The arbitration tender deadline has come and gone, and unsurprisingly, many players were not tendered arbitration contracts they had the right to accept or reject.
Also unsurprisingly, Boston offered arbitration to its two eligible players: Jason Bay and Billy Wagner. Let’s run through the implications for offering arbitration to the two, and then take a look at players who’s possible Boston future was impacted by their club’s decision.
With the departure of Alex Gonzalez to Toronto, it’s time to move on and explore what options are available to Boston to man the shortstop position in 2010 — and possibly beyond. I’ve gone through some potential free-agent and trade options and then tied it all in a neat little bow for consideration.
Internal options include Jed Lowrie and Jose Iglesias.
The free agent market has a bevy of options, but they all have their drawbacks. From Marco Scutaro to Adam Everett to Miguel Tejada to Craig Counsell — yes, Craig Counsell — we have you covered here.
Want to think trade? Stephen Drew, Cristian Guzman and Hanley Ramirez are considered.
Yeah, Hanley Ramirez. The New York Daily News has a note that the Marlins are talking to the Red Sox about a Hanley Ramirez trade.
One of the more pressing issues facing the Red Sox this offseason, the shortstop position can be considered the number two need for the team, behind the gaping hole in left field.
But shortstop may actually be the more challenging option of the two, as the position features few legitimate major league options to fill gaps.
As Evan outlined earlier, there are a bevy of quality left field options available on the market, headlined by Jason Bay, Matt Holliday, and Bobby Abreu but also including upside buys in Jermaine Dye and Rick Ankiel, as well as plenty of depth. Come December, no team will be left wanting for a left field option.
Teams seeking shortstops will not have this luxury, however. Cot’s Contracts lists just 12 free agent shortstops among this class; 2 of whom have club options. And, no, David Eckstein won’t be considered for the position either. He’s a second baseman now, can’t hit, and has a declining glove. Here are the candidates:
With the acquisition of Adam LaRoche and Chris Duncan, the Red Sox have made some aggressive moves to shore up their offense. With the moves, it is likely that the Sox are done acquiring anyone who primarily plays first and left field. Thus, Ryan Spilborghs and Josh Willingham have been removed from the list below outlining several names to keep an eye on. I’ve also removed Scott Rolen, as the LaRoche acquisition means we can give Lowell breaks and put Youkilis at third.
This leaves three more names to fill up to reach the 15 bats I promised in part one. I added one more bat, but for the other two names, I’ve gone ahead and slotted pitching in there, largely in response to this article in the Globe, which states the Sox probably have their hands in the Roy Halladay sweepstakes now given the recent pitching struggles of the Sox. I’m not sold on the chances of a big move, but the pitching has certainly got to a point where it’s not out of the realm of possibility to see a trade for a pitcher.
As Nick Green and Julio Lugo team up in an attempt to break the record for most errors out of shortstop (and we thought Edgar Renteria was bad), it’s time to start looking at outside options.
Green has been a great fill-in with the bat after no one expected him to even get a single at-bat on the year. On defense, however, his lead glove is starting to raise concerns. And Julio Lugo, of course, is Julio Lugo. We’ll get to our internal option, Jed Lowrie, in a moment. But for now, let’s focus on five shortstops the Sox could go after.
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