The MLB offseason begins today. The Boston Red Sox are one of the more intriguing clubs to watch in the coming days and weeks because team president Dave Dombrowski should be active on the trade market, according to the latest rumors.
Boston has one of the deepest farm systems in the MLB, which make them a prime trade candidate since they have much to offer. Their depth of young talent is perhaps unrivaled, and they will be at an advantage when teams begin to shop players that are of interest to Dombrowski.
It's unknown who that may be at this point, but it's clear the Red Sox need to bolster their starting rotation and bullpen if they want to avoid another losing season in 2016.
"Evaluators have said that they'll be fascinated to see how Dombrowski approaches the pace of promoting players in the Red Sox system, and how aggressive he'll be in trading them," writes Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. "But officials both inside and outside the Red Sox organization are convinced that the Sox' way of doing things will be different going forward, helping to explain the swarm of scouts that followed a highly regarded group of Red Sox prospects during fall instructional league earlier this month."
"'Every Red Sox game, everybody and their brother was down there because they think Dombrowski is going to make some moves,' said one evaluator who joined the hoard. 'I don't think anyone is untouchable with Dombrowski.'"
Such rumors surfaced earlier in the season shortly after Dombrowski took over as team president, so the speculation certainly has some traction at this point.
He may also be active in free agency to a certain extent, but the fact that so many impending free agents will have draft pick compensation tied to them because of the qualifying offer might be an obstacle. Dombrowski is likely to be hesitant because the Red Sox have the No. 12 overall pick in the upcoming draft, which is not protected if the team were to sign a player that was presented with the QO (only picks within the top-10 are protected).
"Maybe Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski would value the likes of [Zack] Greinke or [Alex] Gordon so much that he would be happy to surrender that No. 12 pick in order to seal the deal(s)," writes Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. "It should be noted that in the three offseasons the qualifying offer system has existed, Dombrowski never signed a player that cost a pick. (Also of note: None of the 34 players tagged with the designation has accepted the chance for the one-year deal.)"
There will be plenty of free agents available this fall/winter, but the bigger names will require a lot of money and (more than likely) a draft pick. Dombrowski is already tasked with moving the onerous contracts of Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez, so it doesn't appear as if he'll be adding significant dollars to the payroll unless he can unload a good portion of those deals.
On top of that, the team has a surplus of outfielders and a dearth of talented pitching, which makes a good recipe for a significant trade.
"So far, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski hasn't made many drastic changes to the Sox. He kept most of the front office staff, most of the scouts, and all but one of the coaches," writes Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe.
"Do not expect the same amount of forbearance with the roster.
"Yes, the Red Sox showed plenty of promise at the end of the season. But this group is 149-175 the last two seasons, with two last-place finishes. Only a handful of players deserve to return.
"So prepare for plenty of transactions. Other teams are saying they expect the Red Sox to be active in the trade market."
There's a possibility we'll know for sure when the MLB's front office executives gather at the general managers' meetings next Monday in Florida. That's when a lot of the framework for trades and other transactions is discussed and deliberated upon.
