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The Boston Red Sox’s first base situation for the 2013 season got a little stickier with the news that the team is trying to change free agent Mike Napoli’s three-year, $39 million contract to a one-year deal.

ESPN.com’s Jim Bowden tweeted that Boston is attempting to make such a drastic renegotiation because it believes that a longer contract would be dangerous due to health issues with Napoli’s hip:

Red Sox would like to shorten their deal with Napoli to one-year to make sure the hip will be ok for 2 or 3 seasons without a lot of DL time

— JIM BOWDEN (@JimBowdenESPNxm) January 11, 2013

Napoli and the Red Sox originally agreed to the three-year contract in early December. However, the deal was never consummated because of concerns over Napoli’s hip that arose when he took his physical in Boston.

Although he has remained mum on the situation, Napoli can’t be happy that Boston is attempting to take a serious amount of money out of his pocket.

Boston general manager Ben Cherington sounded lukewarm that something could be worked out when he appeared on WEEI’s Red Sox Hot Stove Show last week. WEEI’s Kirk Minihane quoted Cherington as saying he wasn’t really sure where things currently stand:

No, there’s nothing to update… One of our goals this offseason was to add offense at first base. We haven’t been able to really do that officially yet. We’re still talking and when you’re talking, there’s hope for a resolution. But nothing to report now… Whenever we’re talking and there’s dialogue, it means we’re hopeful of being able to do something but we just don’t know yet. We’ll see how it plays out.

The Red Sox currently have the untested Mauro Gomez as the only player on their roster who has recent experience playing first base.

Boston also recently signed former St. Louis Cardinals second-round draft pick Mark Hamilton to a minor league deal. Although he’s played in only 47 major league games and has an extensive history of injuries, Hamilton has been fairly productive in the minors during his career, posting a .277/.364/.832 batting average/OBP/OPS split.

Despite the uncertainty of who will play first base for the Red Sox this season, team manager John Farrell seemed strangely unconcerned based on what he told MLB.com’s Ian Browne:

Well, Mauro Gomez is on our roster now. Obviously Mark Hamilton is a young guy that we’ve signed. We’re all well aware of the certain situation that’s still being worked through. I know Ben is doing whatever he possibly can so that when we report to Spring Training, we’ve got that position answered.

First baseman Adam LaRoche had been seen as the most likely backup plan for the Red Sox if the deal with Napoli completely fell through. However, he recently re-signed with the Washington Nationals, leaving Boston with the likes of Lyle Overbay and Casey Kotchman as the best first-sackers remaining on the free-agent market.

It’s unclear at this point if Napoli is ever going to officially join the Red Sox. What is clear is that his deal is very much in doubt, and the team has few apparent desirable options it could turn to as an alternative.

Statistics via BaseballReference

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Right-handed pitcher Junichi Tazawa was a rare bright spot last season in the bullpen for the Boston Red Sox, giving every sign of being the team’s closer of the future.

Although Tazawa has only one major league save to his credit, there are a number of reasons why Boston should explore using him as their ninth inning man in 2014 and beyond.

WEEI’s Alex Speier wrote about the lengths a Red Sox scout went to in a remote Japanese mountain village in order to scout a then-nearly unknown Tazawa in 2007. Those efforts led to signing him in 2008 to a modest three-year, $3.3 million contract.

Boston was unsure of what they were getting when they signed the talented but raw Tazawa. However, after years of steady development and a major surgery, it appears he’s nearly ready to step into a major role for the team.

Tazawa was initially groomed to be a starter. In 2009, his first professional season, he posted a combined minor league ERA of 2.55 in 109.1 innings, which was good enough to earn him a month with the Red Sox after the All-Star break.

During spring training in 2010, Tazawa experienced tightness in his elbow. Just before the regular season started, it was discovered he needed Tommy John surgery, which caused him to miss the entire year and put his promising career on hold.

Tazawa was turned into a reliever and pitched sparingly upon his return in 2011, but really blossomed last season.

In 25 appearances at Triple-A, he had a 2.55 ERA and struck out 56 batters in 42.1 innings. He was even better during his time with the Red Sox, posting a 1.43 ERA and striking out 45 (while walking just five) in 44 innings.

