Red Sox: Jemile Weeks worth a shot in 2015

As the Boston Red Sox roster shakes out, they will have plenty of options for their bench. Right now, Brock Holt appears to be the only lock to make the Red Sox bench as a utility man leaving three spots up for grabs. Acquired from Baltimore along with Ivan Dejesus Jr. in exchange for Kelly Johnson and Michael Almanzar, Jemile Weeks may be able to fill one of these bench spots.

At the time, the deal flew under the radar, but it could come back to help the Red Sox in the long run. Weeks played well late in the season collecting eight hits in 26 at-bats for the big league club while drawing four walks and swiping two bags in 14 games. This may not sound like much, but he is just a few years removed from a strong rookie campaign where he hit .303/.340/.421 while swiping 22 bags for the Oakland Athletics back in 2011.

A second baseman by trade may not sound too appealing to the Red Sox, but Weeks has added to his versatility. In addition to playing second, Weeks can also play shortstop and center field effectively.

For the Red Sox, Weeks would definitely be a nice compliment to Xander Bogaerts at shortstop as Weeks hits lefties and righties alike equally as well. It would be easy to insert Weeks into the lineup on any given day because he has a decent shot at getting on base against anyone.

Stealing 40 bases on 56 attempts in 240 MLB games, Weeks doubles as a pinch runner. When he is not in the lineup, he is a great guy to have on the bench since he is an upgrade running the bases over most guys on the Red Sox with the exception of Mookie Betts of course.

Even though the Red Sox will likely be big spenders this offseason, they could definitely save some money by going with a cheap, versatile bench. Having young guys like Jemile Weeks earning the league minimum on the bench would be a smart move for the club so they can give the money to the guys who are out there every single day. Not to mention Weeks is not half-bad either.


(bostonsportslife.com)