MLBTR’s team-by-team look at the upcoming deadline continues with the Red Sox. There has been a lot of drama in Boston this year and it hasn't always been smooth sailing. However, a ten-game win streak just before the break has catapulted them into buyer position. The question now is how aggressive they will be in adding to the club ahead of the deadline. With a glut of outfielders, would they be willing to use that surplus to bolster another area of the roster?
Record: 53-45 (55.9% playoff probability, per FanGraphs)
For other entrants in this series, see this post.
Buy Mode
Potential needs: pitching, first base, backup catcher
The Sox have one elite pillar in their rotation, but it's questionable after that. Even that pillar comes with some degree of uncertainty. Garrett Crochet leads the club in starts and innings pitched, by a healthy margin in both cases. He has a 2.23 earned run average over 129 1/3 innings pitched.
Can he keep it up the rest of the way? In the early parts of his career, he was either hurt or working as a reliever. A move to the rotation last year worked out brilliantly, though the White Sox backed off his workload in the second half. He had 101 1/3 innings pitched through the end of June but then just 44 2/3 innings the rest of the way, finishing at 146 frames. Whether he can get that into the 200 range and still be effective in the postseason is something of an open question.
Even with Boston counting on Crochet to fill one playoff rotation spot, they would need more. Are Lucas Giolito and Brayan Bello viable candidates? Giolito has been trending in a positive direction lately. He missed all of 2024 due to elbow surgery and then a hamstring strain put him on the shelf for the first month of 2025. Through his first seven starts, he had a 6.42 ERA, 18% strikeout rate and 7.3% walk rate. In his most recent six outings: 0.70 ERA, 25.5% strikeout rate and 6.9% walk rate.
The Sox will have to decide if that's small sample noise or Giolito getting on track after years of struggles. From 2019 to 2021, he posted a 3.47 ERA with a 30.7% strikeout rate. But over 2022 and 2023, he had a 4.89 ERA and 25.5% strikeout rate. It would be great if he's back to his old self, but six starts is still a pretty small sample size.
It's a somewhat similar situation for Bello, who missed the first few weeks of the season due to a shoulder strain. Through eight starts, he had a 3.83 ERA, 16.1% strikeout rate and 12.2% walk rate. But in his seven most recent appearances, he has a 2.61 ERA, 19.7% strikeout rate and 5.8% walk rate.
The options beyond those three are not inspiring. Walker Buehler has a 6.12 ERA on the year. Tanner Houck had an 8.04 ERA before a flexor pronator strain sent him to the injured list. Richard Fitts has some passable numbers but just 12 big league starts under his belt. Hunter Dobbins and Kutter Crawford are done for the year. Kyle Harrison isn't doing especially well in the minors. Patrick Sandoval could be a factor later in the season, but he's still a question mark for now. He had UCL surgery just over a year ago and has yet to begin a rehab assignment.
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I hope Sox don’t trade any of their position players. It’s a “logjam”, but a good one that has helped them win 10 straight. Similarly, their pitching looks strong. Selling low on Duran or Houck, who were AllStars 1 year ago, makes no sense, nor does moving what I think is an underrated hitter in Yoshida if more than half his salary needs to be paid down. Wouldn’t mind a new back-up catcher or 1 more reliever if the cost is low, but really hope Sox mostly stand pat.
Duran has been good enough to warrant a large return but you’re right about houck.
bob – I agree with nearly all you said. Stand pat except upgrade on catcher and reliever. My only concern, can we rely on Buehler or Houck as the #5 pitcher? Seems like they really need one more depth option, if Houck turns it around he could always return to the pen as a long reliever.
Maybe the Sox can trade for Priester or Newcomb?
But really I wouldn’t make any decisions until July 28th at the earliest, let’s see how they do against real competition.
I wouldn’t mind getting a rental starter but definitely don’t think we need to go huge with a Joe Ryan or Freddy Peralta because one of our best trade chips, IMO, is going to come from the major league roster (whether they think that’s Duran or Abreu, seems certain it will be one of them). Using one of those guys to get a stud pitcher is a move you make in the offseason, not in the middle of a playoff race.
If The Password is ready to go in 2026 (and the way he’s hit in the minors this year, I don’t see how he wouldn’t be) then I think that solidifies Abreu as our best trade chip because Garcia profiles as basically a RH version of Abreu. But for the next 3 months we need Abreu’s power in the lineup more than we need a TOR arm.
As far as shoring up the rotation with a passable option for a couple months, maybe somebody like a Gallen who has been a good pitcher historically but is having a bit of a rough year? Maybe a change of scenery could be helpful, but with a lost season for AZ and free agency impending perhaps he could be the type of guy who could be had for a modest price. That way it gives you somebody who you wouldn’t feel bad about giving the ball in a playoff series if he’s pitching well, but you also wouldn’t feel bad about skipping if he isn’t.
