Adios To Mike Lowell

It is time for the Boston Red Sox to move on from Mike Lowell. The 2004 World Series MVP has performed greatly for the Sox in his three seasons with the team amassing 58 HRs, 273 RBI and a batting average of .297 in that time. He has played gold glove caliber third base, as was expected when he was acquired as a throw in as a part of the trade that brought Josh Beckett to Boston. His offense has been much better than expected considering his poor showing in 2005 (.236 AVG., 8 HRs, 58 RBI) the season before he was shipped off to Boston. He was an all-star and was the MVP of the World Series in 2007. With all of these recent accomplishments, why should the Red Sox move on? The answer is Mark Teixeira and Kevin Youkilis. With Teixeira available on the free agent market, the Red Sox need to look at their corner infielders and decide if it is worth signing Teixeira. If you compare Youkilis and Lowell, Youkilis wins because of his versatility and youth. Their offensive numbers over the past three seasons are extremely close. Lowell hit .297 with 58 HRs and 273 RBI while Youkilis hit .293 with 58 HRs and 270 RBI. With the offense being a toss up with Lowell receiving a slight edge, we must look at the defensive side of the game. I believe the edge goes to Youkilis here. They have both played tremendous defense, but Youkilis has been better. Over the past three seasons, Youkilis has committed 18 errors at first base and third base combined and he won a gold glove in 2007 while Lowell has committed 31 errors at third base. 2007 and 2008 were the worst defensive seasons of Lowell’s career with 15 errors and 10 errors respectively. Lowell’s numbers at third base are better than Youkilis’ numbers at the hot corner, but the difference is not great enough to overcome the age difference (Lowell is 34, Youkilis is 29) or the versatility difference (Lowell can only play third at this point of his career while Youkilis can play first, third, left field, and right field if necessary). Taking all of this into consideration, if you have to move on from one of these guys, it seems quite obvious that you keep Youkilis and move Lowell. What about Teixeira? Is he really going to be an upgrade over Lowell? The short answer is yes. Mark Teixeira is only 28 years old and the offensive numbers aren’t even close. Over the past three seasons Teixeira has hit .298 with 96 HRs and 336 RBI. These offensive numbers far out way the production of Lowell over the same time span. Teixeira has been superior to Lowell defensively as well. Remember Lowell’s 31 errors since 2006? Teixeira has only committed 14 in that time span and he won a gold glove in 2006. Another reason the Red Sox will explore this avenue is the fact that Mike Lowell will be coming off of hip surgery next season. Mike Lowell has two years left on a three year, $37.5 million contract and Teixeira is expected to ask for a long term deal in the range of $20 million per season. This is a lot of money but, in today’s baseball market, Teixeira has proven he is worth it. Signing Teixeira would be a great thing for the Red Sox to do for a couple of reasons. First, his bat would effectively replace that of Manny Ramirez and provide protection for David Ortiz. Secondly, signing him would keep him away from the New York Yankees, who are sure to make a strong push for Teixeira and any other big name free agents this off-season. If the Red Sox are unable to find a taker for Mike Lowell, they can afford to keep both men on the roster if need be, but that won’t happen. If the Sox can sign Teixeira, they will take just about anything for Lowell. They won’t be looking for someone to sell the farm in order to get him. Thank you for 2007 but adios Mike Lowell and hola Mark Teixeira, welcome to Boston!