PREAMBLE
Getz filled out the 2024 roster as haphazardly and incompetently as the previous boobs to create history. Fortunately for him it establishes a baseline where you can only go up.
MANAGER
Totally does not matter as Grady Sizemore proved. This guy is getting fired too, so lets stick with Grady.
ARBITRATION-ELIGIBLE PLAYERS
Write “tender,” “non-tender” or “rework/extend” after each player and their projected 2025 salaries. Feel free to offer explanation afterward if necessary.
- Andrew Vaughn: $6.4M - non-tender. No one else would pay this guy $6mil, so we shouldn't either.
- Nicky Lopez: $5.1M - non
- Garrett Crochet: $2.9M - tender. Prepared to extend him three years. So 5 yrs - 125 mil, pretty good story making a home grown guy the first $100mil Soxman. He won't take less than this, and we aren't offering this either.
- Gavin Sheets: $2.6M - non
- Enyel De Los Santos: $1.7M - non
- Jimmy Lambert: $1.2M - non
- Justin Anderson: $1.1M - tender, he seemed more comfortable under Grady with a consistent role. There is zero reason to spend real money on relievers like last year.
- Steven Wilson: $1M - tender. He's better than Brebbia, Leone, and Hill so we are already starting out ahead.
- Matt Foster: $900K - non. Gets an invite to camp though.
CLUB OPTIONS
Write “pick up” or “decline” or “rework” after the option.
- Yoán Moncada: $25M ($5M buyout) Buyout. too bad we couldn't Sell Short in 2022.
- Max Stassi: $7M ($500K buyout) - one of the weirdest Sox careers ever. Hope his kid is doing ok.
OTHER IMPENDING FREE AGENTS
Try to retain, extend qualifying offer, or let go?
- Michael Soroka (Made $3M in 2023) - let go
- Mike Clevinger ($3M) - let go
- Chris Flexen ($1.75) - let go, but he's coming to camp if he can't get a job. He's a 125 inning guy who was forced to throw 160 IP.
FREE AGENTS
List three free-agent targets you’d pursue during the offseason, with a reasonable contract. A good example of a bad idea:
There's no reason to buy early, so please ignore your Boy Scout instincts Chris and put everything off until Feb 1st. When the money teams stop spending there will be buys late.
No. 1: Harrison Bader or Tyler O'Neill or Jurickson Profar (1 year, $10 million). One of these RH hitting OF should be around come Feb 1st. The real disaster of the Benintendi trade is that you signed a 1-2 WAR player to a 5 yr contract. We need a RH hitter to fill out my heavy platoon lineup. I'm ok going as high as one year $17mil to fill this spot, but please no multi year contracts for someone who could fall into the abyss.
No. 2: Goldschmidt or Rizzo or Hoskins (1 year, $10 million). All of these old guys are better than Vaughn, and one of them should be around Feb 1st. Same thing, I would go to $15mil to fill this, but please no multi-year.
No 3: Jose Iglesias (1yr/6 mil). He won't need to play very long since Montgomery will be up in June at the latest. He'll come in handy all year if needed though.
TRADES
Propose trades that you think sound reasonable for both sides, and the rationale behind them. A good example of a bad idea:
No. 1: Trade Luis Robert to the Yanks/Dodgers/Mets/Phils/Cubs/Red Sox. Free Luis Robert, he isn't good at playing meaningless baseball games and he's bringing down the vibe. Get whatever you can, hopefully its one top 10 org guy, and a couple solid lower level guys. I really like Luis, but he no longer makes sense on this team since he costs too much. One of the big 6 teams could use him badly, and spending $15 mil for them is nothing. He's an allstar on a good team, and a cancer on the worst team in baseball. We need more high A and AA position player talent.
SUMMARY
Getz needs to get us more flexible and compatible, so we need more platoon options, and a bullpen that can go long when our young starters bust in the 2nd or 3rd.
1B - Rizzo ($10mil) he's going to be happy to be home. Ramos/Sosa/Vargas/Quero to platoon sometimes.
2B - Sosa/Baldwin - Brooks is going to be great to have around. Sosa can get some work in the OF too.
SS - Iglesias/Baldwin. Iglesias can help out at 3B when Montgomery comes up.
3B - Vargas/Ramos. 50/50 split until July 1st then pick one. Other plans for the other guy
C - Quero/Lee. Don't need to press it right away, but if Quero comes out hard we've got DH/1B to keep his bat in the lineup.
DH - Benintendi . He can sill be a 1 WAR player if he never plays the field.
LF - Vargas or Ramos/Deloach. Colas can be brought up and down to push Deloach and Fletch.
CF - Bader/Fletcher. Bader is playing everday. Please don't force Fletch into the lineup against lefty's.
RF - Julks/Bader.
SP1 - Crochet
SP2 - Cannon
SP 3 - Martin
SP 4 - Thorp
SP 5 - Burke
Bullpen - Anderson, Wilson, Shuster, Berroa, Varland, Bush, Ellard, Nastrini. There are enough guys here who can cover 3 or more innings for the predictable days when our young starters get blown out early. Also guys who can fill in for spot starts, and possibly replace one of the SP. Could easily see Bush/Nastrini/Iriarte finish with over 100 IP.
My overall payroll is way lower than the $113mil mark because they aren't spending big this offseason. This team could win 70 games if it all went right, but it will certainly win 50 games and thats the bar we are swinging for. Next year won't be any good, but there is definitely hope in this pitching staff beyond 2025. Hopefully we have a new owner who will spend in 2026.
