SB Nation - Alex Gonzalez

A Brief Look at the Blue Jays Off-Season Thus Far

R.J. Anderson — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 22:49:58 -0000

More photos » by Lenny Ignelzi - AP

These aren't the Blue Jays of old. Which is too bad really. Their squads over the last few years have consisted of a great deal of talent, more than you would be lead to believe. A confluence of bad breaks, silly extensions, and poor drafting has lead Toronto to a barren state of existence, one that could lead to a last place divisional finish.

This is all foreign and strange-sounding though. Never have I wished ill-will upon the Jays. Not even when they had the groundball-devouring middle infield combination of John McDonald and Aaron Hill while the Rays suffered through Brendan Harris and Ty Wigginton. They are what they are; a team trying to compete with two mega-teams much in the same way the Rays have and will. To see this team do a complete 180 in terms of competitive ability is just odd.

Regardless, gone are Marco Scutaro, Brandon League, and that guy Roy Halladay. In their place are Alex Gonzalez, Brandon Morrow, and Kyle Drabek along with a slew of mostly non-impact prospects. Gonzalez is rather unimportant in the scheme of things. He's not someone to concern yourself with much at all.

Morrow is like 2006 Edwin Jackson, only with less success. His career FIP to date is 4.56 (xFIP is 4.73) despite the fact that of his career 131 appearances, only 15 have been starts. Fire? He throws it; his average fastball velocity is 95 on the tee and he does miss some bats. Consider this: 43% of Morrow's 867 batters faced have ended their plate appearance with either a walk or fly ball. Scott Kazmir had the worst season of his pro career in 2009 and 43% of his plate appearances also ended in a fly ball or walk.

Marc Hulet did a nice job covering Drabek here and here, which leaves little for me to add.

There's also the Brett Wallace addition. He's a big guy with a potentially strong bat. The questions around him are conditioning, position, and defense. Frankly, I'm not sure dealing Michael Taylor for him was worth it quite yet. We'll see.

Of course they are returning some players too, which is the way I get to link to this THT piece, illustrating how odd Aaron Hill is. Scott Downs is still great and Jason Frasor is nifty. Starters Shaun Marcum and Dustin McGowan should be fully recovered from injuries as well, which eases the load Morrow, Drabek, and a ragtag of lesser-known starters will have to carry in light of Halladay's absence.

Long story made short, the Jays will need some breakout performances to top 81 wins this season. Unfortunately for them, New York, Boston, Tampa, and Baltimore have gone the other way this off-season.

Heroes of the Zeros: Shortstop

Slyde — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 13:00:17 -0000

All of you people who have been saying, "Wow, this has to be the worst position ever," here's the list you've been waiting for. It's kind of funny that coming into the aughts, the Reds were riding basically 48 straight seasons with 4 starting SS, all of pretty good quality. Since then, well, not so much. Good luck finding a worthy starter in this list. I really have no idea who is going to win this one. Voting is after the jump.

Click header to sort table by column
	Years	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+	wOBA	WAR
Juan Castro	2000-2008	571	1469	1361	130	323	70	6	25	125	76	244	.237	.276	.353	.628	61	.269	-4.6
Royce Clayton	2006	50	164	149	13	35	8	0	2	13	11	32	.235	.290	.329	.619	56	.274	-0.7
Travis Dawkins	2000-2002	45	99	89	7	15	4	0	0	3	8	28	.169	.237	.213	.451	17	.201	-0.8
Alex Gonzalez	2007-2009	178	700	636	71	158	39	1	19	81	39	111	.248	.299	.403	.702	79	.297	1.5
Wilton Guerrero	2001-2002	119	236	220	25	67	6	2	1	12	9	30	.305	.332	.364	.696	78	.302	-0.7
Jerry Hairston	2008-2009	166	637	568	94	163	38	3	14	63	44	82	.287	.342	.438	.780	103	.334	2.5
Paul Janish	2008-2009	128	381	336	41	69	23	0	2	22	33	58	.205	.290	.292	.582	54	.263	0.9
Jeff Keppinger	2007-2008	188	778	700	84	202	40	4	8	75	54	36	.289	.342	.391	.733	90	.318	1.1
Barry Larkin	2000-2004	473	1850	1646	266	456	106	11	30	167	175	184	.277	.347	.409	.757	95	.329	4.6
Felipe Lopez	2003-2006	371	1566	1384	215	367	73	10	41	159	157	317	.265	.340	.421	.761	97	.331	2.7
Ray Olmedo	2003-2006	171	388	352	39	81	12	2	2	25	24	72	.230	.280	.293	.573	52	.254	-2.3
Chris Sexton	2000	35	118	100	9	21	4	0	0	10	13	12	.210	.310	.250	.560	43	.258	-0.3