Tazawa throws a fastball, changeup, slider and curveball. Amazingly, his stuff has improved since his surgery. FanGraphs.com shows that he reached a personal high in average fastball velocity last season at 92.2 mph.

Tazawa confirmed that he believes his stuff is better since the surgery, telling NESN.com’s Didier Morais through an interpreter:

It’s definitely at least where it was before and I actually feel stronger. I’m making the ball go where I want to. The fastball might be even better than it was before.

The Red Sox were horrible down the stretch last season, going 7-22 After August 31, and allowing an average of 5.55 runs per games during that time. That also coincided with Tazawa pitching his best ball of the year.

In his final 14 games with Boston in 2012, he allowed a microscopic 0.71 ERA with just three hits and one walk in 12.2 innings, while striking out 16. During the same period, team closer Andrew Bailey had a 9.90 ERA and allowed 17 hits and six walks in 10 innings.

With Bailey and new closer Joel Hanrahan on the roster, there’s no apparent need for Tazawa to pitch at the end of games. That will likely change after next season.

Hanrahan will be 33 and a free agent after 2013. There’s a good chance Boston will pass on re-signing him to look for an option that is younger and cheaper.

Bailey has two years left until he reaches free agency. However, even though he is currently slated as the team’s setup man, there’s no guarantee he will even finish out 2013 in a Boston uniform.

Teams seeking a closer could see Bailey as an option worth pursuing in a trade. Even before the Hanrahan deal, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney reported in a tweet that the Red Sox were open to trading Bailey.

Rival teams say that Red Sox open to dealing Andrew Bailey–but because his value is currently low, odds of them trading him are pretty low.

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) November 27, 2012

So, there’s a good chance that Boston’s closer position could be wide open in 2014. Count The Boston Globe’s Chad Finn among those who believe Tazawa could be that pitcher.

Tazawa is just 26 and won’t be eligible for free agency until 2017. If he keeps pitching the way he did last season, he figures to be in Boston for quite a while.

While Tazawa will have to wait and see if he eventually gets a shot to close, he’ll be counted on to be an integral part of Boston’s bullpen in 2013. If he can build on the giant step forward he took last season, the sky could be the limit for his future.

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Starting pitching is perhaps the biggest question mark for the Milwaukee Brewers heading into 2013, but left-handed veteran Tom Gorzelanny could be a major key to the rotation.

Gorzelanny signed a two-year, $5.7 million contract with the Brewers last month. Although he most recently has pitched as a reliever, his role could be filling in where he is needed most in Milwaukee—the starting rotation.

With right-handed ace Yovani Gallardo being the only lock for Milwaukee’s rotation, questions have swirled about how the team will address the rest of the unit.

MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy recently detailed who he believes will compete for the four spots behind Gallardo. Candidates include returners Marco Estrada and Chris Narveson; youngsters Wily Peralta, Mike Fiers and Mark Rogers; and the newly signed Gorzelanny.

A veteran of eight major league seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs and Washington Nationals, Gorzelanny has a career 44-45 record with a 4.41 ERA in 193 games (111 starts). His best season came in 2007 with the Pirates, when he went 14-10 with a 3.88 ERA.

Gorzelanny struggled with consistency earlier in his career but has been much more consistent of late. Since 2010, pitching both as a starter and in relief, he has a combined ERA of 3.79 and averaged 7.9 strikeouts per nine innings.

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Tom Haudricourt, Milwaukee’s general manager Doug Melvin likes the potential Gorzelanny brings to the pitching staff:

He’s versatile. He has pitched in a larger role, can give you some innings. He can also start if you need him to. He protects you in a couple of areas. And he’s familiar with the division, having pitched for the Pirates and Cubs.

Melvin indicated that Gorzelanny is currently slotted for the bullpen. However, given the team’s lack of solid starting pitching, allowing him to compete for a rotation spot would be a smart move.

In a separate article, Haudricourt wrote that the necessity of finding diamonds in the rough for the rotation comes from Melvin’s reluctance to give free-agent starters longer contracts because of previous signings that did not work out.

