Rumors abound that the Red Sox and Colorado Rockies have discussed a deal around reliever Takashi Saito for third-baseman Garrett Atkins, making roughly $7 million this year.
Atkins began the year so poorly that he lost his starting job to Ian Stewart. On the season, he is hitting .227/.303/.339, although he perked up with a .909 OPS in June.
The benefit to Atkins is that he would give the Sox a legitimate power bat off the bench, something the team lacks. Atkins would play first and third base off the bench, providing invaluable depth should Mike Lowell’s return prove unsuccessful.
With Jed Lowrie returning in about a week and likely to bump Julio Lugo off, who’s roster spot would Atkins take? In the outset, it would be easy: option Aaron Bates since Atkins would take over as the right-handed platoon bat at first base.
(By the way, Rocco Baldelli has been taking groundballs at first, The Sox are downplaying this, but… come on. We’re not stupid. The team wants to see if Baldelli can prove an adequate first baseman so they can option Bates when Lowrie is activated, not Lugo.)
But when Lowell returns, it’s not so easy… unless the Sox essentially give Atkins’ Saito’s spot and go to 11 pitchers.
Which brings us to a more important question: are the Sox better served with an extra bench bat or an extra pitcher?
This is a valid question whether or not Atkins joins the Sox or not.
I’ve been aware for a while that Terry Francona (and the front office as a whole) prefers a 12-man staff. However, given the success of the bullpen (the last few days notwithstanding) , why not go down to 11? It would give the Sox a bench of George Kottaras, Mark Kotsay, Rocco Baldelli, Garrett Atkins and Jed Lowrie/Nick Green. That’s a good bench; going with 12 pitchers and removing one of the players from that bench suddenly makes that bench look dicey.
I’m a firm believer that 11 pitchers is enough for a pitching staff. You’re still able to have a mopup man who can eat innings if need be, and everyone pitches enough to stay fresh. Adding that 12th man over the course of these last few years has showed me that I can go a while without seeing a certain relief pitcher, and I can’t see how that benefits anyone.
Now, if you have a pitching staff like the Baltimore Orioles, maybe it makes sense to carry 12. But the best bullpen in baseball? No matter who you throw out there, you’re going to get quality innings. If your weakness on the team is depth of offense and not pitching, wouldn’t you want the extra roster spot to go to a bat?
It’s not as if the Sox can’t withstand injuries: virtually every pitcher in Pawtucket is capable of pitching in the major leagues for a certain period of time.
What do you think? Are the Sox better served off keeping 12 pitchers, considering it’s worked for them so far? Or should the additional bench bat outweigh any concerns about going down to 11 pitchers?