D-backs, Red Sox could look into Kevin Youkilis deal

The Arizona Diamondbacks are not getting much out of their
third basemen.

D-backs manning the hot corner have combined to hit just
.214 with an on-base percentage of .291, numbers that are
second-worst on the team behind only the pitcher spot.

Needless to say, as popular as Ryan Roberts is and as well
as Cody Ransom is playing, the team could stand to upgrade
the position.

Enter Boston’s Kevin Youkilis?

According to ESPN.com’s Gordon Edes, it is time for
the Red Sox to part ways with their third baseman and his
big salary, especially with top prospect Will Middlebrooks
seemingly ready to take over.

“It’s great that Will has come and done a good job,” Sox
GM Ben Cherington told Sean McAdam of Comcast Sports New
England on Tuesday night, “but Youk’s on the DL and he
doesn’t lose his job because he got hurt.”

That’s what Cherington should have said, what Sox players
would have expected him to say — according Youkilis the
respect he deserves. But that doesn’t mean Youkilis
remains in a Sox uniform for the rest of the season. A
trade of Youkilis this season is inevitable, and quite
possibly sooner than later.

And while Youkilis and his usually epic facial hair are
hitting just .219 with two home runs and nine RBI this
year, he would be a marked improvement over Arizona’s
other options at third base. You know, assuming he
actually gets off the disabled list, where he is currently
due to a strained back.

“I think they’re going to need another hitter,” ESPN MLB
insider Tim Kurkjian told Arizona Sports 620’s Burns and
Gambo. “I’ve seen the Diamondbacks and I’m amazed they
scored as many runs as they did last year.

“I think they need another hitter and even though Youkilis
isn’t the hitter he used to be…I’m not saying he’s the
guy, but I think they need another bat somewhere.”

Youkilis is a career .288 hitter with 131 home runs,
though he posted a career-low .258 average in 2011. At 33-
years-old he would not likely be a long-term solution at
the position, but would make sense for a team looking to
make a run this season, which the Diamondbacks are.

So, adding the guy dubbed the “Greek God of Walks” by the
book Moneyball would make sense, depending on the
cost.

What could the Sox expect in return for Youkilis, who is
in
the last year of his contract and has a $1 million buyout
connected to the club option of $13 million in 2013? All
the
evaluators agreed it would depend on how much of the
contract the Sox would be willing to absorb.

“They’d have to eat at least half, but I think they could
get some good young pitching back,” one said. “Again, if
Youkilis is healthy.

If only the Diamondbacks had some good young
pitching
in the organization…

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