Thursday, December 10, 2009

Lowell Out, Beltre In?

The Boston Herald, among others, reports that the Sox are close to dealing Mike Lowell to the Texas Rangers for a minor league catcher. This would free up some cash and roster space for Adrian Beltre, in whom Theo Epstein is apparently very interested. I can understand wanting to deal Lowell. He is getting a bit long in the tooth and has been slowed by injuries the past two seasons. Dumping all or part of his salary would also be helpful.

The interest in Beltre, however, is very puzzling to me. One great season parlayed a giant contract. He came crashing down to earth after that and has been a major disappointment in Seattle. Lowell out performed Beltre in every major way last eason. In only eight more games, Lowell bested Beltre in RBI (75 to 44), Avg. (.290 to .265), HR (17 to 8) and OPS (.811 to .683). Not only that, but Beltre's career OBP is a paltry .324. Of course Lowell will continue to decline, but is Beltre really the answer?

If this is the last round up for Lowell, I bid him a fond farewell. I loved the way he used to make teams pay for pitching around Ramirez and Ortiz in 2007. He will be missed, but it's probably time.

4 comments:

Dennis said...

You know, there are several players on west coast teams who are undervalued and under-appreciated by the rest of the country, but Adrian Beltre is certainly not one of them. Boras saying that he is worth $15 million a year is just laughable.

Peter said...

Beltre is probably equal to Lowell defensively, or better considering how injuries have started to limit Lowell's range. Although he doesn't have the ability to reach base as often as Lowell he is probably an upgrade considering Lowell's constant injury problems the last two years.

He may not ever hit 48 again but he'll put out 30 a year in that park. That's hoping he remembers to wear his cup now.

Oh, and $15 mil is a joke. Around $10 mil is more reasonable and more likely.

Joe said...

Beltre is better defensively, today, than Lowell 2 years ago they are probably comparable. Also, I heard the Sox are hoping to keep 3rd open with the possibility of Adrian Gonzalez coming over to play 1st and Youk moving back to third. We have discussed this before, at length. If neither happens, Jed Lowrie could play 3rd in 2010 and the Sox would have a solid defense in the infield.

Dan said...

I would much prefer Gonzalez, personally.