It is expected that Kevin Youkilis will rejoin the Red Sox on Tuesday after spending nearly a week in Pawtucket rehabbing his ailing back in an attempt to return to his once offensively dominating ways. Good news for the Red Sox as a trade market appears to be forming despite Youkilis not playing a game in the bigs since his injury, something that comes as a bit of a surprise given his chronic ailments.
ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reports via Twitter that the Cleveland Indians and the Philadelphia Phillies are both monitoring Youkilis as he finishes up his rehab stint and that both clubs could have a keen interest in the fiery infielder who can play both first and third. Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe also stated that the Arizona Diamondbacks are another club that appears to be interested in possibly trading for Youkilis, although it’s not known to what degree.
Red Sox GM Ben Cherington stated that when Youk returns he will be the starting third baseman and will not lose his job due to injury. That’s all fine and dandy but with the way that rookie phenom Will Middlebrooks has been swinging the bat and his ability to track down sharply hit grounders, Cherington better start listening to the interested teams as the time to make a move will be sooner rather than later.
Youkilis is a big presence when he’s in the Red Sox lineup, there is no denying that. But the problem lies in the previous sentence; ‘when he’s in the lineup.’ His track record over the past two years shows that he can’t stay healthy for the amount of games the Red Sox need him in order to be that middle of the order threat. Last season he played in 120 games and just 102 the year prior. The four previous seasons he had averaged around 140 games per season and it was then that we saw the 3-time all-star develop into the type of bat that pitchers wanted to pitch around.
I completely understand that Youkilis needs to get some playing time in when he returns in order to prove he can stay healthy and produce at the plate. That time frame is likely to be around three weeks and we could see some platooning at third with Middlebrooks and even at first with Adrian Gonzalez. If Youkilis can heat up offensively his trade value will rise and it is then that the Sox need to cash in on him. Reason being that I will bet dollars to doughnuts that he will not stay healthy for the remainder of the year and a trip to the DL is likely in his future before the end of the season. Strike while the iron is hot and if Youk starts to heat up, the phone will start ringing and Ben should be listening.
Middlebrooks has proven himself despite his modest slump when he was 7-for-40. But after a three hit night in Baltimore, the kid needs to be a part of this Red Sox team. Youkilis will fetch some decent players in return but only if a deal is done before July.