Mlb 2020

[Spencer 555]

C: Sandy Leon. Somewhat underrated Sandy Leon continues to grind for the starting catcher job with other Red Sox prospects, but manages to earn the starting job for good in 2018. Player Salary: 5-10 mill arb3 or bridge

1b: Josh Ockimey/Sam Travis Platoon. After surpassing Sam Travis on the minors depth chart, Ockimey replaces Hanley in 2019 in an impressive rookie season on the strong side of this platoon. On days where Pedroia plays 2b, Ockimey will DH. Player Salary: 500k pre arb

2b: Captain Pedroia is in the twilight of his career, but still a very useful player. His fundamentals and conditioning allow him to play until he is 40 and he makes a very strong hall of fame case. Plays about a third of his games at DH and is replaced in the lineup on those days by unheralded prospect Tzu-Wei Lin who is the new super utility player on the team (brock Holt esque). Player Salary: 13 mill, second last year of contract.

Ss: Xander Bogaerts. Still one of the best SS in the game and entering his prime, Xander will be only 27 in 2020. Signed long term to a big contract too. Player Salary: 18-23 mill, free agent

3b: Rafael Devers. Super prospect Devers graduates from the minors in 2018 after crushing Aaa. Although a bit early in his development still, the 21 year old bursts onto the scene and wins the rookie of the year. By 2020 he is a regular all star contender. Player Salary: 500k pre arb

OF: Benintendi, Bradley JR, Betts. The best outfield in the game is fairly untouchable. Player Salary: 3-5 mill arb1 for Benintendi, 8-13 mill arb3 or bridge for Bradley jr, 13-18 mill arb3 or bridge for Betts.

DH: Fluid position for Pedroia and co. The red Sox very surprisingly will not overspend on a big bat to play the dh/1b position in 2020 giving some of there young guys the opportunity while resting Pedroia as much as possible. Josh Ockimey, Sam Travis, Pedroia will see the lions share of at bats here. Player Salary: 500k pre arb

SP1: Chris Sale. He's not goin anywhere and Dombrowski will make sure of that by signing him to a monstrous deal. The red Sox position players are still cheap enough at this point in the team development, but the red Sox climb into the luxury tax in 2019 with this signing. They are all in for the 2019/2020 seasons and Chris sale remains a top 5 pitcher in the league. Player salary: 30-35 mill

SP2: Eduardo Rodriguez. After struggling a bit in his first few seasons, Erod puts it all together in 2018. On most teams, he would be the SP1, but with Sale in tow, the red Sox have one of the best 1-2 punches in the league. Player Salary: 10-15 mill arb3 or bridge

SP3: David Price. Not nearly as good as he once was, Price is clearly on the decline at this point. But with the money he's owed, the red Sox are willing to give him every opportunity to figure things out. Price remains a very serviceable pitcher, but never bounces back to being an elite one. Player Salary: 32mill

SP4: Jake Odorizzi. With a little extra spending money to spare in 2020, the red Sox take a swing on Odorizzi who is at this point still coming into his own. Among the best 4th options in the league, odorizzi has a career year in Boston 2020. Player Salary: 15-18 mill free agent

SP5: another fluid position because of the red Sox luxury tax crunch. They decide to let Jason Groome take the job even though he proves in his time at aaa in 2019 he is not quite ready. Groome ends up failing and returning to aaa 10 starts in, making way for depth pitcher Tyson Ross who proves to be an excellent reclamation project after struggling to get back from injury plagued seasons since 2016. Player Salary: 500k-3mill (incentivised minor league contract)

Closer: impressed with Kimbrel's killer instinct and leadership, the red Sox offer kimbrel a 5 year contract in 2019 and he doesn't disappoint. Still a dominant closer in 2020, kimbrel records 50 saves en route to winning reliever of the year. Player Salary: 15-18 mill

Mentionables: as highlighted a bit earlier, I've got unheralded ss prospect Tzu-Wei Lin as the heir apparent to Pedroia. In 2018, Lin will be a very valuable utility infielder and by 2022 he will be the starting 2b. Jason Groome, the red Sox best pitching prospect will eventually be at least an SP3 in the big leagues, but will struggle with command issues until he is in his later 20s. 3b prospect Micheal Chavis will also be in the mix at DH for the team in 2020, but I see him being traded before then for bullpen help.

Outlook: Perrenial championship contenders with Dave Dombrowski at the helm, the red Sox farm system has taken a pretty big hit already. I don't see this trend stopping. Dombrowski will continue to use red Sox prospects as currency to win now and the red Sox will be contenders with this awesome core of young players as long as sale and price can pitch into there 30s. I see the Red Sox being the best or second best team in the AL depending on how bonkers the Yankees go in free agency.

Estimated total team salary: 220 mill