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 12/20/2009.

Winter Meeting Bantering: End of Day 3

Tom Dakers — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 05:00:15 -0000

There were other things happening at the Winter Meetings today other than the Angels offer:

Cito Gaston talked to the media. Jordan Bastian posted about that (and other things). On Rzepczyski:

"Rzepczynski, if he can come back and pitch like he did, I mean, his record might not show how well he pitched, but if you go look at what guys hit off him, he had a great year for us as far as I'm concerned, and hopefully he's going to be part of our rotation coming up this year."

Nice to see he looks past the won/loss record. He talked to Dusty Baker about Alex Gonzalez:

"Well, you know what, I was talking to Dusty earlier today, and Dusty likes him a lot. He says he's a good player, plays hard, likes to play," said Gaston, who then smiled. "We can always fall back to Johnny Mac."

Oh please, let's not fall back on McDonald. Cito also said Marco Scutaro called him today to thank him, very classy and that he figures Jose Bautista will be leadoff man "as things stand now". Bautista doesn't hit right handers at all, so I hope not. I had been thinking that he would be non-tendered. We will find out Friday.

In other news, Canadian Rich Harden is to sign with the Rangers, one year at $6.5 million with a mutual option for another year at $11 million with a $1 million buy out.

The Red Sox are interested in Mike Cameron. I think that would be a good pickup for them, they could move Ellsbury out over to left and improve their defense a lot. Also the Red Sox are trying to trade Mike Lowell to, well anybody, but are talking to the Rangers. They are also talking to free agent Adrian Beltre.

And the Rule 5 Draft is tomorrow morning. Jays have the 11th pick and Anthopoulos has said there are a couple of players they are looking at, since the team isn't figuring on competing this year they could carry a Rule 5er for the season. But with Johnny Mac on the roster too, that wouldn't leave much room for backups that could help us much. Johathan Mayo at MLB.com has a list of players who could be picked up.

Over the Monster's View of Alex Gonzalez

Tom Dakers — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 18:49:04 -0000

More photos » by LM Otero - AP

Our new short stop Alex Gonzalez.(AP Photo/LM Otero)

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Randy Booth from SB's Red Sox blog Over the Monster sent me an email this morning asking what I thought about their new shortstop, our old one, so I asked back about our new shortstop, their old one. Of course, I was glowing in praise for Scutaro. And Randy is equally glowing with praise for Alex Gonzalez:

Alex Gonzalez was brought to the Red Sox in 2006 because defensively, the Red Sox needed a savior. And he did that. Extremely well. While I'm sure there are more pitchers that would attest to this, Curt Schilling has said in the past that Gonzalez was the best defensive shortstop he has ever played with.

But that was in 2006. What about 2009?

When the Sox re-acquired Gonzalez in 2009, it was for the same purpose: save the left side of the defense. Although some stats had dropped considerably since '06 -- his UZR/150 in 2006 was 16.9, in 2009 for the Reds, 5.8 -- Theo Epstein brought him on board because he figured he could play even better.