McCalvy reported that the Brewers had targeted Ryan Dempster earlier in free agency, but turned to finding more economic options after he rejected their offer and reached a two-year deal with the Boston Red Sox.

The 30-year-old Gorzelanny isn’t a power pitcher, with FanGraphs.com indicating his fastball has averaged 89.7 mph for his career. However, he gets good movement from his two-seamer, and also throws a slider and changeup to keep hitters off-balance.

Starting experience in one of Gorzelanny’s best attributes. In his 111 career starts, he is 35-42 with a 4.61 ERA. The pedestrian nature of those numbers is influenced from having only played on two teams with winning records in his career.

He has also had success against some of the best players in the NL Central. Joey Votto, Brandon Phillips, Yadier Molina and Carlos Beltran have combined for just 13 hits in 67 at-bats against him,  a matchup that could come in very handy in the competitive division.

Nobody should expect Gorzelanny to be an ace, but that’s not what Milwaukee needs. If the southpaw can earn a spot and pitch effectively at the back end of their rotation, he will go a long way in shoring up the Brewers’ most glaring need.

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Although the Boston Red Sox are apparently exploring all options in an attempt to find a first baseman for next season, the answer is not aging free agent Bobby Abreu.

According to WEEI’s Alex Speier (via a tweet by Venezuelan journalist Rafael Tejera), the Red Sox recently worked out Abreu, an outfielder, in Venezuela. Part of the session included him taking ground balls at first base.

Earlier this offseason, the Red Sox agreed to a three-year, $39 million contract with free agent Mike Napoli. However, because of concern over his hip, Boston started renegotiating, so no deal has been finalized.

The Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham reported that signing Napoli remains a priority for the Red Sox, but they have also started exploring alternatives.

Boston has been in contact with Adam LaRoche, the top remaining first baseman on the free-agent market. However, The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo wrote that the team isn’t keen on signing him because of the high draft pick they’d have to surrender to the Washington Nationals under the new collective bargaining agreement.

Boston has apparently turned to an approach of leaving no stone unturned in trying to identify additional candidates to play first base.

Speier believes the workout was mutual due diligence by both team and player. However, signing the 38-year-old Abreu would be an ill-advised move of desperation for the Red Sox.

The first problem in considering Abreu to play first base is that he has never done so professionally. In 2,347 games during a 17-year major league career, he has never played anything but outfield or DH.

Once considered a good defensive outfielder, Abreu severely declined in the field in recent years. He accrued a combined dWAR of minus-6.8 over the past five seasons, displaying a noticeable lack of range according to advanced defensive metrics from BaseballReference.com.

The left-handed hitting Abreu has batted .292 for his career, with 287 home runs, 1,349 RBI and 399 stolen bases. However, saying his production has slipped in recent years would be an understatement.

Abreu’s OPS has declined every year since 2008, reaching a low of .693 last season. The last time he hit better than .255 was in 2009.

Abreu was cut after playing eight games with the Los Angeles Angels last season in order to make room for eventual Rookie of the Year Mike Trout.

Although he went out to play 92 games with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Abreu’s .246 batting average and three home runs made it look like he had very little left in the tank. He especially struggled down the stretch, batting just .209 after May 31.

In a recent article, Abraham wrote how he likes Abreu’s left-handed bat as a potential option off Boston’s bench if they could get him on a minor league deal. However, having the veteran take infield grounders during his tryout suggests he was auditioning for a larger role.

The Red Sox may still need a first baseman, but should avoid taking foolish risks. Even if they can’t sign Napoli, they are better off looking at the other limited, alternate options to taking on Abreu, who is in the twilight of his career.

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Although the Boston Red Sox spent heavily this offseason to improve a team that lost 93 games in 2012, they could trade many of their players this summer if the team doesn’t play as expected.

WEEI’s Alex Speier outlined how the Red Sox have spent over $150 million this offseason in an effort to fill numerous roster holes.

Other than figuring out their first base situation, the Red Sox may have made their last major move before spring training by finalizing a trade for new closer Joel Hanrahan.

Although the Red Sox hope their moves will help them compete in 2013, the current composition of their roster makes a fire sale later this summer a very strong possibility if the team falls out of contention.

