2018 Red Sox roster building

Bowden usually talks in a general sense. I'm sure he was assuming one of the players from the 25 man roster.

Maybe he was referring to Deven Marrero rather than Bogaerts or Bradley.

I still have trouble believing the Red Sox would spend a lot of talent (and Groome qualifies) to get - count 'em, 1 year of Machado.

I'd be ok with sending Chavis, a 3b replacement for Machado in a year and another pitcher like a Mata, who has a decent shot of being in a rotation and has some upside, but giving up a potential ace/#2 starter, somebody with a really high ceiling and additional talent for a 1 year rental, as good as Machado is?

And say you dealt Bogaerts for Machado straight up. In year 1 you get the additional quality of Machado vs Bogaerts, but in year 2 you're comparing whoever the Sox would have to pick up to play SS (unless they went with Hernandez who is more of a utilityman) versus Bogaerts and the dropoff you'd get would probably outweigh the benefit in year 1.

And if Bogaerts isn't dealt, then once Pedroia comes back you have Machado, Bogaerts, Pedroia and Devers for 3 infield spots. None of this makes any sense.

I think ultimately the Sox are going to have to capitulate a bit and give JDM a 6th year. Don't see too many other wonderful options. I don't think keeping the lineup as is will work well enough, even with the expectation of some bouncebacks/improvements.

Groome is something around the #75 prospect in baseball. I know he was floated as a potential 1-1 pick back before the 2016 season, but he's not that. And the reason he didn't go #1 wasn't "petty gossip" or whatever. Baseball execs don't make decisions based on something they read and didn't like in Us Weekly. The concerns were clearly serious. And frankly, I'm not even positive it was just the off-field concerns that dropped him. He shouldn't have been ahead of Senzel (for one) on anyone's board strictly as an on-field judgment.

I know he seems super valuable and important because he's the current #1 in the Red Sox system, but on a straight value play, Groome as the top piece for even just one year of Machado (plus the comp pick, provided it got done in the offseason) is beyond fair. Now... whether the Red Sox should make a deal like that, given their current roster construction, that's a fair debate. But Machado is a decent bet to provide more value in 2018 than Groome will throughout his career.

I get worrying about his work ethic, but he was 18 years old and a hot shot. Sometimes they need a reality check, lets hope he got one and realizes you can just get by on talent in professional baseball. I do find it funny that with Espinoza when I brought up he was getting hit more than I expected it was he's young and look at those strikeouts. That's what matters. Groome was getting hit less in the same league and had a way higher strikeout ratio at the same age. He did walk too many guys, but injuries kept him from getting in a rhythm. Not what we hoped for, but he clearly still has thr build and stuff that had him ranked so high in the draft. 72 strikeouts in 55 innings is very impressive for an 18 years old.

To expand on this: of all starting pitchers in the South Atlantic League he had the second best K/9 at 11.84 (filtered on 30+ IP).

The only guy who did better was promoted to Salem.

I'll phrase it this way:  They definitely do need a bat like his.  It really boils down to what does Machado cost in resources and how long does he stay vs how effective will Martinez be in 4 or 5 years.  Personally if I knew Machado would stay I'd go all in.  I'd worry about who plays where later.

I have been reading about Esteban Quiroz a recent signee of the Red Sox. One of the stories led to videos of him playing in the WBC and the Mexican league.
I believe he could be a major part of the 2018 roster. For his size he shows some pop in his bat.
Unfortunately I do not have the computer savvy to bring the links to this screen .
But they can be found on you tube. Please check these out he could make things interesting.

Manny Machado is clearly just a luxury.

A 30 homerun bat at short stop with great to elite level defense just doesn't exist in baseball today, maybe Carrea soon.

For all the advocating I was making for Machado, I think there's maybe a 5 percent chance of it actually happening. Just is fun to see where Dave Dombrowski's thinking process is in a off-season and see who he is targeting.

....Just waiting for Martinez....any day now would be great Boras.......any other teams offering 5 years? You sure there is a market??

Can anyone make an educated guess about what Machado's WAR values may have been if he were playing SS for his entire career? 

Also, what are the Orioles planning on doing at SS if they don't trade Machado?  JJ Hardy's option wasn't picked up and he's probably heading for retirement.

I'm snowed in so I was watching MLB network and Peter Gammons was on.

He mentioned that the Red Sox have a four year offer to JDM (doesn't know the annual). He said right now "there is no team in sight willing to go 5 years at least $110, $120 million." He says Boras wants 7 years and eventually he anticipates the Sox and JDM will come to a deal.

He mentioned that the Sox could pick up money for Hanley to be dealt if he has an issue with not reaching his 497 plate appearances.

Personally I'd like to see Hanley start, but it doesn't sound like Moreland is here to be a defensive replacement/bat off the bench.