That move was met with a lot of frustration from Red Sox fans. Evidence is in the comments here:
http://www.overthemonster.com/2009/8/14/989480/red-sox-trade-for-reds-shortstop
But something happened when Gonzalez jumped on the plane from Ohio to Logan Airport in Boston. His defense just got better. Much better. He played like he did in 2006. Actually, he played even better with an 18.3 UZR/150 in his limited time with Boston. Maybe it was the pennant race. Maybe it was being back "home" where he loved to play. Whatever it was, Gonzo was perhaps the best defensive shortstop in baseball when he was wearing the 'B' on his hat.

Offensively, no one expected anything. We expected a Mendoza Line batting average. We actually wanted a Mendoza Line batting average. That would have been nice. Instead, Gonzo goes out and bats .284 with five home runs in 44 games. He had hit three in 68 games with the Reds. Gonzo was hitting, fielding and, from all accounts, was a great teammate. The Red Sox couldn't have had a better shortstop for the time.

While most Sox fans doubted he could keep up his production throughout the rest of the season, there were supporters:
http://www.overthemonster.com/2009/9/11/1025662/the-ballad-of-alex-gonzalez
Who knows what Gonzalez will do in Toronto? He seems like he could be a little two-faced defensively. When he was in Boston, we saw the best of him -- twice -- although his numbers the second time showed he should have been on the decline. Offensively, you do not have a Marco Scutaro on your hands. He'll plug away at the plate, but he's not going to do anything special. I'd be happy if he bats within 20 points of his .284 batting average that he had with the Sox.

But Gonzo will do his job, day in and day out. He'll field, he'll be a good teammate and he'll try to hit. I, for one Red Sox fan, will definitely miss the guy. I missed my opportunity to buy his shirt when he was a Sox (twice), but now I'm thinking I might have to buy the Blue Jays version instead. That's how much I'm going to miss watching Gonzo play.

I think we should all chip in for that Blue Jays Gonzalez jersey for Randy. I am curious to see him play. Sounds like his defense will be fun to watch, and maybe we can hope some Cito magic works with his bat.

Theo Tries Again: Marco Scutaro Signs with the Red Sox

Ben Buchanan — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 04:28:00 -0000

More photos » by Frank Gunn - AP

7 months ago: Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Marco Scutaro, top, leaps to catch the throw from the plate as Baltimore Orioles' Adam Jones steals second base during eighth-inning AL baseball game action in Toronto on Friday, May 1, 2009. (AP photo/The Canadian Press,Frank Gunn)

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Theo Esptein has taken another swing at filling the shortstop position for the Red Sox, signing free agent Marco Scutaro to a 2-year deal.

News came from Venezuelan paper Lider first, over an hour before other sources confirmed the move.

A type-A free agent, Scutaro's signing will require a draft pick compensation, though if the Sox sign a higher-ranked free agent such as Matt Holliday, the Jays will only receive a second round pick from the Sox instead of a first.

Scutaro is coming off a career year during which he posted a line of .282/.379/.409 while playing above average defense according to UZR.

For the Red Sox, Scutaro provides hope for some consistency at shortstop. Since the departure of Nomar Garciaparra and Orlando Cabrera, the Sox have struggled to find a replacement, with disappointing performances from Edgar Renteria and Julio Lugo. Alex Gonzalez played solid defense in 2006, and again in the last half of 2009, but was a significant hole in the lineup.

The deal is expected to be announced tommorow (Friday), likely with a mutual option for a third year.

Morning Prowl: Winter Meetings, Suitors For Adam Everett and Brandon Lyon, and Multi-Year Deals For Relievers

Ian Casselberry — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 13:00:16 -0000

by Charles Krupa - AP

Is Edwin Jackson the most likely Detroit Tiger to be traded at next week's Winter Meetings?

