Youk has actually been more valuable than Teixeira this season in terms of VORP.

like it’s a possibility. he won’t come as a FA (the sox CAN afford boras.. but they won’t risk 10 years on a guy that has repeatedly said he hates boston media).

trade options for a half-season… well. the sox would have to replace the supplementary picks the braves would lose by giving him up. lars anderson, maybe oscar tejeda type guys. young prospects with high ceilings. Boston could replace them with the supplemental picks they would receive when tex hits the FA market. Then boston has to add something ot the package to make it worth more, most likely older mid-level prospects similar to kason gabbard and david murphy. brandon moss, coco crisp, jed lowrie, justin masterson, and maybe craig hansen are all options.

moss and crisp fill the braves’ needs in the OF, but neither has enough value on their own.

if the braves believe they can harness hansen’s slider, and that masterson can be a #2 (not the mid-rotation guy he projects to be), then those two would be good additiosn for the braves side. but this deal would be geared towards teh sox current seasons, and both of these guys are essential elements of this shaky bullpen, so it’s unlikely they’d want to give up either of them to bolster an offense that’s already 3rd in runs scored.

jed lowrie is probably hte best prospect we have that hte FO is willing to deal. problem is, the braves have yunel escobar and kelly johnson up the middle already, both young guys. if the braves don’t believe in johnson at 2b long term, lowrie would be appealing, but johnson has proven he has potential to be a very solid hitter… so, this isn’t a very good fit.

in other words… the sox and braves don’t make very good trade partners. that means tex only comes to boston as a free agent, replacing manny’s salary and production for hte next few years. can theo & co convince him that it’s not such a bad place after all? i doubt it. but let’s assume they do sign him. dealing with boras, we’re tlaking about 10 years at least 20 million average. the sox can afford it, but is it worth the risk that he flops in the market, leaving them with a huge untradeable contract?

let’s assume he does come…
moving youk to left field would be a terrible move. see if tex can play OF. youk is one of hte best defensive corner infielders around (if not the best), and lowell has the highest career fielding percentage of any third basemen ever. LF is a lot easier to play than 1B, so see how tex fits out there with the wall.

If the Sox are intending to make a run this year, which we have to assume they are: Youk tends to break down in the second half. So high energy every play/AB, he can’t seem to sustain it for a whole season. So his gaudy numbers offensively are almost certainly going to drop off to a more typical .285/.385/.450 mark. Still not too shabby, but let’s be realistic and not think Youk is a 25-30 homer guy who will continue to hit over .300. Tex, on the other hand, if I recall correctly (and I’m not positive that I do), seems to typically have strong second halves of the season, for whatever reason. Just something to throw into the mix.

... this really hinges on whether Papi will be healthy when he comes back. If the Sox think he may need to be shut down, I think they’ll make a run for Tex. If they can count on Papi even at 3/4 health, I think they’ll stand pat. Which is not to say they might not make a run at Tex in the offseason, thinking his salary will replace Manny’s. That would mean the Sox don’t pick up Manny’s option. Youk could certainly hold down left for a couple years, until Lowell is ready to pack it in, at which point, he could move back to third.