Duran will fetch the best return and given his age vs Abreu’s it makes more sense to trade Duran.
Strongly disagree. Duran at his best is an incredible spark plug for an offense. You’re talking about a guy with a hard hit rate over 45% and his speed is game changing – not only does it help him in the field but it makes him a terror as a baserunner. Per Baseball Savant Duran is not only one of the more aggressive baserunners in the league, he is also one of the very best. We do not have anyone like that ready to step in and replace the hole that would be created by trading Jarren Duran. He is exactly the type of player that a team serious about wanting to win should be finding a way to keep, not an excuse to trade.
On the other hand, we do have a prospect knocking on the door who profiles very similarly to Abreu. That prospect is also a right handed batter instead of a lefty, so replacing Abreu with Garcia would also go a long way towards helping even out the lineup’s L/R imbalance. Abreu is still a very nice player, but he is a lot easier for the Red Sox to replace. He on his own being worth less than Duran does not mean most teams wouldn’t still be very happy to get him as one of the key pieces in a blockbuster trade.
If they want to get to the playoffs and make a world series run they need a legit number 2 pitcher most teams only have 3 or 4 man rotation in the playoffs so wouldn’t worry about who’s the 5th starter but they definitely need a Ryan,or maybe Gallen would be a cheaper option.
It’s not that I don’t agree, but in any such trade for a major pitching upgrade at least one of those players getting sent out is going to be a starting level outfielder who plays too important of a role in the lineup to trade mid-season. This lineup is not going to be dynamic enough without Duran to make a World Series run, if he’s the guy they trade.
Abreu at least has a guy who should be an adequate replacement waiting in the wings in Garcia, if he’s the goner. But that’s a long term proposition, it doesn’t mean Garcia is ready to get thrown into a playoff lineup right away and hit for power like we know Abreu can right now. In the wake of the Devers trade, you just can’t dump your two biggest bats in one month and say you’re trying to compete for a World Series, no matter what pitcher you get back.
That’s why unless they’re able to get a mind blowing value on someone, it makes more sense to wait until the winter. Unless they want to push “all in” and pay the full acquisition cost with prospects (which they probably won’t, and also really shouldn’t at this stage of the rebuild), doing it now would just be solving one problem by creating another.
I agree that they shouldn’t trade either Duran or Abreu unless they can get full value in return. Hard to say whether or not another team would offer that full value.
If they could keep one of the two and add an ace pitcher, that would make this team stronger. If a controllable ace, such a trade might make sense.
Will be one of the more interesting trade deadlines.
I strongly disagree with your statements. First Duran’s replacement is already on the big league roster and his name Roman Anthony. Although he might not have the speed of Duran he more than makes up for that by being the better overall player including hard hit rate etc. If anything, it’s most likely we’ve seen Duran’s peak so it makes much more sense to cash out while his value is still high especially because Anthony can more than make up Duran’s loss. As I said before given Duran’s age he does not fit the timeline with the young players while Abreu does. Further, Password is not the defender that Abreu is so he not a good comp or replacement.
Roman Anthony in his his first 49 plate appearances .128/.306/.256 in his last 75 plate appearances his slashed .343/.413/.493. Roman Anthony is really good baserunner he’s not going to steal bases like Duran but he’s really good on the bases. In the Minors by far leadoff was the spot he hit at and he was really good as a leadoff hitter. The point is Duran is expendable but I probably wouldn’t trade him during the season it would be an off-season trade when more teams would be willing to trade for him. Just run it out there with what you have make a trade for another starter with prospects not named Tolle and see what happens. I always believed the real window started in 2026 so this potentially found money.
Garcia doesn’t need to be the same caliber of defender as Abreu. But as an aside, read Wilyer’s write up on Sox Prospects from when he was a prospect, and read Password’s now. They are strikingly similar.
Back to my main point – Replacing Abreu with Password would open up right field for Roman Anthony, then. My vision for 2026 would include finding somewhere to ship Story and possibly Yoshida over the offseason in addition to using Abreu to get pitching. Campbell can stay in AAA the rest of the year so he isn’t part of the logjam. Then next year you could have
LF – Duran
CF – Rafaela
RF – Anthony
3B – Bregman (assuming he is re-signed)
SS – Mayer
2B – Campbell
1B – ??? (Maybe Casas, maybe they go another direction since he’s always hurt?)
C – Narvaez
DH – Garcia
Or, if Bregman leaves then you keep Story to play short and slot Mayer in at third.
That effectively clears the logjam and frees up DH to be a rotating cast of who is hot/most deserving of AB’s any given day or week. I envision Garcia growing into being a nice RH slugger, but you could even keep Yoshi to be part of the mix at DH if they want to bring along Garcia with training wheels. Garcia, Yoshida, Ref, and Romy could all cycle through, with Garcia presumably growing into an increasing share of the at-bats as he grows into being comfortable hitting in the show.
