With Iglesias Gone, Who's On Third?
BOSTON (CBS) - The Red Sox added some rotation depth in acquiring Jake Peavy late Tuesday evening, but left a hole in their infield by shipping out short stop/third baseman Jose Iglesias.
So now we ask the question: who's on third? And the answer, at least for now, fittingly, is "I don't know."
Currently, Brandon Snyder is the only third baseman on the Major League roster. A quick solution will be Brock Holt, who was reportedly promoted Wednesday morning to take Iglesias' spot on the roster. He is a good short-term solution because he can play third, short and second.
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Long-term, the Red Sox have two long-term solutions in Will Middlebrooks and premiere prospect Xander Bogaerts.
But Red Sox GM Ben Cherington wouldn't divulge his long-term plans as far as who would be manning the hot corner after pulling off the Peavy trade, but hinted that whoever it is will likely come from within the organization.
"As it relates to third base, we'll have a move for tomorrow, we'll add an infielder," Cherington said on an early morning conference call on Wednesday morning. "We feel like we have some talent at the Triple-A level that can help us at that position the rest of the way, but we're not ready to announce anything on that end. We'll just focus on this deal first."
Middlebrooks has been in Pawtucket since late June after a rough start to the season that saw him hit just .192 with the Red Sox. In 36 games in Pawtucket, Middlebrooks is batting .257 with eight home runs, four doubles and 30 RBIs.
The 20-year-old Bogaerts began his year at Double-A Portland but earned a promotion to the PawSox on June 13. After batting .311 with six homers and 35 RBIs in 56 games for the Sea Dogs, Bogaerts is hitting .273 with eight homers and 24 RBIs for Pawtucket.
Bogaerts may be the guy because of his background as a shortstop, but there is always the chance Cherington feels the need to add another veteran in the mix via trade.
Veteran third baseman Michael Young has been on the Boston radar this season, though Young has said he would only accept a trade to the Texas Rangers -- where he spent his first 13 seasons in the MLB. Other reports say he would consider a contender should the Rangers not be an option, but Cherington may be more inclined to bring up a young prospect rather than deal a few away for a 36-year-old rentals.
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The bottom line is there isn't a clear answer, at least right now, for who will be playing third base for the Boston Red Sox the rest of the way. But the team has plenty of options, and a clear answer isn't far away.