The only players with more than two years remaining on their existing contracts are John Lackey, Shane Victorino, Clay Buchholz and possibly Mike Napoli. All other players on the roster would be relatively easy to trade because of their short contracts or because they have not yet reached free agency.

The Providence Journal’s Brian MacPherson detailed how much the Red Sox value draft picks, which has dictated their activity this offseason. Presumably they would also covet prospects and young players who might offer a great deal of future upside.

ESPN.com’s Jayson Stark utilized Dan Szymborski’s ZiPS projection system to predict the Red Sox as an 85-win team in 2013—and that was before the Hanrahan trade. That would likely put Boston on the fringe of contention, as AL Wild Card teams have won between 91 and 95 games during the past five seasons.

If Boston isn’t contending by the trade deadline, it makes sense that GM Ben Cherington could decide to blow things up and look to stockpile prospects and younger players.

The Red Sox are loaded with players who could be highly desirable to contending teams.

Starting pitcher Jon Lester could bring the most significant return, as he is signed through 2014 for about $25 million. If he regains his pre-2012 form, where he averaged 16 wins between 2008-2011, teams will line up to inquire about the impact southpaw.

Outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury will be a free agent after the upcoming season. However, if he is healthy and plays anywhere near his 2011 second-place AL MVP level, he could put a playoff contender over the top.

The Red Sox could also offer proven closers. Both Hanrahan and Andrew Bailey could be plugged into another team’s ninth inning (or setup) role, which can be a rare commodity come July.

Teams seeking other bullpen help could also come knocking on Boston’s door. Alfredo Aceves and Franklin Morales can start or relieve and are under team control for two more seasons. Craig Breslow and Koji Uehara are proven setup men with reasonable contracts that expire at the end of the season.

Need catching help? The Red Sox can help there too. David Ross is a prototypical backup with a two-year deal. Jarrod Saltalamacchia has his flaws, but his power is a rare attribute for the position.

Even players with longer deals like Buchholz and Lackey could be dealt if they perform well in 2013. Because of last year’s injury, Lackey will earn only $500,000 in 2015, the last year of his contract.

Buchholz is owed just over $25 million during the next three seasons, with two team options worth an additional $26.5 million in 2016-17—a steal if he is even just an average starter during the next five years.

If the Red Sox did decide to go into full-blown sale mode this summer, it wouldn’t necessarily mean a total rebuild. Any youngsters obtained in trades could be seen as part of the future or be flipped during the offseason for more established players. Also, with their ability to spend, the team could dive back into free agency again next offseason.

For now, the Red Sox and their fans should expect to compete in 2013. However, it remains possible that if the first half of the season doesn’t go as planned, a massive fire sale could ensue.

Only time will tell.

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Having been one of the busiest teams in free agency during this offseason, the Boston Red Sox appear nearly set as they head into spring training. However, it’s still possible that their inability to tie up a loose end may force them to make another major acquisition.

Boston thought they had locked a starting first baseman into place when they agreed to a three-year, $39 million contract with Mike Napoli earlier in the month. But to date, no official announcement has been made because of issues preventing the finalization of the deal.

WEEI’s Rob Bradford reported that Boston GM Ben Cherington announced at a recent press conference that no progress had been made with the Napoli negotiations. Cherington explained, “We continue to talk and there’s that consistent dialogue and we’ll continue to do that, work to resolve the issues that are outstanding. I can’t classify it or anything like that.”

SI.com’s Will Carroll tweeted last week that the Red Sox were hoping to renegotiate a shorter deal with Napoli because of health concerns:

Hearing that the Napoli deal back in negotiations, with team asking Napoli to take less years but same AAV. Swisher Plan B.

— Will Carroll (@injuryexpert) December 13, 2012

Although Carroll thought that Nick Swisher would be the Red Sox backup plan if Napoli’s deal falls through, it appears that focus may have shifted. It’s starting to look like Boston’s old friend Adam LaRoche has taken the lead as the possible replacement at first base if terms can’t be reached with Napoli.

The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo reported that the hold-up on Napoli appears to be the Red Sox wanting specific language included in the contract regarding a medical situation involving the player’s hip or leg.

