What are you looking forward to in ‘23?

The_Dali

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Jul 2, 2021
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Let’s get optimistic.

Playoff hopes aside, what are you personally looking forward to watching year? There are more interesting storylines this year than I recall from recent seasons.

Based on what I’ve read/seen/heard about the team thus far, I’m looking forward to the following:

- is Whitlock going to be an effective starter?

- will Sale still be an “ace” or just above average?

- how will Story bounce back after surgery? Will he be a SS or 2B?

- Bello & Casas… what do we have?

- Mondesi… can he stay healthy? If so will he produce? 50sb?

- will Kike bounce back this year? Where is he gonna play? Cora mentioned him running more… will he become a SB threat?

- how does Yoshida fit in? Is the BA real? The 20+ HR power?

- what does Kluber have left?

- is Pivetta a Sp5 or does he have improvement this year?

- new contract for Devers… what does that do for his game? Mental situation? Loss of X… does Devers take on a leadership role now?

What else!?!?
 

pk1627

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The pen. Almost a complete revamp, keeping only Schreiber and Brasier. I hated getting to the 6th-7th innings last year. Late inning, close games are so much more fun with a decent pen.
 

YTF

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Let’s get optimistic.

Playoff hopes aside, what are you personally looking forward to watching year? There are more interesting storylines this year than I recall from recent seasons.

Based on what I’ve read/seen/heard about the team thus far, I’m looking forward to the following:

- is Whitlock going to be an effective starter?

- will Sale still be an “ace” or just above average?

- how will Story bounce back after surgery? Will he be a SS or 2B?

- Bello & Casas… what do we have?

- Mondesi… can he stay healthy? If so will he produce? 50sb?

- will Kike bounce back this year? Where is he gonna play? Cora mentioned him running more… will he become a SB threat?

- how does Yoshida fit in? Is the BA real? The 20+ HR power?

- what does Kluber have left?

- is Pivetta a Sp5 or does he have improvement this year?

- new contract for Devers… what does that do for his game? Mental situation? Loss of X… does Devers take on a leadership role now?

What else!?!?
All of the above as well as where Houck gets slotted, can the pen keep this team in games on a consistent basis and what positive contributions might we see out of WOOstah
 

joe dokes

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A re-something'd Verdugo. I really thought he was going to be the next contender's Millar. Production *and* the guy who passes around the shots pre-game.
 

Sin Duda

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Reposting with updates from "How do you feel now..." thread.

I'm optimistic (but I always am until the facts prove different).

Catching: I think the catching tandem will be league average.
1B: Casas will be top 10 1B MLB in OPS and play 120+ games. Bobby D will get 30-40 games of reps and hit...not so well.

MI: Kike will surprise as the early SS, both hitting and fielding. Mondesi will contribute offensively low OBP but good SLG, lead th team in SBs, and play quality SS once he's healthy. 2B will be okay with Arroyo (not average but not an embarrassment) until Story comes back after the ASB, and Story will hit in Aug and Sep.

3B: Devers will be about the same as first half of 2022, but without the severe drop-off, so top 10 in OPS for the league (regardless of position). Turner will fill in when needed, allowing Raffy to sit when he's hurt.

OF: Yoshida struggles early but has a 300/360/440 second half. Duvall Ks a ton first half and moves to the bench when Story returns. Verdugo hits at a .300 pace but low power. Refsnyder comes back to earth but has some value as a pinch hitter.

DH: It's Turner's gig most of the time, and he gets on bae well (OBP of .350, OPSW close to .800); others rotate through to stay fresh and Turner plays 3B or 1B for those games.

I like the bullpen but am wary of the starters' health.
 

Rovin Romine

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Let’s get optimistic.

Playoff hopes aside, what are you personally looking forward to watching year? There are more interesting storylines this year than I recall from recent seasons.
It's almost easier to say what isn't in play in terms of having an interesting story and potentially good outcomes. And most of those "givens," basically Devers, are enjoyable to watch.

