jaysfan2014

Definitely. It'll require someone like Kris Bryant, Joey Gallo, Javier Baez, Joc Pederson, etc., along with multiple other pieces, to trade Stanton. Boston has a good farm, but it's mostly pitching, and not a lot of bats after Betts.

Free Agent deals of veterans over 30 I meant.

Marlins aren't trading Stanton anytime soon, especially with the possibility the Marlins could contend next season. And the Marlins will want something a lot better than what the Sox have on the farm if they're trading Stanton, preferably a power hitting OF. Swihart, Betts, and their pitchers won't cut it, especially when Miami has enough young pitching prospects in the system. And Cespedes is a free agent in 2015, and not the kind of player Miami wants. They want MLB ready and controllable talent for Stanton, not expiring contracts. In addition, the player's union and Rob Manfred will likely block any Stanton trade, because of what happened in 2012 after the Marlins had their fire sale, likely pushing for the Marlins to ACTUALLY make an attempt to resign Stanton.

You know, the Red Sox badly overpaid here. Jose Abreu of the White Sox got less money, and he's an MVP candidate! And here's a piece on Castillo, with questions whether he's an everyday player, or basically a slightly better JBJ with offense(4th OF type): http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/red-sox-sign-rusney-castillo/

So says fans of 29 other teams who didn't get Castillo. Real teams also don't give out $12M/year contracts to unproven talents whose stats in Cuba may not translate in the MLB. It's another reason an international draft is needed so that teams aren't throwing ridiculous sums of money like this to foreign talent.

Considering his offensive struggles, Boston might bite. Bradley's value is pretty low right now, even with the elite D.. we might be able to get him for a prospect or two.

Either that or Boston has no confidence in Mookie Betts(who's a 2B forced into the outfield by Pedroia) and Bradley Jr. being long term pieces for the next great Red Sox team and may be traded for a big bat or pitcher in the offseason, with the Sox unlikely to offer the money and years required for free agents this winter (Remember, they gave an insulting 4 years/$70-80M offer to Jon Lester.. not encouraging for any hopes of them getting a big name starter.)

Of course, it's still dependent on whether Myers develops in Tampa, and whether the Royals make the playoffs..

Say goodbye to JBJ in Boston: Jesse SanchezVerified account ‏@JesseSanchezMLB Source: Cuban outfielder Rusney Castillo on track for record-setting 6-year, $72 million deal with #RedSox. $12M/year for an unproven talent who has never played in MLB? And yet, they cheap out on Jon Lester who will likely sign elsewhere after those insulting offers Boston gave him of 4/$70-80M.. when he'll get 9 figures from the Cubs, Yankees, Angels, Dodgers, etc.

Red Sox faves for Rusney Castillo. Could this mean JBJ is heading out the door? http://fullcount.weei.com/sports/boston/baseball/red-sox/2014/08/22/sources-red-sox-seen-as-favorites-to-land-rusney-castillo/ Their desperation to get Castillo may be a sign they're souring on Jackie Bradley Jr. being a part of the future. Don't be surprised if JBJ gets put on the trade block this offseason if Castillo signs with the Red Sox.

Royals have an easy stand, but the Tigers do not.. they're 4-4 vs. the Twins this year, and won't have Price in the series.

That's true. But this decline isn't new.. his offensive numbers have been in decline since 2011: OPS: 2011: .861 2012: .797 2013: .787 2014: .713 And because of Pedroia's decline, it may make the Red Sox wary on giving long-term deals to free agents, including Jon Lester: http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2014/07/23/dustin-pedroia-decline-brings-caution-long-term-contracts/oSTglggIGwSYVWMLmF1OlK/story.html

Now this is what Red Sox fans wish Jackie Bradley Jr. was.. a guy who does hit enough to compliment his Gold Glove caliber defense. And good work by Kiermaier. He's made these unbelievable plays all year. We'll see him first hand this weekend.

4.4 WAR as of last check according to Baseball-Reference. Still, losing Jacoby Ellsbury and his 5.8 WAR last offseason still stings a lot, as Jackie Bradley Jr/Mookie Betts/Brock Holt are huge downgrades due to being unproven (Betts), little power and better suited for a corner OF spot (Holt) and an all glove/no bat player (Bradley) who gets most of his WAR value for his defense and would be a 4th outfielder on most contending teams. The Angels had a guy like Bradley in Peter Bourjos.. and he didn't pan out either (and got traded to the Cardinals for David Freese), and doesn't even play regularly in St. Louis.

Angels sweep the Red Sox at Fenway in 4 games for the first time since the early 1960s, and the Red Sox were offensively challenged. Anyone thinking Cespedes and Craig are going to save this team doesn't realize that Boston's offensive problems are wide-ranging. -Pedroia's facing his worst season of his career, with significant drops in power, OPS and batting average. There's the main blame right there.. it's surprising nobody actually mentions this. -Ortiz is having a great season.. but he'd be over 100 RBIs by now if he had more depth in the lineup and Pedroia actually producing. But the real question is how much longer he can keep doing this (he'll be 39 in November). -Bogaerts, Middlebrooks and Bradley not developing as planned, with Bradley back in AAA and Bogaerts one foot in the door back to Pawtucket. And Middlebrooks has been injured frequently. -Holt has regressed post All-Star break.. I still feel he's a flash in the pan. Mookie Betts is the Red Sox's future leadoff hitter, not this guy. Holt is better suited as a bench player and super-utility guy. Pitching is not an issue in Boston.. it's that offense! And Pedroia is the main blame.

Hey, AA's been smarter this season to keep his young pitching prospects and avoid the mistakes from the Josh Johnson trade. Next year's rotation, barring trades, looks like: Dickey, Buehrle, Happ, Stroman, Hutchison, Sanchez, Norris with Nolin, Graveman expected in AAA.

Norris so far tonight: 5.0 IP, 1H, 1ER, 3BB, 9K, 1 HR. At the rate he's pitching (1.08 ERA, 32/4 K/BB ratio), we will almost certainly see him in September. And you can imagine he'll be a favorite for the 2015 rotation.

My mistake. He left due to personal reasons: http://fullcount.weei.com/sports/boston/baseball/red-sox/2014/08/21/yoenis-cespedes-leaves-game-after-three-innings/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter No word on why he left.

Pompey just got his first AAA hit off Nik Turley.

Cespedes just got hurt again..

Yes, but it's a necessity to boost attendance in markets. Also, the NFL is getting ready to water down their playoff system as well by expanding the wild card AGAIN. It's not just the MLB.

BTW, Detroit has double-headers coming up in the next two weeks. And after they disappointed vs. the Rays today, they've got their work cut out vs. the Twins and Yankees. They're .500 vs. the Twins.. and don't even know who their starters will be on Saturday. Currently, Detroit's probables are: Ray (FRI), Verlander (SAT... maybe), TBA, Scherzer (SUN) And Saturday's will depend if Verlander if healthy.

Indians aren't going to make it. They have injuries to Swisher, Murphy, Raburn, and have a weak starting rotation after Kluber. And there's no Stroman/Norris/Sanchize in the Indians system coming down the stretch.

Sal Perez's MRI on knee came back negative. Detroit fans and Erik Kratz(because he would've seen more playing time if Perez had to go on the DL) groan.. looks like the Royals are in good shape. They could pretty much put a stranglehold on the AL Central this weekend with a easy series vs. the Rangers.

It might happen. Most of the games are vs. AL East teams. But we really need to beat Tampa and Baltimore.. and of course there's the Seattle series.