The Red Sox shortstop saga appears to be at an end. According to reports, the club and free agent shortstop Marco Scutaro have reached agreement on a two-year contract, pending a physical.
Alas, the Sox no longer have to contemplate shifting Dustin Pedroia to shortstop!
Truth be told, I thought the whole "Pedroia to shortstop" thing may have been floated as posturing by the Red Sox in the hope Toronto would think twice about offering Scutaro arbitration.
The thinking being that if the Blue Jays feared the market for their former shortstop might not be as hot without the Red Sox, then Scutaro might have accepted arbitration and the Jays could have been stuck with two shortstops, something Toronto ownership definitely would not have wanted. Thus, the possibility they might not have offered arbitration in the first place—a la Los Angeles and Orlando Hudson.
A couple of the impediments to bringing Scutaro on board fell by the wayside earlier this week. First, the Atlanta Braves signed Type-A free agent Billy Wagner, providing the Red Sox with two draft picks (likely including a first-rounder that will essentially replace the one they will forfeit for signing Scutaro, also a Type-A free agent).
Second, Scutaro worked out for Red Sox executive Allard Baird in Miami earlier this week. According to reports, the workout went well—alleviating some concerns the Red Sox had over the plantar fasciitis issue that afflicted Scutaro in the final two weeks of the 2009 season.
After the workout, the Red Sox requested and reviewed Scutaro's medical records, and now the contract is dependent upon the Sox being satisfied with his physical condition after a team-administered physical.
A couple of weeks ago, I conjectured it is very possible that the Sox might let both Jason Bay and Billy Wagner sign elsewhere through free agency—thereby recouping four draft picks (which would be as high as two firsts, plus the two compensatory round picks).
I also suggested that would free the club up to sign a group of free agents (such as John Lackey, Matt Holliday, and Marco Scutaro) without leaving the organization without draft picks in the first two rounds of the 2010 entry draft.
This is an organization trying to strike a delicate balance between building its on-field ballclub through the draft and trades and supplementing those efforts with free agents; thus, my speculation is based on my belief that Sox GM Theo Epstein would find it unacceptable to be without first- and second-round picks.
Bay and Wagner could resolve that quandary.
But even if the team decides to re-sign Bay, it could still sign Lackey and a reliever to replace Wagner (like, let's say, Rafael Soriano)—both Type-A free agents—and still improve its draft position for 2010.
The Sox would lose only their first- and second-round picks for signing the three free agents, while having acquired a first- and supplemental-round pick for Wagner. Their first-round pick would be the 20th overall selection (a higher pick than the one they have forfeited since the Braves had a worse record) and the supplemental-round pick would be higher than the second-round pick they might yet forfeit.
A real win-win for the club...an improved roster and an improved position in the draft. That is one of the reasons Epstein is running the ballclub.
Well, the first shoe dropped when Wagner signed, and the second shoe has now fallen with the acquisition of Scutaro.
On deck: Lackey?
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