I think just about everyone else comes with the chance for significant upside: Casas, Story, Mondesi, McGuire/Wong, Verdugo, Duvall, Yoshida, Turner - it's very much a new club. The starting rotation has some excellent potential, as does the bullpen.

It'll be interesting to see the new rule changes and how they impact the game. I think the Sox got jobbed with the sticky-ban/spin-rate issue, so with any luck they're ahead of the shift-ban, pitch clock, and baserunning changes.

It will be an interesting club to watch. I could also easily see it being a fun club to watch given the personalities. And I hope it will be a competitive one.
 

NJ_Sox_Fan

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Looking forward to a few things -

1. Yoshida and how his skill set translates to MLB
2. Full years of Casas and Bello
3. The (hopefully) triumphant return of Chris Sale
4. Devers continued progression
5. Whitlock and Houk
 

Sandy Leon Trotsky

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The new young core is number 1 (and how Devers interacts with them)- Bello, Casas, Houck, Whitlock at the ML level, and Mayer, Bleis, Cedanne, etc….
How the older players health hold up and warding off regression.
 

A Bad Man

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Masataka Yoshida. And Mayer in Portland. And every single other thing.

Edit: misspelled Mayer
 
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Sox Puppet

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Honestly, I'm eager to see how Ceddanne Rafaela's game translates to the majors. I'm higher on him than most and hope he isn't traded away, especially since his name always seems to be floated around as a good bargaining chip that we can nonetheless afford to part with.
 

nvalvo

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MASATAKA YOSHIDA.

Just a few months ago, this dude came to plate against the closer for the best team in NPB, the Yakult Swallows of Tokyo. It was the bottom of the ninth in the Japan Series, and Orix was down two games to one. A loss would put Orix on the brink of elimination in the first-to-four series. And their ace, Yamamoto, had already left game one with injury after getting shelled. The cavalry was not coming.

Yoshida had already hit a go-ahead HR in the fifth inning, breaking a 2-2 tie, but the Swallows had responded with two runs in the top of the sixth on a Norichika Aoki double, and still held the resulting 4-3 lead.

But in the ninth, Swallows' All Star closer Scott McGough — once traded with Nathan Eovaldi for Hanley Ramirez — walked the leadoff man, and allowed that runner to score by throwing the ball into centerfield on a botched 163 double play. And then, with two outs, this happened.
 

YTF

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Honestly, I'm eager to see how Ceddanne Rafaela's game translates to the majors. I'm higher on him than most and hope he isn't traded away, especially since his name always seems to be floated around as a good bargaining chip that we can nonetheless afford to part with.
If Rafaela's outfield defense is as advertised, I'm very much looking forward to seeing him patrol CF for the Sox and if he can do anything close to league average with his bat we should be thrilled.
 

chrisfont9

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Looking forward to a few things -

1. Yoshida and how his skill set translates to MLB
2. Full years of Casas and Bello
3. The (hopefully) triumphant return of Chris Sale
4. Devers continued progression
5. Whitlock and Houk
Wow yep that’s my list too.

If Yoshida pans out, we are talking about the best form of talent you can still get: polished, no strings attached, just money and not all that much of it really.
 

Coachster

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1. Yoshida. Remember how much fun it was to watch Ortiz and Manny hit? There seemed to be a method, a strategy, to what they were doing. I'm hoping Masataka will be the same kind of hitter.
2. Adalberto Mondesi. He's supposed to be a terrific athlete, an elite defender and possessing terrific speed. Ok, show us.
3. Jorge Alfaro. The guy's an athlete. He's supposed to be able to hit. He's got a gun for an arm. If Varitek can get him to catch the ball, we might have something.
 

j44thor

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How they handle the trade deadline. They have a lot of bridge assets that won't be here when the core is ready to compete. Rather than trying to scratch and claw into a WC spot I hope they sell off anyone over 30YO and retool the prospect pool to have a legit core ready to compete in 24-25 behind Raffi, Marcelo, Casas, Bello, Whitlock et all. They need a 2016 NYY type trade deadline and should have the assets to pull it off.
 

