Ortiz Could Have Season Ending Surgery

The Boston Herald is reporting that season ending surgery could be a real possibility for David Ortiz if it doesn't heal while in a cast for the next month. Should Ortiz have to have surgery, Boston will be left with a huge hole in their lineup. They will likely need to find someone on the trade market which could require giving up a combination of Jed Lowrie, Jon Lester or Justin Masterson, all of whom have raised their value in the opening months of the 2008 season. Who could Boston look at as replacements? Barry Bonds would immediately enter discussions and while he would come without losing prospects, he would be unlikely to land in Boston. Mark Teixeira will be a name mentioned often and Boston has the talent to pry him away from Atlanta, but Boston would need to get him signed to an extension as part of a deal or they wont give up the names needed to land him. Jim Thome will also be a free agent at seasons end and could probably be had for less the Teixeira and Chicago may look to move him especially if they begin to falter in the Central. They could try options within the system possibly with Chris Carter who has a decent bat, but is labeled a DH type who was blocked by Ortiz at the major league level. He started off slowly power wise but has come on of late. Boston could also recall Brandon Moss and use a combination of Moss, Coco Crisp, Jacoby Ellsbury and JD Drew in the outfield while putting Manny Ramirez at designated hitter while Manny is out.

Position Breakdown: First Base

Recap Kevin Youkilis had a great year in 2007 with the bat and glove. Youk should win the gold glove and could be a fixture at first unless Boston doesn't re-sign Mike Lowell and can't land another third baseman which would require Youk moving across the diamond. Looking Ahead I would imagine Youkilis remains at first next year and Boston lands a big bat for third. If they don't Boston could move David Ortiz to first and Manny Ramirez to DH, that of course would be an extreme move but not out of the question. The final answer will depend on what happens at third so stay tuned. Beyond 2008 There is no shortage of power bats who will begin being ready by mid-2008 in the minors. Kevin Youkilis could find his days on the Red Sox infield numbered which would be a sad day for Sox fans. However Youk could possibly move to left field full time when Manny Ramirez' contract expires, if Manny can play it, Youk can. As for the depth in the minors. Chris Carter has an ETA of 2008 and could be a bench player for the Sox. Aaron Bates should be ready by 2009 and Lars Anderson in 2010. Brandon Moss, an outfielder who has played some first this past year could spend all his time at first in 2008 and be ready for 2009. Moss has an ETA for mid-2008 without taking into account moving to first full time.

Future On Display

Beggining tomorrow and lasting throughout most of the remainder of the season, the future of the Boston Red Sox will be on display at Fenway Park. Portland and Lowell will both play games at Fenway on Saturday while the Sox are playing in Baltimore. Portland will play the Harrisburg Senators (Washington) while Lowell plays the Hudson Valley Renegades (Tampa Bay). The Lowell game is at 12:05 followed by Portland. In just a couple weeks a handful of top prospects could find themeselves with a September callup. Jacoby Ellsbury is one who is very likely to get the call to provide speed off the bench down the stretch. Should he continue his solid play from earlier this year when he was up he could also find himself on the bench in the playoffs. Boston won't discount the importance of a speedster on the bench, its the very reason they won the World Series in 2004. George Kottaras could also find himself in Fenway park in September. He is the only minor league catcher on the Sox 40 man roster and they would love to have a third catcher around to give Varitek added rest, assuming the division race isnt close. There are no infielders on the 40 man roster who aren't already in Boston. The Red Sox do have 2 spots on the 40 man roster open and also can move Brendan Donnelly to the 60-day disabled list if they needed another spot. We know Bobby Kielty likely will be called up sooner then later and that would require a spot, though his arrival would depend on Wily Mo Pena's departure which would clear another spot. Another spot to be taken on the 40 man will be for Clay Buchholz and that could be as soon as next week when the Sox play a double header. Buchholz has been dominant in the minors this year and could join a powerful young rotation next year that will include Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Jon Lester. Other pitchers who could see time in Fenway in September are Javy Lopez who was recently sent down to make room for Curt Schilling, Craig Hansen who has been very good the past several weeks and Craig Breslow could provide another solid left handed arm from the bullpen. Brandon Moss could join Ellsbury in the outfield mix in September after a recent three day stay with the Sox in California.

Red Sox AM Wrap

Wily Mo Pena Clears Waivers As with several players in August, Wily Mo Pena was placed on trade waivers and cleared them. This means Boston can trade Pena before the end of the month to any team. They can't however option him to the minors, he would have to clear regular waivers for that. Expect Boston to move Pena soon for a player to be named much like the Sox and Orioles did last year with Javy Lopez before finalizing the deal at seasons end when Adam Stern was sent to Baltimore. Moose Season The Seattle Mariners wont discipline the Moose for the incident in Seattle Sunday when he ran into Coco Crisp. No surprise there, the team did apologize to the Red Sox. As I stated before, Major League Baseball needs to step in and ban these kind of events from the field, it creates a dangerous environment for players who teams have millions of dollars invested in. Tough Series In Los Angeles I was expecting another two of three series from the Sox, now I'm hoping for a single win after Boston has lost the first two games of the series. Both games went along well in the early parts only to see Boston lose two games they could have won. Tavarez Days Numbered? Julian Tavarez is the lone weak link in the Sox bullpen. Don't be surprised if Boston designates him before the week is out and replace him on the roster with either Javy Lopez or Clay Buchholz. Drew Front And Center J.D. Drew will make his Sox debut in Center field tonight and his first start their since 2005. Coco Crisp will get the night off. Since Boston elected to put Drew in center that would probably mean Pena will get the start in right field. Had Brandon Moss been getting the start, he likely would have been in center. Barry B*nds Barry Bonds, who has long been wrapped up in a steroids scandal hit home run number 756 of his career last night against the Washington Nationals. Bud Selig was not in attendance for the record breaking home run. Interested in some nice * related merchandise? Check out this site. Let's hope Alex Rodriguez makes this a brief appearance in the record book for Bonds.

Brandon Moss Gets Call

Boston.com is reporting that the Boston Red Sox will callup Brandon Moss for the series in Anaheim. No details of the callup are known yet. Gordon Edes of the Boston Globe points out that Moss has been playing some first base lately. UPDATE: Boston will callup Brandon Moss for the game Monday in Anaheim to take the roster slot of Eric Hinske who will be leaving the team for three days for personal reasons.