Cafardo believes not being able to complete Napoli’s deal might work out well for the Red Sox because “LaRoche could actually be a better option for Boston.” That possibility is starting to gain more traction as time drags on.

ESPN.com Insider’s Doug Mittler wrote in MLB Rumors on December 17th that LaRoche turned down the Washington Nationals’ $13.3 million qualifying offer for 2013. The first baseman hasn’t been interested in the two-year deal he was subsequently offered, but Cafardo thinks he could bite if the Red Sox were willing to give him the same three-year, $39 million deal they originally earmarked for Napoli.

Adding LaRoche would fit in with the other moves made by the Red Sox this offseason. The 33-year-old can be best described as a complementary player—nearly identical to the identities of other free-agent acquisitions Shane Victorino, Jonny Gomes and Ryan Dempster.

Although he won a Gold Glove last season, according to advanced metrics, LaRoche is really just an average fielder. He has a combined dWAR of 0.0 over the past three seasons, meaning he neither helps, nor really hurts, a team’s defense.

With 162-game averages of .268 with 27 home runs and 93 RBI over a nine-year major league career, LaRoche seems like a good source of production. A closer look at the numbers suggests that he might fall short of those expectations if he were to join Boston.

Other than six games he had with the Red Sox in 2009, LaRoche has played his entire career in the National League.

LaRoche has batting average/OBP/OPS splits of .243/.306/.730 in 106 career interleague games against the AL, which are well below his career marks of .268/.338/.830.

Additionally, LaRoche has typically under-performed against good teams. His career splits of .252/.325/.760 against teams with winning records could portend disappointment if his new home was the ultra-competitive AL East.

Combining LaRoche’s age with the warning signs from some of his stats suggests he may not be the best fit in Boston. Heck, there are no guarantees Napoli will do well. However, there may not be better alternatives.

If the Red Sox do finish their contract with Napoli, it’s highly unlikely they will pursue LaRoche. WEEI’s Alex Speier wrote that the team is nearing the 2013 luxury tax threshold of $178 million— being approximately $9 million under as things stand today.

The 2013 Red Sox first base position has come to be defined by uncertainty and it appears that adding LaRoche would only compound that issue. Only time will tell how it will all play out.
 

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The Kansas City Royals continued their offseason shopping spree with a minor move yesterday, picking up free-agent outfielder/first baseman Xavier Nady on a minor league deal. The signing was reported by MLB.com’s Dick Kaegel.

Bringing in Nady may not be a move of the same magnitude as the team’s trade for pitchers James Shields and Wade Davis, but acquiring the right-handed-hitting veteran could be a valuable move.

Nady has played for eight different teams in an 11-year major league career. The 34-year-old has career totals of a .270 batting average with 101 home runs and 406 RBI. His best individual season came in 2008, when he hit .305 with 25 home runs and 97 RBI with the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Yankees.

Injuries have sidetracked Nady in recent seasons.

He has averaged just 67 games per season since 2009. That year he underwent his second Tommy John surgery (his first was in 2001) and has been unable to fully regain his health or effectiveness since.

Nady played 59 games this past season with the Washington Nationals and San Francisco Giants. He hit a combined .184 with four home runs and 13 RBI.

According to Kaegel, Royals’ assistant GM J.J. Picollo said he isn’t going to just hand Nady a job, but likes what he can potentially bring to the team:

It gives us depth going into spring training if we have any type of injuries or need. He’s a guy that in the past has swung the bat well, but he’s fallen on some hard times with some injuries or whatnot, but we thought it was an interesting guy to bring in and add a veteran presence and insurance.

The Royals must have insurance at first base and the corner outfield spots because of lingering concerns from last season. According to FanGraphs.com, right fielder Jeff Francoeur (-1.2) and first baseman Eric Hosmer (-1.1) posted baseball’s third and fourth worst oWAR marks in 2012. Those two may very well bounce back, but if the Royals intend to make a playoff run, they have to be prepared for any scenario.

For now, it sounds like Nady can earn a bench spot on the team by having a hot spring.