Rasputin

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Other than what's already mentioned, I want to see what impact the new rules have on the running game.

I'm really looking forward to seeing Casas Bello for a whole season.

I'm really looking forward to Mata and Rafaela making their debuts and figuring out what they can be for 2024.

The trade deadline is interesting.
 

Daniel_Son

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Sale has something to prove in his first full season back since 2019 and pitches 170+ innings with a huge chip on his shoulder. With no weird injuries he surprises everyone and has a vintage Cy Young-caliber season.
 

Blizzard of 1978

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1. Yoshida. Remember how much fun it was to watch Ortiz and Manny hit? There seemed to be a method, a strategy, to what they were doing. I'm hoping Masataka will be the same kind of hitter.
2. Adalberto Mondesi. He's supposed to be a terrific athlete, an elite defender and possessing terrific speed. Ok, show us.
3. Jorge Alfaro. The guy's an athlete. He's supposed to be able to hit. He's got a gun for an arm. If Varitek can get him to catch the ball, we might have something.
Alberto Mondesi looks like a very talented shortstop. If healthy he will lead maybe AL in stolen bases. I think Red Sox surprised, so many people just hung up about Betts and Xander leaving. Will see. I am optimistic.
 

jon abbey

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Alberto Mondesi looks like a very talented shortstop. If healthy he will lead maybe AL in stolen bases. I think Red Sox surprised, so many people just hung up about Betts and Xander leaving. Will see. I am optimistic.
Welcome to the board, Yoda! :)
 

YTF

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Alberto Mondesi looks like a very talented shortstop. If healthy he will lead maybe AL in stolen bases. I think Red Sox surprised, so many people just hung up about Betts and Xander leaving. Will see. I am optimistic.
I'm not sure Mondesi will play enough to lead the league in SBs. That couple with the leg issues he's had makes it even less likely. That said I think he can still be an effective base runner/stealer for this team which will be a nice addition.
 

Heating up in the bullpen

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I'm another optimist. And I'm really REALLY ready for baseball!
I'm most looking forward to seeing how the kids do -- Bello and Casas in Boston, Rafaela and Mata in Worcester, Mayer and Yorke and Lugo and all the rest at the lower levels.
This piece from FanGraphs should have us all excited for Bello: https://blogs.fangraphs.com/brayan-bello-is-primed-for-a-breakout-year/
Not bad to be comped to Luis Castillo: "One of the most important things you need to know about Bello is his resemblance to Mariners ace Luis Castillo. There are many ways to calculate pitcher similarities, but Baseball Savant’s method tells us Castillo is Bello’s closest comparison by velocity and movement."
 

BornToRun

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Not having to think ”Please don’t go.” every time Raffy goes yard. And I’m excited to see how Yoshida transitions to the big leagues. I think he’s gonna be really good.
 

grimshaw

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I want Bloom's under the radar moves to work out. He needs a win. I've had a lot of faith in what he is doing so having some of that rewarded would be wonderful. If even one of Valdez, Hamilton, Abreu, or Binelas become future contributors I'll be happy, however unlikely that may be.

I'd like to see if Refsnyder and McGuire's improvements are here to stay, if Verdugo can handle right field and be an above average player, and if Wong is rosterable or if he rides the shuttle.

Yoshida is #1 for me though. If he out produces a few players who signed a ridiculous mega contracts it will be thoroughly satisfying. Right now Bloom and Keith Law are battling for smartest guy in the room, and it would be nice for Law to taste crow.

Mondesi working out would also be great.

The pitching not so much.
 

streeter88

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Sale has something to prove in his first full season back since 2019 and pitches 170+ innings with a huge chip on his shoulder. With no weird injuries he surprises everyone and has a vintage Cy Young-caliber season.
This would be truly incredible. If Sale pitches well, the Sox will contend. And I will owe the Jimmy Fund.

Aside from that, would be exciting to see a core middle order develop around Devers, Casas(?), Turner and maybe Verdugo. Not confident the Sox will have a good middle order, but it’s something to hope for.

