The Red Sox will designate utility player Brent Lillibridge for assignment, Alex Speier of WEEI.com reports (on Twitter). The move creates roster space for Carl Crawford, who's being activated from the disabled list.
Boston acquired Lillibridge in the trade that sent Kevin Youkilis to Chicago last month. Lillibridge, 28, has a .165/.212/.177 line in 86 total plate appearances this year. He has a career batting line of .212/.279/.351 in five seasons with the Braves, White Sox and Red Sox. Joel Sherman of the New York Post suggests he could be a fit for the Mets (Twitter link).
white sox easy sign
Does this mean the Sox are also returning the bucket of baseballs they got for Youkilis?
As far as I’m concerned, the Sox started playing a lot better once Youk left and there was instantly less drama. Addition by subtraction (hate to say it that way since I liked Youk…but it’s true)
presented without comment: the red sox are 7-10 since trading youk.
Sorry, should clarify. Red Sox with Middlebrooks at 3B. (Sox lost quite a few games of those games when Middlebrooks was injured). I’m pretty sure Sox have a winning record when WM starts at 3B.
No they need those so Middlebrooks can learn some plate discipline
Why would a guy hitting .165 be a good fit for anybody?
Small sample size.
5 years?
He had some pop last year (13 HR in 216 PA)… no idea what happened this year, though.
Not to disillusion Joel Sherman, but I think he’d be a better fit for a 44″ Regular with two pairs of matching trousers, no cuffs.
Thanks again for Youk Boston!
Not many bigger Youk fans than me, but he hasn’t yet been stressed by playing consecutively at 3b for a long period of time to get hurt.. Just you wait if Williams and ventura do not wisen up and allow him a couple games a week to DH and force Dunn to get his dusty OF/1b glove out of lockup..
Youk has that tendancy to get hurt. You have seen how he plays if a Chisox fan.. 100% all out and it takes a toll in a hurry..he gets hurt and not little aches n pains either..
hey this guy stinks, he would be a good fit for the Mets. LOL
don’t care that Youk is gone, it is better for the team and for Youk that he left…because Will Middlebrooks is younger and will be a better player than Youkilis…..better deal in the long run for the Red Sox…Lillibridge was horrible….Punto should be next
Middlebrooks isn’t going to be a better player than Youkilis was.
Agree with you there for sure.
You know have been a Sox fan since the early 60’s and he is the 2nd best to me in that time, behind of course Boggs, then Petrocelli (always have to give a plug to old Rico).
Really? You don’t think Middlebrooks could provide more than 5 years of solid offense? Youk was a late bloomer. Middlebrooks has a lot of young years in front of him and given that he was “not going to be ready until mid 2013” I’d say he could turn out to be much better than what many think.
Being good longer and being better are not the same thing. Middlebrooks may very well (likely will) be more productive over the course of his career, but he’s never going to be as good as Youkilis was. From ’08-’10 Youkilis was one of the best hitters in the entire game, and an elite defender (at 1B) – Middlebrooks isn’t going to do that.
I think Middlebrooks *could* reach the status of one of the best hitters in terms of power and slugging. He may not hit for average, but he’s going to produce in ways that Youkilis did not necessarily do so.
There’s a lot more to offense than just slugging (Youkilis had the third highest SLG% in the game from ’08-’10 by the way), and Middlebrooks is never going to do any of those other things as well as Youkilis did (his OBP wont be anywhere close to Youkilis’ – 5th best in the game from ’08-’10).
Youkilis was the 2nd best hitter in the game over that span according to wOBA, 3rd best by OPS, and 4th best by wRC+; those are things that Middlebrooks just isn’t going to do – his offense is always going to be limited by a high number of strikeouts and low number of walks. That doesn’t mean Middlebrooks wont be a good player, just that saying he’ll be better than Youkilis is quite hyperbolic.
Lets meet back here in 9 years and see if Middlebrooks has more that 30 WAR to his credit. I’m betting he does.
You can’t just cherrypick stats to say how one player compares to another. Youk put up 1.4 WAR in 72 games as a rookie. Middlebrooks already has 1.4 WAR in just 51 games. Furthermore, Middlebrooks is much younger than Youk was when he finally made the big leagues and should theoretically be more durable and have more time to improve before he peaks.
How many ways do I have to say it? Just because a guy plays well for longer does not mean that he is better. Was David Wells better than Sabathia? Is Javier Vazquez better than Tom Seaver? The answer to both is no. Same deal here. Middlebrooks might (probably will) put up more career WAR, but that does not mean he is better.
I talked about OBP, SLG, OPS, wOBA, wRC+, talked about defense, and refuted the “more WAR” argument twice now – you’ve mentioned WAR – which one of us is Cherrypicking? The fact is that Middlebrooks doesn’t have the talent to ever be that good.