Abreu’s performance in the major is much better than what would have been expected given his prospect grades. As of July 2023, SoxProspects had him ranked #20, a grade of 4 with a range of 3-5. That’s below guys like Yorke (#5, 4.5), Valdez (#10, 4), Meidroth (#14, 4) and Jordan (#15, 4). Yorke and Jordan was seen as having a higher ceiling, with a 3-6 range of outcomes.
Their comment at that time… “Potential up-and-down depth outfielder. Ceiling of a major league platoon outfielder. Development of hit tool will determine his major league potential. Has raw power and will take a walk, but needs to cut down on his swing-and-miss and show he can consistently make contact and impact the baseball against advanced pitching.”
And he improved… Comparing 2023 AAA line vs. 2025 major league line (and remember that the second is at a higher level): 43.5% swing vs. 52.1% swing, 74.1% contact vs. 79.5% contact, 38.9% HardHit% vs. 46.3% HardHit%. It didn’t happen overnight. When he got to the majors in 2023, his K rate jumped (as you would expect). Last year he was making strong contact but still missing a lot. This year he has the K rate down and is making even stronger contact.
Prospects tend to improve with experience and as they age into their physical prime (roughly ages 25-30), but some improve a little. Some stall early like Valdez. Some improve by leaps and bounds.
Abreu is a vastly better player today than he looked to become when the Red Sox picked him up as the #2 prospect in the Vazquez trade. I absolutely agree with you that Garcia has similar potential, possibly even superior potential, but to achieve that potential he needs to show the same kind of year-over-year strong progress that Abreu and Rafaela have done. Never any guarantee of that.
I’m not averse to trading Abreu in the right deal, as I believe what we are seeing here is maxing out his physical talent. But right now he is a darned good player, producing well enough against LHP that he no longer even requires a platoon (at least not a strict platoon). His on-field value at this point exceeds that of Duran, and I’m reluctant to trade a superior player even if we can afford to do so.
DW4
Trading Duran would be a mistake. He is a difference maker . I believe it would also upset the great chemistry of this squad. His season so far isn’t as good as last year,but he is still the catalyst for this team. If the Sox can package Abreu with a combination of prospects to obtain a pitcher like a Joe Ryan ,a solid # 2 guy then I’m all for it.
Great post, and I want to be clear I don’t want to trade Abreu because I’m down on him or think he sucks. Far from it. You have to give value to get value. He’s a nice player, so he would certainly qualify as giving up value. And from a roster building POV we are *most* likely to have someone who can replicate his skillset vs. Duran vs. Rafaela vs. Anthony.
We don’t have any other gold glove caliber CF’s who can rake, we don’t have any other #1 prospects in the game, and we don’t have any other guys as tailor-made for terrorizing opposing teams at Fenway as Duran’s combo of speed with ability to put the ball in play via grounders and line drives. We do have another corner outfielder with tons of projectable power. His defense may never be as good as Abreu’s, but if you keep the other 3 that doesn’t matter, he’ll never have to be more than the 4th outfielder and primarily DH.
to back up my point Duran is going to be turning 30 next year and again his replacement is Anthony who is already on the roster. His skill set as a “disrupter” on the bases does not outweigh Anthony’s overall skill set. Also speed is one of the first things to go for players.
You are completely misconstruing my argument
1. No one is arguing that Duran is more valuable than Anthony, but nice strawman. The point of trading Abreu would be to clear right field FOR Anthony. Judging Duran’s value against Anthony’s makes zero sense when my point is I want both to be in the lineup.
2. You make it sound like I am saying they need to give Duran a long term deal….no? He doesn’t hit free agency until after the 2028 season. Keeping him does not require an expensive long term commitment. His speed isn’t fading *now* so you are overlooking the option where they simply keep him because he is at this point in time our most dynamic offensive player, and can phase him out down the road whenever he begins to decline
3. This is a very young team that is set to keep getting younger over the next couple years as more prospects keep graduating and more of the veterans age out. The rookies need some established veteran leadership present in the clubhouse to help guide them. Bregman and to a lesser extent Duran are indispensable in this regard.
1. It’s not a straw man argument at. all. you said that there was no replacement for Duran and what he does. I pointed out how Anthony is the replacement because you were touting password as Abreu’s replacement while according to you there wasn’t one for Duran. I said the opposite was true. The point I was making that trading duran allows that spot to open for Anthony instead of moving Abreu without compromising the defense and with minimal if any drop in offensive value which was the crux of your argument. Duran vs anthony does make the most sense in fact when you consider that Anthony would be the replacement for Duran in the field and in the lineup. Anthony has been a leadoff hitter the majority of his career in the minors. If anything it makes th most sense to move Anthony for that reason which you conveniently ignore in your discussion. My point was that the best return in a trade without compromising your team comes from trading Duran which seems to be lost on you.