Somebody else mentioned the rule changes - wouldn’t it be cool if ground ball singles were a thing again? I hated the shift and will be happy to see it go. More SBs would be good too.

And I hope Yoshida is a success.
 

The_Dali

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Good stuff here. I’ll add to the minor league chants that I’d like to see if Hamilton can contribute this year.

Looking through the roster it feels like a LOT more churn/change than any year I can remember.
 

The_Dali

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And another point… I’ve been somewhat impressed with Arroyo when he’s been healthy. He seems like a competent big league-caliber player when in the field. So I’m interested to see if we can get a full season out if him.
 

jteders1

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I'll say this, this team is fascinating. If you squint, you can see a team that puts it all together and is dangerous in the playoffs. If you also squint, you could see disaster, but it's February and hope springs eternal. I'm really interested in the young players, Bello, Mondesi, Casas, Houck and Whitlock will all be interesting to watch. Can Valdez make an impact from the minors? Even if the vets are cooked, and we're out of it by August, it could still be a really fun season to watch. Similar to 2014 once they got rid of BV, and we had the last couple of months was the Betts, Bradly JR, Benentendi show. They weren't winning a ton, but they were fun as hell to watch.
 

ookami7m

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I am looking forward to Opening Day. Because everything is better during baseball season.
 

Whoop-La White

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The only new acquisition I’m intrigued by is Yoshida. Just because there’s such a broad range of outcomes there—will he show power or be more of a single-doubles-on base guy—but his skills are all solid enough that I think his floor will still be high. Interesting that there hasn’t been the same media hype surrounding him as there was when Matsuzaka came over. I’m glad about that—let him train and do his work.

For the rest of the team, I think this is a year about younger players taking steps forward. There seems to be an expectation that Verdugo will grow into something more, and a full season of Casas will be fun to watch. I like Wong and hope he gets a chance to become a serious contributor. On the pitching end, I’m excited to see Bello pick up where he left off last year, and am curious to see if there are any emergences among Crawford, Winckowski, Kelly, etc.

The bullpen is interesting, Duvall might give them a Renfroe-type season, Turner could pepper the Monster with line drives, but there’s a lot of age and recuperation on the roster (Kluber, Sale, Paxton, Hernandez, Story) and I am holding my breath for the possibility that it hollows out too quickly. Which means the younger players will need to step up.
 

Sandy Leon Trotsky

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How they handle the trade deadline. They have a lot of bridge assets that won't be here when the core is ready to compete. Rather than trying to scratch and claw into a WC spot I hope they sell off anyone over 30YO and retool the prospect pool to have a legit core ready to compete in 24-25 behind Raffi, Marcelo, Casas, Bello, Whitlock et all. They need a 2016 NYY type trade deadline and should have the assets to pull it off.
Huh? Scratching and clawing into a WC spot would mean that the season was fun and exciting. It seems that the majority of the board here want every season to be competitive with a shot at the WS. I get it if they are 5+ out and deeply flawed in mid July with several injuries and nobody expected back for a stretch run…. But saying you don’t want to see a competing team make the last WC spot seems odd to me. We’ve seen very flawed teams in 2 straight seasons make the WsS
 

Rovin Romine

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Huh? Scratching and clawing into a WC spot would mean that the season was fun and exciting. It seems that the majority of the board here want every season to be competitive with a shot at the WS. I get it if they are 5+ out and deeply flawed in mid July with several injuries and nobody expected back for a stretch run…. But saying you don’t want to see a competing team make the last WC spot seems odd to me. We’ve seen very flawed teams in 2 straight seasons make the WsS
I take J44thor's point to mean that if the team is out of contention, he hopes for something at the trade deadline that will result in future promise. As a general statement, I'm on board with that.

But I agree with you that the process of getting into the post-season is exciting and enjoyable. 2021 was riveting and nail-biting in real-time. By contrast, the 2018-type experience is fun every so often - the team becomes a front-runner and it's really only a question of what happens in the post season.

