Within the last couple of days, the Red Sox have officially signed six players to minor league contracts and will report to Spring Training as non-roster invitees. Mostly seen as depth in case of the inevitable injury, the six players are:
Fernando Cabrera (RHP): Probably has the most major-league potential of the group, the 6′4″ Cabrera has very good stuff, including a low-mid 90’s fastball with good sink on it and an above-average split-change. Underwent elbow surgery last year, but came back and threw well in the Puerto Rican Winter League, picking up 12 saves while only giving up 12 hits in 22.1 innings and posting a 23 K/6 BB ratio.
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Paul and Tim discuss the merits of the Keurig coffee machine, the contracts of Kevin Youkilis and Jonathan Papelbon, and look at the early returns from the infield in the 2009 “For Better or Worse” series on Fire Brand of the American League. Oh…and how could we forget banging our heads against the Varitek wall a few more times before a final decision is made.
All that and more on Episode #32 of Fireside Chats on MVN!
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Recently, ESPN ranked the Sox system 7th in all of baseball. This was quite a compliment to a team that just this past season graduated four of Baseball America’s top five Sox prospects (Buchholz, Ellsbury, Masterson, Lowrie). Led by Director of Amateur Scouting Jason McLeod, the Sox quickly stocked up their system through the amateur draft and international free agency. Their 2008 draft class has arguably the highest potential of any team, and all of that was made possible by the Sox willingness to go over the slot to obtain guys that are considered to have signability issues. Part of the reason that has caused this has been the emergence of top prospects Pedro Alvarez and Matt LaPorta, two unsigned draft picks in 2005 and 2006, respectively. Spending over the slot should be a continuing trend for a team as rich in resources as the Sox, allowing them to remain as one of the top systems in baseball.
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In our continuing series of “For Better or Worse 2009″ and community projections, I now give you Mike Lowell. To catch up on the rest of the series you may have missed so far, go here.
Let’s call a spade a spade here; how many of you really thought, even as recently as the middle of December, that Mike Lowell would be penciled in the starting infield for the 2009 Boston Red Sox?
The calls for Mark Teixeira rang loud and clear across much of Red Sox Nation. One of the primary reasons for their cry were the questions that surrounded the health and potential production of the incumbent third baseman, Mike Lowell.
Mike Lowell’s 2008 was as hampered by injury as any he has had in his career. Lowell started the season on the mend and ended it with a torn labrum in his left hip that left him looking as hobbled as I have seen a ballplayer since Kirk Gibson was hobbling around the bases in the 1988 World Series.
Even in the face of injury, Lowell put up a relatively productive line in 2008 and when at full strength in the mid-summer he was every bit the player that many considered the team’s MVP in 2007. The question however remains; how will Mike Lowell rebound from hip surgery in 2009?
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