As we are now officially into the offseason, it is time to start discussing the Red Sox needs. I may return to the Cardinals World Series victory at some point soon, but for now lets think Sox. More specifically lets think position players, because quite frankly, the pitching staff is a complete mess and I don't feel like dealing with that right now.
With free agency looming, there are many areas in which Boston needs some help. Left field and center field are set with Crawford and Ellsbury. I envision Crawford having a breakout year for the Sox and really starting to earn his pay check. Right field on the other hand is a different story. What I don't want to see is a big signing like Carlos Beltran. Enough with throwing around money for the prima donna's. Although I love Beltran, I think that right field is a position that is not a necessity. If you think about it, the zombie that's been playing out there for the last few years didn't do anything ( litterally), and it hasn't been out main concern. Re-sin Connor Jackson, throw him out there, have a Ryan Kalish or Josh Reddick platoon with him and let the best player win. I truly believe that Jackson is fully capable of being a productive starter, especially on a team like the Sox where he wouldn't have to bat higher than 7th.
My guess is Varitek is gone or done or both. Ryan Lavarnway looked pretty solid in September and should be Saltalamachia's backup next season, while possibly seeing time at DH if he continues to progress offensively.
Shortstop is up in the air. Jed Lowrie in my opinion is nothing more than a 5th infielder. Even if he could stay healthy for a full season, he is too inconsistant for my liking. I really like Scutaro and what he brings to the table. He hustles, he works hard, and he grinds out at bats. He finished last year very solidly despite battling injuries early on. Never thought I'd say this but I would be very disappointed if we didn't resign him. Inglesis is also a posibility but he looks too raw. He will be really good one day, but not this year I don't think. If we want to give him a chance, we should still resign Scutaro as insurance.
Resigning Ortiz is not necessarily a necessity. Although he has been the cornerstone for this time for the last decade or so, if a better options surfaces I am all ears. Who knows what he will be demanding for a contract, and what type of production he will offer. It would be very difficult for me to accept losing Ortiz to free agency, but if we are able to land a very good right handed hitting third baseman, I have no problem moving Youkilis to the DH slot and going from there. One of the Red Sox problems last season is that they were very unbalanced in favor of lefthanded. Now that being said, Ortiz was great last year against lefties but you just never know what your going to get. Sure, he's been good the last year and a half but he's getting old. On the other hand, he could explode and have another year like he did in 2007 where he hit for a high average and hit over 30 home runs. The only way I would approve of a Beltran signing would be in place of Ortiz, but Beltran has never DH'd something that Ortiz has over him. I don't think that Jim Thome would be a real possibility only because I feel like Boston always forgets about all the future Hall of Famers except Manny and John Smoltz (remember those 7 starts? ugly...).
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