Sox Trade Chris Sale to Atlanta (12/30/23)

What started out promising for the Boston Red Sox has become yet another embarrassing off-season no different than the past two.

On December 12th, the Los Angeles Dodgers fleeced the entire league by signing Shohei Ohtani to a 10 year, 700 million dollar deal. The kicker is that they will pay Shohei 2 million a year until he retires then backload his contract so it doesn't count against the Luxury Tax. MLB will probably investigate and make a future ruling to prevent such chicanery but this move gave the Dodgers the financial ability to sign free agent prize Yoshinobu Yamamoto on December 22nd. If that's not all, the Dodgers pulled off a trade the Red Sox should have made and got Tampa Bay Rays ace Tyler Glasnow and old pal Manny Margot for prospects Ryan Pepiot and Johnny DeLecua. All in all the Dodgers within the span of two weeks got three potential ace pitchers (when Ohtani pitches again in 2025 anyway) and a good outfielder in Margot for money and two prospects. The Sox could have done all of that......or not.

                                                   Even New York is pissed

Red Sox CEO Sam Kennedy went on national television that the Red Sox are going "full throttle" and so far its been a lot of hot air. The rumors swirling is that not only were these guys "too expensive" but the Sox are looking to shed payroll. Those rumors turned out to be true as the Sox made another salary dump when they traded fading former ace Chris Sale to the Atlanta Braves for 22 year old shortstop prospect Vaughn Grissom.

                                                                            OUT

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The rise and fall of Chris Sale is pretty much a microcosm of the Boston Red Sox fortunes the last seven years. Sale was the second coming of Pedro Martinez the first half of the 2017 but began to fade in the second half, still finishing with a 17-8 record. In 2018 he was on track for 20 wins when he suffered an arm injury in August and barely pitched again the rest of the regular season. He was a shell of himself in October but did manage to close out the World Series in Game 5. In 2019 he was batting practice, going 6-11 before shutting down in August. Then it all went to hell as he got Tommy John surgery in February of 2020 and didn't return until August of 2021. He did go 5-1 at the end of 2021 but once again was a shell of himself in October. He pitched in just two games in 2022 and missed most of 2023 but finished strong going 6-5 with a 4.30 ERA. He's 34 years old and there's no way in hell he pitches a full year again so it makes sense to get something out of him. The problem is by failing to sign Yamamoto, Ohtani and trading for Glasnow, who the hell replaces him?

                                                     Sale's shining moment

Oh it gets worse, the guy they got has no power and can't play the field. Grissom is a great contact hitter, hitting above .300 every year from 2021-23 in the minors and .280 in 23 games for Atlanta this season. The drawbacks is he only hit 9 big league home runs in 64 games and 216 at-bats and he is a horrendous short-stop. Now the rumor is they're going to move him to second base which is actually one of Boston's needs this year. Like I said, he can hit for contact then he's the modern day Marty Barrett. Problem is the team doesn't have many power threats besides Devers.

                                           Grissom made his ML debut against Boston

Now if you want to take the Boston media's "everything stinks" side, the Sox just gave up their former ace to save money for a guy who can't play defense or hit home runs. The Sox now have to rely on a rotation of Brayan Bello, Kutter Crawford, Nick Pivetta, Garrett Whitlock and Tanner Houck. Obviously the off-season is far from over with Lucas Giolito, Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery still available but the Sox have done nothing but trade talent for prospects going back to the Alex Verdugo trade. Combine that with the spending spree by the Dodgers and the New York Yankees trading for Verdugo and Juan Soto, the Sox are in the exact same position they were a year ago.

                                                        Boston media

Now if you want to take the Boston twitter "everything is awesome" side, the Sox finally got rid of Sale and they addressed a need by getting a proven infielder that at least can hit. The Sox have no idea if Nick Yorke, Mikey Romero or Marcelo Mayer is going to develop so to see someone like Grissom being able to hit in the majors is encouraging. If you put Grissom at second, now you have Casas at first, Story at short, Devers at third, Duran in center, Abreu in right, O'Neil in left, Wong behind the plate and Yoshida at DH. The Sox are rumored to be interested in Teoscar Hernandez as a free agent but even if they don't get him, the lineup is starting to take shape. Another thing is Grissom may never see the Sox. You could package him, Rich Fitts and others to get a Dylan Cease or Jesus Luzardo. Sale was never going to be the same again so this is definitely a win for Boston Twitter.

                                                              Boston Twitter

Now if you're a realist, the Sox are definitely not better than last year at the moment with the losses of Verdugo & Sale but the off-season isn't over yet. There's still time to make some moves but they better hurry. Getting a Blake Snell and trading for a potential ace could change the complexion of the team instantly. Either way, Sox GM Craig Breslow better do something.

