It's more fun to be a victim

There will never be an effective vaccine. I'll never get one anyway.

After Robert, Madrigal, Vaughn and Stiever the minor league cupboard is effectively barren of anything you really care about. Madrigal and Robert are effectively called up at this point, they'll be on the Sox the instant they can be. Stiever and Vaughn are both pretty promising but its extremely unlikely they'll ascend to the point of Giolito or Moncada's usefulness. You have to look at the Sox potential core right now and ask yourself if its really good enough because as of now this is it. The accumulating talent phase ended with Vaughn's selection. They pick eleventh next year, which is way outside their effective range in drafting players.

They'll have a top 100 prospect or so every year or two and maybe once every five/ten years they'll stumble on a real blue chipper accidentally but none of that can really be counted on anymore. If they are lucky their minor leagues will just be able to keep with major league attrition, but even that is optimistic thinking.

If there is any chance Mookie Betts will sign an extension before hitting free agency he'll just stick around in Boston. They'll pay him if they can. So if he's extendable this is all a moot point.

But if the Sox get him and plug him into that lineup they'll be good. They'll probably even be the best team in the division. And maybe there's a chance that the Sox fall in love with the guy and at the end of the year decide they'll pay up for him. Maybe this is how you trick Jerry into opening his wallet, get em in the family.