Red Sox Shortstop

As Spring Training approaches (pitchers and catchers report in mid-February) LeRoy will begin its preseason analysis of the Boston Red Sox, New York Mets, and the hated New York Yankees.  We will continue with the shortstops and start with the Boston Red Sox.

Boston's shortstop position was a mess in 2009.  They used a combination of Julio Lugo, the re-acquired Alex Gonzalez and a host of utility players to man the position.  Following the season GM Theo Epstein opted to pursue free agent shortstops based upon sabermetrics and find a good moneyball player.

1.  Marco Scutaro:  Scutaro was signed by Boston after posting career highs in several offensive and defensive stats with Toronto in 2009.  He had a typical Scutaro year last season, batting a solid .275 without much power and production numbers.  He played good defense and was a good number nine hitter, but Scutaro is still nowhere near a star.  Epstein has suggested that Scutaro will lose playing time to IF Jed Lowrie in 2011.

2.  Jed Lowrie:  Lowrie, a former first round draft pick and top prospect, will start his fourth season as the team's utility infielder.  He did a good job last season, playing all four infield positions and batting .287.  Lowrie has yet to live up to his expectations after three stellar years in college (although there's still hope that he may break out) and he may be better suited as a utility player.  Epstein has stated that Lowrie will split time with Scutaro and will likely get most of his playing time there.

3.  Yamaico Navarro:  Navarro, who came on the scene in 2009 as a top prospect, made his MLB debut last season and was unimpressive, hitting .143 in 42 at-bats.  The hype around Navarro has cooled considerably in the past two seasons but he's still in the mix at second base.  Ideally, he needs to spend close to a full season at AAA before he's ready to ascend to the Majors, but if 2B Dustin Pedroia or Lowrie spend time on the DL Navarro will be the guy that gets the call.

There is a bit of uncertainty at shortstop for Boston.  Scutaro won't provide much more than he did last season - a .285 batting average and 60 RBIs would be a great year from him - and he'll be 35 next year.  They still have high hopes for Lowrie but he hasn't broken out yet and might be better as a utility player.  Navarro is still in the mix but he'll be at AAA and is as much in the mix at second as he is at short.  Overall, the shortstop position should be average for the Red Sox.