Red Sox Trade For Tyler O'Neill (12/8/23)

Okay....didn't see THAT one coming. With the trade of Alex Verdugo and the departures of Adam Duvall and Justin Turner, the Boston Red Sox outfield was looking a bit thin. Yes they still had Wilyer Abreu, Jarren Duran and Masataka Yoshida but they didn't have that "veteran" presence that Duvall and Turner brought, until now. Last night Sox GM Chaim Bloom traded minor league right handed pitcher Victor Santos and Sox reliever Nick Robertson to the St. Louis Cardinals for the jacked up outfielder Tyler O'Neill.

                                                                         OUT

                                                                        IN

So who did the Sox give up? Robertson was the centerpiece of the Kike Hernandez trade this past season and naturally he allowed 9 runs in 12 innings when he got to Boston. Santos was considered a steal when ex-Sox GM Chaim Bloom traded CJ Chatam for him in July of 2021 going 4-2 in 8 starts with a 2.58 ERA down the stretch in Portland. He just hasn't developed since, putting mediocre numbers in Portland & Worcester in 2022 and not pitching at all in 2023 due to injury. The trades for Greg Weissert and Justin Slaten made Robertson expendable and getting Rich Fitts signaled the end for Santos. Good luck in St. Louis to both.

                                                             Bye bye Robertson & Santos

Now the question is, who did they get? Right handed hitting Tyler O'Neill is the modern day Gabe Kapler, backup outfielder with a bodybuilder physique. He had a breakout year in 2021 slamming 34 home runs, driving in 80 while hitting .286 but regressed after that. He's hit just 33 home runs since and hit .228 in 22 and .231 in 23. 

                                                           Gabe Kapler 2.0

The rumor is they're going to shift Yoshida to DH and need someone to take his spot in left, which is where O'Neill had been playing for the Cardinals. The drawbacks are not only did he regress in the last two seasons but he too, like Verdugo, clashed with his manager Oliver Marmol in St. Louis. Why Breslow would trade a headache and then trade for another headache is a headscratcher indeed. Still, he's only making about $5 million which is half of what Verdugo was making and less than both Duvall & Turner. Why is that significant? The Sox unloaded enough aging talent to possibly sign Yoshinobu Yamamoto and getting O'Neill at least fills the holes left by Duvall, Turner & Verdugo. Hopefully it all works out, otherwise, all you're stuck with is another headcase that puts up half the numbers Verdugo did. God help us!

Sox Lose Drohan, Yankees Get Soto (12/6/23)

Its early in the hot stove season but the New York Yankees put a cigarette out on the heads of the Boston Red Sox as they acquired superstar outfielder Juan Soto and gold glove outfielder Trent Gresham from the San Diego Padres for essentially flotsam and jetsam. The Yankees sent mediocre reliever Michael King, mediocre catcher Kyle Higashioka, young pitchers Jhony Brito and Randy Vasquez and number 2 ranked pitching prospect Drew Thorpe who went 11-2 between Hudson Valley and Somerset last season. With the Alex Verdugo trade yesterday, the Yankees added three quality bats and defenders while giving up essentially pitching prospects, King, Weissert and Higashioka. The only concern in New York is Rich Fitts and Drew Thorpe were supposed to be their future stars on the mound and now they're gone. But their need was offense after finishing 29th out of 30 teams in batting average, even worse than the Red Sox.

                                                            Yankees get stronger

And what did the Red Sox do at the winter meetings? Get weaker of course. For the second year in a row the Sox got plundered in the Rule 5 draft. Number 3 ranked pitching prospect Shane Drohan, who dominated Portland last year before flopping in Worcester, went to the Chicago White Sox. 22 year old Salem Red Sox pitcher Jose Ramirez also went to the White Sox with Drohan. Brock Bell of the SAL Champion Greenville Drive went to the Cincinnati Reds, Ryan Fernandez of the Worcester Red Sox went to the St. Louis Cardinals, Ryan Miller of the Portland Sea Dogs went to the Los Angeles Angels, 22 year old right handed pitcher Railin Perez went to the Houston Astros, 21 year old first baseman Alexis Hernandez went to the Toronto Blue Jays and 20 year old Dominican prospect Johnfrank Salazar also went to the Cardinals. The biggest loss was Worcester fan favorite Ryan Fitzgerald going to the Kansas City Royals, he was their unofficial franchise player. So after the Sox lost 9 guys, who did they get? Just one...28 year old backup catcher Mickey Gasper of the New York Yankees. They lost one of their best pitching prospects and their most popular triple A player and got just a backup catcher closer to retirement than prospect status. Not good.

