Starr’s 7 questions: Are the Red Sox deep enough to trade away pitchers?

Seven questions to take you out of November and into what will almost certainly be a very fascinating December for the Red Sox Were you surprised by any of the pitching trades the Red Sox made last week The Red Sox needed to open -man roster spots in order to protect eligible prospects from next month s Rule Draft but I m surprised at how they accomplished that Namely sacrificing lefty relievers Brennan Bernardino and Chris Murphy by trading them to the Colorado Rockies and Chicago White Sox respectively Murphy s arrangement at least made specific sense In Chicago he joins a rebuilding club and can truly define and take ownership of a role something he never really had the opportunity to do in Boston Bernardino s arrangement almost feels like an undeserved punishment He arrived in Boston as a complete unknown and proved to be such a steadying presence in the bullpen these last three seasons He averaged games per year and posted a ERA during his Red Sox tenure and his reward is getting sent to pitch in the league s the bulk hitter-friendly ballpark for a franchise that went - this year and hasn t come close to a winning season since Talk about no good deed going unpunished Never mind the fact that the Red Sox are just beginning to be a pitching enhancement factory and cutting two talented club-controlled lefties feels a bit like putting the cart before the horse or counting their chickens before they hatch What gives with the topsy-turvy spending intentions around MLB This week New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner narrated reporters he wants to spend less on payroll next season and that it is not sustainable to continue fielding payrolls over million Meanwhile the Miami Marlins and Pittsburgh Pirates two clubs that consistently rank at the bottom of the league in payroll are thinking about spending more Not just a little more either The Pirates are interested in free agent slugger Kyle Schwarber who is projected to command a four-year deal in the million vicinity For context of just how big a spend that would be for Pittsburgh the largest contract in franchise history is Bryan Reynolds eight-year million extension in Their largest free agent signing was lefty Francisco Liriano who inked for three years million in For comparative context the largest free-agent contract in Red Sox history is David Price s seven-year million in Welcome to the Twilight Zone Pirates and Marlins fans Well maybe Though they claim otherwise these clubs aren t exactly motivated by Field of Dreams If you build it feel-goodery doing everything in their power to win solely because trying to win championships should be every association s North Star These NL East clubs may protest too much but the timing cannot be ignored They are laying a financially-savvy foundation for next year s Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations baseball s quinquennial bloodletting Namely to ensure the revenue-sharing balance of power continues to tip in their favor Could Freddy Peralta be the No starter the Red Sox seek The Milwaukee Brewers are one year away from losing ace Freddy Peralta to free agency and though they claim he isn t available almost everyone has their price On Monday The Athletic s Jim Bowden a former MLB general manager listed the Red Sox as one of five prospective agreement partners Lefty rookie Payton Tolle and righty Anthony Eyanson Boston s third-round pick this year were his proposed return That s a notable cost for a short-term rental even one as excellent as Peralta The righty who is entering his age- season is coming off a ERA -start year He has a lifetime ERA over eight seasons all in Milwaukee and has posted a ERA and averaged games per year since becoming a full-time starter in What does the Nimmo Semien contract mean for Pete Alonso s free agency The New York Mets and Texas Rangers pulled off a Sunday shocker this weekend when they swapped outfielder Brandon Nimmo and second baseman Marcus Semien Shipping Nimmo their longest-tenured participant to Texas indicates that the Mets front office and ownership will not be governed by emotions or nostalgia this offseason after their disappointing season After returning to the Mets last offseason Alonso opted out of his contract earlier this month He is considered a top fit for the Red Sox who desperately need a righty power bat in their lineup Though Alonso would complicate the first base and designated hitter roles at present albeit tenuously held by Triston Casas and Masataka Yoshida Yet when requested by reporters on Monday if it s realistic to expect re-signing Alonso closer Edwin Diaz and adding an outfielder Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns reported Sure and added I think anything would be realistic right now Will Cleveland ever win a World Series again Every once in a while I remember that Cleveland s last World Series championship was my grandmother s freshman year of high school and my mind is boggled again That was years ago meaning the Guardians are less than a decade away from a Curse of the Bambino length drought Who will be the next Red Sox performer inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame By this I mean a sportsman whose bronze plaque would undoubtedly bear the Red Sox logo Adrian Beltre for example was an excellent member of the Red Sox but unsurprisingly was inducted as a Texas Ranger this year This year s BBWAA ballot includes three Red Sox players with at least one World Series ring apiece newcomer Rick Porcello second-year candidate Dustin Pedroia and Manny Ramirez in his th and final chance Ramirez received of the vote last year less than halfway to the requisite Pedroia earned more than enough to qualify for another year but a far cry from a shoo-in and it s hard to see Porcello even receiving the minimum to stay on the ballot Consider this my official pitch for Dwight Evans too It s long overdue Will the Red Sox make another big MLB Winter Meetings splash Chris Sale in Garrett Crochet last year The countdown to Orlando is officially under the two-week mark