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In his latest column, CBSSports.com's Danny Knobler (former Tigers beat writer for MLive.com) believes the Tigers will be a team to watch at next week's Winter Meetings, and perfectly sums up their will-they-or-won't-they offseason. Besides clearly explaining Detroit's payroll issues and why Edwin Jackson is the most likely Tiger to be traded, Knobler also lends some insight into what the team's budget could be.

(Hat tip to Mack Avenue Tigers)

The Tigers were bound to have some competition for Adam Everett this offseason. One of the teams in pursuit might be the Red Sox. According to WEEI.com, the Sawx have been in contact with Everett, though haven't made any sort of offer. Alex Speier also reports that the Red Sox were willing to offer Alex Gonzalez $3 million, so Everett could probably expect something similar.

Marco Scutaro appears to be the favored free agent shortstop for the Red Sox, however. That is, if they don't move Dustin Pedroia over there.

(via The Cutoff Man)

Jon Paul Morosi and Ken Rosenthal report that the New York Yankees have shown interest in Brandon Lyon. But the Yanks are likely to show interest in virtually every free agent reliever (probably including Fernando Rodney). Those plans will depend on what the team does with Joba Chamberlain and/or Phil Hughes, however.

So we now know the Mariners didn't want to trade Brandon Morrow and Shawn Kelley for Jackson, but what's the take from the other side? Seattle Times beat writer Geoff Baker thinks the Tigers would've had to throw in another player, at least.

On the MLB.com Hot Stove blog, Jason Beck wonders if the Tigers might offer a multi-year deal to a reliever this offseason. That could be what it takes to re-sign Brandon Lyon or Fernando Rodney. And Dave Dombrowski has given two-year contracts to relievers (Rodney, Todd Jones, Troy Percival) before.

Two bloggers who think the Tigers should've offered arbitration to Placido Polanco: Brian Borawski at TigerBlog believes this shows the team is more interested in cutting costs, and could see season ticket sales affected by that. Baseball Musings' David Pinto thinks a second baseman who can hit is worth more than the relievers who received arbitration offers from Detroit. (Pinto also sees Polanco as a good fit in Boston.)

One reliever you can probably take off Detroit's shopping list - if he was ever on it - is Jose Valverde. The Astros offered him arbitration yesterday. Would the Tigers want him if they have to give up a first-round pick? (Not to mention the guy made $8 million this season.)

Remember how Kelly Shoppach killed the Tigers in 2008 (.333/.404/.905, six homers, 11 RBIs in 13 games)? But then he fell off the table this year (.214/.335/.399 overall), and was likely to be released. Now, he's out of the AL Central, after the Indians traded him to the Rays.

Two FanPosts to check out: john.kmiecik is asking for suggestions to replace his Polanco jersey, now that he'll likely be moving onto another team next year. And NCDee is looking to meet up with some fellow BYBers while she's in Michigan for the holidays.

Adam Everett: $3 Million Shortstop?

Ian Casselberry — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:00:26 -0000

by Duane Burleson - AP

Adam Everett should get quite a raise with his next contract. Will he get it from the Detroit Tigers?

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Adam Everett was due to get a raise in whatever contract he signed for next season. The $1 million the Detroit Tigers paid him last season came with a rather significant injury discount, as Everett was coming off a shoulder injury and needed to show he could play through a full season healthy.

Having done that, and given the increasing emphasis throughout baseball on defense over offense, Everett's price tag is surely going to increase on this year's open market. Confirmation of that came with the Blue Jays' signing of Alex Gonzalez over the holiday weekend.

Gonzalez agreed to a one-year, $2.75 million contract (with a $2.5 team option for 2011). And he's a pretty similar player to Everett. Gonzalez hit .238/.279/.355 this season, while Everett hit .238/.288/.325. Gonzalez showed a bit more pop, with eight homers to Everett's three. Their RBI totals were roughly the same, with Gonzalez driving in 41 to Everett's 44.

Defensively, UZR favors Everett (8.9) over Gonzalez (6.7), but not by a wide margin. Both are roughly the same age, turning 33 in February.

