The Boston Red Sox should bring in an infielder from outside the organization before the trade deadline. The one they should target is Jed Lowrie.
With Dustin Pedroia having spent most of the year on the disabled list and Rafael Devers recently joining him, the Boston Red Sox are in need of an infielder.
Right before the All-Star break, the team employed Brock Holt and Eduardo Nunez at second and third base respectively. While that might work in the regular season with the Red Sox currently 68-30, those two positions could hinder the team’s postseason potential.
And as a result, I would recommend that the team look outside the organization, most notably to an old friend in Jed Lowrie.
The 34-year old is in the middle of a career-year as he is slashing .285/.357/.492 with 16 home runs (tied for his most in a season) and 62 RBI.
Lowrie is also capable of playing both positions of need which gives the Red Sox some flexibility. He has recorded -3 DRS at the keystone and -1 DRS at third, and while that is below average, it is not by much.
When you compare that to another potential Red Sox target, Asdrubal Cabrera, who has -16 DRS at second base alone, neither of those two numbers looks too bad.
Going off the advantage of versatility, Lowrie provides a clear one. If Pedroia and Devers were to both return, Lowrie gives them options lineup wise that someone like Mike Moustakas would not.
Now, with Oakland A’s GM, Billy Beane, saying that the organization plans to be buyers, sitting at 55-42, the opportunity of acquiring him feels less than promising.
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However, the team is currently sitting in third place in their division, 8.5 games back in it and trailing by three in the Wild Card.
So, while right now, they would appear to be buyers, it is possible that a couple of poor weeks before the deadline could shift their thinking, playing in MLB’s toughest division this year.
The A’s have often proved to be a strange team when it comes to baseball operations too. Remeber, they are the same organization that thought trading Yoenis Cespedes to the Red Sox to acquire Jon Lester in 2014 would help them win the World Series.
Another hurdle could be that Lowrie actually loves playing in Oakland and expressed an interest in staying there, as detailed by John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle.
"“I enjoy playing with these guys. It’s a great core of players. I’m not going to take any option off the table.”"
However, Franklin Barreto, the team’s second baseman of the future, might stand in the way of that. It could especially become unlikely when considering that the A’s rank last in the league in payroll, which means they aren’t going to spend very heavily on excess which Lowrie could be viewed as with their top prospect sitting right behind him.
Even if the A’s decide against trading Lowrie, the team should still be on the lookout for an infielder, even if he is not nearly as versatile. Cabrera could make some sense, as well as players like Brian Dozier, Eduardo Escobar, and Adrian Beltre.
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Whichever direction they choose to go, it would be surprising if the team doesn’t end up with an infielder come 4 p.m., July 31. That being said, if he’s available, Jed Lowrie should be the guy.