As Rosenthal wrote earlier today, the Red Sox‘ endgame with Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval is unclear. It’s possible they want Ramirez to play shortstop, but they already have Xander Bogaerts, who has upside and is a far superior defender. If they want Ramirez to play third, it’s unclear what will come of their outstanding offer to Sandoval (which reportedlywas for a similar total of five years and $95MM). They could also try Ramirez at outfield, although he has limited experience there, and the Red Sox have plenty of outfielders. Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe tweets that the Red Sox are still trying to sign both players.

As the previous paragraph suggests, however, there are big questions about Ramirez’s defense, particularly at shortstop. He has also had trouble staying healthy in the past several seasons....

And, of course, the Sox are frontrunners for Tomas at the same time.

.....

So the Sox have a hot young shortstop, slick-fielding while we are on the subject, and they're grabbing with both hands at two big-name 3B/SS left side infielders.  Both at the same time.  The moral of the story being, "Get Better.  We'll figure out the details later."  

Dr. D is sympathetic to this Semantic Insanity because:

• a) It explains a Russell Martin offer with zero need to reconcile Cognitive Dissonance (Dr. D gets to skip that article)
• b) He grew up watching the Woody Hayes 1970's Ohio Buckeyes, who simply recruited EVERYBODY
• c) Dr. D can vaguely imagine a world, circa. 2250 A.D., in which everybody forgets about all paradigms other than talent 

........

But the question persists:  How, precisely, do the Seattle Mariners profit from this New Era of talent import without respect to the way it previously fit onto staid, boring 25-man rosters?

This paradigm -- Talent Wherever It May Prefer To Wield Its Glove - is a paradigm that works better in the FA market than it does in dickering back-and-forth with the LA Dodgers.  By the time you introduce a trade partner into the mix, all of a sudden somebody is calling into question whether Michael Saunders would make a good everyday shortstop.

The Russell Martin paradigm frees the Mariners two add two bats.  Without restriction, without UZR interlocution, and without apology.  So if the 2015 discussion is evolving into something more free-form, it is all the more to Dr. D's delight.  He kicks over the traces of dogma with alacrity.

The M's said they wanted to pound down their cash, flat on the barrellhead, and buy their bat.  'Tain't likely now.  So what we have here, is some players outta position.

Players in their ideal positions?  That is pret-tay.  Players knocking in "hard RBI" against good pitching?  That is World Serious stuff.  

Keep da eye on da ball,

Jeff