PREAMBLE
This team needs to focus money on players that will help in a competitive 2025. Only spend money on players in prime or "lottery ticket", non-roster Invitee types. So the players in their prime take us to the Asian market (which Sox have not signed directly since Iguchi). Lets get it done.
ARBITRATION-ELIGIBLE PLAYERS
- Dylan Cease: $8.8M Tender
- Andrew Vaughn: $3.7M Tender
- Michael Kopech: $3.6M Tender
- Touki Toussaint: $1.7M Tender
- Trayce Thompson: $1.7M Non-Tender
- Garrett Crochet: $900K Tender (Crochett to minors to stretch out as starter)
- Clint Frazier: $900K Non-Tender
- Matt Foster: $740K Tender (Bannister gets this guy back to very good reliever level)
- [6 Players, $19.44M]
CLUB OPTIONS
- Tim Anderson: $14M ($1M buyout) DECLINE
- Liam Hendriks: $15M ($15M buyout, paid $1.5M annually over next 10 years) DECLINE
MUTUAL OPTIONS
- Mike Clevinger: $12M mutual option ($4 million buyout) Takes Buyout
OTHER IMPENDING FREE AGENTS
- Yasmani Grandal (Made $18.25M in 2023) Let Go
- Elvis Andrus ($3M) Let Go in Plan (option for MI competition)
- Bryan Shaw ($720K) Let Go (league minimum $740k bullpen option closer to ST)
- José Ureña ($720K) Let Go (league minimum $740k bullpen option closer to ST)
FREE AGENTS
List three free-agent targets you’d pursue during the offseason, with a reasonable contract. A good example of a bad idea:
No. 1: Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Six year, $200M; $30M year 1). 25 y/o top of rotation starters do not come available often. Time to strike for a guy entering his prime.
No. 2: Jung-Hoo Lee (five year, $100M; $17.5M year 1). 25 y/o top flight, left handed hitting outfielders entering their prime do not come available often. I wanted Ha-Seong Kim and Seiya Suzuki the few years ago. So I am all in on this.
No. 3: Manny Piña (one year, $3M). Need an outside catcher to "push" Lee and Perez. I would have been fine with Seby just over league minimum pushing them. So more a placeholder for any cheap catcher. (Victor Caratini and Mitch Garver too expensive for this)
No. 4: Adalberto Mondesi (Minor league deal, NRI; $2M if he makes the team with a $8M 2025 options with $1M buyout). 28 y/o defensive shortstop. Former Royal. He has injury issues and was a former prospect. He is 1 guy I am trying to get as an NRI, no matter what. {Jose Inglesias, Paul DeJong, Elvis also considered for MI duty).
No. 5: Pitchers, NRI like Brett Anderson; injury guys like Tyler Mahle, Brad Keller (Royal), rehab value (Chris Flexen). I am not specifying any, other than Brett Anderson as NRI.
TRADES
I got no trade ideas to be rational on. So I am willing to trade anyone not named Robert for younger, controllable guys or lottery tickets. Need "value".
- Vaughn, Benintendi, Eloy, Yoan, Sheets all available
- Cease, Kopech, Crochet all available
SUMMARY
26-man
- (2) Catchers: Pena, Lee and Perez (Lee and Perez "battle", both have an option year remaining
- (2) 1B/DH: Eloy and Vaughn. Sheets in AAA, traded or whatever
- (1) 3B: Yoan
- (4) MI/UT: Sosa, Popeye, Romy and Remillard have options. Competing with Mondesi for starters and UT position. I say bring in Inglesias too as NRI. (Yoan needing a break and Romy/Remi being able to cover OF)
- (3) OF: Robert, Jung-Hoo Lee, and Benintendi
- Leaves 1 more spot for a NRI OF, Sheets, Cespedes, Victor Cruz, etc. Won't need to cover CF with Jung-Hoo Lee
- (5) Starting Pitchers: Cease, Yamamoto, Kopech, Touki, and Nastrini. (Scholtens, Eder, Mena, Brett Anderson pushing them in ST)
- (6) RHRPs: Santos, Foster, Leasure, Lambert, Patino, Garcia, Speas, Cronin, Padilla, etc
- (2) LHRPs: Bummer, Banks, Peralta (second 2 have options left) [Crochet if minor league starting doesn't work out]
About $150M Spent. Not looking to compete, but hoping Montgomery, Qureo, Ramos, look like contributors for 2025, and one of Cespedes and Colas shows they can be a 4th OF. (Tatum, Burke, and Veras growth too).
Another $38M for (C) Cartini, (SPs) Flaherty and Giolito, and hell ReyLo and 2B/3B Donovan Solano, this team may compete in the lowly AL Central.