                                                     Breslow's one pick.....a backup catcher

Not all was lost though. The Sox did make one move that might work out. They traded 10th round pick, left handed pitcher Ryan Ammons to the New York Mets for 26 year old right handed pitcher Justin Slaten. Slaten was picked up in the Rule 5 draft by the Mets from the Texas Rangers. He put up good numbers for Round Rock in AAA and he's closer to ML ready than Ammons was coming off an injury. If nothing else, he could be Worcester's closer this coming season. Ammons becomes the first casualty of the 2023 draft class that actually signed.

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All in all this was a bad day for the Red Sox. The Yankees got a generational talent in Soto and the Sox got a triple A backup catcher and a triple A relief pitcher. Combined with losing 9 guys in the Rule 5 draft....fans are getting impatient. They have every right to be after the franchise steered right into the toilet after the 2019 season and totally sucked the last two years. Still, if the endgame of getting pitchers like Fitts and Slaten is to get Dylan Cease or unloading Alex Verdugo's contract means more money for Yoshinobu Yamamoto, go for it. The only difference is with the Yankees reloaded on offense, the Sox now HAVE to make a move. If Breslow fails to make a splash, its going to be another long year in Boston.

Red Sox Trade Verdugo To The Yankees (12/5/23)

It was bound to happen but the feud between Boston Red Sox outfielder Alex Verdugo and manager Alex Cora has come to an end as the enigmatic outfielder has been traded to none other than the New York Yankees. The Yankees were looking for a left handed bat that can take advantage of the short porch in right field and the Red Sox needed pitching depth. It looked like both teams got what they wanted.

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So who did the Sox get in return? 23 year old right handed pitcher Rich Fitts was taken by the Yankees in the 6th round of the 2021 draft 17 slots after the Red Sox picked Daniel McElveny. He was 11-5 with a 3.48 ERA for Double A Somerset, which is better numbers than Portland's Hunter Dobbins (another 2021 draft pick) put up when Hunter went 5-5 with a 4.27 ERA. The Sox needed pitching depth and getting a guy like that who can start the year in Worcester is part of what they need. This was definitely the centerpiece of the trade so new Sox GM Craig Breslow better be right about this.

                                              11 wins and a 3.48 ERA in 27 starts

The Sox also got a proven major leaguer as they also got 28 year old right handed relief pitcher Greg Weissert. Weissert pitched in 29 games for the Yankees the last two years posting a combined 4.60 ERA. Best case scenario is he's a reliable bullpen option for a bullpen that's broken down three years in a row due to overuse of starters.

                                                    Major league experience

The final piece is the Yankees 2023 8th round pick, right handed pitcher Nicholas Judice out of Louisanna-Monroe University. Judice is a 6 foot 8 monster but only throws in the low 90's. Worst case scenario is he's the right handed version of Henry Owens but you never know. He did strike out 66 batters in 53 innings so this is definitely a crap shot pick. The Red Sox selected Trennor O'Donnell in the 8th round and he hasn't pitched since he got drafted either. 

                                                             6'8 soft tosser.....like Henry Owens

Now if the Sox choose to keep these guys, they got themselves a potential future starter, a proven major league bullpen piece and a wild card that may or may not be good. They may not keep them though. One of the moves Breslow could make is trade for a stud starter just like how Jed Hoyer traded for Josh Beckett and Dave Dombrowski traded for Chris Sale. Sacrificing Fitts, Judice and other prospects to get a Dylan Cease could be on the table. Verdugo was also due to make 9 million dollars this year and now that comes off the books. The Sox are now free of Corey Kluber's 10 million, James Paxton's 4 million and Adalberto Mondesi's 3 million so that's a grand total of 26 million with those four gone. The prospects could help land them Cease in a trade and the 26 million could help land Yoshinobu Yamamoto if the Sox can outbid other teams. If that's Breslow's endgame, I'm all for it.

                                                     Wheelin and dealin'

In other news, the Boston Red Sox landed the 12th overall pick in the MLB draft lottery tonight. Two notable selections the Sox have picked at number 12 in the past were Jay Groome back in 2016 and a fella out of Georgia Tech in the 1994 draft named Nomar Garciaparra. Not saying the Sox are going to draft a future major leaguer like Groome or a stud like Nomah' but its possible.

                                                          12th overall in 1994

As it stands right now the Sox lineup looks like this:

CF - Duran

RF - Abreu

1B - Casas

3B - Devers

LF - Yoshida

SS - Story

2B - Rafaella

DH - ???

C - Wong

Bench - McGuire, Valdez, Refsnyder

I'd love to see the Sox sign a good defensive third baseman and shift Devers over to DH to cut down on errors but it doesn't seem likely. Still, as it stands now the Sox have some pop and speed in their lineup, money freed up to sign a top flight starter and plenty of prospects to trade for a top flight starter. Get it done Breslow.