With Ray Durham re-signing with San Francisco, Mark Loretta suddenly doesn't have any suitors. If I'm the Red Sox, I offer Loretta arbitration and hope that he accepts it. He's a steady borderline All-Star who plays adequate defense and delivers big hits. He's a prototype No. 2 hitter and a good clubhouse guy.
Julio Lugo might be a better player than Mark Loretta but he's not worth more than twice the salary. Lugo wants $9 million per year for 4 years, whereas Loretta would probably come in at around $4 million for 1 year. I think retaining Loretta would be the more prudent move. How many other All-Stars are signing for relatively short money?
The only problem this would create is some shaky defense at shortstop. Loretta would presumably return to second base, meaning Pedroia would platoon with Cora at short. While Pedroia primarily played shortstop last year, I don't know if he can handle that position at the big league level. He double clutches all his throws and he just doesn't seem to have the requisite arm strength for the left side of the diamond. I do recall him showing some good lateral range, though.
I say we take our chances with Pedroia's defense at shortstop and bring Loretta back for one more year at second base. The difference between Loretta and Lugo is not worth $5 million this year, plus an additional $27 million through 2010. Save every extra penny for finishing off the uber-rotation by signing Roger Clemens.
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