Red Sox Off Season 2022/23

[boscel33]

We're officially into the off season (Congrats to the Astros).

Xander has officially opted out and is a free agent.  If Chaim blows this and doesn't get Xander and Devers signed, he's done.

These two should be their top priority, then complete the roster, but for sure, the IF will be set for years.

[Roy H.]

Preview of coming attractions:  John Henry (and Lebron) continue to print money, the team not only doesn't improve, but goes backwards.

[Phantom255x]

At the rate things are going for the Red Sox this offseason, I really wouldn't be surprised to see a lot of empty seats at Fenway this year, even during the peak summer.

I might also boycott going to games this season too.

Senga signed elsewhere last night (shocker!). They obviously aren't getting the likes of Rodon/Correa. Bogaerts already left. Yoshida and Jansen are good additions but the only few we've made, and we still have a lot of holes elsewhere on the roster. Add the Devers impending FA after this upcoming season + no extension yet, and it's really hard to feel good about the direction of the Sox.

[Roy H.]

At the rate things are going for the Red Sox this offseason, I really wouldn't be surprised to see a lot of empty seats at Fenway this year, even during the peak summer.

I might also boycott going to games this season too.

Senga signed elsewhere last night (shocker!). They obviously aren't getting the likes of Rodon/Correa. Bogaerts already left. Yoshida and Jansen are good additions but the only few we've made, and we still have a lot of holes elsewhere on the roster. Add the Devers impending FA after this upcoming season + no extension yet, and it's really hard to feel good about the direction of the Sox.

Is Yoshida a good signing.  Rival execs are saying we paid about double his expected contract.  Senga is reportedly a better player, at a bigger position of need, who went for 25% less.

[knuckleballer]

At the rate things are going for the Red Sox this offseason, I really wouldn't be surprised to see a lot of empty seats at Fenway this year, even during the peak summer.

I might also boycott going to games this season too.

Senga signed elsewhere last night (shocker!). They obviously aren't getting the likes of Rodon/Correa. Bogaerts already left. Yoshida and Jansen are good additions but the only few we've made, and we still have a lot of holes elsewhere on the roster. Add the Devers impending FA after this upcoming season + no extension yet, and it's really hard to feel good about the direction of the Sox.

Is Yoshida a good signing.  Rival execs are saying we paid about double his expected contract.  Senga is reportedly a better player, at a bigger position of need, who went for 25% less.

Yoshida has incredible bat to ball skills with a great eye.  He doesn’t swing and miss much and walks a lot.  He hits for a high average with a high OBP.  However, he only has average power, doesn’t have speed and is not a good outfielder.  Bloom must have a much higher opinion of his skills translating to MLB than other executives around the league because others are panning the contract.  I can’t say say I’m excited about it, but time will tell.  Bloom may look brilliant or dumb.

Bloom has been aggressively trying to build the farm system and avoiding long term contracts that can hurt a team in the long run.  By signing Japanese players they don’t lose draft picks as they would signing other teams free agents. His goal of having a strong minor league system that will feed the major league team will take a while to produce results and takes a lot of discipline. I’m not sure the fans and owners will have that patience.  It’s certainly frustrating.

[Phantom255x]

At the rate things are going for the Red Sox this offseason, I really wouldn't be surprised to see a lot of empty seats at Fenway this year, even during the peak summer.

I might also boycott going to games this season too.

Senga signed elsewhere last night (shocker!). They obviously aren't getting the likes of Rodon/Correa. Bogaerts already left. Yoshida and Jansen are good additions but the only few we've made, and we still have a lot of holes elsewhere on the roster. Add the Devers impending FA after this upcoming season + no extension yet, and it's really hard to feel good about the direction of the Sox.

Is Yoshida a good signing.  Rival execs are saying we paid about double his expected contract.  Senga is reportedly a better player, at a bigger position of need, who went for 25% less.

Yoshida has incredible bat to ball skills with a great eye.  He doesn’t swing and miss much and walks a lot.  He hits for a high average with a high OBP.  However, he only has average power, doesn’t have speed and is not a good outfielder.  Bloom must have a much higher opinion of his skills translating to MLB than other executives around the league because others are panning the contract.  I can’t say say I’m excited about it, but time will tell.  Bloom may look brilliant or dumb.

Bloom has been aggressively trying to build the farm system and avoiding long term contracts that can hurt a team in the long run.  By signing Japanese players they don’t lose draft picks as they would signing other teams free agents. His goal of having a strong minor league system that will feed the major league team will take a while to produce results and takes a lot of discipline. I’m not sure the fans and owners will have that patience.  It’s certainly frustrating.

