The Red Sox have limited options in trading Mike Lowell and limited options as to where to get him in the lineup. Assuming he does well this spring coming off of surgery on his thumb Theo will try to move him to a team willing to take on some of his salary. A deal with the Rangers seems unlikely now that they have Vlad on their team. The Twins are still looking for someone at the hot corner but chances are they won’t take a risk on Lowell without seeing how he responds to surgery. So in all likelihood Lowell will be on the roster when the Red Sox take on the Yankees for opening day. Tony Mazz wonders if Lowell could take the DH job away from Ortiz:
Beyond that, here is something to consider: Lowell might be a better full-time option at DH over Ortiz, assuming he can stay healthy. Last year, Lowell had an .867 OPS against left handers while Ortiz posted one of .716. The difference against right handers was not nearly as great as one might have thought – .828 for Ortiz, .784 for Lowell – which cannot help but make one wonder if Ortiz could be competing for a job in spring training.
It would seem like Lowell would be a good insurance policy if Ortiz struggles this spring, but if Lowell does well he becomes tradable again and may not be there as an option. The problem goes away at the end of the season and is not a bad problem to have for the team aside from the financial cost Mike Lowell is a class act and will do his part for the team; it is hard to see a scenario where he becomes a clubhouse cancer.
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