But for me, baseball is about the season and its evolution from ST to the last day. 2021 was in many ways a better season to watch than 2018. The very-late 90s Sox teams with a transcendent Pedro starting every 5 days were better seasons to watch. Put Prime Pedro on the 2018 team and do you really feel you need to keep up with what's going on series by series? Probably not. You'd tune in at the close for the record wins run, and for the post-season.

For me, baseball is the only sport. I'll watch the occasional game of something else to be socially polite, and I'll take a look at a post-season game or two here and there if a favorite city's team is in it. So I get that casual fans might want to treat baseball that way - one sport in a cycle of sports that you only have to pay attention to occasionally, except during the playoffs, which you want your team to be in every year, because. . .that's really the time when you most pay attention. And then maybe in the off-season so you can fantasize around a big name acquisition which makes things easier to mentally slot.

But to me it would be a alien experience to float outside the season and (for example) try to figure out in September what the deal was with that new Bill Mueller guy. And it would have been totally weird to see the fanbase comprehensively bitch in December of 2002 that Mueller wasn't a big enough name (or Walker or Timlin were too old to be interesting, or Ortiz to unproven). But I guess that's where a chunk of the fan-base is now.
 

walt in maryland

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How they handle the trade deadline. They have a lot of bridge assets that won't be here when the core is ready to compete. Rather than trying to scratch and claw into a WC spot I hope they sell off anyone over 30YO and retool the prospect pool to have a legit core ready to compete in 24-25 behind Raffi, Marcelo, Casas, Bello, Whitlock et all. They need a 2016 NYY type trade deadline and should have the assets to pull it off.
That's kind of the 2013 model, isn't it? Except that team screwed things up by winning the World Series. The massive sell-off didn't happen until a year later.
 

walt in maryland

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I take J44thor's point to mean that if the team is out of contention, he hopes for something at the trade deadline that will result in future promise. As a general statement, I'm on board with that.

But I agree with you that the process of getting into the post-season is exciting and enjoyable. 2021 was riveting and nail-biting in real-time. By contrast, the 2018-type experience is fun every so often - the team becomes a front-runner and it's really only a question of what happens in the post season.

But for me, baseball is about the season and its evolution from ST to the last day. 2021 was in many ways a better season to watch than 2018. The very-late 90s Sox teams with a transcendent Pedro starting every 5 days were better seasons to watch. Put Prime Pedro on the 2018 team and do you really feel you need to keep up with what's going on series by series? Probably not. You'd tune in at the close for the record wins run, and for the post-season.

For me, baseball is the only sport. I'll watch the occasional game of something else to be socially polite, and I'll take a look at a post-season game or two here and there if a favorite city's team is in it. So I get that casual fans might want to treat baseball that way - one sport in a cycle of sports that you only have to pay attention to occasionally, except during the playoffs, which you want your team to be in every year, because. . .that's really the time when you most pay attention. And then maybe in the off-season so you can fantasize around a big name acquisition which makes things easier to mentally slot.

But to me it would be a alien experience to float outside the season and (for example) try to figure out in September what the deal was with that new Bill Mueller guy. And it would have been totally weird to see the fanbase comprehensively bitch in December of 2002 that Mueller wasn't a big enough name (or Walker or Timlin were too old to be interesting, or Ortiz to unproven). But I guess that's where a chunk of the fan-base is now.
I don't believe they'll be out of contention at the deadline, but what do I know? They managed to be in contention last year, despite all the crap that went on
 

j44thor

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That's kind of the 2013 model, isn't it? Except that team screwed things up by winning the World Series. The massive sell-off didn't happen until a year later.
Yes the 2013 team also had the good fortune of having a competitive team when the rest of the AL East was scuffling and I don't see that happening in 23 but I guess it is within the realm of possibilities. I'd hate to see this team trade off assets in hopes of grabbing the final WC spot to play a one and done game. If they somehow are up 5 games in the East at the trade deadline I'd likely change my mind but I think the true core of this team is a season or two away and I'd rather see an early to mid 2000s approach of building a strong home grown squad of cost controlled players sprinkled in with FA/trades vs. trying to buy a championship where you go first to worst repeatedly like we've seen the last decade.

