Red Sox Center Fielder

The Red Sox signed CF Mike Cameron to man one of the most spacious center field positions in the Majors last season.  OF Jacoby Ellsbury was moved to left and it seemed as if the BoSox were going to have a strong defensive outfield in Fenway.  Then Cameron came down with kidney stones and Ellsbury hurt his ribcage and Boston was without two-thirds of their outfield for most of the season.  Now, they've retrograded to where they were in 2009.

1.  Ellsbury:  Ellsbury is penciled in as the everyday center fielder again for 2011 but he still figures to get a lot of playing time in left when LF Carl Crawford needs a day off.  2010 was a lost season for Ellsbury.  He missed all but 18 games due to injury and only batted .192 when he was healthy (though he did manage to steal nine bases in that time).  The Red Sox are hoping that Ellsbury's injury woes are behind him.  And they better be, or Boston could be in trouble again in their outfield.

2.  Cameron:  Cameron is still under contract and will be difficult to move due to his large contract, injury history, and poor 2010 season.  He's also out of a starting role in Boston.  The best thing for him may be to become a fourth outfielder.  Cameron may not like that role, but his defense suggests that he should be well-suited for it.  Cameron missed most of last season due to various injuries; he batted .259 in 162 at-bats.

3.  Darnell McDonald:  McDonald was another one of the players pressed into service due to injury.  Unlike most of the others, he more or less became an everyday player for Boston, hitting .270 in 319 at-bats and doing a pretty good job of filling in along the way.  He can play all three outfield positions and has a good shot to make the team as a fourth outfielder or as a reserve outfielder/right handed compliment to DH David Ortiz.

4.  Ryan Kalish:  Kalish was one of the many outfielders called up from the Minors to fill in for Ellsbury and Cameron last season.  He performed well in his rookie campaign, batting .252 with 10 stolen bases in 53 games.  Kalish can play all three outfield positions and has a pretty good shot to make the team as a fourth outfielder.

5.  Che-Hsuan Lin:  Lin is one of the premier players from Chinese Taipei.  Last season he batted .275 with 26 stolen bases while playing impeccable defense at Class AA Portland.  He'll need another year in the Minors before he's ready to ascend to the Majors, but Red Sox fans should rest assured that he'll be ready to ascend by 2012.  Lin's a promising player, but don't expect to see him in September.  Boston will try to shelter this foreign import as much as possible.

6.  Juan Carlos Linares:  Linares defected from Cuba and joined the Boston organization last season.  He didn't play much - only 17 games -  and he didn't perform particularly well, batting .246 in 61 at-bats.  Linares definitely needs a full season in the Minors and he should be ready to play at AAA.  The Red Sox better hope so, because he'll turn 26 next season.  Don't expect to see him in September either.

The Red Sox look like they're in trouble in center.  Ellsbury has a lot of questions about everything except for his defense and speed.  Cameron should make a good fourth outfielder but he's never filled that role before and will be hard to justify in that role given his salary.  McDonald had a good season last year but he's really nothing more than a Minor League veteran.  Kalish is a nice prospect but he's still unproven at the Major League level.  Lin and Linares are intriging foreign imports but are still nothing but question marks and are nowhere near ready to contribute at the Major League level.