So if Gonzalez is worth nearly $3 million on the open market, what sort of contract can Everett expect to receive?

And if the Tigers wouldn't go that high to sign Everett, they almost surely wouldn't be in the running for Marco Scutaro or Orlando Cabrera. Both players are reportedly seeking two-year deals worth at least $5 million per season, based on their offensive numbers. That price tag compelled the Blue Jays to opt for Gonzalez and his greater defensive value instead. And we already know how much the Tigers favor defense over offense at the shortstop position.

Beyond the Hot Stove: Opening Edition

SFiercex4 — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:52:20 -0000

More photos » by Tony Gutierrez - AP

In this April 30, 2009 photo, Center fielder Andruw Jones fields a fly out for the Texas Rangers during a baseball game against the Oakland Athletics in Arlington, Texas. If Jones can prove he can still do this, Jones' new emplyer, the Chicago White Sox, should be fairly happy with their investment.. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

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The Hot Stove officially started two Fridays ago with the start of free agency, but here at Beyond the Box Score we have already covered quite a few moves prior to that (check out this, this, and this if you missed them).

Still, we have only so many people, and there are only so many things to say about some moves, so I figured I'd conglomerate a few of these into one big recap each week called Beyond the Hot Stove. Here I'll cover some of the smaller moves of the week that was in the Hot Stove. Since this is the first one, we'll cover moves starting from Friday, November 20th, the start of the free agent period. Links all courtesy of MLB Trade Rumors.

- The first Hot Stove happening was Omar Vizquel's one-year deal with the Chicago White Sox. Vizquel has never been much with the bat, but my guess is that is not why he was brought to the South Side. Even in limited playing time the last few seasons, Vizquel has shown a decent glove, putting up around 30 runs above average the last three seasons at shortstop according to UZR. Granted, most of that happened in 2007, but it would seem as if Vizquel's golden glove has not yet fallen off with advanced age.

As for the White Sox? They look like they will be shuffling the infield once again with the departure of incumbent second baseman Chris Getz. Vizquel could likely work as a serviceable part-time player at shortstop and third base (he played a little third with the Texas Rangers last year), but I highly doubt they'll stick with him for more than the playing time he saw last year.

- The Milwaukee Brewers signed Chris Capuano and continue to search for more starting pitching after throwing the majors' worst rotation last season. Capuano is a Brewers product, but has not pitched in the majors for two seasons since undergoing a second Tommy John surgery and rehabbing. Capuano was a solid middle-of-the-rotation guy before the injuries set in, so he has a shot at being decent if he gets a chance this season.

- Speaking of injury issues, the Oakland A's signed Dallas McPherson to a minor league deal. McPherson has massive home run power and struggles with mostly everything else, particularly strikeouts and staying on the field. He might get some time at third base as filler until Brett Wallace or someone else in the A's organization steps in, or he may linger in the minors once again.

- The Toronto Blue Jays made two interesting moves to shore up their infield, resigning John McDonald and signing Alex Gonzalez. The McDonald move is a head-scratcher, as McDonald has no bat (career wOBA .264, Bill James projected .254 for 2010) and will be playing the role of defensive backup for $1.5M a year. He does seem to be a solid defender, both at shortstop and at second base, and the Jays do have an awful third baseman in Edwin Encarnacion, so the thought may be to replace Encarnacion with the more sure-handed McDonald in the late innings. Is that worth 0.3 WAR and $1.5M?

As for Gonzalez, he is just one season removed from a 2.5 WAR campaign in 2008. However, that came on a career high .340 wOBA that he has never come close to prior to or since that season, so don't count on that happening again. Gonzalez has always been a solid shortstop (career UZR/150 of +7), and a combination of him and Aaron Hill up the middle may vacuum a few more batted balls for Toronto's pitchers. Gonzalez will give most of that value back with his awful bat, however. Bill James has him projected at a .296 wOBA, and if Gonzalez starts all season, he would have to be a +10 glove to approach being an average player. Then again, he's being paid $2.75M, so no one's expecting average production from him.

