While Lowell's hip injury is hopefully only a short term problem, the Sox may need to make a trade to address the position in the following month. These are a few of the guys I thought of off the top of my head, but with Beltre hitting the DL the pickings are slim for cornermen.
Mark Teahen 1B/3B/RF. I think Teahen would be a great fit for the Sox both short term as a 3B fill in and as a super utility guy longer term. A natural 3B with the ability to play 3 of the 4 corner positions (and 2nd base in a pinch) he would be able to be a "super sub" for the Sox. He's hitting .290/.344/.449 this year after a disappointing 2008. Alex Gordon will be coming back soon, so it is still unclear how Teahen would fit into the Royals' long term plan. If Julio Lugo continues to show signs of life with the bat, Lugo+cash and a second or third tier prospect might get the job done. With Dayton Moore's love of hack-tastic players perhaps the Sox could pawn off another semi-useless guy for a valuable contributor.
Hank Blalock 3B/DH - Blalock always seems to be the topic of trade discussion as the trade deadline nears, but also always seems to get hurt. I'm not sure the Sox would want to count on his ability to play the field on a regular basis and his hacktastic approach (.290 OBP) is certainly unexciting, but he can still hit for power (.591 slugging). Blalock would likely be a free agent at the end of the season, unless his 6.5 million option gets picked up.
Aubrey Huff 1B/3B/DH - Huff may be the best bat to get moved before the deadline. He would strictly be a rental and but hasn't played 3B at all this season. He might need to continue to play 1B and shift Youkilis across the diamond. After a resurgent 2008 his OPS has slumped back to 2007 levels (~.800). Interestingly, Huff is projected to be a type A free agent by a good margin - as preposterous as it seems he was the top rated AL 1B/OF/DH as of June 26th. This might make him more appealing as a rental unless his type A status cripples his free agent value.
11 comments:
I'm not sure the Sox could get Teahen for Lugo plus cash. I think if Lugo were involved, it would have to be Lugo, cash, and a prospect. Remember, Lugo is still under contract through 2010, and he'll cost $9 million, though his 2011 option won't vest. That said, Teahen isn't really a part of the Royals future, with Callaspo settled in at 2B, and Gordon returning from injury. His bat doesn't really play well in the OF, except on a marginal team like the Royals, but he would certainly be a nice super utility guy as you said.
Blalock is a possibility, but I don't see the Sox digging one someone with a sub 300 OBP. Also, the Rangers are in contention, and won't be looking to trade CI with Davis struggling.
Huff is certainly a possibility, though you are probably on to something with the type A free agent killing his viability. Are players allowed to ask to be classified as not type A? I'm guessing no, since Tek would have done that.
My take on the situation is the Sox will either sit tight, or make a small trade to shore up a platoon at 1B. I can't really see them making a big splash, though I suppose it shouldn't be ruled out. They do have the prospects to do it, and if they do make a trade, I can't see them using prospects for middling guys. If talented minor leaguers are leaving the Red Sox system, I'm guessing they'll be getting a player that can help them in 2009 and beyond. For sheer fantasy greediness, I hope it's Kila : ).
Holy shit that is a long comment.
If you read my original post I said Lugo+cash+2nd tier prospect, and it would likely have to be a good chunk of cash to make the money even out for this year and next.
I think I see them going after a first baseman, and permanently shifting Youk back to third.
The perfect player to add, I think, would be Victor Martinez. He can play 1B and a little C for now, and if Lowell comes back strong he can be rotated through 1b, DH, and C, to give Lowell, Papi, Youk and Tek lots of rest for the playoffs.
But...I don't see that trade happening. VMart isn't really costing the Indians that much money ($5.7M this season, $7M team option with a 250K buyout at the end of the season) and he's having a career year, so the asking price will probably be more than the Sox (or I) would be willing to give up.
No doubt Victor Martinez would be better than nay of those players, but I'm not sure the Indians trade him. That $7 million option is looking awfully good right now and if the Indians want MLB ready player for Lee they might want a couple for V-Mart.
Yeah, V-Mart would be awesome, but I just don't see it happening. As far as Lugo goes, given his salary in 2010, it would likely have to be a top tier prospect, rather than a second or third tier, and even then I'm not sure the Royals can add that much salary.
Yeah, no one is giving the sox anything for Lugo, even anything with no value. Not a damn thing. The only way they're free of Lugo is if he's cut, or if the Sox suddenly turn into sellers and can attach his contract to a very valuable player. I mean, maaaybe we could attach him to Buchholz or someone for a hitter, but they'd be paying his salary, likely in full, so just cut him already. God I'm sick of him.
He's actually hitting this year (average over .300) although he's looked TERRIBLE in the field. If the Sox pay the majority of his salary and throw in a B grade prospect they could get someone useful (although way short of an impact bat like V-Mart).
Here is the thing with Lugo hitting 300. His LD% is 24%, which is unsustainably high. also, it's a fairly empty 300, since his HR/FB is a measly 3%. Does that seem way to low to continue? His HR/FB last year was 2.1%, and 4.5% the year before. His BABIP is 340, but given his FB, GB, and infield fly%, you'd expect him to be hitting about .304 on balls in play. Let's just assume that all the hits he's losing as he regresses are 4 extra singles- that changes his overall line from 301/365/388 (OPS 754) to 262/326/349 (OPS 675). We can all agree that coupled with terrible range, that is a putrid, putrid shortstop. Even if we pay all his salary this year, someone is on the hook for next year. We'd be lucky to trade Julio Lugo for a turd sandwich. League average OPS is 747 for the year, and unfortunately I couldn't find positional adjustments for OPS, so we'll just have to assume that he sucks.
He also only has 116 plate appearances, so all those marvelous stats you threw out there mean even less than his batting average. 24% is on the high side, but Lugo is a line drive hitter (when he hits) - it isn't like we're talking about a Carlos Quentin type here.
Olney just posted that the Sox have inquired about Teahen and in an unrelated post wrote that the Royals are looking for a SS. If Dayton Moore thinks Francouer is a "successfully developed" player who knows what he thinks of Lugo...
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