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| Lowrie (L); Pedroia (R) |
Here's a
possible solution to Boston's 2019 second-base conundrum: stick two 35-year-olds at the position. How do you do this? You go out and sign free-agent (and former Red Sox IF)
Jed Lowrie, and figure out a reasonable scheme to get both him and (a presumably healthy)
Dustin Pedroia enough at-bats. The hitch might be convincing both of these "gamers" to sit part of the time—but, hey, they're
both 35 and Pedey is coming off major knee work. Red Sox manager
Alex Cora seems to be the perfect guy to do the convincing—and it seems this would really help the team stabilize a key position. Lowrie has been on an incredible roll late in his career. The last
two seasons, he has put up
identical OPS+ (120) and slugging (.448) numbers. Last season, he knocked in 99 runs and made his first All-Star team. It's unclear what he will command in free-agency—but his age and the lure of coming back to his original franchise (with a real shot at repeating as World Champs) might make him take a reasonable offer. Most projections have him around the $12.5 million per year range. So, a two-year deal worth $25 million would probably do it.
