Links 12-15-2009: The other shoe, the 4th outfielder, Aroldis

As I’ve detailed here, we have a pretty strong team as currently constituted. But this early in the offseason, could Theo Epstein already be done? We’ve improved the pitching and the defense, and filled the LF vacancy, but are we going to trade Mike Lowell and just stand pat? Will we really move Kevin Youkilis to third base in order to start Casey Kotchman at first? I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Buster Olney tweets that the Sox are now looking into signing a right-handed outfielder “such as Xavier Nady”. Isn’t the fourth outfielder usually the kind of thing you deal with after everything else is set? Or maybe Nady is not a fourth outfielder at all, and this is setting up a trade of Jacoby Ellsbury, with Cameron moving to CF (Cameron has stated that he wants to play centerfield). Scutaro’s .360 OBP is good enough to bat leadoff, and he and Dustin Pedroia would give pitchers fits with their long at-bats.

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Hot Stove 2010: Options to fill LF

The offseason is all about choices, especially for a big market team like the Red Sox. What choices give you the best chance of winning, while preserving value and organizational depth? Filling a hole by getting the best available player now may not be the best move, because it could leave you hamstrung somewhere else. As a team with a number of needs this offseason, let’s take a look at some of the options to fill left-field and compare them.

2009-11-16 Links: Free agents and defensive evaluations, Sox top prospects, Varitek

Matt Holliday will likely get the biggest deal this offseason, but he’s no Mark Teixeira.

John Lackey might not be as good a signing as some think, warns FanGraphs.

FanGraphs gives an argument as to why trading for David DeJesus might be a better move than overpaying for a top free agent left fielder this offseason. Xavier Nady could be average with the bat, but don’t expect his arm to be what it used to be.

2010 Projections: Free agent LFs

My new and improved projections for 2010 are already nearing beta status. Without further comment, projections for some key free agent left fielders (ZiPS added for comparison where available, denoted by -Z):

2009 Offseason: Yankees get Teixeira

Well, in case you missed it, it is now official – Mark Teixeira will be a New York Yankee for the next eight years. Just when I was beginning to think it was possible for us to win. GM Brian Cashman played this one close to the vest, and swooped in to land their third major free agent prize in two weeks. The Red Sox were standing firm on their offer of 8 years, $168M, and New York trumped them with a $180M offer over the same term. Teixeira’s new deal comes with full no-trade protection.