PREAMBLE
The contention window opened a year earlier than expected. While the Sox may still not be the World Series favorite given an A+ offseason, winning the division is an absolute must. While Randy Arozarena and Michael King are the type of big name acquisitions we want (and kinda deserve at this point), we are still likely a year off from really pushing the payroll. The great thing is there are still more high-impact players in-house that have yet to debut or establish themselves. Yes, we can't turn into the Orioles and straight up refuse to even consider trading prospects but given an extra year of development for the recently drafted prep hitters, their trade value may increase substantially.
If the new Angels front office lowers their asking price for Reid Detmers and you can make that trade now without moving Billy Carlson for example, that may be something to pounce on, but I digress. 2027 is both a year to push to win the AL Central and a year to really determine who the core players are long-term and where they best fit. Nobody really knows what baseball may look like after the lockout so this may end up being short-sighted, but it’s always fun reading these OPPs and seeing things from everyone else’s perspective.
ARBITRATION-ELIGIBLE PLAYERS
- Miguel Vargas: Tender
- Brenton Doyle: Tender
- Joey Bart: Tender
- Huascar Brazobán: Tender
- Jordan Leasure: Non-tender
- Chris Murphy: Tender
Brazoban and Murphy may not be on the 2027 playoff roster, but they will help you get through 162. Bart at $2.9m may be a bit too expensive but he'll hit more than Drew Romo and costs considerably less than Ryan Jeffers and Tyler Stephenson.
OTHER IMPENDING FREE AGENTS
- Sean Newcomb
Sean Newcomb (2 year, $14m).
I really considered assigning his multi-inning LH RP role to Hagen Smith, but if Hagen is your top LHP option and he's walking everyone he's not striking out, we're probably going to have a difficult time consistently getting the leverage outs vs LHHs. Plus, Hagen may be starting at some point which would leave the late-inning lefties as nothing more than Bryan Hudson and Chris Murphy. If they can find a new Sean Newcomb, great. If not, they should really consider bringing him back.
FREE AGENTS
Clay Holmes (3 year, $42m).
I'll admit, this may not be enough money, but they were interested in him at the deadline. Now, they can get him (assuming he opts out) without subtracting. While he may not have made an appearance in the playoffs for the Cubs, he definitely would've started a playoff game for the Sox. If you're not going to pay big bucks for a big strikeout guy, consider paying medium bucks for a good groundball guy.
Outside of re-signing Newcomb, I considered re-signing Grichuk and Fedde, but figure Grichuk is a regression candidate and is just keeping the seat warm for Caleb Bonemer. Fedde's rotation spot may be better suited going to Schultz, Thorpe, Sandlin or McDougal which may leave Fedde as a fairly expensive reliever, come July.
TRADES
No. 1: MiLBers RHP Caedmon Parker and OF Samuel Zavala to the Los Angeles Dodgers for OF/DH Teoscar Hernandez
While the Dodgers won't just give Hernandez away, I can't imagine it'll take a lot to acquire him. The Dodgers may be looking to open up a 40 man spot. For the Sox, Hernandez would primarily DH but could fill in in the outfield corners until Bonemer debuts. He has ample playoff experience and should push Antonacci (defensively) and Braden (offensively). I don't love trading Parker or Samuel "not Seby" Zavala, but Arozarena and Seiya Suzuki are going to cost big money and we're not trading the likes of Billy Carlson (yet). Hernandez is due $6.5m next year (albeit $8m deferred) with a club option for 2028 so the total commitment isn’t exorbitant.
No. 2: LHP Ky Bush to the [whatever city they play in] Athletics for IF Alika Williams
ꓘolson is still the guy headed into 2027 and the idea of moving Meidroth to SS periodically is novel but not a great idea over 162. Ultimately, SS is Roch Cholowsky's position long-term, but he's not likely to debut until 2028. By and large, the same can be said for Billy Carlson. We just need a bridge RHH IF. Alika was a league average bat for the A's and played solid defense at SS when Jacob Wilson was out. He's still pre-ARB and optionable. I'm sure the A's would love to sell "high" and Ky Bush, someone with an uphill climb to get starts or, frankly, innings with the Sox, gives the A's a nice, optionable lefty pseudo-starter in return.
No. 3: IF Luisangel Acuna to the Washington Nationals for MiLB RHP Alexander Meckley
I'll admit, this is low effort on my end. If Acuna had options, he'd probably stick around on the 40 man, albeit in Charlotte. At best, Acuna is a plus defender and plus runner but basically a zero as a hitter. Alika, Tanner Murray, Brooks Baldwin, etc. can fill the bench IF role and while Baldwin (and Brenton Doyle) doesn't have Acuna's sprint speed, he's still a solid pinch runner.