2. pointing out the age doesn’t mean that they are going to give anyone a long term contract however it should factor into the decision as to who should get traded. Because Duran isn’t expensive means the return for him should be higher and it makes more sense to cash in *while* it’s at its peak as opposed to being overly sentimental and hanging onto a guy that doesn’t factor into your future and thankfully whatever *drop iff* should be mitigated by having Anthony on the roster.
3. Bregman at this time provides that leadership and the lesser extent that Duran does makes him significantly more dispensable at present. Bregman was an offseason signing that provided that leadership you talk about and that also means they can find another vet to provide that leadership in the offseason.
There was nothing misconstrued about your argument initially . I broke it down point by point as to why trading Duran makes more sense. It seems that you have missed my point so hopefully this breakdown helps with that.
Abreu is a legit 30hr guy despite sitting against tough lefties and a dl stint. Those dudes don’t grow on trees. Hes also a gold glove winner in the toughest right field in the sport and still learning and getting better. Hate to break it to you but your argument is better used that Rafaela is a right handed version of Duran and thus makes him expendable. They both hit around 260 with power and speed , strike out a bunch, and Rafael already took Durans position in CF. Also, Duran may have more value to other teams that would actually use him as a cf instead of a left field you can hide a bad athlete in. Rafaela replaced Duran in the field and Anthony replaced him in the lineup .
How many players on the Sox are going to hit 30 hrs this year? How many will in baseball? You can’t easily replace Abreus power. Guys like him cost a ton in free agency or trade. You certainly can’t bank on a guy who’s never played a game in mlb to slide in and be a right handed version of Abreu just because they profiled similarly as prospects. Lotta guys don’t make it. Abreu already has. With Devers gone you have to have SOMEONE who can mash Homer’s. Duran hasnt even been stealing Story and Rafaela have had about the same sb. Duran is good. Hes awesome in fact. Hes also the fourth best outfielder on the team and has arguably the most trade value
Jk
Abreu has not yet hit 20 hrs let alone 30. He is projected for 29. I hope he gets 35. If Duran and Abreu were both free agents after this season, Duran would command a higher contract than Abreu. IMO.
Hey, if he only hits 25, It would likely still lead the team at the end of the year. The only time I’ve seen a team trade their two biggest hr threats in the same season is when teams are starting a rebuild. You trade Devers and Abreu, you know damn well Story isn’t gonna remain healthy the rest of his contract. Maybe Bregman opts opt. You better hope Marcelo Mayer turns into Aaron Judge overnight, my friend. This team doesn’t have even 20 hr guys to spare. You need middle of the order bats, Hr threats to compete. This teams power looks downright laughable without Abreu. Rafaela is pretty awesome but he shouldn’t be batting cleanup, ya know?
BL
I do agree with you. This team is certainly lacking a big time slugger. Though the Sox are 2nd in runs scored in the AL and 5th in all of MLB. Even with the anemic outputs of the past 2 games. Roman Anthony projects to be a 30 home run guy. He does look like the real deal. Mayer is going to be solid, but no one is turning into Judge.
There’s your 20 HR… Might or might not get to 30, but he’s the best LHH pure power bat in the lineup for now. Maybe Anthony will grow into that, but he isn’t there yet.
Thinking with your heart and not your head. Duran will get the SP to take the RS over the top.
@Cleaver which team and which SP is are they going to get for Duran? No contender is trading any meaningful arm and if its a rebuilding team most are looking to add players whose service clocks have yet to start.
There are teams that would definitely b interested in Duran, just not seeing it being as cut and dry as getting any arm of impact for him.
I think one of the outfielders needs to move. It probably isn’t Yoshida, as he’s the toughest one to move, but he should be the one to go. Then it would open DH to more players to shift around with Cora’s versatile team mindset. Very unlikely Yoshida gets traded, which leads me to the next point…
I can see trading Duran if the return is great. He’s basically heart and soul of this team but he isn’t extended and right now is the time to trade him when he’s shown potential. No guarantee that potential lasts, as he’s been up and down. I think Duran will be good overall, but that’s the evermore to trade him when you have a full outfield. Campbell won’t be in the Minors forever, either, so he may play into that outfield role as well.
If we can get a good return, Duran is the one to trade, unfortunately. Like the above poster said, don’t let your heart get in the way of logic. I don’t want to trade Duran, but he’s really the guy to trade when you have the other pieces in play.
We have 5 starting outfielders:
Duran
Abreu
Rafaela (can move to infield)
Anthony
Campbell (will be back soon, can play infield)
Yoshida (although he is DH)
Infielders:
Story
Bregman
Mayer
Toro / Gonzalez
There’s really no other place to put Campbell or Rafaela in the infield with the guys we have. First base, maybe, but do you really want Campbell at first base? Yoshida is likely a lock for DH, so we can’t really play with that.
