MANAGER
Someone long-tenured from LAD, TB or another forward organization who could help update the position. Sizemore is a good bench coach or otherwise AAA Charlotte manager or roving instructor.
ARBITRATION-ELIGIBLE PLAYERS
- Andrew Vaughn: $6.4M non-tender
- Nicky Lopez: $5.1M non-tender
- Garrett Crochet: $2.9M tender
- Gavin Sheets: $2.6M non-tender
- Enyel De Los Santos: $1.7M non-tender
- Jimmy Lambert: $1.2M non-tender
- Justin Anderson: $1.1M non-tender
- Steven Wilson: $1M tender
- Matt Foster: $900K non-tender if not healthy
CLUB OPTION
- Yoán Moncada: $25M ($5M buyout) decline
- Max Stassi: $7M ($500K buyout) decline
OTHER IMPENDING FREE AGENTS
- Michael Soroka (Made $3M in 2023) try to retain in 1 yr guaranteed deal with team option for 2nd year
- Mike Clevinger ($3M) let go
- Chris Flexen ($1.75) let go
FREE AGENTS
Sign best SP available for a 1 year deal at end of January to be Opening Day starter. This will be a trade deadline flip candidate. Who knows who this will be? Somebody's market will crash.
C Seby Zavala, why not
1B / DH: Carlos Santana, so there's a recognizable name on the team
If possible: if theres money in the budget in ST and theres still an unsigned quality FA hitter, sign him as a flip candidate, and play him wherever.
TRADES
I would headhunt position player prospects in trade, with SS being the main position to fill. Then I would look for CF, RF, and slugger position player prospects.
Sox trade with BAL
Sox trade SP Drew Thorpe for C/1B Samuel Basallo
Sox trade with PHI
Sox trade SP Crochet + SP Cannon to PHI for SS Starlyn Caba, CF Justin Crawford, OF Griffin Burkholder, SP Mick Abel
Sox trade with SD
Sox trade CF Robert, C Korey Lee to SD for SS Leodalis DeVries, C Ethan Salas, 3 lower level upside types
SUMMARY
Sox Rotation:
1. FA 2. Burke 3. Martin 4. Abel 5. Bush / Schuster / Carela / Irirarte / Nastrini / Eder ST battle / revolving door
C Seby Zavala / Quero / Basallo for '25
1B Santana / Benintendi
2B Lenyn Sosa / Baldwin for '25
SS Brooks Baldwin / Montgomery for '25
3B Ramos
DH Mixed / whoever needs ABs
CF Fletcher for '25 / if Baldwin hits try him there
RF ST competition between in house garbage and waiver pickups
LF Benintendi and crap
The goal for me would be to build to a contender in 2026 or 2027.
A 3-headed 1B/C/DH Rotation of Basallo / Quero / Salas with Salas as the main C while Quero and Basallo handle some C plus 1B and DH (shared with another player) could be awesome, and would seem progressive.
A SS situation where Caba and DeVries are coming up the ladder adds hope. Montgomery starts off at SS and moves to 3B hopefully.
Hopefully 1 of Caba / DeVries takes SS. Then the other plus Bonemer / Sosa takes 2B. Then hopefully Montgomery / Ramos gives us a 3B. Crawford could be the CF of the future. Maybe with Vargas and others we get a LF from our system. Still, we could make these moves and still have nothing for RF in the system besides Wolkow.
The future rotation of Schultz - Smith - Taylor plus more e.g. Abel, Irirarte, Larson. Etc. could be great. I think the Sox need to trade their arms for bats.
