The rumors that the Boston Red Sox are interested in former Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Marco Scutaro.
I prefer Scutaro to almost every other shortstop on the market for the Red Sox. Boston has already let their shortstop from last season's stretch, Alex Gonzalez, go to Toronto.
Scutrao's defense is not as good as Gonzalez's defense, but it's passable compared to some of the other shortstops the Red Sox had since the traded Nomar Garciaparra back in 2004.
Both Scutaro and the Red Sox brass have expressed very serious interest in each other.
Scutaro has always seemed to be underrated. He was never a really good offensive player. 2009 was his best season, as he hit .282 with 12 home runs and 60 RBI, all career highs. His OBP last season was .379 and his slugging percentage was .409 for an OPS of .789, also career highs.
Scutaro has been the apple of my shortstop eye for some time. I've always liked the guy, as he seems like a hard worker who mixes good defense with average offense.
There are very few decent shortstop free agents out there, as Adam Everett seems to be the only other option that seems as good as Scutaro. Khalil Greene could be an option, but he may suffer from an anxiety disorder, and has been anemic at the plate and with the glove.
Scutaro appears to be the best option at shortstop the Red Sox. One thing about Scutaro scares me, though. His age. He just turned 34 years old. Gonzalez will be 33 at the start of 2010 Spring Training. Jed Lowrie will be 26 at the start of the 2010 season, but his injury problems will likely keep him on the bench as the backup to whoever the starting shortstop in 2010 will be.
Marco Scutaro appears to be a leg-up over Alex Gonzalez, and most likely will be in a Red Sox uniform in 2010.
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