Red Sox Must Look Elsewhere for Shortstop as Alex Gonzalez Signs with Toronto Blue Jays
Alex Gonzalez signed a 1-year, $2.75 million deal with the Toronto Blue Jays last week. That means that the Red Sox will have to look elsewhere to fill the void at the position. The Red Sox acquired Gonzalez from the Cincinnati Reds during the middle of the 2009 MLB schedule. In 44 games, Gonzalez batted .284 with 5 HR’s and 15 RBI’s. Gonzalez provided much-needed stability at shortstop, as Jed Lowrie battled a left wrist injury all season long, and Nick Green’s weaknesses were exposed as he played more and more innings after a solid start.
The Red Sox declined a $6 million club option to re-sign Gonzalez through the 2010 MLB season. The Red Sox were open to bringing him back with a lesser contract, but Gonzalez opted to sign with the Blue Jays instead.
Lowrie is still under contract for next season, and the Red Sox could also pursue free agent Marco Scutaro from the Blue Jays. Scutaro had a career-year in 2009: .282 batting average, .379 on-base percentage, 100 runs scored, 12 HR’s and 60 RBI’s. If the Blue Jays offer Scutaro arbitration before Tuesday’s deadline, any team that signs Scutaro would be required to compensate the Blue Jays with 2 first round draft picks in 2010. So Scutaro becomes a more viable option if the deadline passes without such arbitration offer. We’ll keep you posted as soon as we hear anything tomorrow.
