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Over the Monster

https://www.overthemonster.com/ | 150 entries published

But Can He Pitch?

Latest Entries

What will happen to Triston Casas?

Like every other baseball fan, I’m making deals in my head all offseason long and wishing for this, that, and the other. Of course, most of us will be disappointed because there are only so many free agents to go around. We Red Sox fans have been disappointed more than a few times these past […]

18 days ago | 2 reads

2025 Red Sox in Review: Richard Fitts may or may not, uh, fit

2025 In A Discarded-On-The-Dugout-Floor Nutshell Richard Fitts, acquired a couple of offseasons ago for Alex Verdugo, had some difficulties finding his spot in the rotation, along with the strike zone, and also dealth with the worst struggle of all, injuries. The Good At the age of 25, Richard Fitts ticked his velocity up a few […]

19 days ago | 1 read

Smash or Pass: Pete Alonso

Welcome to the 2025-26 edition of Smash or Pass, in which we examine potential free agent and trade targets to determine whether the Red Sox should pursue them and what it would take to land them. After taking a look at an intriguing young arm earlier this week, we now look for a middle of […]

20 days ago | 2 reads

OTM Open Thread 11/21: Breggy and the boys being bros

Good morning! Roman Anthony and Garrett Crochet are making fun of Alex Bregman on his instagram page: Does this mean absolutely nothing at all? Or does this mean that the Red Sox are guaranteed to win the 2026 World Series? You decide! Talk about whatever you want and be good to one another.

20 days ago | 3 reads

Whatever excuse the Red Sox have for allowing a Palantir advertisement to hang above Fenway Park, it’s not good enough

The banner of dystopian surveillance company Palantir hung above Fenway Park last weekend, lording over the spectacle of some college kids playing football, many more of them watching it, and most all their parents eating $12 burgers or whatever. It was the Secretaries’ Cup, and the United States Coast Guard Academy’s team was playing, and […]

20 days ago | 2 reads

2025 Red Sox in Review: Justin Slaten’s bullpen hero arc

There have been rumors flying around this fall about the Red Sox plans for 2026. They range from trading for a #2 to pair with Garrett Crochet, to signing Pete Alonso, to building a “super ‘pen.” With the seemingly ageless Aroldis Chapman and the incredibly talented Garrett Whitlock back in the fold in the ‘pen’s […]

21 days ago | 3 reads

OTM Open Thread 11/20: MLB gets a new TV deal

Starting next year, MLB’s national slate of games and events will be spread out across even more networks and platforms. Yesterday, MLB and multiple partners, both old and new, announced a new right deal that will last through the 2028 season and likely set the stage for an even more lucrative deal after that on […]

21 days ago | 0 reads

The Red Sox need three big ticket items this offseason

When it comes to big ticket items the Red Sox need this winter, I’m becoming increasingly leery of ownership’s actions not meeting the moment. Here’s how I would frame the offseason as we hit the key weeks of the winter: The Red Sox need three big ticket items this winter, but I’m increasingly suspicious they […]

21 days ago | 1 read

Farewell, Bernie

Yesterday, amidst a bunch of other decisions to solidify the 40-man roster, the Red Sox announced they had traded left-handed reliever Brennan Bernardino to the Rockies in exchange for Braiden Ward, a 26-year-old infielder/outfielder. While this looks like the right move given the needs of the team, Bernardino had been part of the organization since […]

22 days ago | 0 reads

Meet the New Guy: Braiden Ward

Who is he and where did he come from? He’s Braiden Ward and he hails from the greater San Diego area, where he attended the phenomenally named El Capitan High School. The greatest Red Sox player of all-time is a San Diegan, of course, as is Marcelo Mayer. But Ward doesn’t have quite the baseball […]

22 days ago | 0 reads

Red Sox protect David Sandlin, Shane Drohan, Tyler Uberstine from Rule 5 Draft

Yesterday was the deadline to add prospects to the 40-man roster in order to protect them from the Rule 5 Draft, a bizarre mechanism whereby teams can swipe veteran minor leaguers from each other, under the condition that the selecting team needs to then keep that player on the big league roster for the remainder […]

22 days ago | 0 reads

Meet The New Guy: Tristan Gray… aka the next Romy Gonzalez?

