ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - You don’t go out and obtain Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford to finish second to the Yankees. You get those guys because you’ve committed to winning it all. And to not finish things off would be foolish.
So, as the trade deadline approaches in two weeks, the Red Sox have to identify what they need to accomplish their goal.
From this perspective, they should load up the truck of prospects and send them to the Mets for shortstop Jose Reyes.
“I know that everyone seems to think the Red Sox are going to bring in Carlos Beltran, or that they need a pitcher, but today proved to me that their biggest need is to get Reyes and solidify that shortstop position,’’ said an American League scout who watched the Sox beat the Rays, 9-5, yesterday at Tropicana Field. “They don’t need much here. And if their pitchers all come back in due time, they probably don’t need to go there. What they need is an impact player at that very crucial position on the field. And there’s nobody better than Reyes right now.’’
The scout, and anyone who watched yesterday’s game, noticed that Sox shortstop Marco Scutaro didn’t have the best of days behind John Lackey. He committed a throwing error on a ball hit by the leadoff batter, and later in the first inning couldn’t get to another ball, although that would have been a good play.
Scutaro’s throwing - because of a weakened shoulder that plagued him all of last season - doesn’t inspire confidence, and Jed Lowrie didn’t offer any stability when he started at shortstop.
Reyes has missed the last two weeks with a hamstring strain, but is eligible to come off the disabled list tomorrow. He may do a short rehab stint in Brooklyn, but for the most part is ready. There’s been great debate over whether the Mets will deal Reyes, an impending free agent, or hope they can sign him this offseason. But teams are about to line up to see what it would take to get a deal done.
You can argue that other than Gonzalez and the Blue Jays’ Jose Bautista, Reyes has been the game’s best player this season. He plays a premium position, and is hitting .354 with a .398 on-base percentage, a .927 OPS, and 30 steals from the leadoff spot. He has one of the best shortstop arms in the game, and his athleticism is off the charts.
Prone to injury? Sure. But you take the chance with such a gifted player. And the Red Sox are one of three or four teams with the resources to sign Reyes long term.
This would mean scrapping the idea of Jose Iglesias being the shortstop of the future. But you do that for the 28-year-old Reyes, and use Iglesias, who has yet to show he can hit at the higher minor league levels, in this deal or another deal.
