MVN - Most Valuable Network

Sean Casey: An $800,000 Insurance Policy

At the start of the regular season, the defending champion Boston Red Sox’s roster had few changes from its 2007 incarnation. General manager Theo Epstein, despite rampant rumors to the contrary, apparently was content with returning the past year’s roster, save for a few minor tweaks.

One of those tweaks was the addition of veteran first-baseman Sean Casey, who signed with the Red Sox in early February for a mere $800,000. The 33 year-old Casey, known for his gregarious presence in the clubhouse, had been a starter for the bulk of his time in the majors. His desire to win, however, made him less averse to accepting a bench role on the Fighting Franconas.

The driving factor in the Red Sox’s decision to ink Casey was his ability to not only provide a solid left-handed bat off the bench, but also to supply manager Terry Francona with a passable fill-in should either of Boston’s incumbent corner-infielders, Kevin Youkilis or Mike Lowell, suffer an injury. The Red Sox’s bench lefty last season was Eric Hinske, but while the former Blue Jay was an adequate reserve, he certainly did not have Casey’s starting credentials.

In the Red Sox’s ninth game of the season, Mike Lowell — their team MVP and a career-best .324 hitter with 21 homers last season — suffered a sprained thumb. Lowell is known for having a high pain tolerance and for playing through nagging injuries, but even the “Iron Man” could not avoid a trip to the disabled list. There isn’t currently a timetable for Lowell’s return — the duration of his stay on the shelf will depend on the severity of the damage to the ligaments in his thumb and how quickly they are repaired — but it’s becoming increasingly unlikely that he’ll return to the field before the end of April.

Yet the Red Sox aren’t particularly worried, because they have a 1,247 game starter on their bench in Sean Casey.

Upon signing with the BoSox, Casey was more than willing to accept, and adapt to, his new role. Said Terry Francona, “He understands his role here, and it may be a reduced role unless someone gets hurt.”

Well, someone got hurt less than two weeks into Casey’s stay with the Red Sox, giving him an opening into the coveted Boston spotlight. Kevin Youkilis’ defensive versatility allowed Francona to slide him across the diamond and plug Casey in at position three, where The Mayor is adequate, albeit not Gold Glove worthy.

So far, Casey has made the most of the opportunity. In 17 at-bats since taking over for Lowell on April 9th, Casey has collected six hits and driven-in four runs. His best game to date came in Sunday night’s thrilling rubber match against the Yankees, a 2-for-3 performance that also included a walk, a run scored, and an important insurance RBI in the third-inning.

The Red Sox couldn’t have asked for much more from a bench player than they’ve received from Casey in his first handful of games.

In today’s era of rising salaries — not to mention insurance rates — Sean Casey for $800,000 was a bargain basement find for the Wonder Boy.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 15th, 2008 at 1:11 am and is filed under Sean Casey, Baseballistic, Mike Lowell, Boston Red Sox, Kevin Youkilis. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.