Jacoby Ellsbury
Optimist: Ellsbury is healthy. The outfielder’s ribs are healed and he is ready to make up for loss time. He should be able to jump right in causing havoc on the bases and making great plays in the field, as the injury was not to his legs. The pressure from the media and fans will be off him with the addition of Carl Crawford; Ellsbury could find himself batting ninth. Being fully healthy, hitting lower in the order and with less media focus is a recipe for Ellsbury get his career back on track.
Pessimist: Although Ellsbury’s injury was to his ribs and not legs, he will need to swing the bat to utilize his speed on the bases. If the speedster has any concerns about his ribs (physical or mental), it will negatively affect his production at the plate limiting his opportunities on the bases. It could also cause issues in the field, as Ellsbury is known to take poor routes to fly balls that necessitated highlight diving catches. He may be hesitant to dive for those balls now. Ellsbury is not physically and mentally ready to continue his development as a impact player. He lost a year and maybe another.
Since 2003, Tom Fratamico is the writer for El Guapo’s Ghost and can be followed on Twitter @ElGuaposGhost