According to Danny Knobler of CBS Sportsline, the Red Sox are deep into negotiations with the Chicago White Sox to acquire former starting shortstop Juan Uribe.
Uribe, 29, is wrapping up a one-year deal worth $4.5 million. He is hitting .225/.273/.364 on the season and has started six seasons, two with the Colorado Rockies before moving to Chicago. His best year came in 2004 with the White Sox when he hit .283/.327/.506 with 23 homers. He hit 20 homers last year as well but had an anemic .234/.294/.394 line. Clearly, he’s a power hitter, but only when he actually hits the ball.
As Knobler points out, Uribe’s three homers on the year off the bench are more than all Red Sox shortstops have hit this year. Holy cow! (It must be noted that Uribe started the year as the starting second baseman before losing the job to the “Cuban Missile,” Alexei Ramirez.)
Uribe would most likely back up Jed Lowrie at short and also see time at second base. He would not take the starting job away from Jed Lowrie, according to Rotoworld.com. If Uribe gets off to a hot start in Boston and Lowrie stumbles, Uribe could pick up more playing time. He’s also known for his stellar defense.
One interesting side note is that Alex Cora could be shipped to Chicago for Uribe, and Cora’s brother, Joey, is the third-base coach for Chicago. Another note by Knobler is that Cora “has fallen out of favor in Boston.” I’m not sure that’s true, but he is on pace for his lowest at-bats as a major leaguer spending the majority of the year in the majors. He’s hitting .279/.380/.361.
I’m not entirely positive of what to make of this rumor. It’s a bit out of left-field to me because I had no idea the Red Sox were unhappy with Alex Cora, and I’m not particularly clear on what Uribe brings to the table that Cora doesn’t, as Cora’s OBP offsets Uribe’s power, in my opinion.
