August 14, 2009

The Return Of Alex Gonzalez

The Red Sox have acquired shortstop Alex Gonzalez from the Cincinnati Reds. He is expected to join the team in Texas on Saturday. Gonzalez played for the Red Sox in 2006.

Gonzalez missed all of 2008 (compression fracture in his knee) and had surgery in June to remove bone chips from his right (throwing) elbow. He was activated from the disabled list on July 24. His 2009 line for the Reds in 68 games: .210/.258/.296, 43 OPS+.

28 comments:

9casey said...

When he plays , we might as well let the pitcher hit....

laura k said...

Oh my lord.

allan said...

Alex Gonzalez for minor league shortstop Kris Negron (23, 7th round pick in 2006, hit .263 for Salem (A)).

Green can obviously hit better than Gonz and Fangraph has Green as better at SS, too.

Does this mean Jed is out for the year?

Unknown said...

This makes no sense to me

Patrick said...

I hope he enjoys Pawtucket.

9casey said...

Patrick said...
I hope he enjoys Pawtucket.




Who? Gonzalez..I don't think there is a chance in hell he ends up in Pawtucket...All you have to is drop Woodward....I also don't believe Gonzo has any options left...

9casey said...

redsock said...


Does this mean Jed is out for the year?



Who? even if he wasn't he would just need more time, at this point you might as well shut him down....

Amy said...

Oy. WHY?

Unknown said...

Hey, I like the idea of an all-glove shortstop for late innings, etc. I haven't seen much of Gonzo this year, but neither Green or Lowrie has really seemed like much with the glove. Plus, with our glut of corner-types this can give Tito some pinch hit flexibility for him not to use.

John Gray said...

Gonzalez isn't what he was in 2006, i'm kind of disapointed they made this type of move out of desperation, he's basically a better fielding version of Nick Green. Negron isn't a top prospect but it's still too much to pay for someone like Gonzalez.

That being said, let's hope he can come in and solidify the position on the defensive end. I think Jed is questionable for the rest of the year. I do not think he has fully recovered from his wrist surgery


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laura k said...

The only SS Amy doesn't miss, and he's the one who comes back! ;)

laura k said...

James, did you ever get an invite to JoS? I now realize that we confused you with another James, or thought two Jameses were the same person. If you weren't invited, I apologize - we meant to.

From the Better Late Than Never Files.

Amy said...

I do not miss Renteria either, FWIW.

Only Cabrera. Not even Nomar.

laura k said...

Oh sorry! I thought you were opposed to all the SS trades when they happened.

Good thing you only miss OC, since the list of former SSs has gotten so long. It would be too hard to keep track of. :)

Pepe Lepew said...

I do not miss Renteria either, FWIW.

Only Cabrera. Not even Nomar.


I miss Cabrera. He was good!

laura k said...

I miss Cabrera. He was good!

Especially if you like players who can't hit!

Pepe Lepew said...

Especially if you like players who can't hit!

He hit .294 for Boston, .282 in 2006, .301 in 2007 (with 86 RBIs), .281 in 2008, .283 this year. I'd take that over what the Red Sox have had in those years.

Amy said...

Thanks for the stats, Pepe. I thought that OCab had hit fairly well. He certainly was at least as good if not better than those who have succeeded him---Renteria, Gonzalez, and Lugo.

Pepe Lepew said...

Thanks for the stats, Pepe. I thought that OCab had hit fairly well. He certainly was at least as good if not better than those who have succeeded him---Renteria, Gonzalez, and Lugo.

Oh, I think he was better than all three. Lowrie was good in the field and a pretty good RBI guy for about half a year, but I think he's probably still hurt.

allan said...

O-Cab hit uncommonly well for us. But comparing his OPS+ for 2004 with Edgar in 2005 and Seabass in 2006, Cabrera comes in last.

O-Cab 2004: 74
(Expos 61, Sox 97)
Edgar 2005: 89
Seabass 2006: 75

Win Probability Added

O-Cab in 2004: -0.32 (-1.74 season)
Edgar in 2005: -0.16
A-Gon in 2006: -1.90
Lugo in 2007: -1.51
Lugo in 2008: -1.87
Lowrie in 2008: 0.91
Lugo in 2009: 0.59
Green in 2009: 0.68

(God, that list is depressing.)

Lugo contributed more good to the Sox this year than Cabrera did in 2004.

laura k said...

Come on, folks, don't obsess on batting average. You all know better than that.

I'm not saying Gonzalez, Renteria et al were good. Just that OC, despite his worthwhile contributions as a Red Sox, is not worth missing, IMO.

Amy said...

You kids and your new fangled stats! :) I am studying up on OPS+ (again), as I can never remember what is a GOOD number and what is a BAD number. For now, I will take your word for it.

I also just liked the guy in terms of personality and attitude, unlike Renteria, Gonzalez, and Lugo.

allan said...

OPS+ is easy.


80 = 20% worse than league average
90 = 10% worse than league average
100 = league average
110 = 10% better than league average
120 = 20% better than league average

and so on.

allan said...

I also just liked the guy in terms of personality and attitude, unlike Renteria, Gonzalez, and Lugo.

Me, too, though it's not much of a contest with those other guys!

Amy said...

Thanks for the OPS+ lesson (again). I should just bookmark this because when I look it up on Wikipedia, I get totally confused.

Pepe Lepew said...

You kids and your new fangled stats! :) I am studying up on OPS+ (again), as I can never remember what is a GOOD number and what is a BAD number. For now, I will take your word for it.

I also just liked the guy in terms of personality and attitude, unlike Renteria, Gonzalez, and Lugo.


Not to mention Renteria's 30 errors in one year and Lugo's 43 errors in 260 games for the Sox.

Amy said...

Good point! How did OC stack up against the others on defense?

laura k said...

I also just liked the guy in terms of personality and attitude, unlike Renteria, Gonzalez, and Lugo.

Me, too, though it's not much of a contest with those other guys!


Word.