The 2012 Boston Red Sox have been decimated by injuries through the first month and a half of the season. There's really no other way to put it. Each member of their starting outfield from opening day has found its way onto the DL and that's not even including presumed starting LF Carl Crawford who landed on the DL in spring training. Jacoby Ellsbury separated his shoulder, Cody Ross broke his foot and Ryan Sweeney bonked his head leading to concussion like symptoms. If the outfield injuries weren't bad enough the Red Sox also lost struggling 3B Kevin Youkilis to a DL stint earlier in the year. His injury though ended up possibly providing a solution to the Red Sox outfield injuries. Allow me to explain where I'm coming from here folks.
When free agent to be, well he does have a $14 million team option for next year but that puppy ain't getting picked up, Kevin Youkilis went down a few weeks ago the door opened for Sox top prospect Will Middlebrooks. All Middlebrooks did after being called up was provide solid defense at third and bring some pop to the lineup. After setting the world on fire the first 6 or 7 games the league adjusted to the young power hitter causing him to go into a mini slump and make it seem like the easy choice was to demote him to AAA when Youkilis returned. Not so fast, Middlebrooks surprised most people including me by making his own adjustments and getting right back on track handing the Red Sox into quite the quandary.Red Sox fans want the Middlebrooks era to start now but the problem for Red Sox management was that Youkilis has almost no trade value currently due to back to back injury filled seasons. Yes he's versatile but if he can't prove he's healthy teams won't fork over the young pitching the Sox covet.
No fear Red Sox Nation the answer came to my last night during Youkilis'a return engagement when he started at first, Middlebrooks at third, and Gonzalez in right. The best way to showcase that Youkilis is still worth a pretty good prospect and keep all your top bats in the lineup is to shift Gonzalez to left at home where it's a short field and allow Youkilis to play first while simultaneously providing in house insurance in case Middlebrooks hits a wall. If Middlebrooks stalls out then Youkilis can easily be shifted back to third with Gonzalez coming back to first. If Youkilis can't stay healthy or hit effectively you can yank him and again Gonzalez goes back to first. Best case scenario the Red Sox hold onto all the parties involved Carl Crawford comes back to LF and Youkilis bounces back and forth between first and third with Gonzalez starting at first on a daily basis. The ultimate insurance policy in a former All Star. I BY NO MEANS AM SAYING THAT GONZALEZ SHOULD PLAY OF FOR THE LONG TERM JUST IN THE SHORT TERM WHILE THE SOX GET THEIR DUCKS IN A ROW!
Now this entire situation is predicated on Gonzalez being willing and able to shift out to left field for a short while. Personally I think that as a pretty good team guy Gonzalez would be willing to roam LF, something that he did for a while while attempting to crack into the Texas Rangers lineup, and honestly he'd be fine out there. Watching him play the OF he gets good jumps on the ball off the bat and has enough athleticism to cover Fenway's left field. If Carlos Lee, Jason Kubel, and Josh Willingham can stand out in left so can Gonzo. I also don't buy into the whole hey he might hurt himself playing outfield. Gonzalez is a baseball player and an athlete he can handle a position switch for the good of the team. He plays Gold Glove first base he'll do well in left and luckily Youkilis is also a Gold Glover at first helping the cause.
The Red Sox seem to be starting to put it together after taking 2 out of 3 in Philadelphia from the Fightin's and 2 out of 3 in Baltimore from the AL East leading Orioles. They team is starting to click on all cylinders with their top prospect in Will Middlebrooks getting the best kind of seasoning possible; in meaningful games early in the season at the big league level. Putting Gonzalez in left field for a little while also allows the Red Sox to not only showcase and see what they have in Youkilis but also whether or not the Middlebrooks era is ready to begin on a full time basis right out of spring training in 2013. The DH spot also isn't an option for those who want to put Youkilis, Middlebrooks, or Gonzalez there as David Ortiz has once again solidified his spot among the games upper echelon of DHs. Shifting Gonzalez to left for the time being allows Bobby V to keep Ortiz, Youkilis, Gonzalez, and Middlebrooks in the middle of his order forming quite the 3-6 wallop.
The Red Sox team as a whole would benefit from Gonzalez taking a bullet for the team while they determine the right move between Middlebrooks and Youkilis in the long run. Adrian Gonzalez can more than handle 30 games or so roaming the territory in front of the Green Monster. Give it a shot Bobby V and if it doesn't work then oh well, you can shift back Gonzo back to first base and decide on third base another day. Hell maybe the shift will ignite Gonzalez's bat and get him on par with where he should be and not sitting around .280 with 3 HRs. Gonzalez is a bat that needs to be in the lineup and the best way for the team to maximize its talent level currently is being putting Gonzo out in the OF. Hey what's the worst that can happen?
Geoff Jablonski
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