TP. Agree with most of this

To answer Roy's question too, it's definitely a good question. Senga signed for just 5/75M. Maybe he really wanted to go Mets and had no interest in the Sox?

I heard this the other day and honestly it's a really good point. Yoshida is a BORAS client, and as we know Boras looks to maximize the earnings and because of that he's fine dragging free agency for some of his players to get the big deal they are looking for. Yoshida's first possible day to officially sign was the day the Sox did. And he did, because even Boras of all people was probably like, "omg dude take this deal, they're overpaying you, you won't get much better." He didn't wait it out or do a "bidding war" because that was already a big offer.

Another thing to consider, Nimmo recently signed an 8/162M deal. It sounds like a lot, but the AAV is basically the same as what Yoshida signed (he signed 5/90M but there's also the 15M posting fee the Red Sox had to pay, so it's more like 5/105M actually). Nimmo was just signed for 3 more years, but Nimmo in theory would have been an awesome addition for the Sox too, and he's definitely MLB proven and a lefty bat which the Sox need too. Bloom must have liked Yoshida more though. Or he wanted to get creative and take a bit of a gamble there. Personally I would have rather signed Nimmo. Yoshida may have a lot of promise but there's no guarantee he translates to being a star in the MLB. Frankly, some of his skills also profile similarly to Verdugo, who we already have too lol

[Roy H.]

Former top prospect Jeter Downs, a key piece of the 2020 deal that sent Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers, was designated for assignment on Thursday.

[Birdman]

Goes to show u top prospects doesn’t mean anything..

[Roy H.]

Goes to show u top prospects doesn’t mean anything..

Yeah.  Give me an MVP over a top prospect any day.

I wonder what future busts we’ll get for Devers.

[BringToughnessBack]

This ownership has spoiled us with 4 World Series championships this century, 4 more than I had ever hoped to see in my lifetime. I am giving them the confidence on the long term plan of building up a farm system and choosing which stars deserve an enormous contract. Even the Dodgers are careful who they dole out big bucks to and chose one super star from our team to do that with.

Tampa's farm is incredible and has been for a long time. If Chaim can do that for us plus combine our ability to spend if we choose, that could be a deadly combination. I can be patient.

I am not sure Bogaerts at 300M made sense. I would also not have given Rodon that contract the Yankees doled out. He is injury risk that is far too great to take again like we did Sale. Correra at 350M is also insane. If we decide to break the bank, why not Ohtani next year during their free agency. I also am not sure Devers is worth breaking the bank over as well. If we can choose 1 mega star to build a team around, it would most likely be Ohtani.

I also think the Padres are the new Yankees with their insane spending. This will all come back to bite them in the end. The question is can they get a title before it happens.

I am also in favor of a hard cap. I am starting to lose interest in a game where players are making so much insane money. Maybe they can funnel some of those profits into charity and not turn athletes into billionaire's.  It is hard to relate to these astronomical salaries which only a few teams can afford.

[Roy H.]

This ownership has spoiled us with 4 World Series championships this century, 4 more than I had ever hoped to see in my lifetime. I am giving them the confidence on the long term plan of building up a farm system and choosing which stars deserve an enormous contract. Even the Dodgers are careful who they dole out big bucks to and chose one super star from our team to do that with.

Tampa's farm is incredible and has been for a long time. If Chaim can do that for us plus combine our ability to spend if we choose, that could be a deadly combination. I can be patient.

I am not sure Bogaerts at 300M made sense. I would also not have given Rodon that contract the Yankees doled out. He is injury risk that is far too great to take again like we did Sale. Correra at 350M is also insane. If we decide to break the bank, why not Ohtani next year during their free agency. I also am not sure Devers is worth breaking the bank over as well. If we can choose 1 mega star to build a team around, it would most likely be Ohtani.

I also think the Padres are the new Yankees with their insane spending. This will all come back to bite them in the end. The question is can they get a title before it happens.

I am also in favor of a hard cap. I am starting to lose interest in a game where players are making so much insane money. Maybe they can funnel some of those profits into charity and not turn athletes into billionaire's.  It is hard to relate to these astronomical salaries which only a few teams can afford.

Great teams don’t just have one star, though.  If Betts wasn’t good enough to sign, and neither is Devers, I’m not sure that anybody can ever be.  There’s always an excuse to go cheap and bank obscene profits.