- By far the most intriguing move to me was the White Sox signing of Andruw Jones to a one year, $500K deal. Jones had a comeback year after a hellish 2008, batting .214/.323/.459 in 331 PA, good for a .338 wOBA and 1.5 park-adjusted batting runs above average. I don't think I need to show the 2008 numbers to tell you that this was a massive improvement over '08. He did all this with one of the lowest BABIP's in baseball (BABIP of .220). For a player who had such trouble with contact (72% contact rate) and swung so much out of the zone (24.0% out-of-zone swing rate), his walk rate was surprising (12.7% UIBB%) but typical of the old Jones from his Atlanta years. He also posted a promising .246 ISO.

Bill James projects a similar wOBA for 2010 of .335, and Jones will be moving into another hitter's haven in U.S. Cellular Field. Jones only played 145 innings in the outfield in 2009, but he is only two seasons removed from a typical Jones-esque season of 21 runs above average in center field in 2007. Jones has not played center field regularly since 2007, and given his physique it may be wise to keep him in the corners. However, it seems plausible that Jones can still contribute positively in the outfield for the White Sox, which is exactly what the Sox need. If he can play a decent corner outfield (on the order of +2 to +5 runs over a full season) and be an average hitter like he was last season, he would be worth a lot more than what the White Sox would be paying him, even after his incentives bump him up to $1M. A good deal for both player and team involved.

Weekend Dad Mug -- Hall of Fame Edition

Fatter than Joey — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 15:57:51 -0000

More photos » by Anonymous - AP

Will former Brewer Dave Parker who "did everything that you could possibly do in baseball", be a part of the 2010 HOF class? (AP Photo/File)

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Hey Kids! Back so soon? -- Why did your Regular Dad drop you off at my doorstop again? Your guess is as good as mine.

In either case let me get some clean sweatpants on (I had a little trouble with the turkey), and tell you all about a bunch of guys that played the game the way it was supposed to be played, not with all the muscle pills that the players use today.

The BBWAA is a group of Busterolney's that randomly elect retired players to be enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown every year. They released their ballot on Friday. The names that are going into the fishbowl this year are as follows:

Roberto Alomar, Kevin Appier, Harold Baines, Bert Blyleven, Ellis Burks, Andre Dawson, Andres Galarraga, Pat Hentgen, Mike Jackson, Eric Karros, Ray Lankford, Barry Larkin, Edgar Martinez, Don Mattingly, Fred McGriff, Mark McGwire, Jack Morris, Dale Murphy, Dave Parker, Tim Raines, Shane Reynolds, David Segui, Lee Smith, Alan Trammell, Robin Ventura, Todd Zeile

Former Brewer, Dave Parker believes he should be elected.

The most interesting ballot newbies this year are Roberto Alomar, Edgar Martinez, Fred McGriff and Barry Larkin. This quartet should make for an interesting election, as none of them are slam-dunks, nor are they easily dismissed.

The Bleacher Report makes an argument for Edgar Martinez. Did you know only Jimmy Foxx and Babe Ruth have a higher BA, while accumulating more BBs (at least 1200 BBs) than strikeouts in their careers?
The Bleacher Report then continues on wondering "How can the Crime Dog McGriff not get elected"? Maybe the answer is to kick Tony Perez out of Cooperstown?
The NY Times catches us up on who Roberto Alomar is spitting on these days...
MLB.com has a summary of the arguments for including Barry Larkin.
And finally, the Bleacher Report just wonders if no one at all will be elected in 2010.

In other turkey grease fires, former Milwaukee superstar Bud Selig announced his pending down-stepping. Stories about Bud Selig interest me about as much as stories about your Regular Dad, or what you are doing in school, so I will leave it to you to find more about this if you so desire.

