The 2020 MLB Awards have all been officially announced and that means we are that much closer to my favorite part of the year… Hot Stove season. But this year is unique compared to previous years, especially if you are a Red Sox fan. The previous offseason and regular season were brutal times for Sox fans, and that’s putting it mildly.
Boston lost one of the best homegrown players in franchise history due to impending payroll penalties, their two best pitchers went down with health issues, and to top it all off the product on the field from start to finish was brutal. Now, that all changes. The competitive balance tax has reset, Alex Cora is back, and Chaim Bloom is ready to bring his Tampa magic to a franchise with actual money.
All of those things are awesome, but do you know what gets me really going when it comes to this off-season? The damage the Covid season has brought to the players market. The stars have never been more aligned for the Red Sox to make some absolutely monster moves! I’m talking about hand picking whatever players we want, because we can. Lesser market teams are unsure of their futures, due to not being able to put fans in the stands, so as a result they may become more hesitant when it comes to throwing money at free agents or even paying their own players.
I’m talking about guys like Francisco Lindor, Michael Brantley, Charlie Morton, Lance Lynn, DJ Lemahieu, etc. all on major discounts. If Chaim is the savant I think he is, he’ll take this opportunity and run with it. Throw an extra couple million at guys like Brantley, because even when you do throw him that extra money you’re still getting an absolute steal. The Red Sox could absolutely snake there way fo a World Series by just taking on more money than everyone else this off-season. Why? Because they’re the Boston Red Sox and they can. This past season affected them far less than teams like Cleveland and Miami, that are constantly scratching and clawing to make a quick buck.
Hell, go get me Francisco Lindor for pennies on the dollar. We got crumbs for Mookie, take some leftover crumbs and play the other side with the Indians. “Oh you can’t afford this once in a generation talent? Don’t worry friend we will eat that contract for you.” Be a snake, go get some real pieces, and let’s win some ball games!
When coming up with my wishlist for Black Friday of mlb off seasons I couldn’t help but think of guys like Michael Brantley, Trevor May, DJ Lemahieu, and Lance Lynn. Now obviously I’m not psychotic, I know all those guys can’t end up in Boston, but I don’t see why you can’t bring the fans two of those guys. Bottom line is, we reset the salary cap, the fans ate last season, and now Bloom and company need to get to work. They owe it to the fans, we watched them play poverty last year, now open up those wallets and set the black cards on the counter… we’re shopping from the top shelf this season.
(AP PHOTO/ELISE AMENDOLA)
