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| (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) |
While the Red Sox can send out a defensive outfield that is among the best in baseball (
Grady Sizemore,
Jackie Bradley Jr.,
Shane Victorino), the
offensive clout from those positions has been—
at best—marginal. As
Boston.com's Bill Chuck points out, the Boston outfield is hitting a combined .222 this year. And, among a bevy of minor league players (
Bryce Brentz,
Alex Hassan,
Corey Brown,
Daniel Nava),
nobody is hitting above .265. Which begs the question: Do the Red Sox need to go out and trade for the biggest OF fish (no pun intended) of them all—
Giancarlo Stanton? So far this year, the 24-year old Stanton is hitting .307 with 11 HRs and 42 RBIs (the last two stats leading the league). He has a .395 OBP and a .600 slugging percentage—with a .995 OPS. And, no matter what the Marlins say, he
is available.The question is, should Boston give up a treasure trove of young prospects to get him? The consensus seems to be that a package including SS
Deven Marrero, SP
Matt Barnes, OF
Daniel Nava and 2B
Mookie Betts might get the job done. That's a
big price to pay. But, having a monster right-handed bat like Stanton in the the middle of the lineup for the next ten years is quite a lure.