Obviously you want to win the WS every single year but if my choices after that are:

A. 5th place finish and we trade Jansen, Sale, Kluber, Duvall, Paxton, Turner for some blue chip cost controlled prospects
or
B. 2nd place finish lose in WC play-in or WC round and we trade some future assets to make the playoffs

I'd take A in a heartbeat as I think the future of this team is bright this just isn't likely the year.
 

Max Power

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How would you know in July what the team is going to do in the playoffs? I guess if you had a crystal ball and knew the Red Sox would make the last wild card, but fail to advance past the first round (which is 2 of 3 now), you'd choose A. But without perfect foresight, I like to watch competitive baseball all through the season, so I'd take B. The vast majority of minor leaguers who get traded away never amount to anything. Whether you're on the sending or receiving end of the deadline trades, they often don't amount to much. The Yankees' getting Gleyber in 2016 is very unlikely to be replicated.
 

Petagine in a Bottle

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Strong disagree, I just want a competitive and fun season. I’d prefer they win the WS than lose in the WC round but the latter would bring a lot of excitement and joy, I think. The worst part of pats season was the final few months of just nothingness. I would like to avoid that; the more meaningful baseball to watch, the better!
 

Merkle's Boner

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I’m most excited about the development of Marcelo Mayer and the hope that he will break camp with the big club next year as the starting SS. Probably a stretch but that’s what excites me.
 

LogansDad

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I’m most excited about the development of Marcelo Mayer and the hope that he will break camp with the big club next year as the starting SS. Probably a stretch but that’s what excites me.
I have been tooting this horn for a bit. His attitude, maturity and the stories about his leadership that I have read scream fast mover to me. I envision Portland for the entire 2nd half this season where he dominates, earns a spring invite, crushes in spring training and breaks camp in Boston.

It'd be a similar path to Julio Rodriguez' age 19/20 season, so it isn't outside the realm of possibilties.
 

The_Dali

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If you are paying attention you will know that this current FO won’t sell the farm for a slim chance at a WC berth. We’ve seen it the last 2 years. I wouldn’t worry about that. The head-scratching will begin if the Sox are somehow 3 games up in the East in July… what to do then ??
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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If you are paying attention you will know that this current FO won’t sell the farm for a slim chance at a WC berth. We’ve seen it the last 2 years. I wouldn’t worry about that. The head-scratching will begin if the Sox are somehow 3 games up in the East in July… what to do then ??
Sure they won't sell the farm. I don't think anyone is suggesting they will if they're in contention. I expect if they're in position to get a wildcard spot or even leading the division around the deadline, we'll see more of what we saw in 21 and 22: marginal improvements and low cost upgrades. Basically, the 2023 version of the Schwarber acquisition.

The only way I see them making a significant acquisition at the deadline (something that requires a significant asset or two) is if it is someone who fits an immediate need AND comes with years of future control. It won't be a high-cost, short-term rental.
 

JBJ_HOF

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If you are paying attention you will know that this current FO won’t sell the farm for a slim chance at a WC berth. We’ve seen it the last 2 years. I wouldn’t worry about that. The head-scratching will begin if the Sox are somehow 3 games up in the East in July… what to do then ??
We know what they will do, get the best bat on the market for a prospect and no CBT money. Bloom has already done it in 2021.
 

Sandy Leon Trotsky

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And then there will be plenty of kvetching that Bloom only tinkered around the edges. What the hell do people want? If they're scratching and competing for a Wild Card spot and Bloom trades Rafaela for a good missing piece to the ML roster and they don't make the playoffs or get bumped in the first round, people will criticize Bloom for not recognizing the weakness and being a seller and losing Rafaela! If he only tinkers and they don't make the playoffs/get bumped in the first round, people will criticize Bloom for not making a big move and clutching prospects. The guy has been screwed by this fanbase, and I'm sorry... it's mostly due to shitty media coverage that doesn't consider the context.