Scutaro Puts a Stop to the Revolving Door
To say that Theo Epstein has had a difficult time filling the shortstop position since Nomar Garciaparra was traded is a bit of an understatement. Since Garciaparra departed, there have been no less than 13 shortstops to don the Red Sox uniform and start for the Old Towne team. They are: Pokey Reese, Cesar Crespo, Ricky Gutierrez, Mark Bellhorn, Orlando Cabrera, Edgar Renteria, Royce Clayton, Alex Cora, Alex Gonzalez, Julio Lugo, Dustin Pedroia, Jed Lowrie and Nick Green.
In an ideal world, Nomar would have stayed relatively injury free as the Sox starting shortstop until Hanley Ramirez could have succeed him in 2006. In this fantasy land, shortstop becomes the strongest position on the team, with a superstar taking over for a superstar. But in the real world, both Nomar and his heir were traded; Nomar of course, leaving for the Cubs in a very controversial trade which brought in Orlando Cabrera, and Ramirez being sent to the Marlins in the famous Beckett and Lowell deal. Of course, without these trades, the Sox might not have won the World Series in ’04 and then again in ’07.
Barry Chin/Globe Staff
In the real world, however, finding a good shortstop has been a complete debacle for the Red Sox. Last year alone, the Sox started Lugo, Lowrie, Green, and Gonzalez. None except Gonzalez could find any sustainable success and he only started 44 games. With that one exception, the other three were a complete failure (no offense to Nick Green, he was good until pitchers stopped giving him fastballs; or to Lowrie, who was injured most of the season. Lugo, you can go ahead and take as much offense as you like.)
After declining Gonzalez’s option this past offseason, the hot topic quickly became who the front office would get to replace him. Rumors swirled about Pedroia shifting over from his Gold Glove work at second base as well as whispers of a possible megadeal with the Marlins that would have brought Hanley Ramirez back to Beantown. What ended up happening was the signing of 34 year old Marco Scutaro to a two-year, $12 Million dollar deal.
Is this a good signing? Afterall, Scutaro is 34 years old and only became a fulltime starter last year. In short, the answer is yes. Way to go Theo, you may have finally gotten a competant shortstop.
Scutaro had the definition of a career year last year, putting up career highs in almost every major offensive category for a fairly impressive line of .282/.379/.409/.789. To give you some perspective, the average AL shortstop put up .274/.329/.391/.719. To give you an even better perspective, Red Sox shortstops combined for an abysmal .234/.297/.358/.655. Ugly.
Overlay showing Scutaro's career hits at home in the Rogers Center as they would play out at Fenway. A lot to be said for that maybe.
What this means is that if Theo had gotten an even slightly below average shortstop with similar numbers to, say, Scutaro’s career numbers (.261/.325/.377/.702) it would still be a major improvement over the other shortstops we have seen. But will he regress to his career norm? Will we see an even better year from Marco? What makes this signing such a good idea if his career numbers are below average?
Barry Chin/Globe Staff
Well, this was a good signing for a number of reasons. First, the length and value, two years at $6 million a year is a fair price and a perfect length for a shortstop who is really supposed to be a bridge until Jose Iglesias is ready to ascend to the majors. But what if something goes wrong and Iglesias doesn’t pan out? Well, luckily there is a mutual option for a third year. Secondly, Marco is known to have an above average glove. While he may not always be the flashiest, he is expected to make routine plays with consistency and ease. For those of us who have spent the past couple years watching Julio Lugo throw the game away in the late innings, that is just fine.
As far as the offense is concerned, expect a slight decrease in the offensive numbers from last year. Nothing too serious, because that newfound plate discipline is here to stay. I also believe that Marco really only found his stroke when he was given the opportunity to be an everyday player, with the stability of playing at the same position everyday. So, I predict he’ll hit something to the tune of .275/.360/.390/.750 this season. Sound good to you? Me too.
From what we’ve seen so far in Spring Training, Scutaro has fit in nicely. He and Pedroia have become fast friends and have turned a couple spectacular double plays together. The coaching staff have also liked the swings he’s been taking, even though his numbers don’t show it.
In Marco Scutaro, Theo Epstein may have finally found some stability at the shortstop position. It only took him 6 years and 13 shortstops to do so, but better late than never. His above average glove and bat will seriously help the team which before regarded the shorstop position as an almost automatic out in the lineup. Scutaro fits this year’s philosophy of balanced offense and improved defense nicely, and I, for one, am excited to see what he can do.
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