July 23, 2008
Is Juan Uribe headed to Boston?
According to Danny Knobler of CBS Sportsline, the Red Sox are deep into negotiations with the Chicago White Sox to acquire former starting shortstop Juan Uribe.
Uribe, 29, is wrapping up a one-year deal worth $4.5 million. He is hitting .225/.273/.364 on the season and has started six seasons, two with the Colorado Rockies before moving to Chicago. His best year came in 2004 with the White Sox when he hit .283/.327/.506 with 23 homers. He hit 20 homers last year as well but had an anemic .234/.294/.394 line. Clearly, he's a power hitter, but only when he actually hits the ball.
As Knobler points out, Uribe's three homers on the year off the bench are more than all Red Sox shortstops have hit this year. Holy cow! (It must be noted that Uribe started the year as the starting second baseman before losing the job to the "Cuban Missile," Alexei Ramirez.)
Uribe would most likely back up Jed Lowrie at short and also see time at second base. He would not take the starting job away from Jed Lowrie, according to Rotoworld.com. If Uribe gets off to a hot start in Boston and Lowrie stumbles, Uribe could pick up more playing time. He's also known for his stellar defense.
One interesting side note is that Alex Cora could be shipped to Chicago for Uribe, and Cora's brother, Joey, is the third-base coach for Chicago. Another note by Knobler is that Cora "has fallen out of favor in Boston." I'm not sure that's true, but he is on pace for his lowest at-bats as a major leaguer spending the majority of the year in the majors. He's hitting .279/.380/.361.
I'm not entirely positive of what to make of this rumor. It's a bit out of left-field to me because I had no idea the Red Sox were unhappy with Alex Cora, and I'm not particularly clear on what Uribe brings to the table that Cora doesn't, as Cora's OBP offsets Uribe's power, in my opinion.
Discussion
10 Comments on "Is Juan Uribe headed to Boston?"
#1
Posted by Fully Manny, July 23, 2008 10:23 PM
What does Uribe bring to the table that Cora doesn't? Uribe can actually play good defense. Cora's range has gotten pretty bad.
#2
Posted by Bob, July 23, 2008 10:38 PM
Sounds like a lateral move to me. The White Sox are shopping Cabrera though, I like Lowrie, but if we're going to get a middle infielder from the White Sox, why not Orlando?
#3
Posted by Sam, July 23, 2008 10:42 PM
You said it Bob ... Lateral move ... its pointless IMO but I guess the Sox FO is making sure no one can charge them with not making any moves in preparation for the race ... whatever ... as long as Lowrie gets a very good chance at keeping the job I'm happy
#4
Posted by Evan Brunell, July 23, 2008 10:55 PM
FM, is there any indication that Cora's range has slipped dramatically?
#5
Posted by Gerry, July 23, 2008 11:19 PM
Cora's Choice: sitting on the bench here, or playing more and being with his brother in awesome Chicago seems a no brainer for Alex. But we would miss him: he is hitting better than Uribe or Lugo, and is usually solid in the field . . . a perfect bench player who has also mentored Pedroia and I assume s doing the same for Lowrie. He is baseball smart, and if his brother is a coach, he probably has those skills also; a real plus from the bench.
I guess I don't understand the benefit of this deal. Bringing back Orlando? You bet, with Lowrie as backup, getting ready to replace Mike or Orlando in a couple of years. But Uribe for Alex?
#6
Posted by Fully Manny, July 23, 2008 11:48 PM
I hadn't looked at the stats yet, just an obvservation I've made with my own two eyes. But his ZR has fallen from a .854 career line at short to .733 this year.
#7
Posted by Fully Manny, July 23, 2008 11:55 PM
Gerry, Cora's not a better hitter than Uribe. Uribe's a career .252/.294/.424 hitter, Cora's a career .245/.311/.348 hitter. Cora's stats this year are inflated by a rare hot streak but he's hit .241 since May. And Uribe's a much better fielder at this point in their careers.
#8
Posted by Gerry, July 24, 2008 12:52 AM
FM, but Cora is hitting better now, even at a recent .241, as Uribe is at .225 and hit .234 last year. Despite some HR's, his offense could hurt us more than Cora's, though Cora's 2007-08 #'s vs. Uribe's, indicate Cora might conceivably have better upside for the rest of this year. I understand Uribe's defense is excellent, better than Alex.
IMO, we have already resolved our SS problem and would do better to focus on the Pen. But the chances of such a trade (Street, Marte, Fuentes, Rauch, Sherrill, etc.) don't seem to be happening, and wisely so with demands for Buchholz, Masterson, etc. in return. Just seeing Masterson tonight, it would be good to hear Theo or Tito say that one of Buchholz, Colon, Zinc or Pauley will join Justin in the Pen to get us to October. Problem solved.
#9
Posted by Fully Manny, July 24, 2008 1:43 AM
To me their offense is a wash. Uribe hits for slightly better average, Cora gets on base slightly more and Uribe has slightly more power. I'd take the better defender.
Plus Uribe's hit .312 since May and slugged almost .500. He has a swing which could benefit from the Green Monster. Who knows, maybe he'll give us production above his career average.
#10
Posted by EricInBoston, July 24, 2008 4:58 PM
i dont think it has to do with the performance of either player.
i was hearing on eei that cora is unhappy has lowrie's back-up.
i dont have much of an opinion on uribe nor do i on cora.
this move would not be made in an effort to find a full time short stop for the rest of 2008 so stop all the cabrera nonsense now.
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