Well, Freese is a 27-year old rookie who hasn't played in a month and hasn't had an extra base hit in two months. Lowell just spent 5 games in AAA on a "rehab," and hit four homers while going .500/.500/1.227 = 1.727 in ~25 plate appearances. With his hip problems, his defense may be less than optimal --- but with Freese currently ranking 25th in +/- among third baseman, we probably don't need to be all that choosy there.Socnorb11 wrote:skmsw wrote:I find it really hard to believe that there was no one available that would improve on what we have in some of our current roster spots.Socnorb11 wrote:Yeah, I agree. Could be that there just wasn't anyone out there that was really available.ConeBone69 wrote:If the Cards got some middle infield help along with getting Westbrook I would be elated with or without Ludwick being on the team. It just hurts we didn't get that.
Mike Lowell playing third base for free, and moving Flip to second, would be an improvement. And that was available. I know there was more out there.
Would Lowell being an upgrade over Freese?
Lowell would be a significant improvement in our starting lineup at third base, and allow Flip to slide over to one of our even bigger problem spots. Or heck, Lowell could be power off the bench (MAJOR upgrade over Stavinoha -- my approach to this deadline) and spot-start at first or third. Point is, he was one tiny example of a free upgrade -- a way to get better at the margins without giving up too much in the way of players or money.
Put another way -- Yadi (630 OPS) batted fifth today. In the NL, Lowell would hit significantly better than everyone in the lineup except Albert, Holliday, and Rasmus. He'd probably replace Ludwick's offensive production, and be no worse defensively than Freese.
