With all the Daniel Bard talk, I’ve been thinking about the 2011 Red Sox.
Assuming that the team is going over the top CBT threshold, should the Red Sox sign Jed Lowrie and jettison Núñez?
The thinking would be that we need quality depth at 3B and especially 2B, and Lowrie could bolster that depth. He's a switch hitter, and he's a good hitter, and after a long and storied injury history that I don't need to remind anyone here about, he has more than 1300 PA in the last two seasons. Those seasons have yielded identical .347 wOBAs. That level would best Eduardo Núñez’ most recent level of production by .055 — a ton — and generally lengthen the lineup.
He’s not great at SS, and has mostly played at 2B in the last few seasons, where he’s bounced around league average. +5 last year, -5 the year before.
He earned $6m in 2018 as the team option on the back of a 3/$23m deal. I’d think he could be had on a one year deal at a value under $10. At 34, he’s not getting any younger.