Red Sox Trade Possibilities To Back Burner?

Sep 3, 2014; Bronx, NY, USA; Boston Red Sox left fielder

(5) at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports

Allen Craig

Sherman believes that Craig could be a great addition to the Los Angeles Angels, considering the loss of one of their own. “Craig has three years at $25.5 million left. He could be retained by Boston as insurance for DH David Ortiz and first baseman Mike Napoli, who are both free agents after this season. But if the Angels were to lose Josh Hamilton to a long suspension and recoup his money, maybe they could redirect those saved funds for Craig.”

Again, Sherman’s perspective requires this player to have a very strong showing in March. Craig hit a combined .213 for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Red Sox, last season. The five-year, 30-year-old veteran earned All-Star status in 2013, but fell on hard times in 2014, due to poor play and an injury to his foot.

Unless he can improve his hitting, Craig is hardly a fill-in, let alone a replacement, for Ortiz, the face of the franchise. Whether Ortiz retires or not, which seems unlikely with his recent hitting success, especially in the 2013 post-season, it would be hard to see Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington not paying for Boston’s favorite adopted son from the Dominican.

Napoli also seems to have found a home in Boston, regardless of free agency. The fans love him, as he embraced the beard phase that the team went through during their championship season. If you have doubts, these tweets should wipe them away:

The man either loves toys a lot or he loves that the fans love him. To be fair, it could definitely be both. However, the pride that he showed in playing for Boston shined through, recently, in his tweets that defended the New England Patriots winning the NFL’s Super Bowl championship. Especially when it comes to their quarterback, Tom Brady, Napoli made numerous tweets about how much he cares for his fellow Massachusetts athletes and has their back, no matter who tries to sully their names.

The $16 million Napoli makes this year may be significantly less next year, depending on his play and love for the city, but, like was mentioned earlier, Boston’s issue is not really about money. So, do not expect Craig to stay very long as any kind of insurance policy.