That leaves 5 potential starting outfielders, not even factoring in Refsnyder. Do you really think we should roster 7 outfielders with a jammed infield as well that couldn’t take them?
Someone has to get traded. A little logjam is okay if you have DH open but that’s not the case and now starters either have to go to AAA or take the bench. I don’t find that a “healthy logjam.”
Agree the logjam needs to get cleared, but I would rather find someone to offload Story onto for the last 2 years of his deal, Trade Wilyer for pitching, and then you can either keep Yoshida to have an established option at DH in case Password stumbles out of the gate, or find a trade for him too.
LF – Duran
CF – Rafaela
RF – Anthony
3B – Bregman
SS – Mayer
2B – Campbell
1B – Casas
C – Narvaez
DH – Yoshida/Garcia
Refsnyder can factor in for some AB’s against lefties as a sometimes outfielder, sometimes DH. Maybe even some 1B, he’s played there before. His playing time can be dictated by matchups and whoever needs a day off, he is a platoon bat-only player and absolutely not anyone whose presence should be driving major roster decisions.
Bregman will likely opt out if not extended, so tough to write him into the 2026 lineup. If the Red Sox can extend Bregman, then I’d be on board with trading Story. Otherwise that would leave them short on the infield.
True, but the contingency plan would be if he leaves, then you keep Story and Mayer plays 3rd. I have a feeling though that I think they are going to find a way to get Bregman to stay. Whether that’s opt-in or extension is still anyone’s guess, but being around Fenway for a playoff run is such a great atmosphere, I think he will be hard-pressed to decide there is a better situation worth going to.
Wouldn’t Mayer move to SS if Story leaves?
Not if Bregman stays. Depends on which one stays and which one goes. Will either be Mayer & Story or Bregman & Mayer on the left side.
My point is, who plays short if Story leaves? Rafaela or Mayer? Only two guys I can think of
“find someone to offload Story onto for the last 2 years of his deal”
Why? He’s the perfect jigsaw piece to fit until Arias (2027) or Cespedes (2028) arrive.
Good thing Mayer was a primary shortstop his entire career up until this point, think that experience might come in handy?
Because Mayer already has arrived, and will be a better player in 2026? And they also need to open second base for Campbell?
Mayer goes to 3B, when Boras tells Red Sox it will be 380 Trillion Dollars if they want to re-sign him. He was a natural there. 2B can be handled by Campbell and Grissom or some other unknown thru trade or FA.
Boras isn’t Mayer’s agent
I think he was referring to Bregman.
Yes Bregman. Poor use of pronouns on my part.
They’ll want the moon to re-sign Breg and I doubt the Red Sox will match it.
my mistake
Boston Red Sox……: BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Yankmees….. Right back atcha….. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Favorite cereal …. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BERRY
Pitcher I’d like to acquire: BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO BAGE
I have a great story from a Mets fan at Fenway:
Deep into the game, a group of fans started chanting “Yankees suck” in their direction. So they all turned around and chanted “We agree!”
Years ago when the Mets visited Fenway there was the typical “Let’s go Red So” “Let’s go Mets” back and forth. It melded into “Yankees suck!” It was great!
Breslow has done a nice job addressing the bullpen’s need for high velocity adding Alcala and Hicks to go with Chapman. Maybe add another reliever and starting pitching depth is necessary. I’m not going to mention First Base as Romy and Toro have come up clutch when they’ve needed them to and there’s no reason to mess that up
Houck will most likely head to the pen when he gets back. A depth starter would be nice but I wouldn’t break the bank trying to get a number 2 starter in season.
Agreed. Unless it’s a controllable one that they’ll have the next few seasons
Would run with Gonzalez and Toro for this season. In off-season, would teach Anthony first base. Would consider trade of the DH, and keep Paszword and keep outfield intact.
Toro is done. He’s trending down in a big way and back to his career averages.
I loved him in spring training and he sure came through when the Red Sox needed him for a few months.
But things are starting to shake out to mirror what his history has shown. Time to move on from Abraham Toro.
Gary – EXACTLY!!
They make great mowers though….
olm – Former Red Sox great Rob Deer would disagree!!!
Toro has mediocre numbers over the last month. He was good in a pinch, but he isn’t a playoff quality starting player.
Rsox – I’d rather have effective relievers than high velocity guys who give up 3 hits and a walk in one inning (Alcala & Hicks).
Toro is fading fast and Romy sucks against RHP, so let’s hope KC can be fixed and play some 1B.
Abreu, Campbell, Casas and Fitts to Pirates for Paul Skenes and Bednar
Lol.
It would take something like Abreu, Duran, Bello, Naevarez, Houck, and Whitlock for Pirates to even pick up the phone. Casas and Campbell have negative trade value youre just being silly
2 words – Get Relievers
Great write up! Thank you!
