Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
June 02, 2008
Serious Pop

David Ortiz's wrist pop will sideline him for at least one month, and he may end up needing surgery after that. So do the Red Sox move Manny to designated hitter and improve their defense with Crisp in every day, or do they try to find another designated hitter? Maybe use Casey at DH and hope his OBA stays high?


Posted by David Pinto at 10:31 PM | Injuries | TrackBack (0)
Comments

If I were Theo Epstein, I'd be looking to do this...

1. Manny is my new DH.
2. find an outfielder who hits better than Crisp and put him in left. It's a small world in Fenway's leftfield so any half decent outfielder should do fine.
3. Crisp remains the late/close defense.

Posted by: S P at June 2, 2008 11:09 PM

Or give someone like Jeff Bailey a chance to see if he can also hit major league pitching. 29 years old, an OPS over 1.000 in AAA, 37/27 K/BB ratio, experience in the outfield...

Ortiz will probably have a lack of power after coming back from the wrist injury, if history is any indicator, and that worries me, but you don't want to trade too much for a rent-a-bat, especially for DH.

With Ramirez' contract in doubt, they should look for an outfielder dangling Masterson or Bowen in front of potential suitors. We'll see...

Posted by: Sal Paradise at June 2, 2008 11:50 PM

My short-term answer is a defense-oriented outfield of Ellsbury/Crisp/Drew, with Manny as DH. It would absolutely help the pitching staff, perhaps enough to compensate for the loss of Papi's bat. They do not need to go shopping for a major deal involving multiple prospects; even without Ortiz, there's plenty of offense on the club.

I don't think the Sox make a move unless Papi needs surgery and the offense struggles. Otherwise, they patch and fill with Bailey, Moss, or someone else. Possibly Chris Carter.

Posted by: jvwalt at June 3, 2008 07:40 AM

Oh, if only there were some great hitter still unsigned, a lefty with power and plate discipline who could replace Ortiz in the lineup. Ideally, someone who could play left field a couple of days a week and let Manny DH. Too bad such a player doesn't exist...

Or does he?

Posted by: Lyford at June 3, 2008 08:33 AM

Brandon Moss

Posted by: Bandit at June 3, 2008 01:34 PM
Post a comment









Remember personal info?