Was AGon A Good Move?

[Scrat1]

Was acquiring Adrian Gonzalez a good move for the Red Sox?

I've stated on the main board that I didn't think this move would happen because it didn't make any sense to me from a Red Sox perspective.

They already have a slick fielding first baseman in Kevin Youkilis. Now, in the short term it makes sense to move Youkilis to third base. He's not going to be good over there, but he'll be (they hope) passable. He wasn't very good when he was spelling Lowell, but he was also being moved around. Even so, he's going to be 32 next season, and with Gonzalez signed long-term, do the Red Sox really plan on keeping Youkilis at third through his mid to late thirties? Or, when Ortiz walks, do the Red Sox move one of Youkilis/Gonzalez to DH, wasting their glove? Unless they plan on letting Youkilis walk, which I don't see happening, these are the only two options. Neither is an ideal long term solution.

Between Werth's insane contract and the Gonzalez extension, the Red Sox are likely not going to be able to afford Crawford now. Their current outfield (Cameron/Ellsbury/Drew) is suspect, and while they have Kalish ready to replace Drew, that's about it.

Considering they need an outfielder, both short and long term, wouldn't it have made more sense to sign Crawford to play left-field, keep Youkilis at first, and bring in a guy like Encarnacion to play third? Obviously, Encarnacion isn't any stud, but he's at least as good a fit at third as Cameron is in left. Plus, if they had done this, they would have kept Casey Kelly and Co.

Certainly not a bad move. But I don't think it was Boston's best option.

[Stotle]

I thought the better move was to get Dunn for 1 yr at 1B then shift him over to DH next year when Ortiz walks. Add AGon next year, as well, when Drew/Ortiz/Cameron come off the books.

But I believe BOS values their (proprietary) defensive ratings, and that's a big reason why they decided to go with AGon. If Beltre could be had for a more reasonable price, I think they would have been all over that as option #1.

[Sports Guy]

Well, after seeing what Werth got, that changed things because I felt a Beltre + CC or Werth pairing would be better for them.

But that changed.

I think it was a good move for them. They can replace what they gave up.

[RVAbird]

It's fine for Boston because they can afford to give AGon what he wants and they draft well enough to replace what they've lost.

Also, while they took a significant hit to the top of their prospect list, their system is still littered with quality depth and sleepers who could turn into top prospects next year. Their system isn't as sexy now, but it's still middle of the pack IMO.