Would love to see the Sox add a mid-to-top of the rotation pitcher and a rental 1B to take over for Toro. I would hate to say goodbye to one of our excellent outfielders, but at this point I trust Breslow if he finds the right deal. Fingers crossed we can keep our heads above water through this tough post-ASB stretch.
Youk – Breslow is running 50/50 right now as far as trades.
Awful trades as of now:- Sale, Priester, Garcia, Sims
Great trades as of now: – Narvaez, Crochet, Devers (still very early)
Fair enough. I’m super happy with his signings too. Buehler was a miss but hey, it was worth a one-year trial contract; pitching is risky and expensive. I’m starting to trust this guy’s eye for talent.
Youk – Absolutely! And let’s not forget, Breslow has been at it for less than 2 years …. he should get better with experience. And he doesn’t seem to be too rigid, he’s willing to acknowledge mistakes and take corrective action (like the hitting approach, etc).
You do realize that the Sox pick #33….. was part of the Priester trade. Short term since the Brewers Pitching guru’s figured out a fix in his mechanics makes it look like it hasn’t been the best, but lets see if the Pitcher from Tennessee they drafted along with the prospect pan out.
As Cooper mentions, it is 100% worth pointing out that the Brewers’ pitching lab is insane. Just because THEY have unlocked him and gotten him right does not mean we or anyone else necessarily would have. So that one is a little easier to chalk up as an “oh well” and move on from, imo.
Dirty – Don’t you think that’s a strike against the Red Sox though, not being able to value/coach/manage him properly?
Newcomb is looking pretty good, no?
Pivetta?
Schreiber?
Elmer Cruz?
Sale?
All guys who didn’t reach their potential, or were undervalued by, the Red Sox since Breslow took over.
And I’m not even talking about free agent pitchers they lowballed like Shota, Lugo, Eovaldi, etc.
Coop – Like you said, can’t count your chickens before they hatch.
Brewers won the deal so far.
To a degree, yes. But it’s a more forgivable sin when most other teams in the league have the same shortcoming.
Newcomb – I don’t pay any attention to the A’s so I have no eye test to reference how good he actually looks, but his numbers look decent, sure. It’s 23 innings so I also don’t think that is really enough to mean anything.
Pivetta – I think we deserve partial credit for. He had plenty of stretches where he did pitch great for us. He could never get his ERA under 4 because he always had issues with the long ball. His home/road splits indicate that hasn’t changed, so yes part of it is that there was always a good pitcher in there who has taken at least a slight step forward, but it’s also partially a product of his environment.
Sale – I don’t think it was the org’s fault that Sale had a string of absurd freak injuries that kept him off the mound for so long. At his age I think they were justified in believing he was more likely to continue being at least partially broken after years of high mileage on his arm. Even with that belief I still think they could’ve done better in the return in that trade, but I can’t fault them for the way they approached it. I also like Sale so I am glad to see he has managed to come back and rediscover his health in Atlanta.
Schreiber I do wish they hadn’t given up on so soon. He broke out in the first place with us. I don’t recall the circumstances of his exit, even, but I presume it’s because they probably thought Cora rode him too hard in ’22 and they squeezed all the juice out of him. Guess not!
Shreiber = this year’s Weissert….. Cora overuses him big time.
In 2023 Schreiber came off the DL and Cora brought him to start inning #6 versus the Mariners in Seattle and the Sox had a 3-0 lead and were on a winning streak. He gave up 2 runs on 35 pitches…. most of them high leverage pitches. Then Dummy Cora sent him out for the 7th inning…. He walked the first batter on 4 pitches, hit the next batter on the first pitch, gave up a game tying single 2 pitches later… Cora finally got someone up in the BP at this point.. at 42 pitches thrown and then a couple pitches later he gave up a Double …. 5-3 Mariners…. but the pitcher in the pen wasn’t ready… so he threw 3 or 4 more pitches and got a Pop Out for the first out….. Cora finally came and took him out… after over 50 pitches (Again this was his first game back from being on the IL)… The rest of the year Schreiber was TOAST.
This look familiar? Leaving Houck out to dry Multiple starts when he was getting shelled by Tampa.
Is good for Priester and good for the Brewers, but the Red Sox tried and weren’t able to fix him. End result, they flipped Yorke for Marcus Phillips (reminds me of Chapman a bit given his size and power) and a couple low-minor wild cards. I’m fine with that.
Let’s see if Priester can keep it together for more than a couple of months and let’s see how the no. 33 pick Marcus Philips turns out for the Red Sox.
Elmer Cruz was not mismanaged or undervalued by the Red Sox. He had value and they needed to trade value to get Narvaez.
Wait: You are pretty into stats. Priester averages well less than a strikeout per inning for each year for his whole career including this year. Is success sustainable when you are not missing bats? I doubt it. I see successful pitchers averaging at least one strikeout per inning.
