Trading Places: What are the Red Sox early trade needs in 2013?
Lets start at catcher; Salty has power but loves striking out, Ross has shown flashes of pop and solid defense but is 36 years old, and then Lavarnway who has been up and down in the show the past few years the verdict is still out on him. Now I'm not saying lets ship these guys out of here but lets be honest catcher has been a weak spot for the Sox for a while now just like shortstop has been. Personally, Salty is my guy I'm a big believer in him, he showed his power last year but he doesn't seem to have that clutch factor in him. Especially this year in key situations with runners on base fans have felt more of a breeze in Fenway than they have on a cruise ship. Ross has been a solid back up to Salty so far, having a couple of breakout games offensively and showing he still has a solid arm throwing guys out at second. April is almost over, he's 36 and we still have over 100 games left in the season. Most people might say who cares about Ross, he goes down they got Lavarnway. I say who cares about Lavarnway lets go out and get a stud to solidify this team. Brian Mccann is a guy I really like; he's an all star catcher with great offense and solid defense who's contract with the Braves is coming to an end. Might be a tough sell to a Hot-Lanta team right now but again these are fantasy trade predictions in late April so just go with it.
Where's Nomar??!! The shortstop position has been a black hole for the Red Sox since Grady Little was wobbling around Fenway. No matter how many trades and signings they've made over the years they just haven't been able to get it right. Jose Igelsias could be the shortstop of the future, but Red Sox nation and I are talking about the now. Right now, I'd take JD Drew at shortstop than his brother Stephen who runs like hes got a dump in his pants. When they originally signed Drew I was hoping he'd be a back up or fail safe to Igelsias if and when he started slumping. Clearly I was mistaken when after he was sidelined with a concussion and Igelsias started off with a hot bat and even hotter defense, John Farrell said it was Drew's position to come back to. Pedro Ciriaco is solid at short but he is and probably always will be just a utility player, but a good one. Shortstop is a fairly weak position across the league, and there's not many "stud" players out there but definitely a few I'd love to see in Boston. Troy Tulowitzki....oops sorry just woke up think I was dreaming for a second. Tulo's contract could be up after next year, the Rockies have a club option for the 2014 season. Just saying and all star gold glove winning stud like Tulowitzki would absolutely take this team to the next level and beyond.
Ellsbury in a contract year could be some serious trade bait for teams like Colorado and Atlanta. Especially if ownership isn't confident they can sign him before the seasons up, no one likes to lose a player without gaining something. Screw draft picks we won't all stars here in Boston. We'll revisit this in a couple months when trades are a little more relevant, I'd love to hear Tulowitzki's name then. I don't know about you guys but my mouth waters just thinking of the lineup possibilities with that guy in there.
This is all open to discussion of course especially while we're still in April, I'd love to hear some of your ideas i'm sure there are Red Sox crazies with wilder ideas than mine so let's hear them.
Follow me on twitter @presidenteguapo or post a comment and lets talk trade!
