The Fan Hub

The Boston Red Sox have been getting quality contributions from some random areas of late, the young third baseman Will Middlebrooks in particular. As such, the return of Kevin Youkilis has left embattled Boston manager Bobby Valentine in somewhat of a predicament regarding the hot corner. Understandably Valentine is hesitant to simply remove a kid who’s batting .297 with 16 RBIs and 5 homers in a mere 18 games, but Kevin Youkilis has to play.

Bobby V has decided that the solution, for now, is to move Adrian Gonzalez (yes, as in 3x Gold Glove and 4x All-Star first baseman Adrian Gonzalez) to right field, put Youkilis at first, and keep Middlebrooks at third.

Evidently Valentine believes that the downgrade in fielding that will occur at first in the switch from Gonzo to Youkilis isn’t as big of a risk as putting Middlebrooks in RF, a position which he has never played. While that may or may not be true, this is still a questionable move. Gonzalez is behind only Mark Texeira for perhaps the best fielding 1B in baseball, and he’s being paid like it too. Moving what is essentially the Red Sox best infielder to RF, a position generally regarded as less skilled, is a bit of a surprise.

While Youkilis did win a gold glove in his own right at 1B before Gonzalez came to the team, he hasn’t played much first in the past two seasons. Furthermore, players are plugged into the corner outfield positions all the time, so why should Middlebrooks be an exception? Even if he hasn’t played RF before, playing 3B means Middlebrooks has to have a decent glove and a passable arm. Or, since Youkilis has played RF before, why not move him there instead?

How permanent this alignment will be is uncertain, but for tonight Boston has their three-time Gold Glove first baseman playing right field.

— Ryan Gilmore