Almost-final Beltre Trade Toughens Already Toughened Red Sox Defense

Reliable sources of baseball news have confirmed that the Boston Red Sox are only a few steps away from signing Adrian Beltre, a third baseman who is now a free agent.  If the signing of Beltre pushes through, the Red Sox are on their way of seriously beefing up their defense line-up.  The Red Sox should finally be contented, as after all, they have been actively pursuing Beltre since November, when the process of selecting free agents started in November of 2009.  According to the news, Beltre has already agreed to the conditions of a deal that lasts for one year and costs $9 million, with a $5 million player option.  The deal is said to be contingent on a physical. Beltre as a good addition to the Red Sox Beltre for his part is still considered to be a capable third base defender despite his lackluster performance last season with the Seattle Mariners.  For two successive years, 2007 and 2008, the thirty year-old was awarded the Rawlings Gold Glove Award for the American League.  For the 2009 season, he was plagued with problems in his left shoulder. The Red Sox has been seriously bolstering their team’s defense.  Prior to the Beltre news, reports of acquisitions by the team have been primarily to increase their defensive threat, with the addition of shortstop Marco Scutaro and Mike Cameron in the outfield.  These moves were in response to the weak Boston defense of the 2009 season, regarded by many as one of the worst in the leagues.  Another signing by a free agent prior to Beltre happened with John Lackey, who will further the team’s prevention of opposing runs. With the news of Beltre’s almost sure inclusion with the Red Sox, many are wondering what will happen to the team’s current third baseman, Mike Lowell.  Lowell has been the Boston squad’s third baseman since 2006, and the team looked bent on trading Lowell, such as what happened in December of 2009, when they were about to send Lowell to the Rangers in Texas.  Due to medical reasons, however, the deal did not push through.  Lowell has surgery in his right thumb and he is expected to fully recover by the first week of February 2010.  It is unclear, though, if the trade will continue considering time constraints.  Had the deal or if the deal continues, the Red sox will be sending at least $8 million dollars with Lowell to the Rangers. What the Red Sox expects of Beltre The Red Sox hopes that Beltre will go back to his 2006-08 form, when he scored an average of 88 RBIs and 25 homers. But then, Boston would also appreciate his breakout stats in 2004, when he was still with the Los Angeles Dodgers, when he hit .334 with 121 RBIs and 48 homers.