Picollo told Kaegel that his power is something that could fit in well on the team’s bench:

He’s right-handed which we lack a little bit. If he has a good spring training, it’s not out of the question we’ll have a veteran bat on the bench. He’s got some pop, which is something we don’t have right now coming off the bench.

With every move the Royals make this offseason, they hope to get closer to contending status. If Nady can prove he is healthy and has something left, it could be a valuable addition for Kansas City and a win-win deal for everyone involved. 

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The groin injury recently suffered by Boston Red Sox pitching prospect Anthony Ranaudo will not prevent him from being ready for spring training, according to this report from the Providence Journal’s Tim Britton.

WEEI’s Alex Speier had previously reported that the right-handed Ranaudo had been shut down in the Puerto Rican Winter League after being injured while pitching in a November 28th game. It was the final setback in a season filled with disappointment and injuries for the prospect, whose star dimmed in 2012.

Ranaudo was a first-round pick (39th overall selection) of the Red Sox in the 2010 MLB draft out of LSU. He went 9-6 with a 3.97 ERA in the minors in 2011, which was his first professional season. This led to him being named Boston’s top pitching and fourth-best overall prospect last January by Baseball America.

But everything went wrong for Ranaudo this past season. Pitching in Double-A, he was injured for much of the year and made a total of just nine starts. And he wasn’t very good when he was on the field, going just 1-3 with a 6.69 ERA.

Ranaudo went to the winter league looking to get in work to build back his strength for the upcoming season. According to Speier, Ranaudo was expected to throw 25-30 innings in Puerto Rico, but wound up with just 9.1 because of his injury.

Fortunately, it doesn’t appear that Ranaudo suffered any long-term setbacks, and he will be ready come spring training. Britton quoted Ben Crockett, Boston’s director of player development, as feeling optimistic about the pitcher’s prognosis:

At this point, we’re not anticipating any kind of issue going forward in the offseason. We did a bunch of tests, and there’s no tears— nothing more than muscle spasms. Based on the history of the injury, we wanted to be more on the cautious side. With it being only one more start on the docket, we figured there was no reason to push it. He did what we hoped he’d do, which is get some innings, get some experience, finish the year on the mound. He’s in a good place mentally right now to go into spring training.

Regardless of his health, Ranaudo has an uphill battle in 2013. He fell off Baseball America’s most recent top Red Sox prospect list, having been surpassed by fellow Boston minor league pitchers Matt Barnes, Allen Webster and Henry Owens.

Despite the setbacks, it appears Ranaudo is ready to put his disastrous 2012 season behind him and focus on the future. He made those feelings clear in a recent tweet from his personal account:

Is it 2013 yet? Were you thinking #FreshStart? #FebrezeBrothers

— Anthony Ranaudo (@anthony_ranaudo) December 12, 2012

Ranaudo will have to work to regain the promise he held as a top draft pick. Although this past year didn’t go as he and the Red Sox hoped, he will be healthy and ready to hopefully get back on track in 2013.

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The Boston Red Sox just bolstered their 2013 starting rotation by signing free-agent right-hander Ryan Dempster to a two-year deal. Despite his addition, the team still need more starting pitching depth, but the answer may already be on their roster in the person of Alfredo Aceves.

FoxSports.com’s Ken Rosenthal first reported the Dempster signing via Twitter.

Sources: Dempster close with #RedSox on two-year, $26.5 million free-agent contract.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 13, 2012

The story was later confirmed in a separate report by ESPN.com’s Gordon Edes.

Dempster joins Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, Felix Doubront, John Lackey and possibly Franklin Morales in the rotation this upcoming season. With Lackey and Morales coming off injuries, the team could still use another starter to shore up the rotation. Career .500 pitchers Kyle Lohse and Edwin Jackson are the best of the remaining free agents and don’t generate much excitement.

A potentially intriguing and cheaper option for the Red Sox would be giving Aceves a chance to win a rotation spot. He may be coming off a rough 2012 season, but there are plenty of reasons why he could flourish in such a role.

Aceves became the Boston closer by default last season after Andrew Bailey was ruled out for half the year because of an injured thumb. Aceves started out strong, posting a 3.57 ERA and 22 saves through July, but bombed the rest of the way with an alarming 8.42 ERA and a highly publicized three-game suspension.

