Doumit to Boston?

It was tweeted earlier, by Jesse Behr (@JJ_Behr) of www.baseballprospectus.com, that there are 'whispers' of a trade, sending C Ryan Doumit, to the Boston Red Sox, for SS Marco Scutaro. Scutaro, who signed with Boston in the off season prior to 2010, for 2yr/10.5M and a club option for 2012 worth $6M, would represent the upgrade at shortstop that the Pirates have been looking for the entire off season. Missing out on JJ Hardy, Jason Bartlett and Brendan Ryan, and the acquisition of Josh Rodriguez, still left a huge question mark, with the Pirates fan base, as to how they were going to handle position.


Ryan Doumits defensive skills, or lack there of, were the reason the Pirates acquired C Chris Snyder, from Arizona, during the 2010 season. Doumits return to the roster, after another stint on the DL and a rehab session, found him platooning in right field, with a few starts at first base, at which he played both horrendously. With the Pirates openly pursuing a trade, that involves Doumit leaving Pittsburgh, left them looking desperate, and most likely will be sending money along, to pay for his $5.1M for the 2011 season. Doumits contract, also has club options for 2012 & '13, worth $15.5M, though a decision for both years are to be made after the 2011 season.


The Boston Red Sox made several high profile acquisitions, so far this off season, in acquiring Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and are rumored to be in pursuit of several free agent pitchers, that remain. With their current inflated payroll, it seems that Boston, if the 'whispers' are true, may be trying to shave a little off. Their current depth at shortstop, consists of Jed Lowrie, due to make $434K, appeared in 23 games last year, and Yamaico Navarro, who made his MLB debut last season, appeared  in 20 games. Also, their current depth at catcher consists of Jason Varitek, a 14 year veteran, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia, a 4 year veteran, who was acquired during the 2010 season.


Doumit, for Scutaro, is no where near a good deal, for the Boston Red Sox. Once again, I emphasize that this is only a 'whisper,' if this deal were to happen, most likely we would see a large portion of Doumit's contract being paid by the Pirates. Essentially Scutaro's acquisition would, with his $5M due to him for 2011, increase by the total payroll output for that transaction to, in my opinion, $8M, due to paying for a portion of Doumit.


Would this be a smart move, by the Pittsburgh Pirates? Absolutely! This would fulfill there need for defense at shortstop, having Scutaro be the starter, moving Cedeno to the bench, while Rodriguez would end up in Indianapolis. With Cedeno earning $2M, in 2011, he would be a great bench option for a pinch hitter, as he was spectacular with RISP.


Marco Scutaro:
- Career Offensive Stats: .267 BA/.336 OBP/.385 SLG/.721 OPS
- 2010 Offensive Stats: .275 BA/.333 OBP/.388 SLG/.721 OPS
- Career Defensive Stats: 2231 C/697 PO/1476 A/58 E/308 DP/.978 Fld%

Ronny Cedeno:

- Career Offensive Stats: .245 BA/.284 OBP/.356 SLG/.640 OPS

- 2010 Offensive Stats: .256 BA/.293 OBP/.382 SLG/.675 OPS

- Career Defense Stats: 1690 C/526 PA/1108 A/56 E/200 DP/.967 Fld%