Now that Mike Lowell's torn thumb ligament has put a pinch on the Rangers' pocketbook, Theo Epstein and the rest of the Red Sox front office face a rapidly diminishing market for the 36-year-old's rapidly diminishing services. However, despite Lowell's Major-League worst -14.4 UZR/150 (i.e. his defense was atrocious), he remains a viable, affordable DH option for the Kansas City Royals.
In 2009, Lowell batted .290 with 17 homers in 484 plate appearances. That average was actually 16 points better than in 2008 and 10 points above his career .280. He still produced a 7.1 wRAA, an 11.9 RAR, and a 1.2 WAR. Either a miraculous defensive turnaround or a shift to designated hitter and Lowell becomes worth well beyond the $3 million a club needs to pay him in a deal with the Red Sox. In fact, that $3 million is a bargain.
Kansas City is a perfect fit. At the moment the Royals' DH options are realistically limited to Josh Fields and Jose Guillen.
Fields' .229 career average is only slightly better than his .222 mark in 2009. His 2009 numbers include a -9.2 wRAA, -8.2 RAR, and -0.8 WAR. He's cheap, and that's about it.
Guillen is worse. Over 2008 and 2009, Guillen has underperformed his contract to the tune of $32.5 million dollars ($8.5 million in the hole over his $24 million in salary). Batting .242 in 2009 and producing a mediocre -6.3 wRAA, a dismal -19.6 RAR, and a -2.0 WAR, Guillen promises no answers for the Royals' DH spot in 2010.
Given how desperately the Red Sox would like to unload Lowell, they should be willing to eat even more than the $9 million already offered the Rangers. In fact, for the right prospect, the Royals should be able to significantly upgrade their DH at no additional financial cost.
Catcher Salvador Perez ought to be good trade bait.
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