I’m going to toss this up to the readers today. There’s been a lot of involvement recently in the comments from many different people – thank you! Your opinion is just as important as ours, and I wanted your opinion on our middle infield.
Currently, we have Mark Loretta slated to start at second, and Alex Gonzalez at shortstop. Alex Cora should fill in at every infield position other than first base, and we also have Tony Graffanino hanging around, plus Willie Harris (who can also play centerfield) signed to a minor league contract, Dustin Pedroia honing his skills at Triple-A, and Alejandro Machado trying to fashion himself a 10-year career as a utilityman.
The Red Sox homepage lists this as the depth chart:
2B: Loretta / Cora / Pedroia / Graffanino
SS: Cora / Graffanino
This is without Gonzalez’s signing official (due to become official today) nor Alejandro Machado. This is my depth chart:
2B: Loretta / Cora / Graffanino / Harris / Machado / Pedroia
SS: Gonzalez / Cora / Graffanino / Machado / Pedroia
Assuming we carry 12 pitchers, 2 catchers, 2 first basemen, 1 third basemen, 5 outfielders (Ramirez, Crisp, Nixon, Mohr (lefty-platoonmate for Nixon), and Stern (for at least the first 2-3 weeks, then hopefully Gabe Kapler replaces Stern)… that’s 22 people, so that leaves three spots left. One second baseman (Loretta) and shortstop (Gonzalez). One utilityman would clearly be Alex Cora, but then that stops the roster at 25.
What would YOU do?
I would put Mohr in the minor leagues until Adam Stern can be sent down and trade Tony Graffanino for a prospect. This clears up a roster spot and also clears up a logjam. Thus we could carry Mark Loretta, Alex Gonzalez, Alex Cora, and Willie Harris. Part of the beauty of Willie Harris is that he will make the loss of a fifth outfielder in Mohr/Stern/Kapler sting less because not only does he play second, he plays center! Don’t get me wrong, I like Tony Graffanino a lot, and he can contribute, but there are extenuating circumstances that dictate his departure.
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