The rumors have been flying around about Nick Johnson being traded from the Nationals to the Red Sox. The trade seems to make sense: the Nats need pitching, the Red Sox have it, and the Red Sox need a power bat. Now Buster Olney relays the message that Johnson would be perfect for the Red Sox:
"He'd be perfect for the Red Sox," the evaluator said. "You put Johnson and [Kevin] Youkilis together in that lineup back-to-back, and the opposing pitcher would constantly need eight or 10 or 15 pitches to get through just those two guys every time through the lineup."
Johnson currently ranks 26th in the majors in pitches per plate appearance, at 4.12, while Youkilis ranks second, at 4.47. The Red Sox won't part with someone like Clay Buchholz for Johnson, who is often injured and is eligible for free agency after this season. But a good second-line arm for Johnson might be the framework of some arrangement, given that Washington is going nowhere and that they could save about $3.7 million by dealing Johnson sooner rather than later.
Olney suggests a top of the lineup that could look like this:
Pedroia, 2B
Johnson, DH
Youkilis, 1B
Drew, RF
Bay, LF
Lowell, 3B
But I think this one might be a bit better. Maybe Drew in the three-hole could be good, too:
Pedroia, 2B
Drew, RF
Youkilis, 1B
Johnson, DH
Bay, LF
Imagine the opportunites for Jason Bay in this lineup. Pedroia, Drew, Youkilis and Johnson get on base at a ridiculous rate (not to mention Bay himself). Bay would have a field day with runners in scoring position. What if Drew raised his average, too? Then we'd have 5 guys in the first five spots of the order with OBPs over .400.
I don't know about you, but I'm liking Johnson in this lineup. I said before I was skeptical about what Johnson could do in Boston, but why not give it a chance? We know one thing's for sure: he'd be better than Ortiz. At this point, my baby nephew would be better than Ortiz.
What do you say? Should the Red Sox trade for Nick Johnson?