I agree with what you said, but you have to admit that Middlebrooks is going to put up better numbers than Youkilis for the rest of Youk’s career. I think that is why this trade was a must do for the Red Sox because when you have a top prospect ready to be called up, you don’t wait out the current player’s contract.
Sure, over the next 4-5 years Middlebrooks will, in all likelihood, be more productive than Youkilis, but that’s a totally different argument.
So, even tho Middlebrooks is going to put up potentially way better rookie numbers, you somehow magically know that he will never, ever be better than Youk. Ever.
I would contend that comparing age 23 numbers, he already IS better than Youk. Until he proves otherwise, there is no reason to think that trend won’t continue. During Youk’s rookie season, were you on record as saying that he was going to be one of the best hitters in the game despite his mediocre stat line? Give Middlebrooks a chance.
I don’t need magic, Middlebrooks does if he’s ever going to be better than Youkilis was.
Unless he magically learns how to walk at a 13% rate, he simply doesn’t have the skill to be as good as Youkilis was, let alone better.
He would literally have to learn to be a completely different player.
So,letmegetthisstraight…aplayercan’tbebetterthanYoukifhedoesn’thaveawalkrategreaterthan13%?VladandaslewofHoFersbegstodiffer/facepalm
Your point about high point and longevity at a good level is sound. I wonder though why you don’t think Middlebrooks has the potential to be as good as Youkilis. It’s not as if anyone saw Youkilis’ rise to prominence coming. In fact, lots of folks make a point of how Youkilis willed himself to a level higher than his natural talent. Of course, you might say that the odds are simply against ANYONE being one of the few best hitters in baseball over a 2-4 year period, and that makes sense. But Middlebrooks seems to be a better athlete at this stage of his career than Youkilis was, and given his good numbers thus far, I wonder what you think the sticking point is for him. Just curious.
Making significant strides in plate discipline is one of the hardest things for guys to do (with the exception of raw players who are still learning the game), and that is the one area where Middlebrooks is significantly lacking (particularly when it comes to comparison with Youkilis). Guys can change their approach at the plate or their swing and add power (not more raw power, but their ability to tap into their raw power, and Youkilis always had decent raw power, he just didn’t always use it well early in his career), but adding a significant number of walks/improving plate discipline in a significant way doesn’t happen very often at all.
And while Middlebrooks does have more power than Youkilis, he doesn’t have enough more power to make up for the difference in plate discipline.
Totally non biased right in this statement. But that’s a bold statement saying a guy who has only had a cup of coffee in the bigs is going to be a better player than youk. Kid had a ton and I mean a ton of work to do to even become half the player youk is. Youk has been one of the better players in the bigs for quite some time. Yes I think middlebrooks will be good but considering this is his first season odds are stacked against him. Weird to see someone I assume is a red sox fan talking down about youk.
yep great trade boston I’m a yankees fan and I’m cracking up the other guy they acquired will either get hurt or get designated for assignment in the next month
Not a Yankee fan, a bandwagon fan.
Middlebrooks has been great since coming back…he had a huge hit last night. He’s a great long term option for Boston and can contribute right now too.
A lot of teams could use this kind of versatility. Who is going to claim him first? The Braves could use them at shortstop despite their recent acquisition and the Astros would probably welcome him aboard considering the recent injuries.
I doubt the Braves have any interest in him. Pastornicky will fill the utility role until Simmons returns. Then Janish will be the utility player (with Wilson being released).
.165 average. Sounds like a future Seattle Mariner.
He’s already been there…. haha
I really do hope he goes back to the White Sox we need a legit base stealer off the bench, right now we don’t have that.
Pedro is a better option and even his time will be short.
I’m sure CC will soon be on the DL with menstrual cramps.
lame
Could the Athletics give him a look? Earlier today this site posted an article about how they were looking for SS and 3B help and Billy already pulled the string on a slumping 3B earlier this year.
Simply put, with Pedro Ciriaco, Red Sox didn’t need another Utility player (at least Ciriaco gets on base)
How a position player with a .212 lifetime BA can last consecutive 5 years in MLB is beyond me, unless he has (had) the glove skills of a Mark Belanger. Otherwise, I have to ask, “Who does this guy know?”
If we can vote, I opt for Ciriaco over Punto. Punto’s hyped value, it seems, comes into play once the Red Sox get into the playoffs. Ciriaco’s value, it appears to me, comes into play during the effort to get into the playoffs. Kind of like, correctly putting the horse before the cart with Ciriaco in the line up…so we can get there, right Mr. Pedroia?
Watching last nite’s Red Sox ~White Sox game was kind of like watching the varsity team take to the field for the first time in 2012. Good feeling…good win..
Go Red Sox..
he a white sox and he would go back there if they offer and i know they will