin1012
The more I think about this the more I really like this signing good job Bloom.
Poundsy24
Facts. Sure he Ks a lot and won’t be a .300 guy, but he’ll hit 30 HRs, get on base an okay amount and play good defense. Don’t mind the AAV considering the other SS signings and he’s young enough to make an impact late in his contract.
Ebouch25
Why are people worried about AVV? $23M AVV is relatively cheap for an above average player in this market.
Gwynning
Seems like a great signing/fit for both Beantown and Story. All I really know is I’m ecstatic to see Story leave the NLW!! Happy trails good sir, enjoy the ALE.
Mario93
Weird how Red Sox fans seem not to believe in their front office.. they weren’t even projected to contend last year and won 90 games, whatever the amount was. They’re rebuilding the farm while trying to stay competitive, judging by last years outcome it’s clearly working. They obviously have a plan.
JoeBrady
Mario931 hour ago
Weird how Red Sox fans seem not to believe in their front office.
==================================
That’s mostly KD, 30Parks, AL34, and Fever pitch. Even Georgia Sox fan toned down his negativity when he saw he was wrong.
acell10
are no where to be found today… and notice how the majority of those guys are no where to be found today
acell10
woah that post got wonky. what I meant to say was that a majority of those guys are no where to be found.
JoeBrady
I saw that as I was scrolling down and stand corrected. My apologies to AL34.
Angry Disgruntled Sox Fan
Not all are like that. I doubted Bloom in the beginning but have recently accepted his creativity. On a certain level, the Renfroe trade was smart to get back defense and prospects. Not sure if Bloom is done either.
acell10
agreed. I feel like people have a short memory. Renfroe was great last year but that might have been his peak and he was as bad if not worse than JBJ at the plate the previous two seasons.
JoeBrady
acell101 hour ago
agreed. I feel like people have a short memory. Renfroe was great last year but that might have been his peak and he was as bad if not worse than JBJ at the plate the previous two seasons.
============================================
That’s the difference sometimes. Bloom saw that Renfroe was undervalued and picked him up. Now that he reverted back to his norm, he is cashing in his chips. Same with JBJ, imo. He didn’t like him enough to match Milwaukee’s offer.
But one year later, with a significant mark-down, suddenly JBJ becomes a lot more attractive.
JoeBrady
I doubted Bloom in the beginning but have recently accepted his creativity.
==========================
That’s the difference between “perceived smart people” and regular folks. Most people are about average. The ones that look smart are the people that can recognize their mistakes. I thought hiring Tito was a big mistake. After 2004, I was okay, but still didn’t think that much of him. After 2005, I had no problem admitting I was wrong.
Yankeesniper
Well if there was a rinky-dink stadium that could negate his Coors field bias it would be the green monster of fenway.
He would have sucked playing at Yankee stadium.
Bruin1012
Pot meet kettle. Yankee stadium is a joke to right a complete joke.
Mario93
Some posters on here should try to take over a team, that’s forced to trade their best player, a depleted farm, and about to be in the tax penalty. Yet the new front office still managed to make the team a legit contender. You don’t win that many games as they did on accident.
bcjd
Well fellow Fenway faithful, we got the big splash many of you have been clamoring for. In terms of production, probably Story’s tenure with Boston will be more J.D. Drew than Stephen Drew, more Manny than Hanley. But time will tell.
What I really hope, though, is that this doesn’t mean the end of Bogaerts’ tenure in Boston. I hope it’s been clearly communicated to him that the Sox want him to remain a cornerstone for the rest of his career. I hope the Sox don’t let this commitment to Story cut into their budget for Bogaerts. And I hope Bogaerts believes them when they tell him that, and they show it when it’s time to talk dollars.
That’s not to say he should be signed at any cost. But let’s hope this doesn’t become a Jon Lester situation, where the front office deludes themselves into a lowball offer because they’ve got their eye on another player (Price) to take his place.
Prospectnvstr
bcjd:They already showed Xander Bogaerts that they were committed to him when they signed him to his last contract. The main question is: Will Xander “be committed” to the team & play out the contract that he ALREADY SIGNED or will he opt out to chase more MILLIONS of dollars. The choice is his & his alone.
bcjd
Nonsense. There’s nothing stopping the Sox from offering an extension with higher salary, or if he opts out, from participating in his FA market. He knows, and they know, that he’s currently getting paid well under market value. If they show him they’re serious, he’ll stay. He might even do it under market value again, but surely not as much as the current deal.
