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Peter Abraham | Beat Writer’s Notebook

A few thoughts on a wild day for the Red Sox

Red Sox manager John Farrell (left) and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski met with the media Tuesday.AP

OXON HILL, Md. — A few thoughts on a wild Tuesday for the Red Sox:

■   It’s surprising they were able to get Chris Sale without losing any major league players. The White Sox could have been relatively certain Andrew Benintendi would be a good player. They have to hope that happens with Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech.

Moncada was overmatched by breaking balls and off-speed pitches in his brief taste of the majors last season. Pitchers found the hole in his swing — down and in below his hands — and hammered away at it. Moncada never adjusted.

To be fair, he’s still so young (21) and that is a skill hitters learn. But it’s a concern for now.

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Moncada is not Rusney Castillo, who took the money and settled into the easy life of not being any good. But there’s no guarantee he’s a star based on what everybody saw last season. White Sox GM Rick Hahn made it clear they think Moncada needs more time in the minors, and he’s right about that.

Keeping Benintendi makes that deal a win. If Moncada turns into something, so be it. Sale for three years at a bargain rate is worth it.

Kopech may be the bigger regret over time. If he stays healthy, he’s Noah Syndergaard Jr.

■  If there’s a caution with Sale, it’s the intensity of his personality and how that will play in Boston.

It’s a positive most of the time. Sale is a fierce competitor on the mound and always rises to the defense of his teammates. He has the kind of edge the Sox have been missing since Jon Lester and John Lackey were around. The Red Sox can use some of that.

But Sale also was suspended for five games in July after flipping out over wearing throwback uniforms on his start day. He cut up the uniforms and had an argument with a team employee over it.

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In spring training, Sale had harsh words for team president Kenny Williams over how often the son of teammate Adam LaRoche would be allowed in the clubhouse.

In a market like Boston, incidents like that would really blow up. The difference is that Sale was the longest-tenured and most important player on the White Sox. It’ll be different with the Red Sox, where he will be one of many stars and the team leader is Dustin Pedroia.

■  David Ortiz and Sale are pretty good friends. Back on May 5, when the White Sox honored Ortiz before a game in Chicago, it was Sale who emerged from the dugout to present him with a gift.

Then on Friday, Ortiz had plenty of praise for Mitch Moreland while chatting with some reporters in Boston at his event in the Dominican Republic. Ortiz told us he believes Moreland needs only more consistent playing time to be a better player. Just a few days later, Moreland signed with the Sox.

■  The Red Sox have too much pitching now, as if that is really a problem. But they should not be hasty in trading it.

One of the spare starters, perhaps Drew Pomeranz, could fit into the bullpen and be available for the rotation if needed. Then you have the option of trading Clay Buchholz, Eduardo Rodriguez, or Steven Wright.

Wright should be a keeper. They could save more money ($13.5 million) by trading Buchholz or get better prospects in return by dealing Rodriguez.

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■  I asked John Farrell who would start on Opening Day and he laughed. “How can I go wrong?” he said. Good point. It’s an honor for the pitcher but ultimately not really that crucial. The rotation gets jumbled along the way and who lines up where doesn’t matter after a week or two.

But it should be Rick Porcello. The pitcher who won the Cy Young Award deserves it, and it also would take a little heat off Sale. Let him enjoy the opener at Fenway Park, then pitch when his turn comes.

■  Here’s guessing that Sale will makes life a lot easier for David Price. The focus in spring training now will be on the new guy, and Price can go about his business and not answer pointless questions about the postseason.

Price, by the way, recently got married to his longtime girlfriend Tiffany.

■  Travis Shaw is better than he showed last season, and perhaps that experience will help him grow as a player.

Shaw became too focused on home runs, and the result was a low on-base percentage. He needs to get back to using more of the field and not selling out. The expectations caught up with him a little and he could be stubborn about getting advice on his swing. That stuff should smooth out in Milwaukee.

Talk about bad timing. Shaw bought a home in Fort Myers, Fla., a few months ago and now has spring training in Arizona.

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■  The Brewers have an odd affinity for Red Sox third basemen. In addition to Shaw, they traded for Garin Cecchini a year ago and signed Will Middlebrooks a few days after that.

Middlebrooks played 10 games for the Brewers before landing on the disabled list, then being let go. He’s now with Texas. Cecchini spent all last season with Triple A Colorado Springs.

■  If you wanted a big bat to replace Ortiz, it’s not coming. The Sox were not leaping back over the luxury tax limit or spending money better suited for other purposes.

No one player, not even Edwin Encarnacion, was replacing Ortiz. It’s an impossible task.

The offense will be fine. The Sox scored 101 more runs than any other AL team last season. In 2017, they’ll get more out of left field with Benintendi and more out of third base if Pablo Sandoval can be league average. They may not score as many runs, but they’ll score enough.

■  Since taking over, Dave Dombrowski has traded 21 players out of the system. There’s almost enough for a team.

The Dombrowski Ex-Sox All-Stars could have Travis Shaw (1B), Carlos Asuaje (2B), Javier Guerra (SS), and Yoan Moncada (3B) in the infield. The outfield would be Manuel Margot (CF), Luis Alexander Basabe (RF), and Mauricio Dubon (LF).

The rotation would have Wade Miley, Michael Kopech, Anderson Espinoza, Aaron Wilkerson, and Logan Allen. The bullpen would feature Pat Light as the closer with Jonathan Aro, Victor Diaz, Josh Pennington, and Jose Almonte behind him.

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The Dombrowski Stars need a catcher. Dombrowski has yet to trade a catcher, so we’ll put Cecchini there. Ben Cherington can be the GM. He knows all the players, after all.

Video: Dombrowski/Farrell news conference


Peter Abraham can be reached at peter.abraham@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @peteabe.