He Hath Arrived

So in the aftermath of John Farrell finally coming to Boston and the compensation being MUCH more palatable than what I thought it would take, I would first like to say; so long Mike Avilés. I will miss seeing your kooky batting stance and the homers you hit into the Green Monster. I wish you luck in Toronto, just not against us.

With Aviles out the door, it opens the question up of who will be the starting shortstop? Does the club hand the reigns over to José Iglesias and hope that he can hit above his weight (183)? Does Pedro Ciriaco get the bulk of the playing time after his strong second half to 2012, even though he swings at everything and doesn't walk? Do they start Xander Boegarts in Pawtucket and bring him to the big leagues come August? Or could the team try to get creative and work out a trade for a SS? In Texas, Elvis Andrus is blocking phenom Jurrickson Profar. Would they pounce on Colorado and offer the farm for Troy Tulowitzki? Would Billy Beane trade away Stephen Drew in the last year of his contract for a prospect?

There are also rumblings that in a salary dump, Toronto is sending Adam Lind. This move would solve the 1B question mark for next year in Boston (if true). While Lind is a veeeery streaky hitter and had an awful, injury plagued season last year, since his breakout season in '09 his peripheral stats look like this: .262 BA, 24 HR, 80 RBI, .317 OBP. It's JD Drew for half the money!
There are also buyout clauses in his contract for the remaining years if he doesn't pan out. Free agent 1B on the market after next year include Michael Morse, Justin Morneau, and Mark Reynolds.

With all this being said, I'm happy a new manager is coming in this quickly. I like that Farrell knows the team and they know him. I'm also very happy that the compensation was only Mike Avilés (who I thought would be traded this off season anyway) and not a pitching prospect.