Yes, Xander could chose not to opt out. But it doesn’t mean that if he does he’s going to bolt out the door.
KyleT
Depends on if Xander is willing to move off of SS. Any extension will certainly have a prerequisite of a move to 3B or 2B for him. If they can agree on that and Xander is happy in Boston, no reason an extension cant be agreed upon.
bcjd
Mostly agree. I’m not sure Bogaerts will have to agree to a move. But it would help if he was ok with that.
I hope they can make it happen, and I hope this contract with Story isn’t an impediment. That’s all I’m saying.
triumph13
I hope it wouldn’t mean the end of Bogaerts’ tenure as well BCJD, but unless he doesn’t opt out – I can’t see how it couldn’t.
Or maybe I can see how it couldn’t…. But is it worth it?
bcjd
To me, having a player of his caliber play his whole career with the Red Sox is worth a lot. It’s worth more dollars than the exact equivalent free agent. I’m not sure exactly how many more dollars, but some.
JoeBrady
I agree. Folks like me grew up with Yaz. 24 years with the same team. Others have and Evans, Pedroia, Papi (not quite the same thing). But I think it’s the glue that binds the fans to the team.
I think that’s the issue with the Rays. They have to flip to be able to compete, but you need some life long players to develop a sense of loyalty.
downeysoft42
Bogie is my guy since I was 13 to 22 rn mans made me look forward to it every year just because of him.
bcjd
For me it was Dewey and Greenwell, and it would have been Clemens, if not for, well, you know.
And then it was Wakefield and Varitek, and then Papi and Pedey, and it should have been Lester.
It should have been Betts, and if it’s not Bogaerts next, it’ll hurt.
triumph13
Rice and Dewey for me. And I agree it’s worth a lot to have a quality guy like Xander spend his entire career in Boston… and they will have a lot of money coming off the books. I only asked about whether it’s worth it because honestly, I think it’s probably going to be only one of he or Devers in the next two years getting that big extension now.
Maybe it’s him, because if he’s extended he could probably play all infield positions adequately if need be… and with his bat that’s worthy of another 6/$150M or so. Or maybe it’s Devers who even as a DH in two years, is then still only 27 and maybe has a top 5 bat in the league too.
Or sign both within the next two years?
bcjd
I hope both, but Bogaerts strikes me as having the character to be a franchise player. Devers I’m not as sure about. Bogaerts is Papi to Devers’ Manny.
bcjd
Also, can we dispense with the silly Bloom is a cheapskate nonsense?
Like every GM, he has a budget. And the budget can go farther if it’s not being taxed high rates for repeated luxury tax excesses. So he had to dip below to make sure future dollars weren’t suffering from a multiplier. But if the asset is the right value, he’ll go over again when it’s called for.
Patience and perspective. This team will spend when it fits their vision, but won’t let themselves get stuck in a tar pit of massive bad contracts and high tax rates.
Yep it is
Interesting they pay all that $$$ and have really no pitching to speak of. Should be a fun season for runs
JoeBrady
Without looking, guess where the RS finished last year in Road ERA and Road OPSa?
Goose
I would rather have the Twins deal for Correa than the Red Sox deal with Story. He may be a good glove guy but his bat his slash line away from Coors for his career is: .241/.310/.448.
YourDreamGM
Who wouldn’t. Can’t believe other gms let that happen.
Sabermetric Acolyte
Eh, remember he’ll be hitting in Fenway. If he learns to use the Monster to his advantage then it won’t really matter.
Cosmo2
I don’t think that’s something many players can learn. Wade Boggs was one of a kind.
Yankeepride88
Yankees didn’t improve much this off-season. Our competition did. Hope we can make a run for 3rd place in AL East this year. Still can’t believe how high our payroll is and still feels like just an above average team.
YourDreamGM
Rizzo Gallo Donaldson Falefa seems like upgrades. Should contend for division.
Not impressed with rest of division moves compared to NY. Can’t even remember what rays even did.