The Red Sox Must Trade Kevin Youkilis

Kevin Youkilis has been synonymous with the Boston Red Sox for most of the last decade. He, along with teammates Dustin Pedroia and Jon Papelbon, and GM Theo Epstien, were the heart and soul of Red Sox Nation and made thiers one of the most sucessful organizations in sports.  Times have changed though, Papelbon is now a Phillie, Epstein is now president of the Cubs, and Youkilis is coming off an injury marred 2011, his worst season as a pro. What’s more, the Red Sox entered last season as the heavy favorites to bash their way to the World Series behind new acquisitions Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez but missed the playoffs entirely. This year, expectations were just as high following the failure of 2011 and the subsequent tumult of last winter but once again the Sox have stumbled out of the gate. Boston is 2-5, their roster is clearly flawed and many of their players, most prominently Youkilis, have really struggled. Youk, a Moneyball and sabermetric favorite known affectionately as the Greek God of Walks, has yet to draw a free pass this season and is batting only .167. Though he remains a fan favorite, he is almost immobile at 3rd base. Additionally, uber-prospect Will Middlebrooks is waiting in the wings as the third basemen of the future. What does all of this mean? The time has come for Boston to give Middlebrooks his shot and trade Youkilis in an effort to remedy some of the other major issues on their team. Here are 3 deals that make sense for everyone involved:

Boston Red Sox trade Kevin Youkilis to the Chicago Cubs for Carlos Marmol and a mid- to upper-tier prospect:

This deal makes sense from all sides. Theo Epstien is a huge Youk fan from his days in Beantown and would love to get him back and is there anyone more in need of a change of scenery than Carlos Marmol? The Cubs aren’t going anywhere this season so giving up their troublesome closer wont be a issue. Marmol, though he has struggled, posting a 4.01 ERA last season and blowing 10 of 44 save chances, gives the Sox the seasoned closer that they desperately need with Andrew Bailey out. Marmol is a little expensive for a closer but he is under team control for 2 more seasons and is less expensive per year than Youkils. For the Cubbies, Youk provides veteran leadership to the young club. They can insert him at 1st base where he is an immediate upgrade and he fits in longer term as well. Youkilis has a team option for next season so the Cubs can decide whether or not they want him to play or as a deadline trade chip or they want to go younger  and get rid of him all together. If the Red Sox pick up half the $12 mil owed to Kevin this season, the Cubs save money on this and it makes perfect sense.

Boston Red Sox Trade Kevin Youkilis to the Los Angeles Angels for Bobby Abreu and an upper-tier prospect:

Bobby Abreu is unhappy riding the bench for the Angels. He feels like he can still play the outfield and resents that he has been pushed out by Vernon Wells, Torii Hunter, and Peter Bourjos. Though the defensive metrics don’t really back Bobby up on this one, he is still a serviceable outfielder and would be a better option in right field than Cody Ross or Ryan Sweeney, especially against righties. Abreu also would make the already incredibly formidable Red Sox lineup even better, especially if they need to replace the production of Jacoby Ellsbury due to injury. When Crawford returns from the DL, the Crawford, Ellsbury, Abreu outfield would be very good. From the other side of things, Kevin Youkilis makes great sense for the Halos. LA’s current third basemen is a platoon of Mark Trumbo, who can hit but can’t field, and Alberto Callaspo who can field but can’t hit. On the Angels, Youk couldn’t play first as Albert Pujols is entrenched there but even with his deficiencies he is still a better option than Trumbo defensively or Callaspo overall. Including Youkilis, the Angels lineup would be filled with high on base guys with very little speed. They would go station to station but they would hit a lot of homers, score a ton of runs, and win a lot of games. Also, Mark Trumbo would officially become expendable and be a really good trade piece. Both Abreu and Youkilis are under contract for only one more season so if Boston makes the money even than this is really just a swap for immediate needs.

Boston Red Sox trade Kevin Youkilis to the Philadelphia Phillies for Antonio Bastardo and an upper-tier prospect:

This trade again makes a ton of sense. The Red Sox pick up Bastardo, a good and reliable reliever who posted a 2.64 ERA last season to supplement their terrible bullpen and perhaps even close some games. Bastardo is even experienced in high pressure divisional games coming from Philly and the NL East. On the other end, the Phillies are in desperate need of any offense they can find. Philadelphia has great starting pitching but they haven’t been able to score any runs to support it with Ryan Howard and Chase Utley out with injuries. Ty Wigginton has been doing an admirable job at first base but Youkilis would be an improvement until Howard returns and would keep  Jim Thome in the pinch hitting role he is more suited for. Once Howard returns, Youkilis could play third with Placido Polanco moving over to second base displacing Freddy Galvis. My hunch is that this would be the permanent arrangement because I think that Chase Utley’s knee condition is far more serious than we have been led to believe and I’m not sure he’ll play a game this year.

No matter what the Red Sox decide to do it is clear that they have to change something. I’m not one to panic after less than 10 games of a 162 game season but given the evidence compiled over the last couple seasons, it seems clear that this is the time for Boston to sell high on Youkilis. If they move him now, they can get a decent return, if they wait, they run the risk of loosing all trade value. Middlebrooks is ready, make the move.

-Max Frankel