With Bailey back and Mark Melancon having closing experience, Aceves won’t see the end of many games in 2013. The rest of the bullpen looks plenty deep enough to allow him to transition to the rotation. Craig Breslow, Andrew Miller, Koji Uehara, Junichi Tazawa and a hopefully rejuvenated Daniel Bard round out the rest of the relief corps.

All but nine of Aceves’ 183 career major league games have come in relief. Despite it being a small sample size, he proved to be a very capable starter, posting a 2-1 record and 4.18 ERA. That ERA is better than what any full-time Red Sox starter had in 2012.

Aceves’s varied arsenal is more typical of a starter than relievers, who often operate with only two or three offerings. FanGraphs.com shows he pitches with a low-90s fastball, changeup, splitter and curveball.

The ability to get out both right-handed and left-handed hitters is a skill required of any successful starter. Aceves has been nearly identically successful against both. For his career he has allowed a .223/.296/.368 slash line to righties and .224/.298/.357 to lefties.

In addition to possessing the repertoire, Aceves has wanted to start for some time. His agent, Tom O’Connell, told WEEI’s Alex Speier last offseason, “You know the kind of competitor he is, so I like his chances of being in the rotation.”

Aceves made just $1.2 million in 2012 and is now arbitration eligible. He will receive a bit of a raise but would provide a relatively low-cost option at the back of the Boston rotation, allowing them to spend their money elsewhere.

It is interesting to see how many fans appear reluctant to forgive Aceves because of his suspension, which was the result of an emotional outburst with then-manager Bobby Valentine. That same outrage seems to be lacking for the other players who supposedly undermined the skipper last season, according to Yahoo!Sports’ Jeff Passan.

Amazingly, Aceves’ fantastic 2011 season in Boston seems largely forgotten. That year he went 10-2 with a 2.66 ERA in 55 games, 10 times pitching on no rest. It’s time to forgive him and see if he can regain his previous success.

New manager John Farrell has already publicly stated he is willing to forgive the competitive pitcher.

ESPNBoston.com’s Gordon Edes reported Farrell comments from a group interview session indicating the strategy he plans to utilize with Aceves involves being honest and defining a clear role.

From my standpoint, the approach taken is to be candid with him, to be consistent with him, both in terms of what we value in guy’s approach, but as best can be communicated to him in his role. That will evolve going forward, but I think the most important thing is for him to understand where he sits with us, how we view him, and what his role is, then he can best prepare for that.

To be fair, Aceves has had little permanence during his time in Boston. He has been a long reliever, a temporary closer and even started a few games. No matter how well he’s pitched, he has never been allowed to settle into one role.

If the Red Sox and their fans are willing to give Aceves another chance, they may reap the benefits.  There are many reasons suggesting he should be given a chance to start, which could allow him to earn his redemption the old fashioned way—through hard work and results.

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The New York Yankees have found a new third baseman in former foe Kevin Youkilis.

FoxSports.com’s Ken Rosenthal tweeted that the Yankees signed the free agent to a one-year deal worth $12 million.

To clarify on Youkilis and #Yankees: Two sides in agreement, one year, $12M. Deal almost certainly pending physical.

—Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 11, 2012

The story was subsequently confirmed by ESPNNewYork, who reported Youkilis will leave the Chicago White Sox for the Big Apple.

Youkilis is a former Gold Glove winner, who can play either first or third. He has career 162-game averages of .283 batting with 23 home runs and 96 RBI.

Youkilis is coming off a down year in 2012, hitting a combined .235 with 19 home runs and 60 RBI between stints with Chicago and the Boston Red Sox. However, he will play a major role with the Yankees in 2013. He’s replacing Alex Rodriguez, who is expected to miss at least the first half of the upcoming season due to offseason hip surgery.

Having spent the first eight-plus seasons of his career playing for the Yankees archrivals, New York fans have been used to booing Youkilis. However, once they see what the veteran brings to their team, he should quickly become a fan favorite.

Click through to see five reasons why Kevin Youkilis will be instantly loved by New York Yankee fans.

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