Category: Angel Chavez

 Angel Chavez

Handicapping the backup infielder race

With the news that Julio Lugo is undergoing arthroscopic surgery tomorrow, the question becomes who is going to pick up the slack. Lugo may return in time for Opening Day... he could return a few days after... or his injury could be worse than currently thought.

Either way, the backup infield job is now officially a competition. If healthy, Jed Lowrie and Lugo are the two victors... but who could the job fall to if Lugo can't make it back in time? Let's look at the four candidates.

March 16, 2009 evan brunell
Angel Chavez

How dependent are we on Mike Lowell?

Mike Lowell is prepared to hit the field and play in a game in two weeks, he reported yesterday. Although he hasn't suffered any setbacks with his right hip, he also hasn't been running the bases yet, which could make or break his progress.

It's very possible, although no noise has been made about it, that Lowell could suffer a setback which would either a) postpone his regular season debut or (worst case) b) knock his 2009 season out entirely.

Should Lowell not be able to start on Opening Day, this means Julio Lugo would start at shortstop with Jed Lowrie manning third base. There's a problem with this, however.

March 2, 2009 evan brunell