Sox: We Probably Won't Trade Youk

Has this ever happened? The Red Sox have let it be known that they do not expect to trade the man who has been their most consistent performer since 2006. Kevin Youkilis was almost MVP in 2008 (he was third; Pedroia won, but I would have voted for Youkilis) and 2009.

Granted, he may have a somewhat frosty relationship with the guy with a strong shot at MVP this year (Jacoby Ellsbury), and he reportedly objected to the signing of the guy who would have been the runaway choice for MVP if the award were given in June (Adrian Gonzalez).

This is good news -- probably. We wouldn't want him in pinstripes. Youk had moments of crankiness this year, and other years come to think of it, but some of that is the intensity of his play. Some of it is just plain grouchiness, but the guy cares.

All this said, with some teams, announcing a guy is not for sale is code for "Make us an offer," but given the current state of affairs (which I read as "Make us an offer on anybody except Pedroia"), ruling out one guy seems meaningful. Looks like we'll still be saying YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUK in 2012.