No. 4: RHP Jonathan Cannon to the Anaheim Angels for MiLB RHP Ubaldo Soto
Basically, what was said for Acuna can mostly apply here. Cannon is out of options and I do not envision him winning a spot anywhere on the pitching staff. Cannon does have some utility as a pitcher but the lack of optionality makes him a 40 man casualty.
SUMMARY
I did not know quite where to put this, but in my OPP, I am moving 3B coach Justin Jirschele off 3B and into the dugout as the Associate Manager. While in Texas, Will Venable was the associate manager while Donnie Ecker was the bench coach so perhaps that is a way to move Jirschele off 3B while still keeping him on the coaching staff. Additionally, this gives Venable another set of eyes with (minor league) managing experience in the dugout (but the real reason is to move him off 3B). Bobby Dickerson is not returning to the Phillies and would be a great addition as the 3B coach. He also has an extensive history coaching IF defense.
Andrew Benintendi, Junior Perez and Drew Romo are DFA’d. I had a difficult time considering Romo or Edgar Quero as the third catcher on the 40 man, but figure Romo’s ceiling is lower due to the lack of offense. Of course, you want your taxi catcher to be a plus defender, something Quero is not, but with Kyle Teel’s multiple leg injuries, mixed with Bart and Romo not really having trade value or long-term impact, I figure Quero’s your third catcher (for now).
Luis Castillo gets 3 starts and then you reassess. If he’s pitching well enough to keep you in games, I guess keep him around until he’s not, but he’s a sunk cost regardless and there’s, at least, a world that exists in which he’s useful in 2027 so you can’t DFA him (yet). Just don’t let his 2028 option vest. Davis Martin and Anthony Kay are more than capable of filling out the back of the rotation. This OPP is really requiring at least one (preferably more) of the young pitchers to take the next step in their development.
SP – Sean Burke
SP – Clay Holmes
SP – Davis Martin
SP – Anthony Kay
SP – Luis Castillo
Next up (no particular order):
Grant Taylor
Hagen Smith
Noah Schultz
Shane Smith
David Sandlin
Drew Thorpe
Tanner McDougal
*random Adrian Houser-esque mid-season addition
If Grant Taylor or Hagen Smith end up starting, adding leverage arms to the bullpen is paramount. It probably wouldn’t hurt to add a setup man regardless, but resources are limited. Maybe Jordan Hicks and Shane Smith receive non-Closer RH leverage opportunities. There are some non-40 man arms that could push the marginal arms once they start to falter, but if some of the young starters are pitching well so you can keep Grant and Hagen in the bullpen for all of 2027, that would be preferable.
CL – Grant Taylor
RP – Sean Newcomb (L)
RP – Hagen Smith (L)
RP – Shane Smith
RP – Jordan Hicks
RP – Huascar Brazoban
RP – Bryan Hudson (L)
RP – Chris Murphy (L)
RP – Mike Vasil (injured list)
RP – Tyler Davis
RP – Tyler Schweitzer (L)
RP – Prelander Berroa
*RP – Jaden Woods (L)
*RP – Mathias LaCombe
*RP – Jairo Iriarte
*RP – Shane Murphy (L)
2026 was supposed to be the year we saw a Teel-Quero platoon but that never materialized and it's difficult to see that happening in 2027. Quero gets everyday ABs in Charlotte catching the pitchers he may see in Chicago. To reiterate, I’d prefer Drew Romo as the 40 man taxi catcher but Quero’s ceiling and subsequent trade value may be worth taking the risk of DFA’ing Romo. Joey Bart didn’t really get any run behind the dish. If an upgrade is available for a reasonable price, by all means do that, but most of the financial resources will be going to pitching anyway so keeping Bart may be the best path forward.
C – Kyle Teel
1B – Munetaka Murakami
2B – Chase Meidroth
SS – Colson Montgomery
3B – Miguel Vargas
LF – Sam Antonacci
CF – Tristan Peters
RF – Braden Montgomery
DH – Teoscar Hernandez
C – Joey Bart
IF – Alika Williams
OF – Brenton Doyle
UTIL – Brooks Baldwin
C – Edgar Quero
IF – Tanner Murray
IF – William Bergolla Jr. (if the Rule 5 Draft actually happens)
OF – Rikuu Nishida
*LF/3B – Caleb Bonemer (mid-season)
All-in-all, there are many players on both sides of the 40 man that are still developing. This is a big year for the young pitchers who’ve had their hands held the last few years. The playoff run came both due to a weak American League and many young players making a big impact. While we can’t count on the AL being as weak in 2027, we can count on seeing more debuts and more internal improvement.
Enjoy the lockout and Roch On!