His 7.11 K/9 is on the low side, but not extreme. He is a ground ball pitcher so contact is fine. Comp to Clay Holmes or Brayan Bello? The key is quality strikes and not walking too many.
The way he is pitching right now, he looks like a solid #3 pitcher. Rooting for him, of course.
Sale ended up being a bad trade but I don’t think you can totally pin that one on Breslow, considering the availability of Sale and his constant unlucky injuries. Braves won it hands down, but I still don’t fault Breslow for that one.
Priester- I completely agree he could have been very useful this year, though time will tell if the return is good. Way too early.
Get someone good for #4 and let Houck, Buehler, etc. compete for #5.
Assuming Crochet, Bello, and Giolito as the front three, Fitts would also be in that competition. They have reasonable pitching depth even now, just thin on playoff-quality arms.
Casas & Toro to Brewers for Vaughn… not Mo but would fit Fenway…
Greg??? Hippo?? Vaughn who???
olm – Well it ain’t Vaughn Eshelman, that much we know.
Maybe Ricky Wild Thing Vaughn?
Only time I’m commenting on this , this weekend… what we need in a relief help the Cubs have… I’ll do my best to sabotage his appearances, lots of deep dish, Chicago dogs extra peppers( ketchup) Beef sandwich dry… and shots of Malort before every game… next 3-4 series is Big Boy Time!!!( Mmmm big boy)
olm – Abdow’s Big Boy? I haven’t eaten there in a while. It’s a New England thing, how are you familiar with it? LOL
I lived blocks away from one growing up… It was called frelochas(owner my guess) served their hamburgers…( original secret sauce 1000 island dressing)..Big boys also in Michigan … only thing I got going for me is a head of hair like Big Boy…
olm – Wait a minute …. your hair is curved straight up just like Big Boy??
You know how his hair got that way, right?
Didn’t you ever watch Something About Mary????
Only when long… very poofy on top!!Lol… no only water….ah remember the days of vitalas… that’s when I looked like a baby Jimmy J!!!!
Fever, the Big Boy thing is actually a strange corporate story. But their roots were the upper Midwest. When they sold franchises, the franchisee was required to append their name ahead of ‘big boy’….
So, in MA, yeah, you got Abdows but there were literally dozens of different (insert name here) Big Boys restaurants. In fact, Midwest, so cal, and Nevada still have them operating today
Gas… well done.. that’s exactly it.. I had to look up the one I went to as a kid… horrible spelling job by me but my was in Illinois quite a few actually, but was a ice cream shop that just happened to serve Big boy burgers.. Was at one in upper Michigan a couple years ago…
Olm, did yours have the ‘free’ big boy comic books as part of their marketing back in the early 80s?
GaSox – Thanks for the info, I learned something new!
I thought I had read somewhere the remaining restaurants were converted to Bickfords?
Again, I know *too* much about Big Boys because… well, I liked the place and it was a strange business model.
Franchises were 20 year terms and expired – non-renewable, you needed to apply for a new contract. Was nominally $50k up front, then you had the naming rules, shipped back a few percent of your weekly sales 3-4% ish, then had to dedicate a percentage of your *gross* revenue to advertising – split between paying the parent company for advertising they did, or, spending locally, all dependent upon the footprint of the corporate media in your area. Some locations dropped several percent to corporate advertising and less than a percent local, others inverted if they were further out.
Remember that’s *gross* revenue figures.
So to be part of big boys, you gave up around 6-7% *off the top* when restaurant margins are fairly thin.
So, yeah, when things came crashing down in the 90s to early 2000s you saw rebranding. Some restaurants stayed same ownership with new names. Some, like the local big boys where I grew up in MA became bickfords.
Fever, you travel, you seen Shoneys? That used to be Shoneys Big Boys until their franchise agreement ran out and they rebranded.
GaSox – Love it, thanks for enlightening me! I don’t remember how often I ate at Big Boys, but it’s a familiar name like Ponderosa, Bonanza and Chi-Chi’s.
Don’t forget The Ground Round which is making a comeback!
Gas/ Fever… great stuff… no gas can’t say I remember the comic book, but kids (adults ). got me the bobble head and a few years ago a shirt with him on there!! Few years ago on way to Charlevoix,Michigan , I saw sign and had family stop there.. took picture with statue and put my Red Sox hat on his head… Next to my pictures with Brais, most priceless LOL
Fever, ponderosa!! The original free refills on soda place!! Other than that… the steak still had marks where the jockey whipped it( RD)
GaSox – Oh wow, I totally forgot about that franchise! Didn’t know they were coming back either.
What’s scary is in 2006 Mrs Brais took me to Boston for 3 game set vs Nationals.. My first time back since baseball tour days(early 90’s) Not knowing area we were staying at, hotel above highway and walked to the T.. Didn’t really notice till we came back from game and went to a PACKY for beer that had to be spun around behind thick plexy glass.. Hungry, we then walked across parking lot to…. Bickfords!!! Needless to say my days of growing up in Cicero we’re relived there…
olm & GaSox – Here’s another for ya …..
