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Quiet Bruins Off Season Resulting In Little Improvement

The Boston Bruins are enjoying a quiet offseason, after claiming their third Eastern Conference championship banner in nine years. Thus far the only Bruins signings have been winger Brett Ritchie from Dallas, Danton Heinen, and Steven Kampfer. General manager Don Sweeney still has a lot of work to due this summer. The Bruins need to come to terms with Defenseman Torey Krug, Charlie McAvoy, and Brandon Carlo. In this post, we will review three reasons why the Bruins have not improved from last season.                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Overpaying For Danton Heinen  Mistake, number one was overpaying for Danton Heinen. Heinen, the third_ year wingers production dipped considerably in 2018.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        In 2011 Heinen’s 11 goals and 13 assists and a plus_ minus ratio of 11 one more than the previous season. In  2017  he netted 16 goals and 31 assists. This past summer the,organization awarded him a 2.8 million dollar salary which ends in 2023.                                                                                                                                                           Granted, Heinen is a gritty third_ line player, but not worth the figure he signed  With only three years of service time, he adds a strong physical presence on the team’s third line. Only time will tell if he is worthy of the contract.                          

  No Major Free Agent Signing’s  The good news is the Bruins  are well under the NHL cap space this summer. The bad news is they have to come to terms with  Tory Krug, Charlie McAvoy,and Brandon Carlo. The team cannot sign all three                                                                                                                                                                Torey Krug had one his most productive seasons as a Bruin. Krug is a valuable member of the power play and sparkled in the playoffs. Krug has one more year left on a four_ year  $21,000,000 deal. Expect Krug to average 9 or 10 million per year on the open market. Signing him will  be a major hurdle losing him will be worse.

Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo are the nuts and bolts of the defensive corp. Mcavoy is at the end of his rookie contract. Carlo had his best season as a Bruin. When Zdeno Chara retires, Carlo will be the club’s number one or two defenseman.

Signing Brett Richie  The only major splash this summer has been Brett Ritchie. The team lost free agent  Marcus Johansen and center Noel Acciari. Ritchie has 33 goals and 21 assists n five_year’s as A Dallas Star.  He is not the   skill player that Johansen is, but fits the Bruins style of play.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                The Bruins have major decisions to make on McAvoy and Carlo. Krug could be the odd man out. Mc Avoy and Carlo are the future of the Bruins Compared to last season the team has not gotten any better and will struggle to reach the finals.

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Three Quality Relievers That The Red Sox Will Target At The Trade Deadline

With  Major League baseball’s 2019 All _Star game in the books, the Red Sox find themselves in second place nine games behind the Yankees. The difference this year, compared to last season, has been the pitching. In this post, we will review three relievers that may be available at the trade deadline.                                                                                                                                                                            Three Quality Relievers That The Red Sox  Will Target At The Trade Deadline                                                                                                                                                                            Brad Brach Orioles Like his former teammate Zach Britton, Brach could be the next Oriole on the chopping block.  The catch with Brach is he is under contract through next season at 9,000,000. Which means the Red Sox would have him for a year and a half.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Red Sox fans can recall that five years ago, the team sent Andrew Miller to Baltimore and in return the club receiver Eduardo Rodriguez. Rodriguez has developed into one of the clubs most dependable starters.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Joakim Soria Soria is another candidate who could be dealt for the right price. Boston traded with Chicago three years ago that netted Chris Sale. Soria is a veteran who owed 10,000,000 dollars for next season.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        The White Sox of 2019 is vastly improved. It would take a quality prospect or two to acquire Soria. Soria brings value to a club fighting for a playoff spot. He has been both a setup man and reliever during his career. Despite a 1-4 record and a 4.75 ERA this year, he has 220 career saves.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Adam Conley Marlins With the Marlins once again basement dwellers, they will be a team moving players. One player, in particular, pitcher Adam Conley. Conley is flexible who can either start or relieve and would be a perfect fit for the Red Sox.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          At 1-7 and a 774 ERA this season Conley would add depth to a starting rotation or bullpen.

The Second Half The Red Sox starting pitching has been a disappointment. Chris Sale and Rick Porcello have not received the run support needed to win.

The organization has begun preliminary talks with the Mets, regarding starter Zach Wheeler. Wheeler is 6-6 and a 4.69 ERA in 2019. The other suitor is the Yankees. With the Red Sox farm system razor_ thin look for GM Brian Cashman to obtain Wheeler’s services.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   The Red Sox lost big shoes in losing Joe Kelly and Crag Kimbrel. Plus the injury to Nathan Eovaldi hasn’t helped. Look for GM Dave Dombrowski to make a move or two at the deadline.