Who is he and where did he come from? He’s Tristan Gray, and he comes from Missouri City, Texas. He went to Elkins High School, which also produced longtime big leaguers in Matt Carpenter and James Loney. While MLB talent has gone through Elkins, the indoor drumline might have been more of a draw. They […]

22 days ago | 0 reads

Smash or Pass: MacKenzie Gore

Welcome to the 2025-26 edition of Smash or Pass, in which we take a look at potential free agent and trade targets and determine whether the Red Sox should pursue them and, if so, what it would take to land them. Today we start our series by searching for the elusive “number 2” to pair […]

23 days ago | 0 reads

Red Sox News & Links: Sox unlikely to non-tender Tanner Houck

Today is one of the more significant days of the offseason, regardless of whether the Sox make any trades or significant free agent signings. That’s because it’s the final day to finalize the 40-man roster. While there has been speculation that Tanner Houck, who may miss all of 2026 and is a free agent after […]

23 days ago | 1 read

OTM Open Thread 11/18: Champions

The wait is finally over, Red Sox Nation. That’s right, on Monday night, the Watertown Wombats completed their undefeated rec league slow pitch softball season, winning the championship by a final score of 19-9. Congratulations to me and my teammates. In other news, it was roughly this time last year when the Red Sox made […]

23 days ago | 1 read

2025 Red Sox in Review: Step right up and greet the (Steven) Matz

How would you grade Craig Breslow’s trade deadline? Wait! Don’t answer that. Partially because it’s November and partially because we only care about one name right now: Steven Matz. A product of the New York Mets, Matz has had a rather unspectacular career. He finished 6th in Rookie of the Year voting back in 2016 […]

24 days ago | 0 reads

OTM Open Thread 11/17: What does the Josh Naylor deal signal about Bregman, Alonso?

With all due respect to Kyle Tucker, this year’s free agent class lacks the starpower of the recent offseasons that were headlined by names like Juan Soto, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Shohei Ohtani. But, as a result, things may move much quicker this year. Case in point, we already have our first major free agent signing, […]

24 days ago | 1 read

Red Sox News & Links: Looking at potential Jarren Duran trade destinations

The question of whether Ceddanne Rafaela or Pete Crowe-Armstrong is the best outfielder in baseball could turn into one of the most fun debates of the next decade (and save some room for Denzel Clarke in that discussion). But PCA thinks the answer is clear. “I love watching him play center field. I think he’s […]

25 days ago | 1 read

2025 Red Sox in Review: Roman Anthony’s breakout came to a screeching halt

2025 In A Discarded-On-The-Dugout-Floor Nutshell Roman Anthony spent two-plus months unnecessarily stuck in the minor leagues, two-plus months as one of the best hitters on the planet, and the most important month on the shelf with an oblique injury. The Good Anthony was a bit slow out of the gate in his first 15 games. […]

25 days ago | 0 reads

2025 Red Sox in Review: Aroldis Chapman blew everyone’s expectations away

2025 In A Discarded-On-The-Dugout-Floor Nutshell A complete redemption year for the 37-year-old. One of the most dominant closers in the Majors from start to finish. The Good What can’t you say about Aroldis Chapman’s 2025 season? He was the absolute epitome of dominance on the bump. For how long he’s been in the league, he […]

26 days ago | 3 reads

Red Sox News & Links: Sox pursuing Devin Williams, “super pen”?

The Red Sox, as expected, were shut-out of all the major award winners in 2025, with Garrett Crochet and Roman Anthony coming the closes to bringing home the hardware in the AL Cy Young and Rookie of the Year races, respectively. But some have garnered recognition, including Aroldis Chapman, was just named the best reliever […]

27 days ago | 3 reads

OTM Open Thread 11/14: Dustin May, still a Red Sox player

Good morning! Ten years from now, will you even remember that Dustin May was ever on the Red Sox? Given the way he came to the team as the headliner of a flaccid trade deadline effort by Craig Breslow, you might. But I’m willing to bet his time in Boston will be almost totally forgotten. […]

27 days ago | 2 reads