It was a department store chain with in-store restaurant, arcade and skee-ball …. all inside the store …. Two Guys …… sound familiar? It was definitely a national chain.
Heck, you want weird, remember 3 decades ago when every practically Walmart had a 1950s themed restaurant in it complete with tu-tone booths, part of the store itself?
GaSox – What state are you talking? I know they began in the deep south and worked their way north, perhaps that was before they reached New England?
I only know of Bob’s Big Boy in Southern California.
Same character statue with the turned up hair out front.
Same chain or different? Was the SoCal guy separating his from the corporate Big Boys by adding Bob’s?”
Same chain Gary. The franchise group for the one you knew of was ‘Bob’ just one of a series of the ‘bobs’ franchises…
A perfect way to think of it was, most McDonald’s are franchises right? Imagine ray kroc said, hey, you’re opening a franchise? Great! Now your stores need to be called Gary’s McDonalds. And when Fever opened his, itd be Fever’s McDonald’s. All the same chain, all franchises independently owned and operated. But if it wasn’t a corporate owned location, the franchisee name came first, letting folks know who was running that location.
That makes sense and I appreciate your personal reply, which of course is a lot more interesting than simply googling something.
It definitely would’ve been strange to see Shoney’s or Abdow’s Big Boy on a road trip to a different part of the country.
There used to be quite a few Bob’s big boys in SoCal, but not too many anymore.
You guys were already talking about it so I thought I would throw my question out there. Thanks !!
Gary, You’re always welcome to jump down the rabbit hole!
These days I’m working towards my certification as purveyor of useless knowledge
GaSox – Just keep in mind there’s only one Cliff Clavin here, and that be me ;O)
That’s ok fever, I’m not so interested in living with mom past my 40s, I’ll let you be Cliff 😉
The Red Sox and Royals would match up nicely as trade partners. The below hypothetical trade would help both sides.
Red Sox trade Durran (or Abreu), Grissom and Kyle Harrison
Royals trade Lugo, Bubic and Erceg
If KC were to deal Bubic/Lugo in a single trade with state of SP demand, the headliner will be way more painful than Duran. They’d get a lot for Bubic alone.
Duran was a top 10 MVP vote getter last year. Even as a fringe All Star as his more likely base case, the Royals get 3.5 years of control for .5 seasons of Lugo and 1.5 of Bubic.
They are also getting a potential 2B in Grissom and a solid starting prospect in Harrison to add to their pitching depth. If they ask for a bit more, you could swap out Harrison for Garcia.
Royals aren’t going to trade two starting pitchers and Duran alone with his cost and control is more valuable than Lugo.
Lugo is gone at the end of the year already. The only pitcher that impacts next year is Bubic.
You got the Red Sox getting waaay too much for a decent OFer and 2 major question marks.. Bubic alone would cost more than Duran. Im waiting for ‘Can We’ to propose Yoshida for Bobby Witt next.
I’m not a Red Sox or Royals fan. Duran has the most value of anyone in the trade due to his extended club control (and the highest demonstrated ceiling).
The Royals have an organizational need for another OFer/lead-off type which Duran would address.
If you simplify it to Duran for Bubic, I think the Red Sox say no. But Bubic and Lugo for Duran is too much, hence the addition of Grissom and Harrison who are former top prospects with control left who could provide real value. I don’t know if the inclusion or Erceg is that important.
Can – After tonight’s game I’m not so sure I want Bubic, he looked awful.
And their closer giving up 3 runs in the 10th to lose the game is also evidence the Royals have too many issues to address.
Am I alone in thinking that Buehler will be fine in the second half? His stuff is still really good…. Sometimes guys coming off TJ take a while to get back to being consistent and that is what the issue is currently.
Also, Houck belongs in the bullpen…. not a starter (at least for the rest of the year).
I agree Scott.
hayzee – It’s Cecil.
Redsox are not trading anyone on mlb roster . They will also not trade Payton Tolle unless they get a Joe Ryan eske type
We should try and get Chris Martin back from the Rangers? They aren’t making the playoffs and he’s a pure rental. Shouldn’t cost too much. He knows and loves the RedSox and vice-versa. Perfect way to finish his career in bringing another title to Boston. Him in the 8th and Chapman the 9th is a very strong back of the bullpen.
Sim – He signed with Texas because his family wanted him close to home, so unlikely he’d agree to play in Boston again.
Fever, ive got no idea…. does he have a NTC? Otherwise he goes where they sell him
GaSox – I’m guessing he’d retire if they try to force a trade.
And keep in mind, the Rangers got him for a bargain only because he really wanted to close out his career at home. I don’t think the Rangers would do him dirty like that, they are not the Red Sox.