Spring Position Battles (SS , bench OF/1B, bullpen)
Most of the Red Sox roster spots are etched in adamantine, as they usually are for a team with one of the highest budgets in the game. However, there is a little uncertainty over 1) who will be tabbed the starting shortstop when camp breaks, 2) who will get to hold Mark Kotsay’s place while the Erstadesque veteran recovers from his injury, and 3) what the back-end of the bullpen will look like. Lets take a peek at the contestants, and keep track of how they perform later on this spring. The caveat, of course, is that spring training stats rarely correlate to regular season stats. However, when a manager/GM needs a deciding factor to choose a player from a group of similarly-skilled individuals, spring training stats can make the difference between a fringe player making the roster or going to AAA. As Red Sox fans, we’re unfamiliar with this concept, since the positions here are usually taken by January.
The Battle: Shortstop
This is a battle for a starting job, as both contestants are already guaranteed spots on the MLB roster when camp breaks. If there were a fan vote, Jed Lowrie would trounce Julio Lugo like Reagan vs. Mondale. How are they projected to play this season?
The Contestants:
Julio Lugo
Marcel Projection: .252/.320/.360
2008 Defense: -3.0 UZR/150 games
Lugo’s struggles in the early part of the season made him persona non grata with the fans, although he wasn’t really as bad the fan consensus seems to portray; he was only slightly below average defensively, he reached base at a better clip than all shortstops in the AL not named Jeter, and he was a threat on the basepaths. Now, I’ve seen some recent pictures of Julio, and at the risk of sounding like a Kool-Aid slurper, he does look like he’s in better shape than usual. He isn’t sporting the “starving child” look that he had the past few seasons. I’ll get to see him in person in about a week, so I’ll let you know whether or not the photo I saw was deceiving me.
Jed Lowrie
Marcel Projection: .268/.345/425
2008 Defense: 25.9 UZR/150 games
Lowrie impressed fans with his steady defense and plate discipline after replacing the injured Lugo in 2008. He’s the favorite to come away with the starting job, and if I had to make a decision right now, Lowrie would definitely be my guy. There have been rumblings that Lowrie’s versatility (ability to play 2B, 3B, SS) might pigeon-hole him into inheriting the Alex Cora utility role, but I’m not buying it; Julio Lugo could play those positions too.
Every 5 days or so, I’ll post an update on how these guys are playing this spring.
Next up (maybe later this afternoon): the Bench OF/1B battle.
I agree, and cannot for the life of me understand the notion that Lowrie is best served on the bench because of his “versatility”. This sort of statement tends to assume Lugo lacks “versatility”, which is pure nonsense. Lugo has MLB experience at SS, 2B, 3B and OF.