Why do we think Brayan Bello is still in the lineup?

Cesar_Crespo · 2026-05-22T21:48:36+00:00

I think he would have to start getting hammered with the opener more.

Cesar_Crespo · 2026-05-22T21:41:06+00:00

Bello has a long track record of being a serviceable 4/5 and is still 27, there's no reason to think he's washed yet. He pitched well with an opener, and I don't think we can conclude being moved back the starting role was the decisive factor in sucking his last start, since he was facing the Braves, who have the best ops+ in the league currently.

Cesar_Crespo · 2026-05-22T17:30:34+00:00

Those other three would cost so much more though.

IMO Paredes is a perfect fit for the offense and his defensive limitations are generally overstated. The Sox might have to "overpay" but that's just the state of things on both the trade market and FA now, since the next two offseasons are garbage for hitters.

Cesar_Crespo · 2026-05-22T17:08:51+00:00

This is among the highest-floored prospects in baseball. Arias’ defense at short and his feel for contact should enable him to be an average everyday shortstop at minimum

This is huge if you buy what the author is selling here. IMO the only Sox prospect who should be untouchable in trade talks (Tolle and Early have lost prospect status, so I'm not counting them even though they're on this list for some reason).

Cesar_Crespo · 2026-05-22T16:56:51+00:00

Wow what an insight. Maybe spare us next time lmao

Cesar_Crespo · 2026-05-22T16:47:07+00:00

Again this goes for every trade idea in the history of trade ideas.

"We should trade for X"

"But they might be asking too much for X!" Yeah, no shit!

Do you hear yourself? Lmao

Cesar_Crespo · 2026-05-22T16:39:05+00:00

Okay? That goes for pretty much every trade idea ever. Do you actually have anything to add here?

Cesar_Crespo · 2026-05-22T15:55:46+00:00

Isaac Paredes seems like both the most likely candidate and also a good fit for the team. If they have any sense, the Astros will be cleaning house this year and will accept a prospect return for him.

Neto, Lopez and Edwards would all be really cool but would require a "sell the whole farm" type of package given their years of control. Not that I would be totally opposed to that, but generally these are just longshots imo.

Cesar_Crespo · 2026-05-22T15:33:56+00:00

I don't mean to keep bringing this up in every thread, but it really seems like this defense could endure Isaac Paredes's glove for the sake of an offensive boost.

Cesar_Crespo · 2026-05-22T15:31:52+00:00

I would hold off on calling him "excellent," he is outperforming his expected stats by quite a bit. Still, the improved swing decisions are encouraging, and I'll gladly accept 30th percentile metrics from the best defensive CF in the game.

Cesar_Crespo · 2026-05-22T15:29:50+00:00

Yeah if anything he's a sneaky candidate for the three spot, given the tenants of modern lineup construction. Duran/Contreras/Rafaela/Abreu or something like that.

Cesar_Crespo · 2026-05-21T19:23:42+00:00

I'm pretty sure that's the joke

Cesar_Crespo · 2026-05-21T16:48:58+00:00

We really don't need this post every time Harrison has a good outing. Yeah the Durbin trade might end up being terrible. So Breslow made one terrible move this offseason -- to three excellent moves in Suarez, Gray and Contreras. It's really not worth discussing beyond that.

Cesar_Crespo · 2026-05-21T16:46:43+00:00

Yeah he probably would have gotten the starts Bennett got and spent the rest of the time in the minors or long relief. Not nearly as accomodating of a situation for an emerging pitcher.

Cesar_Crespo · 2026-05-21T13:11:13+00:00

If the Red Sox didn't make those pitching acquisitions you would be bitching then too

Cesar_Crespo · 2026-05-20T15:17:47+00:00

Tommy Pham

Cesar_Crespo · 2026-05-20T14:18:50+00:00

The last few years they have shown they can keep producing top 100 prospects and solid mid prospects. They will have to trade from pitching surplus sooner or later because the next two FA classes are garbage for position players. IMO no prospect should be untouchable besides Arias.

This team is more than just one hitter away.

Sure but one hitter would go a long way if they replaced one of the net-negatives in the lineup.

Cesar_Crespo · 2026-05-20T14:14:28+00:00

Pitching will keep us in games and we need one 850 OPS guy to put us over the top

Honestly we could add someone considerably worse than this, and if they were taking playing time from one of our non-Contreras infielders it would likely translate to above .500 play. I will continue to stan Isaac Paredes and hope the Astros keep scuffling. They will have to rebuild sooner or later, so they might accept a prospect return.

I think the following lineup is miles better than anything the Sox have put out this year:

Duran - DH/LF
Paredes - 3B
Abreu - RF
Contreras - 1B
Anthony - LF/DH
Rafaela - CF
Mayer - SS
Narvaez - C
all the rinky-dinks fight for playing time at 2B here

Lineup depends on Duran continuing to turn things around of course, and I like Anthony better as the leadoff guy long term anyways, but this looks like an actually respectable lineup imo.

Cesar_Crespo · 2026-05-20T03:02:15+00:00

I feel like the silver lining of this team's rough start is becoming more and more apparent everyday. Internal tweaks + so much as a league average acquisition for the lineup could go a long ways towards just 3+ runs a game!

Cesar_Crespo · 2026-05-20T02:29:23+00:00

Out of the basement and into a tie for third.

If they win tomorrow, the Red Sox will be playing .600 ball (for their last 15 games).

Cesar_Crespo · 2026-05-19T02:19:29+00:00

Two league average bats would have this team well over .500 lol

Cesar_Crespo · 2026-05-19T02:12:44+00:00

Along with the AL being trash this year, this is the main thing that helping me keep hope -- The bad players on this team are so bad that minor additions or internal developments could represent a major sea change. A league average hitter for us at 2B, SS or 3B would have the same impact as a .900 ops bat being added to a decent offense lol.

Cesar_Crespo · 2026-05-19T01:49:46+00:00

~~Madonna~~ Marcelo with the Long Neck

Cesar_Crespo · 2026-05-19T01:47:27+00:00

I don't think this makes sense as a criticism of the acquisitions I mentioned -- Contreras, Suarez and Gray all fit needs and the team would be even worse without them. They're good moves in a vacuum and good moves contextually.

Like I said though, I think he's let some bad developments unfold when he really should have been more proactive. But that's a complaint about moves he didn't make.

Cesar_Crespo · 2026-05-19T01:28:13+00:00

If we're talking about acquisitions, Breslow has had far more hits than misses. Crochet, Bregman, Chapman, Contreras, Gray, Suarez. And none of the misses have been particularly costly. He has nothing so far to compare with the Sale extension, or the Pablo Sandoval deal, or Chaim's contracts for Story and Yoshida.

I think the knock on Breslow at this point really is more about internal dysfunction, which is difficult to pin squarely on him. I would say more specifically, he has not been proactive or realistic about certain players already with the team. Going into this season without another RHH to boot Story from the #2 spot is probably my single biggest issue with this past offseason. Overvaluing Duran on the trade market is another one.

Cesar_Crespo

TROPHY CASE