Is That What I Said?

I mean, they sort of listened. In my last post, I said that after the Red Sox called up Roman Anthony they had a problem. They just had too many starters. Especially with players comng back from injury, there was a logjam. Something needed to be done. They needed to trade an infielder or an outfielder, or both, preferably for pitching.

So, I suppose that's what they did.

But, I don't think I said "trade your best hitter on a pretty team-friendly $300 million contract to get back marginal pitching in basically a salary dump.

Although, I'm not exactly surprised. When I saw the alert on my phone, my reaction was "wow...it must have been worse than I thought." Obviously, the Red Sox and Devers had a rocky relationship of late. After signing him to a ten year deal, the Sox basically treated him like dirt. At the same time, he didn't exactly act like a model employee. Was some of that literally lost in translation? Possibly. But, at some point there's too much there for there not to be an issue.

The latest story is that the Sox expect certain things from a $300 million player that Devers wasn't giving them. We've heard that story since the early years of the ownership, off the field. One of the main talking points when they were trading for ARod was that he was willing to play along and suck up to partners at team events and dinners. Nomar, on the other hand, had no interest in that. At the time, they actually justified ARod's huge contract by saying he would bring in more revenue in the boardrooms than Nomar or Manny ever could. I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing Devers was closer to Nomar than ARod.

Of course the biggest place that turned up was on the field. After signing Devers to a face-of-the-franchise level deal, they asked him to change positions to make room for an inferior player on a likely one-year deal. That's a terrible look from the Sox. This organization once called up a veteran player at the end of the season just to send a message to other aging vets that the team would do right by them. This is the opposite. "Come sign with us, and we'll hose you the first chance we get" isn't a great sales pitch. It's also not a great look to the fans. "Hey we signed this fan favorite for ten years. His jersey is now a safe buy. Oops, just kidding."

I obviously don't know the whole story. Were the Sox cold on Devers all along? Was his signing always an overreaction to losing Bogaerts? (Do the Sox need to stop throwing away good plans once they stick to them? Yes.) Could this make them quickly sign all their youngsters to longer term deals as a way to save face? If this wasn't a long-term issue that only popped up this season, will signing Bregman end up being one of the worst moves this team ever made?

I honestly don't know much about the players the Sox got in return. I know none of them have won a Cy Young, nor were they favored to win one this year. So, I'm guessing this is a downgrade. Some SF fans online were sad to see them go, but that was mostly based on potential. Like when Sox fans were sad to see Teel go...but were fine with it since it brought Crochet. This feels more like a depth move at best...especially this year. While those pieces are important to a championship team...you usually don't give up an all-star to get them. Teams pushing for the playoffs do the opposite.

So, speaking of the playoffs, where do the Sox go from here? 

It all depends on the kids now. Moving forward, once Bregman is back, it looks like the everyday lineup includes Bregman, Mayer, Story, Campbell, Anthony, Abreu, Rafaela, Duran, and Narváez? In some combination of field and DH? That's the best nine players though, correct? So if Anthony and Mayer perform like Devers, the Sox will be more than OK. If only one does, they'll be close. If neither does, they'll be in trouble. 

So I guess it's wait and see. there's just less margin for error than there used to be. And, the pitchers may need to help more than they have been. But the Sox are currently a half game out of the wild card after playing without Bregman and Abreu. The talent is still there.

It's just a matter of winning.

The Gang's All Here

Yesterday the Red Sox called up #1 overall prospect Roman Anthony. He joined Marcelo Mayer and Kristian Campbell to complete the Big Three, or Golden Trio, or Stardust Triplets, or whatever we're calling them. And that's a great sign for the future of the Sox. Which really only leaves one question. 

Now What?

I was not in the camp that said Anthony needed to be called up RIGHT NOW. Sure he deserves it. But, it was the question of what the Sox would do with him. The injuries made the decision a little easier...just like with Mayer...but what's the plan? Now that the clock is running, you can't bench them or even demote them...can you? So, how does it all shake out.

Ideally, without injuries, the Sox outfield has Duran, Abreu, Rafaella, and now Anthony. The infield has Bregman, Story, Mayer, Campbell, and Casas. That's how it looks this year, and probably next year. Story likely won't opt out. And, following his injury, I'm not so sure about Bregman. And those are just "projected starters". So, in case you can't count...they have too many infielders and too many outfielders. Something has to give.

My assumption is that at the deadline, the Sox would figure out how to move at least one of those players. Then, they would call up the kids afterwords. Unless, of course, trading the kids is the move.

Rafaella and Campbell are on team friendly long-term contracts. Which either means they're here to stay, or are incredibly valuable trade chips. 

But something needs to be done, pretty quickly. And, I admit, I don't know what the move is. Nor do I particularly care. I just need to trade an infielder and/or outfielder and get a different position in return. There's a couple ways to do it. Go big, and try for Skenes, or smaller and safer. What would Anthony and Mayer get you back? How about Abreu? Durran? Where's the other starting pitcher market? I'll admit that I didn't know who Crochet was until suddenly he became the trendy target for the Sox. Who else do I now know about? Where are the pitchers that come with high priced vets? Is there a Beckett-Lowell deal that get a vet first baseman as well?

Anyone have a plan?