Phillies, Diamondbacks Scouting Kevin Youkilis

Boston Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington tried to put out the fire on the reports saying Kevin Youkilis would definitely be traded, but the rumors persist. In fact, earlier today it was reported the Red Sox would prefer to move Youkilis sooner rather than later, but teams interested prefer waiting.

The most recent rumors surrounding Kevin Youkilis comes from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe, who says the Philadelphia Phillies and Arizona Diamondbacks have been in Toronto (where the Red Sox just wrapped up a three-game series) scouting Kevin Youkilis.

As we know, the Phillies are without their usual first baseman in slugger Ryan Howard. They've been using several players to fill the hole at first, primarily Ty Wigginton, but Wiggington's only given the team slightly above replacement level production. On the other hand, the D'Backs have been using a platoon of Paul Goldschmidt and Lyle Overpay that hasn't been too bad.

Certainly any team could use Youkilis at third, but it doesn't seem his body can handle that long-term anymore without getting hurt. He's best suited playing first and keeping his bat in the lineup.