Overview:
The Red Sox have Mike Lowell, Kevin Youkilis, Jed Lowrie and Nick Green who are capable of playing 3B. Not a perfect situation by any
means.
Lowell has injury issues and may have to spend 10 days on the DL, Lowrie's rehab has had a bump or two, there is no solid long-term
backup for Youkilis at 1B and Green playing at 3B means that Lugo has to play SS, which is disastrous.
Do we have help in the minors?:
Short-term? Not really. Chavez or Velazquez could come up as utility stopgaps, but neither can play 3B in the majors on a daily basis.
Jimenez could potentially make the jump offensively but is unlikely to be even average defensively (of course, compared to Lowell, he may be a step up).
Long-term? Possibly down the line. The shining lights in the lower minors are Middlebrooks and Almanzar. Both are five-tool athletes.
Middlebrooks is further along, and Almanzar is extremely raw, but both are 3-5 years away. The Red Sox also drafted David Renfroe and Miles Head, both of whom
project as third basemen.
The following is a bullet-point description of the third basemen in the minors (age as of 3/31/09):
AAA: (last 15 starts - Chavez (12), Denker (2), Velazquez (1))
Chavez (27) - excellent defense, .585 OPS
Denker (23) - spotty defense, 3B not natural position, .657 OPS
Velazquez (29) - utility man, .568 OPS
AA: (season starts - Jimenez (63), Borowiak (5), Suarez (3), Khoury (2))
Jimenez (24) - borderline prospect, slow feet on defense, .811 OPS, should be promoted after all-star break
(others not worth discussing here)
A+: (starts since all-star break - Borowiak (5))
Borowiak (27) - essentially retired last year, good defense, .668/.706 OPS (AA/A+), likely to be promoted if Jimenez is promoted
A: (starts since all-star break - Middlebrooks (2), Hee (2))
Middlebrooks (20) - prospect, good defense, adjusting to A ball, .664 OPS overall (.896 OPS in June)
Hee (23) - glue guy, good defense, .627/.526 OPS (A+/A), probably gets promoted if Borowiak is promoted
R/A: (season starts - Almanzar (7), Garcia (2 - with Navarro at SS), De Benedetto (1), Holmes (1))
Almanzar (18) - prospect, raw defensively, lost at the plate, .554/.284 OPS (A/R/A)
(others not worth discussing here)
R: (season starts - Roque (3))
Roque (19) - 3B not natural position, .573 OPS
(Miles Head (17) likely to take over 3B, once signed)
Who else is possibly ticketed for third base in the minors from the draft class?
The key third base prospects from the draft class are likely to be David Renfroe (drafted as SS but likely to be moved to 3B, perhaps immediately) and Miles Head (reportedly signed). It was interesting that Willie Holmes played 3B last night, but I have no idea if they see him as a long-term 3B.
Can we trade for a third baseman?
Sure, we can. Possible targets if Lowell is hurt worse than reported and/or if Lowrie's rehab takes too long are: [to come]. It is
also quite possible that, if the Red Sox trade pitching they will seek an upper minor league (A+/AA) third baseman back in trade to slot between Jimenez and
Middlebrooks. It is also not outside the realm of possibility for an indy league 3B to be picked up, although I view Borowiak as being that sort of pickup.