[BringToughnessBack]

This ownership has spoiled us with 4 World Series championships this century, 4 more than I had ever hoped to see in my lifetime. I am giving them the confidence on the long term plan of building up a farm system and choosing which stars deserve an enormous contract. Even the Dodgers are careful who they dole out big bucks to and chose one super star from our team to do that with.

Tampa's farm is incredible and has been for a long time. If Chaim can do that for us plus combine our ability to spend if we choose, that could be a deadly combination. I can be patient.

I am not sure Bogaerts at 300M made sense. I would also not have given Rodon that contract the Yankees doled out. He is injury risk that is far too great to take again like we did Sale. Correra at 350M is also insane. If we decide to break the bank, why not Ohtani next year during their free agency. I also am not sure Devers is worth breaking the bank over as well. If we can choose 1 mega star to build a team around, it would most likely be Ohtani.

I also think the Padres are the new Yankees with their insane spending. This will all come back to bite them in the end. The question is can they get a title before it happens.

I am also in favor of a hard cap. I am starting to lose interest in a game where players are making so much insane money. Maybe they can funnel some of those profits into charity and not turn athletes into billionaire's.  It is hard to relate to these astronomical salaries which only a few teams can afford.

Great teams don’t just have one star, though.  If Betts wasn’t good enough to sign, and neither is Devers, I’m not sure that anybody can ever be.  There’s always an excuse to go cheap and bank obscene profits.

I might have signed Betts. They wanted to reset the cap though it seems. Bogaerts for 11 years makes no sense. Devers I am still not convinced. Would love him on a team friendly but at 11 years for 350M plus, I am just not sure.

I agree, we need stars. This team is very devoid of them right now but we also had 45M on the books last year with Sale and Price(finally off now).

[Roy H.]

This ownership has spoiled us with 4 World Series championships this century, 4 more than I had ever hoped to see in my lifetime. I am giving them the confidence on the long term plan of building up a farm system and choosing which stars deserve an enormous contract. Even the Dodgers are careful who they dole out big bucks to and chose one super star from our team to do that with.

Tampa's farm is incredible and has been for a long time. If Chaim can do that for us plus combine our ability to spend if we choose, that could be a deadly combination. I can be patient.

I am not sure Bogaerts at 300M made sense. I would also not have given Rodon that contract the Yankees doled out. He is injury risk that is far too great to take again like we did Sale. Correra at 350M is also insane. If we decide to break the bank, why not Ohtani next year during their free agency. I also am not sure Devers is worth breaking the bank over as well. If we can choose 1 mega star to build a team around, it would most likely be Ohtani.

I also think the Padres are the new Yankees with their insane spending. This will all come back to bite them in the end. The question is can they get a title before it happens.

I am also in favor of a hard cap. I am starting to lose interest in a game where players are making so much insane money. Maybe they can funnel some of those profits into charity and not turn athletes into billionaire's.  It is hard to relate to these astronomical salaries which only a few teams can afford.

Great teams don’t just have one star, though.  If Betts wasn’t good enough to sign, and neither is Devers, I’m not sure that anybody can ever be.  There’s always an excuse to go cheap and bank obscene profits.

I might have signed Betts. They wanted to reset the cap though it seems. Bogaerts for 11 years makes no sense. Devers I am still not convinced. Would love him on a team friendly but at 11 years for 350M plus, I am just not sure.

I agree, we need stars. This team is very devoid of them right now but we also had 45M on the books last year with Sale and Price(finally off now).

We just spent $20 million on a 30 year old rookie outfielder without much power.  I’d have preferred that money be allocated elsewhere (like to Kyle Schwarber).

[BringToughnessBack]

I agree with that. Schwarber was a mistake and if we are going to break bank on a Japanese player, the pitcher the Mets go would have been my preference as well. The hitter could be good but it is a crap shoot for sure.

[Phantom255x]

It's not just that the Red Sox have gotten worse and aren't that active this offseason, but all these other teams around them, including within their own division are getting better.

I mean, even of all the teams in the AL who made the postseason last year, have any of them seemingly regressed? I don't think so. I mean a few teams like Seattle haven't been that active either, but those teams also have young cores locked up that'll continue to develop + improve and they're still better than the Red Sox.

I wouldn't be surprised to see a lot of empty seats at Fenway, and another last place finish sadly. Baltimore's also going to get better as they call up their top prospects and the current young players continue to get better as well. The Red Sox might be that new "pushover team" that the rest of a division typically beats up on. It used to be Baltimore