As the Red Sox are constituted, according to baseball prospectus, are 99.4% to make the playoffs. That being said, the Red Sox could stand pat and almost assuredly get into the postseason.
There has been much ado about JD Drew and his inability to hit anything remotely resembling a baseball, and rightly so. Josh Reddick right now is hitting out of his mind. Literally out of his mind. I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure Josh Reddick isn't a .360 hitter in the big leagues. But right now you ride the wave and let the kid rake for as long as his hot streak allows. Between he, JD Drew and Darnell McDonald they have enough of a platoon to be at least competitive in the corner outfield position.
People are clamoring for Carlos Beltran, short answer no, long answer not a goddamn chance. The strange, yet genius clause, in his contract that does not allow anyone to get compensation in the form of draft picks is extremely prohibitive. Couple that with the fact that the Mets are paying all of the freight of his hefty tag, you are then forced to give a better prospect because you aren't paying his salary.
While I would absolutely love to see Hunter Pence in the 6th hole in the Red Sox lineup, I don't think that's happening either. The Astros are asking for a King's ransom and should get it (if they sell him) because he is still under team control through 2012 and is just entering his prime at 29.
But right now the local 9 have two holes in their lineup when JD Drew is in the lineup; the aforementioned right field, and shortstop. I could deal with 2 weak spots in the lineup if all of the rest of the contributors (Ortiz, Pedroia, Gonzalez, Ellsbury) continue to rake and have great production but SS has been a hole in the lineup and out on the diamond.
While I admire Marco Scutaro's toughness last year and at times this year, there is a reason that this guy was mostly a career super-utility man. His range is not what it was 3 years ago and his shoulder injury makes any ball he does get to in the hole an automatic single.
Jed Lowrie has not proved that he can stay on a field, he has however been voted most likely to get Ricketts in the Sox clubhouse, and after his torrid start at the plate which made his butchering of SS palatable, he can't be relied upon. He may get shut down for the rest of the year just to keep roster flexibility if he isn't up to 100% soon.
Red Sox fans have seen what an upgrade at SS can do for the overall defense going into the postseason. Who should they look at not named Jose Reyes?
Erick Aybar would be someone that I would take into serious consideration. He should have won the AL Gold Glove last year, and with the Angels not going to the postseason this year I wonder if he could be had. He isn't going to need to catered to a top 6 spot in the lineup so you can slot him in the 9 hole and let him get on in front of Ellsbury and play flawless defense the rest of the year.
What I think it would cost to get him: He is one of the best SS in the AL and it would definitely take a good package to get him. I wonder if you offered them one of Chih-Hsien Chiang or Alex Hassan and one of Felix Doubront and Kyle Weiland, and another smaller pitching prospect if they'd bite.
Jason Bartlett would be another name I would look at. The Red Sox can obviously deal with Jed Hoyer out in SD and he would require less of a package than Aybar because his bat isn't as much of a weapon.
What I think it would cost to get him: Alex Hassan is a very intriguing prospect and where he plays Left field he is definitely stuck in the minors for the next 7 years if he stays there. He is someone that could go. Alex Hassan, Yamaico Navarro, and Michael Bowden probably gets that deal done.
I don't know that there are any other SS fits for this team other than these two. But these are the two players I'd target if I want to sure up my infield.
Stay Tuned
Norton
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