Awkward indeed. Especially considering there was other visible ways to upgrade the lineup and/or it's upside this winter that didn't involve trading away our only real noteworthy/cost controlled pitching piece on the roster. With nothing much in terms of back fill potential on the near farm horizon at that.
Although while maintaining a belief that any additional incoming bat would probably come with a follow up trade of Bradley, I'm also kinda left guessing that if the Sox really did have a strong internal interest in adding Santana we'd have already seen leaks of that popping up before the Brewers pulled the trigger on both Cain/Yelich. Assuming everybody involved was doing their jobs and consistently exploring alternative options prior to making any firm decisions, of course.
The hypothetical posed doesn't necessitate Rodriguez being the one traded. If we're talking about the Brewers (or any team looking at a current window), they may actually prefer a package involving Pomeranz or a subsidized Porcello. And I would prefer that if I'm the Sox. The assumption is it's going to be a struggle to re-sign Sale after 2019. A rotation led by Price and Darvish should be able to compete in the playoffs. We've already hitched our $30M wagon to Price through 2022. Signing Darvish to a reasonable deal (4/$80? 5/$90?) could extend our theoretical window without having to re-sign Sale, especially if coupled with a decent, young, cheap bat instead of a $25M a year DH on the wrong side of 30.
I know we disagree on this, but there are very few bats that it makes sense to move JBJ to accommodate. He's a top 10-15 OFer in the game over the last two years (one good, one "bad"). I understand (and grudgingly agree) that you'd prefer to have a larger portion of that value come at the plate, in the face of the current roster construction. But short of JD Martinez, it's going to be hard to find a player that improves the team at all in a 1-for-1 swap in the lineup.
It certainly wouldn't be Darvish imo. Not with 2 remaining years left on Sale, and with us already locked into a huge long term commitment on Price (no chance he opts out). Beyond the min/max 2018 appeal and people in that JD thread reaching really hard at something that helps avoid acknowledging the potential possibility of what essentially amounts to a downgraded team off-season, it just doesn't make a lot of overall sense. The Sox are already in bad enough financial shape, and the rotation isn't enough of an area of current need (even if we were to trade Edro), to warrant a best case scenario of paying out big 5 year money on a SP who turns 32yo this season.
I like the rumor that LA could still end up in there in the event they dump a few more contracts though. Especially if one of them ended up being Grandal. Who as I noted earlier in the off-season still would make a lot of sense to me, and is probably the one possible lineup upgrade out there that wouldn't require DD to do any real roster shuffling other then dumping Leon off somewhere else.
How do you figure? A full season of David Price alone adds an expected 2-4 wins. Even if you don't accept the notion that the majority of the roster should improve/bounce back, how do you conclude that the 2018 version would be a downgrade?
The rotation doesn't need an upgrade. But the slots currently held by Sale, Pomeranz, and Porcello will have to be filled in two years. Paying Darvish + young acquired bat a combined $20M a year makes more long-term financial sense than JDM + traded pitcher $30M+, doesn't it?