The Boston Red Sox should trade Kevin Youkilis, but they shouldn't accept anything less than equal value.
The Boston Red Sox have lost more than just games. They have lost their fan base evidenced by the number of empty seats, fans who are cheering for young phenoms on the opposing teams, and media outlets are sending fewer people on road trips. The Red Sox front office cannot afford to attempt to fix mistakes by creating further damage.
People say they should just bring up the young, potential stars, but what if Jose Iglesias strikes out with the bases loaded and the tying run on third base against the New York Yankees? These same people would be calling up either WEEI or The Sports Hub on the next day blasting the organization for refusing to go after Derek Jeter when he was a free agent in 2011.
The Red Sox were successful throughout the past decade. Theo Epstein built a scouting and player development system that became the gold standard of the league. Dustin Pedroia, Jon Lester, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Clay Buchholz were all products of Epstein’s drafts. The majority of the other franchises have been able to draft and develop their own stars while the Red Sox tried to build their roster by accumulating talent off other rosters. There were fans clamoring for the Sox to get rid of Pedroia in his first month of major league action because he couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn. If the Red Sox listened to the fans, Pedroia could be winning the MVP and the World Series with another team.
Unfortunately, the Red Sox management team and their ownership listened to the casual fans who were begging for superstars through free agency. This is part of the reason the Red Sox are a game under .500 on June 14th. They are not losing just because their recent free agent signings of John Lackey and Carl Crawford have been flops to this point. They extended Josh Beckett’s contract as the 2010 season got underway because good pitching is hard to find. Beckett has not lived up to his contract or his promise. When Beckett first came to the Red Sox in 2006, he was getting into arguments with Ryan Howard of the Philadelphia Phillies for admiring his home run in a Spring Training contest and he was supposed to become the next ace in the Red Sox uniform. Beckett lost that fight and he has not been the same pitcher he was in 2007 when he was striking fear into opposing batters with his 95-97 mile-per-hour fastball, a changeup in the high 80′s, and a devastating breaking ball. Now, he is lucky if he reaches 93 miles-per-hour on his fastball and while he has added to his reportoire, he is not the same presence on the mound that he was earlier in his career.
The Red Sox have a solid collection of talent that can still turn it around in the next couple of weeks with a favorable schedule (they finish this road trip against the Chicago Cubs before they embark on a nine-game homestand) and they are only 6 and a half games behind the first-place Yankees. The Red Sox starting pitchers have gone at least six innings 21 times in the past 31 games and they have allowed three runs or fewer on 22 occasions. Lester has been underperforming and he needs to cut down on his walks. Despite all of the problems Beckett has presented, he has a 2.58 ERA since that horrifying start against the Cleveland Indians on May 10th. Buchholz has turned the corner after his ERA was fluttering above 9.00 in early May. Felix Doubront is 7-3 and has matured into a quality pitcher. The lefthander is only 24 years old and he just came off an outing where he had a no-hitter until two outs in the sixth inning. Daisuke Matsuzaka must hold down that fifth spot because the Red Sox have nobody else behind him right now.
The Red Sox need to trade Kevin Youkilis, but they should only agree to a deal if it improves their team. Youkilis is gone after this season anyway even if they can get an effective reliever or a dependable back-end of the rotation starter for this season, they should do it. There will be a buyer’s market in July and there are several teams who are desperate for corner infielders who can hit like the Pittsburgh Pirates or the San Francisco Giants. The Red Sox will need to find a dance partner who is filled with pitching depth because the Red Sox could use another starter.
With the extra wild-card spot and the fact the Sox are not far behind, they can make a run in the next few months of the season. Cody Ross is on a rehab assignment starting on Sunday and he could be back in the outfield next week. Ellsbury and Crawford could be back in mid-July. This is not the time to make a panic move, especially since these deals like these have hurt them in the past. The Red Sox need to be bold, but not stupid.