:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/photo_images/7081863/20120523_ajl_aa3_109.jpg)
6:06pm- Marisa Ingemi: Nick Cafardo from the Boston Globe said earlier today that Ben Cherington said the Red Sox have not initiated any talks on Youkilis.
The Boston Red Sox definitely intend to trade Kevin Youkilis and are telling teams they're looking, tweets Danny Knobler of CBS Sports:
Red Sox are telling teams they definitely intend to trade Youkilis.
— DKnobler (@DKnobler) June 1, 2012
Since Will Middlebrooks (hitting .316/.343/.579) is making it increasingly difficult to fit him, Adrian Gonzalez, and David Ortiz into the same lineup, moving 33 year-old Youkilis could make sense.
Youkilis, a 9th-year vet who has spent his entire career in Boston, is hitting .250/.318/.406 on the season, with twenty-four hits, three doubles, four home runs and twenty-one runs scored while walking a surprisingly low eight times and striking out twenty-nine times. He's a career .288/.389/.490 hitter and has earned twenty five wins above replacement.
Spending several weeks on the disabled list with a sore lower back, the iconic Red Sox corner infielder is a perfect example of baseball's what-have-you-done-for-me-lately mentality and the realities of aging. That doesn't mean he can't help the right club, though. Jon Heyman says he could help the Dodgers, White Sox, Diamondbacks, and perhaps the Reds or the Phillies:
youkilis (#youk) very likely available, says @DKnobler. hed help #dodgers, #chisox #dbacks, maybe #reds #phillies
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) June 1, 2012