| 04 December 2009
1. What I like best about the Scuturo signing is that it's done. Pending a physical, Scutaro will be signed by the end of the weekend and that means Theo can focus on bigger things like Bay and Holliday and/or a Gonzalez, Cabrera or Halladay trade at the Winter Meetings next week. 2. The second thing I like about this deal is that we signed a Free Agent, which means we still have all of the prospects needed to make the potential trades listed above. Scutaro was the best option available via trade or on the Free Agent market... trading away prospects for Ryan Theriot or Adam Everett would have been foolish. 3. Former Blue Jays coaches and players feel that Scuturo is a Gold Glove caliber short stop that just hadn't been given a chance to showcase his talents until 2009. I don't agree with that, but I'm not a professional infield coach. What I do know is that Scutaro posted a 1.0 UZR/150 rating as a shortstop by Fangraphs in 2009. WEEI's Lou Merloni said Scuturo can be just as good as Alex Gonzalez, but Gonzalez posted a 10.5 UZR/150 with the Sox and Reds in 2009... that's not even close.
The defense at short was so bad in the first half of 2009 that some of our starters were beginning to express their frustration publicly and Theo was eventually forced to move Julio Lugo and bring in Gonzo. Gonzalez solidified the infield, hiding Mike Lowell's decrease in range and giving the pitchers more confidence to throw groundball-inducing pitches. Despite all the hype, Scutaro will have to earn that same respect in camp this Spring... let's hope he does.
4. While some are concerned about Scutaro's defense, others are worried that his .282 BA and .789 OPS were a fluke and that he will regress back to the .265 slap-hitter he has been throughout his career. While I do think there will be some regression in 2010, Scuturo's peripheral numbers suggest that he can replicate his 2009 numbers with the Sox. He's always had a good eye at the plate, but Dave Allen made an interesting comparison on Fangraphs back in November:
"... Scutaro’s approach is very similar to Luis Castillo’s. The difference is that Scutaro hit only 37% of his balls in play on the ground compared to 59% for Castillo. So when Scutaro puts the ball in play, he actually has some chance at extra base hits (ISO of .127 compared to Castillo’s .043). Scutaro has Castillo’s excellent plate discipline and contact skills, coupled with at least a modicum of power, making him a solidly above average hitter."Scutaro's 43.6% fly ball percentage was a career mark and as a righty playing 82 games in Fenway Park, that can be very helpful. Just ask Mike Lowell, who hit 47 doubles and .284 in his first year in Boston after hitting 36 doubles and .236 as a Marlin the year before.
5. Brian from One If By Land made a good point hat I missed in my links this morning. In short, he reminds us that just because Scutaro is set to sign a 2-year deal, doesn't mean we won't see Jed Lowrie take over at shortstop at some point. Here's the catch... even if Lowrie outplays Scutaro in Spring Training, I don't see the Sox making Scutaro the utility infielder on Opening Day. That means Lowrie will have to wait for Scutaro to struggle before he gets a shot at starting. In the mean time, he will have the task of proving his worth with limited playing time - a tall order for any player.
Scuturo will have to play VERY poorly for the Sox to make the switch, but at least they have the option... as long as Lowrie stays healthy.
6. Lastly, I think it should be mentioned that Scutaro's recent battle with plantar fascitis in his heel should not be overlooked. Eli Manning of the New York Giants battle the injury in the opeing weeks of the NFL season, and although this report says the fasciitis is no longer bothering him, he has developed a stress reaction in that same foot due to compensating for the injury.
My point is this: Playing of the turf in Toronto was probably a big reason for Scuturo's injury at the end of last season. The Red Sox ran him through a work out this week, looked at his medical records and have one of the best medical staffs in sports... but this plantar fascitis is very tough to treat and if it flares up again, Scutaro won't have a week between games like Manning does to help it heal.
Bottom Line: I like this deal. Scutaro was the best option we had and in two years, if Inglesias isn't ready, Lowrie should be. Right now I am hoping for the best and happy that one piece of the 2010 puzzle is solved.
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