The Red Sox are in the market for a SS, and now that Alex Gonzalez has been inked by the Jays, Marco Scutaro is the Sox's primary target (Too bad the Brewers didn't have a SS to trade to Boston). Weighing in with the definitive opinion on Scutaro, is deep-frying super-utility man Lou Merloni.

Will Felipe Lopez be joining JJ Hardy in Minnesota next year? -- Bleacher Report seems to think Lopez could be a perfect fit. This just in, Felipe Lopez's wife is turkey-fire hot!

Doug Melvin weighed in on the future of Felipe Lopez and other things in a ESPN interview.

The Brewers may very well pass on offering Lopez and Mike Cameron Arbys.
Mat Gamel could end up in the OF
Cory Hart's attempt to embrace patience was an epic fail
2010 Batting order musings.

I don't want you to think that every Thanksgiving story needs to be exclusively about turkey fires, so here is a nice piece about Prince Fielder and Casey McGehee's son Mack. On the other hand, I do want you to commit to memory the things I am not thankful for, conveniently organized in one of those Sporcle quizzes your Regular Dad seems to be so fond of.

Unless you are Ned Yost, Ned Yost IV or Julian Tavarez, I hope you had a great Thanksgiving weekend!

Poll

Which newbie do you think should get the most votes on the 2010 ballot for the HOF?

Edgar Martinez

40 votes

Roberto Alomar

40 votes

Fred McGriff

25 votes

Barry Larkin

52 votes

Shane Reynolds

4 votes

161 votes | Poll has closed

Washington Nationals: Shortstop Watch...Adam Everett?

Ed Chigliak — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 04:35:36 -0000

More photos » by Duane Burleson - AP

Detroit Tigers' shortstop Adam Everett (4) is one of the few SS options linked to the Nationals this winter...(AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

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There is actually a lot of free agent talk going on out there, it's just that none of it involves the Washington Nationals. You can look and see that the Red Sox, having lost SS Alex Gonzalez to the Toronto Blue Jays, are left with,"...virtually no choice but to sign Marco Scutaro," as FOXSports.com's Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi pointed out in an update of their article entitled, "Latest buzz from the MLB offseason", narrowing the field of available free agent infielders even further as DC GM Mike Rizzo searches for the player the Nationals intend to replace Cristian Guzman with, if they decide Ian Desmond needs a full year at Triple-A...

Mr.'s Rosenthal and Morosi also provide the reasons the Red Sox have for looking at Scutaro alone, as the FOXSports' writers critique the other remaining free agents:

"...Orlando Cabrera's defense has declined, and many clubs believe that Miguel Tejada needs to move off short. Adam Everett is a terrific defender, but an even weaker hitter than (Alex) Gonzalez."

Everett, one of two SS's Mr.'s Rosenthal and Morosi identified as the Nationals' targets at short earlier this offseason, (alongside Gonzalez), hit just .238 with a .288 OBP, .325 SLG, 21 doubles, 4 HR's and 44 RBI's in 118 games over which he posted a .969 fielding percentage (5th best in the AL), committed 14 errors (6th most in AL) and helped turn 67 DP's for the Tigers. Everett's 13.6 UZR/150 ranks as the second best rating amongst shortstops in the American League, behind only the Orioles' Cesar Itzuris, (14.1 UZR/150) and third overall in baseball behind Itzuris and Jack Wilson (20.4) another light-hitting free agent SS who already signed elsewhere...Will the Nationals go after Everett, the solid defender to play behind their young pitchers, thinking they have enough offense up front? Is Everett an improvement over Cristian Guzman? (Guzman in '09 - .284 AVG, .306 OBP, .390 SLG, .696 OPS, .962 fielding percentage, (-2.6) UZR/150, 20 E's, 65 DP's.)

More and more DC fans are expressing the feeling that it's going to be the "in-house" candidate, Ian Desmond, at short when the season begins...